charlotte la bouff.

bashful , rapunzel giggled , pressing her knotted fingers to her heart as she swooned at the compliments . " thank you !! gosh , that's so nice of you to say , , , "

glancing around , following the other blonde's path as she navigated the small space filled top-to-bottom with varying displays of art ; pottery , intricate candles , embroidery amongst canvases . art in all forms , it had always spoken to her . " oh , just , , , well — my entire life , really , " rapunzel hummed , taking in her own artistic expression with an affectionate gleam in her eyes . " which feels like quite a long time but , honestly , i don't really remember . "

#& chats.#& rapunzel gothel.

She wasn't sure what to focus on, Lottie didn't think she'd ever been in an art store that had so many different mediums ; most people seemed to choose one thing to be best at, whether it was charcoal sketches, paintings, pottery or something else, but the other girl seemed to tackle them all. It was admirable.

Her eyebrows lifted, wondering if she was just making a comment or one of the newer residents that seemed to suffer from mysterious memory gaps. It was such a strange concept to Lottie, who had never known anything outside of Evermore and her life inside of the town's borders.

"Well, darlin', it shows," she smiled, "I guess what they say is true, practice does make perfect." Though Lottie really and truly believed some people were naturally more talented at some things, had a vision that others weren't blessed with, and art seemed to be that for Rapunzel.

lcngstcryshcrt

Haku found that he was genuinely relieved to hear that Lottie had been spared the nightmare, relieved that she wouldn't carry around such a burden each day and night as they were doing now.

"I doubt my experience was the worst of them," they replied, trying to play it cool, but still a shiver ran up their spine.

He knocked back a bit more of his drink, wincing at the burn sliding down his throat.

"What did people do?" they asked, curious if anyone had looked for... Him. Or any of them. The rational part of him knew that others who had gone to that other place would have had families who searched, but did Lottie? Did he want to know if she had?

She refrained from asking questions, not wanting them to relive their worst moments; despite what they'd said, she had an inkling it hadn't been easy for them, that they had gone through something awful.

"They put up lots of posters... all over town." There were so many faces, she could hardly bear to look at them, to wonder where they had all gone, if they were... okay. If they'd ever come back. "I went by your workplace," she admitted softly, feeling like she should have done more as she said it. "I had hoped it wasn't true, or just some silly nightmare..."

#& chats.#& haku kita.

lcngstcryshcrt

Haku slid into the seat beside Lottie, giving her a wan smile and catching the bartender's attention with two raised fingers.

"Miss Charlotte," they replied, leaning their forearms on the bar. "It's a pleasure to see you as always."

They nodded their thanks as the bartender slid a glass in front of them, studying the contents instead of the look on Lottie's face.

"I wouldn't say 'okay', but I am here," they finally replied, sipping from the glass and finally looking over at the young woman.

"Were you... Also taken?"

Haku wasn't really even sure why they asked. They hadn't spoken to any of the other... Survivors? Hadn't sought out sympathy or closure or healing.

Haku didn't deserve to feel at peace for everything they'd done for Yubaba.

#i hope you don't mind a random lottie #& chats.#& haku kita.

Always so polite, Lottie remembered as soon as they spoke how comforting Haku's presence was; goodness, how she hoped they hadn't gone through too much while they were away...

"Sometimes here is all you can be," she offered with a knowing smile, though really, she didn't know. She had no idea. Even though she had bad days just like everyone, for the most part, Lottie was content. Happy, even. "No, no, I wasn't. I imagine it must have been just... awful."

Lifting her glass, she hesitated to take a drink, trying not to stare at them too long, just happy to see them in one piece. "It was so quiet around here... like half the town went and disappeared. I guess they did..."

#& chats.#& haku kita.

LOCATION: any bar ?? FOR: @lcngstcryshcrt (haku)

Lottie didn't frequent bars to drink; at least, not usually. She often would come by for an hour or two in hopes to meet Mr. Right, despite all the times that had simply not happened. Tonight, though, she was here for a drink. Everything felt heavy lately, Tia was so busy she felt like she hadn't seen her in awhile, and she was lonely. Bringing her glass to her lips, her eyes flickered to the side, landing on Haku. "Hey, darlin'," she greeted him softly. She hadn't seen them since their return, hadn't been by the spa, hadn't wanted to add to whatever stress they may be dealing with... but she had worried. Gesturing to the open seat, she offered a small smile. "You doin' okay?"

grinning girlishly at the woman , rapunzel took her advice ; forcing a heaved breath past her lips and fanning her face. " sorry , sorry — i uh. . . i haven't been open very long so , i still get very excited when people come in. "

bashful from the compliments , rapunzel clapped her hands together , pressing her chin atop her folded fingers and fluttering her lashes in the woman's direction. " that's so kind of you !! i have. . . so many different kinds , it's overwhelming. " the blonde watched the other survey the room , allowing her eyes to follow the stranger's gaze , the rogue on her cheeks deepening. " i did , " she mused , rap's own cerulean gaze dancing across the faces of her paint slicked canvases. " thank you, i'm . . . i'm happy you like them . "

#& chats.#& rapunzel gothel.

