#Disney Descendants Class System

[sideprince]

My thought process around Slytherin house is that it's not just shown through its students to have a set of values that echoes and parallels the British upper classes, but we also see the Sorting Hat say in OoTP (emphases mine):

“...Said Slytherin, ‘We’ll teach just those Whose ancestry is purest... ...

...Slytherin Took only pure-blood wizards Of great cunning, just like him... ...

...And now the Sorting Hat is here And you all know the score: I sort you into houses Because that is what I’m for, But this year I’ll go further, Listen closely to my song: Though condemned I am to split you Still I worry that it’s wrong, Though I must fulfil my duty And must quarter every year Still I wonder whether Sorting May not bring the end I fear....”

-Order of the Phoenix, Ch. 11

It's unclear how much power the Sorting Hat actually has to make decisions that diverge from whatever magical sentience the founders imbued it with, but it's almost as though it's apologizing for doing as it's been enchanted to despite having its own opinions. Salazar Slytherin set out his own set of values and priorities clearly, and the hat is acknowledging that it has to abide by his will. The Sorting Hat can go as far as expressing a subjective opinion on this by using words like "condemned," indicating its wish to dissent, but it also makes clear that it must fulfil its duty so it seems that dissent only extends as far as it giving an opinion, but it can't actually act on it.

Harry tells his son in the Epilogue that "the Sorting Hat takes your choice into account" but that doesn't mean a person's choice outweighs how the founders designed the hat to sort. Harry was sorted into Gryffindor not because he chose it, but because the hat was already torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin so Harry helped him decide between the two (and because choice is an overarching theme in the series). But Harry was also a pureblood with a long wizarding lineage on his dad's side, which meets the expectations Salazar Slytherin set out - not to mention that we know once we read all seven books that the Sorting Hat was torn about where to place Harry because of the Horcrux in him, so the impetus to sort him into Slytherin was based on a bit of a soul of someone who'd already been in that house and was a direct descendant of Slytherin himself. That soul was a fraction of the whole, though, whereas Harry's own soul was intact and a larger part of him. Had he decided he wanted to be in Hufflepuff, however, I doubt the hat would have let him choose - we know the house to have values of hard work, patience, and being just. Harry is impulsive, slacks off with his schoolwork constantly, and is pretty biased and judges others easily. Even if he'd wanted to be in Hufflepuff for some reason, I don't think the hat would have been able to sort him there because he wouldn't have met the requirements set by the founders. Similarly with Ravenclaw, Harry is neither particularly clever nor wise and therefore would not have met the required standards and thus not been sorted there even if he'd wanted to be.

(I think the hat can also be read as a metaphor for how the British school system forces students to choose their career path far too early in life, and though there are a lot of issues with Dumbledore saying to Snape that "perhaps we sort too soon" there's also a truth in this, especially when considering this metaphor.)

Anyway, I think that Rowling is making deliberate class distinctions with accents in ways that are deeply problematic and classist, but given her tendency to do this it seems very out of sync for her to have written Crabbe and Goyle as she did. And while I agree that Draco craves admiration and superiority, I think that Crabbe and Goyle are cop outs for him in this. They're Disney villain accessories (in both the conspiratorial and ornamental sense) to portray Draco as a parallel to Dudley. But in terms of how Draco's character is actually written, it would make more of a statement and also be a more realistic portrayal of an entitled, upper class British bully if he was the leader of a clique of Slytherins who are also entitled and posh.

While there are often mentions of him hanging out with the other Slytherins, there's no indication that Zabini or Nott see him as a leader or above them in any way, but we also don't see Malfoy vying for their respect in particular. The only one in that crowd who puts him on a pedestal is Pansy Parkinson, and I'd argue that's done more to comment on her character in the way that Rowling does with a lot of female characters the reader is meant to dislike. When Malfoy is finally shown to be frustrated and ego-hurt due to not being admired and appreciated, it's actually Slughorn who's responsible, and at that point this is more about showing that his whole family have fallen from grace.

Basically Malfoy could have had a much more interesting character arc than he does, and part of what stunts it is the choice to flank him with Crabbe and Goyle and how poorly written those two are. Tl;dr yes to original post lol.

vincent crabbe and gregory goyle

There are few HP characters I think are badly written, but while rereading I often feel like we could have done without Crabbe and Goyle. Or at least without one of them. They basically have no speaking lines and just "flex their muscles" a lot (I hate this lol it's so silly to me.)

To be fair, Crabbe does get more interesting in HBP/DH, when he emerges from Draco's shadow and becomes a character in his own right. And in a way Harry himself points this out in the narration-- he's surprised at the softness of Crabbe's voice because... he's basically never heard his voice in 7 years. Like alright I'll accept Crabbe's presence in the books because I do actually like the fact that he starts rebelling against Malfoy. The brief final exchange with Crabbe alone gives him a lot more depth, and it's hinted at in HBP with Crabbe starting to question Malfoy's orders. Like I think this is quite good:

All of this makes Crabbe slightly more interesting to me, but I'm pretty sure Goyle's only given character trait over 7 books is being stupid lmao. Arguably some of this lack of depth is just because Harry doesn't pay attention to them, but also it's remarkable how much more interesting Theodore Nott, who doesn't appear until OotP, seems just because of his ability to see Thestrals (also his father is more interesting than Crabbe Sr and Goyle Sr in the graveyard.) And it's weird because jkr is typically quite good at infusing very minor characters with interest and depth, even if they only have one line in the entire series (Nott's father being a good example.)

Goyle I think literally just doesn't add anything as a character. I'm a little torn about Crabbe because in a way I do think it's interesting for him to basically be a non-entity and then take Harry (and us) by surprise during their first conversation in 7 years, right before his death. So I think Crabbe would be a better character overall without Goyle dragging him down by association lol.

But anyway despite Crabbe's last hurrah, most of the time both characters are just kind of extensions of Draco, it's even stated that they "seemed to exist to do Malfoy's bidding." Pansy and even the much more minor Zabini and Nott all feel so much more dynamic. Like I said, characters who only appear for a single line are given more depth than Crabbe and Goyle who are "on screen" all the time but seem to share a non-personality, because until HBP there's almost no distinction between the two (apart from Goyle being a bit stupider.)

Honestly it seems like until HBP they're mostly there to make Malfoy more of a threat to the trio, since otherwise Ron and Harry could just pummel Draco when he got mouthy and win. I think if Malfoy's gang had just been one of them (Crabbe) and then maybe Nott as more of a sycophant type of role rather than just a thug, this would have worked much better.

I mentioned the Crabbe Sr and Goyle Sr, who are also remarkably uninteresting/blank compared to other minor Death Eaters like Nott Sr or Avery. This makes me never want to include them as Death Eaters in anything I write haha. They just "bow clumsily and mutter dully" so it feels like all we can conclude is that Crabbe Sr and Goyle Sr are just.. exactly the same as their sons but as adults, which is doubly boring because them being copies of their sons is boring but also their sons are boring to begin with. Neither family is part of the Sacred Twenty-eight, and the only mildly interesting inference I can draw here is that they were low-ranking Death Eaters, untalented, basic lackeys who deliberately encouraged their sons to suck up to Lucius Malfoy's son, which is why Vincent and Gregory dutifully followed Draco's orders for so long.

I can imagine that after Lord Voldemort's downfall, Lucius was probably the highest-ranking Death Eater to escape Azkaban, and he might have been seen as a sort of rallying point by those who believed Voldemort was gone. Natural followers like Crabbe and Goyle would have gravitated to Lucius as the new alpha lol, and I think it does add a little bit of interest if the reason why Vincent and Gregory allowed themselves to be bossed around and talked down to by Draco for so long is because they were specifically instructed or encouraged to do so as children. This also explains why Crabbe starts to rebel when Lucius loses favour after OotP.

[rarepears]

Masterpost [Aug 2022 1/3]

Masterpost [Aug 2022 1/3] | Masterpost [Aug 2022 2/3] | Masterpost [Aug 2022 3/3]

 rarepears recs

female wei wuxian uses her period blood (since it's just blood) to draw talisman but that provokes greater backlash au

mario (super mario) is timoteo's stepfather au

shen yuan and luo binghe are aizawa's adoptive parents au

in which izuku's quirk is to transform into edward the full metal alchemist au

shang qinghua in bungo stray dogs au

Gojo's fun European vacation aka a JJK X KHR crossover au

mobei jun x tywin lannister au

Gollum gets isekai'ed into bnha and endeavor gets transported from bnha into another world au

Aizen (Bleach) Raises Xanxus (KHR)

endeavor founded his agency through the funds made from his secret onlyfans feet account au

lord voldemort's time travel goes wrong and he ends up in tom riddle senior's muggle body instead au

shen jiu is reborn as touya todoroki au

lord voldemort's time travel goes wrong and he ends up in tom riddle senior's muggle body instead au

sung jinwoo uses his shadow summon's great height to bully jinah au

where sung jinwoo gains naruto ninjas as shadow summons because they keep summoning him as the shinigami au

when luo binghe's blood becomes just another spice in shen yuan's daily diet au

bruce wayne x tywin lannister au

a fic about unclogging a toilet but written as a shounen jump story

sung jinah teaches sung jinwoo slang incorrectly on purpose au

ukitake x all might

 liu qingge faked his death in pidw to go on a secret mission au

house targaryen actually tamed their dragons by seducing their dragons and become basically dragon-husband and human-wife au

kenpachi has no sense of direction which leads him to accidentally traveling to solo leveling and sung jinwoo x kenpachi zaraki happens au

luo binghe becomes a vampire so that he can live forever just like shen yuan except now he has issues cooking au

bnha but make it a model au

where ashborn selects team rocket to become the next shadow monarch instead au

pidw AU set in disney descendants' world

the malfoy peacocks wage unofficial war against voldemort au

FMA Armstrong somehow gets dumped into bnha and he looks mightily like all might doesn't he? au

sukuna possess an ironborn and is now calling himself one of the kings of westeros au

shen jiu gets a thirsty onlyfans system so he never goes to cang qiong au

after losing his shinigami powers ichigo kurosaki becomes a kpop idol in order to leave japan and be financially independent au

sung jinwoo's shadow summons run a onsen as their retirement jobs au

bianchi starts a skillshare class to teach her poison cooking skills au

naruto gains cursed abilities and frees gojo from the prison au

after entering the happily ever after in svsss shen yuan transmigrates into FF7 as angeal au

shen yuan aka shen qingqiu gives birth to a pair of twins which is just team rocket reborn au

team rocket lands in westeros au

where a mission ends up with anakin skywalker and a harem of crossdressing clones au

naruto makes a cockroach summoning contract au

madara uchiha's summoning animal is penguins of madagascar

kakashi and gai friendship in a modern naruto au setting

married couple shen yuan and luo binghe get a vacation home in the imperial capital to get away from sect and demon politics au

gojo satoru on tatooine au

Ichimaru gin transmigrates into sukumo's body and kakashi gets a new (chaotic) dad au

aizen (bleach) x gojo (JJK) au

[indecisive-canadian-news]

Witnesses say the Florida Governor muttered something about needing to pull a Bane and becoming one with the darkness and rats in order to defeat the supreme rat himself: Mickalodean ("Micky") Mouse

Ron Desantis Fires Back at Disney by Descending into the Rat-Infested Sewers of Miami for An Entire Season-Long Training Montage

MIAMI — Residents of Miami have been getting restless after reports emerged that the state's governor, Ronald "McDonald's" Desantis has apparently left on a journey into the Miami sewer system to 'train' himself.

Governor Desantis was last spotted by an elderly couple outside Key West. The pair, Doreen Chavez, 45 and her husband, Hugo Chavez, 62, were out on their yacht.

"All of a sudden I noticed there was a man in the distance, trying to crawl into one of the sewer pipes. I couldn't believe my eyes. At first I thought it was a plumber but as I got closer I realized it was none other than our governor."

The only thing worse than seeing the clown from IT in the sewers would be seeing Mr. Ron Desantis.

Mr. Desantis reportedly told his staff that he was going on a month-long spiritual retreat. However staffers became suspicious when they noticed him loading a shotgun, two rifles, a pistol, and 10 pounds of rat poison into the trunk of his car.

According to two sewage department employees who ran into the governor while on their shift 'down in the depths', the Governor was attempting a Rambo-inspired one-man assault on the rats' central base underneath the Central Business District.

A working-class Floridian forced to use the city's public transit after a DUI conviction suspended his license.

While some residents are increasingly worried over the governor's prolonged disappearance, others, who have been the continued targets of the Governor's merciless 'war on woke' saw cause for celebration.

On Monday evening, a gathering of minority groups came together downtown for a large parade. A chance to enjoy and commemorate the momentary peace.

Among them included: transgender athletes, transgender youth, pregnant women, environmental activists, and the kind of people that always show up when there's free food.

When reached for comment, DeSantis' office stated that the Governor's governing training is progressing slowly albeit hindered by their inability to obtain the rights to any of the songs used in the montages of the various "Rocky" films.

"My new bros for life! Ride or Die motherhonkers, KAWCHOW!" - @Ronald_BigD_Santis (Instagram)

"Rome wasn't built in a day," said one senior aide. "Even now, Mr. DeSantis is working hard, fighting the mutant rodents under our city. Why? Because he cares about America and he loves his people."

At time of publication, another senior aide was overheard admitting that the governor had gotten a bit sidetracked, having began befriending a tight-knit group of turtle siblings from whom DeSantis hoped to learn some martial arts.

[sprnklersplashes]

songwriter!janis fic (unrequited crush, no-very-happy-ending) 

also on ao3

It all started because she loved Taylor Swift when she was in middle school. Who is she kidding, she still loves Taylor Swift, but that’s where all this began. A middle school girl’s obsession with Taylor Swift. A confused, sad girl with a broken heart and smudged black eyeliner, finding refuge in lyrics about loneliness and anger and revenge. They became anthems for her, mantras to mutter when the warzone of middle school became too much for her.

“Someday, I’ll be living in a big old city, and all you’re ever gonna be is mean.”

“Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in.”

“I can still see you, this ain’t the best view.”

It amazes her. It’s honestly as if Taylor Swift has managed to look into her life and given her a bundle of songs for whatever she needs. For when Regina has thrown her one too many snide looks, for when she’s standing at the door of North Shore High on her first day, for when she eats lunch alone, for when her mom is the best mom she could have asked for, for when she and Damian are lying on the grass in her backyard, staring up at the sky, laughing at absolutely nothing. The songs become the soundtrack to her life, the chords and those raw, honest lyrics an emotional outlet she so desperately craves. Taylor, and her songs, become a confidant, almost a close friend who always knows what to say.

With all that in mind, perhaps it was only a matter of time before she asks for a guitar for Christmas. She’s fourteen, braces and a slight lisp, and jumps up and down like a mad woman when she sees it under the tree.

She practices for three days straight, until her fingers bleed, but Should’ve Said No is the first song she learns off by heart. She yells the lyrics with maybe a little too much passion, but her parents applaud her nonetheless.

Like she said, that’s how it all started.

Because that same Christmas, she realises that screaming her feelings while playing guitar actually feels pretty cathartic. And that if it worked for Taylor Swift, it could work for her. So she writes stuff down, plays around with chords and strumming until the beat on the guitar matches the one in her head. She grabs a page and a pencil and writes and re-writes her innermost thoughts and feelings on the page until they sound the way she wants them to. She plays around with rhyme schemes and structure and everything she’s been taught about in English class, and a thrill runs through her as she does so. It’s the same breathless high she feels when she paints or draws, the rush that comes from creating something.

