#they think it’s a ghost trick but then he takes his shoes off and they see the wheels and they’re so confused

[evilminji]

:T Hello there, Thought(tm) of the day...

I? Just remembered that Constantine's "Laughing Magician"(?) title is... f*ckin HEREDITARY?

Like?? As in The Constantine Meances have been out here, harrasing divinity and demons alike for GENERATIONS on behalf of a Good Time, the Lols, and probably Humanity if they can be arsed and you make a good case.

W... What chance would there even BE of at least like? HALF those f*ckers(conflicted but affectionate) NOT becoming Realms Ghosts? With the sh*t they're exposed too? With THEIR luck??

You think DEATH can trick them? Take them away for good? Take away the local Rat B@stard, Tricks Gods Just To See If He Can, Fate Is My Second Mistress and I Cuckold Glory On Your Mother's Bed, Constantine?

They run down main street, *ss in the breeze, wearing someone else's shirt and two shoes that don't match, not a stitch else, like run away lovers. Let Death TRY and catch them. Sorry, Luv, it's not them, it's definitely you.

..........I bet they're the wooooorst~~✨️

No joke, I bet they set up a whole *ss TOWN of Constantine.

Where the odds are in THEIR favor, gods fear to tread, and reality straight out stops working right. Like Diagonal Ally for B*stards, extended to a whole floating island. Everyone's related. It's Chaos. They can barely stand each other. Would sell each other for a toothpick.

Mess with ANY off them... and you can kiss your afterlife good bye.

They have NO neighbors because both no ones dumb enough to get NEAR them AND no one can stand to be around that many Constantines at once. The physical Manifestation of Fate wants to take the whole LOT of the handsy F*CKS to court for child support and a restraining order.

Somehow... they keep getting Earth Booze.

They SHOULDN'T have access. It's been anywhere from decade to centuries since they died. Millennium for a few. Howms't The F*CK, do they keep getting cheap gin and vodka? Bourbon and beer? Even the odd fruity cocktail for funnies.

Please... PLEASE! Tell the Zone at large, that their innate birthright powers STOPPED at Death. They... they are just REALLY good at smuggling right? Excellent con men?

Tell us they can't f*ckin PREDICT AND INFLUENCE Natural Portals!!!

*smug sipping noises from a large room full of Dead @ssholes*

Okay... They Won't Tell You~ 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺 *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip*

Now! I hear you ask? Why are John's Terrible, Terrible, God Awful Ghostly Relatives relevant? Absurdly powerful as they are... they seem to take the afterlife as an extended "Ha! GET F*CKED, DEMONS WHO WANTED MY SOUL!" Vacation/Family get together.

Minded their business and expected everyone to mind THEIRS, or ELSE.

Didn't give two solitary SH*TS that Pariah woke from his little nappy-poo to cause a tantrum. After all, in their family? When DOESN'T some "great and terrible Power That Be" get itself in a snit? Meh... it's baby Johnny's turn to clean sh*t up. Best of luck to 'im~!

But THEN!

They must've been drinking... making out with their equally terrible and bamf trainwreck significant others... sitting around playing "who can cheat best at cards"... when? Huh.

Never seen the Fate and The Odds... STRANGLE like that.

Billions of billions of What-Ifs, Maybes, Could-bes, and more... suddenly YANKED towards a single spot. The allowance of Only One Outcome. Almost like what they can do, but... not, WRONG, per say...

Just... impossible.

There's NEVER.. JUST one way this plays out. You can control the big notes. The script. But the details and set dressing will always decide themselves.

NO ONE can just... Decide What Will Happen. And yet?

...............was....... was that Little Johnny? Has to be. Right? Where's his old man? Oi! Was that your Kid??! John's closest relatives are baffled. Nope. They can still feel him laying a beat down on some demon in Norway. So then? Who?

How?

Well mark them CURIOUS(tm).

They decide to actually get up. Put their various drinks and cards down. Put pants on. Somebody's done something... INTERESTING(TM) and they want to know what's up. So? Off they trot.

It's traumatizing for everyone who sees them. The Constantines have breached f*ckin B*stard Containment and are spilling into the Zone. On this! The DAY Pariah Waged A War! THEY JUST GOT RID OF HIM!

And Danny? His everything hurts. The Eyeballs are starting to come out of the woodwork and ARGUE about him like he's not even there. He's DANGEROUS blah blah blah. Give them the crown. Right now! Etc etc.

Somethings telling him not too.

It's... it's HIS isn't it? Has been for centuries and seconds. And... and... everyone one of him is King. There is only one of him. The Zone covers all the multiverse and all of the Hims that were and aren't here and helped and... and...! His head is starting to hurt.

But the more they try to push him to hand it over, the less he feels like unhanding the dang gaudy thing. No. His now. He'll use it as a DOOR stopper if he dang well feels like it! Stop yelling.

Then all these blonde ghosts saunter in... and all he can think is "F*ck. I think they noticed."

Huh?

@stealingyourbones @cyrwrites @bjurnberg @the-witchhunter @hdgnj

#dc prompt #dp x dc #dc x dp #danny phantom #john constantine

[whoslibby]

it was nearing midnight as you sat on the back porch, eris had been in his office working per usual. it was beginning to become apparent that his work was more important than you; well it felt like it. one of his dozen ghost hounds sat on your feet; keeping them toasty.

a full moon sat in the night sky, the hues of black and blue were beautiful; the sky was truly magical. your knees pulled to your chest; resting your head on them.

‘you shouldn’t be out here in the cold, you’ll get ill,’ eris grumbles sitting down next to you.

‘shouldn’t you be in your office working,’ you say in the same tone.

‘you know it’s not like that.’

‘feels like it,’ your voice rough with frustration. every night it was a battle for him to come to bed and spend some time with you and tonight you really couldn’t be bothered.

‘it’s just busy at the moment,’ he snaps, eris’ voice is low and husky as he takes some breaths trying to calm himself down. he never liked when you two would have small disputes. ‘dont blame me.’

‘i’ll blame you if I want to. for the past month you haven’t came to bed until it’s nearing midnight and that’s when i’m asking you to. if you aren’t happy with me tell me!’ you ranted to him. you had felt so frustrated and it seemed to always be what the two of you’d argue about.

‘i’m going on a walk,’ he tells you standing up, with a click of his fingers, the ghost hound was following him as he walked into the forest.

once he was far enough away you rubbed your face, rubbing away the sleep. were you too harsh? was it what was needed to be said?

eris on the other hand felt terrible. he knew he hadn’t of been too doting on you recently but he didn’t think it had been a month. the work had just been piling up on him. he clicked his tongue as he walked throughout the woods, the pup walking by his side, almost two thirds of the size of eris.

you headed to bed, maybe some sleep will do the trick, the two of yours arguments never lasted long. as you headed to bed, eris made his way home to the forest house.

he trailed into the bedroom, eyes half lidded. you were there in bed, asleep; so peaceful, you always were when asleep. he took off his shoes as he got into the bed. moving close to you, putting his arm around your waist. ‘i’m sorry,’ he mutters.

‘I know,’ you murmur. eris was a little shocked, he had thought you were asleep. ‘sorry for snapping.’ you felt better for saying sorry because you did mean it, you got angry and jumped to shouting.

‘i’ll do better, I promise,’ you trusted that, you always trusted eris, if he promised; he would do it.

#libby lectures #high lord eris #eris vandaddy #eris vanserra #eris acotar #eris x reader #eris x you #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of silver flames #a court of frost and starlight #a court of wings and ruin

[marvelmymarvel]

Halloween

Illumi Zoldyck x Reader

Synopsis: Halloween was something the Zoldyck kids never got to experience, that was until you came along... Much to Illumis.... Delight.

A/n: this is my effort to make my friend fall for Illumi....

Alluka ran around your legs, chasing Killua who was running away from her. Her fairy princess costume bounced with each step as she squealed for Killua to be her fairy prince. You smiled at them before continuing your trek towards the door where you hoped the tricker treaters would be. Your house was perfect for the Zoldyck kids to come by, mostly because it wasn't hidden in a forest where no one would find them.

It took a lot of begging on the kid's part to let them celebrate even just this once, and while you were excited for them to be here, Illumi was not. Not because he didn't like them, but because he hated this holiday. It didn't make any sense, why would someone dress up as a character that's not even scary? The doorbell rang and you opened the door to reveal a couple of kids in "scary" costumes. You jumped in fake fright, hand clamping over your heart to exaggerate your reaction.

"Trick or treat!!!!" The kids squealed out, and you chuckled at their already heavy bags "My goodness, you look spooky tonight!!" You stated cheerily as you handed out the full-size candy bars to each kid. They thanked you before running off to the next house, leaving you with a loving smile in their wake. You wondered how your kids would be on Halloween. Would they dress up as spooky ghosts? Or would a princess/knight outfit be their go-to?

A hand ghosted your side, causing you to jump in your spot this time out of real fear. "Jesus Illumi. Make some noise next time" you teased before lifting your head to give him a peck on the lips. The witch hat you wore bumped him in the head, causing him to huff out in annoyance. "I don't understand what you're supposed to be" Illumi stated bluntly, causing you to feign shock that he would most certainly take seriously.

Stepping back, you motioned up and down your body. His eyes traveled down the velvet black dress and orange and black stockings before landing on the black pointy shoes. His eyebrows furrowed, "Are those my shoes?"

"No. They're Hisokas"

His eyes shot back up to your face and you gave a sheepish smile before throwing your hands out in a "ta da" motion.

"I still don't know what you are"

You let out an exasperated sigh, these Zoldyck kids had no fun growing up, and it was painfully obvious. "I'm a witch! See, pointy hat! Pointy shoes!! I even have a broom!!!"

Silence followed as he examined the three things you just pointed out. "How does that make you a witch-"

"Oh my... Come here" you said finally, giving up on teaching your helpless boyfriend something that didn't matter. His eyebrows furrowed but he walked over anyway. You wrapped your arms around his neck and gave him a loving look, "I love you... But you need to learn some pop culture references"

"Pop culture?"

"Oh my G-"

"TRICK OR TREAT!!!" You broke away from him and clapped in excitement at the new group of kids. "Oh my goodness!! Your costumes are amazing." You exclaimed as you grabbed the bowl off the table. Illumi watched you, still confused about this holiday and why you were so excited. But he couldn't figure out what else he was feeling...

It was similar to how he felt for you, something along the lines of love but it felt, different. He focused on you and the way you interacted with the kids. Your eyes sparkled with pure love and joy and it had his mind reeling.

He didn't like the holiday, didn't understand anything about it. But looking at your excitement made him somehow enjoy it. Seeing the way you lit up at the excitement of the kids around you made his love for you somehow grow. He didn't think he even knew how to love, you quite literally had to point out that what he was feeling was love. It wasn't the possession he felt over Killua, wasn't the respect he had for his father.

It was something different, something deeper.

You waved off the kids before standing up straight. A small smile stayed on your lips as you awaited the next group of children. Illumi walked towards you, once more grabbing your waist and pulling you out of your thoughts. You hummed but didn't look his way. His fingers ghosted your chin and he urged you to look up at him.

He didn't like saying it, but he knew that his looks alone told you everything you needed to know. Your smile grew and your cheeks heated up, "I love you too, Illumi"

He pressed his lips softly against yours, and you braced yourself against his chest. He tried to deepen the kiss but you stopped him, he hovered over you still, lips mere centimeters from his. He didn't love the holiday, but he did love you.

"Happy Halloween Lumi"

#hxh illumi #illumi imagines #illumi imagine #illumi zoldyck imagine #illumi zoldyck imagines #illumi zoldyck x reader #illumi zoldyck #hunter x hunter imagine #hunter x hunter imagines #hxh imagine #hxh imagines #hxh x reader #hunterxhunter imagine #hunterxhunter imagines

[darks-ink]

Hi! 👋 😊 I saw you're taking prompts. How about this for Danny Phantom?

Danny walks into his room one day to find a clone of himself, not Danielle but one he's never meet before, asleep in his bed.

Yeah, that was the plan! Unfortunately as it turns out my wrist definitely isn't up to writing yet so it's a good thing yours was the only prompt I received, haha. Here you go:

[also on AO3]

-----

Danny walked into his room. Stopped abruptly.

Someone was in his bed. Tucked neatly under his blankets. Asleep.

He blinked. No change. Rubbed in his eyes. Nope, still the same.

“What?” he grunted, before shaking his head. Who would just come into his room, tuck themselves away in his bed, and then go to sleep?

Quietly he snuck closer, just to take a closer look. Sure, maybe his parents had invited someone over, but they had a guest room for a reason! And no one would confuse his room for the guest room, would they?

He looked down at the dirty laundry littering his floor. No, definitely not.

Closer up, he realized the person was about the same size as him. And their hair was definitely similar to his own, jet black and messy, and it seemed to be about the same length. Kind of difficult to tell with them lying down, with the blanket tugged up nearly to their eyes.

Squinting, Danny considered his options. He should probably wake them up and ask them what they were doing in his room, but how? Just talk? Give them a poke? Yell? Hm, decisions, decisions.

Well, the fact that they hadn’t woken up yet suggested that just talking at a regular volume probably wouldn’t do the trick. And while he kind of felt like yelling about this whole situation, that was also really gonna sour the incoming interaction.

He sighed to himself. Guess he would try it the normal boring way.

Reaching out, he jabbed them in the shoulder. A little forcefully, but not overly so.

