Rapunzel has left the tower (gleamnglow) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-02-24 17:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, henry townshend, rapunzel |
Who: Rapunzel and Henry Townshend
What: Rapunzel decides Henry needs cheering up
Where: Disneyland!
When: Mid-Feb (before the HG plot)
Rating: PG - Rapunzel gets canon punctured though
Status: Complete
Sometimes Rapunzel viewed herself as the epitome of rainbow and sunshine because she felt like she had such an optimistic outlook on life that she could cheer up anyone. And Henry was currently the person in her life that really needed some cheering up. The fact that his dreams had come to life was a horrible thing and she completely understood why he felt guilty about it, but it truly wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t have known that this kind of thing would happen and she wanted to help him get out of his funk for at least a little bit. So, that’s where the idea of going to Disneyland came from and she told Henry to clear his schedule for the day and picked him up in her car. She hadn’t been to Disneyland yet since moving to California and she wasn’t quite sure why, but it sounded like a lot of fun.
“So, have you been to Disneyland before?” Rapunzel questioned, glancing over to him, and then back to look at the road as they drove. She was curious as to if Henry had certain attractions to go on today or if they just wanted to explore. Last night had been spent looking up everything she could about what was at the park and seeing what things would be the most fun to go on, if Henry wanted to do those.
Everyone who had responded to his apology on the network had assured Henry that he wasn’t to blame for what had happened, that it wasn’t his fault the fog had moved in and brought with it all manner of monsters and it had relieved Henry to hear, but he still couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened. For what people had seen, for people getting hurt. The fog had lifted from Orange County, but a different sort of fog had been following Henry around since.
He was lucky to know someone like Rapunzel, who wasn’t willing to let Henry wallow alone in that fog if she could help it. And Henry had learned something from his experience with the two-headed monster that had tried to squeeze his heart. He wasn’t alone, there were people around who legitimately cared about him and he shouldn’t resist them when they reached out to him. So when Rapunzel had told him to take the day off for a trip to Disney, he did not argue with her, even if he wasn’t the best of company.
He shook his head. “My parents took me to Disneyworld - the one in Florida? - when I was a little kid, but that was like twenty years ago. I don’t remember a lot about it.” He glanced at her as she drove. “Just a tea-cup ride and the It’s a Small World ride.”
The moment he mentioned Small World she instantly began to hum the song because she may have watched a youtube video or fifty last night. “That sounds like a lot of fun. This is a lot smaller than that one, but I think the Magic Kingdom part is set up basically the same way,” Rapunzel commented as the GPS continued to speak directions and she spotted a sign for the Disneyland parking lot, “So, we can either just go to the Magic Kingdom or we can get the two park ticket and go over to California adventure. Let me know what you think.”
She was up for either thing, but she definitely wanted to see the castle. There was just something about the idea of a castle in the middle of a magical wonderland that was Disneyland that was far too appealing. Especially since she saw the castle from her dreams and wondered how this one would compare to that. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she took the exit and joined the line of cars to get into the parking lot.
Henry made a face when Rapunzel started humming It’s A Small World. It was insane how catchy that song was. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d heard it and yet all it took was a few notes and it was stuck in his ears. “Do you think the person who came up with that song was a genius or mentally deranged?” The two weren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, as Henry was learning in his dreams.
He was quiet a moment, watching the other cars around him. He’d been doing nothing but thinking since the fog had lifted. Thinking, worrying, feeling like shit. It was the first time he’d really been out of his apartment other than to go to work in a long time. The sun was shining, the trees were green and everything seemed ok. He glanced at Rapunzel again. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never been to California Adventure, either. Maybe we can go there? You know...if you want to and we have time.” He paused for a moment before saying. “Thanks for pulling me out like this.”
“Totally a bit of both. I like to imagine that they came up with the lyrics first because they’re so sweet and innocent. And the melody is really what drives you up a wall. Someone must proposed the question of what is the most annoying melody we can come up with that will instantly get stuck in someone’s head,” Rapunzel had to hand it to the people that did that because it was such an instant earworm. It would probably be stuck in her head until they got into the park.