Her parents sit on the other side of her bedroom door, no doubt exchanging worried glances as she repeats the same verse, same chorus, with only a word changed. She watches them when they think she can’t see, peering through the crack in her door. The conclusion they seem to come to is ‘well, as coping mechanisms go, it’s pretty good, and she’s happy, so who are we to stop it?’.

It takes her four days to finish her first song. And it sucks. But she keeps it, writes down the lyrics and chords in one of the few empty notebooks she has, and there’s no going back from it now. She writes, and she writes, and she writes, near enough every day. She likes to think she gets better with each one. She learns more chords, buys a cheap ukulele the summer after freshman year, tries her hand at piano during a particularly difficult few weeks. She doesn’t plan on doing anything with them. They’re just her little pieces to hold on to. Her therapy sessions outside the carpeted office.

No-one knows about it. She has a reputation to keep up, after all. The loner-by-choice, too-cool-for-school, aloof art freak. Everyone has their roles to play in the ecosystem that is high school and, much as she hates the entire system, that is hers to play. And she plays it well, if she may say so. The fact that hardly anyone knows her past that facade suits her just fine. After all, if people think she doesn’t care, she can’t get hurt. No-one needs to know that Janis Sarkisian actually has feelings.

Even less need to know that she writes songs about said feelings.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time she reaches her junior year, she’s onto her third notebook. She keeps them tucked away in her sock drawer, expertly hidden so only she can find them. Damian teases her about it, calling her “the protagonist of a Disney Channel Original Movie”. She just rolls her eyes and reminds him that “if either of us is gonna be Disney’s first openly gay character, it’ll be you”. He can’t argue with that.

It should be noted that when Janis said that no-one knows about her songwriting, Damian was the obvious exception. He found out just weeks after she started. There’s no keeping secrets from him.

Between all her notebooks, she’s written around forty songs.

Then she meets Cady Heron one day. The human embodiment of a labrador puppy, complete with wide, lost eyes. She likes her instantly, decides to take her under her wing because Lord knows the girl needs it. Cady’s smile is infectious, her laugh like a summer breeze. She has dimples and caramel-coloured hair and really likes maths.

She meets Cady on a Monday.

By that Saturday, song number 41-titled “Dimples and Curls” is more or less complete.

She plays it for Damian, hands only slightly shaking as she changes chords, the strumming short and upbeat, the melody strangely happy for such a bittersweet song.

He applauds her, but the subject of the song hangs in the air even after she’s played the last chord and the music fades. Unsaid, but not unknown. Just like her songwriting, Janis couldn’t keep a crush from Damian if she tried.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, check it out.”

Cady drops onto the seat across from Janis, the whole table shaking as she does so. Like a small meteor just hit Earth. Janis looks up from her lunch, pretending like she had been doing her own thing and not watching the door until Cady came in. Pretending like her stomach doesn’t do little flips at the sight of her crossing the cafeteria. She pulls the flyer towards her and hums in amusement.

“The winter talent show,” she reads before chomping off a carrot stick. “Oh, is it that time of year already?”

“Seems like only yesterday we was welcoming the young’uns into this brave new world during the harvest season,” Damian sighs, putting on a delightfully over the top Southern Belle accent, no doubt influenced by their reading of Streetcar Named Desire in English class. Janis cackles, and nearly chokes on her lunch as she does.

“And now the cold winds of winter are descending upon us,” she replies, her accent equally heavy. She bats her eyes for good measure, because she can and because it makes Cady laugh. “Oh but I pray the children will survive this season, it is often rough for them.”

“I am never showing you two anything winter related ever again,” Cady says.

Janis just shrugs and runs her hand through her hair before her eyes go back to the flyer. Clearly, whatever sophomore they got to design it this year did their best; found the prettiest looking snowflakes on Google Images to put on the cartoon stage, decided to write in some swirling, slanted font rather than the start-studded block lettering they usually went for. It’s still the same as it is every year, meaning just as mockable, but she’ll give them points for tying.

“Well, anyone here going for it?” she asks. She looks from Damian to Cady and back again, a teasing smirk on her lips. “Last year and all that.”

“Not sure I can,” Damian sighs. “I mean, I’m booked up with Spelling Bee rehearsals and spring cabaret auditions happening next semester.” He drums his fingers against his throat. “Gotta give the little vocal chords some rest, you know?”

Janis’ response is to sing the lowest note she possibly can before turning to Cady and giving her a pointed look, the corner of her mouth quirked up.

“Who? Me?” Cady’s cheeks turned crimson and she shakes her head so much that the caramel curls bounced around her shoulders. “No way. Damian can take the stage, I’m fine with my calculators and textbooks.”

“You could always solve equations in front of everyone,” Janis says. “I could call out college-level questions from the audience and you solve them in under 30 seconds.”

“I think I’ll pass,” she giggles. She leans forward slightly, eyes glittering, and Janis does her best not to squirm. The effect Cady Heron’s eyes have on her should be studied by scientists. “What about you, Janis?”

“I don’t know.” She thinks back to when she helped on stage crew last year, as well as helping out (or taking over) with the set design. It had been fun, the kind of challenge she needed to keep her mind off the slowly-going-off-the-rails plan. And she was told it looked good on her college applications, because all people can think about apparently is college, college, college. “Maybe. They might need another genius stage manager.”

“And you’ll step in if they can’t find one?” She digs Damian in the ribs for that comment.

“But not performing?” Cady asks, and Janis freezes. Performing had never even crossed her mind before. She’s used to backstage, hell, she likes backstage. It’s not that she has stage fright or anything, and if she had, her stunt at Ms Norbury’s little healing session would have squished it. She had just never thought about it.

But Cady had, apparently.

“I-No, I-I don’t think so,” she stammers out. “Um, I might do backstage again, but not actually doing something, you know, talent related.” She bites her tongue and clamps her lips shut before anything else can come out.

“Okay then,” Cady replies slowly. She gets up from the table, her little empty water bottle in her hands. “I’m going to go for a refill, save my seat.”

“No problem,” Janis says, but Cady’s already jogging away.

She doesn’t know if it’s good or bad that Cady’s known her too long to think of her as cool, and so this kind of awkward babbling isn’t really surprising to her. Instead of thinking about it, she just sets her head on the table and lets Damian rub her back.

“You were nowhere near as bad as you think you were,” he assures her.

“Title of your sex tape,” comes her murmured reply. Damian chuckles and runs his fingers through her hair, like she’s his pet cat. It helps.

“So you’re definitely not going for the talent show then?” he asks.

Her first instinct is to say no, because of course she isn’t, because she never has before and she sees no point in breaking a three-year streak, but the answer catches in her throat. At the same time, something begins forming in her brain, pieces of a melody she’s already known, words filling in blank spots in her brain, and her fingers twitch involuntarily, playing the chords on an invisible guitar. Without a word, she grabs a notepad and pen from her bag and scribbles the words down before she forgets them, quickly becoming breathless just by sitting there. She forgets, for a moment, everything else, the talent show, Cady, even Damian next to her, and just revels in the task and the quick buzz she gets just from writing. Just like that she has one eye on the clock, itching to get home and put her notes into the rest of the song.

But with those notes came an idea, an idea so completely out of left field she almost laughs at it.

“Janis?” Damian asks, just slightly unnerved by her. If anyone else were at this table, even Cady (especially Cady), she would have had to excuse herself and run to the bathroom, or just hope the words stayed in her head long enough for her to get a quiet moment. “Did the Goddess of Music just possess you again?”

“Maybe,” is her response. He doesn’t know it, but she answered both the questions he asked in the past minute.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She sits on her bed that night, her homework half-done and strewn across the desk, abandoned in favour of the guitar sitting in her lap and notebook open on her bed. She’s been working on his song for the better part of a week, inspiration and motivation seemingly striking and then fading whenever she gets a free moment. Abandoning it has crossed her mind-she’s no stranger to abandoning things that aren’t working-but for some reason she hasn’t quite been able to shake this particular song off.

Maybe it is Euterpe, the Goddess of Music, descending upon her because this song has to be finished, it has to be, Olympus willing it so.

Or maybe it’s because this song is one of the most personal things she’s ever written, a love letter she’ll never send, and the idea of it sitting unfinished drives her crazy.

She plays another chord and sings the line again, changing the ending slightly, and makes the adjustment in her notes.

She’s crazy. This is already crazy, her secret double life as a wannabe T-Swift, but now she’s gone beyond that. Thinking of actually playing it. On a stage. In front of people. She doesn’t care what people think of her, she stopped caring about that a long, long time ago, but holy shit what will people think of her after she does this? Life isn’t like the movies, she knows that much. It won’t be some pretty, softly-lit moment where the crowd sits with teary eyes, Cady runs onstage and kisses her and she’s offered a deal by some big shot producer, and they all live happily ever after the end. What could happen is people think she’s even more of a weirdo than they do now.

Or she gets tomatoes thrown at her head and she’s booed off the stage. That’s a possibility.

She calls Damian, because that’s the only way she sees out of her little thought cul-de-sac. She puts the phone on speaker and props it up against a pillow, keeping her hands free for her guitar and her pen. He picks up on the third ring, just as she’s strumming out a G chord.

“Oh, is someone prepping for her Grammy?” he asks. “You’re still taking me as your date, right?”

“Only if my dog can’t go,” she replies. She taps her nails against the wood, the rhythm too fast and frantic to just be a habit. Yes, she can tell Damian anything, and being nervous in front of him is laughable, but sometimes her body forgets that. “So, I was thinking about the talent show.”

“Oh? You’re going for stage crew again? Cool.”

“No-not exactly.” She knows he can’t see the smile creeping across her face, but she’d wager he can hear it through the phone. A small swarm of butterflies flutters in her chest, leaving her just slightly out of breath. “I… I. think I’m going to try performing in it.”

A burst of laughter comes through the phone, slightly tinged with static, and Janis wishes he were here so she could slap him. Even if it’s not malicious in intent at all, and she’s laughing right along with him. Slapping is kind of a love language for them.

“Okay, okay cool. What’re you going to do?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” she says, and then she plays the opening chords to her latest experiment. She doesn’t add in the lyrics, not yet. Still, she sits back and basks in his applause when she finishes, cackling into her hand. He might be one person, but he’s got enough enthusiasm to match a packed auditorium. “What do you think?”

“I’m into it,” he tells her. “So… that’s the one you’re doing?”

“Think so.” She tosses the pick between her fingers. Like he could feel her smile, she can feel his raised eyebrow through the phone, the elephant in the room poking her with its trunk. “Yes, I know.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You thought it,” she tells him, and he doesn’t deny it. She looks back over the lyrics she’s written and re-written. Despite some adjustments, it’s still in essence the same. Still about a girl with pretty hair who smells like vanilla and cinnamon, who has a boyfriend and is unknowingly breaking the heart of a girl with black eyeliner and paint stained fingers. Because her boyfriend is pretty and clean and smells like soap and can do math, and how is the poor art girl even meant to compare to that?

“Yes,” she says after a while. “It is about Cady.”

“Aw, my poor lovestruck songstress,” he sighs. He shifts then, and the air shifts with him. “You sure that’s the one you want to sing? I mean you have dozens of other non-Cady related songs. I’m sure Mr Duvall would love to hear Angry Teenage Lesbian Anthem.”

“First off, I gave that one a title, it’s called Shattered,” she reminds him. “And-” She freezes, the rest of her sentence catching in her throat. He’s right. She could perform one of her other songs, that are already finished and therefore removing the pressure to have this one finished, polished and stage-ready. And of course, it would mean she wouldn’t be standing in front of her entire grade and telling them all how badly she’s in love with her best friend. Showing her deepest secret to the people who have already driven her out of school once. It’s a far safer, potentially less traumatic option for her.

But…

“No,” she says. “I know it sounds crazy but I feel like… I feel like I need to do this.” She swallows thickly and picks softly at the guitar strings. “It’s like… like this way at least I’m telling her, you know? Even if she doesn’t know it.”

Of course, Damian gets it.

“That’s beautiful, babe,” he tells her. “So you’re actually doing this?”

“I’m actually doing this,” she replies firmly. “And tomorrow, I need you to make sure I don’t chicken out before I sign up.”

“Got it. I’ll just order you to do it as Senior Co-Chair of the Student Activities Committee.”

“That’s an abuse of power.”

“Then consider yourself abused baby.” He laughs and she laughs with him, and then she hears something on Damian’s end. “I have to go. A certain little sister of mine has a princess costume that needs attending to. See you later.”

“See you later,” she replies before he clicks off the call. She looks down at her paper, then at her guitar, and thinks about what she just committed to. “I’ve got some work to do.”

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The song goes through four rewrites in the weeks leading up to the talent show. The whole first verse is changed, the chorus scrapped and replaced with a new one, then that one is scrapped and she goes back to the old one. She sits hunched on her floor with a pencil in her mouth, wondering if what she’s written is too personal or not personal enough. If it’s too obvious that Cady, smart cookie that she is, will work it out and that’ll lead them down a new, scary path. She cuts some lyrics that give the game away, opting to replace one about love for numbers with love for learning, because that opens up the pool to half their grade. She writes about Cady’s blue eyes rather than specifically those double dimples that make her melt. Maybe she’s compromising her artistic vision, but it might be worth it if it’ll keep her crush a secret. She keeps the old lyrics tucked in the back of her notebook, just to have them.

Meanwhile, she’s also dealing with the fact that people know she has signed up for the talent show. That Miss Too Cool For School Loner Art Freak Janis is actually performing at a school event. And she doesn’t even get extra credit for it. They’re surprised, and curious, and none more so than Cady. The other girl appears at her side almost instantly after first period, skinny little arms wrapped around her bicep and blue eyes alight.

Oh, the things those eyes do to her.

“Janis!” she squeaks. “I saw-on the sign up sheet-your name! Oh my God, is this a joke? Did Damian put you up to it?”

“No, no, I signed up of my own accord,” Janis tells her. That only makes Cady bounce more, ponytail bobbing up and down.

“Oh wow, that’s amazing!” she says. She stops then, her mouth freezing in its place and her cheeks turning pink. Slowly, she comes down to Earth, like a balloon that had the air let out of it. Janis can almost hear the wheeze. “I mean um, it’s pretty cool, I guess.”

“It’s pretty grool,” Janis replies, and just like that Cady bounces back up again.

“Oh my gosh, what are you going to do?” she asks. “Or do you want it to be a surprise?”

“You think I have some secret knife-throwing talent?” she grins. She hesitates for a moment, looking down at Cady’s excited face, because even if this isn’t telling her… it’s telling her. “I’m… I’m going to sing.” She pulls on the strap of her backpack and avoids Cady’s eyes. “Something I wrote.”

“Okay,” Cady says. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Hey!” she laughs. “I can write stuff. I can be deep.”

“Oh, I have no doubt about it,” Cady says, bumping her arm against Janis’. “But for real, Janis, I can’t wait to see it. I know you’ll be amazing.”

Warmth spreads across her pale cheeks, a pink blush no doubt colouring her face, and she somehow manages to choke out a “thanks” as her brain turns to static. Her only thought is ‘Cady thinks I’m going to be good’, and it’s written in glitter pen across her brain.

“This is going to be great,” she goes on. “Oh, wait until I tell Aaron. He’s got a break in his schedule that week so he’s coming up to see the talent show! Isn’t that great?”

And just like that, Janis’ good mood falls. Her face stays the same, because she’s trained to do it, but everything behind it crumbles.

“Yeah, that’s great,” she replies. Cady squeezes her hand, oblivious, and drags her along the hallway, chatting away about some lion documentary she had watched last night.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She finishes the song that night. She arrives home with a heavy chest, so full of complicated, messy feelings, and her conversation with Cady still so fresh in her mind, her ears still ringing from the emotional whiplash. Her parents barely get a ‘hello’ as she enters and bolts up to her room, her hands shaking, the thoughts swirling around her brain desperate to be let out.

