#or how we say it in avalor

[crafter273]

Sometimes i think Elena Of Avalor was onto something when it said that the power of forgiveness is better than/more powerful than the power of love

A lot of fandoms are united by their love of the content , but (for me at least) good omens is about forgiving yourself for being human. It accepts that you are human, that one is prone to making mistakes, and it isnt because of your nature/nurture but because you are a person, and thats ok, you were doing your best at the given point of time, things may have gotten out of control and you wish that youd done something else when no longer in the stressful mindset but its ok,its in the past .

For me good omens is about the redeeming quality of forgiveness and how it helps us to accept, forgive and love ourselves.

[notmoreflippingelves]

So in the middle of my rewatch, I suddenly got really distracted by Francisco's black-with-gold-accents "formal" court attire, specifically in regards to the leaf accents on the sleeves. And I could help but think of the *other* black-with-gold-leaf accents look that we see on a Flores family member--Esteban's in "Elena and the Secret of Avalor." Although the designs between the two suits are distinctly different, there is enough of a similarity to make me want to think about them as a set and how the differences actually reflect the differences in the characters/their roles as well.

Although the silhouettes are similar overall, I would go far as to say that Francisco's look creates more of the classic "storybook prince" vibe than his grandson's. His costume is ornate and grand without seeming ostentatious. Think of how Prince Charming is costumed in pretty much any Cinderella adaptation. He must look striking and appropriately heroic--but specifically in a way that enhances our heroine without overshadowing her. And in nearly every adaptation, Prince Charming is more than okay with this, and the same is true of Francisco. He is at some level aware that he is on a show called "Elena of Avalor"--not "Francisco Flores of Avalor" and has no desire to pull the spotlight away from where it rightfully must be. In fact, he is far prouder to be the grandfather of Elena (and of Esteban and Isabel as well) than he would hypothetically be as the protagonist of his own story.

(Esteban meanwhile exudes "main character energy" and I mean that in both the complimentary and derogatory sense. In his mind, he is on a show titled "Chancellor Esteban of Avalor and His 41-Year-Old Guilt Complex That Not Even Tres Leches Cake Can Heal." But like if I had four decades of trauma to process and no one else seemed to notice, I would probably feel uncomfortable when we are not about me as well. And fittingly, his black-and-gold outfit is much more attention-grabbing than Francisco's, but much more on that later).

Two big parts of what leads to the "fairy tale hero" look in Francisco's outfit (and also to his "default" blue version) are: 1) the two medals pinned to his chest and 2) the epaulettes at the shoulder (I believe this is still the correct term even if they lack the tassels we normally associate w/the term, but like fashion historians can feel free to correct me).

Either epaulettes or medals of honor --or both-- are often seen on characters of his type. (Pick any Disney prince and you have a 50% chance of seeing one of these. Heck, King Roland's main outfit in SoA has both as well). A large part of what leads us to associate these particular sartorial touches as "hero-coded" are their association as part of typical military dress uniforms throughout history. (And yes, I recognize the problematic nature of such a trope, but just bear with me and accept it for now).

By including these as part of Francisco's costume (and its original blue equivalent), the animators are implying that he has a long, proud of history of serving his country and that at least some of this service came as a soldier and/or commander on the battlefield. And that he won honor--military and practical alike--in doing so.

Esteban's ensemble, obviously lacks the military touches (the epaulettes and medals) of his grandfather's. Because for all that he too served Avalor for decades, his service was of the bureaucratic rather than the military variety. (Shuriki obviously won't let Esteban wear a sword with his uniform--even he wanted to. Hardly surprising considering the whole "I killed your aunt and uncle. Doesn't that make you want to go apeshit?" thing they've got going.) But I digress.

The arms (esp the shoulders) and trousers of Esteban's ensemble are also much more form-fitted than Francisco's,as befitting a younger, more athletic man who wants to better show off his physique. (The real "secret of Avalor" is how Esteban singlehandedly managed a country for 41 years and somehow did so without skipping "Leg Day"--am I right, folks?")

Compared to Francisco's much plainer jacket, the design of Esteban's coat is also more ornate (the leaf accents are larger and more detailed) and colorful with the red collar, cuffs, and lining. This makes sense given that Esteban is established as much vainer and more flamboyant than his grandfather and that he has as mentioned, a much stronger need to grab attention.

However, the elaborateness of Esteban's jacket makes even more sense we consider it in the context of his role in Shuriki's court. He is a skilled diplomat, yes, and a capable administrator. But like every courtier, his primary function is to be ornamental first and everything else second. His looks, his charm, his attentions are expected to always be in service to the Queen first and foremost--not even in service to his duty or his country but specifically to the Queen herself. Certainly not (!) in service to his own will. (And damn, that must sting extra hard for someone who has only ever wanted to be seen and listened to and valued for himself.)

As such, Esteban is treated as an extension of the Queen--yet another pretty-if-powerful tool in her Almighty hands and fundamentally little different from her pretty crystal wand.

And yet, we see little tiny little hints in Esteban's SoA costume that he remains more than just Shuriki's shiny little Avaloran ornament. Let's go back to the red accents--shall we? Obviously, the show as a whole establishes red as Esteban's "signature color"--an honor he shares with Elena (and Mateo..but like he's less relevant tbh). Moreover, red, along with yellow/gold (and blue but again less relevant here), is one of the official colors of Avalor. Indeed the jaquins on the royal flag are red against a gold backdrop. So we can see an subtle wardrobe-related foreshadowing of where Esteban's loyalties truly lie and of the decision that he will make at the end of the episode.

And finally, as the artists among you will attest, red's complementary opposite on the color wheel is green. As in Shuriki's signature color, and this is reflected in nearly everything about her--from her eyes and eyeshadow to her dress and earrings to her green magical smoke, to her Emerald City-core dressing room to the teal background on her little silhouetted flag redesign. And complementary colors are often paired together so that the unique, striking shade of each is shown off to its full potential--and such is the case here. (Often, the effect is even achieved by using the "opposite" color as a key part of adding "shading" to the object).

A string of red lights wrapped around a Christmas tree may be overshadowed at first by the massive green boughs that it is entangled around. But nevertheless, it is because of the contrasting green that we are fully able to grasp just how bright and red those lights are able to glisten in the light. And so it is with Esteban's red collar shining forth like a beacon through Shuriki's haze of green smoke.

But when it comes down to it, red is still green's perfect, natural opposite. Red is a primary color, a true chromatic original unlike the artificially-created secondary shade of green. Moreover, red is Avalor, red is Esteban. The little dab of invading, interloping Shuriki green that has been added to the red paint only serves to heighten its fiery, crimson hue all the more.

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

For character ask game: Gabe-1,2,14,18,20

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Aaah it's so difficult to put it into words. I generally really like characters who are "normal" and achieve everything because of their dreams, motivation and hard work and Gabe is literally "just some guy", he's our best look into Shuriki era Avalor and literally, his whole story and character development could have not happened if not for one decision made not even by him, that we didn't even see in the show (him being made Elena's guard) and then if he didn't PUT HIS WHOLE HEART INTO IT!!!

And it's just that, I love how he changed throughout the show, how we see more sides of him and outside of that first promotion, everything that happens to him he has to work for (and tbf he probably had to do something meaningful to become Elena's guard too). He has big ambitions and a big heart which is literally the best combination.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Hmm maybe how he never gives up? He might not believe in himself, he might be beaten or humiliated, it might seem hopeless, but he'll always stand up and fight for what he believes in.

And my second favourite thing is definitely how much he loves his friends and family <3

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Guard uniforms

Zbbdhzhs okay no, I have this one half-serious headcanon that Gabe is actually very knowledgeable in fashion, he just always wears the uniform because it's just the most comfortable given that he's almost always on duty when we see him. And it would probably be easier if I knew anything about fashion

But okay I tried putting together a little visualization!

