#in a better version of Voyager I wish they could have bonded or at least talked about it

[bumblingbabooshka]

Something something the Janeway/Chakotay/Tuvok dynamic when it comes to religion, mysticism, spirituality and science.

[dafukdidiwatch]

Titanic 1997

Alright, I finally caved and watched it.

It could have had a happier ending.

<spoilers>

I was against watching this movie for a long time. I didn’t have anything against the plot, it was just I knew how the movie ended.

The boat sinks.

My mentality was, if I knew how the event ended why bother watching? Like, all the movie was going to do was let me see a bunch of people who is just going to die at the end.

Plus, back then I was really against romance movies of any kind. If it was a movie marketed as a romance, I would be super against it. Meaning the entire lure of Jack&Rose was strike two against this film.

Then, it didn’t help that I knew the end and main plot points because of how big Titanic was. (pun unintended but accepted). I knew the song, the motif, the opening shot, specific lines like “Paint me like your French Girls” and “It was called the Ship of Dreams,” “I’m king of the world,” Jack could have fit on the door. Basically, all the best/iconic parts of the movie.

So it felt like, if I knew plot of the film, for something that didn’t really held my interest, in a very sad event, why do I need to really watch it?

Well, I was wrong. And really wrong.

Overview: Treasure Hunters search for a rare necklace that was lost on the Titanic. Soon they discover information from an unlikely source, an old woman named Rose Dawson, who explains her experience of love and lost on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

I did not realized that the movie opened in present-ish day. I was expecting to just jump right into actual story, so that was a little off-putting. I was against it at first, because they were going for the whole “flashback” route and I wasn’t really into it. But it grew on me, and looking back it was probably the best way to tell this story. It opened on modern day because that was where we are, but we can’t possibly imagine how/what happened on the Titanic unless someone who has been there tells us. It just makes it feel more real that way. I think Rose explains it the best when that one guy was explaining how exactly the Titanic sank to her: living through it was a different experience than just explaining it.

The transitions between old and new are just beautifully done, both in a long emotional transition as everything fades from old to new to old again, and a quick jump for comedic timing. I never really expected this to be a funny movie, but there are a LOT of good jokes throughout. Old Rose is especially hilarious. She is just old and spunky and didn’t give two shits. I hope to be like that someday. .

The supporting characters are good too. Cal the fiancee was a dick and a trash person and oh so wonderful to hate. Fabrizio and Tommy were the fun party guys just there for a good time. We got to see some cool historical characters brought to life like Margret Molly Brown, who is a fun take charge kind of person. Thomas Andrews the ship builder as a kind and thoughtful man who really did care a lot about the people on the ship. They were like two of my favorite people in the movie.

And speaking of historical things, James Cameron did a lot to portray the movie as historically as possible. Not just the big things with the ship and the historical people. There were so many small moments that were historically important and relevant to the sinking that were included. Like the missing binoculars, wanting the ship to go faster, “woman and children first” to “woman and children only.” There is just a lot of respect in trying to make this as accurate as you can.

The romance felt natural, it was a nice slow burn of just trying to open a new world for Rose. Stuck in a shitty and loveless engagement, ending up just talking to a genuinely kind people. Like, Leo was perfect in his role as Jack. I just love his care free attitude and his kind nature to just try to help. Granted, I wished that there was a....Better Way for them to have initially met, but it just pulls you in that you know you want there to be a way for them to work it out.

I’ve also noticed you don’t really see a genderbend version of the trope, the poor but free traveler and the wealthy but trapped socialite having a romance. It’s always a poor boy and rich girl in those specific roles. Just a thought I had while watching. 

You know, I never actually heard them really play the song “My Heart Will Go On.” I mean as the full song. I was expecting the lyrics to play at some point at least. Instead it was just a motif in little parts throughout the movie, but at all the romantic parts whenever Jack and Rose were really bonding together. And it also got sad when you hear the music over, you know, the ship about to sink. 

God I was freaking crying when Rose jumped back into the ship and Jack and kissing her calling stupid but they just kept kissing! Arg!!! 

Also, have you noticed that there were a LOT of hints to Jack dying when the ship sinks? I get catching the lines foreshadowing the ship sinking, but there were a bunch of moments that also point out his own demise. If I didn’t know about Jack’s death already, I probably would have just chalked it up to specifically the ship sinking.