When Henry was quiet and reflective Rapunzel took the opportunity to study him briefly and saw how pensive he seemed to be. He wasn’t quite out of the funk of his dreams yet, but hopefully some churros and cotton candy could get him back into being his normal self. When he glanced over at her she gave him a smile and a nod. “That totally works. We’ll just buy the two park ticket then and make sure we make time for both. I’m totally cool with staying until close if we’re having fun,” she was almost bouncy in her seat as she said that. His next comment though made her blush a little and she was happy for the distraction of having to pay for their parking before she could reply, “You’re welcome. You’re one of my favorite people here and I don’t want you to be upset.”
Rapunzel really was the embodiment of sunshine, just like her Dreamself. It was nearly impossible to be sad or morose while around her. There weren’t a lot of people like her, or at least Henry hadn’t had the fortune of meeting anyone who even remotely came close. Her enthusiasm was contagious too. The more she talked the more Henry felt that dank cloud start to lift off him and be replaced by excited expectations of fun. Disneyland was supposed to be the happiest place on Earth. Who better to go there with than the happiest person Henry knew?
He smiled at her. How could he not? “We’ll play it by ear,” he said. “Do you know what rides you want to go on? I kinda want to do the tea-cups. They’re really the only thing I remember from when I went as a kid. What do you think about rollercosters?” As he talked he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “Since you drove, let me take care of the parking fee, ok?”
“I love rollercoasters, so I definitely want to go to Space Mountain. Tea-cups sounds fantastic and hmm… I hear the classics like Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise are a must. California Adventure is a whole other beast and I’m not sure what I want to ride there, but I’m sure we can always look at the map to make a plan of attack,” Rapunzel explained to him as they inched their way up to the parking booth to pay the fee. She was taken aback by Henry offering to pay and gave him a smile in reply, “Thanks, Henry. I appreciate it.”
She took the money from him once they got up to the attendant and paid the fee before following the line of cars to the parking that was available. Once there she turned the car off and grabbed her phone to take a picture of where they were parked so they wouldn’t be completely lost when they came back later. “Alright! Let’s go get on a tram and get into the Happiest Place on Earth,” there was a bright smile on Rapunzel’s face when she said it and she felt a childlike excitement inside of her now. There would be a lot of picture taking and hopefully Henry would join in because she had her camera stashed in her bag.
It had been a while since the last time Henry was on a rollercoaster and he was actually looking forward to going on one...or two...or maybe all of them. “Yeah, let’s do Space Mountain,” he said with a nod as he gave her a tiny wad of cash to pay for the parking. “I think I was too young to go on the one in Florida, so we should definitely go on the one here.” He wasn’t really all that interested in going on Its a Small World, but if Rapunzel wanted to, then he’d do it.
Henry had left his camera bag at home. It was a bit bulky and heavy with his equipment and Henry hadn’t wanted to risk losing it in the park. He also didn’t feel as though he needed to have his professional grade cameras with him. He really didn’t need them as a shield or confidence enhancer when he was with Rapunzel. Like Revy, Henry felt perfectly comfortable with her and he didn’t feel the need to hide behind a lense.
That didn’t mean he hadn’t brought anything with him. He was a photographer when everything was said and done and there would be plenty of photo ops in the park, regardless if he felt as though he were in the mood to take them or not. So, he had his older digital camera with him, tucked away in a much smaller backpack.
The two of them made their way towards the tram with Henry humming Its a Small World softly. “Ugh, Rapunzel,” he laughed faintly. “Look what you did. Now it’s going to be stuck in my head all day.”
“Well, that’s a damn shame then. We have to make up for all the rides that you couldn’t go on as a tiny child,” Rapunzel couldn’t really picture Henry as a tiny child since he was so much taller than her, but she knew that’s how childhood worked. She was up for any and all rides at Disneyland and even some of the more kiddy rides if they weren’t too big to fit on them. She wanted to experience it all and run the rest of the day on pure adrenaline and cotton candy.