So I definitely think that Gabe's personal style is definitely very simple and as much as he cares about looking well put together, he doesn't care all that much about what he wears, so what he has in To Queen or not to Queen I think is actually pretty realistic. But if I was to design him a casual outfit I'd say that he takes a lot of inspiration from Antonio Agama, since he's such a great fan of his, so he definitely goes for the "adventurer" vibes. So high boots with tucked in pants, a simple shirt with rolled up sleeves, except I'd give him a neckline more similar to Naomi's and an ascot, like Mateo's except maybe tied more loosely (he bonds with Mateo by going ascot shopping together.) As for colors I'd put him in warm, earthy tones - browns, beige, red, maybe some khaki, and navy for more elegant occasions (yes, because of his uniform)

And I know that's not what the question was about but I also started thinking about his style in the sense of modern fashion.

I think he'd still dress in a kind of military-but-casual style, he wants his clothes to be practical first and foremost. I allowed myself to give him a bit more accessories, since again, he's not flashy but a watch is just a useful thing to have. The paracord bracelet I imagine was a gift from some friend who thought that he should accessorize more XD and he wears it because hey, you never know when you might need a piece of rope. Also Gabe strikes me as the type to always be warm, so it's t-shirts for him for the majority of the year, but he'd look great in a biker jacket, you can't convince me otherwise. (Bonus not included: given how big of a fan of Antonio Agama, he definitely owned an Indiana Jones type of hat at some point and thought it made him look so cool. He still wears it sometimes when he's out of town with his closest friends and it kind of grew into an iconic part of his wardrobe between them.)

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

His friendship with Elena! Cause really, it's so diverse, since it's so full of contradictions and they're basically opposites in many aspects, but through all of this they just care for each other so much and it's just- A

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Ricoooooo

I'll be sharing my "Gabe and Rico are friends" propaganda until the day I die, I fully believe they are friends and in fact have been almost since the beginning of Gabe's time in the guard (okay, so maybe they weren't that close pre The Curse of El Guapo, but I still think they were at least work friends and definitely became closer with time, you can pry their friendship from my cold dead fingers)

Thank you so much for sending this ask!! As you know, I love talking about Gabe zbsggs

Ask game

[silverloreley]

Patching holes in Descendants lore - the origins of Auradon

I think we all agree that the Disney movies didn’t and couldn’t have happened all in the same era and are based in different areas (although it’s hard to dermine which ones in some cases, like Agrabah or the mix-and-match that is Kumandra), not to mention the multiple iteration of places like, say, London.

How to explain this in canon? I have a few theories, based on actual Disney events, feel free to pick one:

Cinderella 3: when Lady Tremaine used the wand to reverse time, she messed with time-space, which led to a mixup of worlds.

Sophia the First: when the amulet of Avalor was broken and Elena was freed, all the energy it used to channel the princesses so Sophia could meet them released and messed up the world, so everything merged in a single time.

Disenchanted: when Giselle’s wish died down it still had some aftereffects on all the fairytales’ worlds, copying the technology from our world but also pulling places distant in time and space all together (this is possibly my favourite theory).

Theory 1 makes a lot of sense, tbh, because it erases all the sequels except, in fact, Cinderella 3, while being a clean-cut explanation. It, unfortunately, doesn’t explain the technological advancement that is wildly beyond any Disney canon (save for Big Hero 6, but BH6 is even forth so that doesn’t work either). This could also explain why such a severe sentence was picked for Lady Tremaine (she stole the wand, petrified Fairy Godmother, broke important laws of magic, tricked the royals...), although it doesn’t work for Anastasia who, instead, redeemed herself a lot in that very movie.

The Sophia world is the only one that implies all the stories happened for real in the same world as she has Merlin, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather as teachers; (provided they’re immortal or nearly so, meaning they could have outlived their charges and went on teaching new generations of young royals) and references directly to the official princesses up to the 2018 lineup. But Sophia’s world has lots and lots of other kingdoms and it would poise logistic problems in storytelling because it’s hard to make it all fit (but if you know the series well, unlike me, you can make it work).

Personally, I’d go with Disenchanted: Andalasia was a fairytale world with unknown neighbours (to us, but Giselle heard of dwarves’ hospitality and other stuff...), separated by magic borders or just too distant from each other, some of those could be homes of stories from roughly the same era (I suppose we can consider Rapunzel and Frozen as a pair, the Little Mermaid could fit in the same times as Cinderella, while Snow White, Aladdin, Mulan and Sleeping Beauty belong to an older era, Pochaontas and Princess and the Frog must be of different eras, and so on...). The wish pulled everything together and they all had to navigate the situation from there on, inheriting the technology from our world but keeping the original stories.

Most importantly, in all cases, it pulled back the dead Villains. Or it pulled some and those ones figured out they could revive others to form an army to control the new world. Anyway, here’s the origins of Auradon as a composite land.

In another post I put together the info we have on other matters (excluding, for obvious reasons, Pocketwatch, which can’t and won’t be considered canon) such as the beginning of Auradon Prep or the supposed war against the Villains so I won’t repeat it all here.

As far as this post goes, I suppose we can say that this explains many of the plot holes and incongruencies, including the mention of Merida having been an Auradon Prep student in the last book.

[shellyseashell]

@panthera-tigris-venenata and @tiredflowercrown asked for this so here’s an explanation of my demon hunter au!

the basic idea is, when beast brought together all the fairytale worlds, it didn’t just bring villains back from the dead. it brought back demons that had been previously killed or locked away (many of whom were villains anyway, but the point here is they’re stronger). having so many powerful demons/sorcerers/whatever (chernabog, the horned king, zhan tiri, chatana, and maybe maleficent i haven’t decided which version of her i want to use are the biggest threats, but then there’s the other villains, many of whom are still magic) throws all magic into wack, meaning it’s stronger, wilder, and there’s practically no barrier between the natural world and the otherworlds.

this leads to the creation of the king’s guard, a special order meant to take down the demon lords. initially, many of the more magical kingdoms (avalor, camelot, kumandra, corona, etc.) that are threatened by them ally with beast to trap/kill them. they end up trapping them on the isle, built off neverland. it was meant just for demon lords and their allies, the biggest threats, not the villains that yeah, are magic, or dangerous, but they’re not near gods in power (like, the evil queen is a threat, but still human, so she doesn’t necessarily need to be on the isle, for example, charmington can deal with her just fine). but to make the isle, beast had to trap and kill plenty of innocent people, many of whom were magic, which is a thing i like to call foreshadowing.

after the demon lords are locked up, beast turns on all magic users and creatures. in his mind, all magic is dangerous, and has the potential to be just like the demons they just locked up. and well, locking up the demons didn’t really calm magic or make demons vanish, so really, he’s just finishing the job, right?

all the magic kingdoms that had previously allied with beast split, formed their own alliance known as just the rebellion or the guild. leaders include elena, phoebus, jasmine, ariel, repunzel, raya, and arthur. if their kingdom is highly magical, chances are at least some of their people joined.

they fight, and slowly, beast slowly forces the rebellion to surrender. most of his success comes from having some very fanatical people on his side, mainly: frollo. i wasn’t going to make it a religious persecution type story, but the idea of frollo working for beast but so does phoebus and the dynamics that brings basically wrote itself so here we are.

anyway, most of the rebel kingdoms are forced to surrender with heavy consequences to them, one constant being sending most of their magic users to the isle (many of whom are characters we consider villains anyway for consistency of why they’re there). the only ones that are allowed to stay are those who either hide and escape the hunts, or who join the kings guard, now the only organization allowed to use magic.

when the rebellion is successfully defeated, frollo is sent to the isle to ensure it remains so. many on the isle helped build it, they know best how to take it down. i’m not sure if those on the isle will maintain any contact with those off the isle, but either way there’s still very much so a war happening on the isle.

which is the situation the villains kids are born into. there are three alliances they can be born to: the king’s guard (many human villains like gaston ally with frollo. they were thrown on the isle because if magic users are criminals, what’s to say criminals aren’t magic users?), the demon lords, or the rebellion. many drift to the rebellion eventually.

no matter where the kids are born, they’re brought up for war. the king’s guard trains within themselves, usually parents teaching kids. a few are sent to auradon to train, but never kids of major prisoners, always kids of guards that were stationed there. they send kids into war at 16 at the youngest, legally, but on the isle some kids are sent in even younger (either because they’re prodigies, or because they’re hated, like gil, and their families are hoping they’ll die in action). they hoard any supplies sent to the isle, and they kill indiscriminately. to them, their job won’t be done, and the world won’t be stable again, until everyone the isle is dead. not many kids end up leaving.

