#diaval was as much a parent to aurora as maleficent was

[raainstorms]

He loves Aurora like a father. — Sam Riley

[bisexualmultifandommess]

I know the whole movie is supposed to be more about Aurora and Maleficent’s relationship and I do love them but my favourite is Diaval and Aurora because that’s her dad okay 😭 I need more of them if they make another film because they’re her parents and I want a film showing how much she loves her dad.

[idontknowwhatimdoinglol]

Maleficent x adoptive daughter reader (headcanons)

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your parents were fae and they were killed in the attack on Alstead. the fae was known for working as a community to care for each other so once the battle ended you pretty much got over a hundred fae parents. but you got especially close with Maleficent.

the two of you met for the first time when you had been playing with Diaval, he was in his bird form flying with you. maleficent watched from afar as you played with her loyal companion, making her presence known by making on comment on how you seemed to get along.

after that, you would see Maleficent around the moors, usually by herself or conversing with Diaval. you would always wave to her or say hello. eventually, those small interactions turned into larger ones as simple waves turned into you following her everywhere.

she began to care for you, you reminded her of Aurora when she first discovered Maleficent. maleficent began to seek you out during times. she would teach you things about magic and the creatures of the moors.

once you were being careless while flying and fell scraping your knee, maleficent sat you down on a rock and used her magic to heal the wound while scolding you for your recklessness like a mother would.

another time you had gotten a cold from playing around in the rain, and Maleficent had let you sleep in her cave in the mountains while she took care of you, she had made you soup and would cover you with her wings if you got cold. she didn't care if she got sick she just wanted to make sure you were ok. while you were half asleep and cuddled into maleficent wings you whispered "Goodnight mother" to her. She nearly cried from joy.

though she had aurora as a daughter figure already there was always the barrier between humans and fae. plus Aurora was busy being a queen of two kingdoms now so she was hardly around. but with you, it was different because you were both fae.

aurora loved you as well, you were the closest thing to a sister she had, of course, it took you a bit to warm up to her since you were raised to hate humans. but once you did the two of you became really close.

Philip acts like the protective older brother who covers for you if you do something bad. or in Maleficent's eyes date someone. maleficent will always be protective of her daughters no matter which one of you it is.

maleficent and diaval are like your parents, maleficent is the protective one and diaval is the one that holds her back from cursing any boy or girl who tries to ask you out. although if anyone of these people hurt you then there going to have to deal with them and there's a large outcome that they may be cursed or have bird poop in their hair within an hour.

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[prismatica-the-strange]

S/I introduction: Christiana Vross

1 2

Yes, while she has blond hair and blue eyes, she is not related to Aurora. She may in some way be distantly related to Maleficent, though. She's also fatter than the picrew imply.

Her family has lived on the border of the Moors for more generations than anyone can remember. They were always kindly and neighborly with the Moorfolk. It's said there is even fae blood mixed with their's.

Even when Maleficent cut off the Moors from the rest of the world, they stayed, well, some of them did.

For fear of Maleficent's wrath, most of the bloodline moved, most to the King Stefan's kingdom, and some even further. But two stayed. Eight year old Christy, whose parents died in an incident when she was young, and her grandmother Hazel.

Diaval was always curious as to why his Mistress never concerned herself with them. But the fairy knew this family, as did the Moorfolk, and knew the women meant no harm to them, even if their cottage sat dangerously close to her wall of thorns.

Living so close to the Moors meant he saw her most times he took a patrol flight around the border, but never paid her much mind. At least not until one day he found himself in a sticky spot with a bobcat and she came to his rescue.

It was then that he saw that this girl he'd seen in passing for so long, had grown into an absolutely stunning young woman.

He would then spend the next couple years visiting her, as a raven of course, bringing her little gifts and keeping her company on her walks to town when needed.

It isn't until after Maleficent broke Aurora's curse and removed the thorns does he introduce himself in his human form.

As time passes and they get to know each other properly, they become close friends, though they both secretly yearn for something more.

He only confesses his feelings to her when, during the battle in Mistress of Evil, she's inflicted with Maleficent's curse and Aurora convinces him to kiss her. She'd know all along and has been frustrated to no end with their mutual pining, but love must be found on it's own time.

Ship tag: Raven of My Heart

[gavranica]

Just a quick thought about that staff. Diaval's, that is. The one in his hand.

I'm not an expert on historical symbolism, but from little research I have done, it seems that traditionally, an ornamented staff or sceptre like this is a symbol of power and authority. It is NOT something a servant would own. Note how he's the only person besides Maleficent who has one.

Also, his entire outfit matches Maleficent's closely. In the first movie, he was quite ragged, literally taken from a scarecrow. Now, he is no less exquisitely attired than her, which indicates equality. Even before the dinner, when he brings her the news of Aurora's engagement, his clothes is much finer than that in the first movie. On his ceremonial attire, the gems on his tunic match the one on Maleficent's ring. His ring (the same she wore in the first movie!) matches the decorations on her headpiece and dress, and by the way those are raven or crow skulls. Macabre from a human perspective, maybe, but it would make sense that for a raven and a fairy, this is an honor, to have your loved one to carry the memento of his ancestors or kin.

He stands next to her in every scene of them together. He shoos away a servant who attempts to take her cloak, and he aids her gentlemanly himself. As the wedding takes place, she herself walks to him and stands by his side; it's not only him following her around. They stand together side by side on Aurora's wedding, as parents would. Two equal parents. Crying together and quipping at one another, while holding matching symbols of authority.

What I'm trying to say. I can live if Maleficent gets smitten by some handsome Dark fey. Such things happen in life, people get in and out of relationships. But if that happens without any notion that Diaval would be shattered by it, without acknowledging that he's so much more than her servant because he neither looks nor acts the part (except when he calls her "mistress", and I can think of at least two, well...alternative reasons why he'd call her that)... if their obvious equality gets swiped aside without any explanation at all...I'm going to sell my shitty apartment to buy a ticket and get to USA in order to chain myself in front of Disney studio.

[what-life-im-a-fangirl]

SOMETHING I NOTICED

Almost always, Diaval is on Maleficent's right. (Like a right hand man?) Observe:

First meeting. Technically she's circling him but she's looking to her right.

Then there's the scene when Maleficent causes the storm inside the cottage... and the deleted extension of that scene when Diaval asks about revoking the curse.

Side bar: they definitely should have kept that scene. It was still when Aurora was relatively young and it shows that Diaval wasn't afraid to question or contradict her.

Then there's the two of them watching Aurora at the wall of thorns.

"Bring them to me."

Then there's the scene where Diaval suggests Philip could break the curse (and Maleficent just crushes him by saying true love doesn't exist)

BUT THEN!!!

When Maleficent regains her wings, he seems to shift to being predominantly on her left. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but it's almost as if that shift is to recognize that they are equals? I mean...

And it continues into MoE when Aurora and her goth parents are walking to Ulstead and when Maleficent is presented at the royal dinner...

And when their precious pastel daughter gets married

I mean, there are some moments in the first film when he isn't on her right (mostly during the castle scenes after Aurora is cursed). But it just was something I noticed and couldn't get out of my head.

[lovee-infected]

Hello Geo-san, just read your post on Malleus's birthday. It says that his only relative is his grandmother and she still rules the Valley of Thorns. There are theories that his grandmother is none other than Maleficent herself. If that's the case, there are two options here, either she survived her encounter with Prince Phillip or the TW timeline is following the 2014 film. Where she's still alive and ruling the Moors, maybe renamed as the Valley, alongside with Aurora. We'll just wait and see.

I've actually been thinking about this myself, that was much of a shoking reveal!

Aside from revealing the fact that Malleus's parents are dead, this somehow dropped a bomb on "Maleficent being Malleus's grandmother theory"

The main discussion going over the fandom regarding the topic is whether his grandmother is Maleficent or not, which is a really important question!

As someone who strongly supported this theory before this reveal, I can't say I wouldn't be disappointed if Maleficent isn't actually his grandmother, but on the other hand, the possibility of her being Maleficent and still alive would face some strong contradictions in the story:

First off, let's flash back to where this theory begun in the first place:

In Malleus's personal chats, we can find Sebek complimenting Malleus's performance after the classes, telling him that he'd even surpass the witch of thorns herself one day!

Malleus immediately objects to it, saying his powers barely come close to his grandmother's.