And let them out she does. She writes so quickly they look more like smudges than words, her fingers flying over rapidly changing chords, her voice broken and panting as she sings. The words almost write themselves, like the song has taken on a life of its own and she’s just along for the ride. She barely remembers to pause, to breathe, so wrapped up in the storm she’s created with just her guitar and pen.

It’s only when she finishes and falls back on her bed that she notices the tears in her eyes. She blinks them away and pulls herself up, her notebook in her hand. It’s done. The perfect blend of her own honest feelings and just enough smokescreen to keep people from knowing who it’s really about.

There’s no backing out now, she thinks. Her stomach drops, like she’s on the top of a roller coaster about to go down. A laugh bubbles up in her throat and leaves her breathless, her head spinning while she’s still laying there.

If holy shit were am adjective, she'd use it to describe how she feels. Because holy shit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being backstage when she’s not on crew is a strange experience. She stands with her guitar slung around her body, in the middle of a current of students moving around her, half with the clunky microphones and walkie-talkies she’s used so many times before. She asks five of them if she can do anything to help-because they’re her people and she needs to do something to occupy her time-until she finally takes the hint and leaves them to it. Stagehands are the most efficient parts of any production, as she told Damian once. They’re a well-oiled machine at this point.

“Yo!” For a second, Janis thinks she imagined the whisper, just one in a jumble of backstage noises, until Damian appears at her side. A tiny ‘shit’ escapes her mouth, her body jerking. Barely anyone bats an eye at her, except him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you.”

“Don’t worry. I think at this point a small breeze could knock into me and I’d crumble.”

“The great Janis Sarkisian gets nervous?” he asks, eyebrow raised.

“Only when she’s doing something incredibly personal and scary in front of her entire grade,” she whispers back. She swallows past the lump in her throat. “Aside from that I’m a beacon of confidence and unshakable will.”

“Hey.” He taps his knuckles against hers. “Remember how scared you were at Norbury’s assembly?”

“You mean after I had my picture all over the school with the d-slur written underneath it?” she mutters. “Yeah, I was shitting myself.”

“And yet, look what you did there,” he reminds her. “You were amazing. And you’re going to be amazing here too. Once you get on that stage, all those butterflies are going to make you fly, kid.”

She smiles, her heart warm, and pressed her face into the crook of Damian’s neck.

She doesn’t know how she got so lucky to have him, but she knows better than to tempt fate.

“Janis Sarkisian?” She lifts her head to find a freshman girl with a headset around her neck looking at her. “You’re up next.”

“Okay.” It’s only now she becomes aware that the last minute of Fairytale Of New York is playing, the notes will soon fade out, and that’s her cue. She turns to Damian and lets him straighten her black cardigan and fiddle with the collar of her shirt. “Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need it.” He drops a whisper of a kiss to her nose. “But good luck.”

She holds her half-heart necklace as he goes, the twin to the one around his neck. It’s as close as she can get to having him with her. Her chest tightens as she makes her way to the stage and she tries to breathe through it, because the next thign she knows, Mr Duvall is announcing her name, and she’s being greeted by a blinding spotlight that thankfully obscures most of her peers’ faces.

“Uh, hi,” she says into the microphone placed out for her. It’s just people , she reminds herself. Somewhere in that crowd, second row, seat 14, is Damian, and she breathes easier. And next to him is Cady, the girl this song is about, and for some reason that straightens her spine and irons out the shaking in her voice. She takes the pick out of its holder and tosses her hair back. “This is a song I wrote about being in love with someone who doesn’t love you back.” She blinks and hopes no-one sees the tears in her eyes. “So sing along if you get into it, because we all know it’s a shitty ass feeling.”

She plays the first chord, and then any and all doubts she had about this flee her. As cliche as it sounds, the song takes over her, and she blows through the nerves in the first verse. The experience becomes cathartic instead, like releasing a pressure valve on her soul. Even with the little diversions she threw in, she hasn’t felt this open and god damn free since last year, paraded on her peers’ shoulders with both middle fingers up. Except now she’s not flipping anyone off, or proving a point, she’s just finally telling someone how she feels, and holy shit, it’s amazing. Whatever the aftermath of this is, she won’t care, it’s worth it just for this feeling.

As she sings the last word, and that final note rings in the auditorium, her hands are shaking, her cheeks wet with tears and her hair sticky with sweat. She touches beneath her eye and her fingers come away stained black.  She hasn’t cried in front of people since middle school. She doesn’t care.

The cheers of her classmates ring in her ears, Damian’s whooping the loudest of all, and as she takes her bow, she hopes she’ll remember this moment for a long time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh my God!” she’s barely into the auditorium when Cady launches herself at her, arms wrapped around her neck and legs circling her waist. Janis nearly topples over, digging her back leg into the ground just in time, and hugs Cady with the same ferocity. “You were amazing!” she yells into her shoulder, the sound muffled by Janis’ hair.

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” She sets Cady down, but the other girl keeps a tight grip on both her arms. Janis wonders if it’s to keep herself from flying away, given the amount of bouncing up and down she’s doing. “I can’t believe you wrote that! It was so good! You need to record it, Jan. Do you have any other songs?”

“Just a few,” she says. “And I don’t know if I’m in the business of making an album any time soon.” She swings her guitar case a little. “This might have been a one-time thing.”

“Well, even if it was, it was awesome,” she says.

“Thank you, Caddy,” Janis replies. “That means a lot.”

Her mouth runs dry as Cady smiles, all baby pink lipgloss and sparkling eyes and full cheeks. If this were a movie, she thinks, this would be the part where they kiss. No need for talking, or an explanation. Because Cady would have just known. The music would turn soft and twinkly, and the lighting would match it and it would look like they’re in a dream and they’d just kiss, and it will fix all of Janis’ problems. Maybe a single tear will run down her cheek. And then they’ll run off into their new lives as the end credits roll.

How sweet that would be.

But her life isn’t a movie. If she wants anything, she has to go for it herself.

And that includes-

“Caddy.” Her name is delicate on her lips, handled with care. Cady looks at her, giving a simple ‘mm-hm’ in response, and Janis’ heart beats out of control. “That song I just sang, it-”

“Hey, guys.”

Also if this was a movie, Cady’s sweet, lovely, nice boyfriend would not be barging in right now. He’d either be a douchebag who she doesn’t feel bad about hurting, or he’d be nonexistent.

Unfortunately, this is not a movie, and Aaron Samuels exists and is the human equivalent of a squishmallow.

“Hey Aaron.” He slings his arm around Cady’s shoulders, and she leans into his touch almost instinctively. “Janis, you were great up there. I didn’t know you wrote songs.”

“It’s a bit of a new hobby,” she says, her voice hoarse. She clears her throat, and finds a bottle of water being handed to-thrown at-her.

“Hydrate those chords,” is Damian’s greeting.

“This is what I get for being friends with a theatre kid,” she sighs before she takes a drink. She hadn’t realised how dry her throat was until now.

“Okay, so we’re all going for pancakes,” Aaron says. “I take it you two are coming?”

“How can I say no to pancakes?” Janis asks. “Uh, you guys go ahead, I have to get my stuff from the green room.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for you,” Cady says. “Aaron brought his car so he can drive us.”

“Grool.” Cady and Aaron turn around together, Aaron spinning his eyes around his finger and Cady lacing her fingers through his, talking about something she can’t hear. It’s like watching them through a sheet of glass.

Not a movie. Not unless it’s one of those really, really sad movies. Sad homophobic movies.

“You okay?” Damian asks. She snorts at the question. Nothing has changed, so of course she’s okay. But then, nothing has changed, so she’s not really okay.

“I did it,” she sighs. “It’s out there. I told her, unofficially. Whether or not she works it out…” She runs her hand through her tangled hair. “That’s something else entirely.” Damian hums in agreement, a sympathetic look on his face that soon morphs into a grin.

“Hey,” he says. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Mom.” They snort, Janis caught between a laugh and a sob, and squeezes Damian’s hand. She’s not optimistic about any romance in her future, at least where Cady is concerned. She and Aaron are still rock-solid and she’s happy for them, whenever she isn’t angsting about it. It’s a weird combination to have.

And at least she’s done this now. Despite a future for her and Cady not being in the cards for now, she’s glad she did it. The secret isn’t out, not entirely. Just written on the walls in invisible ink.

“Come on,” she tells Damian. “I actually do have to get my bag, and you can use this as an opportunity to double check the ghost light is on.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cady and Aaron keep their promise and wait for them, waving off their apologies as they jog across the parking lot. Cady lets Damian take the front seat with Aaron and slides into the back with Janis instead. Janis frowns, confused as to why she isn’t taking her normal seat up front, and Cady rolls her eyes.

“There was a draw on the way here, and we lost,” she explains. “And now Damian has control of the aux chord,” She gestures with her head to the passenger seat, and Janis turns just in time to see him open his Spotify and scroll through his playlists. As the opening notes to Waving Through A Window fill the car, it’s met with three loud groans. Damian only turns it up louder, and adds in his own backing vocals.

“So, that song you sang,” Cady asks, leaning back in the seat. “Was it about anyone in particular?”

Janis looks down, her hands pressed together in her lap. If this is the moment the universe decided to give her, it’s a really terrible moment. Not only is Cady’s whole boyfriend sitting an arm’s length away from her, but she left her nerve back in the auditorium. Clearly, her and fate aren’t on each other’s wavelength.

“You wouldn’t know her,” she says. “She doesn't even go here.”

“Oh,” Cady replies. Her face falls, but she’s not too put out by it. Why would she be? She nudges Janis’ shoulder, a proud smile on her face, and squeezes Janis’ hand. “Well, if she has someone like you into her and she hasn’t taken the chance yet, then she doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

Janis only thanks her, and quickly changes the subject.

Someday she might tell her for real, but for now she'll stick to the songs.

[no-gorms]

Fav/top 3 Superhusbands/Disney AU? (Yes I know they are technically Disney already but still!!!) Who is who?

BOOM

1. Hercules, with Tony as the cynical, heart-weary Meg, and Steve as the blessed-with-super-strength Hercules who just wants to do enough good in the world for [maybe Olympus reasons, or something else]. I think I’ve seen fanart for this specific fusion before, and it’s a great combo! Tony on a honeypot mission to win his freedom, and at first mocks Steve for his earnestness until he realizes that it’s really real, there are people who exist who still want to do good for the sake of it.

2. Aladdin, with pre-serum Steve knowing he can do more in the world if he just had the chance, and the genie gives him that chance (plus biceps)! Meanwhile Tony’s feeling trapped in a cage and underestimated despite his very real capabilities, and oh look who’s this hot captain who’s come along, sure he’s nice except Tony’s still thinking about that skinny runt he met in the street the other day...

3. Not part of the animated canon but my brain latched onto the Descendants universe, where Tony is the son of a villain and knows his destiny has always been to inherit that villainy, except he ends up at a school for heroes (look I still miss Avengers Academy, I can’t help it) and there’s Steve, class president and prince and all around good guy, except with a secret beastly side that Tony finds hot. Tony learns that being good is actually awesome, and Steve smashes through the systemic prejudice between them.

THERE 🌈💓

[hitchell-mope]

A new sitcom concept

Set at a university of located in the Dover cliffs. I’m thinking it’d be called Magus University. Main setting is Arcturus House. Main character is Astoroth (nicknamed Astor or Roth) Rymand. A sophomore. He’s a perky goth warlock who’s majoring in necromancy. He’s allergic to most forms or makeup so no eyeliner. He got the smoky eye affect from not sleeping for eight months. He’s been appointed as the parole officer for new student. A forest nymph by the name or Anthea Crimson. She’s in exile for maybe possibly launching a coup against her warmongering father. So you got the aloof fish out of water new girl and earnest innocent guide dynamic who may or may not end up together

Then there’s the dean and his family. Auspice Randall is a direct descendant of Merlin and as such ages backwards. He’s been alive as long as Shakespeare’s been dead but doesn’t look a day over thirty. He was a brilliant magician. But ever since the d-day landings he’s been a bit muddled up. Which means his daughter Winifred has to take up the most of the duties he’d otherwise perform such as orientation and guidance counselling. His mother is still alive but she’s in the final stage of their cycle before second infancy and eventual death. His grandson is a contemporary of Astoroth and Anthea.

There’s an underlying arc of some freshman who has to defeat a dragon to fulfil some family prophecy. But it’s all in the background and doesn’t directly affect the plot until the end when Winifred’s wife turns out to be the dragon said freshman is fated to kill. It all works out in the end though. After a brief but unseen battle that nobody will ever talk about again

Proposed cast:

Mitchell Hope as Astoroth Rymand. Majors in necromancy under the belief that “everyone deserves a second chance”. Perky goth who takes his fashion cue from the likes of the ouat version of the mad hatter, Rumplestiltskin and Burton mad hatter.

China Anne McClain as Anthea Crimson. Exiled princess of the new forest. Her brother sneaked her out after she tried to murder their father for waging war on the Forest of Dean. Still a tad haughty but defrosts over time. Not traumatised. Just pissed off and tired

Dylan Sprouse as Auspice Randall the Dean of Magus University. Part of the Merlinites who’re the direct descendants of the great wizard himself. Has been experiencing memory problems since the d-day landings but still very with it in regards to general attitude

Abigail Spencer as Winifred Randall-Monton-Carlo, Auspice’s daughter. Born around Victoria’s ascension. Nominally the augury professor but she’s slowly had to take over her fathers responsibilities as his conditions worsened

Rose McIver as Elandra Monton-Randall. Winifred’s wife and and Drex’s stepmother. A New Zealand freshwater dragon. Human sized and a runt by her species standards. Unknowingly hunted by the “chosen one”

Abby Ryder Fortson as Marla Randall. Auspice’s mother. The exact same age as Richard the third. Currently in the penultimate state or her life cycle before second infancy and eventual death. Dislikes being treated with kid gloves and has aspirations of being a daredevil

Idris Elba as Finlay Carlo. Winifred’s ex husband. A faun. Professor of Naturae Magicae. Born the day Prince Albert died. Introduced Winifred to Elandra

Keith David as Tainan Randall-Carlo. Finlay and Winifred’s son. Half faun and half Merlinite. In Astoroth’s necromancy class

John Boyega as Solaran Crimson. Anthea’s brother who helped her escape. Crown prince of the new forest royal family. Doesn’t agree with their father plans and is trying to dismantle the system from the inside

Kodi Smit McPhee as Ephraim Rymand. Astoroth’s younger brother. More of a traditional “warlock” type. Huge Merlin nerd. Has emotionally adopted Auspice as his grandfather. Majoring in healing and Naturae Magicae.

Suggested rating is twelve for minor language, every scenes and flashing imagery. No nudity or romance scenes beyond what they get away with on Disney channel. Not every young adult fantasy show has to be like hbo or Netflix Sabrina. Each episode would be about thirty to fifty minutes long with an hour for the premier and finale. Totalling about ten to twelve episodes

[spiritualdirections]

Tale of Two Crises | City Journal

I started reading the City Journal back in the 1990s when I lived in New York. The writers are policy-minded journalists and policy exits who share a love for New York and our cities in general.

This article is a fascinating comparison of how New York responded to 9/11 and to Covid. Or more accurately, a it makes a significant contrast:

That was nearly 20 years ago. On the surface, at least, the city of today seemed as ready to face Covid-19 as it was in 2001 to deal with the terrorist attacks. Even with the recession of 2008, the city’s economy had grown steadily. Crime remained low. The city’s budget was flush with record-breaking tax revenues. Visitors from around the world flocked here. There was a New Yorker in the White House—a real estate developer, no less!