Her camera was just her smaller digital camera because she would never risk her SLR out in a place like this. She still loved her smaller camera just as much, but it was meant for things that weren’t going to be for an assignment and capturing parts of her life. She read that there were professional photographers around the park, but they would probably only be used if she wanted them to take photos together.
The moment he chastised her for getting that song stuck in his head she let out a loud laugh and grabbed his arm to pull him towards the tram, “I should blame you since you’re the one that said the magic words and I just couldn’t resist humming the melody.”
Henry stumbled along with her towards the tram. “Not my fault,” he said with a shake of his head. “Blame five-year-old Henry, he apparently loved the ride so much he made my parents take him on it five times.” Those had been the days, back when his parents had still been together, back before his father had taken the job in Arizona and the little family had ripped itself apart. Henry wasn’t a particularly sentimental man, especially about his childhood, but there were times he sort of missed those days when he had been tiny and walking hand-in-hand with his parents on either side of him, all three of them laughing and smiling happily.
There was a bit of that childlike wonder when the tram brought them up to the main entrance and Disneyland loomed just beyond full of fun and excitement. After the fog from Silent Hill and confronting his own two headed inner demon, Henry had really needed this.
Tickets paid for, they headed inside the park. They had only gone a few feet when a photographer in a pair of cargo shorts and a blue polo shirt stepped into their path, a camera at the ready. “Welcome to Disneyland,” she said with a cheery smile. “Would you like a photo to commemorate your date?”
It was almost like the heavens opened up and there were angels singing when she caught sight of the castle in the distance. This was actually happening and Rapunzel might cry just a little bit. But she managed to hold it together and she was a little bouncy with anticipation. Her camera was dug out of her bag as she snapped a few photos of the entrance way as they walked from security towards the booths to buy tickets.
Once inside she was surprised to be approached by one of the photographers and her cheeks instantly blushed when the woman asked if they wanted to commemorate their date to Disneyland. Er, awkward! It took her a moment to reply as she shook her head with a soft laugh, “We’re not actually dating, but we would like a photo. Can you take one with my camera as well?” The woman agreed and Rapunzel handed over her camera before joining Henry again and finally looked at his face.
“Sorry,” she whispered as they posed for the photo, “Didn’t realize that people would say that.” Hopefully he wasn’t totally embarrassed by the idea of being mistaken for her boyfriend. It was bound to happen, but it honestly didn’t enter her thoughts until it happened and she thought she handled it fairly well.
A date? Really? Two friends, one who happened to be a girl and the other who happened to be a boy, couldn’t make a visit to Disneyland without it being mistaken for a date?
Eh, whatever. Henry wasn’t embarrassed, he’d been in much worse socially awkward situations than being mistaken to be someone’s boyfriend. Besides it was an innocent mistake and the photographer was gracious enough to take their picture with Rapunzel’s camera to make up for it. Henry was actually much more awkward posing for the picture itself. Henry was more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it. But he put an arm around Rapunzel’s shoulders and tried not to smile too obnoxiously for the picture.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her once she had her camera back. “No harm done and we’re here to have fun, right? C’mone,” he started walking. “I saw you eyeing the castle. Want to start there?”
Rapunzel could feel his uncomfortableness with being in front of the camera, but she was going to get photos of the two of them together no matter what. She would be a little more sneaky if she wanted to take photos of him enjoying the sights and sounds of Disneyland without his knowledge. Once the picture was taken she went forward to meet the photographer and grab the camera back from her with a thanks.
“Sure, that sounds great. It’s basically right in the middle anyway,” Rapunzel pointed out as they went under the tunnel and grabbed a map. A soft gasp was given when she caught sight of mainstreet and smelled the candy-like scent in the air. She smiled brightly and began to take photos, “Wow, this looks like something out of the 50’s. It’s beautiful.” There was an urge to drag him into every single store, but she didn’t want to test Henry’s patience for her just yet.
Henry had very little memory of going to Disneyworld as a child. There was a photo album of the trip somewhere, but Henry hadn’t seen it since his mother had moved back to Maine and he wondered if it even still existed. That being said there was something comfortingly familiar about Mainstreet USA. It was bright and cheery and even smelled like happiness. Everywhere you looked you saw someone with a smile on their face, which was a great change of pace considering what had happened recently. Henry’s spirits lifted even more and the last bits of that dark cloud that had been hanging over him for days finally evaporated away and let the sun shine through.
