#that mal would NEVER agree to close the barrier forever

[shellyseashell]

forever gonna be mad that in escape from the isle of the lost the anti-heroes club is mentioned as good candidates for vk day but none of them go to the round table or are chosen for the program, and mal actually wants more kids to go over and then d3 ignored that.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Idk if you know, but there's lots of people defending Mal with her actions and in a way bashing Uma for the same thing that Mal did but she is doing it so that she can free the vks. But majority say that Beast is the real villain and not Mal or Uma, though they're still very wrong.

What do you think?

That its stupid to call Beast the real villain. Idiot? Yes. But the real villain? Give me a break. He's literally just a plot device in this franchise that basically became the Mal show and once his job was done, he's just like the other characters: there to support Mal and nothing else.

The film's only used him to establish who was a, in charge of this kingdom and whose kid is taking over afterwards and b, to show who established the Isle. That's it. You could literally replace him in that plot with any other royal character and nothing would change. That's how loose the writing is.

If he was the real villain, he'd be doing more, but he isn't- he's just there in the end by third film to the point he just, fucking disappears with Belle during the whole Audrey thing, with us just assuming they got turned to stone or put to sleep. If he was the real villain and trust me I think its stupid, but you know what I think that scenario would be? He'd either be a secret manipulator over the three films, waiting for the right time to prove how right he was about the Isle and maybe even try to take power back from Ben cause clearly Ben's not fit to rule, or he'd just be under another curse that's affected how he acts and shit. But he is neither of these situations, and therefore, its stupid.

And before anyone says, "But Megan, the council meeting-" that was ALLLL Mal. Beast didn't have to say crap to Mal to get Mal to instantly suggest closing the barrier forever. If anything, Belle's the one to ask Mal what do they do. Where's my villain Belle posts by this logic about how she pressured Mal and shit? ...Don't actually do that. Beast literally stood by as Mal without hesitation, suggested closing down the barrier forever, maybe tried to say stuff to Ben, but Mal was the one who basically cornered Ben into agreeing to it. And I'm sorry, but given how batshit the idea was to just, bring down the barrier and free even the villains, I'm almost with Beast in his reaction in that scene because holy shit, it was just the villain kids that needed freedom, not the villains! Did everyone just forget how Maleficent acted when free?! If they had just specified they were going to free all the villain kids and Beast still reacted like that, I'd get the hate, but no, Mal's just like, "Time to bring the barrier down and free even the villains-"

And just...don't get me started on the Mal and Uma thing- its already such bullshit the films act like its fine Mal did a love potion while its evil if Uma does it, since Uma only did it as apart of her plan to free the VKs while Mal technically originally did it as apart of her plan to steal the wand...but we know how that went, with Mal never telling Ben the truth about the love spell and suffering zero consequences to the point its viewed as okay when she says she did the love spell at her graduation in Escape From The Isle Of The Lost. To say this kingdom is full of hypocrites is an understatement. But this franchise basically encouraged this thinking really, with the idea that Uma is somehow the villain of D2 when some of her anger is still directed at Mal for what Mal did to her when younger and yet Mal is never made to face those actions, with her not even acknowledging it when 'apologizing' to Uma in D3. Like she maybe only acknowledges her actions towards Audrey if anything, but never Uma.

[thebluestbluewords]

like the colors in autumn

I heard y’all wanted some sad Evie-centric fic with no resolution yet??? Malvie, loosely a breakup fic (they get back together after this don’t worry), an early part of my queer parenting ‘verse. ~1400 words.

*

“He what?” Evie gasps. “Mal, oh my goddess, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you.”

Mal is beaming, bright and beautiful, and glowing with joy. She’s so happy, and Evie wants, with all of her heart, to be happy for her.

But the thing is–

The thing is, Evie was supposed to be the one who would stay with Mal forever.

It’s difficult to put into words.

It’s difficult to admit that she’s jealous, so jealous it makes her sick to think about watching her best friend, her first kiss, the girl who has her entire heart even though she never asked for it, marrying someone else.

Evie wants to be happy for her. She does, really. She wants to be happy for them so much that it twists her stomach up into knots.

A fairytale ending, that’s what her best friend deserves. There’s no fairy tale in sneaking around behind your boyfriend’s back, pretending that you don’t know that he knows that you’re still doing it even though you both said you’d stop, because it’s not ladylike, and you’re both too far stuck into the public eye to get away with the things your friends can do. Mal isn’t like plain-Jane with her girlfriend and her boyfriend, and they can’t use a few public events and a little wink-wink-nudge to hide the fact that they’re closer than just-friends could ever be.

Mal is an heiress in her own right. The Lady of the Moors, that’s her, and Evie is just the second-best, runner-up to a broken castle in lower Birdland that’s been gutted by the step sister she never got to grow up with. Stripped of a title by virtue of being born on the wrong side of the barrier, that’s Evie. Not that it really matters. She’s growing a name for herself, Evie’s 4 Hearts, and it’s enough sometimes to know that she’s making her own dreams come true.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that when your girlfriend is telling you about her engagement.

“It’s so amazing,” Mal is saying. Evie should pay attention to her. They’re still going to be friends, as close as they ever have been, just–

Not.

Officially second-best, that’s Evie.

“Oh, totally!” Evie agrees, without processing any of what Mal is saying. “I’m so happy for you, M!”

Mal stops. “Really? Because I was just saying that it’s amazing that I haven’t had a panic attack about this yet.”

Shit.

“And I’m happy for you!” Evie says again. “It’s great that you’re doing better with the uncontrolled panic about normal, expected events in your life. Did you get a fancy ring yet?”

Mal frowns. “It’s going to happen when he does a public proposal, I just said that. Are you listening to me?”

Evie isn’t, not at all.

Mal doesn’t need to know that.

“I am, M.” Evie assures her. “I was just distracted by how happy I am for you. My little goblin is all grown up and landing herself a prince!”

Mal’s eyes go wide again, and she grabs Evie’s hands. “I know. It’s insane, right? I’m not princess material like, at all, and you’d be a million times better at everything, but I’m really excited somehow? Like, so excited that I’m barely even nervous about anything.”

“That’s great,” Evie says. She’s going to cry. Maybe it would add some realism to her excitement, if she cries just a little at her best friend growing up and moving on and finding her place in the world. Without Evie. “I’m just– really emotional. My best friend, getting married!”

“Aw, Eves. Bring it in, come here.”

Mal’s arms are so familiar. Small and strong and slightly smoky, even under the delicate scent of fresh blossoms that she puts on nearly every morning now. Evie isn’t going to get to hold her like this very often now, not once she’s married and taking on her queenly duties and hanging off of Ben’s arm all the time and taking care of the inevitable heirs she’s going to have for Auradon, and forgetting all about Evie, and–

It’s taking everything Evie has not to burst into tears at the thought, and that’s really not the ideal situation to be in here. She is Evie of the Isle, and she is the first female member of the Auradon high council, and she’s stronger than this.

Evie takes in a deep, slow breath, and pulls back. “I love you,” she says, reaching down for Mal’s hands.

“And I love you,” Mal says, face scrunched up in confusion. “Eves, what’s wrong?”

Deep breaths. “I think we need to talk about us,” Evie says, before she can sugarcoat the words so much that they dissolve on her tongue. “And what we need to stop doing before the wedding.”

A beat passes.

Mal pulls back. Her hands are small and calloused and it looks like it hurts her almost as much as it hurts Evie as she slips them out of Evie’s hold.

“We–” Mal stutters. “Eves– it’s– what we have, it’s just, it doesn’t matter, it’s fine, it’s just for fun–”

“Fine,” Evie snaps. Just for fun has been her only real relationship for years, and it doesn’t matter matters to her, so much more than any of the other pretty girls and boys she’s slept with over the years, but Mal’s way has always been the one they follow, so it’s fine. If it doesn’t matter to her, it won’t matter to Evie either. “Congratulations on the engagement. I hope your prince is everything you could ever want.”

“Eves–”

Evie turns away, eyes cast up towards the ceiling as she holds her face perfectly steady, hiding any hint of a wobble. “You said everything I needed to hear. It doesn’t matter, and I wish you every ounce of the happiness that you deserve.”

There’s a long moment of silence. Mal’s always been better with her fists than with her words, and Evie never really resented it before now, because she’s always been there to do Mal’s words for her.

“I’m sorry,” Mal says, ever-so-softly.  “I thought you’d be happy for me.”

Evie can’t meet her eyes. “I am,” she lies, smoothly, through lips that are painted a perfect glossy red. “I wish you every happiness with him. Ben’s a good guy. You’ll be good together.”

Mal looks small. “But not with you too,” she says tentatively.

Evie chokes back a laugh. “I can’t play second-best forever, M. If this is what you want, then it’s time for us to stop pretending that we ever had a chance together. You have an amazing guy who wants to marry you, and I have a best friend who is so incredibly in love with a guy who loves her back, and if what we had doesn’t really matter to you, then it’s time for me to let you go. You’ll do amazing things with Ben, and he loves you so, so much, and I am happy for you.” The words feel sticky and fake in her mouth, but Evie is a better diplomat than Mal will ever be, and her delivery is smooth. “Congratulations. I wish you all the best.”

Mal looks–

Evie doesn’t know. She can’t know, because Mal isn’t hers to know anymore.

“I’m sorry,” Evie says, as Mal just stands there, in Evie’s studio, surrounded by everything that Evie’s been working towards on her own for the last five years of her life. How hard does it have to be to see that her friends are moving on? How much does it have to hurt, every single time? “I need some time, M. Can you give me that?”

Mal nods, jerking her head down and leaving it there, eyes on Evie’s toes. “Sorry,” she says stiffly. She’s already moving to leave. “I’ll– yeah. Leave you alone for a bit.”

Oh, it hurts to watch her walk out of the studio. Mal is so small and so strong and she was so happy when she came in, and it hurts like a knife between the ribs to watch her leave all slumped over and sad like this. Evie wants, so very badly, to call after her, and to hold her close and kiss her better, and she knows that if she does that then things will never change and she’ll be the second-best lover in Mal’s life until she inevitably slips up and ruins everything, the marriage and the kingdom and any hope for fixing the isle, so this is how it has to be.