Well, to think that they were actually talking about Maleficent but all of a sudden Malleus mentioned his grandmother instead, left us qith a great possibility of him being Maleficent's grandson, to the point that many, including me, considered this theory as canon! But now I highly doubt this theory, even though I wanted it to be confirmed true so much. But since we have more information to seriously discuss the matter right now, here are my thoughts whether this theory is still acceptable or not, which is mainly explaining what would happen if they're actually using the 2014 and 2019 live action movies as a reference:

1) Maleficent being alive would totally WRECK Silver's character development and design!

Come to think of it, there would be no Silver if Maleficent is still alive! Silver's twisted logo is the sword, and the one and only famous sword in the sleeping beauty classic AND the live action movie is the one which slayed Maleficent.

So... If Maleficent's still alive -> There hasn't ever been a sword which slayed her -> Silver doesn't have any special or specific symbol/ character which he is twisted from!

While his name might have something to do with the live action version, where they strongly used Silver to defeat Maleficent, it can also be referring to the fact that dark fairies would immediately be wounded if touched with Silver, which is most likely because of Yana's studies in the fae mythology field (Like how she chose ice cream as Malleus's favorite food since fairies love cream) which isn't necessarily bound to the live action version. But since the sword is Silver's most important role in the game, we can't really stick with the live action version because not only didn't we have any special swords in the live action version, but there also would be a big confusion if there hasn't ever been a sword which slayed Maleficent and Silver is twisted from!

In summary, I'd be honest and say this out loud: Maleficent HAS TO be dead because we need the Silver sword to exist somewhere in the story!!!

2) History of 'Classic Maleficent' vs 'Live action Maleficent'

one of the main points which needs to be considered in this matter, is how different Classic Maleficent and Live action Maleficent are. Maleficent is the very first Disney live action to present a totally different face of a well-known Disney villain such as Maleficent, which also led to a considerable growth in both "Maleficent" and the classic version of "sleeping beauty"'s popularity at the same time! But while 2014's Maleficent was an absolutely amazing movie (to at least) and nearly turned Maleficent into the most beloved villain of Disney's history, the live action (especially the 2019 version) received some strict critiques regarding how they pictured Maleficent: Many of the fans were familiar and attached to the original Maleficent, the mistress of all evil who had control over the powers of hell itself. A REAL villain and an absolutely perfect one. But the live action Maleficent wasn't meant to be a villain, the live action narrated a totally different story from what the classic was.

Though it didn't really lessen the movie's popularity, there were fans who begun to dislike this version of Maleficent after the 2019 version and their reason for disliking the movie actually made sense, the live action went TOO FAR with creating a second Maleficent, almost to the point of not being anything similar to the original, that strong villainous sense they were expecting to see in Maleficent had disappeared.

Now let's talk about twst, what is twst about? Villains. It's basically the world of villains. We need that evil, menacing and demonic sense of villains to be brought back to life through this twisted vessels, as it's confirmed that this school's students have villainous souls. From the Heartslabyul chapter till now, the Pomefiore chapter, his is all we've dealt with: Absolute villains. Each chapter is about a dorm leader (expect for Kalim) discovering and revealing their villainous spirits, which leads to an overblot. They want them to see just as evil and reckless as the original villains, which is why they put them into a mode such as overblot, where they're controlled by a puppet in the shape of one of the great seven.

Is such a story, where they need to make each of the main characters be as evil as possible, choosing live action Maleficent (who is a half villain, half hero character) not only is debatable but ia also a big contract to the previous chapters as they all followed the original villains' stories!

I guess we can all agree that Diasomnia's quite special compared to the rest of the dorms, but going as far as using a different source in character development and plot design compared to the rest of the characters and dorms seems to be a bit too much- I don't think Diasomnia's design and development is planned to be THAT different.

3) Key points about fhat has been officially mentioned in twst

Personal chats are VERY important to go through while doing a character analysis, they're such a wealthy and perfect source of information regarding each and every of the characters!

As for Diasomnia, each and every of the members mentioned something about the witch of thorns and her background, which directly leads us to how and who is the twst's Maleficent:

Lilia: Explains how Maleficent's Chronicles spent 16 years looking for a baby in a cradle -> This only happened in the classic! Live action Maleficent never sent any of her minions to look after aurora as she never had any!

Silver: Explains how the King of a well-known kingdom forgot to invite Maleficent and offended her with this, he wonders what kind of King would ever do such a disrespectful thing? -> Original Maleficent was offended and mad just because she wasn't invited, while the Live action Maleficent was betrayed by the King Stephan, Aurora's father who intentionally refused to invite Maleficent. Keep this in mind that Silver said forgetting to invite her, which is exactly what happened in the classic and King and Queen seriously forgot to invite Maleficent, not to intentionally avoid and decide to keep her away from baby Aurora like what happened in the live action.

Malleus: In his chats with Lilia, he mentions how The witch of thorns once invited the prince of as enemy Kingdom into her own castle -> This is again, something which only happened in the classic, referring to the scene where Maleficent captured prince Philip and imprisoned him inside her castle. Live action Maleficent didn't even have a castle to begin with, note that all she did was to take Phillip to Stephan's castle to give Aurora a chance to live.

Malleus: He explains how The Witch of thorns could turn into a dragon -> Live action Maleficent never turned into a dragon, she just once turned her crow, diaval, into a dragon (2014 ver.) and turned into a phoenix (2019 ver.). The only Maleficent which could and did transform into a dragon is the one we know from the sleeping beauty classic.

Hitting with the lighting: This is something Malleus is capable of doing, he both did this to Sebek back in the manga anthology and threatened Rook with it -> Again, this is something which the original Maleficent and herself only could do.

There are quite a few of other orginal Maleficent references you can find if you carefully go through the story and voice lines, but I'm not going to mention each and every of them because I believe I've already discussed this enough. Note that while there are tens of original Maleficent references in the story, there hasn't been anything mentioned about the live action Malleus so far expect for fan content and stuff.

Obviously, they're using Original Maleficent as the main reference. The question is whether they're using the live action too as a reference or not.

4) A summary + Existing debates

Aside from all of the current theories and headcanons, I guess this is all we can tell about the canon information revealed so far. But before we end, I'd like to add a few of small notes:

Lilia has never referred to the Witch of thorns as Queen of thorns, it's not quite specific to tell but it seems like Queen of thorns and Witch of thorns are indeed to different people.

But then again, why does Malleus bring his grandmother up in the middle of a discussion about Witch of thorns? Could it be that he just used her mother as an example since her too, is a very powerful magician but not exactly the witch of thorns herself, or...??

There hasn't been any information revealed regarding the great seven's current position in twisted wonderland's history, how long ago has their stories taken place? Could it be that some of them are still alive? Did their stories end just the same as orginal stories or did they decide to twist the endings as well?

The main reason why I think Maleficent cannot be alive now is not becuase she died in the original story, it's becuase of Silver, which has already been explained in part (1)!

At last, I'd like to add a final note to this piece: Even if the "Grandmother Maleficent" theory turns out to be wrong, many of the fans are already enjoying the eixisting fanon twst content which are using the live action as a reference! The most popular reference is probably with Malleus's back, where many artists decide to add two wounds on as a reference to what happened to Maleficent's wings in the live action. This is personally one of my FAVORITES and I just love it when artists draw the wounds, though the possibility of Malleus actually having wings is pretty low! We can almost call it impossible lol. The thing is, from how the story has gone so far we can assume that they aren't going to use the live action at all, but if they do, that'll be quite amazing and interesting to discuss!!

[usernamesuggestionsarefunny]

The problem with Maleficent is that the name "maleficent" itself literally means "doing evil or harm", like, that is the actual freaking meaning of the word "maleficent", the reason she was named that way by the creators.

 I mean it is so obvious, blatant, and annoying, so I can´t take Disney´s "look she was just a poor misunderstood had-her-wings-cut-off baby" seriously. 

So, we have Maleficent, a fabulous and perfect villain who had a name that literally meant evil (She probably gave herself the name or something) and did evil for its own sake. She cursed Aurora over a wounded pride, over sheer pettiness, not for revenge, because not every single villain needs a tragic sob backstory to be a good villain. 

Now, that doesn´t mean it would not have been AMAZING to see a good movie about how Maleficent became this way, yes, a backstory of sorts. Maybe, indeed, make Stephan another villain who did harm her in the past in the process, or a good person with a dark, villainous, past. Don´t they want complex? That would have been complex. A good king who cares for his wife, his daughter, and his people, but who rose to power doing evil, what are the implications? But nooo, lazy Disney just said "fuck it, what if all the originally good guys were bad or stupid (cough cough fairies) and the real good guys were the villains all along? (it is not like there is room in between}, soo subversive, sooo smart, me likey, no one has ever done that before". 