"Well, I don't blame you," Lottie assured her ; it must be thrilling to make something someone loved so much they wanted to hang on their wall. Better than gaining a few new follows or likes on a selfie, definitely. She couldn't help but envy her talent a little.

Her eyes moving from painting to painting, she turned away from them only to smile at Rapunzel again. "I mean it," she promised. "You've got a real knack for art. How long have you been doin' this?"

open starter: @evermorehqsstart !!

" oh my gosh — hello ?? hello !! wow , , , uh , come in , come in !! i'm so sorry i'm just , well , i'm really excited you're here. i've never had a customer before !! you're — you're a customer , right ?? OH my gosh, please look around !! "

rapunzel couldn't remember where it had come from , this desire to open her own art and paint studio but excitement was burning hot through her veins as she practically tripped over herself with delight at the sight of someone willingly walking through the front door. " there's tea and snacks over there and . . . paintings everywhere else. the studio's in the back and — goodness, forgive me, i think my hearts about to burst out of my chest. "

#my girlllll #& chats.#& rapunzel gothel.

Lottie had been intrigued by the store, one she'd never noticed before, but she was more intrigued by what (she assumed) was the shop owner's reaction. Now there was a local business she wanted to support, someone so eager and grateful to have any old stranger's interest.

"Oh, darlin', deep breaths," she laughed softly, remembering how excited she'd been once she'd hit her first 100 followers on her Instagram. "Tea, snacks and art? This might just be the best store I've ever been inside of. And I've been in a lot of stores." Her eyes darting about the room, taking in the sight before her, Charlotte only looked away to tilt her head at the woman. "Did you paint all of these? They're beautiful."

"Love is a fickle thing. Maybe I did love one of them once but now that they're gone? What am I holding on for?" Of course, none of that was true, Evelyn hardly cared about anyone in this town besides perhaps her brother and even that would have been a coin flip. "What's the saddest part about it? That they got out and we didn't or that no one knows what happened?"

#& chats.#& evelyn deavor.

"Well, I guess it's just not all that easy to change how you feel." It wasn't for Lottie, anyway, but who was she to say if it was that way for Evelyn or anyone else? "Missing them, of course." She missed her mother something terrible sometimes, but at least she wasn't sitting around and waiting for answers. "And thinkin' they might be scared and alone wherever they are... or even hurt..."

lcstromonov

Anya shook her head. "No one I really know well enough...but then again I hardly know anyone well enough..." That was the problem, wasn't it? She had like four friends and didn't try to make any more long-lasting ones due to her impulsive nature to never stick around anyone long enough. "How about you? This entire thing is unsettling me...like...it's bad enough we're stuck here and now people are just gone...."

#& chats.#& anya romanov.

"Fortunately not, but I'm startin' to feel like I hardly know anyone either." Lottie's friend group seemed to just get smaller lately, and it wasn't because people were disappearing. Everyone was busy, and they'd all grown apart. She was not a hermit, though, and it was about time she throw herself out there and focus on making friends just as much as she focused on finding a date. "Oh, it's just awful, and it's so... eerie! I wish it was just a prank, as cruel and horrible as it would be. At least we know they'd all be safe then."

battybela

"I prefer to be sugar-free but sometimes..." He looked her up and down. "...exceptions can be made. For the right people, of course." Once he was trying to take pictures he had to admit to himself that it was a harder task than he expected. He never could quite get the hang of these modern day communicators. But he didn't let his façade fall for a second. "These pictures really don't do enough to capture your radiant smile, darling. But...I think these are good."

#& chats.#& samuel bela.#& summer carnival.

She giggled embarrassingly hard, like he'd said the funniest thing she had ever heard, but she managed to reel it in before she made a complete fool of herself... or so she would tell herself. "Now you're just butterin' me up," Lottie smiled, taking her phone back without even looking at the pictures. "Thank you so much, darlin'. I'll let you get back to having fun now. Are you? Havin' fun, I mean?"

And that might have been the scariest thing of all...and somehow still hopeful. The fact that you couldn't plan for freak accidents, people knew that they could happen and yet they still did them anyway. They still took the risk to live their lives. It was a beautiful part of the human experience. Fraser understood that and yet - "really?" He asked, smile alighting on his lips at the idea that she was still having a good time even trapped in a conversation with him. "That is true. The rides themselves are already frightening, thinking about the amount of bodily fluids or sticky foods that have ended up on them on top of that? I don't think I'd want to be this close to any of them."