most kids born to demon lords are raised to bring an era of darkness to the world, to amass as much power as they can. many of the magical villains who weren’t rebels are allied with them (evil queen, Jafar, etc). they’re isolated, usually, but not always. this how many, like jay, are able to leave (in jay’s case, he wandered into rebel territory and ran into the 40 thieves, who adopted him on the spot). it’s brutal, and most don’t have a choice in what they do. they’re the ones most often killed by their parents. they’re usually some of the most powerful magic uses on the isle, too. many kids from this group escape eventually, and join the rebels.

the rebels are a majority of the isle. not many of them actually fight, but plenty of magic users were sent to the isle unfairly and are under their protection. like the kids in the other groups, they’re raised for war, but it’s much more a community effort than and isolated thing. the schools, dragon hall, serpent prep, and the witch academy are run by their gangs and are very military focused. they send kids into the field at 15, but that’s a recent rule and many of the older kids have been fighting much longer by necessity. the rebels is the alliance many of the canon gangs fall into. those who ran from the other alliances often fight, but only after they’ve proven their allegiance.

there are villains who don’t really fall into any group, like hook, and other never land pirates, who were just vibing before everything happened, or the de vils who just wanted to run a crime empire why are they in the middle of a war now.

in auradon, things are only slightly better. they’re not necessarily in a total war, but the isle if anything made the demon issue worse. the prep is a school meant to train king’s guard knights, and the former rebel kingdoms are forced to send their royal kids there to keep an eye on them and keep the kingdom in line. kids who aren’t royal are allowed to attend, but even they have king’s guards in their family. they start training officially (but many have trained longer at home) at 14 and ends at 18-20. (the reason 16 is the legal fighting age for frollo’s men is because at 16 trainees — squires, as they’re called — begin going on hunts with senior students) the reason they can afford sending people into the field when they’re older is because they have more people, and can afford the wait for more soldiers. the isle doesn’t have that luxury.

magic users are hunted and executed regularly. some are still sent to the isle, but beast finds just killing them is quicker. they focus more on killing witches than demons, or figuring out and ending the source of the issue, believing if they just kill all witches then the world will right itself. therefore, many illegal hunting groups formed, who hunt demons (and often still witches) instead of the organization meant to do that.

so what’s the plot? ben still gets kids off the isle. how? well, his argument is that they’re sent into the field before they’re legally old enough (by auradon standards) and therefore the rebels are committing war crimes and the kids shouldn’t be there. it’s flimsy, and the kids who he chooses to come over are all rebels, but it’s on purpose.

growing up, ben is mentored by phoebus, captain of the kings guard in order to protect the romani (in paris at least) for as long as he can. beast intended it to be a “see what happens when you rebel” type thing, but instead phoebus adopted another son and made sure he knew exactly how horrible his father is.

so ben brings kids over, knowing and hoping they’ll bring their rebellion with them. and also, because of the fighting on the isle, the barrier has been slowly eroding, and many of the remaining rebels in auradon are starting to think that’s the issue.

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

k so before i hop in the shower. with the new princesses of heart in kh, we have four confirmed:

kairi again

rapunzel

elsa

anna

now we can just like. ASSUME that they’ll add moana and make her a princess of heart. that’s like a 99.999999% chance. also she already had a medal and costume in ux so yeah that’s happening. that’s 5!

we can also assume they’re gonna add tiana. cause why the fuck would they not??? that’s 6

we still got mèrida as an official DP but i like. don’t think she fits the vibe?? i feel like she’d be more like ariel, in the lineup but not a princess of heart or w/e

so we’re still missing one. here’s my thoughts on who could be princess of heart #7 in order of how fucking hilarious it would be

Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas) – we’ve already seen her several times but now she has a promotion

Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame) – same reasoning as Sally

Kida Nedakh (Atlantis) – please

Giselle (Enchanted) – hyperrealistic amy adams

Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto) – she’s like “okay so like. i’m a special princess??” “yeah, i know it’s a lot to take in–” “and it’s NOT isabela?????” “...no?” “oh i am gonna rub this in her face forEVER”

alternate: it’s not mirabel OR isabela it’s luisa or dolores. just throw people off

Elena of Avalor – imagine them making a disney junior show canon

Raya (Raya and the Last Dragon) – she is literally the princess of a kingdom called Heart like come on

Sisu (Raya and the Last Dragon) – would track with the “pure of heart” thing ig. also imagine them just saying the comic relief is now the princess of heart

Namaari (Raya and the Last Dragon) – the princess of a kingdom that is NOT heart but also she has a big gay crush on the heart princess this would give her so many crises

Maid Marian (Robin Hood) – furry world

Roxanne – furry world AND we have to do an entire goofy movie plot

Naminé or Xion – would make me cry

Wendy (Peter Pan) – she’s finally one of the chosen ones

Jane (Peter Pan) – grabbed the wrong darling girl, hook, can you believe

Lilo or Nani (Lilo & Stitch) – whichever sister it would be it would be really funny to see how stressed nani gets over it

Kiara (The Lion King) – 1) from a direct-to-video sequel, 2) a fucking lion

Melody (The Little Mermaid) – ariel’s not a princess of heart but her daughter is

Gabriela (The Little Mermaid) – ariel’s not a princess of heart but this one-off breakout character from the tv show is

Boo (Monsters Inc) – she is literally two fucking years old

Penny (The Rescuers) – just this random baby from an obscure disney movie. jenny from oliver and company is also acceptable

Mei Lee (Turning Red) – the princesses of heart are all actual royalty except for this 13yo canadian girl from 2002 who can turn into a panda when she’s mad

Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron) – disney refuses to acknowledge this movie’s existence but then they put it in kingdom hearts and make it relevant to the story

Ortensia – imagine they finally get oswald into the main story and it’s bc his wife has magic heart powers and heartless wont leave them alone

Anastasia – disney finally delivers the killing blow on the “anastasia is not disney” crowd. sorry guys we bought 20th century fox she’s ours now lol

Sofia the First – come on. tell me it wouldnt be funny. come on

Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) – it would make so many people mad

[disneyswiftpolls]

Vote for Anna here (closes Friday, 12/22)

Submit Song Suggestions for Moana, Raya or Namaari

Info Post with Winners

"Look What You Made Me Do" from reputation

I don't like your perfect crime How you laugh when you lie You said the gun was mine Isn't cool, no, I don't like you (oh!) But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time

"Never Grow Up" from Speak Now (Taylor's Version)

Oh, darlin', don't you ever grow up Don't you ever grow up Just stay this little Oh, darlin', don't you ever grow up Don't you ever grow up It could stay this simple I won't let nobody hurt you Won't let no one break your heart And no one will desert you Just try to never grow up Never grow up

"Nothing New" from Red (Taylor's Version)

And I know it's sad, but this is what I think about And I wake up in the middle of the night It's like I can feel time moving How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22? And will you still want me when I'm nothing new?

"Only The Young" featured in Miss Americana

You're screaming inside And frozen in time You did all that you could do The game was rigged, the ref got tricked The wrong ones think they're right You were outnumbered, this time But only the young Only the young Only the young Only the young can run Can run, so run And run, and run

"Safe And Sound" from Red (Taylor's Version)

Just close your eyes, the sun is going down You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound

"Sweeter Than Fiction" from 1989 (Taylor's Version)

There you'll stand, ten feet tall I will say I knew it all along Your eyes wider than distance This life is sweeter than fiction Just a shot, just a shot in the dark, All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes They never saw it coming, you hit the ground running And now you're onto something, I, I, I say What a sight, what a sight when the light came on Proved me right, proved me right when you proved them wrong And in this perfect weather, it's like we don't remember The rain we thought would last forever and ever

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

Elena of Avalor is a really solid show. There are like, almost no flaws in the narrative that I can find, and the ones I DO find are all minor and don't really effect it in the grand scheme of things, which is really impressive!!! But if I have one major complaint, it's with how the show handles it's magic system.

Not counting any contradictions between EoA and StF, the lore isn't so much inconsistent as it is vague. There's a lot I wish they elaborated on, mostly about Elena's powers, that they just didn't. So here's a bulleted list of all the things I wish got dug into a little deeper :D

The difference between normal wizards and malvagos. All we get on that front is that malvagos use dark magic that wizards are incapable of using? And that you become one by getting a spell cast on you??? And they have animal motifs?????? Like wtf is up with that.