Making Maleficent a tragic little antihero in a movie that didn´t at the very fucking least change her name, or make it so she had another name before, or attempt to give some bullshit "origin" explanation as to how she got her "literally means evil" name just shows me that Disney is lazy as fuck and wants money (I know, duuh), so much so that they didn´t even bother to google the name Maleficent, or that the name meant money actually, so fuck basic English or logic I guess.

 I mean what kind of parents name their daughter "doing evil or harm"? That scene where the little innocent-looking fairy who takes care of the forest introduces herself to Stephen as "Maleficent" is too ridiculous to bear. Modern Disney is so lazy they even recycled their "first true love´s kiss doesn´t work because it was not true love, the second one does because it was" ~uhu plot twist~ scene from "ENCHANTED", and ripped off the "motherly love counts as true love too" idea from Once Upon a Time. Maleficent is a terrible and unoriginal cash grab movie, sorry to everyone who liked it, but I find nothing redeemable about it other than the cute bird fellow Diaval and the special effects.

[wertman25]

Maleval Vent

I’d like to start off by saying, I need to vent and this is the only platform that I feel will be able to handle it. I’d also like to say that I have a shipper’s heart and although I love a lot of characters across different fandoms together; there are only a few “ships” I obsess over. One of these ships are: “Maleval” or Maleficent x Diaval.

So first things first, I believe that all ships, no matter the fandom are just for fun and games. And though I take mine seriously, at the end of the day, they’re something to bring a little joy.

HOWEVER, I’ve been seeing a lot of Maleval hate recently- on and off Tumblr. I’ve seen random negative posts about shipping them and also heard from different views in person of why they’re such a bad ship and honestly, I just want to defend something.

1. The Script

Diaval was ALWAYS suppose to be Maleficent’s love interest.

Linda Woolverston wrote it in a way that their relationship was a friendship love- an unexpected but equal love. A male character that didn’t lesson that of a female character, but rather enhanced each other in different ways. He was suppose to be her realization after the betrayal of her first love that she could trust again (and also love, but Aurora helped with that too.)

Disney allowed the connection and importance of Diaval to Maleficent to remain once the script was finalized, however, changed that they wanted to simply focus on the love between mother x daughter, meaning they didn’t take the relationship of “Maleval” away, but didn’t focus on it.

Examples:

SHE’S LOOKING RIGHT AT HIM. BUT SHE CAN’T SEE THE LOVE IN HIS EYES.

M: I THOUGHT YOU LIKED BEING A BIRD. D: NOT AS MUCH AS I USED TO.

I THOUGHT I’D LOST YOU.

SHE TRIES TO HIDE HER FEELINGS

MALEFICENT STANDS WITH DIAVAL. HER HAND FIND HIS...

Side note: Diaval called her the Mistress of all Evil, which is what the second filmed is named.

THEY LIFT THEIR WINGS AND TAKE FLIGHT TOGETHER. THEY FLY OFF INTO THE LITERAL SUNSET.

2. NOVELIZATION

The novel for the first movie, still showed the conflicting feelings that Maleficent was feeling about Aurora AND Diaval.

Example:

Diaval turned and walked away. Behind him, Maleficent watched him go. Her emotions churning. She hated him for talking to her like that. Hated him for making her feel guilty. Yet if she hated him so much, why was she so upset to see him go. Maleficent sighed. Why has everything become so complicated?

Also!

In the novelization, Maleficent found Diaval physically attractive. She literally checked him out in his naked man form after saving him from the farmer/dogs. (Also note this was during a time that she was still heartbroken/enraged from her first love, Stefan.)

Example:

[Maleficent] began to walk around him slowly, scrutinizing. She had to admit he wasn’t terrible to look at, even for a human. She could have created far worse.

And!

Side note, fuck that cat.

3. AURORA

I understand you don’t need to be “together” to raise a child, but they still literally raised a child together. THEY’RE HER PARENTS.

It takes two goths to raise a beautiful, bright, pastel child.

4. Sam & Angelina ship it.

Angie: Maleficent and Diaval raised Aurora TOGETHER. They are her parents. He’s the only one whose advice she listens to.

Sam: Diaval LOVES Maleficent.

Sam: “They’re like an old married couple now.”

Interviewer: “You’re Maleficent’s servant?” Sam: “Partner.”

5. Side notes:

First movie:

Diaval isn’t affraid to challenge her and is the first to realize she isn’t as bad as she makes everyone think she is.

He sits by her even in human form, meaning Maleficent changes him for the simply company. (Or because he wants her to.)

Just their dynamic- I mean come on now- BRING THEM TO ME — HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME

Diaval follows Maleficent into the castle knowing they could die.

Diaval guarding her body in dragon form.

Maleficent laying her head on Diaval’s horse neck.

Check out those love looks. CHECK THEM OUT.

HE LOOKS AT HER LIPS

She literally doesn’t need Diaval anymore because she has her wings, but he has become much more than her wings.

Second movie:

There is literally no reason for Diaval to be at that dinner, especially in human form. (Maleficent makes sure he is even dressed for the occasion.)

Side note: Notice how his buttons match her staff?

Look at them being a married couple.

The way her wings protect him and Aurora as they cross the bridge.

Diaval is wearing Malefient’s ring from the first movie.

DELICIOUS

She protects him from the cat although she never looked in his direction; meaning she was aware of him at all time.

She still changed Diaval into a bird to follow her. So she never forgot about him.

She changes him into a bear because he asked her to — and also before she even broke the clouds, meaning she was aware that he was in trouble.

(She’s known Borra for 5 minutes; but has known Diaval (closely) for over 20 years)

The way he takes her jacket. The way he looks at her after she’s been missing. The way he looks at her when she walks down the aisle with Aurora. When he places his hand on her back.

I MISSED YOU.

So excuse me, but even if I didn’t have this factual evidence, I still ship these two... cause they’re just too perfect.

Maleval ❤️ (let me know if I missed anything.)

[of-the-moors]

So I've been thinking about the whole Maleficent movie + sequel = 'feels like a trilogy but may never be because M:MOE was kind of a disappointment' thing.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed M:MOE from an entertainment perspective. It had some funny moments, and some touching moments, and Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer (which I always want to pronounce 'Per-FIFF-er' for shits and giggles) are an electric combination. Sam Riley, as usual, managed to convey more with eyebrow twitches and eye movements than his lines alone would suggest. Elle Fanning is once again a delight.

But.

BUT.

What the actual fuck was up with that storyline?

News just in: there's nothing wrong with a gentle fairytale. A movie doesn't HAVE to end with an epic MCU-inspired megabattle. Yawn. Been there, seen that.

So the first movie is character-driven. Maleficent is a sweet and innocent little soul, she's betrayed and violated by someone that she has chosen to trust, it fucks her up, she knee-jerk retaliates, feels vindicated, then over the course of the movie comes to realise that she may have gone overboard etc. By the end of the movie, she's not back as she was, but she's a better version of herself that she was sixteen years earlier.

She has agency. She makes her own choices. She is beholden to nobody, except on occasion, the moral questions of her servant (more on Diaval later).

Aurora doesn't really have much of a say in anything, other than her choice to go to the castle, but it could be argued that it wasn't so much her CHOICE as the curse playing out. Either way, it's not really relevant, as she's barely more than a child and doesn't know her arse from her elbow.

The end of the first movie wrapped everything up quite nicely, and a sequel wasn't strictly necessary.

The thing is, if you're going to make a sequel, you owe it to the original movie to not cock it up.

The tone just wasn't the same, for starters. It was very much a Mega Worldbuilding CGI Wank, as compared to the insular and gentler tone of the first film. I mean, Maleficent had a main cast of just seven people, and that includes Phillip who only had a handful of scenes. The cast of M:MOE blew WAY out. It changed the tone, and not for the better.

Why introduce the Dark Fey at all?

Are we seriously to believe that the entire population of Maleficent's race, less herself, have been living a hundred clicks off the coast of Ulstead all of this time, and yet they let Maleficent - who apparently is like their queen or something? - grow up an orphan in the Moors? Um, collecting her and taking her back to be with her own kind would have taken what, an hour?

