Rapunzel: Oh my god? What on earth was that?

Rapunzel: Was that even from this earth?

starter for @findingpeachx

After hours at the marine life institute had to be one of Fawn’s least favorite shifts to work. Despite not actually being an employee, they often kept her after hours as she was one of the few volunteers who didn’t mind helping out when the janitorial services were short that day. It wasn’t the cleaning duty she hated, rather than the overall eeriness the institute gave off at night. Void of people, minus the few employees in charge of after hour marine life care, it was just weird to see the halls so empty and quiet.

Lucky for her, she was finished with her last job of the day, mopping the empty hallway. Dragging the mop and bucket behind her, she made her way to the janitors closet, and that’s when it happened- everything went dark. “Um.. Hello?” She called into the darkness, trying to stop the shaking in her voice. She could make out a figure in the distance, or... was that a figure? It was impossible to tell. “Is someone there?”

breathe in 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4

Oh the waves roll low, and the waves roll high ...

Attina Benson was generally a very logical woman. Emotion-driven when it came to others, certainly, but overall quite rational and focused. But there were some things that brought her back to a scared child again, hoping for her mother to come and sing her back to a state of calm. She never did well in the dark.

And so it goes ... Under a bright blue, endless sky

hold 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 

Waves try to measure, the days that we treasure

She felt ridiculous as she lent against the cool wood of her kitchen cabinets, feeling the tile underneath her legs and bracing her head in her hands. She continued her breathing pattern for what felt like forever, the melody lingering in her mind as the lights flicked back on. 

breathe out 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ...

PLOT DROP ; RETURN TO SENDER ???

Stitch joked about those stupid dark web unboxing videos before, but he never planned on actually doing one. He had so many questions? What was inside? Who sent it? And why? Was this a prank? Or an honest mistake?  Stitch was hesitant to open it. Ripping off the tape and lifting a flap, what Stitch found blow his mind. Pieces of high end jewelry and if he wasn’t mistaken a couple of them that were known to be owned by famous actor James Sullivan. 

It’s late, he knows that much. His head’s been spinning for almost an hour now and he can barely walk straight. People walk around him and as a small smile is forced on his lips, his eyes narrow to make something out of the circles of light lining up the path and he wonders... Would they think he’s drunk? Would they think he’s high? Would they think he’s ill and reach out a helping hand?

But Eric is neither of those things, he’s just... extremely tired. Numbers are something he’s never been afraid of. Math came easy to him as a child and yes, it got a little more complex as he grew up but it was never too big of a challenge to make sense of it. He understood numbers and as he went to college that understanding only grew... understood how they eventually came to rule the business world and with that, everything else. After college, Eric Barnes understood numbers so well he began to dislike them quite a bit. 

It’d been a busy afternoon, probably one of the busiest he’d had this year. Full of phone calls and random meetings and a whole lot of books whose pages were covered in company finances with a sticky note on top stating a due date. Numbers he’d then spend hours reading and analyzing and memorizing even. After the first hour he was bored, after the third hour he had a headache and after the fifth hour, the man was officially sick.

And so, now he stumbles with heavy footsteps across the pier and into his boat’s deck with very tired eyes and a very good dog guiding his legs to take the right step. The minute he’d stepped out of the office his body had craved the feeling of the water surrounding his soul; a reasonable translation for that at this hour of the night, was to lie back on his boat’s deck and let the rocking of the waves and the sound of them crashing against ships and rocks, clear his head. And so, he does. Barely two seconds into the deck, he doesn’t even bother getting himself into the middle lounge. Eric gets on his knees, turns around to face the pier and then lets himself lie back into the wooden surface.

It almost feels like magic when it happens. A sudden and very soft and low “boom” heard all across the city and reaching his resting ears.... and then nothing. absolutely nothing. For a couple of seconds he thinks of himself as in paradise with the rocking boat, the sound of the ocean and the pretty lights spread all across the sky– now shining brighter than he’s ever seen in Carthay. He would’ve honestly not been able to tell if he’d imagined it all, had it not been for Max’s barks.

They start small and not very frequent, just so that he can easily tune them out and enjoy his little paradise. But then they get louder and... insistent. Then, the man settles into a sitting position. He takes a look at Max, desperately barking at nothing but thin air, and then at the city: Completely covered in darkness.

It’s a strange sight but that’s not all there is. It doesn’t feel like it anyways...

Hector took a seat at the bar and ordered his usual. The bartender recognized him the musician and had his shot glass of Tequila ready for him. Hector enjoyed the music that played inside. He tapped his fingers to the beat as he let the drink take effect. He closed his eyes for a second. It was in second that he opened back his eyes, everything around him was dark. The whole bar was in confusion. Hector was one of the few people to check outside. The whole street seemed to have lost power. 

Hector stood out in the street with a few other confused patrons. From what he could hear from others, the whole city seemed to have gone into darkness. He felt like he should make some calls of his own. He might need to check up on Coco and Imelda. Coco required some machines for her health. Hector reached for his phone. His hand rested on his pant pocket. He couldn’t move. Something in the air seemed off. He felt frozen. No one else had noticed this odd sensation. That drink must have been stronger than usual or he his eyesight was finally going. As he stared out in the dark city, things were changing? 

Hector blinked until the street lit back up. The music from the bar filled the air again and he started to feel fine again. He need to get back home. After paying for his drink, Hector made his way back to his apartment. He also sent Imelda a concerned text just to make sure.