This movie has a terrible habit of getting me attached to side characters only to watch them die. It also has a terrible habit of getting me attached to characters I’ve never even seen before while I was watching them die. Which makes sense, because this movie managed to really capture just how awful and tragic the entire sinking was. We see people panicked, fighting for the boats, silently accepting their fate, trying to survive, and I couldn’t really blame anyone for their decisions. Like, there were a TON of dick moves that people did, but at the same time you KNOW most of them are going to die so you know they are also just trying to survive as best as they could.

Overall: This film has helped me realize that I didn’t really have a problem with romantic movies, just bad romantic comedies. Basically, just watch this film. It is gorgeous in the set designs and shots. It is funny, romantic, thrilling, horrific, historical, kills you in the feels, literally everything that you could/would ever want in a movie. Is it a long ass time? Yes, over 3 hours. Does half of the movie just cover the ship sinking? Also yes, but it was time well spent.

[greathammerhead]

The Stars Will Lead Me Home chapter: 2 summary: All she had left of her father was a book of the stars encrusted with a ruby. After years of wondering, she finally sets out on a voyage that she hopes will lead her to her father, not knowing she would find so much more. pairings: Harry Hook x Evie, mentioned Ben x Mal, past Evil Queen x Captain Hector Barbossa notes: This chapter is very...backstory heavy, and I hope it’s enjoyable to read. I wanted to make sure I set everything up, since it’s both in the future for the Descendants timeline, and how it crosses over into the Pirates timeline, since they’re very different.

Please let me know if I need to clear anything up!

Also, just so no one gets confused, there’s a character in the second scene that isn’t from anything Disney, just a character from a different series since I couldn’t really think of a Descendants/POTC character that could fit the bill. other locations: ao3 | ffnet

Evie ran her fingers across the fabric of her latest piece. It was a tiny strip of leather meant for embellishment on a jacket; in all her collections, she liked to keep reminders of the Isle that you’d only catch if you were paying attention.

Nearly a decade has passed since she first left the Isle, and a part of her still missed it. If she hadn’t gone through what she had, she didn’t know if she’d have the drive to work hard so she’d never have to miss a meal again. Now here she was, the biggest fashion designer in Auradon, sought out by all the royalty as well as the common folk, for whom she also made an affordable line. When she had time, she sat on the Isle Council, comprising of other villain children that wished to ensure not to repeat the past. By now, all the children that wished to leave had done so, and many were making prosperous lives for themselves outside the gaze of their villainous parents. Uma had helped them see how important that was. She and her crew had been one of the new waves of transfers over to Auradon, and despite what had transpired at Cotillion, Uma’s boldness to do something made her the first name to be added to the Isle Council, as well as a primary transporter of goods — well, when she so desired. Otherwise, as long as she and her crew weren’t reigning absolute terror, they were pretty much granted free reign to sail the seas as they wished. That had been the only day Evie ever saw tears be brought to Uma’s eyes. They’d developed a passing friendship within the Council, and Evie still sent Uma gifts every year as a thank you for opening their eyes. Uma wasn’t the only one she sent gifts to. Even those she never encountered or cared for, she would send gifts as a reminder of their shared past, a bond they had with each other. It could never make up for the time Evie and her fellow VKs spent living in luxury while the Isle suffered, forgotten, but for Evie, it was the least she could do.

Her fingers paused against the fabric, feeling the familiar pang in her chest.

Of course, thinking of the Isle brought her thoughts back to her mother.

She looked to her second work desk, the top of which held mostly finished pieces, as well as gifts for her mother.

Ever since she chose Auradon, her mother was livid. Now that Evie had the means to send her mother lavish presents, on all occasions the items had been sent back to her.

Even the mirrors.

Instead, she’d taken to sending smaller, more personal gifts.

She’d even sent drawings she did; if any kind of fashion pieces that were inspired by her mother, after another sketch had been drawn, Evie would send the original to her mother.

It seemed the Queen would rather something Evie put actual effort into, rather than a pretty necklace she’d seen in a shop window.

It was a stark change in her mother, a change Evie still didn’t quite understand, and she didn’t think she’d ever want to.

But she should at least try.

She put the leather strip down and went to the other work table.

Now was as good a time as ever to visit her mother, wasn’t it?