For a few moments, Henry stood where he was, just taking it all in. “It is pretty awesome,” he agreed. “I mean, look at this place. You could probably spend hours just in this one spot.” He watched Rapunzel snap a couple of photos and smiled. She was turning into a real photographer. It made him kind of proud, actually.
As if remembering that he too was a photographer, Henry dug out his old trusty digital camera and started taking a couple of photos as well. After a few more minutes he looked at the photos he’d taken. Most of them - except for one that had a lady and her baby carriage photobombing the lower corner - came out very well. Maybe his photography slump was coming to an end as well.
They probably could have spent hours on Main Street snapping pictures, but a castle was awaiting them. Henry tapped Rapunzel on the shoulder and motioned up the street. “Let’s get you to that castle, ok?”
There was something so perfect about Main Street that made Rapunzel feel safe and happy. It was like she was coming home and she knew that she would probably end up buying herself an annual pass because there was something about being here and would continue to draw her back to it. It also didn’t help that as she walked by the various shops that she wanted to peer into every single one of them and she could spend a long time exploring every corner of it.
She had discovered Mickey Mouse ear hats, a whole store full of them, and was tempted to go inside and get one for herself and Henry, but she felt that tap on her shoulder and turned towards her friend. Okay, maybe it could wait until later because there was always the possibility that there would be more in other parts of the park. “Okay, let’s do it. But we have to make sure to come back here before we leave for the day,” she gave Henry a look that meant business and she was going to hold him to that.
With a sad sigh she tore her gaze away from the hats and followed Henry up the main street towards the kingdom. The castle looked quite impressive, decked out for the 60th anniversary, and she was quiet as she let her feet lead her towards the castle. Closer and closer she got and her green eyes grew wide as she stood at the base of it. “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered and she could feel her eyes starting to tear up. It was silly to start crying over something like this, but there was a call to her soul that she couldn’t quite explain.
“Uh, yeah,” Henry nodded and motioned back they way they’d come. “We have to come back this way to get to the car.” Clearly Rapunzel was very enamored with Main Street. Henry would sure they would come back before they left. He wouldn’t forget.
Henry wasn’t usually one for flights of fancy. Generally speaking he considered himself a very practical down to Earth type of guy - Dreams of abandoned subway stations and monsters notwithstanding. But even he couldn’t help but be awed by Cinderella’s Castle. It was huge and surprisingly regal looking as if it really had been plucked out of a fairy tale and placed here in the middle of the park. And it didn’t seem as though the park had spared any expense to decorate it’s most recognizable icon in celebration for the park’s 60th year.
Henry let out a low whistle as he raised his camera to get a shot. It wasn’t easy getting the whole castle in frame and he had to switch to the panorama function in order to get the crisp clean blue sky behind the castle as well.
He’d taken a couple of pictures when he noticed Rapunzel still staring at it, her eyes wide and awestruck. Was...was she crying?
“Rapunzel?” Was this what her Dreams were like? Full of fairy enchantment and magnificent castles? It must have been so strange for her to find herself here during her waking hours. Henry thought quickly before he took her hand and had her stand in the middle of the walk way with the castle and all of its glory as her backdrop. “Stay here for a sec, ok? I want to get your picture.”
His voice broke her out of her thoughts and she reached up to brush the tears from her eyes. Was she really crying? A friggin’ weirdo she was, but there was just something that was calling to her. It felt like she finally found a place where she belonged. When he took her hand and lead her into position in the walk way she couldn’t help but realize what he was doing. But she still let out a laugh when he told her that he wanted to take her photo, “Oh gosh, sorry, I’m acting like a dork. But sure. Let me make sure that I’m not crying anymore.” She fixed her eyes a little bit with her finger and then smiled properly for Henry.
