Tag: descendants

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shards beneath our feet (an elemental Lost kids fanmix)

  1. I See Fire by Paola Bennet
  2. Jump Before We Fall by Michael Schulte
  3. Come Away To The Water (ft. Nicole) by Dasha Akelin
  4. Red Hands by Walk Off The Earth
  5. Breath Of Life by Florence + The Machine
  6. Invincible by OK Go
  7. Pumpin Blood by NONONO
  8. Radioactive (ft. Lindsey Stirling) by Pentatonix
  9. Bottom of the River by Delta Rae
  10. Earthquake by Hit The Lights
  11. Skyway by The Apples In Stereo
  12. Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy
  13. Team by Kina Grannis, Imaginary Future & Emi Grannis
  14. (bonus track) Once Upon A Dream by Lana Del Rey

Find it here!
(The link sends you to a mediafire folder, only the zip file is necessary for the entire mix)

–

A/N: A little late, but considering how late it was when I started…

ANYWAY! So this is for the still Untitled Descendants x AtLA fusion drabbles. I was looking for music to help me inspire some writing and instead stumbled into making a fanmix. Which, I mean, was also pretty fun. So hope y’all enjoy this (especially you, @theotpauthor! Thanks for all your support!)

EDIT: NOW WITH TITLE “OUTLIVING THE RUINS”

Outliving The Ruins, 2/? (2015-11-26)

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When she was younger and far more reckless with her magic, the Fairy Godmother was once called the Blue Fairy.

Like most other elements, Air has a specialization, too–but where Earth has Metal and Fire has Lightning, Air has more in common with Water. Water which can heal, which can turn a person’s blood against them.

Water is the body, but Air is the spirit.

She brought a wooden puppet to life once.

Surely she can bring a daughter into this world, too.

“Please,” she whispers, holding the still, tiny body to her chest, “Please.”

On a moonless night, several hours after her birth, Jane breathes her first breath.

—

The last Avatar was originally an Earth bender, a masterful one at that. From a stone, he gathered and extracted all of its metal and formed a magical sword. The sword that would one day choose Arthur as king.

That Avatar had trained Arthur, had brought him to the Spirit World, bestowed upon him a wisdom that would one day unite all of Albion into a single kingdom.

Of course, that union lasted only for a very short time, the separate kingdoms splitting apart not long after King Arthur’s death. Earth endures, but the loss of his student had the Avatar retreating into isolation for the rest of his long life.

Merlin died only a few years after seeing Albion reunited under a new name.

Mal was born with the impossible conviction that she would one day return to her rightful place–beside the king of Auradon.

—

Ben remembers being small and sitting between his parents. He remembers the smell of old books and the warm sunlight shining through the library’s windows. He remembers the way they looked at each other, soft and in love.

He remembers hearing about their story–from them, from his grandfather, from the rest of the household–and thinking that one day he’d like to fall in love, too; to love someone so much as to defy society.

Except he also remembers the way everyone would gloss over just how his father survived Gaston’s attacks. He remembers how his mother would only play in the snow with him and Chip, always with a secretive smile on her lips.

He remembers, fuzzily, being sick for such a long time–no manner of medicine able to cure him–and finally recovering under his mother’s cool, glowing hands.

Bending is dangerous–the other royal families say–except for the Fairy Godmother, benders are villains in waiting.

It’s been a decade since Ben saw his mother. It’s been a decade since Ben learned his father was a coward.

~

A/N: Related to this previous drabble. I guess you can consider this the Auradon side.

I’m not very keen on the Merlin section but… mreh. And, I know Albion is only meant to be the United Kingdom but in this weird amalgamated, modern-day-set Disney world, I figure it wouldn’t be too out there to imply that Albion = medieval Auradon…

As for the Ben+parents’ section, uh… given what we see of Beast/Adam and Belle in the movie, I figure that if Belle were a waterbender (healing tears, snow fight, etc) and Beast/Adam were under pressure from the other royal families well. Even though Beauty and Beast’s “evil” was human arrogance, the other kingdoms suffered under magical/bending villains.

EDIT: NOW WITH TITLE “OUTLIVING THE RUINS”

Untitled Descendants prompt response drabble (2015-11-20)

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The first time, he doesn’t notice. Ben is a tactile person, he grew up with a father who would casually ruffle his hair when happy, a mother who would gently rest a hand against his cheek to show she cared. Touching is communication, is affection.

And so when he reaches out to place a hand on Carlos’ shoulder he doesn’t notice it. Doesn’t think much of the way Carlos tenses under his hand, how he curls away; attributes it to Dude and lingering traces of Carlos’ fear.

Ben doesn’t notice that first time.

—

Tourney means physical contact–tackles aren’t allowed, but checking happens frequently enough. It’s not so bad, everyone’s padded, but the first few times, Carlos makes like a turtle and huddles under his shield.