After grabbing everything she’d need and leaving the room, she didn’t realize that after her rummages, a small, leather-bound journal had fallen to the ground.

A journal with a bright red ruby set on the front.

- - -

“TORTUGA!” The chorus rang through the halls of the Queen Anne’s Revenge as scores of pirates disembarked, some being too impatient and deciding to fling themselves from the railings and onto the decks of the dock.

Captain Hector Barbossa was the last to leave, and he did so with pride.

After a brief — and for him, scarring — stint in the King’s Navy, he exacted revenge on the terrifying pirate Blackbeard who took his leg, and now he’d taken his ship, and was back to the joys of piracy.

The stench of Tortuga was something he sorely missed.

It was everything raunchy and dirty and exactly what he’d needed. And the hordes of treasure Blackbeard had collected meant Barbossa and his crew had a lot to play around with.

While Barbossa enjoyed mixing business with pleasure, there was something he needed to do first before joining his crew at one of the many taverns, and indulge himself in all manners of bad behavior.

He’d heard whisperings while he worked with the royalty, whisperings about a place he’d almost forgotten about: The Isle of the Lost.

After being sentenced there, he’d realized he and his crew were from a seemingly different time and place. It felt like they were at the edge of a map, their worlds only tethered by the ocean they shared.

The Crown partially knew of this technology and were granted bits and pieces of it in order to stay in the loop with Auradon, and it was how he’d been thrown on the Isle in the first place. Auradon didn’t want the Isle to mostly consist of old-time pirates, so the Crown relented and sent the first major captain and crew they were able to.

They weren’t too happy to hear of his escape, but that had helped him join the Navy: he divulged what information he could about the limited technology of the Isle — they were especially interested in TVs.

These TVs, however, were already known among some of the pirates. Someone had smuggled in a few, and after a bit of tinkering and magic, they were able to freely watch all Auradon had to offer. From what he understood, they aired quite amount of information on these TVs, and few men and women of this age were able to figure out how to save and extract it for later use.

And one of these very pieces of technology sat in a building in Tortuga.

The Hanged Man was a more low-key tavern, as it was more inland than the others, so those who were looking for a quick drink were more likely to choose a different location. It was a place mostly for business and trading, but would grow louder as the other taverns filled up.

The Hanged Man had a vast amount of hidden doors, and so Barbossa had to make sure he knocked on the correct one, lest he be kicked out for going where he shouldn’t.

The door was on the third floor, mostly obscured by a bookcase — Barbossa had laughed at that — and upon entering, he counted four flights of stairs that the guide led him down.

After walking down an impossibly long hallway, the walls finally opened up and Barbossa froze.

He truly felt like he was in a different world.

One of the walls held a large, flat screen with what looked to be news footage playing. Barbossa could only understand a few bits and pieces of it, gathering that the woman on camera was in Auradon.

Scattered around the room were smaller, box-like TVs where a few other pirates sat in front of, different images flashing across those screens.

There was a smaller bar here, and the man behind it looked up from the glass he was cleaning.

“Greetings, Captain Barbossa,” He nodded his head and put the glass and rag down. “While your reputation surely precedes you, we do require-” He was cut off by the large pouch that was thrown at him, and he caught it in his large hands. He needed only to peek inside before he whistled. “Definitely precedes you.”

He stepped away from the bar, and out of sight. Barbossa squinted, trying to see where he’d run off to with his coin before realizing he was right in front of him — the man was a dwarf.

The dwarf bowed. “Varric Tethras, at your service. What can I do for you?”

“The Isle.” Varric raised a brow, needing much more than that. “The name has been reaching me ears again, and I want teh know why.”

Varric raised a brow. “Not sure why. Things are pretty steady on the Isle, now that only the original villains are confined-”

“What?” Varric was only mildly annoyed to be cut off again.

“How long have you been out of the loop?” Barbossa’s silence was clear enough for the dwarf, and he just nodded to himself, making his way to one of the smaller TVs, beckoning Barbossa to follow him.

“The last 10 years, the short version. Pre-made for your convenience.” Varric made a quick trip to the bar, pressing a few buttons that were underneath until Barbossa’s screen lit up, and returned with a bottle of rum.

And that was how he left the Captain.

Barbossa took it all in, beginning with the four children that started it all.