If you're going to introduce a situation like that, at least have the decency to explain it and close the gaping plot hole. One line would have sufficed. "Your parents chose to leave the sanctuary. By the time we realised that they had been killed, it was too late to bring you back - too late to take you from the only home you had ever known. So we have watched over you instead, ever since."

Wow, and I'm not even a script writer.

And the war. I mean, really? Ingrith is a psychopath - a genocidal maniac, to use Angelina Jolie's words - and she wants to kill off the entire population of the Moors. Um, okay. I get the feeling that the Dark Fey retcon was conceived as a handy plot device to spawn a Big Battle Scene, and the implications of that were ill-considered.

At least they didn't go and pair Maleficent up with one of them. I know that there was implication with both Conall and Borra, but at least it wasn't overt. You can't have one who was burned by love to the degree that Maleficent was suddenly falling in love with a relative stranger in a matter of days; it's beyond out of character. So thanks, folks, for refraining from that particular trope.

Then there's Maleficent's agency. She was very much a reactive protagonist, and made very few decisions of her own will. Is she even still Maleficent?

There was so much wasted potential.

The first movie had a character who, through the actions of another, no longer believed in true love. By the end of the movie, she believed in true love in the sense of filial love. Romantic love, no, that was still tosh, but the love of a mother for a daughter? Oh yes, that existed.

The second movie SHOULD have expanded on this, using the wedding of Aurora and Phillip as the catalyst for further growth and acceptance on the part of Maleficent. The movie we got does, in a way, come to the same place - Maleficent accepts that romantic true love exists, albeit not for her - but it feels entirely secondary to the Great Big Battle. It was messy. So, so messy.

I almost feel as though we're owed a third movie, to right the wrongs of the second. To tie up the gaping plot holes which were introduced but never adequately explained - or even addressed! It's unlikely to happen, unfortunately, but we can only hope.

A third movie would need to complete Maleficent's arc, that's for sure. From not believing in love to believing in filial love, to believing in romantic love for others but not herself, the logical conclusion of that arc is for Maleficent to have a reason to believe in true love for herself again.

In the interests of interesting cinematic conflict and confusing our winged protagonist, two competing love interests would make for an interesting story. A parallel plot could bookend the plot of the first movie by recasting Maleficent in the role of protector - have Aurora's baby taken by an antagonist - ideally a magical one - and centre the story around recovering the child and defeating the evil whilst navigating matters of the heart.

Who would Maleficent be drawn to? A mysterious and volatile man of her own species, now that she knows that she's not the only one? Someone as exciting as herself? One whose wings match her own?

Or is love steadfast and loyal? Kind and devoted and dependable? Of course, I refer to Diaval, who is, in my mind, the only logical love interest for Maleficent, but she'd need some prodding to see that. He'd need to do something incredibly brave and she'd have to realise what losing him would really be like, that old chestnut. But really, he's the one. He's both her conscience and her constant, and his rationality and calm nature are a perfect foil for her impulsive hotheadedness. They're two halves of a whole, even without the romantic undertones.

(Let's not go into how Angelina Jolie and Sam Riley evidently agree with the above assessment of the Maleficent/Diaval relationship, based on interviews and the way in which each plays their character against the other. Or that Sam Riley is the unofficial official captain of the Good Ship Maleval. Someone should tell him. He needs a proper hat for it.)

I like the delicious synchronicity of Maleficent, burned by what she thought was true love, creating her actual true love in that darkest time of her life, and then not realising it for two decades. It has a certain perfection to it.

But hey, it isn't going to happen for much less than a miracle. Thank heavens for fanfiction, eh? Fixing the dodgy shit one fic at a time.

[robin-the-enby]

Beautiful to me

Pairing: Diaval x OC

Summary: Rhea is a daughter of a lumberjack living near the Moors, a forest which everybody fears. It is no wonder that she became Aurora's first best friend.

Warnings: body insecurities

A/N: As I've said, I've never seen the whole movie, but Diaval is such a sweetheart and...well, this happened. So I'm sorry that this maybe won't go as the movie does, for example, I couldn't find a clip on youtube about how Aurora first got to the Moors, so I changed it.

Pictures found on Google

* * * * *

Everybody feared the Moors, because they believed that a great evil lived behind the great wall of thorns.

Only one family was brave enough to live near the place. It was a lumberjack and his wife. They have never been afraid of the strange part of the forest. Everyone deemed them crazy when they answered their curious questions with: "There is no need to be afraid. If you'll respect the forest, it'll leave you alone."

When news spread that the lumberjack's wife was with a child, people were baffled to hear that they aren't moving from their cozy little cottage near the dangerous Moors.

And after nine months, a baby girl was born. Her loving parents named her Rhea. She had black hair, like her mother and beautiful green eyes like her father.

Rhea was a curious, happy go lucky child. Taught from early age to respect those around her and do no harm until she was the one harmed, she grew into a kind young girl. Her parents treated her with love and kindness and so she didn't see a reason to ever disobey them.

One day, Rhea was walking by the edge of the forest, which grounds she knew better than the back of her hand. The 'normal' part of the forest, the one where her father worked, was surrounded by meadows full of flowers and beautiful little creatures.

She listened to birds chirping and bees buzzing as she skipped along the secret path she found for herself, her little hands gently caressing flower petals of all colours.

Rhea heard a laugh. It wasn't her laugh, but it was a child's laugh. It sounded like a little girl. Rhea looked all around her, trying to see who exactly was laughing, but couldn't see anyone. That is, until the tall grass started shaking, little giggles escaping between the rustling.

Rhea kneeled on the ground and pushed the grass aside, so she could see better.

At first, she thought she's seeing things. But at a second glance she recognized the creature she mistaked for a fairy as a young girl. But what a beautiful little girl!

She was a few years younger than Rhea, but too young to be left alone. The little girl hasn't noticed her yet, so Rhea softly called out "What are you doing here little one?"

The little girl gasped and turned to face Rhea. It took little to no time for a big grin to take over her face "Pretty girl!" she squealed.

Rhea blushed. Nobody, aside from her parents, had called her pretty. She never really felt pretty and thought that her parents told her that just because they were her parents. But there was something about this girl that looked so sincere. Maybe it was how her eyes shone brightly or her big smile.

It didn't look like the girl wanted to wait for Rhea, her attention was grabbed by something else. As she waddled away, Rhea called out to her "What's your name little one?" and ran after her.

The girl stopped to examine a catterpillar crawling on a leaf and when Rhea caught up with her, she repeated her question. "Aurora." the girl said without turning her head. Rhea thought it was a really strange name.

The rest of the afternoon Rhea spent by Aurora's side. The younger girl hopped around, fascinated by every little thing. Rhea patiently walked behind her, looking after Aurora, so she wouldn't hurt herself. She wondered why was she alone? Did her parents not care for her? How could they?? She was such a sweet little thing.

"Pretty flower!" Aurora exclaimed happily, plucking the flower from the ground and twirling it between her little fingers. This caught Rhea's attention. Everything Aurora saw she called pretty. Pretty flowers, pretty bees, pretty clouds...

Rhea felt a little sad at the thought that for Aurora 'pretty' didn't mean anything special. But she quickly chased the thought away. Why should she be sad about such a trivial thing as beauty? They were in the forest, she didn't need to be beautiful! Wait, the forest..?

Without her noticing, Aurora led her straight through the forest to the thorn wall. She looked at the big branches with even bigger thorns in awe. Strangely, she didn't go to feel it with her tiny hands.

For the first time in the whole day, Aurora turned to Rhea, pointed at the barricade and said "Pretty bush!"

Rhea couldn't help but smile. Pretty really wasn't a meaningfull word for the little girl. "It sure is magical, isn't it?" Rhea came to stand by Aurora's side.

Flapping of wings and cawing could be heard and both girls turned to look at the tree where the noise was coming from. It was just a raven.

There was something strange about the way it looked at Rhea. Almost suspiciously...

"Pretty bird!" Aurora said laughing, clapping her tiny hands. Rhea smiled at the little girl. It's just a bird, there's nothing to worry about.

Rhea grabbed Aurora's hand, gaining the girl's attention. She crouched down next to her and pointed at the raven "That's a raven. You mustn't mix ravens up with crows. They may seem similar, but they are different none the less."

The bird's eyes softened and it cawed happily. It caused Aurora to laugh in a childish glee and Rhea tried to mimick him. The raven turned its head to the side a little, amused by the girl's attempts to make the younger one laugh. So it played along, Rhea and the raven cawing at each other, just so Aurora would laugh.