“No, you can’t just hide,” Ben says, pulling the shield away and offering Carlos a hand up; he hesitates before taking it.

“Well what’s the shield for, then?” Carlos shoots back, more than a little frustrated at their lack of progress. Scoring was easy to pick up–accuracy and speed something which came easy to him–but checking practice sucks.

Ben considers it, tries to articulate the thoughts that a culture of knighthood has instilled into him, “A shield protects you, yes, but it’s so that you can push forward and act,” he smiles, because that seems about right.

Uncertainly, Carlos smiles back.

“Why don’t we call it quits for now? You did well today,” Ben says. This time, when he reaches a hand out to Carlos, he notices the flinch and pulls back immediately. But he accredits it to checking practice and nothing more.

—

It’s not that Ben is watching Carlos–except for how he kind of is. He’s looking out for all of the Lost kids, really, wants to make sure they’re settling in okay. And if he focuses his attention on Carlos more than the others, well, that’s only because the other three seem to be handling the other students well enough on their own.

But as he watches, he begins to see a pattern.

Carlos has no problem picking up Dude and, for want of a better word, cuddling whenever he pleases. He also has no issues sharing personal space with his fellow Lost kids, drawing comfort from the closeness of his friends, or leaning in to share whispers with Evie–short white hair mixing with long blue. But it’s when touch is made that Carlos freezes.

The other Lost kids know it, too, and seem to accommodate in their own way. Evie flows around him, looping their arms together without any contact, until Carlos eases into it himself. Jay’s roughhousing is playful at heart, the way wolf cubs tussle and tumble with one another; even then, Jay will pause after initiating contact, to let Carlos adjust, before continuing. Mal and Carlos hardly ever touch, but in the rare occasions that happens, she looks him in the eye as a form of nonverbal warning before touching him.

It’s courteous, which isn’t a word Ben would think to use for the Lost kids, so it must be important.

~

A/N: So… this is a very very late response to anon’s prompt here and it… uh.. doesn’t really fill the prompt. So double sorry, anon (… or @jalencolbert?)

I had been hoping to put it into Ain’t No Rest, but since that’s on hiatus, I felt bad about letting it languish unfilled… hence this drabble.

I know you probably wanted some cute flirty touching but all I could think about was how Carlos is unused to positive contact and would be very touch shy. So I guess this could be considered “pre-slash” Benlos…

edit: now posted on ao3 here

Outliving The Ruins, 1/? (2015-11-17)

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His father grew up in a desert. Where other benders lacked the focus to control so many grains of sand, his father had been able to bend entire dunes to his whim–as powerful as a god. Combined with his intelligence and shrewdness, it was no surprise when he became royal vizier. Second only to the sultan in Agrabah.

And yet, that was not enough for his father.

Sand is shifting, consuming, grasping. Greedy. Selfish. Sand is a poor foundation to build on, turns wind into something abrasive and destructive. There is no substance to sand.

Jay was born and raised on an island of rock and metal. All his life he has seen the people of the Isle build a home out of scraps, carve out an existence in an unwelcoming land. They are not ashamed and they do not falter.

Jay is a very different kind of earth bender than his father.

—

The water of the Isle is poisonous. The shoreline is murky with toxic waste, the clouds weep acid rain, and the river cutting across the island is more like a swamp. There is no pure water on the Isle.

And that’s the way Evie likes it.

Only a weak bender would need pure water. Night or day, tainted water or not, Evie is no weakling. The sea creatures near the Isle are hardier than their Auradon counterparts, acid rain is capable of wearing down stone, and the swamps are teeming with life. Water is life; the strong adapt. This is what she sees, this is what she learns.

She may never become a healer, but that is only one path a water bender may take. She will make her own path.

And anyway, as the daughter of a collector of hearts, she knows what the most potent liquid in the world really is.

—

Carlos is not a bender. His mother isn’t one, so he isn’t either. He doesn’t smile at the wind in his hair, doesn’t think about how running could so easily turn into flying. It’s only logical to think that wide open spaces are better than a cramped closet full of fur and steel; less so to think heights are safer than having his feet on the ground.

But he isn’t a bender. Can’t be.

There is only one air bender in the world and she’s in Auradon.

—

Mal is a dragon’s daughter, fire bending is in her genes. One of her earliest memories as a child is setting a minion’s clothes on fire, and her mother’s proud cackling in delight. It is much more difficult to earn that kind of praise now that she’s older, even if her abilities have improved greatly.

Maybe that’s the problem, because it’s not just her fire bending abilities that have improved. When she mimics Jay, she can also lift boulders; when she copies Evie, the raindrops freeze for her as well.

There is only one person who can bend multiple elements, after all; the Avatar has never been a force for evil.

~

A/N: Gotta get back to my roots… or something like that 😛

Some DescendantsxAtLA fusion fic! Sort of from these two posts. I don’t know if I’ll continue this, but it was floating around in my brain and I thought–better write that down before it disappears.