It’s not fair.

[descendantofthesparrow]

D3 Rewrite spoiler (xreader)- Read at own risk

Rewrite draft-the conflict

uh @disneyfan50​ if you could possibly read and give me ur thoughts?? :3? or anybody else who does read this and wants to give me their thoughts go for it??

=

“so one day you guys are gonna have to tell me how you all teamed up” Ben laughed, pulling Mal into his side and rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, smiling at you, Uma, and Evie as you glanced at each other with a grin.

“well, Mal promised to get all the kids off the isle after this is all over” Ben furrowed his brows and looked down at Mal, remembering their deal with his father.

“Mal?” Mal pushed away from Ben's side and stood in front of her friends, taking a deep breath and clenching her hands.

“I have to tell you all something” you stopped, licking your lips nervously as you felt a pit form in your stomach as Mal looked down at the ground with a troubled expression “Ben and i…made a deal with Adam that…if we didn’t get the scepter and crown back in the museum by morning…the barrier would be closed forever” Mal looked crestfallen as Evie took a step back, away from Mal, looking wide-eyed and disbelieving at her.

“M...Mal” Mal looked unnerved at the use of her full name coming from Evie, “you told us that it wasn’t happening, that you and Ben had said you would decide another day!” Evie gestured between you and herself, a glare settling on her features, “you told us that the barrier wouldn’t be closed!”

“E, im so sor-” Mal tried to calm her friend, stepping back as Evie closed her eyes and shouted.

“don’t call me that!!!” Mal stared at her shocked before she started to recover the already spiraling conversation.

“Evie, i-I” Mal stuttered, looking to Ben for a moment to find her words before looking back at Evie, tears already beginning to trail down her cheeks “but it's not going to happen! We’re already so close to getting back the scepter and crown! The deal won't happen! It's not morning yet!!”

“but you still agreed to it!” Evie cried, Jay stepping forward and curling his arms around Evie protectively, refusing to look at Mal as Evie stepped into him “you still choose to make the deal! You didn’t have to agree to it Mal! So why?!” Mal couldn’t answer, she had been so fuzzy in the head and exhausted from fighting Hades, that she just couldn’t think of anything else to do other than agree.

But she knew that wasn’t a good excuse, nothing could be, it was only a reason, and she knew Evie or anyone else around her accept it “hold the fuck up” Uma sighed, closing her eyes and stepping towards Mal, gritting her jaw as she tried to make sense of what was happening “so we’re saving your precious people, and your behinds….for a lie?” Mal opened her mouth to say something, anything, to make it better. But nothing came out. Uma opened her eyes, a tear streaking down her cheek as her chin crumbled slightly “I knew it was a mistake to trust you…you haven’t changed a bit”

(y/n) reached forward and grabbed onto Uma's shoulder, pulling her back slightly and giving her a comforting side hug. Harry stepped forward, turning to Ben and pointing at him. “and you! King Ben eh!?!” Ben looked to Harry, his eyes wide as his friend stepped closer to him, rage swimming in his eyes before it quickly dimmed and he looked away “and here I thought yeh actually cared about us” he let out a small scoff, biting his lip and backing away from Ben, looking towards the ground and taking a shaky breath “was tha’ a lie too?…after all this time?”

Ben slowly started to shake his head, going to reassure Harry when Celia stepped away from Hadie’s side, stepping next to Uma and glaring at Mal “I actually thought you were brave…standing up for us forgotten vks and actually getting us off the isle…but you’re nothing but a coward. So who was going to tell me that I was never going to see my dad again!?!” Mal shook her head, reaching out to comfort Celia but the girl took the opportunity and snatched the ember from Mal's hand, making the girl gasp in shock

“Celia, CELIA NO!” Celia chucked the ember into a small water pond and raced off into the woods, ignoring Mal's cries for her. “Celia! Celia wait!! come back!” Mal ran forward a bit, trying to follow the girl but she quickly disappeared from sight. Mal held her stomach as a pit settled in it, realizing that Celia could get herself hurt by Audrey if she was out alone for too long. Mal turned back to the pond, only just now realizing the ember had been extinguished. “no!!” she ran towards the pond, fishing the now cold ember from the water “shit, shit shit shit!!!”

She waved her hand over the ember, feeling her eyes glow and heat begin to pulse into her hands “Regain your might and ignite!!” nothing, she stepped closer to the group, repeating the incantation once more. When nothing happened she helped up the ember towards Hadie and Uma. Uma glanced down at her necklace, shrugging when nothing happened.

“Bummer” Mal looked to Hadie, who just glared and shook his head, facing away from his little sister. Mal looked back to Uma and watched as she turned towards (y/n) and Harry and nodded towards the forest. “let's go find Gil and Celia and leave ‘em to rot” (y/n) spared a glance towards the others but nodded, holding out her hand for Harry as he stepped next to her and grabbed onto her hand, the two holding onto each other tightly as they followed after Uma.

“Uma!!!” Mal called desperately. she needed Uma's help now, with the ember extinguished, she wouldn’t be able to fight Audrey on her own. She turned back towards her friends and brother, Carlos stepping towards her with a glare set on his face “Carlos” she whispered, “guys, im-im so sorry, I didn’t want to agree but-but it was our only option, I had-I had to do something- to protect us- to protect the kids already here, and Auradon!” Carlos looked off for a moment then back at her.

“your only option?” Carlos whispered, gritting his teeth slightly as he stepped towards Mal slightly, the girl taking a step back as Carlos bared his teeth at her “your ONLY OPTION?! No Mal! That is such bullshit! you had other options!!! I overheard your conversation with Evie and (y/n)! (y/n) suggested hiring people within the barrier to keep people away from it when we picked up more vks! hell, even just driving a bit faster through the barrier would have been a better option! But seriously Mal!! Why do you never think things through?! You didn’t think about the stupid plan you had to get the dragons scepter from your mom's castle, you didn’t think through the love spell you wanted to put on Ben three years ago, you didn’t think when you ran away to the isle a year and a half ago, you.never.fucking.think!!”

Carlos yelled, slapping his hand on his palm harshly to get his point across “each and every single time you don’t think things through we!” he gestured behind him to Evie, Jay, and Ben “have to pay for it! Its always us cleaning up after your mess!” he turned to Ben, glaring at the king “and don’t think you’re getting out of this easily, you also agreed to this closing the barrier bullshit!” Ben nodded weakly and looked down at the ground, he had HATED the deal he had made with his father, but that left no excuse, he had still agreed to it. Carlos turned back to Mal, shoving his finger in her face. “I thought you were better than this Mal, I thought you had learned from your mistakes, but you haven’t.” he backed away a bit, holding his hands in the air “after this, I don’t know if I ever want to see you again” Mal's jaw dropped and she shook her head. No she couldn’t lose her friends, they were the reason she had even turned against her mother, they were her family.

“Carlos please! Im sorry! I can fix it! I-I can! We just need to get the scepter and crown back to the museum by morning, and the deal is off! I know it won't fix the problem of me lying to you all, but please-please” Mal sobbed, holding up the ember and glancing at Hadie, who had been silent the entire time “we have to save Auradon first, or there will be no place for the kids to go to”

At that, Carlos went quiet, Evie's silent sobs and Jays judging eyes piercing Mal's chest “please” Mal called weakly “I can't lose any of you…I love you all…” Evie looked up slightly from Jay's hold, locking her dark brown eyes with Mal's shimmering yellow-green ones.” And I know, after I promised you that the barrier wouldn’t close, that it might not be as worthy to you but” Mal took a deep breath, stepping towards her friends “I promise I will never do something as idiotic as agreeing to close the barrier without all of us talking about it first”

Mal perked up as Hadie turned and walked towards her, gently taking the ember from her and clenching it in his first “im not doing this for you” he muttered, his eyes glowing bright yellow as his hair and fist turned to fire. An even brighter flash of blue light shone from his fist as the ember reignited “im doing this for the kids on the isle” Mal nodded, pushing the ember back towards Hadie as he attempted to hand it back to her.

“you are a lot more powerful than I am” Hadie raised his brow at that but nodded as Mal looked at her, hopefully still, friends and boyfriend “let's go, we have no time to lose” Evie, Jay, and Carlos looked at each other for a moment then nodded, the five VKs and Ben racing out of the forest in search of Audrey.

(progress isn’t linear)

[nicolasnelson]

Benlos fic - Can’t Run From the Fun Tonight

Title: Can’t Run From the Fun Tonight Relationship: Ben/Carlos, side of Mal/Uma Additional Tags: Halloween, Masquerades, Fluff, Carlos's POV Words: 4,015

Carlos is nervous about being Ben's date for the Halloween masquerade party. Thankfully Ben has a pleasant surprise for him.

[AO3 LINK]

Carlos didn’t know whose idea it was for Auradon’s annual Halloween gala to be a masquerade, but he owed them a huge thank you. He never would’ve had the courage to go to the party otherwise. Halloween wasn’t really a thing on the Isle of the Lost. In fact, the villains were offended that the Auradon heroes would dress up like them once a year, a whole night to make fun of the people King Beast had imprisoned.

But in truth, the event wasn’t as bad as they said it was. Sure some people dressed up as villains, but most had fun with their costumes.

“Everything okay?” Jay asked, adjusting his tie in front of the mirror in their dorm room.

“Yeah, I’m pumped.” Carlos gave him a thumbs up.

Jay laughed. “Dude, you’re shaking.”

“Sorry.” Carlos rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants. “Just nervous about going with Ben. I still can’t believe he asked me.”

Jay nudged his shoulder. “Why wouldn’t he? You guys are dating. Besides, you’re a total catch.”

“We’ve only been together a couple months. What if he changes his mind about me? What if he thinks my costume is too much and I’m a total weirdo? Oh, no. I should have gone with the prince costume instead.”

“Hey.” Jay grabbed his shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay, Carlos. Ben likes you for you. You don’t need to dress like a prince to keep his attention. He likes that you’re different.”

Carlos nodded. “You’re right. I just need to relax. It’s going to be a blast, and all our friends will be there. It’ll be nice to hang out with everyone.”