How much magic Elena gained from being in the amulet. She was literally marinating in magical juices for 41 years, which you'd think would have deeper effects then just seeing ghosts and being able to use a cool scepter??? But she doesn't get any powers independent of magical objects until Takaìna, which is kinda weird and leads into my next point...

How the magic Elena gained from the amulet effected the magic she gained from Takaìna!!! Obviously Takaìna is a MUCH more powerful source of magical radiation then the necklace, so falling into that gives you more magic, but did the stuff Elena got from the well just get added on to her amulet magic? Did it enhance the already present magic?

Also, how does Takaìna even work? Is it like radiation but not deadly? Does falling into a well full of crystals hurt? Because I bet that would fuckin hurt. Why does falling into a well of crystals even give you, or the stick you're holding, powers in the first place? Does it actually even GIVE humans inherent powers or does it just give them the ability to use magical items? Is Elena's DRESS the actual source of her mood magic??? I mean we never see her use the mood magic WITHOUT her color changing dress so like-

On an unrelated note, why is Zuzo the only chanul Elena sees consistently? Is it because he's her chanul? Is it because she's just coincidentally never in the same room as anybody else's? Given how chanul's powers work being pretty similar to the way spirits come to the living world on Dia De Los Muertos you'de think she'd be able to see all chanuls all the time. Also cAN ESTEBAN SEE GHOSTS TO???? LITERALLY WHY HAVEN'T I SEEN ANYBODY EXPLORE THAT POSSIBLITY THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL THERE-

How the fuck does the Scepter of Light work? Elena's the only person who can use it at the beginning of the series, and up until the Scepter of Night is introduced I just kind of assume it was because the amulet gave her a Very Special type of magic. But then Shuriki uses the Scepter of Night with no issues whatsoever???? What's her source of inherent magic??????? And then ASH can KIND OF USE THE SCEPTER OF LIGHT????? IS IT BECAUSE MALVAGOS HAVE INHERENT MAGIC IN THERE SOMEWHERE?????? BUT THEN ELENA SAYS IT ONLY RESPONDS TO GOOD MAGIC WHICH IS CONFUSING BECAUSE I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT AT LEAST ELENA'S MAGIC WAS PRETTY NEUTRAL!!! THEN ESTEBAN CAN'T USE IT UNTIL HE SWITCHES SIDES BUT WHY???? WHAT MAKES MAGIC GOOD VS EVIL!?!?!?!?!? WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?!?!?

Okay this one's kind of just a nitpick but there are several spells that just. Do the same thing. Like the turn somebody upside-down spell is just Levaluke with extra steps 💀

Why is Esteban's hair like that after he falls in the well? We know it isn't stuck like that forever because he manages to get it under control during the coronation. Is making the users hair stick up his staff's version of the scepter glowing to signify somebody can use it? If so WE WERE ROBBED OF ELENA'S HAIR STICKING UP LIKE THAT IN THE FINALE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN SO FUCKING FUNNY-

Okay those are all the things I can think of right now. Tbh I'm kind of just posting this to open up a discussion? I wanna rally together what little is left of this fandom to try and piece together a coherent magic system!!! It's what this show deserves!!!!!!!!/pos

[storiesofsvu]

Her Everything Ch 16

The next day Rafael welcomed you into his apartment warmly, you’d texted saying you were a little behind schedule, not that he minded the bit of extra time. Cat was on the couch happily munching on some cheese and crackers her attention completely taken over by Elena of Avalor.

“So?” You quirked a brow, accepting the cup of coffee from him, “How was it?”

“I..have learnt so much about mythical countries that don’t exist and I have no idea how I’m supposed to keep them all straight.” You let out a hearty laugh, missing the way Rafael’s eyes warmed at the sight of you truly happy for once.

“You’d be surprised how easy it is to figure out, I’m sure it won’t take you long Mr Ivy League.” You teased, “She was good though?”

“Yeah.” He hummed over a sip of coffee, “We played about fifty rounds of Candyland, there was lots of colouring, some dancing along to Elena, and someone seems to have inherited your obsession with tater tots…” He grinned at you over the rim of his coffee and you rolled your eyes.

“Potato counts as a vegetable…and if you air fry those cauliflower or broccoli cheddar ones they’re pretty good. Don’t judge me.”

“I could never.” He offered you a small smile,  “I commend you. It’s been less than a full day and I’m exhausted…four years..doing this full time plus a full time job? I honestly don’t think I could do it alone.”

“Well that’s the thing…I’m thankfully not alone. The squad helps out whenever they can, your Mom’s always more than willing to spend time with her, and…now she has her Dad.” You squeezed his arm softly, “think you could handle her for a full weekend?” He let out a huff of a laugh,

“Might need a few extra pots of coffee, but at least she goes to bed early.”

“I’m sure you could manage it.” You finished off your coffee, “I’ll chat with her, see how she feels about it. If she’s down and you’re free maybe you could take her next weekend? Friday after school to Sunday dinner? I added you to the approved pick up list, I can send a bag of essentials with her to school so she’s got everything she needs.”

“I’d like that.” Rafael warmly smiled, a relief spreading through him knowing that you were comfortable with this, that you were ready to actually do this. “You sure you’re okay with me having her two weekends in a row?

“I’m still on desk duty…remember? I’m literally just doing everyone’s paperwork, I could use the extra free time. Then we can start with alternating weekends? It’s not like Holidays will be a problem, we’re at Lucia’s for all of them anyways.”

“What about compensa—“ He was slightly surprised when you cut him off.

“No. I’m not about to talk legalities with you right now. You’re a lawyer, you have an unfair advantage if mine isn’t present.”

“Carisi?” You laughed, the smile still on your face as you turned back to him.

“You really think I’d let a junior A.D.A who chugs Pepto like water with a custody issue against a senior attorney?” He laughed, thankful for the playfulness still evident in your voice, “I didn’t know if you were coming back, and if you did how you would…behave…over the matter. Once your name was on that birth certificate I called Calhoun.”

“Rita? Really?”

“She’s the best of the best.”

“You’re not wrong.” He smirked. You sighed, glancing over towards the living room where Cata was still heavily entranced with the t.v.

“I don’t want you to think that I lawyered up to try and weasel you out of anything, I just wanted to do what was best for Catalina, it’s what she deserves.”

“I know..” internally you jumped at the sudden feeling of his hand on yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze, “but like you said, this is a conversation for another day.”

“Thanks.” You prayed your cheeks were as hot looking as they felt as you smiled, “I’ll swing by the firm and we can hash it out.”

“Sounds great.” His hand quickly dropped from yours as he turned towards the living room, his voice louder as he called out to your daughter, “Cata, time to go.” She turned with a pout on her lips,

“But ‘Lena..”

“No..” Rafael softly warned, “I’m sure Mami has Disney+, you can finish your episode at home.” You smiled at the way they interacted, and honestly, you were eager to be witness to more of it. Rafael really was stepping up into his role as a father. Still slightly pouting Cat jumped down from the couch, pattering towards the door where her bag was packed and ready to go. You helped her into her coat and shoes (that she insisted on velcro-ing herself).

“Say goodbye to Daddy.” Rafael crouched down so he could give her a proper hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her, kissing her cheek gently. There were small murmurings of goodbye and I love you’s between them before she retreated to you, grasping your hand. “I’ll call you later.” You gave him a soft smile, “Bye Raf.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

*

Not surprinsgly, Catalina was more than enthusiastic about her sleepover at her Dad’s, rattling on the entire way home about how much fun she had. You delved into the idea of spending an entire weekend with him and she was very excited at the concept. Once Rafael had spent his first full weekend with her and managed to make it through unscathed, you took the time to sit down and figure out all the details. Rita really was there more as a technicality, you and Rafael agreed on pretty much everything, there were just certain legalities that even he wasn’t sure of, not having a lot of experience in family law.