EDIT: NOW WITH TITLE “OUTLIVING THE RUINS”

Character Analysis: Descendants, The Lost Kids (2015-11-11)

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A/N1: Because I missed Descendants, even if the Wicked World series kind of messes with all my head-canons from the movie… So as far as I’m concerned, the movie is alpha canon while the book(s) and animated shorts are beta canon. Not that canons necessarily correlate with head-canons buuuuut…

Anyway, the lost kids!

With any of my character analyses I am open to alternate interpretations, so please feel free to reblog with your own analysis. 🙂

Carlos
Phlegmatic – Apathetic/Conflicted
IS(F/t)P = Artisan = Composer/crafter
Air
Slytherin-Gryffindor

Evie
Sanguine – Optimist
EN(F/t)J = Idealist/Rational = Teacher/field-marshal
Water
“True” Slytherin

Jay
Choleric – Realist
ESTP = Artisan = Promoter
Earth
Slytherin-Hufflepuff

Mal
Melancholic – Cynic
INT(J/p) = Rational = Mastermind/architect
Fire
Slytherin-Ravenclaw

Reasoning under the cut.

The Four Temperament / Four Philosophy Ensemble

If you’ve read my previous character analyses, you’ll know that I’m relatively new and not very fond of this trope. That being said, it does have some redeemable insights, so I decided to proceed with it anyway. The links above lead to the TVTropes pages but, like Wikipedia, TVTropes is not the authority on these.

Here’s a really quick break down of what the ensembles are and how they correspond to each other:

Sanguine – extroverted, emotional, people-oriented – Optimist
Choleric – extroverted, unemotional, task-oriented – Realist
Melancholic – introverted, emotional, task-oriented – Cynic
Phlegmatic – introverted, unemotional, people-oriented – Apathetic/Conflicted

The two obvious ones for this were Jay and Mal. I consider both of them to be more “task-oriented” than the other two–to them people are either obstacles or means to an end (especially the Auradon students who are then subjected to their respective charm/intimidation). They may know how to manipulate people, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily care about other people’s feelings. Then when you compare the extroverted and unemotional traits of the Choleric temperament with the introverted and emotional traits of the Melancholic temperament, it seems pretty clear to me that Jay is Choleric and Mal is Melancholic. Their corresponding Philosophies match as well, with Jay being the Realist and Mal being, in comparison, the Cynic.

Then for Evie and Carlos, the two “people-oriented” temperaments–Evie is undoubtedly an extrovert; while Carlos isn’t as definitively an introvert as Mal is, I do think he is one, especially what we see of him in the movie. As for emotional versus unemotional, it could be argued that both of them act emotionally during the events of the movie (unsurprising, considering how big a change it is for all of them) but I think, in comparison, Evie’s character arc is more about becoming more in touch with herself and her feelings whereas Carlos’ is making decisions despite his feelings.

I ultimately had to fall back on the Philosophies to choose. Hence, Evie as the Optimist–looking forward to Auradon, even if it was a big change, believing in herself even after Chad’s actions. And Carlos as the Apathetic/Conflicted–both because, basically, once he had Dude he literally cared about nothing else for the rest of the movie, because, as I said before, most of his story arc is making decisions despite his feelings, leaving the Isle despite/because of his conflicted feelings about his mother, reaching out to Dude despite being afraid of dogs, etc. The corresponding temperaments are then Sanguine for Evie and Phlegmatic for Carlos.

—

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Here’s the basics of the MBTI: it’s a set of four binaries which combine to produce one of sixteen distinct personality types. The binaries are:
Extroversion vs Introversion = self/society
Sensing vs iNtuition = learning/information
Thinking vs Feeling = decision-making
Judging vs Perceiving = planning/(re)acting

And so with that in mind, here’s the Lost kids:

Carlos – IS(F/t)P
As I’ve previously stated, I do believe Carlos is an introvert–not as much of one as Mal, but he doesn’t need people. More so in the book, he’s easily satisfied so long as he has stuff to tinker about with–in the movie, his story doesn’t revolve around people, it revolves around his own fears (of dogs, of his mother, of getting hurt) and him overcoming it. Sensors focus on facts and details more than the bigger picture, they inherently trust what they’ve experienced or what can be proven more than what could be (he’s quick to overcome his fear of dogs when presented with proof that Dude isn’t a rabid monster even though his mother told him otherwise). Feeling vs thinking I figure he is in the middle of the spectrum–given his book background of enjoying technical and scientific fields he is a little bit thinking, but the decisions we see him making in the movie are feelings based. For the most part, Carlos isn’t decisive–he goes along with other people’s plans–in addition, he’s adaptable (getting the alarm to shut off during the failed heist) and likes to mix work and play (literally playing video games before helping Mal plan the heist), hence Perceiving.