#& chats.#& fraser williams.

She made a little face, nose scrunched up as she thought of all of the... fluids he mentioned, old stale popcorn and soda and things she didn't even want to picture. If she wasn't already planning on swearing them off for the rest of the evening, she sure was now. Which was perfectly fine! She was just as happy sitting here talking to Fraser and nibbling on her funnel cake as she would be worrying about gnats flying into her teeth. "I guess sometimes the cons just outweigh the pros. But there's this!" Lifting her dessert, she smiled. "Gosh, I'm being rude. Do you want some?"

" terrifying , " bloom agreed with a nod of her head, flipping over the phone with the list pulled up on it's screen face down on the table. she had to force herself to stop checking it, to stop refreshing the page, to shifting uncomfortably in her seat as the unpleasant thought manifested itself into a physical discomfort.

bloom smiled loosely at the sympathetic nature of the stranger's words, straightening her spine and forcing a sad, almost watery laugh out to try and loosen the tension that had seeped into her muscles. " i never really uh, pay attention to the news or . . . things like that. i think i was just kinda hoping i'd eventually run into her. i did follow her here , after all . . . just weird i haven't seen her in a town no one can leave. "

"Well, I don't blame ya. Ain't nothin' good on there anyway." Which wasn't entirely true. Sometimes they showed feel good stories about puppies being saved and things like that, but it didn't seem to level out much, in the grand scheme of things. Most of the news she kept up with was fashion shows, or whatever was trending on Instagram and TikTok.

"Oh, you followed her here?" She was a little surprised to hear that, sitting up straighter in her seat. "Well, her name wasn't on the list, right? So she's bound to be here somewhere. What's she look like? I'll keep an eye out for her, too! Two heads are better than one! Or four eyes, I guess ya could say."

#& chats.#& bloom pekel.

"Right...Stella." Evelyn repeated, as though it even mattered. In two minutes she'd remember nothing but her annoyance at this whole conversation. "I'm assuming Stella isn't one of the missing ones I've seen plastered all over town. If she is, might I suggest using that picture? It's a good one."

#& chats.#& evelyn deavor.

"Oh, goodness, no, that would be awful," she spoke without thinking, then hesitated, fumbling to correct herself. "I mean, it is awful! About all of them, I didn't mean... shoot, I'm just making a right fool of myself. I hope no one you loved ended up on those posters. It's so sad."

lcstromonov

closed starter @lottalottie location: lottie's place

"thank god you're still here," anya said, finally letting go of the breath she didn't even realize she was holding. anya cared for lottie more than most people and when those reports of missing people had started coming her gut was telling her to check in on the blonde. "how are you holding up? do you need anything? this is getting really...unsettling."

#i love my girls #& chats.#& anya romanov.

It was hard for Lottie to imagine being anywhere else. Born in Evermore, she'd never seen another part of the world, and she was mostly content with that... though it would be nice to have the option to travel, eventually. "Oh, sugar, I'm alright," she promised, placing a comforting hand on Anya's shoulder. "It is, isn't it? How are you doin'? Did anyone you know... well, you-know?"

That was a fair point and Fraser took it into account when he looked at the rides again. But...even so, the idea of the probability of dying on them being low did not sway him into wanting to ride one. "It would be terrible for business and the carnival would most likely lose money on tickets until it couldn't sustain itself anymore but, you know, you can't count out freak accidents." He had to wonder if there was some kind of secret waiver that they all signed just by walking onto the property. "I don't mean to be a downer about it, I'm sure a lot of people love whenever this thing gets set up, but I can't really help myself. I will try not to bring it up as you enjoy your funnel cake." Or whatever it was that Lottie ended up ordering. "Are you having fun at least? Before you entered into this conversation with me of course."

#& chats.#& fraser williams.

She was unbothered, her mood pretty hard to put a damper on unless someone was actively trying to be mean to her. And even then, sometimes, most times, her optimistic nature won out. "You're right, you can't plan for those," she nodded, freak accidents were bound to happen. Hopefully none of them were anything big, though, just a kid tripping in the bounce house or someone dropping their phone. That was probably a pretty common one. "Before? Honey, I'm still having fun. I don't blame you for being a little worried. Besides, I probably ain't climbin' on an of those fast rides anyway. It's a good hair day... and they're probably all gross and sticky."

location: de la vigne @evermorehqsstart

"Oh no, no, thank you." Evelyn had no idea how, but there had been some kind of miscommunication between herself and the person sitting next to her at the wine bar - one that included them believing they were friends and the reality in which they absolutely were not. "I really have no interest in seeing a picture of your niece or cat or whatever Betty is." She cringed at the thought of it, making eye contact with someone else who could hopefully intervene or would make it onto her shit list for leaving her in this predicament.