The next few months were spent peacefully co-parenting, much to the joy of everyone involved. The three of you always got together with Lucia on Sunday nights for dinner like before, making the Sunday night switch off even easier. There were some not so frequent during the week trade offs when you got swamped with cases, an overnight shift or undercover op that Rafael would end up picking Cata up from school for a day or two during the week. You were thankful she didn’t do too much bouncing around, sticking to a pretty regular schedule. You were also eternally grateful at how well Rafael was doing with her, you couldn’t help but smile at how much he’d grown, not just since returning to New York, but even longer. Back when you’d been together you’d both agreed that you didn’t want kids, you never thought the sassy brash A.D.A you’d been engaged to could ever be as incredible of a father that he turned out to be. You each had your solo days with Catalina, but also made sure to start including more whole family events, you’d meet for dinner out in the city, or have a little movie night at one of your apartments, in an attempt to make things as normal as possible for your daughter.

A few days before Christmas Rafael found himself at the 16th precinct working through a plea with Sonny and a client. Indulging with some small talk with Carisi on his way out, his hand had just hit the elevator button when he heard a shout coming from the entrance to the bullpen.

“Raf!” You jogged through the door, slowing as you approached them. You may have been completely unaware of the nickname used but he didn’t miss it (and honestly…neither did Sonny).

“Yeah?”

“Kat’s out with the flu and—“

“Is she okay?!” He instantly jumped into Dad mode and your face scrunched in confusion before you realized.

“Oh, fuck. Yeah, Catalina’s fine…Tamin’s out with the flu. I’m stuck covering her Christmas Eve shift, can we swap things around? You take Cata for Christmas Eve and I’ll just meet you at your place in the morning for presents like we planned before going to your Mami’s once mass is done? You can still have her Christmas night.”

“Of course! And you can keep her on Christmas, she deserves a Christmas night with her Mom.” You chuckled lightly in response,

“She’s had four years of that. It’s what we agreed upon, and…you can finally suffer through three watches in a row of the Muppets Christmas Carol.” Both Rafael and Sonny laughed at that,

“Okay.” Rafael smiled across at you, “I’m basically off from now ‘til New Years, let me know if I can help.”

“Thanks.” You gave the two of them a quick wave before turning and heading back to your desk as they stepped into the elevator.

“Seems like things are goin’ pretty good then?” Carisi asked, a smirk on his face as he turned toward the older man.

“Despite..everything..we’re making it work.”

“Well, for what it’s worth..and I never thought I’d say this to ya…from what I hear you’re a pretty incredible Dad.”

“Thanks Carisi…” There was only a slight tinge of sarcastic sass laced through Barba’s response as the two men stepped out of the elevator, heading their separate ways through the city.

*

Rafael picked Cata up from your place in the morning on the 24th, giving you plenty of time to relax a bit before you had to head into work. You normally would’ve been bored out of your mind in an empty precinct, instead smiling at the array of photos you got throughout the day. Rafael took Catalina through Central Park, playing with her in the snow, there were a few shots of her making tiny snow angels. A shot of a somewhat derpy snow man they built together, and Cata with a dollop of whip cream on her nose as they stopped for hot chocolate.

Once she was changed into Christmas PJ’s, and a plate of cookies and glass of milk left out for Santa, she curled up against Rafael on the couch for the Rudolph movie. In that moment, the Christmas decorations surrounding his living room, an old childhood favourite on the t.v, and his daughter snuggled up into his side giggling at the reindeer’s antics every so often, he felt like nearly everything had finally fallen into place, that nearly everything was perfect.

If Rafael thought toddlers woke up early on a regular basis, he was not prepared for the barely seven a.m. wake up call as Catalina raced through the room, jumping onto the bed, and successfully him in the process.

“It’s Christmas!!!” Her tiny excited voice rang through the room with a shrill, “Daddy wake up!”

“Oh-Kay..” He chuckled, rolling over as he sat up, snuggling against her deeply as she giggled. “Merry Christmas Cata.”

“Merry Chrismis.” Her teeny voice replied, another giggle echoing through the room as he tickled her sides softly, the laughter getting louder as she collapsed over onto the bed, his tickling fingers moving faster, one grasping at her foot as she flailed. “Daddy!”

“Okay, okay.” He surrendered, ducking to kiss her head gently, “You want some breakfast?”

“Presents!” Thankfully she still had her bear in her arms, struggling to crawl off the bed in her speed to get back to the living room.

“Uh-uh. Cata. You get your stocking from Santa right now that’s it, we’ve got to wait until Mami gets here for the rest.” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout and God Rafael knew he was staring at a carbon copy of you in that instant. It was honestly lucky she didn’t push it, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand ground otherwise.

“Otay.”

She reached her hand up, linking around his finger as they walked out to the living room, a surprised squeal escaping her lips at the extra decorations Rafael had put up after she went to bed. He flicked the switch to turn on the Christmas lights, smiling at the way her face shone in the glow, silently taking it all in. Catalina bounded into the living room towards the stockings as Rafael turned on the coffee pot, pulling a few things out of the fridge into the oven so there would be food ready when you got there.

“This one?!” He straighted up, looking over into the living room to see his daughter holding the stocking with the C embroidered into it,

“That’s right! Good job sweetheart!” He made his way into the living room as she giggled, tugging the stocking to the couch where she sat herself facing him. Her tiny hands digging into the fabric, gasping and squealing as she pulled a variety of small toys, trinkets and treats out. Rafael snapped a few photos on his phone to document, feeling like his cheek were about to split at just how happy Catalina was, and in turn, how happy he was to witness it.  

About twenty minutes later he was tugging food out of the oven, placing it on hot pads on the counter while pulling down some plates. Catalina was sat at the kitchen table, a mug of warm hot chocolate in front of her, loaded with marshmallows and whipped cream while Elena played on the iPad to keep her occupied. Your knock on the door came earlier than you’d stated, but Rafael had been expecting it, remembering how much you loved Christmas.

“Merry Christmas.” He greeted, pulling open the door.

“Merry Chris— Jesus it looks like Santa’s elves threw up in here, holy shit Rafael, you really went all out.”

“Well…you did say it yourself, Christmas is the only holiday that matters…” Your eyes shot up to his, a sudden softness in them he hadn’t seen in years, you felt your breath catch in your throat, knowing exactly what his words meant.

“Raf…” You could feel the bristling of too much emotion in your eyes, and honestly, you surprised both of you as you nearly launched into a tight hug, your voice muffled into his shoulder, “thank you.”

“You deserve it…both of you do…” your gaze drifted over to Catalina, eyes still trained on the iPad, blissfully unaware of the hot chocolate moustache gracing her face. You snorted at the view, squeezing Rafael’s arm in thanks as you made your way into the apartment.

“Momma!” The movement finally dragged Cata away from Elena, “presents!?” She looked excitedly between the two of you. You laughed, nuzzling against her face, kissing her cheeks, pausing to wipe away the moustache with a napkin.

“In a minute baby. Can we eat first? Momma’s starving!”

“Momma plleeeaaase?” You rolled your eyes, glancing over at Rafael, a grin on your face.

“Can I at least get a coffee first?”

“Yes.” Catalina proudly answered, jumping down from her chair. She not so patiently waited while Rafael poured you a mug, letting you dress it how you’d liked, you swiped a cranberry orange muffin from the tray as you made your way into the living room. You weren’t going to starve just because your child was a overly impatient and dramatic.

Everything was conveniently wrapped in specific wrapping paper, Catalina knowing that the ones in princess paper were for her (though, to be completely honest, 90% of the presents were) not that she was getting spoiled this year, but everything was wrapped individually to make her feel that way. She tore through them faster than you’d expected, a flurry of chattering coming from her as she opened each one, you casually reminding her to say thank you when needed. When she reached the end of it, she surprised you by instead of tearing open the packaging to start playing she tumbled over to the mantle, picking up the other two stockings, bringing them over to the couch where you and Rafael were seated.

“Here Momma.” She handed you one, passing the other one off to Rafael before returning back to her pile of new things, her attention fully on them.

“Raf…” you glanced across at him, “you didn’t have to-“

“Santa must’ve known you’d be here Christmas morning. Didn’t want you to feel left out.” He shot you a friendly wink that you playfully rolled your eyes at.

“Thank you.”

A few moments passed while your eyes moved between the t.v playing the Disney Parks parade and Catalina exploring her new presents (though her attention was on the t.v the second a princess showed up). Then your gaze turned to the tree in the corner and your brow scrunched,

“You get distracted with the other decorations or something?” You asked, nudging Rafael’s leg with your foot.