Evie – EN(F/t)J
Evie is the most extroverted of the group, she enjoys being around people and gets energized in group situations. Unlike Carlos, she is a big picture kind of person, always having the idea of meeting her very own Prince Charming, to the point where she trusted him even though she had no idea what kind of person he was (which, unfortunately for her, ended up being a heartbreaking asshole kind of person). Like Carlos, she is in the middle of the feeling vs thinking spectrum, though for slightly different reasons–for the movie she is mostly a Feeler due to her generosity, even excluding her crush manipulating her, she genuinely wanted to help Mal feel beautiful for her date with Ben. But there’s some pragmatism within that–wanting to impress her crush could lead to her fairytale ending, and when Lonnie wanted a new hairstyle Evie sought payment. As for Judging, well, her whole life has been following the large plan to find and marry a prince. Even without that, she’s constantly working (making absolutely gorgeous dresses and, at some point, a sleeping potion, when she’s not doing Chad’s homework), very decisive, and organized.

Jay – ESTP
Jay was, again, pretty easy to decide on. Despite his father’s “teaching,” Jay is both a team player and fond of groups–whether they be tourney players, princesses he can flirt with, or his friends. He is more on the sensing side, focusing more on what is tangible than not, and due to his task-orientedness almost to the point indifference he is more of a thinker than a feeler. Like Carlos, Jay is more of a reactor than an instigator (he follows, he doesn’t plan) and given his thieving spree early on he likewise believes in play before work.

Mal – INT(J/p)
Similarly, Mal was also pretty easy to decide on. She is an almost textbook case of introversion, and while some of that may be due to her misanthropy, she honestly does not need people or like crowds–she works best one-on-one. Like Evie, she is a big picture kind of person and her method of problem solving isn’t a single track method–in order to get the wand she sees and considers and even sort of implements multiple methods, she knows the wand is the Fairy Godmother’s so she cultivates a “relationship” with Jane, when that doesn’t yield anything, she plans the museum heist, when that fails, she seizes on the opportunity that the coronation presents–hence intuition (N).

The thinking vs feeling was a little tricky, not because I think she’s in the middle of the spectrum like Evie and Carlos, but because a lot of this movie was disguising her “thinking” tendencies for “feeling.” Let me explain–as previously mentioned, she is very task-oriented like Jay; people and their feelings are obstacles/tools, not something to be considered when making decisions–but basically the entire movie is about her emotional journey from following her mother’s orders to being her own person. Her decisions are in line to maximize benefit to herself–yes, even her “cure brownies” because she didn’t make them for Ben’s benefit but rather to alleviate her own guilt. Even her speech about the Lost kids staying in Auradon, it was a very logical breakdown of happiness–this makes you happy so you should stay here, this makes you unhappy so you shouldn’t go back, even though emotions don’t necessarily follow cause and effect like that.

It’s actually the the Judging vs perceiving spectrum which I think she falls in the middle for–ultimately, since she is the major decision maker of the group and her penchant for focusing on her work over play, I did decide on Judging more than perceiving. But she is still a little perceiving since the decision to get the wand was originally her mother’s and even though she was the planner of each of the different attempts to get the wand, they were pretty loose plans created as they went. Get to the museum, okay, now what? Can’t get past the forcefield, now what? Become Ben’s girlfriend before the coronation. 

—

Keirsey Temperaments

The Keirsey Temperaments are somewhat based on MBTI, in that it splits the types into a set of four temperaments and then gives fancy titles to the types within the temperaments. You can go to the link above to check out the individual titles for the MB types (they’re pretty interesting reads).

The temperaments correspond to the MBTI binaries as such: _S_J = Guardian, _S_P = Artisan, _NF_ = Idealist, _NT_ = Rational. The temperaments are sort of like two binaries as well–focusing on Communication and Action, that is: Concrete vs Abstract communicators and Utilitarian vs Cooperative actors. So Guardians are Concrete Cooperators, Idealists are Abstract Cooperators, Artisans are Concrete Utilitarians, and Rationals are Abstract Utilitarians.

Surprisingly, unlike my previous character analyses, the Lost kids aren’t arranged so that there is one of each type of temperament. Or perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising; given that, for all their differences, they are all villain kids and from the Isle of the Lost, certain temperaments simply aren’t practical on the Isle.

From the above types for the Lost kids, we get Carlos as an Artisan (specifically Composer/crafter), Evie as either an Idealist or a Rational (specifically Teacher or field-marshal), Jay as an Artisan (Promoter), and Mal as a Rational (Mastermind/architect). For the most part, on the Isle, I do think that Carlos, Evie, and Mal are their lowercase designations–on the Isle you have to be careful with your feelings, and given that Mal’s mother basically rules the Isle Mal is subject to Maleficent’s plans, not her own.

Artisans and Rationals are both Utilitarians–both act pragmatically, ignoring/bending rules in order to achieve their goals. While Artisans generally focus on quick, effective payoffs, Rationals want to fulfill their objectives as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. On the Isle, that kind of utilitarian mindset is not only encouraged but also, possibly, literally cultivated by their parents.