The person in his bed jolted, slapped his hand away, and then glared at him with viciously green eyes. Glowing green eyes.

Instinctively, automatically, Danny stepped back, raising his fists in the same motion. The guy in his bed—the guy with his face, what the hell—blinked in seeming surprise, the green in his eyes fading to blue.

Reluctantly, Danny shifted into a slightly more casual pose, slowly dropping his fists. The… clone? (again?) didn’t seem violent. Just… sleepy, which made sense, Danny supposed. He usually wasn’t at his best either, if someone woke him up while he was dead asleep.

The clone groaned, dropping from his half-raised position back onto the bed. He raised one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Really? Another fucking clone?”

“Hey!” Danny frowned at him. “You’re the clone here. This is my room, and that’s my bed you’re in.”

The… other Danny? misguided clone? Whatever. The other guy dropped his hand again, twisting his head to look at Danny again. “What are you talking about? This is my room.”

“Man,” Danny muttered, probably not quiet enough if the other one was half-ghost as well, “where  did Vlad get this guy from?”

That got the other guy awake enough to push upright. “What did you just say?”

Well, that’s a confirmation on the enhanced half-ghost senses. “Nothing,” Danny answered, offering a shit-eatingly false grin.

“No, no, I definitely heard Vlad’s name in there.” The maybe-clone was sitting up now, swinging his legs off of the side of the bed. His bare feet settled on the floor. The guy was even dressed like him, though he had at least taken off his shoes and socks. “Why do you think Vlad was involved with my…” he paused, clearly trying and failing to find the right words, “my… me.”

Danny snorted, shaking his head. “You’re kidding me. I mean, honestly. The whole,” he gestured vaguely, “Danielle situation.”

“Right,” the other guy said, slowly, drawing out the word. “The Danielle situation. Where a young, unstable, female clone was in our room. And we had to help her out. That Danielle situation.”

“Uh. Yeah.” Danny squinted at the other guy. “Did Vlad somehow figure out how to clone memories, or something?”

“Well, that’s a worrying possibility.” Worrying enough that it finally got the other guy to get out of bed, yawning as he did so. “I definitely feel like I’m the real Danny Fenton.”

“So do I, though,” Danny countered, crossing his arms. “If this is a case of Vlad copying memories, how would we even check which one of us is the real Danny?”

Other Danny hummed in thought, then shrugged. “I mean, realistically one of us would start melting, right? Because if Vlad had figured out how to keep a clone stable he wouldn’t send him here, he would keep him as his son. That was the whole point of the cloning thing, I think.”

“So, what, we’re just gonna keep trucking with two Dannies until one of us destabilizes?” Danny asked skeptically, raising his eyebrow. Because he was pretty sure he was the real Danny, which meant that the other one would surely destabilize sooner or later.

“Why not?” Other Danny shrugged again. “We seem to have identical memories, we’re identical in appearance, we can easily share. Plus, how often do we get into situations that would be much easier if we just had a second us. We can share this life.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that. “And I guess if we need the backup of a second Phantom in a fight we can always lie about the other being a duplicate.”

“I mean, that’s basically the truth anyway,” the other Danny pointed out. “A clone is basically just a technological duplicate, isn’t it?”

Danny snorted. “I don’t think it works that way. But hey, why the hell not. You’ve got a deal.” He held out his hand.

The other took it, an easy smile on his face. “Great. Glad we don’t have to get in a fight about which one of us is real.”

“Eh, we can always do that later.” Danny released the other one’s hand. “Although we probably need some kind of nicknames or something. Because we can’t both be Danny, and if we have to pick which one of us gets to stay Danny we will get into that fight.”

“Hm, true.” Probably-maybe-clone-Danny thought that over for a moment. “Well, I guess we can decide that while Sam and Tucker chew us out over this situation.”

Danny grimaced at the reminder. “Yikes, you’re right. Better get that over with ASAP.”

“It’s like you’re reading my mind.” Other Danny winked at him, then transformed into Phantom in a flash of light. “Race you?”

“Oh, you’re on.” Danny let his own transformation wash over him, hissing when the possible-clone shot off before he was done. “Hey! False start!”

As it turned out, their speed was also identical. Who would’ve guessed?

#danny phantom #dp fanfic #dp fanfiction #phanfic #dark writes #prompt fill #is it cloning or an alternate dimension situation? idk you decide #in my defense I got a new laptop yesterday and I'm 90% the keys on this one are harder to press #which WOULD explain why it's harder on my wrist to type on this one #or I misjudged how well my wrist was doing. that also happens

[ladylynse]

Happy Halloween! 👻

For continuing a three sentence fic - I’d love it if you wrote more of the second idea for “file cabinet” or the thermos/drowning fic

Links:

https://ladylynse.tumblr.com/post/728500835869474816/i-went-on-a-trip-down-memory-lane-and-visited

https://ladylynse.tumblr.com/post/185211125716/hi-there-im-feeling-a-little-evil-today-so-how

Happy Halloween, Anon! I think the file cabinet was the more popular prompt with people, so I went with that one even though the temptation to torture Danny further was very much there. The original three sentence fic is copied here, and the rest is under the cut.

-|-

Logically, Vlad knew Daniel couldn’t escape his current predicament without help, and the vultures—incompetent though they could be at times—were capable of handling the simple task of alerting Vlad to the inevitable arrival of Daniel’s little friends.

That didn’t stop Vlad from giving into the urge to pull open the middle drawer of his filing cabinet to make sure the little badger hadn’t woken up and escaped since Vlad had stuffed him in there upon Valerie’s unexpected arrival, though.

Vlad had gotten Valerie out of his hair sooner rather than later, and his newest invention had done the trick in taking care of Daniel since he was still unconscious, but Vlad couldn’t help but feel that the other shoe had yet to drop; he’d won this time, but he still half expected something to explode in his face whenever he opened the drawer to check that Daniel was still there, and he doubted he’d feel otherwise until Daniel woke up and was finally forced to come to the realization that he didn’t have the upper hand.

-|-

In hindsight, Vlad supposed he should not be surprised that the other shoe had waited to drop until the little badger had woken up.

Oh, Daniel still didn’t have access to his ghost powers���Vlad had made quite sure of that—but it seemed that he was far from powerless.

Evidently, lock picking and untying knots had been added to Daniel’s repertoire, and Vlad would have to ghost-proof some cable ties in the near future. Daniel’s escaping the pilfered Fenton Fisher line was less of a surprise than his escaping the purloined Fenton Cuffs (Vlad had wanted to account for the possibility of another ghost helping him as best he could), since Vlad had no idea what he’d managed to use as a lockpick. Sam’s influence, no doubt. Her parents weren’t as high class as they liked to pretend, but Vlad had met them enough times even before moving to Amity Park to be quite sure she’d taught herself how to pick locks in early childhood.

Not that any of the particulars mattered when Daniel, freed of his bindings and his gag and now the filing cabinet drawer, was hurling priceless Packers memorabilia in Vlad’s direction and cursing up a storm while doing so.

“Language,” Vlad scolded lightly. He was intangible and floating just slightly off the ground, and he had a duplicate ready to ambush Daniel before he could grab something else Vlad didn’t want to be destroyed, but it was hard to keep up the pretence of indifference when he could hear something break as it hit the wall behind him.

Sadly, that was the reason Vlad was down to one duplicate.

Daniel scowled. “Says the guy who thinks butter biscuits is a satisfying swear. Seriously, get a better writer. Maybe you can hire the Ghost Writer because your original stuff sucks.”

“That’s not—!” Vlad bit off his protest. Daniel was trying to rile him, but at least when he’d started talking, he’d stopped throwing. Vlad let the duplicate lapse; he didn’t need the headache of splitting his concentration, and Daniel seemed bound and determined to give him a headache. “I’ll be frank with you, shall I?”

“I mean, I guess calling you Frank is a step up from what you usually want me to call you, but….”

Vlad heroically resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Let me be crystal clear. Whether you like it or not, you fell for my trap, and your little friends are going to be more than preoccupied with dealing with my employees. You may have escaped from a drawer, but you have not escaped this room, and you will not escape me. You do not have as many options as you seem to think you do.”

Daniel tilted his head. “You sure about that? Because I think you have it backwards. You fell for my trap, my friends are keeping your employees busy, and now you don’t have as many options as you think you do.”

Vlad shot him a withering look. “Bluffing will get you nowhere.”

“Who says I’m bluffing? Even if you don’t think we saw your setup coming a mile away after all those hints Skulker’s been dropping, Sam and Tucker aren’t my only friends.”

“The ghosts—”

“The rest of my friends are not automatically ghosts. Geez, don’t you stalk me enough to know that? Wasn’t that what all your creepy spy stuff was for? Learning everything about me and Mom?”

Vlad sighed, but Daniel would only keep interrupting. Vlad wouldn’t lose anything by humouring him on this. “I can handle your sister.”

“Okay, one, she’s gotten better, and two, she’s not who you’re missing, so it’s a moot point even if you don’t believe me.” Daniel grinned. “So how about some show and tell?”

The final words were pitched louder and carried an emphasis they shouldn’t have, given the mundane nature of the conversation, which should have been Vlad’s first clue. Or perhaps his second. Third? The first clue he shouldn’t have missed, anyway.

But hindsight is always 20/20.

“I dunno,” said Valerie’s voice above him, clear even above the whine of her charging ecto-gun. “You told me a lot, and this showed me a lot, and I didn’t hear a lot of denying going on where it mattered.”

Vlad slowly raised his hands, though that was more for the show of it than anything else. Half the weapons he gave Valerie wouldn’t work on him, or at least wouldn’t work well—if he could figure out a way to exclude his ecto-signature and therefore being recognized as a ghost, he’d done it—but she wouldn’t know that.

Besides, being shot with an ecto-gun in this form would hurt more than it would a regular human, even though he’d set these sorts of weapons to automatically adjust and downgrade their charge should they ever be aimed at him or one of his duplicates.

“Whatever lies Daniel has been telling you—”

“He’s not the one who’s been lying to me,” Valerie hissed, and as Vlad finished turning to look up at where she was perched at the window entrance she always used, he realized that her weapons were not lit with his ecto-energy but with Daniel’s.

They had planned this.

Daniel really hadn’t fallen for his trap; he’d waltzed into it and turned it to his advantage.

Butter biscuits.

(see more fics)

#danny phantom #danny fenton #vlad masters #dp #dp fanfiction #fanfiction #my writing #ladylynse #dp snippet #snippets #trick or treat #happy halloween

[7-wonders]

I miss him so much, so can you do “I may or may not have stayed up to watch a horror movie and now I can’t sleep - don’t laugh at me! - can you please come over?” from list 2 with our beloved Adrian?

oh my god oh my god oh my god i love this so much thank you

///

When your phone rings at midnight on a Saturday, you don't even glance at the screen before picking up. There's only one person that bothers to call you instead of texting like a normal person, and that's the same person who uses calling like texting and rings you to talk about anything and everything.

"Hi, Adrian," you greet, pausing the show that you're watching on your laptop.

"Sweetie. Darling. Love of my life. My little snickerdoodle." Ah, so he has something to ask you. That's the only time he hits you with a deluge of pet-names; he thinks it's buttering you up.

(It is, but that's besides the point)

"You know how Peacemaker and I were gonna patrol together tonight?"

"Mhm." Of course you do – that's why he's not currently wrapped around you like a koala.

"Well he ditched our plans to go hook up with a chick, so I decided to watch that new horror movie. Y'know, the one you told me I would get scared of if I watched it alone?"

"I do recall that conversation."

"Great. Well, I may or may not have stayed up to watch said horror movie alone and now I can't sleep–don't laugh at me!" Adrian whines when you start cackling from the comfort of your room.

You knew this would happen, because you know Adrian, and Adrian doesn't do horror movies. He can brutally murder a room full of people while making jokes and laughing about it before falling asleep peacefully, but put on a movie with ghosts, demons, zombies, or slashers and he turns into a jumpy little kid.

"Can I please come over? Please, please, please? I'm scared." You can hear the pout in his voice, which is obviously his attempt to make you say yes. Joke's on him, because you were going to say yes anyways.

"Yeah baby, you can come over."

"Great, because I'm already outside your door." Sure enough, you can hear the key that you gave him months ago turning in the lock of your front door.

At least he's using the door this time instead of breaking in through your window.

You hang up the call since he's currently entering your home and try to hold in your laughs as he turns on every light in his path to your bedroom. When you finally see him, you can't help but coo at him. His eyes are blown wide with fear behind his glasses and the flush that he sports whenever he experiences any strong emotion is already creeping up his neck and towards his cheeks.

Holding out your arms to him, you coax him to you. "C'mere, baby."

Adrian slides his shoes off and crawls onto your bed, allowing you to wrap your arms tightly around him and hold him to you. He takes a minute before doing anything, matching his breaths to yours to calm himself down (a trick you've taught him for when he gets overwhelmed, and one that you're proud of him for remembering to use).

When his heartbeat, which you can feel racing against your skin, slows down to a normal rate, you finally speak. "I told you not to watch horror movies by yourself."

"I know. But it looked like one I was gonna like!"

You smile down at him and kiss his forehead, unable to resist. "Next time, maybe you wait to watch it with someone else, like me or Chris."

"I think I'm gonna lay off the horror movies for a while," Adrian says solemnly before snuggling further into your embrace. He looks at the open laptop sitting off to the side and seems to finally remember that you were doing something before he called you. "Ooh, what are you watching?"

"Annabelle."