But there was also a strange uneasiness. Though New York’s continued expansion had resulted in declining unemployment and a record-low poverty rate, the overwhelming economic narrative of the Bill de Blasio years has been about income inequality. A progressive mayor and left-leaning city council, elected by a new generation of city residents, had imposed one new mandate after another on small firms in what was already one of the toughest places in the country to run a business. A similar drift leftward in Albany had reinforced the trend. In the nineties, the city welcomed new companies like Disney that promised to invest here; now much of New York’s political class told Amazon that it wasn’t wanted.

Even more troubling, the social order has frayed. Once lauded as the city’s premiere public institution, the NYPD for the last several years has been persistently under attack and its policing deemed a draconian regime that must be overturned. A group of progressive district attorneys had already begun that process before Covid hit, releasing violent criminals onto the streets while city leadership sought to downsize New York’s penal system. Fears of a return to a 1970s era of crime and chaos have been heightened by the violent protests and rioting beginning in June, in the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis.

Maybe the starkest contrast between the crises is the way the city treated those who rushed here to help. In 2001, volunteers began heading to New York even before the city put out a call for help. The city welcomed and organized them. Ordinary residents cheered them on, and they remain an essential part of the 9/11 story. Something similar happened with Covid. Likening the virus to war, Governor Andrew Cuomo in late March appealed for health-care workers from around the country to come to the city. “Let’s show a commonality and a mutuality and a unity that the country hasn’t seen in decades,” he said. While ordinary New Yorkers cheered the workers who came, Cuomo soon informed them that they would have to pay New York taxes. New York, he said, couldn’t afford to provide “subsidies” to those who came here to help.

Both 9/11 and Covid sparked suspicion and paranoia. In the weeks after 9/11, of course, much attention focused on nearby Middle Eastern Muslim communities and whether sympathizers within them had aided the attackers. An entire security apparatus grew up around those suspicions and remains with us today. Covid created something different, but perhaps more troubling. Though it’s still unclear whether the virus was designed by human hands or is just a grim product of nature, as an outside agent of destruction it descended on the city almost as swiftly as 9/11.

To date, about 23,000 city residents have died from it, most in the first weeks of the epidemic. As the numbers grew exponentially in the early days, the city shut itself down. Even so, the virus seemed out of control, and in a pattern that was to repeat itself elsewhere, city and state leaders began blaming residents, assuming that the virus was spreading because they weren’t taking it seriously. “How selfish is it for those people who are not just doing it on their own,” Cuomo said in April. “Who has to die for you to understand that you have a responsibility in this?” The result: a Soviet-style culture of citizen surveillance. Mayor de Blasio even announced a new service that encouraged New Yorkers to snap photos of those not social distancing and send them to authorities. One irony about these accusations is that it was state government itself that committed perhaps the gravest, deadliest mistake of the pandemic—when Cuomo ordered nursing homes to take back from hospitals patients who were still positive for the virus, accelerating its spread among the most vulnerable.

Our cities are having the same debates as they had in the 1970s and 1980s, with the same left-wing critique of the use of force in policing whose policies, criminologists say, were the major factor in the crimes waves that made big cities unliveable. I write about this in my book, not as a left-right issue, but as a mistake about how to balance between caring for the accused and caring about social order.

In any case, check out the article to see the author's love for The City and all cities.

[cinnalock]

Mond Twins Profile (TWST)

((Okay, my original plan was that I was just going to stew on their backstory until we learned more about Twisted Wonderland’s world and lore, but after looking through old Disney movies, I was struck with inspiration and decided to create their backstories from that inspiration.

Last Edited: 5-15-2020, added TWST-profile information))

BASIC INFO

FULL NAME(S): Thomas Mond / Katherine Mond

GENDER: male / female

AGE: 18

BIRTHDAY: November 21

STARSIGN: Scorpio

HEIGHT: 188cm / 173cm

EYE COLOR: green

HAIR COLOR: burnt orange

HOMELAND: Kingdom of Prophecy (original), Land of Pyroxene (lie/fabricated backstory)

DORM: Ignihyde / Chateau Beastiale

SCHOOL YEAR: 3rd

CLASS: 3-C (13) / 3-B (17)

OCCUPATION: student, freelance entrepreneurs

CLUB: board game / gardening research

BEST SUBJECT: ancient incantations / obstacle run

DOMINANT HAND: right

FAVORITE FOOD: chestnuts (chicken curry=favorite dish)

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: caviar / strong cheeses

DISLIKES: dancing / big dogs

HOBBY: flute playing / shopping

TALENTS: herbology / playing the electone

APPEARANCE

picture by AmberAnimeCommission

Thomas is a young lad of standard build and a lean, strong body. He has long, dark orange hair normally kept in a loose braid. He has narrow, but kind eyes that are a deep green color. He wears glasses due to farsightedness.

Katherine is a young lady of standard build with an hourglass shape. She has long, dark orange hair normally kept in a loose braid. She has gentle, but mature eyes in a shade of vibrant green. She wears glasses due to nearsightedness.

The Tale of Red Fur 

((This is the twins’ backstory in “story” form. It’s inspired by the mystique, “hinting at original Disney lore” way Twisted Wonderland references old Disney characters and aspects.))

Several hundred years ago, a glorious kingdom stood strong under its reigning king. On a cold autumn morning, a harsh winter threatened to swarm through the land in due time, the king's young grandson watched in horror as a hawk descended upon an innocent squirrel. The young boy tried so hard in vain to strike the bird down with his bow and arrow, and watched as the hunter disappeared into the forest with his prey. Downcast at being unable to save the small creature's life, the prince withdrew his attack, and began heading back to the castle until the sounded of distressed chirping rang through his ears. Tracking the source of the noise, he came upon a nest of two squirrel kits, their fur matching the shade of the victim he'd seen earlier. For awhile he waited in hiding for the mother's return, and when she did not and the cries grew louder, he resigned that the poor kits were truly orphaned.

The prince retrieved the kits from their nest, their concerned, confused cries deafening his ears before they fell silent with exhaustion, soothed to sleep by the warmth of his palms. He returned to the castle with his furry boon, asking for the king's guidance in how to care for the creatures. Seeing the kits' warm shade of red fur, a fond memory befell the king. A memory of his youth, one full of exhilaration...and the slightest pang of guilt. The king smiled at his grandson, assuring the young boy they would do everything to help the kits survive the winter.

The kits were doted upon by the king and prince, and grew strong with their love and care. As the winter grew colder, the king fell with an illness from the frigid weather. His grandson and the growing kits warmed his heart during this difficult time, but he was unable to overcome the ailment. The king's body vanished when his last breath came to pass.

The kingdom mourned, but his son's coronation soon followed. The grandson continued to mourn, and when the snow began to melt and the time for the kits to return to the wild came, the prince was unable to let them leave as he feared the same fate that had befallen their mother would await them. His parents, though proud of their son's empathy, bade him to not spoil the creatures, wishing for them to return to nature. With his son unwilling to yield, the new king wished a favor from an old acquaintance from his father, a grand, elderly wizard. In the dark of night, the wizard and grown kits disappeared from the kingdom. The prince was distraught, but came to accept that the squirrels had returned to the wild.

The wizard wasn't seen again for hundreds of years, and the memory of the young squirrels he helped raise faded from the prince with time. As an adult, he told his own children the legends that had befallen the land, from the brilliant victories of his grandfather to the superstition that if a child misbehaved and wandered too far into the land's forests, they would be lured to the cottage of a cruel, purple-haired witch by a pair of redheaded twins she was rumored to have kidnapped and tutored in the ways of dark magic. The superstition was a frightening story as he told it, knowing of all the disappearances that had befallen several children in the years prior, though he wasn't sure if he believed the tale himself. As time passed, fewer and fewer children vanished from the kingdom, and the superstition became just another frightening tale to trick children into behaving. Many people claimed to have still sighted the purple witch, however the twins were heavily believed to have resulted from a storyteller's enthusiasm.

The Twins 

((This is is the twins’ story verbatim. Realizing the fanciful “tale” above came from wanting to relate to Twisted Wonderland’s way of telling the universe’s history, I decided being straightforward about their backstory would clear up a lot of confusion about them going forward.))

Thomas and Katherine were born as squirrels in medieval England. When their mother was killed by a hawk (their father suffering a similar fate before), they were saved as kits by an elderly King Arthur and his grandson nurturing them through the winter. Arthur fell to illness from the harsh weather in his old age and passed away. When his son took the crown, the grandson did not want to release the twins back into the wild when spring came, heartbroken at the thought of them dying like their mother or his grandfather. Worried about his son's attachment to the squirrels, the new king asked Merlin to release them into safety and watch over them to make sure they could adapt to living in nature again. Merlin agreed, but the twins were easily attached to humans by this point and their comfort with him made it difficult for him to usher them back into the woods.

The twins were found by Madam Mim, who'd seen Merlin "raising" them. In an act against her old rival, she captured the twins and turned them into humans, teaching them black magic and using them to lure other victims to her cottage when they were old enough. By the time they were preteens, Merlin discovered what had happened and tried to dual Mim for their freedom. Knowing the witch's tricks, Merlin tried to transport the twins to a different period in time to hide them from Mim. The witch knew what he was attempting as he was doing it and cast a similar spell to try and hide them from Merlin. Both spells hit the twins at the same time and they were sent to where neither spell-casters could figure out.

The twins surfaced at the threshold of Night Raven College in the dead of night. Scared and with no guardian or guidance, they used their magic to revert back to being squirrels, staying at the school to figure out where they were and how to adapt. In their small, unassuming forms, they were able to hide out in lectures and listen in on conversations and, whenever night came again, they'd turn back into humans to test the skills they had seen. Their presence was not entirely unnoticed, but many assumed the noises made and messes left were the result of ghosts or rowdier students. During this time, they also learned of Diamond Crown Academy. When they came of age, they were selected by their respective schools’ magics to attend, though they lied about their origins when asked. Crowley and Citrouille were highly aware of this rouse, but also very much aware of the twins' strange circumstances of suddenly appearing on the college's campus out of nowhere. They decided letting the twins have a place of residence and get an education was the best course of action for them, especially since they were recruited by the schools and did have an aptitude for magic.

HOBBIES

Being part of the Ignihyde dorm at Night Raven College, Thomas is proficient with computer work. His special skill involves coding, able to read and make code for something as recreational as a video game or as serious as hacking into a security system. Despite the technical emphasis of his dorm, he still enjoys more active hobbies such as playing sports or hunting. His favorite hobby to relax with is playing the flute.

In semi-part of her magic training at Diamond Crown Academy, Katherine enjoys making perfumes and other beauty (mostly bath) products in her dorm at Chateau Beastiale, some of which include magic additives. Like her brother, she enjoys more active hobbies as well, particularly finding enjoyment in ballet and gymnastics. While she also enjoys baking, her favorite way to unwind is to simply shop and get elaborate manicures and spa treatments.

PERSONALITIES

While the twins don't remember their time as infant kits, the twins have very strong memories of the time spent with King Arthur and his grandson (they believe this was due to some sort of residual magic presence Arthur had gained over the years influencing them). They remember his kindness and unyielding sense of responsibility towards his family and his kingdom. When Mim turned them into humans, she treated the now-children to a very manic upbringing. While she taught them how to read, write, and do magic, she was also very scornful and quick with harsh punishments over small transgressions. Due to her unpredictable behavior, the twins were greatly afraid of her and followed her every order, no matter how ridiculous. The black magic she taught them also leeched into their minds, making them numb to their actions of luring other children to her cottage. They grew to trust only each other, frightful of Mim and unsure of how to escape her clutches. When the duel between her and Merlin resulted in them being banished to Night Raven College, their came a sense of relief for their freedom despite being worried about how they'd adapt to their new home.

The twins are frequently at odds with their own instincts. They remember their time with King Arthur fondly and want to honor his kindness, but Mim's treatment made them paranoid and resentful. They're generally soft-spoken, but there's a self-protecting air about them that makes them intimidating at first glance. However, they can be very friendly and approachable when they do bother to speak up. They're not entirely used to socializing, or at least not doing so frequently due to the long time Mim spent isolating them and them then having to hide as squirrels as they learned the modern world, but most people chalk this up to shyness. Their time with Mim lead them to learn how to be incredibly manipulative whenever they wished in order to obtain what they wanted. While they try not to behave this way to mislead kind people, they're also very self-preserving and, sometimes, feeling they "deserve" what they're aiming to get after the suffering they've endured. They are very kind and caring as they try to emulate Arthur's treatment of them, but they're also very cunning and distrustful as Mim taught them to be.

They've only really trusted each other throughout most of their lives. As such, they're going prioritize each other over all else. They grew to be able to cope with being separated physically, as they had to become accustom to it once they enrolled in different schools, but the thought of truly losing each other fills them with a sense of dread and anxiety, sometimes just the idea of it driving them to nightmares. This is one of the reasons why they're not focused on finding future spouses, as they're not ready to spend their lives with "strangers" (as squirrels mate for life). However, they are perfectly okay with flirting, dating, or light-hearted, non-committal romance.

ROMANCE PREFERENCES

The twins don't take dating very seriously. They're very open to flirting and having spirited liaisons with their peers, but when the subject of being in a committed relationship comes up, the two are quick to turn tail and run. It's not that they don't want a life partner some day, but it's only been in the past few years that they've had some sort of semblance of peace and they're not ready to fully trust others with their hearts yet.

Thomas' taste in romantic partners is very open and varied, but he prefers partners that he feel he can protect. Though not remembering his mother, he vaguely remembers hearing about her demise. It's because of this that he's terrified of not being able to be strong enough to protect his love ones, and he's insecure at the thought of not being the "strong" one in the relationship, either physically or mentally. With time, he would be able to adapt to having someone stronger and/or more mature than he is, who could help him cope with the anxiety he has about being unable to protect his family and friends. However, it would be a very long, tiring road to convincing him, and ultimately he'd need a partner with a great deal of patience. Thomas is bisexual.

Katherine has similar fears about being unable to protect her loved ones, but at her core she is afraid of being hurt (or even killed) and leaving others behind. She desires someone who can take care of her and protect her in order to put her fears to rest. However, she's a very caring person to the point where she might even prefer someone that she can protect herself, though it's very hard for her to admit this to herself. Like Thomas, she needs someone with a lot of patience as she comes to terms with how a romantic relationship is built on trust and understanding of one another's emotional needs and that it's not about whether who's "in charge" of what. Katherine is heterosexual, but bi-curious.

[florentinequill]

some maleficent headcanons

I wanted to share my Maleficent head canons, specifically the ones dealing with her species of fae and non-Stefan backstory before the sequel establishes new “canon”  material. 

(love interest what love interest there is only diaval)

Maleficent is one of the gwyllion. It’s Welsh for “ghosts or spirits” according to the wikipedia article. I picked it because I liked the look/pronunciation of it.

Most of the gwyllion live in mountain ranges to the north of the Moors and the border. High altitudes, not a lot of flat ground. Good cave systems that are carved out and made v nice.

They do a lot of trading for foodstuffs

Good fighters/explorers/craftspeoples

Maleficent’s parents lived way far south because her parents were the Protectors of the Moors and wanted to keep an eye on those greedy af humans at the border

Maleficent was born there and never spent a lot of time in her fantasy hometown

When her parents died, Balthazar took custody of her because he knew her parents and Maleficent didn’t want to move north and pitched a fit when one of her aunts/uncles suggested it.