Since most of the movie isn’t on Auradon, however, a lot of what we see of Carlos, Evie, and Mal are their uppercase designations. Carlos and Evie both have the freedom to use their emotions whereas Mal has to step up and be de facto leader of the group. It doesn’t really change much for either Carlos or Mal–Carlos is still an Artisan whereas Mal is still a Rational, but Evie jumps from Rational to Idealist. Idealists are Abstract Cooperators–they focus mostly on their hopes and the possibilities for the future, and try to reach their goals without breaking their personal code of ethics–which also matches pretty well with Evie’s Sanguine/Optimist designation.

—

Avatar Elements

Like Hogwarts Houses, which is the next section, I believe that the Elements from the Avatar series does provide some nifty looks into characters’ personalities as well as having a convenient numerical match up. The above link sends you to a list of bending arts in the Avatar world, but if you follow through to the main articles of the Elements you can find more in-depth descriptions on the spirituality behind the respective elements. 

I actually did some brainstorming regarding a Descendants x Avatar fusion in which only the Lost kids (and Fairy Godmother) are benders. I stand by the elemental designations I gave to each of them there, but I’ll go into more detail here (character-wise, that is). So, I posit that Carlos is Air, Evie is Water, Jay is Earth, and Mal is Fire, and here is why:

Air is the element of freedom, pacifism, open-mindedness, and adaptability. In a symbolic sense, Carlos’ character arc is about him freeing himself from his past, his mother’s abuse, his fears. He’s never the one to instigate conflicts, is more likely to run than fight, and the rare cases when he stands up against his mother (in the video call) and Maleficent (at the coronation) it’s in defense of his friends not himself. He was willing to give Dude a chance, despite his phobia of dogs, and in a larger sense he was open to going to Auradon even though that’s where dogs are. As for adaptability, I’ve already mentioned it above so…

Water is the element of change, generosity, balance, and emotions. As previously stated, Evie is–especially amongst the Lost kids–generous and the most in touch emotionally; she knows her emotions and knows how to use emotions. Her story throughout the movie is about her achieving an inner peace, a balance between what she thinks she wants and what she actually needs, between expectations and being true to herself. All of them change in the movie, but with Evie it’s subtle. Visually, you see her outfits changing, yes–becoming softer and blending in more with the Auradon style–but character-wise she gains self-confidence. She goes from someone who sees her talents as a means to get a prince to someone who sees her talents as what makes her inherently amazing; she doesn’t need a prince to be complete, she already is.

Earth is the element of substance, determination, stability, and straightforwardness. Earth is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the least spiritual of the elements and is treated very pragmatically. Similarly, Jay’s character arc isn’t as emotionally wrought as the others’–sure, he does doubt the plan to steal the wand way before anyone else does, but it’s as much logical take on emotions much like Mal’s speech on happiness is–for the most part it’s just him shedding his father’s misanthropic lessons to reveal the literal team player that he really is underneath. But, he never really accepted that to begin with. When his friends are being threatened, he steps forward to protect them–even when it’s by Maleficent’s dragon form–he is, almost literally, the rock the others rely on.

Fire is the element of power (though it may be better to say that it is the element of energy), industry, creativity, and drive. As previously stated, Mal is hard working and artistic. Like in the Avatar series, Mal’s drive is at first twisted for her mother’s nefarious gains, whereas Zuko at first only knows how to power his bending through anger and hate. But, ultimately, both Zuko and Mal discover good and wrest control of their life away from their toxic parents and societal expectations. In AtLA, the Fire Nation only sees their bending as a way to destroy and consume, but as the Sun Warriors and dragons explain, that is only when they are out of control. When in control, fire isn’t destruction it’s creation which parallels Mal’s story line.

—

Hogwarts Houses (surely, no link is necessary… :P)

I greatly enjoyed @kisapandemonium‘s lovely GIF edit and, frankly, agree. The tag “#finally a group of slytherins we can all get behind” basically sums up what I loved so much about the Descendants movies. Because all of the Lost kids are Slytherins (and not because of the “Slytherin=evil” bullshit)–cunning, ambitious, pragmatic–and I’m so fond of that fact.

However, I also enjoy the idea (I don’t know where the original post is, sorry, but it’s not mine) that each of the Golden Trio represent another House–with Harry being Slytherin, Hermione being Ravenclaw, and Ron being Hufflepuff. I also enjoy the implication that follows, in that Neville is a “True” Gryffindor (I also don’t remember the original post, but I believe it was something like… Neville was a Hat stall only because he kept arguing against being a Gryffindor and the Hat was pretty damn sure he was a Gryffindor. Because the fact that Neville argued against the Hat). And so I kind of want to mix those two together.