“Alright,” she reached out for Henry when he was finished taking the photo and slid her arm into his, “Let’s start exploring. Pick a direction and we’ll head that way. I’ve got a map in my purse just in case.” She was so ready to start walking around and seeing the sights. There were so many things to do and she also hoped that they would run into some of the characters and she was definitely going to make Henry take a photo with a Princess today.
The next several hours Henry and Rapunzel explored the wonderful enchanted world of Disney. They rode as many rides as they could. Space Mountain was fun, but Henry wished it would have gone faster. The tea-cups were as fun as he remembered they were. They even went on Its a Small World, just for the sake of nostalgia. That was quickly followed by the Peter Pan ride and then Pirates of the Caribbean. Characters were roaming the park with their handlers and Henry got a couple of pictures of Rapunzel with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy. Henry himself posed with Mickey, Donald Duck, and - at Rapunzel’s great instance - Cinderella.
They took a break to sit and have lunch for a little bit. They looked over the map as they ate and plotted what they wanted to do next. Rapunzel was jonesing to go to the shops she saw on Main Street, so they decided to take a break from rides to do a little shopping.
Henry was a terrible shopper, so he let Rapunzel take the lead.
The shops were a good way to break up the day and they could leave the park from there in order to go over to California Adventure. She wanted to make sure that they saw each of the nighttime shows, so they would be coming back over here later anyway. But now was the time to rest their feet for just a little bit and wander the shops. They had made a good dent in their list of things to see and do and Rapunzel managed to get Henry to pose with Cinderella! They wandered down Main Street and Rapunzel chewed thoughtfully on her churro trying to figure out what to go into first.
They made it past the first couple stores that were actually restaurants and a barber shop and she decided to forgo the bakery for the moment and instead made her way to one of the shops selling merchandise. One hand reached back to make sure Henry was with her as they navigating the crowd and she stepped into the air conditioning. In front of her was a huge selection of various clothing items with some of the various Disney characters on it. She spent a bit of time looking around, always checking to make sure Henry was nearby, because losing him would be an awful thing to do.
It wasn’t until she took a left and wound up in a new section of the store that she stopped in her tracks. One half of the store was the boy’s section and the other section was girl’s and completely dominated by Disney Princesses. It wasn’t all of the princesses that caught her eye, but a familiar purple and yellow symbol and Rapunzel approached slowly with a confused expression on her face. Was this -- it had to be. This symbol wasn’t widely known and when she got closer and discovered all sorts of new things and raised so many red flags.
“ I -- What… this looks just like Flynn...and this dress looks like the one in my dreams,” Rapunzel stumbled over her words as she tried to figure out what was going on and turned to look at Henry with a bit of panic in her eyes. How did Disney know about these things from her dreams?
Munching on a churro, Henry was debating the merits of getting a light saber. Sure it was expensive, but it looked cool, and could be used a prop for a photoshoot sometime in the future. Plus how awesome would it be to actually own a light saber? Henry wasn’t particularly into sci-fi, but even he could appreciate the legacy that was Star Wars. He turned to ask Rapunzel what color she thought he should get and saw her over by the Disney Princesses merchandise looking very upset. Not just upset…panicked.
Uh oh. Henry abandoned the light sabers and quickly joined her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”” He looked up at the shelves to try and find what could have possibly upset her. What he found was merchandise from the movie Tangled. Henry’s brows furrowed together. Was that it? The movie about a girl in a tower with long hair who goes on a coming of age adventure with a dashing young rogue and along the way discovers that she’s actually the kingdom’s long lost princess-
Ooooohhh.
“Oh, Rapunzel,” he said apologetically. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize….” he faltered. He’d heard that some people’s dreamworlds came into this world by means other than just dreams. He hadn’t actually seen it before, so it came a bit as a shock to him too. He could only imagine how upsetting and confusing it had to be for Rapunzel.
He took a breath and tried again. “I’ve heard from some people on the network that sometimes our dreams come through to our world in other ways than just our dreams. Like...uh...some people find their dreams retold in comic books, and TV shows and sometimes books….and...sometimes...movies…” Was this explanation helping at all, or was he only confusing her more? He hoped not, because honestly, he didn’t understand it either and had no way of better explaining it.
“I’m sorry Rapunzel.” He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I should have known.”