Maleficent does have family! Aunts/uncles and a plethora of cousins

The closest of her cousins is Belladonna, a healer

Fun fact! Balthazar called Belladonna to try and heal the aftermath of Stefan stealing Maleficent’s wings.

Maleficent doesn’t remember because she was delirious with iron poisoning at the time :)

This is a whole whump fic by itself waiting for me to write it really

I can hear @bemusedlybespectacled cheering me on already

Most gwyllion fall into a few different body types that “traditionally” dictate their career options

I haven’t fleshed this out entirely but Maleficent’s body type is that of the warrior class

Belladonna training as a healer is also outside the usual occupations

Maleficent is uh. not so great with the social skills of her own people. funny how that happens when you live on your own. with other species of fae. in a completely different region.

There’s a lot of body language communicated with their wings that she doesn’t always pick up on

Social norms what are those look at her resume and massive amts of power

also the field in which she grows her fucks is barren

Her first long visit “home” is probably when Aurora goes on a royal tour of the Moors, earning the respect of the different regions/species of fae which is a fic in and of itself

Eligible gwyllion definitely tried to flirt/matchmake with her and she did not pick up on it all

Diaval definitely did

Maleficent skates by on her ice queen demeanor until her family can give her some Gwyllion Body Language and Social Niceties 101 lessons

“yeah we know they’re massive blowhards but can you not drag them publicly????”

Maleficent’s position as Protector of the Moors (and all around badassedness) helps her social standing considerably but not everyone is impressed by her since she’s not a “proper” gwyllion

Her relationship with Diaval is…definitely outside the normal bounds of society and gets some strong side eye from most gwyllion

Maleficent has definitely fought aerial and/or magical challenges over this at some point over the centuries

One of Aurora’s descendants probably has to decree that Maleficent can’t challenge people to duels over insults to Diaval

Disney is going to blow all of this out of the water come October but HEY that’s what fic and fandom is for :D

[im-fairly-whitty]

Wit, do you think Marco or other descendants would end up in the Isle of the Lost? Sorry if this seems random, BUT!?!

Okay Anon, unbeknownst to me @slusheeduck is a Disney Descendants fanatic and we had waaay too much fun putting this together with our Coco OCs.

(Disclaimer: We’re using already established OCs for this, but we’ve had to shuffle families around to stick with the Descendants formula of “hero kids” vs. “villain kids”. So Jazmín and Marco Veracruz are now Jazmín and Marco de la Cruz, since they’re now Ernesto’s actual children, and instead of being Héctor’s son, Ruy’s now Miguel’s kid. That should be the only mindwarp thing in this quick AU summary, so please enjoy! Text by Slusheeduck and art by me.) 

The De la Cruz siblings (VKs)

While most Villains have been on the Isle since its creation, Ernesto de la Cruz actually enjoyed several years in Auradon before being banished by the actions of Miguel Rivera several years ago. As a result, the de la Cruz siblings, Jazmín and Marco, have been left in a strange position—raised on the Isle, but fed with stories of what Auradon was like. So, when the VK integration program was started, they were some of the forefront candidates for it. Despite their nearly identical upbringing, the two take their new situation in very different strides.

Jazmín has thrived on the Isle, her in-your-face method of confrontation on even the most minor of issues making her a fearsome and respected among others on the Isle. She would have been content to turn down the invitation to Auridon and remain in her position in power on the Isle if it weren’t for one very important factor: Miguel Rivera, now a music teacher at Auradon Prep.

While she swears up and down to her father that her interest is purely business and focused on revenge in the name of family…well, she’s seen pictures. And for a teacher, he is a little cute and he has such gorgeous eyelashes. So she’s a little obsessed.

In terms of how she actually gets along over at Auridon, she could care less about where she is. She doesn’t try to blend in, but she also doesn’t try to stick out. She just does her thing (which usually involves unnecessary visits to the music room.)

Marco, on the other hand, has survived on the Isle with his charms and ease in reading people. He’s not particularly scary—especially not compared to his sister–but even at a young age, he’s able to schmooze with the best of them. But, after years of dreaming of living somewhere like Auradon, he agrees to the VK program before Fairy Godmother is finished speaking.

While Marco has a sharp tongue and snark for days, he’s very much a good kid at heart, and he wants nothing more than to fit in with the other Auradon kids. And he’s willing to do anything—anything—to stay there for good. Whether that’s changing himself, renouncing his family, joining Señor Rivera’s marching band even though he hates music, or even do something some of his classmates might find a little…morally questionable, he’ll do it if it means he gets to be an Auradon boy.

Rodrigo Rivera (Auradon)

Rodrigo is the youngest son of Miguel Rivera and a known troublemaker throughout the school. As if the pressure of four “perfect” older siblings coming through Auradon Prep before him wasn’t enough, from day one he hates the fakeness that seems to imbue every corner of the school—even in his dad’s music class. Sometimes, he thinks he would have been better off as a VK—from what he’s heard of the Isle, he’s the kind of angry, impulsive, attention-seeking person who would fit right in over there. At the very least, he wouldn’t feel as ostracized from everyone else like he does at the school.

He takes an immediate interest in the VKs that arrive at Auradon Prep, especially the de la Cruz siblings. While everyone tells him to steer clear—the last thing any hero’s kid wants is to meet their parent’s villain’s kid—he goes out of his way to talk to Marco and Jazmín, gleaning all the information he can about the Isle in exchange for tips on how to get by in Auradon when you don’t fit in.

Iria (Auradon)

Iria is the daughter of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, and also happens to be one of the few things at Auradon Prep that Rodrigo doesn’t hate. They’ve been best friends for years, and while he seems desperate to take their friendship to a more romantic level, she’s not having it just yet. After all, she has her future to think about. She wants to be an Ambassador to the Isle when she grows up, and she won’t let anything get in her way—not even her disaster of a best friend.

With her future ambassadorship in mind, she joins Rodrigo in befriending the de la Cruz siblings. She’s very interested in learning about the conditions they live in on the other side, as well as helping them integrate with the other students at Auradon Prep. (Her advice tends to be a little better than Rodrigo’s, leaning more toward “Hey, don’t elbow people out of the way when you walk” rather than “If you want people to like you all you have to do is BE A HUGE PHONY.”)

Like Rodrigo, she’s not all that pleased with the current popularity hierarchy system at Auradon Prep, but she knows how to play the game to keep from making too many waves with the other students. She’s also an excellent source of calm for Rodrigo, oftentimes being the only thing keeping him from lashing out at other students.

General gist of what the movie would be like:

Like the other VKs that came before them, Jazmín and Marco are sent to Auradon Prep with the intention of ruining things for the heroes of Auradon. Ernesto in particular wants revenge for losing his prized position at Auradon because of a stupid kid (who, granted, is very much not a kid anymore). His kids, however, have no interest in avenging their father. Jazmín is much more preoccupied with talking to Señor Rivera as much as possible, while Marco is willing to do whatever it takes to be accepted at Auradon—shredding his identity as he tries to navigate his way through the social hierarchy. Eventually, he realizes he’s become little more than a shell of his former self and has to work his way back to self-acceptance.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo’s more recent outbursts have started a flurry of gossip through the school. While no one’s actually seen it themselves, there are rumors of times when a hero’s kid has become a villain. And, if anyone’s primed to get themselves banished, it’s definitely Rodrigo. No wonder he’s been hanging out with the VKs.

Rodrigo and Marco end up bonding over their mutual feelings of feeling like they don’t belong in the place they were born, and together, they end up forming a very morally-gray safe space for them to do things not expected of someone born in their situation.

(There’s not a whole lot in terms of actual plot. The closest we’ve got is Rodrigo ending up on the Isle and possibly getting himself into the worst kind of trouble—as in “Curse your dad or I’ll kill all your friends” type trouble. Marco selling bits and pieces of himself to fit in and being left empty until his friend’s in danger and he has to work to shed all of his Auradon behavior before it’s too late to fix things the VK way.*)

*also Marco absolutely drops any part of his identity necessary to ditch the pleather VK clothes and wear some well-cut, tailored, normal clothes.

[ruffoverthinksthings]

To The People Calling Mal A “Spoiled Brat” Because Of Her New Limo, Please Stop

I agree that it’s bad that she’s getting a limo, after all of her terrible behaviour, especially in Descendants 2.

Does she deserve love and affection and encouragement to keep on the path to Good after she’s strayed from it twice?

Yes of course, that’s how we should all be treating those that lose their way! If you want to get Christian biblical about it, the Shepherd celebrates the return of his one lost sheep rather than his 99 who stayed with him the whole time.

Should she have been rewarded with a brand new vehicle for it, and a friggin’ stretch limo this time?

No. That’s a great way to encourage more bad behaviour in the future with less sincere apologies and making amends, because she’ll be used to getting gifts specifically for being bad then going back to Good.

But would I call her a “spoiled brat” just for getting a new, personal limo?

Hell no.

If anything, I’d blame Ben first and foremost, because he’s the one that bought the damn thing, and gifted it to her, and I sincerely doubt Mal cajoled and begged him for a brand new limo, in the same way that she was genuinely surprised he got her his own scooter after it’s been shown he already owns his own personal scooter, just in blue.

He’s been constantly showering Mal with luxury and goods, and while that’s good in general seeing Mal’s background and the many untold horrors she’s sustained, he’s seriously overdoing it.

And more so, this isn’t some sort of isolated case. This isn’t just Mal and no one else up and getting lavish, luxurious, expensive gifts for nothing at all. This has been happening WAY more to numerous other AKs, long before Mal did, and that’s not even going into the fact that for 16 years, Mal was deprived of love, basic needs like food, and safety.

Look at Audrey. She’s a control freak. A perfectionist. Has to have every single aspect of her life going the way SHE wants it, all the time, every time. She has serious emotional breakdowns from her fellow singers not being around to perform with her for a high school event. Granted, this was tied to their greater legacies, but you’d think the daughter of a Disney Princess like Auroria would be more humble, emphatic, and emotionally well-adjusted, but no.

Audrey is who I’d call a spoiled brat, someone who will scream, cry, and breakdown over not getting what she WANTS, what she demands, what she feels she DESERVES to have, not if she has even done anything to earn it.

And above all, this points to a more serious, systemic problem Auradon: that the people and its rulers are fine with excessive, lavish spending on a whim for its Royals, while the rest are forced to make do, or are even oppressed and enslaved to fuel said lavish lifestyles, as with the case of the Fae.

See: Cotillion, and its souvenir pencappers; the Neon Lights Ball; the elaborate, expensive, and luxurious campus and dorms of Auradon Prep; the R.O.A.R. arena, Tourney, and all the expensive equipment that comes with it; Parents’ Day; the everday, luxurious, expensive banquet that is in Auradon’s school cafeteria; the Seven Dwarves being slaves in their own mines to fuel the royals’ jewel addiction...

I could go on and on, about all the OTHER luxuries that the Royals have experienced, FAR more than any of the VKs or Mal especially have ever experienced, but I won’t.

In summary: blame the system that makes it okay and normal for the ruling class to just gift and spend huge piles of tax payer money on personal gifts to their family and loved ones, not the former child convict who’s being gifted it by her boyfriend, the King. Blame the rulers who made these laws and established this culture of lavish spending. Blame the people who still remit their taxes and can see it being used for their rulers whimsy than their needs.

P.S. I still call Mal a spoiled brat. But not for the limo.

[gingywritesimagines]

Memories

requested by the cool anon B)

Title: Memories

Fandom: Disney Descendants

Pairing: Gil x fem!reader

Request: “WHAT TIME IS IT? REQUEST TIME!!! The reader is the long lost daughter of King Adam and Queen Belle. She grew spent the past twelve years on the Isle of the lost. She lost her hearing shortly after losing her memory. She arrives back in Auradon and falls heads over heels in love with Gil...” -anon

Warnings: memory loss, mentions of severe injuries, overuse of commas as always

Description: After a series of unfortunate events, (Y/N) finds themselves in the Isle of the Lost with no hearing, no family, and no recollection of who they are. It is only after a series of fortunate events that everything starts to piece together.

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long I am dumb and I am sorry. I tried my best with this one and honestly it’s not as bad as I thought it might be. I don’t know very much about deafness or hearing loss but I tried my best and I’m sorry if I didn’t it quite right (I also wrote it so that the reader communicates by reading lips because I feel like the Isle wouldn’t have access to ASL classes/information and I doubt any of the villains would learn/teach her sign language anyway). Also it’s super long to make up for how late it is. Enjoy!

“Wait!” you cried, chasing after the limo desperately, “Wait for me!”

You ran as fast as your legs could carry you, but you couldn’t keep up with the automobile ahead of you. You wouldn’t give up though. You were barely six years old, you weren’t ready to live any life other than the one provided by your parents’ palace. You could barely live outside the castle walls, let alone on the island where the country held all of its most infamous criminals. You could barely comprehend all of that, but that didn't stop you from running like hell.

You kept calling out, “Wait! Wait for me! Hey, wait!”

You followed the limousine onto the bridge, running as fast as you could. The barrier opened up to let the car through, and despite being so young, you knew what that meant: run or you’re not getting home. You broke into a sprint, screaming along the way... but you were too late. The barrier closed right as you marched up to it, and the impact was detrimental. The blast threw you backwards; you went flying back and crashed into a pile of steel barrels. Everything started going fuzzy, and you could barely breath with the wind that was knocked out of you and the barrels crushing you. Then, suddenly, the barrels were moved. A small boy- with hair as white as snow and as many freckles as a Dalmatian has spots- peered at you from above.

“She’s hurt.” he observed, “Can we keep her, mama?”

A woman appeared behind him, an evil smirk on her features as her two-toned hair dangled around her face, “Of course, Carlos. You know how I love strays-”

The more she talked, the harder it became to hear her, and then everything went black...

Twelve Years Later

You were woken up to Carlos shaking you ridiculously. You groaned, slapping him briefly and rolling deeper into your thin blankets. Realizing that shaking you wasn’t going to work, Carlos opted to leap onto your bed and jumping on you repeatedly. Using various limbs, you threw him off of you and sat up, glaring at him.

“What?” you growled.

He took deep breaths, clearly pacing himself to make sure he’d talk slowly enough for you to be able to read his lips.

“Big news” He said.

“Big news?” you repeated.

“Mom just told us this morning.” He explained, practically jumping in place, “We’re getting out of here, Purdy! We’re going to Auradon!”

You stared at him in disbelief, “What?”

“Come on!” He cried, grabbing your wrist and dragging you out into the living room of the building your ‘mother’ often shared with Maleficent and her daughter Mal. All three of them- along with the Evil Queen, her daughter Evie, Jafar, and his son Jay- were already scattered around the room discussing the news.

“You will go, you will find the fairy godmother, and you will bring me back her magic wand.” Maleficent was saying, lounging across a chair and filing her nails, “Easy peasy.”

“What’s in it for us?” Mal asked.

Her mother shrugged, “Matching thrones. Hers and hers crowns.”

“Um, I think she meant us...” Carlos interjected, gesturing to all 5 of you kids with Mal following his lead.

Maleficent gestured Mal to move closer and spoke to her daughter directly, “It’s all about you and me, baby. Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?”

“Well yeah.” Mal chuckled, “I mean who doesn-”

“Well then get me the wand!” Maleficent screamed, “And you and I can see all that and so much more! And with that wand and my sceptre, I will be able to bend both good and evil to my will!” 

“Our will.” The Evil Queen corrected her lazily from the other side of the room.

“Our will. Our will, and if you refuse, you’re grounded for the rest of your life, missy.”

“What? Mom!” Mal protested, but she was cut off by Maleficent’s snapping.

A mother-daughter stare off ensued, both Mal and her mom fighting with their supernatural abilities for dominance in the conversation, and Maleficent came out on top.