Adrian lets out a pained groan, and you hide your smirk in his curls.

#adrian chase #adrian chase x reader #adrian chase imagine #vigilante #peacemaker vigilante #vigilante x reader #vigilante imagine #7 wonders' halloween spooktacular

[natlacentral]

DALLAS LIU SEES YOUR TIKTOK THIRST-TRAP EDITS OF HIM

Dallas Liu may be playing the Zuko in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but you won’t catch him with the Fire Nation prince’s restrictive, gravity-defying ponytail in real life. 

“I would never, ever out of my own personal choice rock the ponytail. It’s a haircut that not even cosplayers are willing to take on,” he tells NYLON. “I can gladly say that I would not recommend it to anyone.” But the 22-year-old actor does admit to what fans of the original animated series have known since the show debuted back in 2015: “The ponytail does look super badass on screen.”

Liu says he knew the challenge of bringing such a beloved character to life, but not only did he grow up watching the animated series and loving the Fire Nation prince for his fierce loyalty, but the show inspired him to start practicing martial arts. Ahead, Liu takes on the NYLON 19, revealing his thoughts on ghosts (or “spirits,” as he prefers to call them), TikTok thirst-trap edits of himself, and more.

1. WHAT’S YOUR ASTROLOGICAL SIGN (AND DO YOU BELIEVE IN IT)?

I am a Leo! Unfortunately, I don’t believe in it because of my experience meeting people with the same birthday, but us being different personality-wise.

2. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS (AND HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ONE)?

Yes, most definitely. Although I think the word “spirits” would be a better way to define it. I’ve never seen one — thank God — but I have felt uneasy in very old hotels or rooms that have a very long history.

3. WHO WOULD BE THE THREE HEADLINERS OF THE MUSIC FESTIVAL OF YOUR DREAMS?

Dominic Fike, Beach House, and Sade.

4. WHAT'S A BAD HABIT OF YOURS THAT YOU'VE BEEN MEANING TO FIX?

Honestly, I’m so bad at parking my car. Not that I’m bad at driving, but when it comes to parallel parking or even in a parking lot, I don’t put much thought into it.

5. WHAT WAS THE LAST INTERNET RABBIT HOLE YOU WENT DOWN?

I spend too many nights doom-scrolling on Instagram or TikTok, but it was probably a compilation of Avatar: The Last Airbender lore.

6. DESCRIBE YOUR WORST DATE IN THREE WORDS OR PHRASES.

Short, McDonald’s, Black Ice Car Freshener

7. WHAT WAS THE LAST DM YOU RECEIVED?

My friend sent me a TikTok thirst-trap edit of myself this morning which was interesting.

8. IF YOU COULD BE IN ANY MUSIC VIDEO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I would have to say either the music video for Bow Wow’s “Let Me Hold You” or Chris Brown’s “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” just because the music videos in the ‘00s were just built differently.

9. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT, AND WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF IT?

Daniel Caesar performing in LA for his Case Study 01: Tour. It was my first one, so I remember everything about it. At the time, he was taking the music industry by storm and I was a major fan, so that concert was everything to me. I also was introduced to how much of a different experience listening to live music is.

10. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE AS A KID?

The Polar Express.

11. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MEME/INTERNET JOKE AND WHY?

The personality that comes with wearing a fedora. It’s always funny to me and forever will be. Maybe one day I’d get to play a character that wears a fedora. Maybe Zuko.

12. WHAT'S YOUR GO-TO BREAKUP SONG?

“I Gotta Find Peace of Mind” by Lauryn Hill.

13. WHAT IS ONE THING EVERYONE SHOULD BUY THAT IS UNDER $10?

A sweet latte with oat milk from Blue Bottle. A must. Just try it. It’s so good. I could live off of it.

14. WHAT PIECE OF CLOTHING FROM HIGH SCHOOL DO YOU WISH YOU KEPT?

My vintage Green Day shirt. It had the perfect shade of a faded black and the fit of it was immaculate.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PAIR OF SHOES THAT YOU OWN, AND WHY?

Military boots because they look the coolest.

16. WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO SAD SONG?

Anything by Elliott Smith or Duster.

17. WHAT REALITY SHOW WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO APPEAR ON?

Love Island UK.

18. WHAT IS YOUR BEST BEAUTY TIP OR TRICK?

Korean skincare products.

19. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FAST-FOOD PLACE, AND WHAT’S YOUR ORDER?

Wingstop: four lemon pepper classic and four original hot classic, all flats. Lemon pepper seasoned fries cooked well done. A side of ranch and bleu cheese. Root beer.

#natla #atla #netflix avatar #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #dallas liu #avatar netflix #atla netflix #nylon #interview #fun & games

[soraeia]

In Meriburn

He only hears the ghost of his daughter's laughter each time a child giggles with their parents, yet he couldn't seem to walk himself away from the festival games. Damian continues to stare at the families in quiet envy, placing himself and his little girl in their shoes or counting the amount of prizes she would have begged him for. And he would have moved heaven and earth to get her each and every one of them.

It's not until he watches a young boy receive his 50th gift from his father that Damian finally walks away, feet carrying him in an aimless direction.

'Catching up with the kings seems like a good idea...' He eventually finds himself re-entering the private party, courtesy of the Meriet keepsake he received earlier. And, immediately, he stops a passing servant who'd been ferrying glasses of champagne across the room. The servant is then thanked with a smile and is sent off with a blush across his face that Damian only takes a moment of amusement from...before he nearly chokes on his first sip when something catches his gaze.

He thinks, at first, his mind were playing tricks. Pales for a moment at the vision that haunts him. But after blinking his sanity back, he realizes that the little girl before him is real.

"Lysette...?" Damian mutters under his breath, staring at the girl signing at who he recognized to be Tahariel Elohim's right-hand man.

#{ gilded cages } imperial au #{ damian } ic #{ Festival of the Blue Moons } event; imperial au

[sebsxphia]

Sebbie m'dear?? I come once again over the hills with a freshly baked blurb just in time for spooky season (lol). I can't believe it's already October and already the leaves around the house are turning those gorgeous colors. Even my littles at work are feeling the need to get spooky too (lol).

I'm still thinking alot about the whole "Rhett adopts Amy" trope with his lovely wifey!reader and with it already being spooky season, I think it's making it worse (lol).

The house is constantly smelling like fall with all the baked goods you and Rhett are making for the store you own with Cecelia and some family friends of yours, peanut butter and chocolate fudge, little rice krispie treats that look like trick-or-treat bags, cookies and little cakes that are shaped like pumpkins, coconut macaroons that look like mummies, sugar skulls with bright and intricate patterns that your neighbors sometimes put on their home altars or in the cemeteries for their loved ones, marshmallow ghosts and spiders and a whole bunch of others that make the house smell so good.

You keep plenty of fabric and materials in your supply closet and since things were a little bit tight that year before the cattle could be auctioned off, you decided to make Amy's Halloween costume. All year long she had wanted to be Cinderella so you made her the dress, the little gloves and the black choker (the only thing you worried about were her shoes but thank God she still had her Easter shoes which were perfect).

You and Rhett spent almost the whole last half of September and all of October getting the house ready for Halloween. You have a whole list of movies that you would watch together, but one of Rhett's favorites is "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" (he used to watch it all the time with Royal when he was little and Royal has pictures of Rhett rolling this giant ass pumpkin up to the house with his little blue baby blanket in his tiny hands and ever since then, Royal jokes about how Rhett was actually Linus, lol).

You've made a ton of your Halloween decorations for both at home and at the store and love putting them out every year. You've got a ton of wool from the sheep so that leaves room for you to make little needle-felted decorations (I'm learning how to do it right now and it's soooo much fun and so relaxing). You've even made a little pumpkin patch with Jack and Sally in it and even a little Zero which Amy loves to play with, although she still has trouble switching on the little fairy lights that go with it.

Speaking of pumpkins, Rhett will gladly take Amy to go and get pumpkins to carve for the house porch and the store porch as well. Wes Redwood, his best friend since childhood, will often meet up with him and his two nephews he adopted, to go pumpkin picking. Amy even pulled a Linus when she picked the biggest pumpkin in the patch and couldn't get it through her secret hole in the fence, so she rolled it around the fence like a boulder and couldn't stop it before she got to the truck (lol).

Sebbie as always, thank you for taking the time to read these and add to them when you do, I can't appreciate it enough. 🥰🥰🥰🥰 🎃🎃🎃🎃

real time reactions of me reading this! you know, i love halloween and you know i love these soft thoughts! these made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially considering how shitty i feel rn my love. thank you so, so much for this! ilysm, mwah! 🥰💌💗

#💌you’ve got mail #auroralightsthesky <33 #rhett abbott

[idiasdiscordkitten]

Thinking of a Spooky Request, how about the first years visiting the Perfect at the Ramshackle Dorm one night and experiencing some scary paranormal things happening, only to find out that the Prefect has a Demonic Spirit that has gotten attached to them and now haunts the dorm?

sorry this one took so long! i think that a short baby fic would suit this one better than headcanons, but fics take longer for me to write, so i hope you don't mind! i really like this idea. i maaaay have misinterpreted the demonic spirit part, but i did what i could!

the first years visiting the prefect at ramshackle dorm, but it's basically a haunted house

“You guys hear that?”

They had only been at the dorm for maybe 10 minutes, but things were off the second they stepped through the doorway.

“It’s probably nothing,” Ace said, shrugging off Deuce’s fears.  “Prefect’s probably asleep or something.  It’s fine.”

Epel shook his head.  “But we were invited to come here.  They’d never just fall asleep immediately after sending out a group text.”

“Agreed.”  Sebek folded his arms and stood tall, despite the shakiness of his breath.  “That’s something Silver would do.  Just thinking of someone like that as a housewarden gives me chills!”

None of this shook Deuce, who was certain something was wrong.  “We won’t get in trouble for using our pens as flashlights, right?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Jack replied.  He went ahead and used magic to light up the pen.  “If something’s actually wrong, it’s better to make sure all’s well.”

The sound from before had repeated:  a set of running footsteps.  It sounded like there had to have been at least two or three people running.

“PREFECT?” Sebek broke out into a run, desperate to find the source.  A weak human like the Prefect could never fight off...whatever could be after them.  He made his way up the stairs, to the Prefect’s room, while the others remained in the lounge.

“Guys, relax!”  Ace smirked.  “It’s nothing!  You guys keep forgetting that ghosts live here, too.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Epel turned to Ace and sarcastically added, “Ghosts wear shoes, after all, so it makes sense they’d be running up and down the halls together.  Real shoes, from the realm of the living.  For their real feet.”

Jack sighed and leaned against a wall.  Knowing the Prefect, the most likely problem is that Crowley summoned them for some menial task again.  Ace was being a dick about things, as usual, but was probably right: it probably was just the ghosts playing tricks and having fun.

“Let’s just calm down for a sec--”

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light in the room.  It was as if lightning had struck, but...indoors?

“AAH!”  Epel jumped and broke off into a run of his own, down the hallway.  Jack called after him and followed, leaving Ace and Deuce alone in Ramshackle Dorm’s lounge.

Deuce gripped his magical pen tightly, the light pouring out of it shaking along with his arm. “So, explain that one?”

Ace laughed, nerves starting to show through the unstable pitch of his voice.  “Weird.”

“That’s all you have to say?  Weird?”  Deuce shut his eyes tight.  “Something’s wrong here.”

“I guess...”  Ace hated to be wrong here, but he had to admit it.  “I guess it is a little weird that we haven’t actually seen any of the ghosts.”  He raised his voice and asked the air, “Where are you, ghosts?”

No reply.

“There’s no way it’s just upperclassmen, right?”

“Nah,” the redhead replied.  “If it is, then they’re dicks.  Massive dicks.  What’s the occasion?

Deuce nodded.  Something has to be wrong here.  And actually...  Why haven’t the others come back?  Sebek’s been gone for a while now.

“We should check on Sebek.”

“Why?  He’s irritating as hell.”

“What if something happened?”  Deuce swallowed his fear and announced, “I’m going to the Prefect’s room.

Ace scoffed nervously.  “What, and you’re gonna just leave me here?  No.  I’m coming with.”

“I thought you said it was nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not!”  Ace huffed.  “Come on.  You really expect me to just sit on the couch and wait for everyone to come back, like a mom waiting for her kids to come home from a party after curfew?”

Deuce laughed.  “Sounds like something the housewarden would do.”

“Oh, no.  Can’t call Riddle a mom, he’ll bawl his head off again.  Let’s just get going.”

A freezing gust of wind caused the boys to shudder, along with an eerie howl.  They leave it behind as they head towards the stairs...

What they find in the Prefect’s room shocks them to their core.

The prefect, levitating, has a black aura surrounding them.  This isn’t like an overblot--no, something about this is more...ominous in nature.  And standing there, mouth agape, was Sebek, wide-eyed and shaking in his boots.

“Leave this place,” the Prefect hissed.  Their mouth moved, but the voice that came out was not theirs.  “Do not return to my domain, lest you be haunted for eternity.”

Deuce screamed.  Without thinking, one foot placed itself in front of the other, and he nearly tripped down the stairs.  “WE’RE LEAVING!” he cried.  As Ace grabbed Sebek by the jacket and dragged him along, Epel and Jack re-emerged, confused.

“Did something--”

“THEY’RE DEAD!”

“They’re not dead--”

“WE HAVE TO GO!”