While I do believe that all of the Lost kids are Slytherins–if we were to have “secondary House alignments” then Carlos would be Gryffindor, Jay would be Hufflepuff, and Mal would be Ravenclaw, while Evie is the “True” Slytherin. Carlos’ story arc is about facing his fears–dogs, physical confrontations (on the tourney field), his mother, Maleficent–hence, Gryffindor. Throughout the movie, Jay shows such utter loyalty to his friends that he even willingly throws himself in front of a dragon to protect them. As for the “Slyther-claw” vs the “True” Slytherin, that was a bit of a toss up. But, ultimately, Mal isn’t all that ambitious, certainly not in comparison to Evie. Mal was content on the Isle, graffitiing her symbol wherever she could put it and committing small acts of evil. Evie, in comparison, has always wanted more out of life–while that no longer includes a prince to marry, now it’s a desire to be more than what other people expect from her.

And that’s all, folks! If you got this far then I hoped you enjoyed 🙂

~

A/N2: It seems kind of cowardly to hide this in the author’s notes of a separate post, but I think Ain’t No Rest is officially going to be on hiatus. It, as I feared, collapsed under its own weight and lack of direction.

That being said, that does free me up to do other non-ANR Descendants fic. And I’m not saying that means I’ll do Once The Always, but I am planning on re-watching the TCoN movies soon so…

Ain’t No Rest, part 11/? (2015-10-19)

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While the staff panics over the missing prince, Jay dashes across an emptied courtyard to the other side of the embassy. There are two more possibilities to inspect and, as he hoped, the guards for those doors have joined the commotion. He’s going to take advantage of this distraction while he can.

The good news is, his first choice is a room with a very promising looking vault.

The bad news? Apparently someone else had the same idea.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Jay asks, trying to sound authoritative instead of like an impostor. Considering his true identity, well, he’s depending more on the fact that it worked once already.

The other figure, definitely not a guard from his clothes or lean frame, startles away from the vault door.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Jay adds, only about seventy percent sure of that.

“Ah, yes, well… you see… I was just…” the guy stammers and Jay is actually kind of embarrassed for him. If there were rules for being a thief, one of them would definitely be not to get flustered if caught. Of course, one of the rules before that one would be not to get caught in the first place.

“Uh huh,” Jay says, expression and tone blatantly disbelieving.

The would-be thief sighs and sort of slumps, running a hand through his short hair, “I thought I’d have more time. It seemed like everyone was headed to my room  so I thought I’d be able to crack this before then.”

… This is ridiculous.

“Prince Amir,” Jay says flatly, and said prince reacts with a sheepish wince.

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to keep this a secret from my father?” Amir asks, and Jay can hardly hold back his laughter. No way is he going anywhere near the ambassador.

“That depends,” Jay replies, an idea forming in his head.

“On what?” the prince says back.

“On how far along you got.” After all, getting someone else to open a lock for you is half the fun of stealing.

~

A/N: Ugh, very short, and yet still somehow not at all what I had planned. THIS FIC.

Two Messy Misc. Fusion Fic Brainstorms (2015-10-17)

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A couple of very tiny brainstorms, such tiny storms of brains… It’s a feast for zombie ants.

1) HTGAWM x Inception fusion

IIIIIIIIIIII… don’t even know? I’ve just been getting a lot Inception vibes while watching HTGAWM? Like especially the parallels between Cobb with Arthur and and Mal then Annalise with Frank+Bonnie and Sam. And, let’s be real, how much more interesting would Inception have been as a movie if it had been Annalise Keating instead of Dominic Cobb (ugh, all his manpain is like mayo on wonderbread).

Anyway so…

How To Get Away With Inception

It’s not enough to be the first. In this industry? You have to be the best.

And the best is Annalise Keating.

Featuring: Extractor!Annalise, Pointmen!Frank+Bonnie,  Forger!Connor, Chemist!Michaela, Architect!Laurel, Jack-of-all-trades?Wes, and Tourist!Asher. (Tbh, I’m iffy on Frank, Laurel, Wes, and Asher’s roles. I do want Wes to not seemingly have a specialty and so the others think he’s just Annalise’s puppy like in canon, but I also want him to be able to do stuff. OH WHAT IF–)

I dunno. I wouldn’t want it to be a one-to-one copy-paste type of fusion/crossover. But there are definitely some parallels between the two that I think it would be absolutely fascinating to explore HTGAWM through an Inception lens.

Like, maybe in a post-Inception world, dream-sharing becomes more legitimate. There are actual firms created in the defense (and intrusion) of minds. It would make sense for it to begin with lawyers–and surely an ex-lawyer would be a better extractor than an ex-architect?

Anyway, it’s a small practice at first, since really all the Keating Four (at the time, Annalise, Sam, Frank, and Bonnie) focus on is defense. But then… something happens with the Lila Stangard job. Something which leaves the mark brain dead, Sam Keating in a coma, and Annalise with a greater grasp of dream sharing than previously thought possible much less attainable.