“I win!”

“Fine.” Mal groaned in defeat, “Whatever.”

The leftover tension was lifted as the Evil Queen called to her daughter, “Evie! My little evillette in training. You just find yourself a prince with a big castle, and a mother-in-law wing, and-”

“Lots and lots of mirrors!” Evie giggled.

“No laughing!” Her mother scolded, “Wrinkles!”

Next it was your ‘mother’s turn to talk, “Well they’re not taking my Carlos or my Purdy because I’d miss them too much!”

Carlos looked between you and her in surprise, “Really, mom?”

“Yes!” she insisted, “Who would touch up my roots, fluff my furs, and scrape the bunions of my feet?”

With that last question, she threw her leg into yours and Carlos’ arms.

“Maybe a new school wouldn’t be the worst thing.” you grumbled. 

At that, your ‘mother’ quickly wrapped around both you and Carlos, “Purdy, they have dogs in Auradon.”

In a frenzied panic, caused by years of conditioning, you both rambled, “Oh no! We’re not going!”

Maleficent groaned as Jafar spoke up, “Jay isn’t going either. I need him to stock the shelves in my store.”

Once he’d said that, he rushed Jay into a corner as they whispered to each other excitedly.

“Evie’s not going anywhere until we get rid of this unibrow.” The Evil Queen insisted, pulling tweezers from her bag.

“What is wrong with you all?” Maleficent yelled, “People used to cower at the mention of our names! For 20 years, I have searched for a way off this island! For 20 years, they have robbed us from our revenge! Revenge on Snow White and her horrible little men! Revenge on Aladdin and his stupid genie! Revenge on every sneaky Dalmatian that escaped your clutches!”

“Oh, but they didn’t get Baby!” Your ‘mother’ argued, squeaking the toy that made up her coat.

She was ignored as the so-called Mistress of Evil continued, “And I, Maleficent, the evilest of them all. I will finally have my revenge on sleeping beauty and her relentless little prince. Villains!”

“Yes?”

“Our day has come!”

The villains continued their conversations, rambling too fast for anyone to catch up. Suddenly, Carlos grabbed your arm and your bag of things.

“Time to go.”

You nodded and followed your friends outside, to a limo that looked oddly familiar. The feeling made you uneasy, so you opted to look around one last time. You caught eyes with a blonde boy across the ‘street’; you’d seen him many times before but you’d never learned his name. He was cute, that was for sure, and looking at him like that kinda made you happy. He smiled, a dopey little smile, and waved at you. You waved and smiled back, but you were quickly ushered into the car. While you became more and more uneasy at the familiarity of it all, Jay and Carlos fought over the sweets provided and Evie and Mal had a quick chat. Noticing your stiffened posture, Carlos wrapped a reassuring arm around your shoulders. Before he could ask what was wrong, however, Evie pointed through the windshield which was now visible.

“Look!”

You sped closer and closer to the barrier and your four friends shrieked- ducking for cover- in fear of injury, but you sat there slack jawed as you found it harder and harder to breathe. When you made it through the barrier, you nearly fainted, and your friends rushed to your side to make sure you were okay.

“Purdy? Purdy, what’s wrong?”

“Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?”

You could barely process anything that was happening as flashes of images raced through your head; balls and parties, throne rooms and dining halls, a stern woman standing next to a couch covered in brown fur. You had no idea what these images meant but they bombarded you relentlessly. Before you knew it, the limo had pulled up to Auradon Prep, but you still couldn’t seem to pry yourself off the floor. Carlos, Mal, and Evie made their way out, standing before the Auradon citizens who volunteered to greet you, as Jay helped you up and out of the vehicle. As you forced yourself to stand up properly, you were met with a young boy who looked uneasily familiar. He stared at you in shock, along with almost everyone else there, and slowly moved towards you.

“(Y/N)?”

You squinted at him momentarily, before your mouth moved on its own accord, “Ben?”

After that, your time at Auradon became a blur. You were rushed to the king and queen, who welcomed you- sobbing- with open arms. You were brought to hospitals to inquire about your hearing, which concluded that since they didn’t know how you’d lost your hearing they couldn’t do anything to fix it; not that you minded much, the system you’d worked with for years did just fine. You were brought to live in the castle, and the staff as well as your family helped you regain your memories. You grew very very close with Ben, but still made absolute certain that Carlos knew that he was still your brother too. Auradon took some getting used to, but you and your friends found ways to enjoy your new lives off of the Isle. You worked your way through orientation, the mess at the coronation, the drama with Mal’s ex-friend Uma, and the showdown at the cotillion. Your time at Auradon became a blur, but as your brother worked to restore peace, that blur began to slow down. You got to help organize the welcoming ceremonies for newcomers from the Isle, you got to make friends, you got to join sports teams, and you got to spend more time with your fellow students. One student in particular, you noticed, was the same blonde boy that you’d seen across the street the day you first left for Auradon. He intrigued you, to say the least, and he certainly was cute; however, people always talked about him and his friends very quickly in hushed conversations, so you could never pick anything up. One day, you decided enough was enough, and you decided to talk to the one person who knew the student body better than anyone- your brother.

“Hey, Ben! Wait up!”

“Hey, (Y/N).” he smiled, “How’s it going?” 

“I’m good.” You nodded to affirm your statement, “I’m good, but I do have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

You smiled slightly before pausing to figure out how you should word your question. It was then that you noticed the mysterious blonde boy at the end of the hall; you knew then what your move would be.

“You see that guy over there?” you asked, turning slightly so Ben could see who you were talking about discreetly.

“Gil?” He arched his eyebrow, peering over your shoulder at the young son of Gaston.

You beamed at the small word, “Gil? That’s his name?” After Ben nodded, you continued, “I’ve seen him around the Isle and here and he’s...kinda cute. Do you think I’d have a chance with him?”

Ben winced lightly, and explained when he saw the look on your face, “He’s the son of Gaston, (Y/N).”

At the look of confusion on your face, Ben stopped and sighed, “But he’s a pretty great guy, I guess. Why don’t you go say hi?”

You grinned, hugging Ben tightly before taking a deep breath and turning around and marching up to the blonde object of your affections.

“Hey.” You greeted, “You’re Gil, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me!” Gil smiled, sticking out a hand for you to shake.

“Nice to finally meet you, I’m (Y/N).”

“Nice to meet you too!” he said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes, “Hey, I was gonna go grab something to eat. Wanna come?”

“Sure!” you nodded, “That sounds great!”  

Carefully, as if he were afraid you would break if he moved a bit too fast, Gil took your hand and led you in the direction of the cafeteria. Hand in hand, you were laughing and smiling; you’d never looked happier than you did when you were with Gil. Ben watched as you turned down the hallway, glad to have you back but even happier to see you doing so well. You were loved, you were happy, you were more loved than ever. All was well.

This is really weirdly written but I hope you like it anon!

Taglist: @tina20213 @berry-kitten-paws @fandomsneverdie14 @mcoomcoo

[jcspacey]

Animation is Not Just for Kids

The first essay I ever wrote in college was a “surprising reversal” essay, where we had to take a widespread idea or misconception about something and shed some light on how that idea is actually not true. The topic I chose was how animation is not just for kids-- that adults can like it too. I want to share some of the things I wrote in that essay, but present it in a more informal way. (I got an A on the paper, by the way XD)

[Disclaimer: The only animation I really watch is movies from studios like Pixar, Disney, and sometimes DreamWorks, so those are the main examples I have and what I mainly focus on in this. I’d love to hear thoughts from people who watch animated movies and TV shows from other studios as well!]

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Back in the summer of 2018, Pixar released their highly anticipated sequel Incredibles 2. The film was very successful-- it broke box office records and received mostly positive reviews. But controversy soon arose about the language used in the film. One Twitter user addressed the film’s director, Brad Bird, and expressed their displeasure at hearing swearing in a kid’s movie. Bird responded, “With all due respect, it is NOT a ‘kid’s movie.’ It is animated, and rated PG” (@BradBirdA113). This Twitter user’s tweet reflects a common opinion in our culture-- that animation is “kid’s entertainment.” 

This sentiment is shared in Hollywood as well. Live action films and shows get more respect, since they are viewed as more “sophisticated” or “mature.” Animated films rarely get a Best Picture nomination, and the Best Animated Picture award has only been around for about 10 years. Directors of animated films have also been quoted as feeling like second-class citizens in Hollywood (Gardetta 272). 

As an adult whose favorite films are animated, I have sometimes felt embarrassed when saying what my favorite movie is. But that shouldn’t be the case. In reality, no adult or teenager should feel embarrassed about liking animation, because “the animated cartoon is a perfectly respectable art-form with a considerable tradition behind it and with special advantages for both artist and audience” (Sisk 243). While most people assume animated films or television shows are for children, animation is actually a medium that has value for all ages. 

First off, it is important to recognize the difference between a medium and a genre, because the confusion between the two is a major contributor to the misconception of animated entertainment. A medium is the method by which art is created (For example: watercolors, acrylic paints, or charcoal and pastels). A genre is the category of composition within that medium (think landscape, still life, or abstract). Many confuse animation with being a genre when it is actually a MEDIUM of story-telling. There are many genres within the medium of animation such as action, comedy, drama, and so on. Animation is NOT a genre itself. To view animation simply as a genre for kids would trivialize them. Animation is a beautiful art-form. It is extremely flexible, and there are many stories that are just better told through animation than live action (I’m looking at you, live action Disney remakes). 

There are many examples of animation that isn’t intended for children at all, or made specifically with adults in mind. I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know much about these movies/TV shows, but I promise you if you look up “adult animation” you will find them. These shows are labeled this way because they often have strong language, violence, or sexual content. This is why you can’t just throw all animation into a pile and slap a “kid’s media” label on it. There’s definitely animation out there you probably don’t want your kids to be seeing!

Then we have those animated movies and shows that actually are intended for all ages-- the children and family movies, if you will. An adult or teenager can also find rich enjoyment in these films since they often explore complex themes, messages, and emotions that perhaps only an older viewer can truly appreciate. Pixar is especially noteworthy for finding ways to hide in plain sight the existential questions and fears adults face in the disguise of an “innocent” family film. Ellen Scott of Queen's College, City University of New York stated, 

“…these Pixar features exploit the tendency of the ratings system to judge the ‘adultness’ of a film based on its sex and violence quotient alone. They remind us of something that the rating system apparently doesn’t know: that sexual titillation and violence are not the only wages of adulthood” (161).

There is no shame in being an adult who doesn’t gravitate towards that more “adult” stuff. I’m one of them. I lean towards family animation because I don’t want to see sex, gore, or strong language. But I do enjoy exploring darker themes and the other aspects of adulthood, because sex and violence isn’t all there is to being an adult. 

These films explore the other “wages of adulthood” by incorporating themes such as death, feelings of worthlessness, depression, growing up, and letting go. Themes such as these stimulate discussion and engage the minds of adult audiences.

To illustrate, Toy Story 3 contains arguably one of the darkest scenes in American animated film. You know what I’m talking about-- the incinerator scene. The toys struggle to escape, but soon find themselves accepting the hopelessness of their situation. Grasping hands, they exchange terrified looks as they slowly descend to their seemingly inevitable end. That’s dark stuff! Quite shocking to include in what many might call a children’s film. Additionally, the movie contains many sequences addressing the existential theme of obsoleteness, such as when the toys have to deal with the fear of being discarded before Andy leaves for college. To quote Scott again:

“Ostensibly, of course, the scenes are about toys being thrown out. But they raise deeper questions about death and beyond that the end of material existence--void--that are far more complicated than even those raised in most films with adult ratings” (158-159). 

Moreover, the movie’s final moments are tinted with melancholy as they compel us to contemplate our own childhoods and how we had to leave them behind. I saw this movie for the first time when I was 10, and that final scene affects me more now than it ever did as a child.

The fact that these films can relate to both children and adults is part of why they are so impressive. Take Finding Nemo for example. While kids might relate to Nemo and his plight of having an overprotective parent and learning to become more independent, adults might relate more to Marlin and his struggles with anxiety and raising a son as a single father.

But Pixar isn’t the only animation studio investigating these deep, and sometimes thoroughly adult, themes. Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, while modified from the original novel to be more suitable for a family audience, still deals with obsession, lust, and genocide. In the DreamWorks film How to Train Your Dragon 2 (spoiler alert), Hiccup’s father is actually killed by a mind-controlled Toothless. There are so many other examples, and ones that are far better than these, I’m sure. These films aren’t just mindless fluff, there are real, difficult concepts in them that make them extremely compelling, accessible, and enjoyable for all ages. 

But what about those animated films that are truly intended specifically for children? What about animated media that maybe isn’t so deep or philosophical? You know what-- YOU CAN ENJOY THOSE AS AN ADULT TOO. Sometimes we don’t want to contemplate our existence or the meaning of the universe while consuming media. Sometimes we just want to have fun with our comfort TV show or movie. 

Basically what I’m trying to say is, who cares what the intended audience is supposed to be. Watch what ever makes you happy! Just don’t disregard animation because of its reputation of being childish, because that is far from the truth. It’s a fantastic medium with fun to be had for every age.

To finish, I’ll share this quote from Daniel J. Moloney, a dean at a university in Pennsylvania (in context, he’s talking about the Disney renaissance movies, but I think it applies to most animated family movies/shows. My main point in this essay to point out that children and family movies are just as valuable for adults, and I think this quote drives that point home):

“So just what is the appeal of animated films for so many adults? On a purely objective level, the films are works of technical and artistic genius. They present excellent music and lyrics and incorporate elements of comedy, drama, and suspense. They sport good scripts and field fine voices. Their visual and auditory presentation is so powerful it can bring an audience to the point of awe.

But it is not only their objective qualities that make these films so wildly successful. I believe the most compelling element of these animated films is that they tap into the heart of the human struggle: our day-to-day relationships with one another and our tattered but unshakable belief in goodness. In these films there is little gratuitous violence, no foul language, no discomforting sex, no overt politics, and no religious controversy— staples of our daily life and most of our cinematic entertainment.

Even more important, the viewer of these films can be fairly confident that good will prevail, that by the time the final credits roll, the transformative power of love will have been affirmed. In a word, these films give us hope.”

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject! Also, let me know what your favorite animated movies and TV shows are!

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Works Cited

@BradBirdA113. “With all due respect, it is NOT a “kids movie”. It is animated, and rated PG.” Twitter, 2 July 2018, 3:10 p.m., https://twitter.com/BradBirdA113/status/1013907729461727232

Gardetta, Dave. “Mr. Indelible: Brad Bird’s The Incredibles May Have Left a Permanent Mark on Filmmaking, but Animation Directors Still Can’t Get No Respect in Hollywood.” Los Angeles Magazine, no. 2, 2005, p.78. EBSCOhost.

Maloney, Daniel J. “No Admittance without Children.” Commonweal, no. 13, 14 July 1995, p. 30. EBSCOhost.

Scott, Ellen. “Agony and Avoidance: Pixar, Deniability, and the Adult Spectator.” Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 42, no. 3, 2014, pp. 150-162. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/01956051.2014.881773.

Sisk, John P. “The Animated Cartoon.” Prairie Schooner, vol. 27, no. 3, 1953, pp. 243–247. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40624571. 

[the-truest-sentence-i-know]

Chapter Nineteen | Think of the Children

Fandom: Disney’s Descendants

Summary: Quinn Little, raised in Auradon by Little John, finds out that her heritage is not what she thought it was. When Little John tells her that her real father was a villain, she must go on a journey of self-discovery that will bring her to all the forbidden places in the United States of Auradon.

Pre-canon & canon compliant to the first Descendants film.