The fact that Sebek hadn’t uttered a word was reason enough to leave.  The first years were not sure what had happened to the Prefect, but they were certain that they would not be returning any time soon.

#twst #twisted wonderland #ace #jack #epel #sebek #ace trappola #deuce #deuce spade #jack howl #epel felmier #sebek zigvolt #twisted wonderland fic #twst first years #twisted wonderland first years

[alphacrone]

Angst Week Day 1 - @lco-angst-week

missing scenes | AU | canon divergent 

X-posted on AO3

No book spoilers.

TW: discussions of death, injury, gun violence, blood, implied suicidal ideation

-

“I seriously hope you don’t have a soulmate,” George told Lockwood one evening after a particularly grueling job. “Because you are going to get them killed.” 

Lucy shot George a nasty look, but Lockwood laughed it off. “I’m not that reckless, George.” 

“Sure,” Lucy said bitterly. “And the sky’s not blue.” 

Lockwood rolled his eyes and grinned. He was certain he didn’t have a soulmate, else he’d be dead by now. The universe was set on taking away everyone he’d ever loved; his soulmate would’ve been on that list. 

“I hope Kipps is your soulmate,” George told him. “Then at least there’d be a silver lining when you managed to off yourself.” 

That made Lockwood laugh even harder. Lucy scowled and went oddly silent. He hoped she was just angry about the job and not jealous over Kipps. Lockwood couldn’t handle it if she wanted to be that bastard’s soulmate. 

Experts claimed soulmates were an unfortunate byproduct of The Problem. Whatever had twisted and torn the fabric of space and time between the world of the living and the other side had also played a cruel trick on humanity, linking souls at random. Most of the population never knew who their soulmates were as there wasn’t a reliable way of testing it, not without risking death. George had spoken of cases of near death experiences bringing soulmates together, but those were few and far between. Soulmates generally only found each other in romances and tragedies, and Lockwood did not want to live in either. 

“You should be more careful,” Lucy told him as they returned home, kicking off their shoes in the hallway and tossing their rapiers into the umbrella stand. “For yourself, if not for your soulmate.” 

“You and George worry too much,” he said. “I think I’ve been just the right level of reckless since the Bickerstaff ordeal.” 

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “You just jumped from the top story of a house to, and I quote, ‘defeat a Visitor with the element of surprise.’” 

“And it worked!” Granted, he could have just thrown his rapier or silver net down, or let Lucy and George handle it from the ground, but where was the fun in that? 

With a sigh, Lucy turned to head up the stairs. “George is right,” she told him as she left. “Your poor soulmate…” 

That evening, in the comfort of his favorite armchair in the library, Lockwood pondered what Lucy and George had said. Was he really putting some poor person’s life at stake when he took risks in the field? It seemed unfair of the universe to link the lives of two strangers, especially when at least one of them was an agent. 

Sometimes Lockwood wondered if his parents had been soulmates. Maybe if they hadn’t been, one of them might have survived. Nothing about this soulmate business seemed good or right or fair. What was the point of entwining souls like this, only causing misery and strife? In old stories, the term soulmate was something beautiful, souls that were meant to exist together, souls that were meant to love each other. Now they were a worry at the back of your mind, a fear that kept children up at night. Love was never part of the equation. 

It was a fear that kept him at night too, sometimes. Not for himself, but for Lucy and George. What if their soulmates were agents as well, or relicmen or nightwatch, doomed to the same dangers that came with their professions? Would either of them simply die one night without a word? It was too painful a thought to linger on too long, so Lockwood let himself live in a world without soulmates, where a person’s death was their own and no one else’s.

In the end, however, he would be forced to understand that this was not the truth of the world. 

-

Lockwood had been shot. 

Of all the ways he’d imagined his own death, Lockwood had never actually thought a gun would be part of the equation. Ghosts had no need for firearms and relicmen preferred weaponry that could double as tools of the trade. Even in the moments he’d considered the Golden Blade might be his end, Lockwood had assumed it would be with that stupid gilded rapier of his during some heroic duel to the death. 

The fall was more in line with how he’d imagined it would all end. The crash landing in the bowels of the catacombs was a nice touch, very on brand. But this did not kill him, so Lockwood trudged forward, following the screams of his friends. His bullet wound screamed in agony, but he wouldn’t let himself succumb to that until he knew Lucy and George were okay. 

His timing was impeccable. Lockwood took a leaf from Lucy’s book and chucked his rapier at Bickerstaff’s spirit, giving the others time to conceal his source again. They were both whole, both up and moving and alive. The moment the danger had passed, Lockwood fell to his knees. He could go now. He could rest. 

But when he said something to this effect, propped up between his friends, Lucy made a distressed noise and held him closer, supporting his abdomen with her hand. It was warm through the thin, bloody fabric of his shirt. 

“We won’t let that happen, will we George?” Lucy asked. Lockwood could barely grasp her words, as distracting as it was to have her hand on his stomach. 

“Never,” George said, and the intensity in his voice startled Lockwood. It had been a long time since anyone had cared if he lived or died, and now he had two of them. 

Unfortunately for them, Lockwood could feel himself fading. He’d never come this close to death, despite his best efforts, but he knew it was fast approaching. He hoped George and Lucy would be okay when he was gone; at least they had each other. 

Suddenly, the left side of Lockwood’s body went cold, and distantly he realized Lucy had pulled away. He looked over, vision blurring, and saw she’d slumped to her hands and knees, body trembling. 

“Luce?” He whispered. She didn’t respond. 

“Lucy?” George spoke more loudly, more urgently. “Luce, what’s wrong?” 

“I…” Lucy’s face had drained of color and her elbows buckled, sending her face-forward into the stone floor. “I think I’m dying.” 

“What? Were you ghost touched?” George surged forward, jostling Lockwood in a way that made his bullet wound blaze in agony. He and Lucy groaned out in unison and for a moment Lockwood’s vision went white. He slumped against George, unable to hold himself upright anymore. 

“Oh, shit,” George whispered. “Where’s Kipps. Kipps?!”

Suddenly Lockwood found himself lying on the dusty stone floor of the catacombs. George scrambled off, shouting for Kipps, shouting something about the keys to a pair of handcuffs, and Lockwood turned his head to get a better look at Lucy. 

Her eyes met his, distant and unfocused. Her breathing was labored, chest rising and falling in a painful staccato. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Lockwood understood. 

“What’s wrong with her?” He heard Kipps ask. “Ghost touch?” 

“No,” George replied. “Worse. They’re soulmates.” 

“Shit.” 

Shit was right. All this time, Lockwood’s soulmate had been some poor, faceless sod somewhere in the world, collateral damage in Lockwood’s personal quest to join his family sooner rather than later. But now it was Lucy, and he realized that every stupid, reckless thing he’d ever done had put her in the line of fire. It was inexcusable. It was monstrous. 

Tears welled in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he croaked out. “Luce, I’m so sorry.” 

Someone was lifting him into their arms—Kipps, he thought distantly, since he could see George pulling Lucy to her feet—but Lockwood didn’t care. They could throw his body in the Thames for all he cared. He just needed Lucy to be okay. 

“We’re not tossing you in the Thames, Tony,” Kipps said, and Lockwood realized he’d spoken aloud. “That would only kill Lucy faster.” 

Kipps had a good point. Lockwood supposed a broken clock was still right twice a day. 

“You’re awfully rude for someone who needs my help,” Kipps said lightly. Lockwood couldn’t tell where they were going, but it felt like up. Surely he wasn’t already dead. Heaven didn’t exist and if it did, he certainly wouldn’t be let in. 

“Shut up,” George said and Lockwood realized he must have said that aloud as well. “No one’s dying tonight.” 

“Except Joplin,” Lucy wheezed. 

“Ah, well, yes,” George agreed. “Except Joplin.” 

Lockwood laughed as his vision went dark. 

-

The trip out of the catacombs and to the hospital was a blur. DEPRAC had arrived quickly and taken care of Winkman and his men. Lockwood knew he and Lucy and Ned had all been loaded into ambulances, though there wasn’t much anyone could do for Lucy in her state. George and Kipps were waylaid by Barnes, but George threw such a fit that he was allowed to ride in the ambulance as well. The pain and fear in his face chilled Lockwood to the bone, so he closed his eyes and let the darkness overtake him again. 

When he next came to, Lockwood was in a small room divided by a curtain. Someone was in the other bed, but he couldn’t see them, could only hear the beep of their heart-rate monitor. It beeped in tandem with Lockwood’s, slow and steady. 

Before long, nurses came in and took his vitals. They gave him water when he asked and explained that he was a very lucky boy, that he’d flatlined during surgery and had to be resuscitated. Fear and guilt pooled in his gut, and Lockwood tried to ask after Lucy, but it came out a jumbled croak of words. 

“Your friend should be back soon,” one of the nurses told him. “The one with glasses. He’s been by your side all day.” 

George was here. George would know where Lucy was—how Lucy was—and would be able to tell him everything he needed to know without sugarcoating it. Lockwood thanked the nurses and they left again, promising to bring him some juice. 

They were right; George arrived not long after, sipping on a Styrofoam cup of tea. He looked haggard and half-dead himself, eyes bloodshot and clothes still covered in blood and gravedirt. He gave Lockwood a small smile when their eyes met, then immediately scowled. 

“I can’t believe you got shot,” George said in lieu of a greeting. “Of all the stupid, reckless things you do on a daily basis, I never expected you to get shot.” He took his seat next to Lockwood’s bed, setting his tea aside. 

“I promise I wasn’t trying to get shot,” Lockwood said. Speaking was getting easier, but his chest still burned something fierce where the bullet had entered. “Lucy, is she-?”

George’s expression darkened. “You know you died on the operating table, right?” 

Lockwood’s heart skipped a beat. He had died. He had died, for a minute. That meant his soulmate-

Ignoring the pain in his chest and the tug of his IV, Lockwood shot up into a sitting position. He gripped his sheets, ready to throw them aside. “Is she- did she- she can’t have-” Everything went numb and cold. Panic fizzled through his veins. Lucy couldn’t be…

“I’ve never watched anyone die before,” George said quietly, looking down at his knees. “She was just…gone.”

The room spun. Lockwood struggled to breath. His hands shook. Lucy had…she had…

“They resuscitated her,” George said quickly, sensing Lockwood’s panic. “She’s alive, Lockwood. They resuscitated her and you and everyone is alive.”

Lockwood fell back against his pillow. The relief was overwhelming. 

“She’s alive,” a voice said from the other side of the curtain. “And can hear everything you’re saying.” 

George grinned and stood, moving quickly to pull back the curtain to reveal Lucy in the other bed. She was still sickly pale and hooked up to as many wires and machines as Lockwood was, but she was here and awake and alive. Lockwood let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. 

“Luce,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

Lucy smirked. “Yes, Lockwood, I’m sure you were just begging to be shot.” Her tone was joking, but they’d been in a situation a little too similar to that not long ago at Combe Carey. “You couldn’t have known.” 

He couldn’t have, it was true, and he certainly hadn’t begged the Golden Blade to kill him, but there had been so many times before then where he’d put Lucy’s life in jeopardy. He should have cared more before when his soulmate was just a shadow of an idea, but the selfish part of him knew it only mattered now because it was Lucy. 

“Killing you is unforgivable,” he said softly. “You should be angry with me.” 

“Oh, trust me, I’m fuming,” Lucy said. “As soon as we’re out of here, we will be having words. But not because you nearly killed me, Lockwood. Because you nearly killed you—again.” 

George moved his chair to sit between their beds, smiling softly. “We’ll be getting a lot more jobs after this,” he said, taking off his glasses. He rubbed the lenses with the hem of his shirt, but it was so dirty it just made a bigger mess. “Better jobs. More dangerous, high-profile jobs. We’ll need to discuss your habit of getting into near death situations.” 

“Never again,” Lockwood said sincerely, struggling to push himself into a seated position. “I won’t endanger Lucy like that again. Not now that I know.” 

Lucy sighed and gave him a sad smile. “I wish you’d take your own life more seriously.” 

“You know what?” George said. “I’ll take it. I don’t care why he keeps himself alive, just that he does.” 

He laughed and so did Lockwood, but Lucy stayed silent, shaking her head. He knew she was mad at him, but Lockwood found her anger and her concern wonderful. It was a warmth he hadn’t known in years, one that sank into his bones and made his heart feel light. If staying alive meant Lucy was alive, that was enough to keep himself safe. 

But if staying alive meant Lucy was happy, then he supposed that was more than enough to truly live. 

#lockwood and co angst week #lockwood & co. #anna writes things #ok to rb

[chrisbitchtree]

The One with the 700 Thread Count Egyptian Cotton Ghost

Harringrove Harvest Day 3

Prompt - San Diego Skatepark at Midnight

2.3k - G

***

Steve hadn’t even wanted to go to San Diego. It’s not that he has any opposition to the place itself. In fact, he’s always wanted to see the west coast. It was spending unnecessary time with his dad that was bringing him down every time he thought about the trip in the weeks leading up to it.

But his dad had built it up to be some big boys’ trip, a real father and son bonding experience, where they’d do all sorts of fun stuff together, when he wasn’t showing Steve around his company’s San Diego office, with the intention of giving him a position there, so Steve actually started to get excited about it. But so far, his dad’s spent almost every waking moment in meetings, and Steve’s been left to wander around the city on his own once he’s released for the day.

He’s been in the city for a few days now, and his father is starting to ask what Steve thinks about making the move, but he’s still not sure. San Diego is gorgeous, full of fun and life, but Hawkins is home. He doesn’t know if there’s enough of a draw to pull him away from everything he’s ever known.