After that, everywhere they went, the raven was with them. And every time Aurora set her gaze on it, she immediately called out excitedly "Pretty bird!" And so, the name stuck.

The years flew by and the girls became best friends. Some would even say they were as close as sisters.

Every day they would spend the whole day together, Rhea usually teaching Aurora about nature and in return, the younger girl invented the best adventures, while Pretty bird, who Rhea always brought treats for, watched over them.

They both grew into beautiful young women. Aurora was just as lovely as she was when she was a child, if not more. She had the beauty of a fairy and the heart of a playful bunny. Rhea matured and grew into the kindest and most generous woman far and wide from the Moors.

Rhea admired Aurora's beauty, as if she couldn't see her own. And it was true. While she thought everything around her was beautiful, she 'could never compare' as she'd say.

One day, which Rhea was going to remember in great detail long after, they stayed outside longer than usual, the sky was getting dark and night was slowly falling upon the land. But they didn't care and kept on walking by the thorn wall.

"I wonder if you can get through it somehow..." Aurora wondered, gently petting the bush, careful as to not cut herself. Rhea turned to look at the wall and just silently nodded her head.

Maleficent was, like many times before, looking after Aurora. She watched the two girls chat and wondered how much the girls have grown. If she wants to see the Moors so bad...I can grant her that wish. Maleficent thought to herself and with a quiet chuckle put a spell over the two girls that put them to sleep.

She cleared out a path for herself that went through the giant thorn bush and carefully levitated both girls behind her as she entered her kingdom.

Next, she gently laid them on the ground and hid in the shadows and crooked tree branches and undone the spell. Now I just wait until they wake up...

The spell wore off pretty quickly. The first one to sit up was Aurora, while Rhea tiredly blinked her eyes. "Rhea, do you see that?" Aurora asked in disbelief, standing up. "No." Rhea croaked tiredly "What should I see?" she slowly sat up and looked around.

"We're in the Moors!" the younger girl exclaimed happily, giggling. Aurora twirled in place, taking everything in with fascination. Rhea rubbed the sleep from her eyes and joined her best friend.

Curious eyes looked at them from behind the rocks and tree leaves. Blue heads poked out from their hiding spots and tiny blue creatures slowly and cautiously floated to the two strangers. Both girls slowly extended their palms and let the fairies touch their fingers. Before they could properly introduce themselves, the fairies looked around in panic and fright and quickly scurried off to hide again.

Aurora felt presence behind them and turned to face the shadows. Nothing but a pair of yellow eyes could be seen in the darkness. "We know you're there. Don't be scared." Rhea came to stand by her side and took her hand.

"I'm not scared." it chuckled darkly. Rhea noticed its voice was smooth, cold and rich.

"Then come out." Aurora prompted the voice again.

"Then you'll be afraid." it said again. It sounded like it was making fun of them.

"No we won't." Aurora defended them bravely, her cheecks puffing out a little.

It seemed like the voice complied. The pair of glowing yellow eyes moved from the shadows. It had the moon behind its back, so only a silhouette could be seen.

Aurora gasped softly at the sight of the big horns and Rhea stepped protectively a little in front of her.

Maleficent then stepped into the light completely. Instead of screams of fear that she expected, Rhea's breath was stolen away by the fae's broken, dark beauty and Aurora just laughed.

"I know who you are." she said with a smile "You're my fairy godmother!" Rhea was used to Aurora telling her about the shadow that looks after her. But she, as beautiful as she was, didn't look like a protector. More like a predator.

"What?" Maleficent asked, clearly thrown off by this comment. "Your shadow. It's been following me everywhere I went." Aurora's smile didn't falter.

A raven landed on a branch next to its mistress. Both girls turned their heads to look at it. "I remember you." Aurora said and with Rhea they both giggled. "Pretty bird." Rhea said and the raven turned its head to the side. "This is Diaval." Maleficent said, not even looking at him, waving her hand, after the raven bowed politely to the girls.

And suddenly, their Pretty bird was now a man. A very handsome, young man, Rhea observed. His hair and eyes dark like the night around them, black tunic, that showed off his chest, as well as black trousers and black boots. On his temples, his neck and the exposed parts of his chest were scars, from what Rhea would love to know.

Diaval went to closer to Aurora "It's nice to finally meet you." and kissed her hand gently "I knew you since you were a little one." Rhea quietly snickered to herself. What a strange thing to say.

But then he turned to her and she found herself lost in his eyes. Apart from his scars his face looked really smooth. Just like his feathers looked smooth when he was a raven. "My my, what a beauty you've grown into." he said and kissed her hand too, while looking her directly in the eyes. Rhea felt like she couldn't breathe. His skin felt so smooth where he touched her but his voice was so deliciously scruffy, she couldn't wrap her head around it all. "This must be a dream." she said quietly and Diaval grinned, still not letting go of her hand, but neither of them noticed.

"I know right?" Aurora squealed excitedly. She started ranting about how beautiful the Moors were, overwhelming Maleficent so much, that she had to put her to sleep again.

When Rhea saw her floating friend, she wondered So that's how we got here, huh... "I think that is enough for today." Maleficent stated "Diaval, take Rhea home."

A small mutter of 'yes mistress' could be heard from him and as he went to lightly bow to her he realized he was still holding Rhea's hand. He immediately let go, embarassed and showed her the way.

He insisted to take her all the way to her cottage and held her hand every time there was any obstacle in the way, small and large ones. "We're in a forest. If you want to be gentlemanly like that, you can just hold my hand and not let go." Rhea giggled, but Diaval took it seriously and, deciding it would be a good idea, grabbed her hand, making her cheeks turn pink.

Days went by and they were all spent in the Moors. Aurora played with all the fairies, often including Rhea or even Diaval. Maleficent usually stood on the sidelines and watched them. Rhea noticed the fondness in the fae's eyes and sometimes she'd catch a glimpse of the tiniest smile.

If they were not playing with Aurora, Diaval and Rhea also stood on the sidelines, chatting and finding out more things about the other every day. Aurora and even Maleficent noticed how close they became.

It was a beautiful night. The stars shone brightly, the moon was big, nowhere a cloud in sight and the temperature was just right. Perfect for stargazing.

Rhea needed time to herself. Her mind felt heavy, burdened with negative thoughts and doubts.

"Why are you frowning at the stars?" a voice above her asked. Rhea smiled a faint smile "Hello Pretty bird." "Why do you keep calling me that even when you know my name?" "Because you are a pretty bird." she shrugged. "I suppose you're right." Diaval said proudly and laid next to her, their shoulders and hands touching.

He could see something was troubling her and he wanted to help. He never liked seeing her sad. It made his heart clench. When it first happened, Rhea found a dead baby bird, fallen out of the nest. He thought he was deathly ill and came to Maleficent immediately, panicked. She just stared at him and whispered something strange "You're in love."

She left abruptly, not saying anything else. He wasn't mad. After he processed the words, he realized she probably needed time to ponder if she is going to do something about it or not. He could see how conflicted her thoughts on love were as of late.

He came to terms with it a few days ago. Those days leading to this one were spent consciously pining after her.

"Just...my parents." Rhea started slowly. But he didn't mind, he would listen to her patiently for years if it meant helping her. "They told me I should start looking for a nice man, since I'm the right age for marriage right now."

He swallowed hardly. Was she in love already? What if it wasn't him? What would he do if it wasn't him? "And what seems to be the problem?" he forced out of himself, as if he didn't even want to know the answer.

"I don't know anyone!" she cried out. It wasn't entirely true though. Her heart already picked a certain raven someone, but her insecurities blinded her so much she didn't even consider him liking her back as an option.

"I'd have to go out and impress someone and...to be honest, who in the world would be impressed by me." the last word harboured so much disgust in it, it made Diaval frown deeply.

"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely confused. Rhea sighed sadly "Look at me. Look at everything else around us. How can I compare to the beauty that is this world? How can I impress someone when I'm just...so...ugly."

Oh no. She didn't. No, no, no, no, he wasn't going to let her talk about herself that way.

Diaval gently grasped her chin and made her look at him "Listen here Rhea and listen closely. You can't compare to anything? For me It's more like nothing can compare to you, because you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Prettier than any flower, star or even the moon itself. You are better than flying, everything about you is so otherworldly I can't put it into words."

His voice lowered to nearly a whisper "You don't have to impress or catch anyone's attention. You already have. I'm afraid, Rhea, that you've captured my heart. I don't know if I'll be a good enough suitor for you, but I will try my best...if you'll have me?" his eyes filled with hope met hers filled with tears.

She couldn't get the right words out, she just nodded her head and hugged him tightly.

And as they laid there in a tight embrace, under the starry night, she whispered to him "I wouldn't have anyone else."

[unify-mordecai]

Take a moment

Diaval is meeting the future in-laws in his human form, not in his natural bird state, as he was when he first met King Stefan.

Diaval is seen standing side-by-side with Maleficent the entire way. Showing he's an equal, and played just as much of a part of raising Aurora as Maleficent did, if not more.

It goes to show that he shouldn't be dismissed as just 'some bird' but rather seen as a parental guardian just the same as Maleficent.

[b1t5andpi3c3s]

Alternate (Part 2)

Requested: yes/no

@mostlystilinski​

Edited: yes/no

Everyone was gathered in a spare classroom. Evie, Mal, Carlos, Jay, stood being Ben, who was seemingly ready to act as the spokesperson. His parents were way at the back of the room, sitting on empty chairs, as they tried to digest who the new comers were. Fairy Godmother was at the edge of the room, her wand out and a nervous look on her face. They were all facing Maleficent, Diaval and Aurora, who stood on the small platform, being gazed at like they were some mere spectacle.

“So, why have we been bought here?” Aurora asked, looking expectantly to everyone in the room.

“Maleficent,” Ben started nervously and slowly, almost like he was afraid to wake a dangerous beast.

Said woman, turned her head to face the young King, her high cheek bones now being properly illuminated in the light, unnerving them all, sending shivers down their spins.

“Yes?” she asked slowly, her voice defined and powerful, just like when she first spoke out on the tourney field.

“Mal,” Ben spoke, turning slightly, inviting the purple haired girl to walk forward and join his side. “Mal’s mother is Maleficent.”

His confession bought laughter from two of the three people that had, quite literally fallen into Auradon. Davial’s laughter was like he had been told the funniest joke; a belly laugh, loud and projecting. Maleficent’s laughter was obnoxious and forced, like someone was playing a frowned upon prank on her.

“I have not borne a child,” she sneered, curtly cutting off her laughter, now turning her whole body to face them, Diaval stopped immediately, knowing the consequences if she was upset.

“We don’t mean you,” Ben hurried, scared that if he upset this Maleficent, she could be completely different from Mal’s mother.

“Godmother?” Aurora spoke, making Maleficent turn to her, her disdainful expression falling as she looked lovingly at her ‘daughter’, well as lovely as she could make it.

“Aurora,” Maleficent asked.

“Calm down,” Aurora said, glancing the other people before they settled on Maleficent again. “They could know something that could help us.”

After another five minutes, Diaval appeared to become bored by just staring at the same people, and averted his attention to staring out the window to the fields and gardens. Aurora also shifted uncomfortably, her eyes losing focus on everyone, as she too reverted to stare out the window, sometimes glancing at them again or to her own Godmother. Maleficent was the only one who remained staring at them all, it was quite scary and startling, having someone who held so much power, even if they only knew Mal’s mother, staring at them like they were prey.

Ben and the Vks relaxed, knowing that someone could somewhat make Maleficent calm down.

Diaval, Aurora and Maleficent stayed quiet as they turned back to observe the Auradons in the room.

Minutes passed, and as each minute passed the tension grew and grew. The Vks seemed to become restless, it was like when they first came to Auradon. Ben and his parents shifted where the stood or sat, obvious signs of uncomfortableness in their faces and posture. Fairy Godmother almost looked like she was trying to melt herself into the wall, anything to be away from the calculating and watchful eyes of the three.

“There’s nothing they can do,” Maleficent finally spoke, turning back to face Aurora and Diaval. “We simply have to wait for it to transport us back.”

[orangetail-works]

A Phoenix and a Raven: Oblivious

Chapter: Oblivious

 A/N: This prompt was a request off of Tumblr as well from @onceuponaminute16. Don't want to put much of the prompt in here as it would spell out the entire oneshot. I hope you will enjoy, and as always happy reading.

Peace had finally settled between the kingdom of men and the magical Moors. Queen Aurora and her husband, the now crowned King Phillip, ruled their blended people with compassion and righteousness. The Dark Fey who chose to rejoin the land of their ancestors made strides to understand the humans and their ways. There were always to be disputes and small scuffles between two meeting cultures, but for the most part, respect and a willingness to understand won out in the end.

In the Moors, Maleficent kept the peace with the tree sentries and those of the Dark Fey who wanted to protect their new home. Her days were spent flying over the large expanse of the Moors, talking over matters of discontent with all types of clan leaders at the Moor Palace or discussing the upcoming celebrations of Dark Fey tradition that she was yet again unaware of. She had grown up under the watchful eyes of fairies that were nothing like her. Her parents were the only other Dark Fey left in the Moors and when they perished in the war when she was a babe, she had no one to learn from. Her people were strangers to her.

At the moment, the Dark Fey Phoenix was perched along a sturdy tree branch as she looked over the group of children from Ulstead and Perceforest interwoven with the children of the Moors. They walked and talked with one another and shared stories of their own between them. Their parents and guardians stood a little way off, still in sight, but mingling much like their children.

The children ran after one another, taught each other their games they would usually play and some of the Dark Fey even try to lift the humans with them as they flew overhead. Maleficent was transported to the times of her own childhood where her and Stefan would tell each other stories and run around the Moor's woods and rivers, unaware of the large divide of their species. Such good memories that were tainted of the greed of the past.

Her attention was caught as a dark figure flew in between and around the children. The raven cawed after the small group that had chased after him as if he was laughing. He may just be. He stayed low enough that the human children could play along and the fey did not have enough height to use their wings as an advantage. He always made sure that everyone was on equal footing.

Her faithful servant still stayed with her, still an ever present constant at her side. He would tour the Moors with her as she made her rounds, he would insert well thought arguments in debates and was always there to be an ear when she needed to talk of any worries. She had told him that he was more than free to be who he needed and wanted to be with the peaceful reign of her daughter and his fledgling. He refused, as he stood by his vow to be there for whatever she may need, even if the debt had been more than repaid years prior. His heart had remained pure despite his constant company with someone who's heart was definitely not. Her hand went to her chest to feel her heart beat faster than normal as she kept her mind on him. Her dark heart would leap with the thought of the hope and light in his own. But her mind and mouth stayed silent and showed no affection while he was in the form of a man, when he had a hand to hold... or arms to wrap in... or even lips to-

She hissed at her thoughts and banished them back into her mind. There was no room in her life for that kind of hope and dreams. She tried to love like that once and the heartbreak nearly cost her another. She cannot let that happen again.

Diaval banked in the air as he turned with a flip in the air and let out a victorious caw. He was keeping a good pace with the children.

“That will not do,” Maleficent smiled to herself. Her hand flicked out in golden magic and suddenly the raven shifted in midair to the man.

Diaval squawked and hit the ground, flat on his front. Maleficent tried to hide her laughter, but couldn't stop an ungraceful snort that slipped passed. Not even a second after he hit the ground, the children were upon him. They laid their small bodies over his legs, his arms and a couple of them sat on his back. The poor creature was covered shoulder to toe in children of all races and creeds. He struggled to look up and directly at her tree. Her narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of her in the branches.

“You have caught me!” he said dramatically toward the children, “I will have to submit!”

“Then you are our servant!” one of the Dark Fey children of the jungle clans crowed from his back.

“I will give you favors, young lord, but I am servant to no one but the great phoenix herself,” he explained and the children climbed off of him so he could stand. Once he dusted himself off he knelt and looked at the children more or less eye to eye, “Though I am sure you would all do well to a handsome servant as myself, my life is linked to only one other. And that's the way it will stay for I would be found no where else.”

Maleficent heard his words and her heart beat faster in her chest.

He looked over the heads of the children to look at Maleficent who didn't move, but her eyes wide. He knew then that she could hear him as well as see him.

“You should never leave her?” a young boy asked with his arms crossed, “What would you do if one of us saved your life? What would you do then?”

“I would owe you a great debt, but my vow would still be to my mistress,” Diaval explained, “I am loyal to a fault as most ravens are. Honest. I would not and will not stray.”

“What if you were to find love?” a female Dark Fey child of the Desert Clan asked as her brown wings shuffled behind her in a bit of shyness, “I've heard that ravens mate for life, what if you should find a she-raven to nest with? What of your mistress then?”

“You mean to talk of love?” Diaval asked and the children all gathered around him as if he was telling a tale. His eyes flicked up to where she was still in the tree. She seemed to have leaned toward them to hear better.

'Maybe it was time to let her know without doubt...' Diaval thought to himself.

“Lord Diaval?” the jungle fey asked him and pulled at his sleeve.

Diaval cleared his throat and smiled back at the group of children, “I know well of love and it would not change anything between my mistress and myself. I love deeply, but I will never have want to leave my mistress.”

“So, you are in love with someone?” a human girl asked this time, her hands clasped together in front of her in a show of excitement. He could tell that the young one was a romantic.

He chuckled at her and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, “Have been for a while now, yes.”

Maleficent's thundering heartbeat suddenly stopped at his words. A cold washed over her being. He loved someone, has for some time.

How could she have not known? They spent many days and nights together, when had he even met such a radiant creature that they could steal his heart? Was it during the many and continuing Dark Fey celebrations? It must have been. It was true that many of Fey women were drawn to him as they described him as prime mate material, but she didn't think that any of them made more strives to grab the raven-man's attention and affections.

“OH! Who is it?!” the same romantic girl asked as she grabbed at his arm and shook him to garner his complete attention.

He chuckled quite amused at her excitement, “Isn't it apparently obvious?”

Maleficent felt like she would fall off the branch. It should be obvious? To children it should be obvious?

She shook her head and ignored the cold feeling in her chest. She stood on the large branch under her and took off into the sky toward her nest.

Diaval suddenly looked up at her departure and scrambled to his feet. He took a couple steps toward her retreating form with a furrow at his brow. He stood still for a moment or two trying for the life of him to figure out where he had gone wrong.

“Lord Diaval?” the jungle fey pulled at his hand, “What happened?”

“I don't know, little one,” Diaval frowned slightly.

“You love the Phoenix.”

Diaval turned quickly to see a couple of the mothers of the children approach. They must have been listening in on the conversation as well. He knew that some of the ladies of the courts and of the Dark Fey have expressed interest in him, but he was always careful to respectfully reject such advances. His heart, just like the rest of him, was spoken for.

“How?” Diaval asked.

“As you said, it was obvious,” another woman added on and saw the drop in Diaval's head in rejection, “But something tells me that she isn't as good seeing the obvious as others.”

He huffed a sad laugh, “That she is not.”

“So?” another woman from the hamlet stepped forward.

“So...” Diaval questioned in confusion.

“You're going after her, aren't you?”

“I have no wings,” he said as he flexed his hands to show the digits.

“But you have legs,” the original woman said, “And if I were to let the person that held my heart know that they do, I would use whatever I had to get to them.”

Diaval looked at the ladies and then the children in thought. He took a deep breath and nodded, “You're right. This form never stopped me before.”

  Maleficent sat in her low nest in the Rowen tree, close to the Heart of the Moors. She saw the preparations of the celebration not too far away. She had unwrapped her horns and head to let her hair hang loose for the festivities. In the moment she was just finishing the wire wrap around her horns. She did not feel at all like celebrating, but she felt like she owed her people to at least try. Besides, she needed a distraction. If Diaval was in love and wished to pursue his lady, she would be seeing less and less of him as he did so. She would have to find other avenues to entertain herself- no, that wasn't right. He was more than entertainment.

He was her confidant, her closest adviser and friend. He helped her raise Aurora, he was as much a parent to the queen as she was. He was the voice that echoed in her mind when she thought of decisions that affected the Moors. He was the company that she sought out the most outside of Aurora. She took a deep breath and laid a hesitant hand on her chest as her heart began to ache just slightly. Then she turned a little angry at him. He didn't even think to tell her of his feelings? Didn't their friendship give him the leeway to talk of such things with her? Did he not think her worthy enough to meet this woman?

That was ridiculous. He trusted her with everything, even if he didn't agree with some of her choices. He always stood by them with her. Maybe it was as obvious as he said and she just chose not to see it. Maybe she needed to try harder with her own kind. Strike more friendships so his inevitable loss wouldn't sting so harshly.

“...mistress.”

Maleficent leaned out to look down from the tree to find a huffing Diaval, “There you are.”

“You left me with the children in this,” he gestured to his human form, “Had to trek half way across the Moors, I did.”

“Stop your belly aching,” she rolled her eyes and turned on her cold exterior, her heart locked away, “You seem just fine.”

“Easy for you to say with your glorious wings,” he pointed up at her.

Maleficent glided down from the tree, her horns decorated and her gown clean and in a bright yet deep green. She held her head high and looked him over. His clothing was a bit scuffed up from his trek.

Her hand swirled with gold magic as she cleaned him up and changed his clothing to something similar to her own. She thought that it may be the wrong thing to dress him to match herself, but she had done so before and if this woman was to have a problem with it, she could tell her herself. If she couldn't stand up to Maleficent, then she didn't deserve Diaval.

“Something is wrong,” he said suddenly at the lost look in her face.

“Don't be ridiculous,” she huffed and walked toward the Fairy Hill.

His hand quickly snapped out and gently took one of her own, his fingers entwining with hers, “There is. Please, talk with me.”

His eyes searched hers as she looked back at him. She waved her other hand not connected to his to turn him back into his raven form, “I don't want to talk.”

He beat his wings to keep airborne and caws fell silent at his beak. He knew something was troubling her. His own troubles would have to wait. He landed on her shoulder and she let him stay there as they made their way to the beginning of festivities.

As the celebration turned into full swing, Maleficent felt more and more out of place. Dark Fey of all kinds danced and cheered with the other Moorland fairies, but none of them really went out of their way to include the Phoenix. She was in a corner as she watched on. Her original thought of talking with the others only led to her confusion or boredom. She tried to make conversation about the Moors and their merge into with the other fairy kind around them. Even talked of humans and how they were with the new fairy kind from their observations. They participated in the 'small talk' as Diaval had once explained to her, but they didn't know how to really talk with her. They didn't know her passions and her skills. They know what they knew, and that was enough. She eventually turned to the outer ring to watch on as she always had.

Diaval stayed attached to her shoulder the whole time, never asking once to be changed to man to go partake of the Moorland buffet or wander around with the others. He stayed with her. Maybe his lady love hadn't arrived at these festivities.

A hour into her self appointed banishment to the outer ring of the festivities, Boora approached her.

“Good evening, Phoenix,” he greeted and bowed his head toward her.

“Boora,” she tilted her head back.

“Are you to sit away this blessed event with only a bird for company?”

Diaval's feathers puffed at Boora as a slight caw was huffed out.

“Diaval is splendid company,” she offered as explanation even though she had yet to say one word to the raven all night. She absentmindedly scratched under Diaval's chin, “I have not found another that has kept my interest as he has.”

“Maybe you were not asking the right fey,” Boora smirked, followed by a low rumble in his chest.

Maleficent looked at him a bit shocked, but then laughed at his attempt to tempt her, “No, Boora. I don't think so.”

“I am the strongest of my clan and the best fighter of the council,” he explained and flexed one arm and wing to show it was so.

Diaval cawed lowly as if he would be rolling his eyes if he were human.

“That may be, Boora, but that is not what I search for in a companion to take my time.”

“And what is?”

“Intelligence.”

“I have that.”

“If you had the right kind, you would take care of my rebuttal,” she warned him.

“Phoenix, you need not search, any of us would willingly come to you,” Boora took her hand and pulled her toward him.

Maleficent stiffened in discomfort. This is not where she wanted this conversation to go, “Come to me? I-I don't-”

“Yes, whatever you would want or need. We would do that for you. We would not shun you for company or even to mate.”

In a split second, Diaval was at Boora's face. He flapped his wings vigorously at the fey to blind him. He didn't use his talons, but he was close to it. Boora dropped Maleficent's hand and she pulled back fully and stood. Diaval cawed and pecked lightly at Boora's face and hands. Before blood would be spilled, Maleficent waved her hand and Diaval landed on the ground as a man.

“And another thing,” Diaval yelled at Boora as he poked his finger in the air at him, “She does not need anyone to do anything she needs, she has me for that. Always will. Come to her for friendship and understanding, not to- to mate her!”

Boora huffed at the raven-man and then looked to Maleficent to see if she would correct him. She did not in any way or form. He huffed again, straightened himself and then took off toward the main fairy hill.

As he left, Diaval brushed off his clothes and then his hands before he turned back to Maleficent, “A bit of wild card, that one.”

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?” he asked, his hands now on his hips.

“That you will always be with me?”

“We've talked about this,” he relaxed his shoulders and sat down on a root that she was lounging on before Boora came over, “Sit down, your wings are drooping. Usually means there is too much on your mind.”

She shook her head though she did as he asked. He knew her so well.

“Are you going to talk to me now?” he asked as she settled next to him.

“You knew that I heard you earlier with the children,” she said and kept her eyes on the lights around them and not on him.

“I did,” Diaval nodded and busied himself with his strange human hands.

Maleficent hesitated and then took a deep breath, “I just want you... you to be happy.”

“What makes you think that I'm not?” his brows instantly furrowed as he looked at her, “Do I make you think that I don't enjoy every moment with you?”

“I know there are times that you would rather be elsewhere,” she looked at the ground, “Or with someone else.”

“Someone else...?”

“Again, I want you to be happy,” she finally looked straight into his eyes, “Even if it is not with me. I feel ashamed that I don't even know the one that holds your heart so steadfastly.”

His eyes searched hers for a moment before he gave her the smallest of smiles, “You know her well enough. I just know her better.”

“I have no clue how you have hidden her from me. You spend much of your time with me,” she floundered in her thoughts as she totally missed the look in his eyes. An epiphany popped into her head, “Or with Aurora... is she a resident in Ulstead? A handmaiden, perhaps?”

Diaval shook his head, now a little amused at the guess, “No.”

“No, I wouldn't know a handmaiden. Is she part of the council?”

“She is,” he smirked at the new game that unfolded.

“Not many there, and it definitely is not Nanny Stout,” she shook her head and looked back out to the hills to try and understand, “Is it Shrike?”

“You know well that she is bonding with Percival,” he reminded her.

“That's true,” she took another breath in thought. He began to laugh lightly at her serious thought process. She suddenly frowned, but didn't look back at him, “This is frustrating, you miserable bird and yet you laugh at me. Do you hate me or something?”

“Not at all,” Diaval leaned toward her, his hand caught her chin. He pulled her chin toward him to make sure that he eyes were level with his. His smile caught her off guard, “I'm actually quite in love with you, really.”

“...what?”

He leaned forward further and captured her lips with his own as he had seen Aurora and Phillip do many times before. His lips pressed against hers steady for only a moment before her lips acted in kind. Her hand flew up to his hair and ran through the feathers and strands behind his ear. He felt her smile against his lips and he chuckled into their kiss.

Diaval pulled back, “You didn't stay around long enough for me to finish my talk with the little ones earlier. I love you, mistress. Having known that for as long as I have, nothing has changed. I will still never leave your side.”

“Silly raven,” she brushed her fingers through his hair, “I don't do guessing games. You must tell me such things, for I seem to be oblivious to the obvious.”

“No worry. I will remind you frequently,” he pecked her lips.

“... I will never want you to leave.”

“Good, because I will never want to leave you.”

“I will be harsh.”

“I will be understanding.”

“I will... I love you.”

He grinned widely, “I still love you. Always have.”

[debbielouocean]

what did you not like about maleficent 2?

mostly i enjoyed the experience of seeing the movie. like if you’re a fan of the first one and want to see this one, i’d definitely still recommend going to see it just because it exists like it wasn’t That Bad it just didn’t make a whole lot of sense 

overall, the movie is Cute and filled with things i’m a huge fan of (princesses, magic, A Misunderstood ~Evil~ Witch, important relationships between women, it’s a Good Premise you guys) but i could have told you a better story with twenty five minutes to plan and payment in the form of a chicken sandwich

Obviously maleficent 2 spoilers are to follow from this point forward: 

there were like three major issues that i think really fucked it up for me: 1) the dark fae 2) the way maleficent and aurora’s relationship was handled and 3) the timeline that they’re trying to sell to me

Really the main problem I had with it was the addition of the dark fae. By creating more creatures like Maleficent it, for me, took away from the power that she'd had in the first movie by making her less unique and by making her look incredibly stupid. Like, there's a whole fucking colony of bird people within flying distance of where she's lived her whole life and she's never once noticed?

and they just didn't build it up enough, they just came out of nowhere and expected me to give a shit about them. it was so obvious they wanted me to care about that one who sacrificed his life for maleficent but i just Didn't like he'd been on screen for maybe ten minutes at that point and i knew almost nothing about him. i know he had a name but i couldn't tell you it if i tried

Which actually bring us to our next issue, The Maleficent/Aurora relationship:

I get the whole "they needed someone to save Maleficent and also to introduce their dark phoenix idea" but tbh they could have done without it. they didn't need the dark phoenix thing because it detracted from the actual message they were going for which was obviously "maleficent saved aurora with her love and now aurora is going to save maleficent, after both having created this problem for the other in the first place" but by giving maleficent an outside solution to her death (The Dark Phoenix Loophole), noticing that aurora was the one who actually saved her was almost a blink-and-you-miss-it

it makes sense that they’d really want to hammer in the “this time aurora saves maleficent” but they just didn’t? and honestly if i’m to believe that five years have passed, the relationship between aurora and maleficent should have been stronger than ever, they’d lived in the moors together for five years at this point and Yet aurora immediately believes that maleficent would still curse the king for literally almost nothing like it was an almost petty argument happening 

and the idea that this queen has already successfully started a rumor that maleficent was actually still evil and literally everyone believed it and phillip didn't know shit about it? and she only had five years to do that? like no one was like "hey phillip why are you going back to the moors again today didn't you hear that your girlfriend's mom is Actually The Devil Still?” i get it, phillip is a moron but god how stupid do you want me to believe he is, disney?

also,,, what the Fuck was that at the beginning with the “phillip asked me to marry him” “no” sequence like maleficent you hand picked that prince and brought him directly to her like what way am i supposed to interpret this interaction besides Jealousy and they literally never resolved that. why was maleficent so against aurora marrying phillip in the first place? we’ll never know because it was literally never brought up. there was no like conversation between them about it or even a conversation between maleficent and diaval about it just Nothing

And now a list of other things I had smaller issues with/ never got explained:

the introduction of the dark fae also made the rest of the moors seem weak, like where's the ent army that fought off stefan's kingdom?

why entirely ignore that aurora is also the queen of stefan's former kingdom? like why just chuck that to the side in favor of her being exclusively the queen of the moors in this one?

why did the blue fairy die? was i supposed to have Emotions about that? because i Didn't and it just seemed needless like just attack the woman playing the piano you dumb fairies

what about that ~pixie~ that was helping the queen? he's just gonna repent for some reason the minute he's confronted about it and everyone's just chill with that and he's invited to the wedding and it's All Cool Now Inventor Of A Death Dust, It's Chill

if they were going to go with a “this is what my life could have been like if things had been different” route (maleficent with the dark fae, and aurora with the human castle) they really should have hit that one harder like they should have said something about maleficent being alone but nearby because they like knew her parents and they were killed by humans on their way to join them and the rest of the dark fan just assumed that maleficent was dead too so they never looked for her and actually said something Like “this is where you were supposed to be the whole time” like they did for aurora and the comparison could have been kind of interesting if they’re insistent that the dark fan needed to stick around (i’m not insistent, i think they’re dumb)

the scene where maleficent woke up in the Giant Nest reminded me so much of when she woke up after stefan took her wings and i’m not sure if that was intentional or not because if it was, i don’t get what they were trying to say? like, was it a comparison or a contrast? because i genuinely could not tell you because i Don’t Know Why The Dark Fae Were Even There 

[iinkheartss]

I watched Maleficent: Mistress of Evil yesterday and it was soo good, here are my thoughts I guess

The actors were so good, I loved how they portrayed the characters, every single one of them was interesting to me

The film was so beautiful to look at, it gave me the classic fairytale feels

The Fae are probably my favourites, I wish we saw a bit more of them

Speaking of them, Udo saving some human children in the middle of a battle

Michelle Pfeiffer. enough said

Phillip and Aurora are honestly so cute, and I loved how they waited 5 years before getting married

Maleficent and Diaval were basically proud parents

King John was actually so nice

I love how this film was a modern twist on the og fairytale and how it was Queen Ingrith who told everybody the story of an evil fae who cursed a young innocent princess

The scene were Maleficent, Diaval and Aurora crossed the bridge in order to visit Phillip's family and Maleficent spread out her wings to protect Diaval and Aurora, that was so cute

Maleficent staying with Conall and protecting him instead of going to war with Borra and the others

Gerda. I hated her so much but I also find her so interesting and quite badass

Flittle sacrificing herself in order to save her friends 🥺