“Hmm?”

“Your tree’s a little on the bare side.” He glanced up, the pine had a strand of colourful lights, and a trail of silver garland wrapped around it but nothing else.

“I believe it was you who told me the first ornament on the tree needed to be the most important. All things considered…it’s the first Christmas with the three of us, I figured I’d wait.”

“Raf…” he shot you a smile as he leant forward, grabbing a gift in pink wrapping paper from under the tree.

“Catalina, would you like to come open this?”

“Yes!” She nearly shrieked, bounding toward him quickly, tearing the paper from the box, “Elena?!”

“Yes.” Rafael replied, opening the box and pulling the ornament out, “she goes on the tree. And I think you should pick the best spot for her.” He glanced over his shoulder at you as he scooped her up into his arms, standing to walk towards the tree.

Catalina hummed and hawed for a few minutes, babbling half English half toddler speak through the room. You’d moved from the couch to her other side, brushing some loose hair from her face as she picked the perfect place, wrapping the string of the ornament around a tree branch with an assist from you.

“Perfect job baby.” You kissed her cheek softly, smiling at the way she snuggled agaisnt Rafael. You couldn’t help your hand coming up to his shoulder, resting gently a moment before giving it a squeeze, “I’m sure Papi has some more decorations for the tree, would you like to help us finish decorating?”

“Yes!”

The rest of the morning went just like that, Catalina passed between you and Rafael as she picked spots for the rest of the ornaments, successfully bringing the Christmas tree to its full potential. You all munched on some Christmas delicacies and far too many treats, and way too much coffee for the grown ups. Cata passed out in your lap just after noon as a mindless Christmas movie played on the t.v, Rafael moved from the couch to start tidying up as you stayed snuggled with your daughter. And for once, for the first time in a very, very long time, everything felt right, everything felt so domestic you couldn’t help it. The two of you knew deep down it truly was just because it was the Holiday season, and neither of you had had a true family to spend it with in god knows how long, but for now, you’d take it.

A few hours passed and you nudged Catalina awake as it was time to head to Lucia’s for dinner. The family feeling extending into the evening as you indulged in incredible food and delicious wine. Cata showed off as many of her new presents to her Abuelita as she could, babbling on about how great this Christmas was and Lucia warmed at the thought of all three of you spending a very civil holiday together.

This time Catalina passed out in Rafael’s arms, which he warmed at even more than anything else. You reassured him that, as previously stated, she was to spend the night at his place. You gave Lucia a tight hug, kissing your sleeping daughter on the head, giving Rafael’s hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance before you bid them goodnight.

You knew the whole co-parenting thing had potential to be a fucking disaster, but you were more than happy with the way it seemed to be going so far. Sure, you still had your hesitancies every once in a while, but things were looking pretty damn good. You both respected each other’s schedule’s (it helped that you knew how demanding your jobs were), and there was never any fighting when you had to shift things around, everything was always kept equally balanced. To say that things were finally looking up…would be 100% accurate

[lieutenant-amuel]

Hey... If you don't mind, I have a suggestion. How about listing a single best quote spoken by Gabe in (almost) every episode of EoA he appears?

Oh, I actually got a similar ask two years ago. It's here.

But if you're asking for a single line in every episode (which is a lot simpler), I'll do it now.

Season 1.

First Day of Rule - I am lieutenant Gabriel Núñez. But you can call me Gabe.

Model Sister - You know, when the drawbridge gets stuck, we have a trick to get it moving again.

All Heated Up - It could be a booby trap disguised as a hole

Spellbound - This is my duty to report that the malvago invaded the palace, but he was defeated by our new Royal Wizard.

Prince Too Charming - I’m always with you.

The Scepter of Light

Navidad

Olaball - You love baking and olaball, and that’s great. But I love guarding the kingdom. That’s who I am. That’s my way.

The Princess Knight - Look, you’re better than okay. But if you want to get to the tournament level, you have a lot to learn.

Captain Turner Returns - Well, it was nice knowing you, Naomi (it cracks me every time, sorry not sorry)

My Fair Naomi

Realm of the Jaquins

A Gecko's Tale - You have nothing to fear - Gabe is here.

Party of a Lifetime - I'm wondering if you've seen my friend. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, big mouth.

Blockheads - Easy for her to say. She's on top (Elena: “I heard that!"). You were supposed to!

Season 2.

Royal Rivalry

The Curse of El Guapo - Thank you for reminding me the sword doesn’t make the soldier. The soldier makes the sword.

A Spy in the Palace*

Rise of the Sorceress

Shapeshifters - Ha! You expect me to believe that?

The Scepter of Night - I can't let something happen to you. I say that as captain of the Royal Guard and... as your friend.

Race for the Realm

A Tale of Two Scepters

Song of the Sirenas - I like our odds.

Tides of Change - I thought we were making this up as we go along. You know, just like all the other time.

Finding Zuzo

Snow Place Like Home - We may be stuck here for Noche Buena, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate. So, who'd like some sweet buñelos?

Naomi Knows Best - Then lead the way.

Season 3.

Sister of Invention - Oh, three names. That's never good

Norberg Peace Prize - Guess that means we're gonna celebrate it for the first time together

The Magic Within

Captain Mateo - I understand why you put Mateo in charge of this mission. We do need magic to fight magic.

Changing of the Guard - Your Highness, I’m interested in finding the best talents Avalor has to offer. Whoever they are.

Team Isa

Giant Steps

Crash Course - …I should have trusted you. Because you were right about not making shortcuts. And also because you are my friend. I am sorry.

The Lightning Warrior

To Queen or not To Queen - I’d bake something. After one bite he’d remember why I’m meant to be a Royal Guard.

Coronation Day - It would be my honor.

* I know Gabe is only a background character in A Spy in the Palace, but I still like to count this episode as the one where he appears.

Thank you for the ask!

[notmoreflippingelves]

What she says: I'm fine.

What she means: I just don't understand how the showrunners of EoA expected me, an English major, to cope with their explicitly and visually coding Elena and Esteban as narrative foils and two sides of the same coin throughout S3. And they weren't even remotely subtle about intertwining their characters, destinies, and relationship with each other.

They were just like "what if we gave Esteban and Elena the exact same unique, transformative experience (i.e. falling in the crystal well and absorbing its magic) but ONLY them.? Then maybe, we explicitly seal up Takaina so that no one else can ever have that same experience again?"

And then if that wasn't blatant enough, they each get magical powers that are specifically tailored to their most notable character flaws (Esteban's running away from his responsibilities vs. Elena's emotional intensity and volatility). And if that still was a little too subtle, they also get matching sparkly outfits as souvenirs from their trip down the magic well. So that in every scene they have together (with the exception of the Coronation scene) from then on visually links the two of them together.

Like all of that is just barely scratching the surface of the thematic ramifications of this. Because at the end of the day, Esteban and Elena each metaphorically (if accidentally) gave the other their corresponding powers.

Esteban canonically gets his teleportation because Elena's new anger powers literally lift him up and throw him down the crystal well.

Similarly, Esteban is (albeit much more indirectly) somewhat responsible for Elena's magic as well. It's somewhat implied that the reason Elena is able to use the Scepter of Light in the first place (when presumably her parents and ancestors could not) is because of the Maruvian magic that she absorbed from her years in the Amulet. Crucially, a very real part of the reason that she was even in said amulet in the first place is due to Esteban's decision to smuggle Shuriki into Avalor. His (admittedly terrible) choice led to Elena's ability to use her greatest weapon and that very weapon (via spying on Ash with "Farsight") is what eventually leads Elena to Takaina where she gets her additional emotion powers.

That's canon, baby. Esteban's actions in the past indirectly give Elena her magic. Elena's direct (if accidental) actions in the present give Esteban his.

All of this alone is already more than enough to make me absolutely feral, but they just have to up the ante even more in the series finale. Esteban uses his teleportation powers to take the magical bullet for Elena; Elena uses her own emotion magic to bring him back to life after his sacrifice. They use their powers--the same powers that they technically gave to each other in the first place--to save each other.

And then, if all that isn't enough, they proceed to use each other's powers together in order to defeat the enemy. First, Esteban is able to break Cahu's hourglass by using Elena's scepter, and then the two of them are able to send Cahu back to the Spirit World through the combined power of the scepter and staff. They've converged into one tight, solid, united force for Good that is powerful beyond imagining.