And so Annalise supposedly stops working–stops helping the rich people of the world build security for their minds. Because now she’s breaking into them instead, extracting has always been more of a lucrative business than securing.

Except then this broke kid comes along and says he may have a way to fix Sam Keating. He’s seen something similar, but not quite. Instead of Lila and Sam, it’s Rudy and Rebecca. And, yes, that broke kid is Wes.

So Tourist!Wes into the mind of Rebecca who may have the key to figuring out how to fix Sam? Ugh, I dunno. Intricate plots are not my wheelhouse.

—

2) HPxDescendants fusion

Because I received this anonymous ask, and it sort of got me thinking on what I would do in my own HPxDescendants crossover. I’m not particularly motivated to do this one–Once Then Always is much higher on my list–but I figured I ought to type it out than let it stagnate in my head. And it’s not that much anyway:

In line with anonymous’ Harry is raised in Auradon… I was actually thinking it might be interesting if instead of taking Carlos’ place, Harry takes Jane’s or, maybe, is raised alongside Jane as her brother. Like… where best to hide a magical baby than with the baby of one of the most magical beings in Auradon.

But I guess the fic would be a lot about how Harry has been doing accidental magic since he was young and how that twists Jane’s self-esteem because her brother has magic but she (supposedly) doesn’t. But, tbh, I don’t care that much about Jane to the point of writing a Jane-centric HP-fusion fic.

And I guess there could be some interesting conflict/drama about how Harry’s eye color is worryingly similar to a certain evil fairy’s. And so maybe the story is about how people think that there is a good and evil fairy born to every generation then–until Harry’s true origin is revealed–the evil fairy is assumed to be Harry (when in fact it is Mal). I dunno.

I’d go about connecting the two world through magic lore, but I don’t know enough/don’t care enough to create one interesting enough to sustain a fusion fic.

—

Like I said. Very messy.

1/? HP!anon. Sorry about the confusion, but asks have a word limit. My thinking was that Cruellla grabbed Harry in a plot to remain in England should she be caught. If she is living outside of their kingdom AND has a baby, then surely the good people of Auradon wouldn’t force to the isle. Rather then wait 9 months, she just grabbed the baby on the doorstep. When that ended up not working, Cruella didn’t have a reason for a child and so Carlos/Harry is treated more like a servant then a Heir.

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

2/3 But your idea for a dead Carlos contributing to Cruella’s Crazy was really good to, and now I’m not sure what I want to do with that. But for the tournament itself, I’m not sure if i want to stick with Dragon Hall causing mayhem as the 4th school, or play with the timelines and have Carlos taken while in Auradon instead. My reason for no one finding him was the fairy godmothers barrier. So for DH either the goblet ceremony happens coincidentally as Carlos makes his hole in the barrier…
3/3 and Carlos’ only ‘Friend’ is Evie. Or it’s after the book, before the movie and the Goblet completely shatters the barrier and releases all the Villains to grab it’s Champion. On the otherhand Auradon as the 4th school, the villains aren’t released to complete mayhem and destruction, but King Beast still gets to deal with keeping a foreign countries SAVIOR in horrible conditions on the isle of the lost. and Malificent can stay as the end of the Fic big bad.

I’m all for the more disturbing and heart-wrenching option, so feel free to use the dead Carlos idea if you want.

Hm… I mean, if this Carlos is in fact Harry (and there’s no Carlos to hold Harry’s place) then I would think that Dumbledore and co. have been looking for Harry for years now. In which case, you don’t even really have to stick to the Goblet of Fire timeline–unless that tournament is specifically what you want to do. But, hm, I never really thought the Goblet was all that powerful? Like, sure supposedly it compels Harry to compete but that was only stated not actually proven? But, then again, this is not a post about the plot holes of the HP series and so we could take it as fact.

Anyway, at most, I think the Goblet would only be able to compel Harry/Carlos to compete, not shatter the barrier around the Isle (because how would an age barrier be formed around the goblet if that was one of its powers?). So, again, your timing is what matters most–if you do decide to have it when the gang is already in Auradon then I suppose you can also decide whether or not there is an Auradon Prep delegation and who would be on it. Then you would have a mix of villain kids and hero kids if you want.

As for diplomacy, at this point Ben is King not the Beast so he would have to be the one to deal with the political fallout of having the UK’s Chosen One living on the Isle of the Lost. Then again… I mean, they have Azkaban, so it’s not like they’re unfamiliar with the idea of island prisons. And, in comparison to a dementor-ridden 24/7 torture prison, Harry living in Auradon’s equivalent of a ghetto isn’t so bad? Like, actually, considering no one cared about the abuse he suffered under the Dursleys I don’t think people would care all that much of his poor living standards on the Isle.