At some point in this discover Rapunzel had picked up a doll that had a somewhat similar painted face to her own. It wasn’t perfect and her hair wasn’t that long, but that dress. She had that dress hanging up in her closet right now and her hair was getting dangerously to the level that it was in the dreams. And the Flynn Rider in the box looked so much like the man in her dreams that it was so spooky. And there … Maximus… Mother… Pascal…. it was almost like their painted faces were silently laughing at her. Mocking her for not knowing about this sooner.
It almost felt as if someone had gone inside of her head and picked through her dreams. That was incredibly creepy and invasive and Rapunzel couldn’t control the shudder that passed down her spine. Her large green eyes were still staring at Henry and trying to make sense of what was going on. Words about not realizing, coming into our world, books, movies. Was this seriously happening? The world she was dreaming of was apparently a cog in the Disney wheel and Rapunzel had no idea. Where there other people on the network that knew what she was dreaming about?
“It’s….unnerving,” that was probably the best phrase to describe it. Her dreams didn’t really make much sense, but she had never expected to be something like this. A fairytale that was also a movie. Also a character that could perhaps be in this very park. What in the world would she do if she ever encountered someone pretending to be her? The hand on her shoulder was a comfort and she lifted her hand up to place it over his, “I know, it’s not your fault. I just … we should get out of here so I can clear my head for a while. It’s overwhelming.” Head tilted up towards him and there was slight sadness in her eyes that indicated she had a lot of soul searching to do when she got home, but she wasn’t going to ruin their day out.
Henry looked down at her, his brows knitted tightly in concern for his friend. He put an arm around her and held her close for a moment, gently patting her back soothingly before steering her out of the shop and back onto Main Street. He found a bench in a nice little shady spot by a tree for them to sit down at.
Their day hadn’t been ruined, just altered a little bit. And, really, Henry was more concerned with how Rapunzel was handling this new revelation than he was how the revelation was going to affect their outing. She had become a good friend to him, he wanted to be sure she was alright.
The problem was that Henry wasn’t a very good talker. It was times of personal crises like this that he wished he better knew what to say. So he sat with her, ready to listen if she wanted to talk out what was going on in her head, but perfectly willing to be another presence if she would rather work it out in her own head.
The closeness was helpful and it reminded her that she was just a normal person. The dreams were just something strange that were happening to her and not the basis for her entire existence. It brought her back to reality and she shouldn’t worry about what was going on with this whole Disney thing. This wasn’t the time to have a meltdown over something so odd. She wanted to continue her fun day with Henry.
Once on the bench she reached out to pat Henry’s hand and smiled over at him, “Thanks for being here. I’m glad you were here when I saw that stuff. I don’t want to think too much about it. Just a bit of a shock. I think keeping up on our day will help me out a lot.” Distractions would be good and she would most likely talk to Laura about some of this and see what her girlfriend had to say before she worried too much about it. Although, she did notice that the dolls and her and Eugene were packaged together, so maybe that meant things would end up okay in the end?
“I just need more sugar and a fast ride or something,” she was slowly coming back to herself and she looked over at Henry with a smile, “Maybe we should get a thing of cotton candy to share.” Pure sugar rush sounded incredibly ideal in this moment and she was starting to stand up and grabbed his hand to bring him into the bakery.
Henry nodded slowly. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to talk about what she had seen too much more. She needed a little more time to process everything, maybe on her own, maybe talking with Laura. It was a lot to come to terms with. Henry had found thinking too much about his dreams - his utter lack of autonomy within them - was often overwhelming. Rapunzel was so happy and full of sunshine, Henry hoped that she would be able to sort it all out. Laura would help, he was sure, and he’d be there to listen if she ever wanted to talk.
She seemed to be coming back to herself now and the distraction was probably a good idea. He smiled at her when she grabbed his hand and started towards the bakery. Sugary goodness was an excellent place to start. “I haven’t had cotton candy in years,” he said. “Then after that maybe we’ll go on a few more rides. I don’t think we’ve been to the other side of the park yet.”
Just so long as they stayed out of the shops for the time being.