Word Count: 1.6k  |  19/23

ao3 ||| ff.net ||| wattpad ||| quotev

Quinn slept fitfully most of the time after returning to Auradon. she would often wake up in a cold sweat, gripping the hilt of her dagger that she kept under her pillow out of habit.

One night, someone shook her awake and before she was fully awake, Quinn had pressed the blade to the neck of –

“Woah, Quinn,” Dad said, backing away from her bed. “It’s just me.”

Quinn inhaled sharply and quickly dropped the dagger. It clattered to the wooden floor and she shook her head. “Sorry, Dad,” she mumbled, rubbing her face. “I’m just. still a little on edge.”

He sat down on the edge of her bed. “Quinn,” he said quietly. “Who’s Harper? You were saying his name.”

She looked down at the quilted bedspread. “He. he was one of the kids on the Isle,” she said hesitantly.

“What happened, Quinn?” Dad asked and there was pain in his voice.

When Quinn looked up, her eyes were filling with tears. “I couldn’t save him, Dad.” Her voice broke and she covered her face with her hands. “He was just a kid, a twelve-year-old kid, and I couldn’t save him.”

“Oh, kiddo,” Dad pulled her into a hug. “It’s not your fault. I’m sure you tried your best.”

“It’s just so frustrating!” she burst out, pulling away after a little while. “Those are kids! And they have nothing, not even control over their own lives. Even the most basic things like proper doctors – doctors of any kind! I was the ‘surgeon’ in the Crew because I had the most knowledge! It’s ridiculous! I take one First Aid class here and I’m more knowledgeable than the whole island! How is that fair?” The tears were really coming now, and Dad pulled her in again.

“I know, I know,” he said quietly.

Once Quinn had calmed down, and Dad was about to leave, he turned in the doorway. “That’s what drove you back, isn’t it? What happened to Harper?”

Quinn nodded. “It made me realize – well, Jax came up with it first – that nothing could be done from over there.”

“Who is Jax again?”

“Captain Hook’s son,” she said quickly. “He’s the leader of the Crew.”

Dad looked at her for a moment, as though he was trying to read the thoughts she was trying very hard to hide. Quinn thought she saw him smile a little, but in the dim light, it was difficult to tell. “Well, goodnight then, Quinn.”

“Goodnight, Dad,” Quinn said.

“I love you.”

It was such a simple phrase; one they had exchanged so often thoughtlessly. But when Quinn said, “Love you too.” It meant much more than it ever had. She was lucky, so incredibly lucky. And that was what had to keep her going.

•••

Quinn stood in front of the mirror. She was trying to go for a combination of her Isle clothes and her Sherwood clothes – she felt like she needed to represent both sides of herself. And she knew it was dumb; the Undergrounders were not going to judge her by her outfit – but still.

Dad knocked on the doorframe and peeked inside. “Ready to go?”

Quinn turned and smiled as confidently as she could. “Yep.”

They set off on horseback, joined by Mark when they passed his place. He looked her up and down and nodded approvingly. “Good choice.”

Dad was noticeably quiet for most of the ride.

“And you have nothing to worry about, Uncle John,” said Mark. “The Undergrounders are a very welcoming community. Everyone is super chill and non-judgmental.” He looked over at Quinn. “Although, you might want to keep the whole villain kid thing on the down-low.”

“Has the group ever been caught by the authorities?” Dad asked.

“I mean, we don’t commit any crimes,” Mark said. “But they do ignore us as long as we don’t cause trouble.”

 The hall was packed in the Underground. They finally found seats just as the meeting was called to order.

A woman in an acid wash denim blazer and floral dress stood at the podium at the front. “Good morning, everybody.” She had a sweet voice. “Welcome all to the monthly open meeting of the Underground. I am Stella, the president of the Undergrounders’ Council.”

Various people came up and gave presentations on proposed actions against hero elitism, the effects of monarchal governments, and status reports on the small ways they were trying to influence public opinion. Quinn was particularly interested in a speech on how the education system, particularly at Auradon Prep, could be improved.

Finally, Stella came back up to the front. “We also have a special presentation from a newcomer in our midst.” She looked around the hall. “Quinn Little?”

Quinn took a deep breath and stood up. She felt the eyes of everyone follow her as she made her way to the front of the room, unfolding her page of notes as she went.

Stella smiled encouragingly as she stepped aside, and Quinn smoothed out her paper on the podium. She looked out at all the unfamiliar faces and found Dad and Mark nodding encouragingly, watching intently.

“Hi,” she said shakily, then cleared her throat. “so, I know that I’m new here, but I figured this was the best place for… well, what I want to say.” She winced a little at her own words but forged on. “Many important concerns have been brought forth here today, and I realize that a lot of this comes down to the culture of Auradon, which has many serious flaws. And the group that I think is bearing a lot of the consequences are the children of villains.” She expected to hear dissent or even a few whispers, but the crowd was mostly quiet, watching her intently. “The children on the Isle of the Lost have been set up to fail, having had no chance of having a good life. They were raised by parents, who for their crimes, were put in exile. These children’s only crime was being born to the wrong people.”

Quinn could feel her heart start to race with her anger and frustration and took a moment to calm herself. “I realize that you have many campaigns running, all with important goals, but I was hoping that I could get some assistance in a campaign to help the children of the Isle. I’ll, uh, be sticking around after the meeting if anyone wants to talk or has questions. Thank you.” Quinn made her way back down as the crowd politely applauded.

“That sounds great,” Stella said. “We would be happy to aid with our resources and expertise on your campaign.”

Quinn did not pay much attention to the rest of the meeting, only half-hearing Mark’s whispered congratulations (“Way to knock ‘em dead”) and half-seeing Dad’s proud smile.

When the meeting ended, multiple people came up to Quinn to talk. Chloe from The Princess’ Wardrobe was first. “I was hoping we’d see you around here again. The jacket looks great by the way.”

The man who had spoken about the education system was also interested. “So were you thinking of some kind of exchange program or more like outreach into the Isle itself?”

“Well, the problem for most of the kids is their parents’ influence, as well as abuse. An exchange program would be more effective.”

“Would you be aiming to change the minds of the public, or the king?” someone else asked.

“Well, preferably both,” Quinn said quickly.

The questions and comments came quickly and people spoke over each other and Quinn found herself taken by surprise by how seriously they were taking this topic.

Mark was better with logistics, so once they had a sizable group crowded around, he said. “We’ll have our first meeting above Chloe’s shop tomorrow at two. Everyone bring questions and suggestions so we can start planning.”

•••

The next few weeks were a flurry of meetings and late nights at Chloe’s place. Dad went back to Sherwood, but Quinn stayed at Mark’s apartment in Auradon City.

The campaign was called ‘Think of the Children,’ which Mark had come up with at the first meeting. Soon they had posters up all over the city. Many were taken down, but they kept putting them back up.

Cory, who had worked on the Sidekick campaign, had pulled strings to get them a press conference soon.

“We need to first get some curiosity,” he said. “We want people to see the posters and kinda wonder, then they’ll hear about the press conference and hopefully recognize the name.

•••

Quite a large crowd had turned up for the press conference, and while Quinn wanted to be encouraged by that, she knew that a lot of them did not support the cause. From her seat to the side, she went over her speech and tried to keep her hands from trembling.

Finally, the time came and Quinn walked up to the podium. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Across the narrow sea, Jax was rooting for her, the whole Crew was. And so were Dad and Mark and a bunch more people.

“Hello, everyone,” Quinn said into the microphone. “A lot of you are probably wondering what this is exactly about. I’m sure you’ve seen the posters for our campaign: Think of the Children. And that is what this is about: the children.” She looked out over the crowd. They seemed to be with her. For now. “The children of the villains who are living on the Isle.” There were whispers among the crowd. Quinn looked over at Dad, who nodded encouragingly. “They need help. They need our help.” There was audible outrage now but she kept going. “I know how this sounds, but they are children as well. Just like any child born here in Auradon. They are no different. Just because they were born to villains does not mean that they are any less valuable than those born to heroes. Why should they suffer for their parents’ crimes?”

“They’re villains!” someone cried out.

“Traitors!” shouted another.

[davidelizabethbowiestrider]

Blood Runs Thick

A feeler for my Disney Descendants Jaylos trash fic I’m writing…

Auradon had always seemed like a dream, far away and so much brighter than anything he’d ever seen on the Isle of the Lost, so much cleaner and purer and simply better than what he had. Now- three weeks after the debacle with Uma- he couldn’t shake the feeling that even if they had left the Isle, left their parents death tight grips and unholy expectations, they would never truly be free. Mal still sometimes felt the pull of doing the wrong thing, still felt that she had to live up to expectations beyond her capabilities. Evie still pushed herself to be the fairest, still had days where she couldn’t look in the mirror for fear of hearing her mother’s voice pointing out her every flaw. Jay still had a hard time controlling his sticky fingers, still cased every room they entered even if he had no intentions of stealing anything. And Carlos himself still jumped at little things, still felt a wave of unadulterated fear roll through him whenever someone raised their voice unexpectedly.

Someone had whispered, when they’d first arrived from the Isle, that you could take the kids out of the Isle but you couldn’t take Isle out of the kids, and Carlos couldn’t help but wonder at the truth of the words.

It was late; Jay had spent extra time in the amphitheatre practicing Swords and Shields plays in preparation for the semi-finals, unwilling to let Lonnie down now that he had given her the title of Captain; Carlos had insisted that he help him, stating that his duty as best friend listed ‘sparring buddy’ right along side ‘causing mischief’. They’d returned to their dorm room just at the edge of curfew, unwilling to irk Fairy Godmother any more than they usually did by being out later than allowed, and Jay had offered him the shower first. Carlos had slipped into the bathroom, pajamas clutched to his chest to drop onto the counter before stripping off his t shirt, dropping it in the laundry basket wedged between the counter and the toilet. He paused as he caught sight of his stomach, flat and freckled and littered with scars. Slim fingers pressed along the most prominent of his morbid collection, wincing at the memory that the numbed sensation pulled from him. Too many nights had been spent nursing wounds such as the one that had left the marking, too many nights spent in fear that his mother would finish the job while he drifted off to sleep. He took a steadying breath, turning from the mirror to finish undressing, moving to turn on the shower to warm up the water.

And that had been a pleasant surprise the first time he had turned on the bathroom tap. Heated, clean water, as much as he liked, any time he liked. The Isle had plumbing, of course- King Beast had given them that much, along with basic electricity and the scraps of whatever Auradians felt they no longer had a use for- but the sewer system had no place to go due to the barrier, backing up into their water supplies and causing all their water to be a murky, muddy brown that had to be boiled before any use. Back, before he had met Evie and been taken under Jay and Mal’s protection, Carlos had started to put together designs to make a water filtration system; three years into the project, the then ten year old had given up due to being unable to have access to any of the equipment he would need to do so. Yen Sid had been impressed with the blueprints he had shown him, and Carlos often wondered if the old magician had been the one to suggest that he be taken off the Isle at Ben’s proclamation. Stepping into the now steaming shower, Carlos let out a relieved sigh as the hot water hit his sore shoulders, turning his back into the water stream as he tried to exhale the stress of the day. Classes were easy enough for him, the subjects an interesting change from the lessons taught at Dragon Hall, but there was always that chance that he wouldn’t be proven good enough and he had taken it upon himself to learn as much as possible of the new world Auradon opened up to him before the possibility of his potential future was taken from him like everything else in his life. And it could; there was nothing saying that Ben couldn’t change his mind. That the people of Auradon wouldn’t demand they be sent back, that he be sent back. The others had captured the hearts of the people in their own ways- Jay’s Tourney skills, Evie’s clothing designs and Mal’s relationship with Ben gave them worth, in the eyes of the princes and princesses around them, but Carlos had nothing to offer to the masses, nothing that had made him stand out on his own. They could send him back alone and no one would even notice, he imagined. He’d be sent back to his mother, who would…

Inhaling deeply, he shifted to press his forehead against the wall of the shower, cool tile slippery under the water dripping from his hair as he tried to steady himself. He could feel the tight, clawing feeling building in his chest that usually preceded a panic attack, the sticky heat at the base of his spine threading it’s way up into his ribs and through his chest as his breathing caught in his lungs as though his mother’s thin, spindle sharp fingers had wrapped around them and squeezed. The water helped, minorly, and he reached to grasp the shower tap as his breathing became more stuttered, more thick and difficult to draw in. He was suffocating, he had to be- he’d never had an attack so bad, not since coming to Auradon, not even before. His fingers slipped on the slick surface of the tap, and he felt himself waver as he tried to remember what Jay always told him to do when the rushing tide of anxiety and fear swept over him, threatening to take him under and wash him out into nothingness.

Jay. Jay was just outside, just beyond the closed door and the shower curtain, and he could help. He could fix the spotted darkness creeping into his vision and the overwhelming crushing pressure that was pressing him down.

“Jay!” His voice was cracked, wet and dry and every contradiction that swirled inside of him, too loud and not loud enough even as he attempted to pull the curtain from blocking his exit, his vision swimming as he tripped over the lip of the tub to crumble to the floor, the dull thud of his impact with muffled in his own ears. He curled into himself, trying to remember how to breath as everything pressed in on him, before suddenly warm hands pressed to his back.  

“Carlos. Carlos, it’s okay, I’m here.” Jay’s voice helped, drawing some of the darkness away as he struggled to turn his eyes to his friend whose soft smile barely covered the look of concern hidden just under the surface as he wrapped a towel around Carlos. Strong arms wrapped around him, lifting him off the floor to carry him into the bedroom and deposit him gently onto on of the beds (Jays, his mind caught, Jay’s bed was closest and softer than his own, the ex-thief preferring to sink into the mattress in the familiar way his body has sunk into the pile of rugs that had served as his bed back on the Isle) before disappearing again. Distantly he heard the water in the bathroom shut off before Jay’s presence returned, slipping onto the bed beside him to wrap a blanket around his still damp body over the towel before pulling him close. “Deep, slow breaths C, c’mon. I know you can do it.” Jay’s voice was soft, quiet in the night in a way that wrapped around Carlos and soothed the tightness in his chest a fraction more. Following his instructions, Carlos tried his best to draw in a slow, deep breath; the air caught in his throat, thick in a way air shouldn’t be, and he panicked further with a hiccupping sob. He was going to die, he was going to suffocate and Jay wouldn’t be able to help.

“Carlos, hey. Hey, here, feel me, feel me breathing and follow what I do okay?” Jay’s voice remained calm as he pulled him closer, flush enough to follow the exaggerated rise and fall of the older teen’s chest. Carlos struggled to follow along, pushing air from his lungs even as the urge to draw more in as fast as possible washed over him. It was like drowning, but in reverse; his lungs loosened with each breath, his chest and throat opening up to take in the air as the trickle of heat at his spine receded slowly. Jay’s words trailed into soft, soothing noises, calloused fingers rubbing along his chest in an attempt to urge each breath in deeper than the one before as his body relaxed slowly into the warmth of his friend’s body. Several moments passed, and when he no longer felt as though he was at risk of washing away into the roiling darkness that had previously threatened to take him under, he shifted to wrap ice cold fingers around Jay’s own, not pressing hard enough to stop the older boy’s movements but enough to let him know he was calming down.

“Thanks, Jay.” His voice sounded harsh even to his own ears, as cracked and reed thin as he felt his own skin to be, and he swallowed noisily as Jay pulled him closer still, burying his nose at the base of Carlos’ neck to breath softly against the freckled skin there.

“What caused it?” Jay’s voice was soft, almost a whisper, and Carlos let out a shaky breath as he thought back to what had triggered the attack.