And I am deeply insane about all of it.

[sofiaanddisney]

When You Wish Upon a Well is a fun episode.

I like the obstacle course. It looked fun! And Roland practicing with Sofia was hilarious because he was worse than she was LOL!

Sofia makes an adorable cat! And I love the darling shade of purple. I think that's my favorite form of her, other than human, of course.

"I'm looking for a dog.“ "I'm looking for a cat." LOL! How often do we see James and Miranda moments? Those are always fun.

Here's another hint that Sofia visits Cedric often. She seemed to know he had a spell to transform animals to humans. And she seemed to know exactly where it was  in his spell book.

Speaking of Cedric, it's odd that he didn't recognize the Amulet of Avalor around the cat's neck. Maybe he thought it was just another animal collar (because what royal wouldn't give their cat something fancy?). Or maybe he was so preoccupied he didn't look at it. Whatever the case,, it's hilarious that Wormwood recognized it.

Love the song and the chase. Sofia saying Rex liked her was hilarious because... He started chasing her. LOL!

I think the concept of the wishing well is fascinating. There are so many things writers can do with it. I've read a few good stories involving it.

I think Sofia was too quick to forgive Amber. But she got a lot of practice out of being a cat, so...

Amber's reaction when Roland started sneezing at the end was funny.

Clover and his life supply of radishes. LOL! Probably the best wish that thing ever granted, other than restoring Sofia.

What I don't like...

If you guess Amber, you're correct. Is that girl ever NOT self centered and spoiled? "I want Daddy to play with ME, so I'll just carelessly make a wish so my innocent sister will be turned into a cat." Yeah, pretty much. Roland should have grounded her instead of playing with her at the end.

Also, as a cat lover, I'm a little sad that Roland is so allergic to cats. It's common enough in the real world.

All in all, this episode is in 9th place on my rating list.

[dittomander]

How does the education system in the Everrealm even work. Elena, Mateo and Naomi are not in school even though they are secondary school age. All we see is primary school for Isabel, the StF kids

I imagine the different Kingdoms have their own approaches to education, like how real world countries have different education systems. I'm assuming most of the kingdoms require primary education and have varying degrees of requirement for secondary education, with access to tertiary education for those that would need higher education in more specialized subjects.

Enchancia we know has Royal Prep and the village school for primary education, with the former being specifically for royals from a variety of kingdoms. The other kingdoms presumably have their own village schools as well for non-royal folks. Royal Prep and the village school have different curriculum, with RPA teaching magic and the village school teaching construction, as examples. Hexley Hall is a magic academy that seems to cover primary, secondary, and tertiary education for sorcerers considering Cedric says he studied there for 15 years. Other primary schools introduced in StF include the Junior Knights Academy and Westloch.

I don't think we really see any secondary school students in StF, but we do learn a little about secondary education, at least for the upper class, when the Royal Prep students get sent to pick a school to attend after RPA graduation in The Royal School Fair. Like Royal Prep, these schools don't seem to be restricted by kingdom. So at least in the "Eastern Hemisphere" EverRealm, royals seem to be educated together for primary school before being split up for more specialized secondary school.

I don't remember if its ever made clear how secondary education works for normal kids, nor how admission into Hexley Hall works as opposed to just going to a regular school. Considering StF is entirely focused on primary school aged kids, it makes sense that we wouldn't learn a whole lot about what happens afterward.

We learn even less about education in the "Western Hemisphere" EverRealm in Elena of Avalor, since unlike StF, EoA's focus isn't on the characters being in school. Royal education doesn't seem to be as centralized in Avalor as it is in Enchancia (& Enchancia's neighbors), since Isabel was being privately tutored in the castle before going to school. There also doesn't seem to be a specific school for royals, since when she does start attending school, she just goes to the regular school in the city. We also know Avalor has tertiary education in the form of the Science Academy, and there are presumably other specialist schools as well. Esteban mentions a "royal academy" when he says he's bringing in professional dancers for Naomi's birthday in My Fair Naomi, but this is never really elaborated on.

As to why we don't see the teens in school - I touched briefly on this in my magic in Avalor post, but my headcanon is that education in Avalor is only required through lower secondary education (through the end of 9th grade for Americans). This is based off the fact that upper secondary school was only made mandatory in Mexico in 2012. Elena presumably had private tutors growing up (seeing as Isabel canonically did), so we wouldn't see her going to school even if she was still studying. Mateo and Naomi, then, would've been upper secondary school-aged at the start of the show, so it's possible that they just dropped out once they got their jobs at the palace.

It might also be possible for them to just still be in school during the run of the show. We don't see every detail of their lives, and the school day in a lot of Latin America tends to be structured around the morning, with classes ending early so students can go home for lunch. They could be going to school in the morning and then heading to the palace in the afternoons, and the episodes where we see them hanging around at other hours are weekends or holidays. I mean, the show starts during summer break, so it wouldn't be an issue for a few months anyway.

[silverloreley]

Patching holes in Descendants lore - Auradon Prep’s foundation

I’ve had a stray thought about Descendants. Well, not really a stray thought, I mean, it started from the Pocketwatch nonsense (they’ll have to explain me how is it that Charming, Aladdin and Jasmine are the same age as Maleficent who should be the same age as Leah, and how is it that there’s a teen Hades who is a god and his story should have started ages before??? Whatever, Pocketwatch isn’t canon anyway) and the Merlin school (?!?!), which brought me to think about the Princess Academy (you know, as in the fan webseries on YouTube).

Now, in Princess Academy it’s implied the princesses reunited in there to share knowledge and learn how to be actual princesses. The presence of Giselle seems to imply that was a time after she and Edward met where she was sent to the PA to learn stuff before her marriage, which totally makes sense... or it would if they actually learned State welfare, advanced economics, diplomacy and stuff.

Which led me to think of Auradon Prep. Canon says Auradon Prep was instituted by King Beast, and that Adam and Belle married when he was 28, 7 years after his curse was broken. It’s reasonable to think that during those 7 years lots of stuff happened. I already talked about the Villains’ Takeover, and the possible war, and the reason the castle was made into a school to begin with, here I want to add a few other things.

It’s reasonable that the princesses (and princes) would need a formal education in ruling. The ones who used to be commoners like Cinderella, Belle and Tiana had no preparation whatsoever, full stop. Born princesses like Snow White, Aurora and Rapunzel were raised in completely different environments than they should have. Ariel, though she is royalty by birth, comes from an underwater realm and knew nothing of human politics, and same goes for Moana, Raya and Kida who had an upbringing that is nothing alike to that of european ruling style, the one Auradon is loosely based on (the fact I think Auradon should be more like the EU than USA factors a lot in this reconstruction). The only ones I can think had a formal education as future rulers are Merida (we see it in canon), Elsa and possibly Anna, Elena (of Avalor), and perhaps Jasmine (provided the Sultan didn’t assume her husband would take over and didn’t bother having her educated in ruling). Some of the princes, like Aladdin, Eugene, Milo, and Kristoff started as commoners so they’d have no such education either and I think some of the born princes may need a refresh on some stuff.

Besides, they’re all pretty young aren’t they? (Save for Milo, I think Milo is the oldest Disney prince since he’s 32. I’d have to check for others, but I’m pretty sure he’s the eldest).

So, the making of a school to help the young rulers of a new nation-alliance makes sense. The name itself is a giveaway, Auradon Prep, short for Preparatory School. It either was made right after the merge of realities (I have another post about this facet) or it could have started as a refuge during the conflict with the Villains: they picked a castle where the Heroes could regroup and train for the final confrontation, and then the castle was converted to a proper school and the training activities became sports (you know, like hunting was a war training exercise for nobles in ancient times). It also makes sense that Adam, who owned that castle, decided to convert it to a school for his allies and later their children.

[cozymochi]

🌻 <3

@oddberryshortcake and I like to watch random crap in hopes of finding a surprise banger, OR just because. I was usin’ my parents Disney+ so why not (btw Strange World is pretty cool). For a while, we watched Sofia the First because “ayo if i was little i know kid me would’ve been into that shit” and we were right. Banger songs, Cedric is a great scrunkly with a ton of Ls. Gr8.