Jay grinned, showing off his sharp veneers. He had four of them, one over each canine tooth. His hair hung in loose waves down his back, mostly brown with a few strands dyed maroon. After he attached his wolf ears to his head, he asked Carlos to help pin his tail on the back of his suit.

A sophisticated werewolf. Carlos wished he had thought of that.

A knock sounded at the door. Carlos jumped, for a moment fearing it was Ben, but he reminded himself they had agreed to meet at the party. Still Carlos was relieved to see Mal and Uma at the doorway, arm in arm.

Jay greeted them with a bow, his wolf tail swishing. “Evening, ladies.”

Mal scoffed, flicking her sleek green hair over her shoulder. “What are you supposed to be?”

“Sir Wolfington the Third at your service.”

Mal pursed her black painted lips, unimpressed. Her green velvet dress draped over her slim frame, the pointy witch hat and black wedge boots making her appear taller than usual. She towered over Uma, who was dressed as a sea goddess in a shimmering blue jumpsuit and seashell sandals, a gold crown rising from her head like antlers.

“What is taking so long, Jay?” Uma asked, crossing her arms. “Harry and Gil have been asking about you for an hour.”

Jay laughed and ran a hand through his hair, nearly knocking his wolf ears out of place. “Hey, perfection isn’t easy. I’ll be down in two shakes of a tail.” He wagged his fake tail back and forth for emphasis.

Uma rolled her eyes, scowling. “Whatever. We’re heading to the party.” She grabbed Mal’s arm.

“You both look nice,” Carlos said, holding his cloak closed so they couldn’t see his outfit.

“Thanks,” Mal said. “I was tempted to just wear a shirt that said ‘costume,’ but Uma convinced me it would be more fun if I dressed up.”

Uma scoffed. “Convinced? You jumped at the chance as soon as I said you’d make a cute witch.”

Mal laughed, draping an arm around Uma’s shoulders. They headed down the hallway, arguing playfully.

Carlos closed the door and leaned against it, relieved to have peace and quiet again. He just needed a moment to compose himself before he finished getting his costume together.

Jay adjusted the ripped sleeves on his jacket. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“I just need a minute,” Carlos said, twisting his charm bracelet. “Still need to do my eye makeup. You can head over to the party if you want.”

“Nah, it’s cool. Take your time.” Jay leaned against the desk and pulled out his phone, presumably to text Harry and Gil that he was running late.

Carlos focused on breathing in and out slowly. Tonight was going to be great. He wasn’t going to let his anxiety get the best of him. And if he did get overwhelmed, Jay said he would walk him back to their dorm room. Everything would be fine.

He pulled out his makeup kit and worked on applying his eye makeup in front of the mirror. It took a few minutes longer than he thought it would, but he wanted to make sure it was perfect.

“Okay, ready,” he said at last.

Jay hopped to his feet, sliding on his gray silky mask. “Great, it’s gonna be a howler.” With that, he threw back his head and howled like a wolf.

...

Carlos took a deep breath, adjusted his mask, and stepped into the ballroom of Auradon Castle. The Auradon kids weren’t dressed in their usual bland pastels. Tonight everyone went all out with an explosion of vibrant and dark colors.

He recognized several people through their masks. Chad was dressed as a king, to no one’s surprise. Lonnie wore a split costume: half knight, half princess. Doug was dressed as Peter Pan, and his girlfriend Jane was Tinker Bell, her hair tied up in an adorable bun.

From what Carlos had seen last year, Auradon kids tended to dress like an exaggerated version of themselves. Only a few dared to wear the costumes of the dangerous villains Auradon still very much feared.

Jay patted Carlos on the back and headed off to greet his boyfriends. Harry was dressed as a vampire, fake blood dripping from his lips, and Gil was a witch, complete with a lacy black dress, pointy hat, and replica wand. Whoever had done his makeup did a phenomenal job: a vibrant, smoky eye look. His blond curls bounced across his shoulders as he ran to embrace Jay.

Carlos slipped through the crowd before the guys could see him. He was still hoping not to be recognized, at least not until after he found Ben. The plan was to meet him under the balloon archway, but dozens of people were gathered there to chat away from the dance floor.

He texted Ben and stared at his phone for several minutes, but no reply came. Carlos walked over to the drink table, hugging his cloak to his body so no one would step on it. He was relieved to see they had a stack of straws on the table. That would make it a lot easier to drink with his mask on.

The DJ killed the music to introduce a live performance. Mal and Uma walked onto the stage, waving to the crowd. The iconic intro music of “I Put a Spell on You” played across the speakers, and the girls started to sing. Carlos had been offered the chance to perform with them as the third witch, but he’d turned it down because he wanted this night to be about Ben.

Everyone cheered for Mal and Uma. Carlos could hardly believe that just six months ago most of the Auradon kids still sneered at them. So much had changed since they saved Auradon. Carlos and his friends were heroes now. The barrier was still up, but Ben had invited all the VKs from the Isle to attend Auradon Prep, with the option to visit their families on weekends.

Mal started singing “Keep Your Head on Halloween, ” which was ironic since Carlos felt like he was doing the opposite. He took a sip of his punch, soothed by the sugary taste. To distract himself from worried thoughts, he looked at the other costumes around the room. Lots of people were dressed as fairies, royalty, and animals.

A deep chill ran through Carlos as he saw a dalmatian fur coat and frizzy black and white hair. No, she couldn’t be here. His mother was still on the other side of the barrier. Ben had made sure of it.

On closer inspection he discovered it was Audrey’s grandmother wearing a costume. (Still the most frightening person there.) She was chatting with Ben’s parents, who wore their usual regal attire.

Carlos had half a mind to go over there and ask if they’d seen Ben, but he was way too nervous and they’d know who he was the moment he talked.

He checked his phone again. Still no reply. Ben wouldn’t have stood him up, would he? Man, Carlos just wanted to go back to his room and stay there forever. So many people were pressed together dancing and talking far too loud, excited by the live music. Carlos was sweating, and he felt like he could barely breathe.

Uma was singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and several of Carlos’s friends had joined her onstage to play her minions. Jay was one of them unfortunately so Carlos couldn’t ask him to walk back to his room with him. Maybe if he just went outside to get some air. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Carlos weaved his way through the crowd and ran out into the cool night air. The music and sounds from the ballroom faded to a slight hum. Carlos leaned against the castle wall, feeling like he could finally breathe again.

He would go back into the party whenever Ben texted him. He just had to be patient. Ben wouldn’t stand him up. Absolutely not. He’d texted that he was there an hour ago and where to meet him. Carlos was the one who was running late.

He fiddled with the charm bracelet Ben had given him for his birthday. The charms included a dog, his signature crossbones, a beaker, a laptop (that even opened and closed!), and the crown crest of Ben’s family. Carlos treasured the gift since it was clear Ben had put a lot of thought into it.

His phone dinged and Carlos was relieved to see Ben’s name across the screen. His text said to meet him by the staircase. Carlos headed back inside and down the hallway.

...

A lone figure was leaning against the staircase. He had his back to Carlos, so he could only see a long black cloak and slicked back brown hair.

Doubt started to creep into his skin. What if this wasn't Ben at all and he made a total fool of himself by tapping on his shoulder? He wished once again that he had agreed to meet Ben at his dorm room earlier instead of at the party. It would’ve been so much easier.

Carlos walked up to him, nervously clearing his throat. “Hey.”

The stoic figure turned to him, immediately breaking character when he saw him. “Carlos, there you are!”

Carlos’s jaw dropped. Ben had a white mask over the upper portion of his face and a black cloak draped over his elegant suit.

“You watched it?”

Ben laughed. “Yeah, you’ve been telling me the Phantom of the Opera was your favorite musical for months. I actually watched it a couple weeks ago with Chad, but I wanted to surprise you.”

Carlos couldn’t stop smiling. He had surprised him all right. “You look, you look really good.”

“Not as good as you. Your costume is amazing.”

“If we hadn’t agreed to meet here, would you know it was me?” Carlos asked curiously.

Ben tilted his head, considering him. “I don’t think anyone else would recognize you, but I would know you anywhere.”

Carlos felt like he would melt on the spot. “Oh, that’s, uh, that’s great.” He was so glad he was wearing a mask to hide his blush.

“So are you some kind of nature spirit?” Ben asked.

Carlos beamed. He couldn’t believe Ben got it right away. “Yep, I’m the king of the forest. Bow before me.” He gripped the edges of his cloak and held his arms out to show off the inside of the cloak, which he had painted with trees, foliage, and forest critters.

His costume consisted of tight green pants under brown boots, a green formal vest painted with light green swirls over a black collared shirt, and a wooden mask painted to look like tree bark. He wore a long black wig that Evie’s girlfriend had helped him find and a necklace with a gold leaf at its center. The space around his eyes was visible so he had on thick black eyeliner with eyeshadow in gold, green, and silver. Like he was the magical embodiment of a tree.

“You look...breathtaking.”

Carlos felt like his heart would burst. How did Ben always manage to make him feel so amazing?

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Carlos said, twirling the soft curls of his wig.

Ben pulled Carlos close, his lips inches away from his. “Sing to me, my angel of music.”

Carlos shivered, his heart thundering in his chest. “Isn’t it ‘sing, my angel of music’?”

Ben laughed. “I was trying to be romantic.”

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to mess you up.” Carlos wanted so badly to kiss Ben to make up for it, but his wooden mask covered too much of his face.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ben said with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure I’ll have plenty more opportunities tonight.”

“Yeah, definitely.” Carlos was eager for Ben to sweep him off his feet. It wouldn’t take much to make him swoon.

“Now may I have this dance?” Ben held out his hand to him, the perfect gentleman.

“Of course.”

Carlos took his hand, and they made their way to the dance floor. They picked a spot at the back of the ballroom, away from the crowd. The live music had ended and the DJ was playing a nice slow song.

Ben placed his hands on Carlos’s waist, and Carlos wrapped his arms around Ben’s neck. They started off simply swaying back and forth before Ben transitioned the dance into a waltz, leading him with ease. Carlos felt more and more confident with each step.