“I don’t want to go back to her, Jay. I’d rather die than go back to her.” Jay’s arms tightened around him, and he curled his fingers, his nails biting into the soft skin of Jay’s hand.

“You’re not going anywhere, Carlos. You’re here in Auradan, you’re safe here. No one is making you go anywhere, dude, I promise.” He let the words sink in, his breathing finally coming under his control as he let his eyes close.

“I’m just here, and everyone’s going to realize that I’m not good. I’m not good at doing this, Jay, I can’t.” He couldn’t hold on to the feeling of goodness like the others seemed to, couldn’t stop comparing himself to the others around him and finding himself wanting. There was a huff from behind him, and he found himself suddenly shifted to lay chest to chest with his friend, the older teen giving him a warm smile.

“Dude. You’re the goodest person I know. Uh. Most good? Best. You’re good, Carlos. Trust me.” Rough hands rubbed along his back, their warmth spreading along his spine as he swallowed around the thickness in his throat at Jay’s words.

“I’m not.” He whispered, fingers curling into the material of Jay’s shirt, tight enough to cause his knuckles to whiten against the dark fabric. “I’m broken, Jay, more broken than you guys. I can’t do this any more. It’s so hard, I keep hearing her every day. I can feel her, like she’s crawled under my skin and is prying me apart from the inside. I keep thinking none of this is real.” Jay’s smile slipped into a frown as Carlos continued to speak. “Like I’m going to wake up and look in the mirror and not recognize myself. That I’m going to wake up one day and be just like her.”

“Carlos. You’re the furthest thing from Cruella. Look at me.” Carlos let his eyes meet Jay’s, blinking owlishly as Jay pressed their foreheads together. “You are a good person. You’ve always been a good person. You’re the one who helped Evie out, when she first came back from exile, right? And you were the one who Dude chose, yeah? You are never going to become her. Never. Okay?” Carlos gave a shallow nod, and Jay tightened his arms around him slightly.

“Genetically speaking, I’m on a high risk end of mental illness, Jay. I’ve…Auradon has so many books on our parents. On my mother. On her illnesses. On why she’s the way she is, what caused her to want to steal and skin over a hundred innocent animals, animals that were people’s pets. And do you know what those books say?” Jay shook his head, frown deepening as his brow furrowed. “They say that your dad, Evie’s mom, even Maleficent were brought into their evil ways due to nuture, how they were raised or circumstances outside of themselves, situational evil that they let shape them…But Cruella? My mom would have gone crazy regardless. Genetically she was set up for mental illness and then no one helped her. Genetically speaking I could become just like her, Jay. Histrionic personality disorder? That’s what they call it, her being the way she is, how everything is about her, everything needs to be her, her, always her. And it doesn’t set in until early adulthood. What if I become that?” His cheeks flushed, eyes squeezing shut as his fingers tightened in Jay’s shirt. “What if I can’t stop it from happening?” There was a long moment of silence between them, Dude’s soft whine the only sound as the dog paced in the space between their beds, before Jay let out a small huff of breath.

“We are not our parents, Carlos. And you…are the smartest person I know. And I know you pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. So I’m gunna make you a pact, right here, alright?” Carlos nodded, pulling back slightly to watch Jay’s face. “If you start going crazy? I’ll tell you. I’ll do everything in my power to help you.” Carlos nodded, and Jay offered a small smile. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen, C. I really don’t think it will.” Squeezing his arms against, he shifted to pull the younger teen on top of him, and Carlos rested his cheek on Jay’s chest, letting the slow rise and fall of his friends chest lull him to sleep.

[enterinit]

New Xbox One Games for March 24 to 27

New Xbox One Games for March 24 to 27.

Freedom Finger (March 24)

A music driven, side-scrolling shooter that sends you blasting across 40 levels of crazy cartoon action. Starring Nolan North, John DiMaggio, and Sam Riegel with music from Aesop Rock, Red Fang, Metz, Power Trip, Com Truise, and many more!

Moons of Madness (March 24)

A mysterious signal has been recorded coming from the red planet. The message confounded Orochi scientists. Their analysts broke it down and determined it was of intelligent origin. Orochi management immediately concluded that the discovery was too sensitive for public knowledge and moved to keep it hidden. In secret, the corporation began construction of Trailblazer Alpha, a state-of-the-art Mars research outpost designed to identify the true nature of the message. You are Shane Newehart, an engineer stationed at Trailblazer Alpha and your security clearance means you are completely unaware of the existence of the mysterious signal. Your job is simply to keep the lights on until the transport ship Cyrano arrives bringing with it a new team to take over your duties. Soon you discover strange and unusual setbacks. Crucial systems are malfunctioning, the greenhouse is filled with a strange mist and the rest of your team has yet to return from their EVA mission. Things are starting to fall apart. You begin seeing and hearing things that aren’t there. Visions, hallucinations – or is that even what it is? Is this real… or are you slowly descending into madness? Experience true cosmic horror With your only hope of rescue hundreds of thousands of miles away, you will be forced to explore the real-world fears of isolation and paranoia, enhanced with supernatural elements and cosmic horror. Terrifying visions and monstrous apparitions will make you question what is real and what is not as the very fabric of reality threatens to tear at the seams. Explore the darker side of Mars Navigate a functioning Mars base in a game that uses non-fiction elements to immerse players in a believable setting. Overcome obstacles using computers, electrical systems, rovers, solar panels and more, then go beyond the outpost and explore the darker side of Mars. Moons of Madness draws upon the rich lore and mythology of Funcom’s Secret World Legends. Both games exist in the same thematic universe, but playing one is not a prerequisite to enjoy the other. https://youtu.be/8RPGUHMrjE0

Bleeding Edge (March 24)

Team Up. Cause Chaos. Grab your team and tear it up in Bleeding Edge, an electrifying online brawler where every fighter comes mechanically enhanced for mayhem! Choose your fighter from a diverse cast of colourful characters from the edges of society: burn rubber as bold and beautiful Buttercup with her detachable saw blade arms, wreak havoc as Black-Metal rocker Niđhöggr with his electrifying guitar solos or slash up the streets as Daemon, New York’s most wanted assassin. Come. Join us. The cybernetic clash of the century is about to begin! NO STOPPING US Synergise with your teammates to become an unstoppable force in the face of your enemies – freeze foes in time, control minds, ride missiles and unleash electrifying guitar solos in exhilarating action combat that rewards technique, timing and teamwork. TREACHEROUS TERRAIN Use your environment to your advantage with deadly arena hazards and gain the upper hand in moments of chaos. Yank opponents into a high voltage electric fence with Buttercup’s saw blade. Charge enemy aggressors into the path of an oncoming train with Makutu’s shoulder barge. Trap careless enemies within Maeve’s magical cage and light a raging fire beneath their very feet. MOD YOUR COMBAT, SHOW YOUR STYLE Power up your fighters' weapons and abilities from a vast arsenal of cybernetic parts, all earnable through gameplay. Customise your hoverboard mounts to ride with style across the vibrant cyberpunk arenas of Bleeding Edge. https://youtu.be/SmZzFaXjtgE

Element Space (March 24)

Assemble an elite crew and make allies to combat a shadowy organization threatening the future of humanity. As Captain Christopher Pietham, lead your crew into battle and save humanity from extinction! Travel to the far reaches of spaces, recruit allies, gather equipment, and combat deadly enemies as you strategically maneuver your squad, utilize cover, flank your enemies, and combine your companions’ skills and unique abilities for deadly effect.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution (March 24)

Experience over 20 years of Yu-Gi-Oh! history with Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution! Build your deck from over 9,000 cards and take on the most iconic duelists from the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe. Relive the stories from the original animated series and challenge the newest generation of Duelists from the virtual world of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS!

Wartile (March 24)

Experience a living, breathing tabletop video game that invites the player into a miniature universe full of small adventures set in beautifully handcrafted diorama battle boards inspired by Norse mythology to honor the Vikings! Wartile is a cool-down based game that keeps the action flowing, with ample opportunities to plan your moves. Although it contains the strategic elements from turn-based games, a mixture of slow down features and cool-down based gameplay maintains the tension of battle while allowing for breathing room to make tactical decisions. At its heart, Wartile is a game about positioning and tactical decision making. https://youtu.be/sg_v4R_-pV8

Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition (March 24)

In a grim dystopian future, where mankind has scattered across the galaxy and human society has split into two distinct classes, you’re a poor stateless outcast forced to live off scraps from derelict alien stations and ships in outer space. Experience Deep Sky Derelicts in its definitive edition, which brings together the base game and its two DLC, New Prospects and Station Life.

Duck Souls+ (March 25)

A fast-paced, action platformer about a little duck with an incredible skill to dash and a mission: find all the eggs to save his species. Set in a cute and deadly fantasy world, where many traps will rip your wings off your body while you struggle to grasp the frail, fragile egg. Run, jump, and dash through a colourful and treacherous environment to save everyone and become a hero… if you can.

Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition (March 26)

"Long, long ago, the elven sorcerers cast a spell to save the floating world of Ara Fell from destruction. Instead, they doomed it to fall from the sky. By chance, the fate of the world has been placed in the hands of a young woman. Join her as she and her friends endeavor against all odds to save their homeland, all while the clock ticks ever nearer the final hour..." Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition combines the best parts of Japanese-style roleplaying games with the best parts of western RPGs, as well as including elements of visual novels and adventure games to create a truly unique experience. Atmosphere, emotion and surprise lie at the forefront of Ara Fell's story, driven by deep and accessible characters, each with his or her own past, their own desires and their own motivations for joining Lita's quest. Relive the golden age of the RPG with a game that both pays homage to the past greats, as well as blazing its own trail. Features: EXPLORATION - Ara Fell is a world meant to be explored! Jump, crawl, swim and even fly through the air to solve puzzles and discover new locations filled with hidden treasure, secrets and adventure!OPEN WORLD - Most of the world can be explored from the moment you leave Aloria Village, the heroine's home town... provided, of course, you're strong enough.TACTICAL COMBAT - Ara Fell may be a story-heavy game, but the world is still fraught with danger. Choose specialized equipment and statistics, customizing each character to best suit yourplay style.CHARACTER DRIVEN - Ara Fell's heroine sets on her quest to save her homeland, and discovers a world of vibrant characters. Friends and villains alike are not who they seem as the stakes grow higher... https://youtu.be/IhF32kU1Kf0

Borderlands 3: Guns, Love, and Tentacles (March 26)

The only thing more precious than loot is love. It’s time for a joyous celebration now that Sir Alistair Hammerlock and Wainwright Jakobs have announced their upcoming nuptials. The adventurous couple has invited you and your fellow Vault Hunters to a surprisingly dangerous engagement party, hosted on the planet of Xylourgos where a gargantuan monster lies frozen above a decrepit village. Part of the Borderlands 3: Season Pass.

Mekorama (March 26)

Guide the adorable robot “B” to safety after he crash lands on a strange cubic planet. Explore each level, rotating it in 3D to see all sides, looking for a way through to the goal. 100 varied levels continuously toss up new surprises that you’ll never know what to expect.

Bears Can’t Drift (March 17)

Put your paw to the floor and power slide between the pines as you face-off against up to three friends in multiplayer split screen. Including twelve tracks spread across three worlds and three game modes with up to eleven computer-controlled opponents, Bears Can’t Drift!? is retro karting action with a modern look and feel. Features: Old school karting feel12 different tracks to master3 unique hub worlds to exploreUp to 4 player split-screen8 different pick-ups to useSurprisingly skilled bears! https://youtu.be/6prNK9JrKBg

Bite the Bullet (March 27)

Run, Gun and Eat your way through this roguelite RPG shooter. In a world where every enemy is edible, what you eat and how much you eat drives everything from your waistline to branching skill trees to weapon crafting (in your stomach, of course). Shoot fast. Eat big. Satisfy your appetite for destruction.

Gigantosaurus: The Game (March 27)

Explore and race across the prehistoric world of Gigantosaurus. This Disney dino tale is part saving the world, part super race, and all giant fun! Rocky, Tiny, Mazu and Bill have scary problems – like the meteor that’s blocked up Giganto’s volcano! Only you and your dino friends can dare to solve puzzles and save the day – but you might need Giganto’s powers too! And the end of each story is the start of a super rally to the next zone. Will you be the most roarsome adventurer or the fastest racer? Features: Join dino buddies Rocky, Tiny, Mazu and Bill on a daring quest to help Giganto and escape extinctionHop in your race kart for a super rally to reach the next adventure zone and find out who’s the fastest dinosaurYou and up to 3 friends can control your favorite dino and create co-operative adventures together

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (March 27)

The PIRATE WARRIORS series has successfully combined the popular anime ONE PIECE with the thrilling action of the WARRIORS series to create a worldwide phenomenon selling more than four million copies! Based on the concept of "fighting hordes of enemies while adventuring with trusted allies," experience awesome ONE PIECE action lifted straight from the anime! ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 is the latest evolution of PIRATE WARRIORS action! Based on the concept of "experiencing a real ONE PIECE battlefield," buildings will come crashing down during the action and attacks will throw up smoke and dust, placing you in the thick of the ONE PIECE world! Injecting fresh elements that couldn't be achieved in previous entries has now realized an even more thrilling brand of PIRATE WARRIORS action! https://youtu.be/Fg-IchTd5Cc

Inops (March 27)

Explore the shadowy Mine, twisty Jungle and extra-terrestrial Elect-City but be careful of lurking dangers. Escape traps, solve puzzles and dodge enemies using the Inops ability to split into many little creatures or join into one big Inop whenever you wish. Use the environment to your advantage by using unique intractable components whilst guiding the Inops simultaneously. Get to the end of each level and save as many Inops as you can to avoid being lonesome. https://youtu.be/J5bv7cvhKwI

Children of Zodiarcs (March 27)

Story Professional thieves on the trail of an ancient relic, the group infiltrates the glittering halls of a corrupt noble’s private chambers in pursuit of their target, narrowly escaping the wrath of the city guards at every turn. Desperate to find an escape, they seek refuge in the city’s seamy slums and brave the sunless pits of the underworld. Out to get them are heavily armed city guards, rival gangs and psychotic families of subterranean cannibals. Abandoned by the system and used by selfish criminals, these young companions will be forced to come to terms with their own reality. But be warned - in the world of Children of Zodiarcs, no one escapes unscathed! Features: Combat Cards - Each of your party members’ attacks & abilities are bound to combat cards. Drawing different cards during battle provides you with ever changing combat possibilities every time you fight!Empower Cards through Dice - Once you’ve chosen your attack, physics based dice allow you to roll for bonuses! Favoring symbols over numbers, these dice deliver attack, defence, healing, and special ability modifiers.Influencing Lady Luck - To add yet more layers of stratagem to Children of Zodiarcs, you can craft dice to favour your play style, and re-roll up to two dice every time you throw. You need not fear being at Lady Luck’s mercy!A World Full of Characters - Along the way you’ll come to learn about Nahmi - stolen from her homeland as a child, Brice - forced to survive on the mean streets of Torus; Zirchhoff - a charismatic bandit leader who employs young orphans to do his bidding: as well as many more mischief makers.Building Decks - Each playable character comes with their own customisable deck. This allows you to tailor their skillset to the types of attacks and abilities you want to have in your hand during the heat of combat.A Fully Orchestrated Score - Children of Zodiarcs’ music captures the feel of tactical RPG classics with its fully orchestrated soundtrack composed by the award winning team at Vibe Avenue.Join Nahmi and her team in a harrowing tale of the downtrodden’s struggle for survival in a world where mystical forces are overlooked; and the people in power are solely concerned with profit. Do you have what it takes to overthrow a corrupt system? https://youtu.be/bt7CkKtxmwQ Read the full article