But thAT’S NOT THE TOPIC. IM GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT ELENA OF AVALOR. THE PEAK FICTION SISTER SERIES that hasn’t left my fuckin mind since we watched it alongside our Sofia run. Elena is what you get after you graduate from Sofia. We finished it weeks ago yet we still go back and rewatch eps.

HELLO MY QUEeN. I have been actively holding back talking about it (THAT and i haven’t had the time in the first place). And the weird thing is, people are aware of Elena’s existence — but have also never actually watched her series? Or at least I never see anyone mention anything beyond surface level. WHICH IS NOT FAIR that shit bangs I gotta tell somebody!! So why not tell my platform of people who would not look at this!! 💀 but this is MY nasty blog on YOUR dash

So!! Here’s an informal 10 paragraph long (mostly spoiler-free) premise synopsis copy and pasted from when I bombarded someone on discord about it [I SAY MOSTLY BECAUSE ONE CHARACTER IS A WALKING SPOILER I cant avoid this, thank god it’s one of the first things learned]

… But I gotta begin with Sofia the First 🤡— I PROMISE IT’S RELEVANT. Gotta talk HER premise first-

Sofia is some regular villager whose mom marries the King of her country Enchancia. She was a girl in the village doin’ alright, but then became a princess overnight. Her new stepfather gives her the Amulet of Avalor, an artifact that was passed down for decades in his family. THE TWIST? It sEcRetly has magic!! (Note: Sofia is the only person who knows it’s magical.) The magic gives her the power to talk to animals, and basically whatever the plot dictates. But the amulet is also cursed.

After a series of unimportant events irrelevant to Elena, and one single important one— Sofia finds a magic book that has a wizard called Alacazar in it, and he tells her that a princess has been trapped inside her Amulet for 41 years, and essentially has been trying to escape. Sofia is apparently the only person who can help her. This leads her and her family to going to Avalor and figure this shit out.

And she does.

This is where Sofia’s relevance more or less ends until further notice.

….

[41 YEARS AGO]

Once upon a time there was a kingdom named Avalor, and there was a princess named Elena. She lived with her parents the king and queen, little sister Isabel, Abuela, Abuelo and her cousin Esteban.

On her 15th birthday, her mom the Queen gave her the Amulet of Avalor as a gift.

Then a nondescript amount of time later, an evil sorceress named Shuriki invaded Avalor and murders her parents in front of her, and starts taking over. Elena tried to personally stop her, only for Shuruki to try killing her too. Shuriki’s assassination attempt fails because Elena’s magic amulet protected her by pulling her inside of it. Elena is fully sentient in her stupor.

After witnessing that happen, the then Royal wizard Alacazar takes action and seals her grandparents and Isabel a magic painting to keep them alive.

The royal family is officially deposed and Shuriki is becomes dictator of Avalor for the next 41 years. Meanwhile the only surviving family member, Esteban, works in servitude for her. (IMPORTANT GUY. REMEMBER HIM)

Meanwhile, Alacazar travels the world with the Amulet of Avalar to find someone who can free Elena (because the amulets power to too strong and godlike). He eventually gets too old to go on, and seals himself away in a magic book to keep himself alive, while the Amulet itself somehow ends up exactly where it needs to. (The specifics of how it ended up with Sofia’s stepfather’s family are unclear, but it becomes an heirloom of sorts)

And we circle back to Sofia, who finds out the Amulet has Elena in it thanks to Alacazar’s spirit telling her in the first place after she finds his book.

[INHALE]

Sofia goes to Avalor, blah blah, she frees Elena, they depose of the dictator, free her family, and alls well that ends well.

Elena lets Sofia keep the amulet because she’s seen enough of that fucking thing.

The end

OR IS IT??? All of this (sans Sofia) is recapped in the first episode of Elena. The actual pilot episode that goes into all that junk is in Season 3 of Sofia the First as a 3-episode long special. YA DON’T REALLY NEED context on Sofia to see that, BUT!! It’s nice anyway. (Tho episode 0, imo, absolutely should be seen first for prime context. Also the beta-designs and mild jank will be less jarring)

One last teeny tiny thing. Too important but it’s part of the premise literally dropped in the pilot.

Esteban is the reason why Shuriki invaded Avalor in the first place. And he is indirectly responsible for the deaths of his aunt and uncle.

When he learns that Elena and the rest of the family are alive and Shuriki gets defeated, however, he does not bring this up. Claiming he had no choice but to serve her in order to survive. This is knowledge the audience is given while the family remains unaware.

As a result of being the only one not magically sealed away in that 41 year long reign, Esteban is the only person who aged at all. Everyone else is the exact same age they were when they were first put in stasis. This is relevant.

This is a show for 6 year olds.

Okay that’s unfair, it’s for anyone.

I left out a lot of smaller details (that are very relevant), like the spirit guide fox thing, Alacazar’s grandson Mateo being someone to help Sofia— junk like that. But for broad strokes THIS is the important stuff.

THERE’S A LOT IM OBSESSED WITH- the character animation is genuinely really good. Like, hello?? And it actually gets better as it goes on. They got all kinds of stuff to look at in the background. The designs? Peak. Gabe means the world to me. Songs? Bangers. THE OVERARCHING NARRATIVE?? They actually GOT 3 seasons to build and finish so I— 🤧🤧. There’s a body count in this show. Elena kills somebody, this is not a joke. I love Elena, I love her friends, I love her family, fuck. I love the worldbuilding I LOVE anything that utilizes mesoamerica in it’s lore, fuck.

I think about it more than I should.

And this bitch.

THIS BITCH—- I could go on about this bitch all day. Genuinely went from despising him at first to shooting up to my favorite by the end of the series, I’m going to combust, I should have liveblogged my first viewing. That’s my one regret. It probably would have been very funny

When you graduate from Cedric to Esteban.

AnYway this REALLY GOT OFF TRACK. The entire show is serialized from start to finish so barreling through it was both good idea and a bad one— bad, because I miss it. …So if you have 20 minutes to kill feel free to… peep the first episode. (Note this ain’t the Sofia special backdoor pilot, but it rams through what it needs to) ….if u wanna … 👉👈

and If YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO kill on your parents subscription then both the actual pilot (via Sofia) and the whole series are on disney+ … or im sure one can find other ways 🏴‍☠️…

THAT THEME SONG BUSSIN BUSSIN ON GOD.

Anyway that’s not nearly all I have to say about it there’s so much but at this point i’m just being really weird!!!! 🤡🤡🤡

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Thinking over my time in the EoA fandom, I remember how sad I was that it was ending. Not just because it was the grand finale and there’d be no more episodes but I think tha part of my sadness (besides mourning the characters I adore) was missing fandom friends and losing touch with them. I’m sure it will happen eventually because life is life and we all move on while treasuring the past, but I guess I was preemptively mourning. It all came with the escapism of Elena, something to look forward to and talk about. This may be getting a bit deep, but I’m just so introverted in real life. I’m not outgoing, I like to observe. I get along better with adults and kids younger than me than people who are my age. I always have this weird very irrational feeling that I’ll say the wrong thing and be shunned. Or else be super enthusiastic and outgoing lest being called forgettable.

So the fandom was a wonderful place to sorta belong without having to be “on” all the time to make a good first impression. I think I showed the EoA fandom more of my writing than anyone else in my real life. To be fair, I’ve invested a lot more writing in EoA than original stories😅 So I guess I didn’t want to loose those connections to everyone as people move on to other shows now Elena is finished. (Aside. I sound suspiciously like Esteban. Am I esteban? I thought I only liked him for his complex backstory and amazing voice, not because I relate to him😱)

But there was nothing to mourn actually. I managed to stay in touch with most, and made some new ones. So I’d just like to thank the EoA fandom in general for adding some extra fun and friendship in my life. Long live Elena!

Though who knows, maybe EoA shall return and the fandom will rejoice. Picture it, years from now, I miraculously get a dream job and enough power to call the shots at Disney. Me: Now the first show I’m producing is an Elena of Avalor spinoff sequel and/or prequel. Disney: Elena of Avalor? But the show has been off for 20 years, who would watch a spin off? Me: Ohh people will watch. There’s an audience for it. Trust me.😏