This was what he’d heard, but didn’t know if it had just been talk from what remained of his crew.

The Evil Queen had a child, much to the delight of his crew who knew of his nights with her.

He believed himself to be infertile while he was cursed, and so the thought never crossed his mind. And he refused to believe otherwise.

However, that line of thought also spread jokes about how she was either sleeping with someone else during that time, or immediately went to someone better than their captain.

Either way, Barbossa refused to believe the darling creature on the screen could be of his blood, the way she balanced her Isle past and her Auradon future. She had something neither he nor the Queen had, true smarts.

He learned all of what had happened while he’d kept a blind eye to that particularly short part of his past, though it felt like a lifetime ago...and he would never admit to anyone that thinking of the Queen was still an incredibly sore subject.

“Varric,” In seconds, the dwarf was at his side. “Is there any information on the villains still on the Isle?”

Varric rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “There’s not much, since they don’t exactly like to be recorded over there. But I’ll put up the footage that we have.”

Varric returned to the bar, retrieving the needed footage in a way only he understood, before it once again appeared on Barbossa’s screen.

The first piece was from when the Isle four were back, presumably once the school year had finished.

“Our beloved once-villains are returning to the Isle! But don’t worry folks, they won’t be gone for long!” The name of the announcer was Snow White, and it took Barbossa a few minutes to remember who she was supposed to be. When it dawned on him that this is who the Queen had tried to end, he couldn’t help the laugh that clawed itself from his throat. “Now that they’ve decided to make Auradon their permanent home, they’re not only picking up the last of their belongings, but they’re picking up new students as well!”

The news reel went on to show various locations of the Isle, places that he thought he’d forgotten about, but the memories hit him as soon as they appeared on screen.

He even saw Pirate’s Bay, and the mess of grumpy-looking pirates that looked to be begrudgingly joining Auradon. He even spotted what looked to be Hook’s boy, who seemed to inherit his crazy eyes and love for carrying around a hook for a hand.

Then came the exterior of the Queen’s castle, and his breath hitched in his throat. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed over chest as her gaze was so piercing he truly felt she was staring him down again despite this recording being nearly ten years old.

The years took a toll on her, but to him she was still as beautiful as ever.

And with that thought, that revelation that hit him like a slap to his face, he nearly jumped from his seat and headed for the exit.

Auradon and the Isle were too far away. There was no point in even thinking about it.

Hector Barbossa took a large swig of the bottle of rum he’d been given, heading back to what he knew: the sea.

- - -

Her mother had just been staring at her for the past half hour, and even after being raised by the woman, she wasn’t quite sure what she was thinking.

“Come here.” Like an obedient child, Evie approached her mother, standing before her. “You haven’t been doing many face masks, have you? The bags under your eyes are disgusting.”

But unlike a child, unlike the child she once was, Evie just smiled.

“I don’t mind them one bit.” She then returned to her seat with a flourish, not minding her mother’s thin-lipped expression.

“You’ve changed, my dearest.”

“So have you.” She shot back, unable to stop herself. She was a little too pleased when her mother narrowed her eyes, not used to Evie challenging her. “I know you don’t appreciate my gifts,” Evie began, turning to the large bag she’d brought with her, “but I thought you’d like these pieces I made by hand, as well as my original drawings for them.”

Her mother took the jewelry and dresses without a word, though her eyes lingered on the drawings, as if confirming it belonged to Evie.

“You’ve had the time to make all this.” Her voice was even, betraying nothing. “It’s safe to assume you haven’t yet found a prince?”

Evie grit her teeth. “I’ve dated, but I have yet to find someone I truly love.”

“Ha! True love! There’s no such thing.” The Queen picked up the glass of wine Evie hadn’t noticed and took a long sip.

“It exists. You just have to look.”

Her mother scoffed, taking another drink.

Evie drew in a deep breath. “So you didn’t have that with my father?”

The glass was crushed in her grasp.

“Never,” The Queen’s voice was shaky, far from the cold anger Evie was used to seeing from her, “speak of that low-life in my presence!”

The Queen pointed to the door, the shards of glass flying to the floor from the gesture.

Without a word, without a goodbye, Evie picked up her bag and walked out of her childhood home, never once sparing her mother a look.

Once the front door of the castle slammed shut, the Queen immediately hunched over, silent tears sliding their way down her cheeks.