“You know,” Ben said, “I’m completely in awe of your costume and makeup skills. You really did all of that yourself?”

Carlos ducked his head, pleased. “Yes. Last year I didn’t really do much since it was my first Halloween, so I wanted to go all out this year.”

Ben laughed. “And here I was worrying I would be overdressed.”

“You were worried?” Carlos asked, surprised.

“Of course. I didn’t want you to think I was a fool for dressing up, so I thought if I picked a character from something you liked, you would at least appreciate that.”

“Wow.” Carlos knew Ben was human, of course, but sometimes with him being the king, he forgot that Ben had normal worries too.

“Is that a good ‘wow’ or an I’m a total idiot ‘wow’?” Ben asked, his gaze focused on Carlos. His steps had become less confident and he missed a beat of the dance.

Carlos squeezed his hand. “It’s a really good wow. I love that we both dressed up, but I would’ve been happy even if you didn’t. Just the fact that you showed up means the world to me.”

“I wish I could kiss you right now.” Ben smiled shyly, biting his lip.

He was so adorable that Carlos couldn’t wait a moment longer. He untied his wooden mask and hung it from his belt loop, then wrapped his arms around Ben’s neck and pulled him in for a long kiss, no longer caring that people would recognize him.

Ben’s lips were soft, tasting of his favorite chapstick. Carlos bumped his nose into Ben’s mask, so he angled his face a little better and deepened the kiss. He heard whistling and a wolf howl in the background.

When they finally parted, Carlos saw everyone was cheering for them. Warmth flooded his face, but he didn’t feel the need to put on his mask again. Being with Ben made him feel fantastic, and he was so glad Auradon accepted them. Cruella De Vil never would, but he had a new family here.

They continued dancing, and most people went back to what they were doing. It was a relief not to be the center of attention anymore, though Carlos still caught some people sneaking peeks at them.

Jay gave Carlos a toothy grin. He was wrapped between his boyfriends in a slow dance. Mal and Uma were laughing by the refreshments table, oblivious to everything going on around them.

Evie and Audrey were locking lips in the corner, both dressed as pop stars. Celia and Dizzy were chatting at a table with plates stacked high with candy, clearly excited to be at their first Halloween party.

Everyone just looked so happy tonight, and it made Carlos feel like he was home. He could have never had any of this on the Isle. Sure maybe Mal and Uma would’ve made up and found each other. Jay could’ve reconnected with Harry and Gil. But for Carlos, and Evie too, true love could only be found in Auradon.

...

After the song ended, Carlos and Ben made the rounds, catching up with all their friends. Ben spent a long time talking with his parents while Carlos watched Harry attempt to start a dance battle with Uma.

Jay saved him from an embarrassing defeat by literally sweeping him off his feet and carrying him out of the ballroom. Carlos laughed as Gil ran to catch up with them.

“Smart boy,” Uma said, observing her nails. “I would’ve crushed Harry like a bug under my boot.”

Carlos chuckled. “No doubt. I think Harry added a little something to his punch.” He’d definitely seen him with a silver flask earlier.

She sighed. “I’ll let it slide for tonight since it’s Halloween, but I am definitely giving him a stern talking to tomorrow. I’m not gonna let him become a pirate stereotype.”

“Oh, looks like your boyfriend’s looking for you,” Mal said, nodding towards the dance floor.

Carlos whirled around to see Ben trying to make his way through the crowd. Everyone wanted to get in a few words with their king, it seemed.

“Sorry to cut this short, but I’ve gotta go rescue him.” Carlos gave Mal and Uma quick hugs before rushing into the crowd.

He wrapped his arm around Ben and started spouting a nonsensical story about a chinchilla he saw outside the dorm rooms. He was able to pull Ben out of the crowd. The DJ abruptly changed the song to an Auradon favorite, and the crowd rushed towards the stage to watch Mal and Uma lead the Enchantress Slide dance. Carlos sent them a wave of thanks.

“Can we get out of here?” Ben asked.

“Of course,” Carlos said.

“Fancy coming up to my room for a bit?”

…

Carlos always felt guilty when they had to leave early because he was anxious, but this time they were leaving to take care of Ben. It felt good to have the roles reversed for once, and he was looking forward to cheering his boyfriend up.

Ben plopped down on the couch in his room, setting his mask on the side table. Elbow on the arm rest, he leaned his head in his hand. “I like people, but not when they swarm me like that.”

“Oh to be famous and loved by everyone.” Carlos gave him a playful smile and pulled a glass jar from the shelf. “Hot chocolate?”

“Yeah, sounds great.”

Carlos plugged in the electric kettle and clicked it on. He sat down next to Ben and took his wig off. It was getting hot under that thing.

Ben let Carlos’s head rest on his shoulder and laced his fingers through his. “I love being with you, Carlos. You just get me. I like that I don’t have to explain myself to you all the time.”

Carlos hadn’t thought about that much. It didn’t make sense that the son of a villain would understand a king and yet, he did feel like he understood Ben very well. There had always been an unspoken connection between them, from the moment Ben helped him get over his fear of dogs to the moment Carlos helped remove the thorn in Ben’s paw when Audrey cursed him. They had always been there for each other as friends, and it made a lot of sense for them to be together now, despite their obvious differences.

“I’m lucky that I have such good friends,” Carlos said, “so I can’t say you’re the only person who really gets me. But you’re the only person who makes me feel this way.” He clutched his chest, comforted by the fast thrum of his heartbeat.

The electric kettle clicked, and Carlos rushed over to pour boiled water over the chocolate powder. He mixed them with a spoon and dropped a few mini marshmallows into the mug.

Carlos set Ben's hot chocolate on the side table. "Here you go, Mr. Phantom."

Ben laughed, grabbing Carlos's hand and pulling him onto his lap. "You even remembered the marshmallows. Gosh, you really are the sweetest." He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed tight.

Carlos found himself wishing he would never let go. "Thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun at the party."

"I'm glad." Ben kissed his shoulder. "I was worried it might be too soon to go to a public event together. You know how my people can be."

Carlos snorted, remembering the elaborate signs the Auradon girls made supporting Ben and Mal when they were together. They did seem way too invested in their king's love life. "Only a matter of time before our faces are plastered in a heart on someone's T-shirt."

Ben chuckled. "I wouldn't mind that so much. It's the paparazzi that worries me."

"Yeah, me too," Carlos said, frowning. He had agreed that their relationship should be public because he didn't want to live with the fear of waking up to a magazine article exposing their secret. It was better this way, but Carlos missed the days when he could go anywhere with Ben and no one paid it any special attention. Now eating lunch together in the cafeteria was considered a date by the press.

"Are you okay with it? With me?" Ben asked, his voice soft. "I know I come with a lot of unwanted attention. It was too much for Mal, which I completely understood, I don't blame her at all. But...is it too much for you?"

Carlos squeezed his hand. “Maybe sometimes, but it’s worth it since I get to be with you. My life will always have ups and downs. But being with you makes the bad days bearable and the good days even better.”

“Are you sure? I really like you, Carlos, and I want to be with you, but I don’t want to ruin your life.” He turned his head away, eyes downcast.

Carlos gently guided his chin so Ben was looking into his eyes. “You aren’t ruining my life, Ben. Far from it. You’ve made it so much better.”

Ben’s shoulders went slack. “Good. I’m sorry I’m so tense tonight. Chad and Doug said some things which made me worry.”

“Forget them. I’m here with you right now, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” Carlos leaned in to press his forehead against Ben’s, taking comfort in being so close to him.

Then Ben’s lips found his.

“Your hot chocolate will get cold,” Carlos said, breathless.

“I don’t care.” Ben kissed him again. “You made it to cheer me up, but this is working much better.”

His fingers wound through Carlos’s white curls, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Carlos leaned into his touch, happiness bubbling up inside him. This was where he belonged, right here with Ben by his side.

[lewiscarrolatemybrain]

Somebody made a post about the similarities between Mal and Audrey and I was gonna reblog it ranting about how D3 robbed us but then it turned into me basically rewriting D3 and I’d feel bad dumping this word vomit on somebody else so here we go:

D3 would have been So Much Better if it had been about Mal and Audrey teaming up after Audrey was mind controlled by Maleficent's scepter.

The two start off awkwardly working together cause they made up at the end of D1 (not that Descendants like. Cares about it's own canon or anything.) but they still don't really mesh, there's too much conflict in how they were raised and how they think they should do things. Then it's the classic enemies to friends where they realize the other often makes good points and come to see how similar they are.

Queen of Mean becomes a duet about Audrey struggling with her grandmother's expectations and trying to find her place now that she's not The Future High Queen while Mal (who's whole arc in D2 was learning that she doesn't need to replace her mother's expectations with anyone else's, she can just be herself. Again not that Disney cares.) reassures her that even if it's "mean" to dismiss the expectations of the adult in your life, sometimes to be happy and safe you gotta disappoint your family a little bit.

Leah is the one arguing that the barrier should be closed forever (cause her granddaughter was possessed by an evil fairy gasp the horror) but Mal never buys that because it's 100% OOC for her (Descendants? Caring about characterization? Nah.) Instead they need to take down Maleficent and the rest of the escaped villains before Queen Leah can convince the rest of the royals to close the barrier, which is how the sea three get involved.

There's more thinly-veiled child abuse in the form of Leah wanting to lock Audrey away “for her own good” since Audrey disagrees with closing the barrier and Clearly that means she’s still under Maleficent’s influence. Meanwhile Maleficent puts Mal to sleep as punishment for defying her in D1, telling her when she wakes up Maleficent can rule Auradon and Mal will be grounded for real until she learns to see that her mother only wants what’s best for her. Ben goes full beast and Maleficent mocks him that now her silly daughter won't have any more delusions about true love, with him being such a hideous monster.

Instead of Mal and Uma learning to work together Night Falls is about Audrey realizing that she actually works really well with the VKs and they all in turn work well with her. There's some gay subtext between Audrey and Uma. Audrey is cheering and jumping and in general being more excited than she’s ever been and when the VKs all kind of eye her in confusion she shyly admits that she’s never really had any friends who had her back like that, since she was a princess and that’s all anybody saw, and they tell her that on the isle people respect you based on what you do, not what your parents did.

They de-furry Ben who kisses Mal awake and the final battle goes exactly the same way only with Maleficent instead of Audrey as the villain, and there's a scene where Maleficent sends up a wall of thorns and Audrey is almost compelled to prick her finger on one but Ben tackles her out of the way. They have a quick conversation where Audrey tries to apologize for only seeing Ben for his political ties when they were dating at the same time as Ben tries to apologize for how he dumped her and they both laugh it off and agree that they're glad they can be real friends now.

Instead of being turned to stone all the VKs are like. IDK trapped behind the previously-mentioned wall of thorns and have to get through before they can swoop in at the last second and join in the fight. Maybe Evie brews a potion that disintegrates the vines so they can get through? And idk how everyone helps but they do, dammit, you can’t make a movie with a core theme of teamwork and togetherness and then not have the climax involve those themes, Disney.

Instead of Audrey falling asleep it’s Aurora and Phillip who Maleficent put under a special curse cause she obviously hates them both, and since they are each others’ true loves they can’t wake up. Hadies comes through and there’s a tearful conversation between Aurora and her parents where she apologizes, they reassure her she isn’t to blame, blah blah, there’s some talk of how they both only want what’s best for her and since Aurora wasn’t raised to be a queen she struggles with it, which is why she took a back seat and let her mother mostly take over Audrey’s life, but she can see she was wrong and should have been louder about how much she loves her daughter. Meanwhile, Hades looks at Mal with a sad, thoughtful look on his face.

Instead of Hades walking away calmly and Mal stopping him in the hallway, he’s shackled alongside Maleficent, who he turns to and says “I think I learned something today. Did you?” Aaaaaand the ending pretty much goes the same way, only instead of the rotten four excitedly running towards the Isle to reunite with their parents it’s a thoughtful, somber moment of them realizing that even though their parents were wrong and hurt them they were doing it out of love, and now they all need to try and learn from each other and grow a new, healthy relationship built on mutual understanding. (This is still a Disney movie, after all.)

The last shot isn’t of the rotten four running for the isle, but Cruella, Jafar and the Evil Queen running for Auradon and awkwardly embracing their children. Hades swaggers up, hugs Mal. Maleficent lingers in the background until Mal approaches her. Maleficent says “You really are happy here, aren’t you?” Mal says yes and they hug, both of them teary-eyed. Ben gets the stank eye from Both of Mal’s parents. Dance sequence, implied Harry/Uma, gay subtext between Jay and Gil. Mal admits that she still has No Idea how this whole being queen thing works and Audrey says then she’s lucky she has a friend who can teach her, and the two share a hug. Yaaaaaay happy ending. Roll credits.

[dani-luminae]

I rewatched Descendants 1 on Saturday night with a friend who had never seen it, and seeing the first one made me realize how drastically they changed Mal's character for D3. D2 at least showed how her life in Auradon was forcing her to feel like she had to change and she still had some snarky moments, but D3 Mal was nothing like her original self. She was just boring.

D3 Mal was Disney’s attempt to make us like her again and so she had to lose all her flaws and all the things that made her interesting. She ended up becoming basically this perfect princess type - just like she was trying to be in D2 - except now she just got to keep her purple hair and suddenly she wasn’t struggling any more.

Like, where’s Mal’s artistic side? That disappeared after D1. Where’s her manipulative side? (and no, lying to Evie’s face doesn’t count.) Where’s her confidence, other than deciding to close the Island barrier forever (and why did she even do that? I still don’t understand. She almost failed to protect Auradon so the answer is... seal all those kids on the island for the rest of their lives?) And didn’t she agree to give up her magic at the end of D2 anyways? And then D3 just gave her a god for a father. For what reason? To explain why Hades is nice and helps Audrey? That’s literally the only impact that him being/not being Mal’s dad would affect in the plot.

I honestly loved Mal in D1, but even in D2 it was clear they’d turned her into this different person. D2 made her a brat and a bully. D3 had to rectify that, so they turned Mal inro a ridiculously overpowered brat that seriously lacked any of her original personality.

To top it all of, ionically, Mal ended up doing exactly what Maleficent sent Mal to Auradon to do: grab the Wand and break the barrier. Free all the evil villains. Heck, this hardly even seems to be a happy ending for the series, considering that Auradon should now be doomed.

[hannahmcne]

The Interview

"How long have you been married?"

Mal balked at the question, even though she knew it was being asked for historical reasons. Ben jumped to her rescue. "One-thousand-eight-hundred-and-ninety-nine days," he announced. "Five years, two months and thirteen days."

"And tomorrow it'll be five years, two months and fourteen days," Mal thought. " One-thousand-nine-hundred."

"Wow," the interviewer responded over a speaker. The cameras were rolling and focused on them, but the interviewers were off-screen, standing behind the camera line and microphoned. "That's impressive. Well, we're going to be playing a few games here today in our interview, testing your marriage just a little bit."

Mal knew this. Ben knew it too. The waivers and releases were all signed and filed in the back room. This was only being said for the viewers.

"You each have a team of people who know you very well. Can you introduce them?"

Ben and Mal turned around. There were two groups, one of boys and one of girls, standing behind them. "This is Adam, my dad, along with Doug, Jay, Carlos, and Mal's dad Hades. Over there is Evie, Jane, Lonnie, my old girlfriend Audrey, and my mom," Ben explained, pointing to each person in turn. "These are the people closest to us. They're here to challenge and assist us.

Everyone nodded. Mal squeezed Ben's hand. She was so nervous. Why was she so nervous?

"So the goal today is to prove you know each other the best. For the first round, it's going to be pretty simple. Each of you will pick one person from the other person's team who you think knows you the best. They'll be competing in a short trivia game about you and your spouse."

Ben nodded and turned around. Mal followed him a moment later. "It's between Audrey and my mom," Ben hummed.

"The trivia is relationship-based, not person-focused," the announcer reminded Ben.

"Fair point," Ben nodded. "Audrey." The blonde-haired girl stepped forward with a nod.

Mal skimmed over her husband's team. She and Hades were closer now than when she'd married, but he probably didn't know enough to hold his ground against Ben. "Jay," she decided.

"Who wants to go first?" The announcer asked.

Ben looked at her and Mal swallowed. "I will," She volunteered.

"Ben and Jay are up," the announcer declared. "Now, Mal, we're going to put you in the hotspot here. Then we're going to ask five questions. The boys get the chance to answer on paper and then we will see who does know more. If Ben knows more, you earn points. If Jay knows more, you lose points." A stagehand in black directed Mal to sit in a wooden chair in the front and center of the room. A red circle was painted around it. She nodded and rubbed her hands on her knees as she took a seat. With luck, no one outside of Ben and the VK's would see her nervousness. Ben walked to one side of Mal, about five yards away, and then Jay took up the opposite side. Both men were handed a clipboard with paper and a pencil. "Here are the questions," the announcer called as the cameras panned into her face. "One, what is Mal's full name? Two, name the person outside of the both of you two who Mal is closest to. Three, where does Mal see herself in ten years? Four, name Mal's biggest regret. Five, name the thing that makes Mal feel appreciated."

Mal took a deep breath and pretended not to notice the boys scribbling. She, having approved her own questions, had been confident in them before they'd been asked. Now... what if Ben didn't know them?

"Gentlemen, ready?" The announcer asked. Both Ben and Jay nodded. "Okay, gentlemen, what is Mal's full name?"

Ben gestured at Jay to go first. Jay straightened his paper. "Maleficent Stephens," he announced. Mal wrinkled her nose.

On her other side, Ben pinched his lips together. "She has a middle name," he called.

"She does?" Jay blinked. "Welp, I'm screwed."

Everyone laughed. Behind the three, Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ben, what did you have?" the announcer called.

"You kidding?" Ben snorted. "I know better than to say that to a camera." He walked over and showed Mal the top of his paper. She scowled to see the ugly name scrawled across the top, then nodded.

"That's it," she agreed.

"Okay," The announcer confirmed with laughter in his tone. "Now, who is she closest to, outside of the both of you?"

"Evie," Jay responded immediately.

"I actually said Hades," Ben replied. He'd retaken his spot apart from Mal. "She's been hanging out with him more and more now the last few years."

Mal flushed. 'Actually, I would say Evie too," she admitted.

A loud penalty buzzer sounded. Ben groaned. "It's okay!" Lonnie called. "You're the only one who actually matters - everyone else shares her spare time."

Ben shrugged. "Oh well." he smiled at her, but Mal's heart was thudding. He hadn't known? Why not? She supposed that yes, she'd been spending more time with Hades, but Evie had always been her confidant and her supporter... second only to Ben.

"Where does Mal see herself in ten years?"

"Married," Jay replied in a dry tone. "And old. Maybe with a kid or two." Mal turned bright pink.

"I also put 'still married to me'," Ben agreed. "But we aren't really a couple to plan ahead. Children aren't on her radar, or mine. We don't know what we'll be doing. We just know that we want to be together."

Mal pointed to Ben and nodded. "That's right," she affirmed.

"Name Mal's biggest regret."

"Taking the wand at Ben's coronation."

"Closing the barrier after we were engaged."

"Those are both really good ones," Mal chewed on her lip. "The one I was thinking of was the thing with the Isle." Ben pumped a fist and Mal found herself smiling. They were on the same page. It was all okay.

"Name the one thing that always makes her feel appreciated."

Jay exhaled. "I just put when people follow her plans."

Across the room, Ben shook his head. "When someone tells her that they're proud of her and she can see the effects of her work." By now, Mal was blushing so hard that she had to cover her face with her hands. Still, she nodded. The teams cheered and Mal took a moment to glance behind the camera lines, where the point counters read four to one. Ben had won - even if he'd lost the second point. Now, it was her turn.

Mal's hands shook as she took Ben's place. He squeezed her arm as he walked to the hotspot chair. "Loosen up," he whispered. "We've got this." Across the room, Audrey replaced Jay.

Mal couldn't hear the announcer but still laughed a little when Ben's questions appeared on an off-camera screen in front of her. Despite the fact there'd been many optional questions about politics and families and work, she and Ben had picked similar questions based on similar subjects. Now, in front of her, were: "What is Ben's full name? Where does Ben see himself in ten years? If Ben was locked away who, besides the two of you, would he count on to release him? What is one thing in a relationship Ben requires? If Ben is feeling sad, what makes him feel better?"

"You're going down, Mal," Audrey teased from across Ben. Mal let out a dry laugh. She scribbled down her answers on a piece of paper and then glanced over to her rival and friend.

"What do you have for Ben's full name, Mal?" The interviewer asked.

Mal glanced over at Ben. His middle name was open record, but not formally used. Still, she waited for his little nod before clearing her throat. "Benjamin Florian Stephans."

Audrey looked up across the room in surprise. "Oh, I did King Benjamin Stephans," she admitted. "I didn't know he had a middle name. But don't you have to have his title?"

"I don't think so." Mal shook her head. "Right, Ben?"

Both girls turned to stare at Ben. A look of severe anxiety passed over his face. "Um, I don't know," he admitted. "I know that you don't, Mal, because you're the consort, but I'm, uh, official. If my title's not used, it's not considered legitimate..." He leaned back in his chair to face the rest of his team. "Dad?" He called.

"You need the title," Adam affirmed. "It's considered part of your legal name. They're both wrong."

"No points!" The announcer declared. Mal's heart dropped into her stomach. No points? She didn't even know Ben's name?

"Where does Ben see himself in ten years?"

"Married," Mal blurted out immediately. "He'd like to have children at some point but, as he said before, there's no schedule. He's still going to be king and he's hoping to be passing laws making it easier for humanoids to live in society."

"Oh, that's not in ten years," Ben shook his head. "I want to have that done by next year, or the year after if everything goes wrong and takes forever."

"I put happily married to Mal, maybe a father, and he mentioned two weeks ago that it'd be nice to not have to live in the palace, so I put that as well," Audrey announced. Ben hesitated, then nodded.

"Audrey is right. But Mal wasn't too far off the mark."

"Oof, Mal!" Carlos called. "What's up?" Meanwhile, Mal's hands were shaking. She'd been so sure... and she'd known all of that too! Her little exaggeration had cost her that question when she knew it.

"If Ben was locked away, then-"

"My friends," Mal interrupted. "Evie, Jay, and Carlos."

"I specified Jay and Carlos," Audrey agreed.

Ben frowned. "Geesh, I put my mom. I was thinking legally incarcerated, not being held as ransom or anything."

"No points," the announcer affirmed. "What's one thing Ben requires in a relationship?"

Mal had to compose herself before answering. Number four and she hadn't gotten a single point. Hades had raised his eyebrow and everyone else was exchanging glances. "Ben likes to be touched and held," she began. "He grew up with hugs and kisses and that's what he associates with relationships."

Across the room, Audrey blinked. "I put conversation," she admitted.

"Mal's right," Ben smiled over at her. "And you can calm down. We're not going to divorce just because you forgot the title that we both never use." scattered laughter echoed around the room from the camerahelps and their friends. Mal clutched her paper.

"What helps when Ben is sad?"

"Beef ragu," Audrey chirped from across the room, folding her paper in half. "It's his favorite comfort food."

"Weighted blankets and cuddles," Mal shook her head. "Right, Ben?"

"I feel like I'm being fought over," Ben complained. The interviewer had to cover the microphone to laugh. "And you're both right! My full response when I submitted the questions was eating beef ragu on the couch with a blanket and a movie and my wife."

"Well then, you're tied," The announcer declared. "Two for two, making for a total of Bal six and friends three."

Two? Ben had gotten four over Jay's one! Mal clenched her teeth together.

"Who wants to go first on round two?" the announcer asked.

"I'm already sitting," Ben volunteered, "Isn't this the one with the blindfold?"

"It is," The interviewer affirmed as one of the stagehands took a blindfold from where it had been set on a nearby chair and held it up. It was a nasty color of teal that made Evie and Audrey both flinch. "Could the boys come off-screen, please? Ladies, if you could all please remove rings and bracelets? This game is to see if Ben can find Mal based on her hand. For every incorrect guess, the other team will have a point added. For every person Ben correctly rules out, he and Mal score a point."

Mal watched the stagehand bind the blindfold around Ben's eyes. "Oh, this is gonna be fun," Evie smirked, pulling her wedding band off and handing it to Doug as he walked away. Belle, Jane, and Lonnie all quickly removed their rings as well while Audrey unclipped several jangly bracelets. Mal took off her ring with a deep breath and took it over to Ben. He smiled and tucked it into his breast pocket. Horrible visions of Ben refusing to give it back filled her head. "It'll be okay," Ben whispered.

Why had she agreed to do this? Why was this considered fun?

Now that Ben was blindfolded, he couldn't send her the reassuring looks she'd been relying so heavily on. Evie gave her a quick shoulder squeeze, but Mal brushed her off because the cameras ere directed at the girls as they gathered into a group. "Okay, ladies, hold up your hands!" Evie commanded in a whisper. Everyone did and began quickly comparing sizes, lengths, and noticeable differences. Jane and Audrey had the smallest hands with Mal and Belle lose behind. Mal's were longer and harder than Belle's, but also more narrow. Evie and Lonnie had the largest hands.

I'm probably going to be ruled out," Evie mumbled. "My hands are too soft." Mal nodded in agreement. Evie stepped up and then took Ben's hand. Mal's stomach turned.

Ben immediately turned his hands so that his and Evie's fingers weren't in-between and then began to feel the tips of her fingers instead. It looked like he was-

"Are you feeling her nails?" Carlos demanded.

Everyone burst into laughter as Ben found Evie's manicured nails and then dropped her hand. "Evie," he declared with a smug smirk crossing his mouth. Evie shrugged with a sigh and walked off the stage. Jane and Audrey were ruled out by similar methods, though a skeptical look had crossed Ben's face upon touching both of their hands. Mal had barely been able to keep a growl out of her throat when Audrey had tangled her fingers into Ben's.

With her, Belle, and Lonnie left, they went through a quick pointing match of who's next. Belle finally stepped forward and everyone tried not to laugh as Ben held hands with his mom. Ben finally frowned. "I'm not sure about this one," he admitted, then stopped holding her hand to run his fingertips up and down her skin. "Her nails are the same shape... her hand feels pretty close... but it's still just... something's different."

"Do you want another hand?" The interviewer asked.

Ben nodded and Lonnie gestured for Mat to step forward. She swallowed as she went back to Ben's other side and then took his left hand. Ben immediately whipped his head around with a smile. "Here she is!" He exclaimed, letting go of Belle and squeezing Mal's palm with both hands. He pulled her forward to kiss her cheek quickly and used her presence to get to his feet. "I think that other person was probably my mom and I haven't had Lonnie's hand yet. Is that right?"

A winning buzzer echoed across the room. Ben smiled as he pulled the blindfold off his eyes. He fished her ring out of her pocket and gave it back to her before twisting his own off his finger. Mal's mouth fell into a pout as he put it in her palm. Around them, the boys were switching rings with their partners and heading into the arena. Mal watched Hades removed his gloves, roll up his sleeves, and rub his hands to warm them up. Jay cracked all his knuckles. Ben helped Mal sit down before a stagehand came on to take the blindfold from him and secure it around her eyes. Then, she waited while everyone whispered around her.

The first hand was not Ben's. Their fingers were not as long and their hands were cold. Their skin was rough. Mal bit her lip. Jay had long fingers which he had used for pickpocketing. Carlos's fingers were shorter, but his hand was warm and he had a hard scar at the base of his thumbnail from working with electronics. Adam, she didn't know. Doug, she didn't know. She squeezed the person's hand and they squeezed back with a strong vice grip. Mal let out a breath and tried to focus when she caught a whiff of leather and earth. "Dad?" She asked, and heard a winning buzzer ding in the distance. Hades let her go.

The next person also had cold hands. He also had crooked fingers and a bitten thumbnail. Mal recalled seeing Doug bite his nails when puzzling over hard problems. "Doug," she decided, much quicker than she had on Hades.

She knew Jay's hand the moment it brushed against hers from all the years she'd watched him stealing and fighting. The winning buzzer didn't even matter. She knew it was him before he'd even finished taking her hand.

Then the fourth hand threw her.

They had thicker fingers than Jay and Doug but thinner than Hades's. Their hand was warm. Their fingers wrapped around her knuckles just the way Ben's usually did. For everything that counted, they were exactly the same. Mal bit her lip. She turned their hand around and felt their nails. Well-kept, just like Ben's. Kept a little shorter on his thumb and index fingers so that he could tap a phone screen without a clicking sound. A smooth spot on his wrist where a watch normally was.

This felt like Ben's hand. But what if she was wrong? Something just didn't feel right, and she didn't know what it was.

"What do you think, Mal?" The interviewer asked.

Mal's shoulders shook. "I don't know," she admitted, slouching forward a little. "It... it feels the same. There are the same grooves in his palm here and he squeezes my hand the same way and it feels like the right size, but I just don't know!" She could feel tears welling in her eyes under the blindfold. She'd have black marks under her eyes when the blindfold was removed. Ben had known her the moment she'd touched him. "I need another hand. Can I have another hand?"

There were footsteps, and someone else took her other hand. Mal's heart dropped. They were equally similar. And when they squeezed her hand, she reacted without thinking and squeezed back. And they were warm and had also been wearing a watch. Mal found a deformity on their pinkie nail, but she couldn't remember for the life of her if Ben had had something similar coming into the interview. She leaned forward, chewing on her lip in inner turmoil. "Oh, my gosh," She moaned.

Who was left? Carlos? Carlos had a callous under his thumbnail. Mal dropped the first person's hand and traced her fingertip over the newcomer's thumb. "Carlos!" she announced upon finding it and shoved his hand away. "That one is Carlos!" She took the first person's hand again. "Last hand, please."

"Mal, it's okay if-" Evie started to say from offscreen.

"Last hand," Mal cut her off firmly.

There were heavy footsteps approaching from behind and then Mal breathed in the scent of something spicy and soothing and so, so familiar. "Oh!" She exclaimed, spinning around and letting go of the other person. "There you are!" She was crying in relief underneath the blindfold. When they took it off, everyone on TV would know how nervous she was.

"You didn't even take his hand!" Lonnie sputtered off camera. "How do you know it's him?"

Part of Mal knew that if this other person wasn't Ben, she'd be mortified, but she was so relieved at the thought of having him near again that she got to her feet and held her hands out for the other person. She caught the lapels of his suit - his suit, when only one of the men had been in a suit today and buried her face into his. Ben's low laugh slowly eased her fears away. She did know him. She knew his scent. She knew his footsteps. She didn't even need his hand.

The buzzer went off. Mal stayed facing Ben and slowly removed the blindfold. Ben's smile dropped as he immediately brought his hands up at edge away the mascara marks. "You okay?" He whispered.

Mal nodded. "Just stressed," she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder and glared at the Ben Imposter that had had her stumped. "It was you!" she hissed.

Former King Adam only looked impressed as he rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Well done," he congratulated her. "I thought I had you stumped."

"Like Father, like son," the interviewer laughed. "Okay, it's time for our last and final challenge. Mal wasn't able to guess Adam correctly, so she gained four points plus the one for identifying Ben, and Ben scored a perfect five on all his imposters with a sixth for finding Mal."

"She would have gotten him if she hadn't removed the blindfold after finding me," Ben shrugged. But still, he sighed and accepted the readings for the round. They were far ahead of the other team anyways.

One of the stagehands stepped forward into the camera's view. "I'm Bliss!" She announced, both to the camera and them. "I have a Ph.D. in psychology and own a clinic in Auradon where we specialize in hypnotism. I'm also half-fairy, and my clinic is known for combining magic and practical medicine to help people overcome additions, disorders, and other issues." She shook both hers and Ben's hands before turning back to the cameras. "What we're going to do here today is I'm going to use a combination of magic and hypnosis to make King Ben and Queen Mal temporarily forget everything about each other. The goal is to see if they can find themselves without any memories to help them. When they've successfully managed t guess each other, their memories will return. Every person they guess wrong will be counted against them."

"That's right," The interviewer confirmed. "Are you ready?"

Ben looked down at her. Her hands were still clutching the front of his suit. "Are you ready?" He whispered.

Mal was entirely aware of the cameras panning in on them. A microphone hovered a meter from her mouth, suspended from the ceiling so they could hear her response. "Yeah," she nodded, squeezing his hand.

She'd done interviews before. She and Ben had played interview games together and she'd answered questions and it had been normal. But this one, testing their relationship, was different. She felt like she was being tested on her compatibility with him, which was ridiculous. She knew she loved him. She knew he loved her. She knew they were close. But what if this just proved what she'd been suspecting for years? That she couldn't love as deeply or as true as he could? What if, by some stroke of fate, whatever she felt wasn't "real love" because she just wasn't able to feel it? What if she was broken?

Ben sat down first. Just like before, all the married women took off their wedding rings so as not to give him any hints before lining up behind him. Mal hesitated before passing her ring back over. It'd been off far too many times today. Mal ended up on the far left side of the line as Bliss approached Ben. As the cameras moved to better focus on her expression, Ben turned back around and gave her a reassuring smile.

What if he didn't love her as much as they both thought he did? What if he picked wrong - how would she feel? What if, when he got his memories back, everything was different?

She smiled back.

Evie left her place in line to give Mal a comforting hug as the hypnotist drew Ben's attention back to her to begin the process by flipping a glowing coin in front of his eyes. With a snap, Ben slumped forward, asleep. Bliss caught him before he could fall and announced to the room: "When you wake up, you won't remember anything or anyone until you have chosen your wife out of all of your friends."

There were other things. Spells and commands. Then, she snapped again, and Ben jerked back to life. "Can you hear me?" Bliss asked.

"Yes," Ben nodded.

"Can you tell me what you're doing here?"

Ben looked towards the cameras and the people behind them in something like amazement. "No," he replied, holding his hands up and staring at them incredulously. He pulled off his wedding ring and held it up to the light. "It sparkles," he muttered and the camera crew laughed. Mal had a feeling that his reaction would become a meme that the kingdom would use for the next twenty years. Hades, behind the line, let his gaze flicker from his daughter to his son in law. Ben hadn't noticed them.

"Do you know who you are?"

Ben was genuinely disturbed by the question. He thought about it for a very long time and then shook his head. "No," he admitted. "Do you know?"

"Yes," Bliss assured him. "Your name is Ben and you're here playing a game. You agreed to it before we put you to sleep. The goal is to find your wife. Once you find her, all your memories will come back."

Ben looked around. "Where?" he asked, then saw Lonnie out of the far side of his vision. "Oh!" he exclaimed, jumping in surprise as he whipped around in surprise. "There are people back there!"

More laughter. Ben stared at them all. Mal's stomach churned when his eyes flit over her without pause. "One of them?" He asked Bliss.

"Yes," Bliss agreed. "We're going to time you to see how long it takes. Every wrong guess is a point against you, though, so be careful."

"What if I guess wrong?" Ben asked. Bliss blinked at him with a deadpan expression. "I mean - I know that I'll lose points, but will she get mad at me?"

"Well, she's going to do the same thing after you, so it'll depend on how well she does." Bliss motioned to the group and began to retreat. "We're starting the time now. They all know you quite well, so you can ask them questions about them and you, but you can't ask about relationships or any related subjects."

"I don't like this game," Ben said aloud, getting to his feet. He wobbled as he found his center of balance and then took a few focused steps forward. "Um, can I know everyone's names?"

"I'm Belle."

"I'm Lonnie."

"I'm Evie."

"I'm Jane."

"I'm Audrey."

"I'm Mal."

"Mal," Ben repeated, staring suspiciously at her. Mal tilted her head to the side and watched Ben examine her face intently before turning towards Belle. "How old are you?"

Mal's stomach dropped when he turned away, but she couldn't resist laughing at the question. Belle pinched her lips together. "I'm fifty-one," she told him.

"How old am I?" Ben asked her.

"Twenty-four."

Ben hummed and then shook her head. "I don't think it's you," he told her. "You're not her."

A ding sounded around the room. Ben jumped and looked all around as Belle smiled and walked off.

"Does that mean I was right?" Ben asked.

"Yup," Lonnie nodded, biting her lip at his startled expression.

Ben glanced back down the line and this time, his eyes hovered on Mal. But then he looked back at all the other girls and Mal notice his eyes clinging to Evie.

He pointed to Audrey. "If you had to give a number, how many people would you say I've kissed?"

Audrey looked startled by the question. "Um..." she trailed off. Mal wanted to spit out 'Four' but kept her lips locked. Ben glanced at her again and she schooled her anxiousness away. "Um, maybe two?" She glanced away, slightly towards Mal, and then caught herself and averted her gaze. Ben, however, glanced at the next person in line, who was Evie. He admired her face, her clothes and shoes, and then hovered on her mouth and eyes before clearing his throat.

"How long have I known you?"

"About eight years," Evie replied.

"Are we close?"

"You can't ask that."

Ben pinched his lips together. Mal watched Evie twist her hands. Her best friend was probably as nervous to be mistaken for Ben's wife as Mal was to see if Ben would mistake her.

"What's... my favorite place to go to?"

"To eat?"

"Sure."

"You don't like going out to eat. You like to stay at home."

"Where do you like to go?"

"Auradon Accelerated's Campus Diner."

Ben hummed and glanced surreptitiously at the other girls down the line. Mal tried not to ball her fists. The clock behind Ben told them that five minutes had gone by. Ben ran his fingers through his hair. "This is hard," he murmured.

Audrey shifted her weight. Ben chewed on his lip and then pointed to both her and Evie. "What's one thing you hate about me?" He demanded.

Both looked startled. They looked to each other and then Audrey swallowed. "There isn't really... a thing, but you've done some things in the past that hurt me."

"I dislike some of your political views," Evie shrugged. "But there's not much else."

Ben looked at Jane, who answered: "I think you're a bit disorganized when it comes to detail management."

Ben ignored Lonnie and looked past Jane to Mal. Mal swallowed. "I don't like how you're always a little unsure of yourself when you're around your parents."

It was a gutsy thing to say on TV with both parents behind the line, but Mal waved away her blush and watched Ben's eyes narrow at her. He took Evie and Audrey and moved them to stand beside her. The clock was counting up to eight minutes. "I think it's between you three," he mumbled, then blushed and turned towards the other girls. "I hope I'm not wrong, otherwise I'll have to go jump off a bridge somewhere."

"You're doing great," Evie soothed. "It's all going to be okay."

Ben took a deep breath and shook his head. "I have this feeling," he murmured. "It's like... I know who she was. In my bones, I know what she was like. But questions and looks and everything... that's only scratching the surface. I knew her as a person, not an image."

Mal felt like melting into her shoes. Ben exhaled and then looked all around at them. Noticed Audrey's jangly bracelets and the tan line on Evie's ring finger. Noticed the slouch of Mal's spine and the way she kept trying to focus on his eyes to see what was there. Then, he looked toward Evie and winced. "Is it you?" he asked uncertainly.

Mal's heart plummeted into her stomach.

A penalty buzzer sounded as Evie shook her head. Ben covered his face with his hands. "Oh no," he mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm trying... I swear I feel like I know her... she's right on the tip of my tongue, but..."

Evie patted his arm and walked offstage to where Doug was waiting, looking anxious. Ben looked heartbroken he'd failed to find her as he glanced around at the last four girls. Lonnie and Jane gathered into a circle with Mal and Audrey around Ben and began to offer suggestions.

"Try saying our names and see who feels the most familiar to say."

"Maybe you could ask us questions about what we think about her?"

"You were able to find her by hand-holding. Do you want to try that again?"

Ben shook his head and then sat down on the floor. "I just don't know," He mumbled. "I don't know."

Mal reached forward and patted his arm. A spark flew from her to him and he jumped. Static electricity, but he still looked up at her curiously. Then, he got back to his feet.