Steve’s twenty-one now, so his father had also promised to take him out tonight for some Halloween fun, but he’s ended up in yet another business dinner that Steve wasn’t invited to, not that he was hurt by that, so Steve’s tasked with trying to find a good time on his own.

Out from under his father’s judgemental eye, Steve decides to wear a costume, but he doesn’t have much time or supplies to work with, so he makes do with cutting some eyeholes in the white Egyptian cotton sheet that minutes ago was tucked neatly under the goose feather duvet. His dad can deal with the damages charge from the hotel. It’s the least he can do. He throws it over his head, takes a quick glance at his reflection in the mirror, and satisfied with how he looks, he grabs his wallet and room key and heads out, after scribbling a brief note to his father.

It's still early, so he decides to take a walk around the neighbourhood surrounding the hotel. The past two days, he’s gone right, towards the beach, so tonight, he turns left, away from the water. It’s a pretty commercial area, so he doesn’t see too many trick-or-treaters, but he does spot a few small witches and vampires walking amongst the older crowd making its way to the bar.

About six blocks away from the hotel, Steve spots a skatepark in the distance. He’s always thought that skateboarding seemed cool, but it was never something he’s gotten into. Nevertheless, he’s enjoyed watching people of all ages skate around San Diego.

The first thing Steve notices as he gets closer is a fellow ghost that somehow, despite the hinderance of their long sheet, is flying gracefully over the various ramps, and he finds he can’t take his eyes off them, whoever they are. After a couple minutes of watching the skater, seemingly unnoticed, they turn towards Steve and stumble, but they quickly recover, and Steve watches in awe as they do trick after trick.

***

Billy’s about to dip down into a half pipe when he gets the feeling that he’s being watched. A mainstay at the skatepark, and one of the best skaters there, if he says so himself, Billy’s no stranger to being watched, but this feels different. This feels like someone’s staring. Like they’re seeing right into his soul. It’s a little unsettling if he’s being honest. He scans the crowd around him as he skates, and he stumbles for a minute as his eyes land on another ghost.

They’re tall, at least as tall as Billy, if not taller, and there are pale legs and dorky boat shoes sticking out from underneath their sheet. They continue to track Billy, even after he recovers, their head, and consequently the whole sheet, moving back and forth as Billy skates around.

They’re still there as the crowd begins to thin, heading to bars and house parties all over the neighbourhood. Billy will be headed in the same direction soon. As the areas most in demand weed dealer, he’s gotta make the rounds, so he can make his best clients happy, but first he needs to talk to his fellow ghost and see what their deal is.

***

The other ghost is skating over to Steve. He knows he should have walked away before everyone else cleared out, but he couldn’t stop watching the skater’s graceful movements, and now they’re approaching Steve, probably to tell him off for staring. It seems to be a guy under there, if the bulk of their shoulders under the sheet and their hairy legs mean anything.

“Like what you see, Casper?” he asks, his tone mocking, but light.

Steve’s at a loss for words. He doesn’t know why, but he somehow knows that whoever’s under that sheet is beautiful, and it’s making his head spin. “Yeah,” Steve replies after a moment of silence, finally finding his voice. “You’re amazing out there. What do you think about teaching me a few things?”

“Wish I could, but I’ve got big, important plans,” the other ghost replies.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Steve says, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. “It’s Halloween. Everyone but me has plans. I’m here with my dad. From Indiana. But even he ditched me…” Steve hates when he does this, this stupid rambling thing, when he’s nervous.

“How about you meet me back here at 11, and I’ll show you a few moves. Sound good?” He reaches his hand out from under the sheet, and Steve shakes it, nodding eagerly.

“I’ll be here!”

“See ya then, Casper,” the other ghost calls, as he skates away.

***

Billy works the parties as fast as he can, eager to get back to Casper, but it’s not as quick as he’d like, given that his buyers are a bunch of fucking potheads who’re chatty as fuck and moving at what seems like half speed. His sales are also through the roof tonight, which would usually be great, but it also means that he doesn’t bring enough weed with him, and twice he has to go back to his apartment to get enough to meet demand.

By the time he’s done, it’s almost midnight, and he’s worried that Casper will be gone by the time he gets back to the skatepark. Sure, he’d feel bad if he told anyone to meet him, then didn’t show, but it’s more than that with this guy. Billy feels some kind of connection that he can’t explain, one that goes beyond their use of bedsheets as Halloween costumes.

He hops on his board so he can get there quicker, and as he approaches, the park looks empty, and his stomach drops. He’s about to turn around and go home when he spots him, white sheet flapping in the moonlight, down at the bottom of the bowl, and a whole hoard of butterflies awakens in his stomach.

***

Steve’s about to leave and go back to the motel, feeling dejected, and a little stupid for getting so excited about a guy who’s face he’s never even seen, when he spots the other ghost approaching on his board, his sheet flapping behind him in the breeze. He moves to one side, so that the other man can skate down and join him, as graceful as ever as he comes to a stop right beside Steve.

“Hey Casper, sorry I’m late. I had some business to attend to. Was worried you’d already gone home. Glad you didn’t,” he says, a little softer, almost shyly.

Steve smiles, even though the other ghost can’t see him. “Me too.”

“So,” you ready to learn, the other man asks, pushing his board over to Steve. “Hop on.”

Steve does just that, moving slowly and carefully across the bottom of the bowl. When he starts to wobble, the other man grabs his hand, guiding him as he skates. Steve feels a jolt of electricity where their hands meet, and it runs all the way up his arm.

They make conversation as they move around, talking about what brought Steve here, and what the other man, whose name turns out to be Billy, does for a living. They discuss everything from friends to hobbies to favourite foods and colours, eventually abandoning the skateboard to just lay down on the ground, side by side, sheets still covering them.

Steve’s looking up at the stars as they talk, so he doesn’t notice when Billy touches his arm, playing with Steve’s arm hair, his hand eventually coming to rest on top of Steve’s. He leaves it there, and Steve feels the warmth of him, and a pleasant tingling sensation runs through him. He still hasn’t seen what Billy even looks like and he’s already dreading the end of this perfect night.

***

When Casper, whose name turns out to be Steve, tells Billy that he has to make a choice between moving back to Indiana or staying in San Diego, Billy wants to plead with him to stay, plead with him to give them a chance to actually get to know each other, but he’s worried that it’ll come off as desperate. Why should he really care if Steve stays. They only met six hours ago. But despite that, he fights the urge to tell Steve not to go.

“Can I see you?” he asks, chuckling at how weird that sounds.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Steve laughs, teasing.

They sit up, and at the same moment, they pull the sheets off themselves, taking a moment to soak each other in.

Quite frankly, Billy is speechless. Steve’s absolutely gorgeous, prettier than Billy could have ever imagined he would be, all sweeping brown hair, big brown eyes, and pale, mole dotted skin. “Holy shit, Steve,” Billy manages to choke out, almost in a daze.

“What?” Steve asks. “Is there something on my face?” He starts swiping at his own face, and it’s adorable, and Billy thinks for about the fifth time tonight that he’s falling for Steve. Falling fast.

“No,” Billy replies, smiling. “It’s just, has anyone ever told you you’re the most beautiful man on earth?”

***

Steve can’t help blushing at Billy’s words. Has he ever looked in a mirror before? He’s stunning, with his head of blonde curls, eyes as blue as the ocean, and a whole constellation of freckles on his cheeks. Not to mention his muscled, golden arms. He looks strong enough to pick Steve up and carry him. Or do a whole number of things with Steve’s body that just the thought of has Steve blushing even harder.

“There’s no way I could be the most beautiful man on earth if you exist,” Steve mumbles, ducking his head.

“Tie for first?” Billy replies, throwing his head back and cackling.

“Sure,” Steve nods, grinning. “Still can’t believe you were hidden under there. I’m a lucky guy.” He takes Billy’s hand in his own, intertwining their fingers.

“Can I kiss you?” Billy asks suddenly, like he’s trying to spit the words out as fast as possible.

“Please,” Steve gets out before Billy’s lips are pressed against his own.

They make out for what seems like hours, and Steve realizes quickly how much he loves the feel of Billy’s strong arms wrapped around him, his stubble scraping Steve’s face as they kiss. He was definitely missing out only being with girls before.

***

At some point, they come up for air, and just lay there on their sides, taking each other in. At some point they decide to go for a walk to get slushies, back under the cover of their sheets, their entwined hands swinging between them. Steve points out the apartment building where he’ll be living if he chooses to stay here, and Billy’s pleased to see it’s only about a 10-minute walk from the small house he shares with his stepmother and sister.

“We’d practically be neighbours, you know,” Billy points out, nudging Steve’s shoulder with his own. “In case a fancy, important businessman like yourself might have time to hang out with a humble drug lord such as myself?”

Steve snorts next to him. “I think I’ll be able to find time in my schedule, but if tonight is any indicator, it’s you that’ll be having a hard time finding time for me.”

Billy squeezes his hand. “For you, princess, I’ll always have time.”

Slushies in hand, they walk back to the skatepark. Billy could bring Steve anyway, to sit on the beach, or the pier, or even on the rickety lawn furniture in his backyard, but something just feels right about going back there. For better or for worse, that’s their spot now.

***

Eventually, the sun starts to rise, and Steve thinks he’d do anything to shove it back down, so this night can go on forever. He knows it needs to end though. His dad may not be gunning for father of the year, but he will start to worry eventually.

Reluctantly, they part ways, but not without another kiss and a hug. Before he turns to leave, Billy fishes a Sharpie and a piece of paper out of his backpack and wrote something on it before passing it to Steve. “My number. I’m not letting you get away that easy. Call me the second you decide whether you’re going to move here.”

It’s almost on the tip of Steve’s tongue to tell Billy that he’s already made up his mind, but it’s more fun to keep him in suspense for a while. Instead, he nods. “I promise I will.”

With that, Billy hops on his board and skates away, shouting “See you soon, Casper!” as he rolls off into the rising sun. He sounds sure of it, like he knows Steve will be back. Sure that this is the start of something beautiful.

#harringroveweek #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #harringrove harvest #harringrove fic #chrisbitchtree writes

[titanicfreija]

Progress

"Reya. T'ree," Yol said, standing to look for them. Ken leapt to his feet, scanning the courtyard. Freija slowly emerged with her hands up. Ken lunged at her with a war cry.

Yol tried to grab his arms, momentarily getting hold before her grip failed. That moment of slow-down gave Freija what she needed to catch his head and force it down and backward, flipping him to his back where he landed with a heavy whumph! The Titan put her boot on his chest, but didn't lift any weapons, instead leaving her hands out where he could see them.

He stared blankly and didn't move.

<"See? Not killing each other.">

"Am I gonna have to fight him for real?" Freija asked.

"Give him a second," Fynch pleaded.

Freija lifted her boot slowly and stepped back. The Knight rolled to his feet and got into stance. Yol stepped firmly between them. <"Not killing each other.">

The Knight glared at Yol, and his Light rolled and rippled as he considered his next move.

Freija called hers in and sent a flare to compete with Ken's pressing energy. She overdid it, and the burst of flame startled him. He visibly fought the urge to fight and failed, lunging at her with a cry.

"Oh, for--" Freija groaned, pulling a hammer and smashing his head with a single blow, dropping him. The fires disintegrated half of his body before they petered out, and Freija looked to Fynch with her lips pulled. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Fynch didn't even bother looking at her while he rebuilt and revived his Guardian.

"You didn't have to threaten the poor guy," teased Three as she appeared next to the Titan. "You scared him." Ken hardly looked up at her, instead kneeling and putting his head forth.

"I'm not gonna kill you," Three promised him for her Ghost to translate. He grunted and Fynch chittered while Freija eased her way around to Ken's side.

He didn't move, even as she got closer. Fynch stopped talking when she moved a step away, and he watched the Titan nervously as she stood next to the kneeling Knight. Even crouched, his shoulder stood almost as high as hers.

"I had to give Yol a hand up before she trusted me," Freija explained. "What can I do to help?"

"Uh... Well, you're scaring him but it's wearing off," Fynch explained. "He thinks there's a bigger trick going on."

Freija grinned and laughed, startling the Hive. "I would, too. Let me get surrounded by Lucent Hive and one Guardian, and let Sunny tell me they're not gonna hurt me. I wouldn't believe it, either."

She touched a glove to the Knight's bony pauldron and lumbered to a perch she liked. "Okay, well, answer to that one is to leave him alone and let him figure it out. Let us know if he wants to get violent," she told Fynch. "Might can play Deathmatch if we can protect the player Ghost, will need to keep up if he's just gonna fight. Actually, Deathmatch would probably be good for him period, get him used to the idea of sport. Yol thought it was neat."

Three stared at the Titan blankly, and Freija shrugged. "Look, if I was in his shoes, I'd hold off violence until I felt threatened, and as soon as I felt a threat, I'd kill everyone and run. If we do this right, he'll figure out we mean no harm. If we don't, he'll fight. If he decides to fight for the sake of it, we can take him down."

Fynch drifted closer to Ken, finally hovering over his shoulder and spinning idly. Three perched on top of a statue, turning a shoulder but not a blind eye.

Yol, after nearly two full minutes of waiting to see what he was going to do, sat in front of Ken with her legs folded, and she shaped a knife to twirl in her fingers. Eventually, he lifted his head to watch, and he muttered at her. She answered briefly. He said something else. She answered less briefly, ending the line with a sense of finality. Ken sat on his butt and lifted his head again to look at the Guardians. They didn't pay him any mind, and the Knight slowly sat back to talk to his broodmate.

#destiny 2 #d2 #ocs #writing #freija #scribble #prose #fynch #yol #ken

[psychopersonified]

Paul du Lac. A speculation about his mental illness.

We know that the Pointe du Lac’s are practically neighbours with the Mayfairs. There was even a small interaction written into the pilot (deleted scenes where Louis greets them as they pass the Mayfair house on their walk to St Mary’s.

We’re not told explicitly, but suppose Paul had the gift of “sight 👁️”? If he can see spirits, ghosts, etc. what would he have seen at the Mayfairs? We see Lasher able to shapeshift (or trick the mind to seeing what physical form he wants you to see) in one of the AMC trailers. Suppose Paul has seen some of this? Would this gift have driven him crazy. Maybe he was already schizophrenic, or maybe “the birds” were something more supernatural 👻…? I wonder too if Amel’s residual aura can be seen in all vampires by those with sensitive sight.

If we believe Paul has the ‘gift’, then it’s easy to step into his shoes. He’s practically surrounded, maybe even plagued by terrifying things he cannot make sense of. And with the appearance of Lestat, it would even seem to Paul that they were closing in. His religion makes only one provision, one explanation - demons. Demons clawing at the edges of his reality. Where they were once just spirits, they are now corporeal (Lestat). He alone is aware, he is his family’s only hope for salvation. He tries to warn them but they ignore him at every turn. What burden that must be (I think I’m paraphrasing someone 😉).

Would he long for death as Lestat said? Yes I think so, though more in the way he hoped God would take him, ease his burden. Whether he planned it, or whether gripped by a sudden hopeless morbid desperation - we have to admit he was in a fragile state and logic/rational thought can’t be factored into his decision to walk off the roof.

Heck for all we know, Paul might have been HAPPY - in his mind, his work was done; Grace was taken care of, Louis was no longer under the spell of the demon. He could now “ascend”, god called to him.

Maybe Paul’s the crossover character that the show runners teased is going to appear in Mayfair witches!

——-

Note: Yes I know Paul is devout Catholic and suicide is a mortal sin - some reason people feel this has any bearing in his decision. A thought to chew on - a plea of insanity argues “that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act.” They cannot stand trial. Devout Catholic or not, Paul is not sane. We cannot view or judge his actions/decisions through a rational lens.

#amc vampire chronicles #amc iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire #iwtv 2022 #iwtv #iwtv amc #paul du pointe du lac #iwtv series

[rocksandrobots]

Phantoms of the Past Chapter 30 - The Halloween Hunt - Part 5

Rage burned within Rapunzel like a fire within a hearth. Her hair whipped around her like the glowing flame of a candle and her eyes shone as brightly as lamps. She could barely focus as her anger and magic nearly blinded her, then she spotted the familiar silhouette of the teenage alchemist and it gave her clarity and purpose.

"Varian." She hissed, as her hair fell back down and the light receded from her eyes. Her rage cooled to a smoldering ember but it still burned within her as she marched forward.

She was vaguely aware of the texture of the payment and green grass under her feet and she instinctively knew that she had somehow manifested herself into this world completely by using her magic.

Varian stood there, frowning at her, as he waited for her to come near. He seemed almost annoyed by her continued presence.

His arrogance only fed into her anger.

"You can't do this." She ordered as her green eyes glinted with the power of the sundrop.

Varian's own eyes defiantly reflected that glow right back as he sneered at her. "And what do you plan to do about it, princess?"

                                                 ---------------------

Hiro could no longer stay hidden. He stumbled out of the classroom and into the hallway as he frantically slipped on his tennis shoes.

"What the- Where did you come from?" The man with goatee asked, startled.

"Out of my way!" he ordered and ran ahead.

"Hey aren't you one of Aunt Cass's kids?" the taller man called after him.

Hiro ignored this question. He didn't want to know how these people knew his aunt, and he desperately prayed that she hadn't been caught up in this magical mess.

He ran outside, with the two men hot on his tail, but stopped when he spied the princess and Varian. Something was off...

No else seemed to notice the two of them, just standing there next to the stage.  But Hiro could see both their hair and eyes dimly glimmer as if lit by an inner glow. To someone not paying attention, it may have simply been a trick of the light, but after what Hiro had witnessed in the hallway, he wasn't so sure.

The two men caught up with him as Hiro stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Boy you're fast, for a little guy." Eugene panted.

Hiro didn't acknowledge him.

"Hey, you're Varian's step brother right? Maybe you can help us?" Lance added.

Hiro turned to look at the men with indignation, but his disgust quickly turned to fear at the sight of them. They were completely transparent now, like ghosts.

They, however, seemed unaware of their appearance as the tall man with the earring continued on. "We need his help translating this scroll, see, but he doesn't want to listen to us. Perhaps you can-"

"Keep away from me." Hiro snapped as he quickly backpedaled away.

He needed to find help. He needed to find Tadashi.

He turned and ran back to the building's entrance, where he knew at least someone would be waiting.

                                                ---------------------

Eugene and Lance watched as the short teenager ran away.

"Well how do you like that?" Eugene huffed. "We ask politely for help and he just takes off running. You'd think Aunt Cass would have taught him better."

"Maybe we spooked him?" Lance suggested. "Uhh... especially considering that we're see-through right now."

He held up his own hand to look right through it.

Eugene blinked in surprise. "Oh no, this is bad. The spell is ending."

"Then how come Rapunzel isn't affected?" Lance asked as he pointed towards the princess and Varian as they held what looked like a staring contest to him.

"Oh who knows?" Eugene sighed. "The sundrop plays by its own rules, it seems like."

                                                ---------------------

Honey Lemon spotted the two Coronians as she turned the corner from the back of the stage.

"Tadashi look! It's them!"

Her friend was by her side in an instant.

His eyes flashed with recognition when he saw who she was pointing to.

"I knew those guys were trouble." He motioned for Honey Lemon to follow him. "Come on, let's see what they did to Varian."

                                                ---------------------

"Hey! You two!"

Eugene turned his head to see the young man called Tadashi running towards him, followed by the tall, red haired girl that Varian had been dancing with earlier. They looked upset.

"Whatta we do?" Lance asked.

Eugene thought quickly, "They haven't seen Rapunzel yet. Follow me."

Then he started to run  towards  the people chasing them, with Lance not far behind.                                          

                                                ---------------------

Tadashi paused, surprised by this development. It looked like the two men would crash into them.

He planted his feet, covering Honey Lemon protectively, and threw up his fists.

He fully expected a fight, only the two men kept on running.

In fact they ran right  through  the two college kids as if they had been ghosts.

Honey Lemon shrieked and Tadashi's eyes went wide.

"Ha! Ha!" The one with a goatee laughed as he called back to them. "Can't catch us!"

Honey Lemon's fear quickly turned to anger.

"What did you do to Varian!" She shouted and ran after them.

Tadashi joined her in the chase.

Ironically they both failed to notice Varian and Rapunzel standing just a ways away, next to the stage.

                                                ---------------------

"Hey, are you coming on stage? Break is almost over." Carol peered down at Varian and the girl he was talking to from upon the stage.

"Be right there." He said, his eyes never leaving the girls'. "Go ahead and do a warm up. I'll join ya in a minute."

Carol gave the two of them a skeptical look before rolling her eyes and standing back up.  "Put on another song Mole." She shouted back to the thirteen year old DJ. "Varian's too busy flirting to join us."

Varian ignored his friend's sarcasm. He was too busy staring down the impudent princess before him.

"Well, go on." He challenged. "You've just been standing there for a full minute. If you wanna fight then let's get it over with so I can get back to my life."

Rapunzel pouted up at him. "I don't want to fight you, Varian."

"Naturally." He slyly smiled.

"I want you to help us."

"And I told you. If you want my help then you gotta force me to do it, because I don't care."

"How can you not care about people?" her voice shook and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Instead of pity however, Varain only felt righteous vindication. "I don't care about  you  , Princess. I don't care about your problems, I don't care about your friends, I don't care about Corona, and  you don't count as people."

He saw her nearly choke on these words, her mouth gaping open like a fish that had been thrown out of the water. It took every ounce of control Varian had not to laugh in her ridiculous face.

"You're so naive." He taunted. "How is it, that after being out of the tower for three whole years you're still so ignorant?"

She pouted again, and her eyes glittered with the sundrop's power, but Varian didn't heed its warning glare. Rapunzel, for all her faults, was not violent like her father, Frederic. She would stand there and take every insult so long as Varuian didn't physically threaten her.

"I had to grow up fast, thanks to you. So allow me to return the favor and teach you the same lesson." He leered over her. Looking down at her was one of the most satisfying things. He was no longer the little kid that she and the rest of the kingdom used to bully. "There's no such thing as a 'noble' cause. Everyone is out for themselves, including you. You talk a 'big talk' about saving people, but we both know that you would drop all of them in a heartbeat the moment it inconvenienced you."

Rapunzel's face crinkled up in confusion. She didn't know how to respond to such an accusation. Varian wouldn't let her.

"Well guess what, Rapunzel? It's my turn to be selfish. No more getting stepped on, no more harassment, no more being ignored... So go ahead, cry, beg, threaten all you want to, but I'm looking out for me this time."

"I don't believe you."

Varian's smug expression faded away as those self assured words broke through his posturing. He gave her an incredulous look.

"I don't believe any of that." She pressed. "And I don't think you believe it either."

Varian frowned. "I can't help it if you won't accept reality, Princess."

Rpunzel lifted her chin up higher. "You claim that you don't care, that you're only looking out for number one, but I know you. You'll always be that little boy from Old Corona who wanted nothing more to help his village... to save his father. You care. You care a lot, and you're going to help because it the right thing to do."

For one, horrifying moment, Varian wanted nothing more than to strangle those words out of her, and wipe her that smug self righteous expression off her face. He gained control over himself at the last minute, and pointed his finger in her face instead of grabbing her throat.

"You, don't, get, to tell me, what I'm going going to do, or not do." He inched closer to her with each word and Rapunzel stumbled back from the onslaught.

                                                ---------------------

"Baymax!" Hiro cried out with relief when he saw his faithful companion. His was the first friendly face Hiro had found since running away from the Coronians.

"Baymax! Come quick! Varian's in trouble. Th-there's this princess, with glowing hair, an-and these two guys who are see through, and-"

"You are experiencing high levels of stress. I recommend taking deep breaths."

Hiro did inhale deeply, but then shouted out "There's no time for that!" on his exhale. "They're threatening to take Varian away!"

"Who is?"

"Ugh! The Coronians! Quick, use your bio scanner's, find Varian. He was near the stage, last I saw him."

Baymax did as he was told, but after a moment he said, "I can not find Varian. There's too much interference."

"Interference?"

"Large amounts of radiation are obscuring my sensors."

Hiro quickly pulled up a read-out on Baymax's chest. There was indeed a lot of non-ionized radiation. The same cosmic radiation that was to be found in the portals, and in Varian's normal bio-readings. Only rather than the low level GCR that the alchemist normally radiated, this was off the charts and fluctuating.

"Is that… is that why her hair glows?" He asked himself.

                                                ---------------------

Cassandra was oblivious to the world around her. She couldn't see the sunshine sparkling on the river nearby. She couldn't hear the birds chirping in the trees off in the distance. She couldn't feel the wind as it blew through the gently swaying grass in the meadow that she currently sat.

The only thing Cassandra was aware of was the power coursing through her body.  

It was an exhilarating high. The moonstone fueled her and rejuvenated her better than food or water could have. It both burned and cooled her, numbing the pain in her hand. She could swear that she floated above the world and its petty problems. She was free.

She was barely cognizant of the rocks themselves as they hurried along their path. Her feud with Rapunzel was practically lost in the swirling energy that surrounded her. Nothing mattered but the cosmic transcendence she was on.

She also had forgotten the demon that constantly watched her.

The ghostly girl smiled with satisfaction as Cassandra remained frozen in place, eyes glowing bright blue, as the rocks continued to form around her. Her puppet was doing well, she thought.

                                                ---------------------

Honey Lemon and Tadashi were still trying to catch up to the two Coronians.

The quartet ran around to the back of the robotics' building, with Eugene and Lance running through obstacles like trees and parked cars, in an attempt to slow them down.

It didn't work.

"How does she run in those things!?" Eugene questioned out loud as the tall girl jumped over the hood of a horseless carriage like she was jumping over a hurdle.

Her platformed, wedge sneakers looked utterly ridiculous to the former thief, but she was clearly comfortable with the seemingly impractical shoes.

"Where's Varian!?" She called after them again, without missing a beat.

"Not with us, clearly!" Lance called back over his shoulder.

"No, but you obviously know where he is!" The young man called Tadashi shouted as he got the jump on them from above. He had gone wide and crawled up to the top of a tree  and then jumped down in front of them.

Lance and Eugene skidded to a stop.

They were cornered.

"Boy, you guys are really overprotective of Varian." Eugene nervously laughed. "We haven't done anything to the little guy, we swear it."

"Then where is he?" Tadashi ordered.

"Back where you left him." Lance said. 'Near the st- oooff"

Eugene elbowed him to keep quiet.

"We know that your from Corona." The girl stated. "You're not dragging him back there."

Eugene rolled his eyes. "For the last time, we are not interested in taking Varian back with us. By all means, keep the terrifying rebel child. We just need his help to translate a scroll."

"What scroll?" Tadashi asked.

Eugene sighed as he gave what felt like the millionth explanation that day. "An ancient historical artifact that we inherited from our home kingdom of Umbra that supposedly holds the secret to stopping the black rocks plaguing our land."

"Black rocks?" Honey Lemon echoed in confusion.

Tadashi however only frowned. "How dangerous are these rocks?"

"Very dangerous." Lance warned. "They've destroyed whole towns, cities... even kingdoms."

Tadashi and Honey Lemon shared questioning looks with each other.

"If that's all you want... then why won't you tell us what you've done with him?" Tadashi pressed.

"We've not done anything to Varian." Eugene insisted.

"Then take us to him."

Eugene hesitated.

The two teens grew impatient as they closed in on them.

Tadashi tried to grab Eugene by the collar but of course his hands only snatched through thin air.

Eugene gave a wicked smile. "I think your friend Wasabi called it, 'holographics'."

Tadashi's scowl would've been enough to strike fear into any man, and Eugene was glad in that moment that he was intangible.

"Tadashi?" The tall woman timidly said. "I think.... we've been tricked."

Tadashi agreed with her.

"You led us away from the stage... why?"

"To buy time." Eugene honestly answered.

Tadashi was going to question the man further, but he and his friend suddenly disappeared.

"Wh-where did they go?" Honey Lemon fearfully asked.

Tadashi thought for a moment, trying to rationalize all the strangeness that they had just witnessed. "He.. he mentioned holograms. They must have ended the transmission."

He pulled out his cell phone while Honey Lemon nervously bit her fingernail.

"Hey, Gogo? Did you and Fred find anything?..... No? Okay, then meet us back at the stage."

He hung up and then they started to head back the way they had come.

                                                ---------------------

Eugene felt something wet and sticky inside his ear and jolted awake.

He looked over his shoulder to see Pascal whimpering, and that was when he noticed the fire.

His eyes went wide, and he jumped up out of the way as a green flame came near to his foot.

"Eugene!" a voice called down to him.

He looked up to see Catalina, Angry, and Edmund staring down at him from a hole in the roof.

"Hold on son." Edmund shouted. "Feldspar and Xavier went to get some rope."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do in the meantime?" Eugene shouted back. "Play hopscotch with fire!?"

"Uh, Eugene?" Another voice nervously said.

Eugene turned to his right to see Lance hanging from one of the black rocks. His shirt had been pierced at the collar and the man helpless dangled over the flames below.

"Lance! Don't worry. We'll get you down!"

"I'm not sure that I want 'down'." Lance muttered as he tried to kick and swing himself out of the way of the fire.

Eugene backed away towards the wall as the flames crept nearer.

"Wait.. where's Rapunzel?"

Pascal patted his cheek, and upon gaining his attention, pointed his tail at the fiery inferno in front of them.

There, past the flames, was Rapunzel. Her eyes still glowed white and her now free hair floated around her in a blinding glow. Her golden locks mirrored the fire between them and seemed to have a life of their own. But beyond her flowing strands, she sat perfectly motionless, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Rapunzel!" Eugene called out in fright.

He took a deep breath, and then dashed forward, dodging the flames as best as he could. He soon reached his beloved and tried to scoop her up into his arms to carry her away to safety. Only for his hands to slip right through her, as if she was made of air.

He looked in horror at his empty hands. "The spell's reversed itself."

As he realized the implications of this new development, a link of chain fell into his hands.

He looked up to see where it had come from and saw that Xavier and Feldspar had joined his family upon the roof.

"Grab hold. We'll pull you up." Xavier called down.

Eugene debated on what to do. He didn't want to leave Rapunzel's side, but what could he do to help if she was lost in another world?

The rocks made the decision for him, as another spike shot out of the ground between him and his girlfriend.

He clenched the chain tightly as Xavier, Feldspar, and his dad started to pull him up. Pascal clung to his shoulder, shivering in fright.

As the three men hauled him up, the flames grew higher and Lance struggled to keep from getting burnt.

Eugene swung over to him, grabbed him with one arm and helped to yank him off the spike. The back of his collar ripped, and Lance hugged Eugene tightly as the rest of the three men continued to pull them upwards.

They made it to the roof safely, and Edmund was waiting for them both with a big bone-crushing bear-hug.

"We're okay dad." Eugene grunted, before breaking away and keeling down to peer through the hole.

He looked on with dismay as Rapunzel still sat there, surrounded by flames and rocks. She couldn't be hurt by them so long as the spell remained intact, but that meant she was trapped in that other world with Varian.

The thought made Eugene's stomach drop.

                                                ---------------------

Rapunzel quickly righted herself and stared down the enraged alchemist even as he tried to intimidate her. Varian liked to lord over people in an effort to maintain control, but of the two of them he was the physically weaker one and they both knew it.

"I'm not telling you what to do. I am asking you to help us."

"Then why won't you take 'no' for an answer?"

Rapunzel searched his face looking for reason. "Be-because  the cost will be too great if you refuse.... You know what what will be lost if you don't do anything. Don't you? How many people will lose their homes, their livelihoods, even their loved ones before you're satisfied with hurting me?"

"I'm not the one who is controlling the rocks, Rapunzel! Why aren't you talking to Cassandra? She's the one with moonstone now. She's the one you said needed help."

"I.... I can't." She hung her head and refused to meet Varian's skeptical gaze.

"What do you mean you can't? You had no problem with traveling to entire other dimension just to try and strong arm me into complying with your stupid cursade, and we hate each other's guts. Why wouldn't talking to your best friend be easier?"

Rapunzel's lip quivered and tears started to spill from her eyes. "Cassandra... Cass doesn't want to talk to me anymore than you do. Alright? She's really angry at me right now, and I'm afraid that confronting her will only make matters worse. And unlike you, she could seriously harm a lot of people trying to fight me."

Varian raised an eyebrow at that. "Now, we both know that isn't true."

Rapunzel gulped at the vague threat. "You… you don't really want to hurt anyone here. Especially your friends." She reasoned. "Cassandra doesn't have anyone else to look out for "

Varian shrugged this explanation away. "So why did Cass take the moonstone to begin with?"

"I don't know... to help, maybe? Only she can't control it..."

Varian frowned. "For some reason I'm not buying that. Why is she angry with you?"

"Does it matter?" Rapunzel finally snapped.

Varian's smug smile returned and Rapunzel had a sinking feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

"Did she finally figure out what a fair-weathered friend you really are?"

"Stop it." She ordered.

"Oh she did...." Varian's grin grew wider ", and she couldn't trust you to actually do the right thing without mucking it up. Like always."

Rapunzel pouted, but she had no come back.

"Why don't you just admit it? This isn't about Corona or saving people. You just need me to clean up your mess."

"This is not my fault." She choked. "You heard Eugene. The rocks have existed longer than I have. I didn't bring them to Corona. I didn't destroy your village. I didn't make the snowstorm happen, and I'm not the one who got your father trapped in amber!"

Varian visibly flinched at that. He looked hurt, but for once Rapunzel was too angry to care.

"As for Cassandra, I told her not to butt in when I was using the decay incantation. I warned her not to take the moonstone. I had a plan, and had everyone just listened to me none of this would have happened!"

Varian gave her a cold hard glare as hot tears kept rolling down Rapunzel's cheeks.

"'Had just everyone listened to you.'" He coldly echoed. "Just like how listening to you, got me dragged out of the castle and thrown out into a deadly blizzard?"

"I-.. I didn't tell them to do tha-"

"But you didn't stop them either. Just like how following your request to keep the rocks secret led to me being made public enemy number one while you got to play little miss 'can-do-no-wrong'? Hey, what about the time you promised to help me steal the flower to save my dad, and you wanted me to just give up and turn myself in instead of going through with it? Had I listened to you then I'd probably be hanging right now from a noose!"

Rapunzel gasped. "I would neve-"

"Never let that happen? Just like you wouldn't let your dad's guards run me out of my home and hunt me down like a dog!? Just like you stopped him from leading a whole army agani-"

"You kidnapped my mom! You threatened her life! You're hardly blameless, you know. And even after all that, I begged my dad to grant you mercy."

" Mercy !?" He spat. "You call rotting away in a dungeon mercy? Do you have any idea what those jail cells are really like? Any idea at all? You spent your life trapped in a tower and yet somehow you can't comprehend how horrible it is to keep other people trapped in even worse conditions?"

"And what do you expect me to do? You know the law. Are we to just let criminals roam free after hurting people?"

"Says the woman who granted pardons to a bunch of murders and thieves just because they befriended her."

"That's different!"

"No it's not. You only care about people when it's convenient for you. You only 'believe in people' when you can get something out of it. Otherwise you're all for Frederic's totalitarian regime."

"Will you stop trying to frame my dad as some sort of dictator? He's only doing what he can to protect the kingdom."

Varian burst out into a cruel laugh. "Rapunzel, wake up! That's precisely what your dad is. Why do you think it was so easy to find allies when taking over the kingdom?"

"You mean the 'allies' that tried to oppress innocent people by sending them to slave away in the mines?" She pressed.

Varian straightened up and met her cold gaze. "How's that any different from Frederic sending poor people to slave away on his private prison island?"

"He doesn't just send random peo-"

"Oh please. All your dad has to do is decide he doesn't like someone and he can frame them for whatever he wants. And there's not many people Frederic likes. Certainly not poor people trying to survive, nor orphans who haven't any real future, let alone anybody who dares question his rule. And you're turning out to be just like him, your highness."

Rapunzel didn't know how to answer. She normally would have considered being compared to her dad a compliment; after all she wanted his approval more than anything and being a strong, but fair ruler, just like him, was all that her father wanted of her. Yet... what if he wasn't as fair nor as good a king as she had been led to believe?

There was certainly a kernel of truth in what Varian was saying. She couldn't fully deny his persecution, b-but that had been the exception surely. Her father had just been worried about her and so had made some bad choices. He even admitted as much to her and promised to help Varian instead of seeking the normal punishment for treason.

Yet Varian wasn't grateful at all for his more lenient sentence. He seemed even more righteously angry than he had been when on the run. Nor could she deny the other complaints she had heard about her father from other criminals, like Lady Caine. At first Rapunzel had brushed off Caine's vengeful monologue, but it sounded eerily similar to Varian's tirade now.

Nor could she deny the other hints... like how her friend Attila was almost shipped off to that prison island had she not stepped in. Or how the poor tailor, Helmut, had been thrown in a stockade for a day just for tearing one of her father's robes on accident. Then there were the unspoken things that no one in the castle wanted to admit... like how everyone was afraid to stand up to her dad... even her mom... even when it was important... like locking her in a tower again.....

"I'm.... I'm not like that." She whispered.

"Sure, you're not." Varian mocked. "Miss, 'You can carry out your 'banishment' here'. Tell me, is that what you told Cassie too, when she dared to disobey you?"

"That's... that's not what happened at all. You weren't there. You don't know."

"Then what did happen? Enlighten me. What's this 'decay incantation'?"

Rapunzel's eyes went wide and she looked utterly frozen in terror.

Varian tilted his head as he studied her reaction. He hadn't expected this turn of events and he was intrigued.

"What you hiding?" He started to circle her like a predator stalking its prey.

"Nothing." She dismissed. "I told you all you need to know."

"I don't think so. If you want my help then I need to know all the variables."

Rapunzel wasn't buying it. "But I thought you didn't want to help."

"Well, how can I make an informed decision Princess, if you won't tell me what's going on?" At the word princess, he cupped her chin and gently, but firmly forced her to turn her head towards him.

Rapunzel grimaced at his smirk as she looked up at him. He had found a weakness. A vulnerability that he could exploit to make her suffer, and they both knew that he was going to take advantage of that. Anything to twist the knife deeper.

She refused to give him that advantage.

"You don't scare me." She softly said.

"Hey!" a voice from the stage called out, interpreting them. "You two can kiss later. We got a show to put on."

It was the girl with the blue jacket this time.

Varian sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance and Rapunzel's cheeks flushed a deep crimson. To an outsider looking in, she supposed that they were physically close. How was this girl to know that she and Varian were about as attracted to each other as sandpaper to silk?

Varian dropped his hand and turned to the other girl. "I'll be there in a minute, Megan. I'm kind of busy."

"Also, we're not together... at all." Rapunzel awkwardly explained.

Megan was not convinced. She raised an eyebrow at them before letting out an irritated huff and walking off.

"Keep the record rolling Mole!" They heard her shout as she walked away. "He's making out with some girl."

"Wait? What about Honey Lemon?" They heard the third girl shout back and Varian facepalmed.

Rapunzel blushed a second time.

                                                ---------------------

"There he is." Honey Lemon breathed.

She pointed to the side of the stage where Varian and the girl in the Rapunzel wig were talking.

He looked like he was leaning in to kiss her, only to be interrupted by Megan yelling at them.

Tadashi frowned. "I thought she was threatening to drag him back to Corona, not flirt with him. What's going on here?"

He turned to Honey Lemon for her answer but she only stood there nervously wringing her hands.

"Maybe... Maybe she's that Cassie girl he talked about?"

"Cassie?" Tadashi screwed up his face in confusion. "Who the heck is Cassie?"

"She's some girl from Corona that he had a crush on.. or has..." Honey Lemon pouted as she watched the two of them resume their conversion. They were earnestly whispering something to each other now.  

"She's really pretty." Honey Lemon pouted.

Tadashi raised an eyebrow at his friend and Honey Lemon looked like she had been caught doing something wrong. "I just... I mean, I can see why Varian would like her. Th-that's all."

"And I'm sure you're very happy for them both?" Tadashi quipped.

Honey Lemon looked back at him with wide confused eyes, not catching his meaning.

Tadashi sighed. He didn't have time to fix his friend's love life. "So you think the Coronians' plan is to seduce Varian back to their world? That's why they needed to buy time?"

Honey Lemon shrugged.

"Somehow I don't think that's it. Come on, let's go interrupt their make out session, shall we?"

He started to move forward but Honey Lemon stayed behind, eyes fixed upon Varian and the other girl while she continued to wring her hands.

Tadashi sighed, walked back over to her, and gently grabbed her arm before pulling her along with him.

                                                ---------------------

Varian rubbed his chin as he and Rapunzel shared awkward glances.

"Look, I think this conversation is done." Varian whispered. "Keep your secrets. I don't actually care what's going on between you and Cassandra. Just like how I don't care about the rocks."

Rapunzel frowned at him. "This is not over and I'm not giving up."

"No, of course not. You never give up. You just gotta always be right don't you?" He rolled his eyes. "Well, go on, think yourself superior. I got a gig to play and you have a ticking clock to wind down."

He turned away from her and started to walk back towards the stage. "You can spend your final minutes watching the show."

Rapunzel cast her eyes about looking for something that would keep the argument going and hopefully convince him to comply. That's when she saw Tadashi and Honey Lemon walking towards the stage.

"I'll... I'll tell them."

Varian paused upon the first step. It was like he had been stabbed.

"I'll tell everyone." Rapunzel pressed. "Do your new friends know about what you did in Corona? Who you hurt?"

He slowly turned back to look at her, and Rapunzel's heart skipped a beat. She had only ever seen such rage in his eyes once, when he had almost killed everyone she loved. Only the black rocks had been able to stop him then, and she no longer had any control over them.

His eyes flashed as he closed the distance between them once more. "Just try.... and I'll silence you forever, in front of everybody."

"You can try." She hissed back, as she felt her hair glowing again.

                                                ---------------------

Gogo and Fred met up with Wasabi as they made their way back towards the party.

"Find anything?" Their friend asked.

"No, but Tadashi asked us to meet him at the stage." Gogo answered.

"Hey, there's Hiro. Maybe he found something?" Fred pointed at the entrance to the haunted house where Hiro and Baymax stood. Hiro was engaged in reading a diagnostic on Baymax's chest.

"Hey, Hiro, have you seen Varian?" Gogo asked him as they approached.

Hiro's head snapped around and his face lit up. "Boy, am I glad to see you guys. Yeah, I saw him and you won't believe what else I saw, either."

"Was it a weird girl dressed as Rapunzel and a couple of pirates?" Wasabi asked.

"Those weren't just some costumes. They're from Cor-"

"From Corona." Gogo interrupted. "We know. They've been asking everybody about Varian."

"They want to rearrest him and drag him back to their world!" Fred added.

"I know. I overheard them talking."

"Do you know where they're at now?" Gogo pressed.

"I left them back there at the stage." He pointed to where Mole was still DJ-ing. "B-but guys, there's something else you should know."

"What is it?" Wasabi asked.

Hiro pulled Baymax closer so that they could see the read-out for themselves.

"Those Coronians are emitting high levels of radiation. The same radiation that Baymax detected in Varian's bio-readings... and guess what else... her hair  glows ."

He whispered this last part, almost as if he feared he would manifest more weirdness by describing what he had seen out loud.

Gogo raised an eyebrow. "Glows?"

"Like an LED." Hiro confirmed.

"Maybe her wig is made of fiber optics?" Wasabi suggested.

"No. It's not that. Not unless fiber optics can also make seventy feet of hair float, turn men invisible, or make huge black spikes spring up out of the ground!"

"Alright... alright, calm down." Gogo rested a gentle hand on the frazzled teen's shoulder.

"I recommend counting to ten… one… two…three..." Everyone ignored Baymax as he continued to count down.

"Hmmm... I wonder." Fred muttered as he cupped his chin in thought.

"Wonder what?" Wasabi asked exasperated.

"What if, 'magic' is just a type of radiation? I mean gamma radiation does all kinds of seemingly magical things in comic books."

"This isn't comic books Fred." The older teen snapped back. "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. One that probably entails these Coronaians trying to psych us out in order to distract us so that they can nab Varian."

Hiro only frowned at that. "And... and I just left him alone with her..."

"Hiro, listen to me." Gogo squeezed his shoulder. "Tadashi and Honey Lemon are already on it, and I doubt those weird people are going to try anything with everyone watching, so tell us everything you know."

                                                ---------------------

Varian didn't seem to care about Rapunzel's threat. "You think I'm scared of you princess? Of your powers? I won't be bullied into helping you."

"I think you're scared to face yourself. I think you're scared of owning up to all you did wrong. I think you're scared of doing the right thing for once because then, maybe just then, you'd have to acknowledge that there's other people involved than just yourself."

"Don't give me that." He snapped. "You wanna talk about being selfish? You don't actually care about other people. You just don't want to be responsible for failing. Just like you failed to help with the rocks the first time, just like you failed to destroy the moonstone, just like you failed to help my dad. It's only now, when you might actually have to face the consequences for being a screw up, and maybe lose someone you truly do care about, that you're even bothering to try."

                                                ---------------------

Tadashi stopped and pulled Honey Lemon back towards him protectively.

"What is  that ?"

The girl with the long hair, Tadashi was beginning to wonder if it was even a wig anymore, was glowing. Her hair, her eyes, even her skin had a soft halo of light surrounding it. And to make matters even weirder, he could also swear that Varian himself was glowing. His blue eyes glinted back the light that the other woman cast. His streak of blue hair contrasted sharply with the rest of his dark strands, as if a blacklight was shining on it.

He was like a mirror to the golden woman, all soft blues and murky blacks while she shone golden like the sun.

"Honey Lemon, did Varian ever mention anything about his old girlfriend glowing?" He asked.

Honey Lemon only numbly shook her head, too surprised to speak.

"Okay... soooo more optical illusions right?" He tried to reason. "Like... like those holograms those two guys were using."

"Not unless that night Varian fainted was also an illusion." She hoarsely whispered, her eyes still never leaving Varian and the strange girl.

Tadashi felt the pit of his stomach drop. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"That day you went back to Madame Canardist, and read that weird inscription on that paperweight... Varian's eyes glowed just like that before he fainted."

"You-you're kidding, right?"

She shook her head no once more.

"Oookay... so, more surreal, freaky stuff to deal with. Got it. But what's the connection? Rocks? Glowing hair? Portals? Holograms.... What are we missing?"

"Varian would know."

"Yeah, but will Varian tell us?"

"Does it matter? He's in trouble right now."

Tadashi looked back again at the two glowing people and suddenly realized what Honey Lemon was saying. Varian and the girl were staring each other down with scowls upon their faces, inches away from each other. She had her hands on her hips and Varian's fists were clenched. What he and Honey Lemon had mistook for an intimate moment was actually a fight.

                                                ---------------------

"You don't know me." Rapunzel's voice shook with anger.

"Oh, but I do know you Rapunzel. Better than perhaps any in Corona." Varian threw back at her. "You're a pampered, spoiled, sheltered, self-centered, useless, brat."

"How dare yo-"

"How dare I?" He cruelly laughed. "How dare I not bow down and kiss your royal ass like everyone else in the kingdom? Well, your highness, this is one subject who is tired of listening to you."

He gave her a low mocking bow and it took every ounce of Rapunzel's will not to wrap her hair around him and physically drag him back to Corona then and there.

Not that she actually had a way back, now that she had broken the candle's spell. She tried to ignore this minor inconvenience as she focused on the aggravating teenager before her.

"Hey! Varain!" The third girl with short purple hair yelled. "We're tired of waiting on you! Get your scrawny rear in gear an- Woah!"

She suddenly stopped walking towards them and blinked rapidly. Then she shielded her eyes from the glow. "What the...."

Both Varian and Rapunzel ignored her.

"You know what?" Rapunzel pointed her finger at the infuriating alchemist. "Hate me all you want, but at least I'm doing something. You're just interested in throwing a pity party for yourself. Well, mister 'woe is me' you're not the only person in the world with problems."

"You still don't get it. You  are my problem, and you're right, I do hate you. But if you think that running around and ordering people about is 'helping' then no wonder you're a failure. Rocks or no rocks, Corona was doomed the moment it found it's long lost princess."

"Why you..  you ... lying... arrogant... backstabbing... crim-"

Varian pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Now, now princess..... Remember your decorum." He gave her a wicked smile. "After all you don't want to disappoint daddy dearest. That is all you care about isn't?"

"You, you left me in the cold. I was drowning in my tears for I needed your hair of gold. But you wouldn't heed my fears So now, look where we are,  princess  ... The reverse is being told."

He walked back up the stage as he sang, and handed a guitar to a very confused Trina.

"Dude, what is happening?" She hissed.

He ignored her, as he continued to sing.

"Here you are, crying 'Help me, please.' 'The world may die,' you lied as you fell to your knees. but it's all to save your wounded pride. We both know... You're not the healer, you're the disease."

The rest of his bandmates looked on, confused as well. Megan and Carol shared a shrug and decided to play along as best they could. They started playing to the tune he was singing, and the music came out inexplicably like it was rehearsed. Even Trina reluctantly joined in, though she never stopped staring wide eyed back and forth between Varian and the girl now at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's all about you, is it? Your pains, Your gains, Your whining refrains. It's all about you. Your lies, Your highs, Your tearful cries It's always about you."

Rapunzel wasn't having it. She marched up the stairs as she began to join in his song.

"You're one to talk about being selfish. All you do is moan about your own misery. Curse and condemn me all you wish But nothing you did saved people from tyranny For the truth is... You won't find your own soul without blemish." “But it's all about you, isn't it? Your pains, Your gains, Your whining refrains. It's all about you. Your lies, Your highs, Your tearful cries It's always about you ."

"Your a thorn in my side"

  "You're a knife in my back."

"You're a fungus, that I can't abide."

  "And you're a maniac."

Varian grabbed her hand and twirled her around the stage and they began a sinister dance as they both sang together.

" You're a poison in my veins, like a burning pesticide. "

" It's all about you. Your pains, Your gains, Your whining refrains. It's all about you. Your lies, Your highs, Your tearful cries It's always about you.” "It's all about you Your pains, Your chains,"

"Your stipulated gains."  Varian howled as Rapunzel wrapped her hair around him. They both began to glow brighter as a wind picked up.

" It's all about you. Your lies, Your cries"

"Say your goodbyes. " Rapunzel warned as she started to will the spell to reverse itself.

" Flower gleam and glow Let your power shine. "

"Arrragh! NO!" Varian seethed as eyes filled with a white light that obscured his pupils.

Rapunzel gritted her teeth and pulled the rope of her hair tighter as she sang a new incantation.

"Send us back to whence we came. So that we may save wh - Ahh!"

Varian wiggled out of his bonds, grabbed her hair, and started pulling her towards him.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

They were nose to nose, eyes and hair glowing, the wind whipping around them in a frenzied whirl, but only them,

To everyone watching, it was a spectacular light show. Very few understood that it wasn't a real performance.

"It's not always about yooooouu ."

They sang together, before the same white light covered Rapunzel's pupils as well.

" Save what once was mine. "

The light grew blinding and everyone had to shield their eyes, the blue and yellow clashed. Soon the yellow light covered all and for one horrifying moment none could see Varian or Croana's princess anymore.

Then just as quickly it faded away.

There was Varian standing alone on the stage, cradling his now empty hands where he held the princess only moments ago.

The glow from his eyes and hair also receded and he heaved huge gulps of air.

The audience burst into applause.

What had just happened?

Varain wasn't the only person confused.

'"What the heck was that?" Carol asked.

Varian flushed from head to toe. Then, shaking, he ran from the stage.

"Varian!"

"Varian!"

He heard Honey Lemon and Tadashi call out to him. Tadashi stopped with a hand on his shoulder.

"Varian, are you okay?" he asked.

Varian refused to answer and rested himself from his brother's grip. He took off running a second time. Ignoring cheers from the crowd.

"Hey, man, how did you pull that trick off?" One random student yelled after him.

Varian ignored him. He also ignored his friends as he ran past them and he did stop until reached his car. He hopped into the front seat, and cranked it, as his friends chased after him.

"Varian wait!" Hiro cried, but he was too late. Varian slammed on the gas pedal and sped away.

                                                ---------------------

Rapunzel opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by rocks and fire!

She gasped in shock and then coughed as the ash filled her lungs.

Suddenly a black spike shot out of the ground catching her hair.

She yanked it free, and shimmed herself up between two other rocks and yet another one broke forth from the ground.

The incantation had sent her back, but not Varian. She wasn't entirely sure why, but now was not the time to consider such questions as the flames around her rose.

                                                ---------------------

                     Notes:        

I'm hoping to record and actual audio version of the song so that you can hear it, once it goes up it'll be posted to the Rocks and Robots' official Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmDfKFvvW6G9sQylhl6Ngvw

#tangled the series #tangled #rapunzel's tangled adventure #varian #rapunzel #Hiro Hamada #big hero 6 #big hero 6 the series #bh6 #baymax #eugene #tadashi #honey lemon #lance