As for big bads, well, since this is a crossover fic, you may want to consider having the big bads also crossover. That is, have Voldemort involved. Especially since this is GoF year which is when Voldemort returns, it could very well be that the villains take notice of this. I mean, maybe not necessarily work together–because teamwork, boo, but also it’s not like Maleficent has anything against Harry/Carlos in particular.

ACTUALLY maybe even have the big bads turn against each other. Obviously, Maleficent’s main goals are to get free of the barrier and get revenge on Auradon. Voldemort’s is to kill Harry/Carlos. Depending on how you have them act on their motivations you could put them at cross-purposes or have them cooperate. Or even a little of both.

Sorry I can’t really be of more help. I realize some of it is due to an inefficient messaging system which makes discussing a fic difficult, but my main concern is that there are so many plot points you have to juggle that the story collapses under it’s own weight. Because if you do wait for this to happen when the Lost kids are in Auradon already then you have so many factions with contradicting goals. You have the villains, the villain kids, Auradon, the Light side, and then Voldemort. If you do pre-Auradon, then the villain kids are not as separate from the villains, and so the factions are just Isle of the Lost, Light side, Voldemort. Much easier to handle and easier to keep the plot contained.  

Ain’t No Rest, part 10/? (2015-10-16)

jacksgreysonLeave a comment

All of this is very surreal, Ben thinks, as he carefully pokes at the scrambled eggs in the frying pan in front of him. Him, in pajamas, standing in his kitchen cooking a very late breakfast. His ex-girlfriend, perfectly dressed, sitting poised in one of the tall chairs for his dining table across from his current houseguest. An escapee from the Isle of the Lost.

“The season that you took over was my favorite, really,” Carlos says candidly, before smearing a thick layer of jam on his toast and shoving half of it into his mouth.

An escapee from the Isle of the Lost who is somehow better at media runaround than Ben–even though he’s been trained on this since childhood and again as part of Knight lessons.

“I’m not surprised, that season was the most popular even in other countries. A fresh face does wonders for a dying series. Although, I didn’t know you got reception on the Isle,” Audrey preens, delicately sipping at her no-pulp orange juice and leaving a pink lip stain on her glass.

Beneath the table, Dude has settled into a reluctant silence, his Audrey-induced growling abated mostly by Carlos’ gentle and rhythmic foot nudging.

Bemused, Ben turns back to the frying pan.

“We don’t. Well, not really. It’s more like we don’t have TVs on the Isle to receive signal. But I’m pretty good with machines,” Carlos says through a mouthful of food.

In disgust, Audrey looks away, “I suppose you don’t have manners on the Isle, either?” Half-heartedly she adds, “Is that why you left?”

Even Ben knows how much of a reach that was, and he figures the eggs are as good as they’re going to get. He turns off the heat, scrapes them onto two plates, and sits himself at the table as well. One plate goes in front of him, the other in front of Carlos.

“You sure you don’t want any, Audrey?” he asks, mostly sarcastic.

“As if,” She scoffs, “If I remember your cooking correctly, those eggs are probably somehow runny, rubbery, and burnt all at the same time.”

And… well… she’s not wrong. Ben pushes around the mess on his plate.

“They taste okay to me,” Carlos volunteers, after trying a bite. It must not be a lie because he keeps eating them, but Ben can’t help but mirror Audrey’s skeptical expression.

“Really?” Audrey asks, no longer a reporter but a person honestly mystified.

“They smell okay, so it’s already a lot better than the eggs on the Isle,” Carlos says with a shrug.

“Okay as in what?” this time, Ben asks.

“Okay as in not rotten,” Carlos clarifies, “Eggs are kind of a luxury on the Isle–non-spoiled ones, anyway–they are a good source of protein and all that. But they aren’t all that high a priority during barge runs, even if we’ve been getting first pick. And it’s rare to actually find a non-broken, non-spoiled egg so…” he shrugs again, though his shoulders don’t quite come back down after, and focuses on his breakfast.

Ben and Audrey look at him, then at each other, ill at ease. Of course rubbery, burnt eggs would taste okay in comparison to rotting food. Having no TVs is one thing. But not having edible food? Barge runs?

What–

“What was life on the Isle like?” Audrey breathes out, horrified, somehow thumbing guiltily at the condensation beading along her glass of orange juice.

Carlos glances towards Ben for something like reassurance, then faces Audrey, “Is this still off the record?”

Audrey hesitates, and for that second Ben earnestly shoots her a glare, but she rallies herself. All of her emotions–her shock, her pettiness, her concern–tucked away behind pure professionalism. “Do you want it to be?”

Carlos answers.

~

A/N: I swear to god this story! Argh! Literally every chapter I have one thing planned and instead it goes in a completely different direction. I am barely stringing together a sentence when suddenly my brain goes–oh, wait, what if instead of that thing you already plotted out I did this thing instead? WHYYYYYY BRAIN WHYYYYYY.

That being said, because I have no idea what this story is doing I am even more invested in writing this because I AM SO CURIOUS AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING.