let there be 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 .

"..That was sort of the intent. You can be of chaos and not malicious at the same time." Trudy nodded as they thought back to a happy bit bittersweet moment, " I was married to the personification of chaos once, absolute sweetheart til they vanished poor dear. Loved me to the end." She was about to on a different lecture when Lux touched, then recoiled from the light. In that moment they were able to look at them. Their heart shattered for the lonely god. Once in their mortal life, they too knew that loneliness far too well. With a wave of her hand the orb was gone and instead, a shrunken down Trudy sat next to hom within the jar. Able to go in and out themself easily.

But what does he mean, they "vanished"? Chaos doesn't "vanish." Did someone destroy the Form, and the Concept never found its way back into a body? What a sad thought.

"...hello," he says quietly as she sits next to him. That's a neat trick. Usually, Lux needs an influx or outflow of light to change his own size. It must be nice to have this level of control over your Form.

For a moment, he's tempted to scoff and turn up his nose and speak sharply when he responds to her, because how dare she pretend she understands what he's going through when he knows full well that she holds all the love he wants right there in her heart?

...but he doesn't do any of that, because as envious as he is, it's not Trudy's fault that they're loved and he isn't. Snapping at them won't conjure up a spouse of his own.

"What do you mean?" he says instead, gaze flicking over to his companion. "...actually, don't answer that. I don't care."

He flops over, taking the offered hand to study it.

DON'T MAKE HIM LAUGH. FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE , Stan wasn't even trying to be funny. Still , he sees nothing but truth in the observation , and he's not going to apologize for it. On the other hand , if he is a bug - man , that's none of his business. That won't stop him from prying further when the time is right , because he loves not minding his business , but he'll give it a rest for now. There's money on the line , after all. Once bug - man here becomes a paying customer then he can start asking the real questions.

STAN STARES AT HIM FOR A MOMENT , looking left and right. Neighbor , huh ? He doesn't know who in their right mind would willingly move to a place like this - but if anyone were to move to Gravity Falls , it would be a living cartoon. Sure. Because that just happens.

Discount? Merchandise? Lux blinks again; there’s not a hint of a thought behind his eyes.

Until—!

“That’s right! I have money. To purchase things with!” He does not. He did not plan that far ahead, because the last time he took this form, he had a sweet little helper to handle all the mundane irritations of existing in the “real world” for him. …he really needs to find a replacement for Mr. Pye… and apparently one with income, at that.

Maybe “Mister Mystery” himself can be his new assistant! Stan seems like he knows about things like “money” and “living in society.” …up to a point.

"Yes next week, I managed to snag VIP tickets for my husband, wife and me~" They sounded more giddy and lovestruck, even after all this time, they felt the same affection as when they first met their dear loves. The almost goofiness of their expression didn't fade until Lux's begging and pleading. Just like their kids, they couldn't quite resist giving him a chance. Especially if all he wanted was light.

"You can come along, But you must stay in the jar until after it is over and promise that you shall not harm a single soul, both before during and after the contest. If you uphold this, I will let your free near the most light filled place I know." Trudy smiled, as they spoke. "and to show my sincerity, Here.." Though they didn't touch the lid of the jar, they did offer up their pinky finger, a little blue orb sliding into the jar. A Peace offering of a little bit of their magic.

"Aw..." The toon sits down, propping up his head in his hand as his antennae curl into a heart shape. "That's so romantic...! I heard this thing gets sold out ages in advance. Those sweetie-pies of yours better appreciate it!"

She must really love her spouses; that look in her eye is the same one Mr. Pye used to get when he'd talk about Helen. ...poor Mr. Pye. Lux still hasn't forgiven the Doctor and Belinda for talking his favorite little plaything into offing himself. Oh, well.

"Don't make me laugh! 'After the contest' is much too vague, my dear! Why, if I agreed to that, I'd hafta make sure I never hurt a thing for the rest of existence! How about this; I solemnly swear that I won't cause intentional harm to anybody or anymind for, um... twelve standard rotational units after the liveshow's complete?" That's fair, right? A whole twelve-day head start?

"...gosh!" Well, now he feels bad-- this is such a nice gesture! He should probably try to be more generous, too.

"Okay, okay. ...thirty rotational units?" He'll grant a bonus in honor of the Earth's mooncycle. He loves that thing.

Lux tentatively reaches out to touch the little orb, his eyes shining blue. When he makes contact, however, he flinches back as though burned, tears welling up immediately. He can feel it. The certainty that they're loved. The love they feel in return. He can feel Trudy's devotion and adoration and warmth--

And he can feel, in turn, his own loneliness. He cares for the other Gods, and they care for him, he thinks, but it's not like this. Lux has never had something like this.

The way he sniffles and scrubs at his eyes is genuine this time, all jealousy and pain and a deep-rooted desire to truly love someone other than himself and be loved in return.

He pushes himself up against the far end of the jar, refusing to look at Trudy.

The Poet stood back, carefully removed the prosthetic from over his blind eye. He scrubbed at his cheek to remove the caked layer of foundation used to hide his scars, leaving a peachy mark against the blue janitors jumpsuit.

He watched the storm clouds gathering inside the jar, briefly tensing before he reminded himself they posed no threat to him here; besides, they were only cartoons. It was actually quite comical.

He unbuttoned the jumpsuit, shrugging it from his shoulders to reveal a crimson waistcoat and white shirt beneath.

Lux’s dark expression slowly fades into something more like interest as the “janitor” transforms himself. This guy has a flair for theatrics, apparently, and Lux has to appreciate that— even if he does hate the man right now.

The Poet.

…Lux feels as though that should ring a bell. His consciousness becomes so narrow when he’s manifesting a Form, though, and that includes losing access to certain memories stored in the vast expanse of Light; even if Lux Imperator knows the Poet, Mr. Ring-a-Ding does not. Drat!

“Oh, is that all?” The storm vanishes all at once, and Lux turns up his nose at the Poet with a dismissive wave.

“Thank the stars! For a second there, I thought I was in real danger! But you couldn’t be a real threat if you tried.”

Lux is bluffing, speaking from a place of bruised pride rather than true confidence. The truth is, he has no idea what this man’s capable of, and although the God of Light has no fear of death or pain, he doesn’t much like the idea of being trapped, cut off from the rest of himself for eternity. So he can only hope that whatever the Poet has done to contain him is temporary.

:D I've already done the nice process part, now it's time to do the ugliest process part.

"Just a neighbourly favour..." He whispered, his fingers hesitating in the air in front of him to keep up the mild mannered act just a second longer. He smiled, hints of condescension in the corners of his eyes as he took the cartoon God's hand.

The moment he shook, he sang out a note that made the world around them shudder and shift, morphing to what the Poet required. He drew his hand back, a container made of glass appearing around Lux, looking much like a large glass jar meant for holding fireflies. His lips carved into a grin and he stood with his hands tucked behind his back.

Lux freezes— for a brief moment, he thinks this must be Maestro’s doing, some sort of prank. …but that’s not right. This is sound-based sorcery, yes, but not theirs.

Lux’s expression twists with fury. He can appreciate a gag, and he doesn’t always mind when he’s outsmarted or outmatched, but— but this isn’t right! This isn’t fair! He was being perfectly civil to this pathetic worm! He would have given him what he wanted, and he hardly asked for anything in return!

He just wanted a friend. How could he have been naive enough to think that’s what the human wanted, too?

His expression darkens further, and cartoon stormclouds begin gathering over his head. Soon, the entire jar is filled with thunder and lightning, but none of it seems capable of escaping; all it does is bring new meaning to the man having caught a lightning(bug) in a bottle.

“Oooh, when I getcha!” Lux shakes his fist and stamps his foot. It’s entirely nonthreatening, considering everything.

..Almost, but he couldn't have Lux Imperator running around causing problems. This was supposed be a nice vacation. Thwarting villains was work, hard boring work.

Lux sighs heavily, slumping against the glass wall. Okay, fine. He can’t be trusted. But that’s hardly his fault— he’s a god of chaos! It’s practically his job to poke holes in others’ plans!

“Hold on. The Interstellar Song Contest is this week?”

The bug leaps to his feet, smooshing his face up against the inside of the jar.

“All those rave-lights? The spotlights? The stage, shining like a newborn star for trillions of people to see? I need to be there! You gotta let me out! I’ll be good, I swear! You can’t be heartless enough to keep me from seeing the Contest! Puh-leeeeasse!”

Falling to his knees, Lux clasps his hands together to beg, all divine pride gone in an instant.

however , the time lady wanted to disrupt time and space . . . the doctor had left her for dead . she had been trapped for so many years . . . waiting . the rani stared into the eyes of an animation , unimpressed . . . mildly disgusted . she was intrigued as to how it worked .

❛  you have exactly thirty seconds to tell me if you have seen the doctor .   ❜ staring through this trickery of light , viewing it as a lesser lifeform . . . if you could call it that . ❛  or i pull the plug on you , sweetheart .   ❜

“Golly,” Lux says, his voice small. “Didn’t anyone ever tell ya you catch more fireflies with honey than with vinegar?”

How dare she threaten Lux Imperator. Who does she think she is, this lower lifeform? This mortal? Lux is going to burn her from the inside out. Or maybe he’ll trap her in a web of film, a horror show, a never-ending retelling of her deepest regrets and her worst fears—

An angry twitch of his antennae is the only sign that the toon is more irritated than frightened. He’s not exactly the Doctor’s best friend, but he likes the guy well enough— at least he beat Lux fair and square, without all this posturing! So if this creature wants him, then Lux wants to know why.