The clock was going on eleven minutes.

Ben opened his arms. "Can I have a hug?" He asked.

Mal nodded and slowly wrapped her arms around him. His own hands found their usual places, one on her back and the other behind her waist, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh," he realized. "Here you are."

There was a winning buzzer as Ben's hands steadied on her. His final time was eleven minutes and thirty-seven seconds. She felt herself being hugged so tightly into his frame that it wasn't really "Mal and Ben" but "MalandBen". "No room for Jesus here," she laughed.

"I'm so sorry, Mal," Ben moaned, burying his face in her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I saw Evie's ring line and I just thought... I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Mal whispered, running her fingertips up and down his back. "All over."

"Except now it's your turn," he laughed. And Mal's heart stopped.

She heard him calling her name but couldn't respond for several seconds. "Ben," She mumbled into his ear, "I don't think I can do it. I won't be able to find you."

"You don't have to," Ben whispered, though the hypnotist was waiting for her now. "We can go home now. It's okay. I know it's scary."

Scary. Yes. She was scared. She felt like she was being measured up to and she knew she was going to come up short. And then what? What would she do?

But on the flip side, if she didn't, she'd never know the truth.

"I... I'm going to try," She mumbled and Ben nodded. She slowly unwrapped herself and then, with shaking hands, let him go to walk to the hotspot.

"Hey," Ben pulled her back and revealed her ring. "Don't forget. This is still yours. It's always going to be." And then, on that note, he slipped his off and hid it away in his breast pocket. Mal swallowed and nodded.

She sat down as the boys and girls were switching on-camera roles. The hypnotist held out a glowing coin that immediately drew her in. The rest of the world seemed fuzzy.

"Focus on my hands," she commanded as Mal chewed on her lip and tried to focus on Ben. It was becoming harder and harder now.

"Stay calm. We're just going to put you to sleep."

And she snapped. And the world was dark.

________________________________________________________________

A sound like thunder woke her and she jerked away and toppled out of the place she'd been sitting in, bringing her hands up to fight. "Who's there?" she demanded before focusing on a white-haired girl in front of her. "Who are you?"

"Calm down," the girl put her hands up. "I'm Bliss. I'm here to help you. Do you remember what happened?"

"No. What's going on?" She spat, bringing her fists up in front of her face and bracing her feet into the ground.

"Listen, your name is Mal and we're only playing a game here today. Let me explain-"

"You've got about ten seconds before I give you a blissful black eye!"

"Calm down. You agreed to this beforehand. The object of the game is to see if you can find your husband without any memories. You agreed to it before we took them away. The moment you find him, you'll remember everything. I promise." The girl's hands were still held aloft. Mal stared at her, trying to comprehend everything. She slowly let her hands down. Bliss carefully outstretched a hand, which Mal smacked away. They weren't alone. On her left side was a line of... cameras. And there were people behind the cameras. People behind black lines on the ground and behind the cameras behind the black lines. And on her right was a line of men, staring in concern. She looked away from them and found a ring on her left hand, which she blinked at and lifted to the light. "Who'd want to marry me?" she wondered. Someone let out a choked sound in the room, though she couldn't tell who.

"It's one of the people over here," Bliss directed her attention to Mal's left. Mal slowly got up to her feet. She looked down the line of people. Bliss kept talking, but Mal was ignoring her now. The first man was older, with grey hair mixed in among the brown and with big, somewhat meaty hands. He stood next to a man with blue hair whose outfit more resembled Mal's personal style. Black and brown leather with vibrant blue hair. Then a man with thick glasses and blonde hair and another with broad shoulders hidden under a white jacket with black and white hair. Another with long brown hair and red earrings. But it was the last one who immediately fascinated her. He also had blonde hair and wore a blue suit. He glanced over her with minor recognition, but there was something in the way he was hiding a smile behind his hand that immediately caught her attention. The shape of his shoulders... the arc of his brow... the sparkle in his eyes. It was as if she already knew everything about him when she didn't know anything at all. This, she decided, must be him. He was her person. She felt an itch across her skin and on the tips of her fingers as if they remembered everything about him and wanted to rediscover everything they already knew.

"They know you, so you can ask them questions if you want," Bliss finished.

"Starting when?" Mal demanded.

"Starting now," Bliss pointed to a clock, which began ticking on her command.

"Well, you can stop the timer," Mal scoffed and began approaching the men. "I know him. I know the way he is and what he does and I know him. I know the way he exists. This is him." She waved the others aside and stepped up beside the man in the suit. "You can stop the timer."

She blinked, and suddenly everything came back. "Oh!" she exclaimed, spinning to look up at him. "I did it!"

"In three seconds?" Jay sputtered incredulously.

"I give up!" Hades moaned into his hands. "You know, Mallie, I was looking forward to teasing you for the next few hundred years with this. Why'd you have to ruin it?"

"You did it!" Ben laughed, blushing hard. "I feel like a massive failure now."

"You should," Adam laughed. "You guessed her best friend and she didn't even think twice."

"I do love you," Mal mumbled, pressing her fingertips to her head. "I can't believe... is it... I did it." She released her skull and found her way into his side, burying her face away from the world in his chest. "Oh my goodness."

"You've been married for five years," Hades declared. "Shouldn't you know by now whether you love him or not?"

"Hey," Ben laughed into her hair. "It's gonna be okay. All over now." They'd won by a lot, too.

"I know," Mal mumbled in a small tone. "I know. Just don't let go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. Just let me hold you."

"We've got to finish the interview."

"Ben."

"Okay, okay," Ben laughed. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too." And finally, she could be sure of what that meant.

[somewhat-happilyeverafter]

Can I request one where the reader is the daughter of Davy Jones and has a major crush on Carlos,but her curse don't allow her to love?

Thank you for the request this was fun to make! Maybe Part 2?

Cursed Love

Warnings: angst, swearing(like one word), blood(? Not really, just a mention), sickness, mentions of death

So the curse is pretty much if the reader falls deep in love with someone she will fall into sickness and soon after, death. If her heart is broken then pain will manifest in the chest area and soon spread.

Summary: Reader was always intrigued by the de Vil boy who was shy and very intelligent. She would often hang around him until he left for Auradon, luckily she is given the chance to see him again as she jumps through the barrier before it closes along with two of the Sea Three. Carlos has definitely grown and the reader can't help, but fall in more love, but her curse only stops her from those feelings. Will she get the chance to love or will her curse hold her back?

It was a quick jump with a swift landing, now (Y/n) would of never teamed up with Harry and Gil, but it was her only chance to get off the isle and explore Auradon for bit. (And get to see and talk to Carlos again, but no one need to know that.)

"We made it, bro!" And "We made it," Was heard as (Y/n) looked at the isle behind her. Smiling the pirate turned around as the other two tried to pass the "traitors" as Uma would say. The cursed pirate cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. She gave a fake smile and waved "Did ya miss me?"

~-~_~-~

After the whole dispute with Uma and Mal everyone agreed to work together until the whole Audrey thing was over. (Y/n) was asked on why she was working with the Sea Three and she replied with "Harriet asked me to watch over her little brother, she wouldn't want him to get hurt!" Teasing Harry was always funny to (Y/n) and she got a laugh out of the others.

As they were looking at the sleeping people Carlos walked up to (Y/n). "Hey, uh what's up?" Carlos was definitely nervous to talk to the pirate, they were not on a good note the last time they talked to each other and knowing the girl standing infront of him did not let go of grudges easily.

"Oh you know the usual, being left on the isle while ya friend went to Auradon then being stuck there for how long again? I've forgotten the days, feels like forever. The best part is not being told that they were leaving and only found out by rumors around town." She coughed, it was happening again.

Carlos winced, right he didn't tell her that he was leaving. Though he had a good reason, his crazy mother was going well crazy about him leaving and then Maleficent was making a plan for the wand. He really did want to tell her, but he just wasn't able to.

"(Y/n) I'm-," he was cut off by Evie who showed them the stoned people. They walked towards the group and discussed where to go.

~-~_~-~

"You're telling me he left for Auradon and told me nothing about it?!" (Y/n)'s voice raised with each word. She couldn't believe it, after all Carlos and she went through and he left her. Yes she understood that he finally got a chance at a happy ending, but he promised that his happy ending would be where she was apart of it.

~-~_~-~

It felt like only yesterday that Carlos left (Y/n). She felt lucky being able to be near him again, but still it never felt right. She knew if she fell more in love with the de Vil that her curse would only kill her.

While walking next to Carlos she felt sick. She knew what was happening so she blocked the boy out of her mind and sped up next to Harry who she gave a small smirk to, which he did the same.

~-~_~-~

"Oh Carlos~ where are you?" The girl looked around Hell Hall, until she climbed the ladder to the roof and found who she was looking for. "There you are! I was looking for you everywhere."

The boy turned around and gave a heart warming smile. "Sorry I was just looking at the view," he gestured to Auradon as (Y/n) sat down next to him.

She sighed, "One day I want to go there and just live a simple life. No stealing, no fighting, no problems. Live in a small house and be at peace. If I could I would find the Black Pearl and sail, traveling places no one has ever gone to."

"And I would be by your side." Carlos said as he put his hand on (Y/n)'s. "What do you want Carlos? If you are able to get out of this place where would you go?" She looked at Carlos, smiling.

"Well. . . If we got out of here, my happily ever after would just to be with you. Where you would go I would follow, I would never leave you. You are all I have (Y/n)." He looks at Auradon. (Y/n) was still smiling, but a headache began to grow.

~-~_~-~

Mal betrayed them. She lied. (Y/n) walked up to Mal, facing her, practically looking into her soul. "You lied to us all, what kind of monster are you?" (Y/n) saw Harry's saddend look before it turned into anger as he said something to Ben. The girl grabbed his hand and started to walk. "They aren't worth it, Harry. None of them are," Carlos called out her name, but she kept walking.

~-~_~-~

Audrey was defeated, but she fell into a deep sleep just like her mother once upon a time. (Y/n) and the Sea Three were heading back to the isle.

Carlos ran up before (Y/n) got into the limousine. "(Y/n) talk to me please!" She turned around and gave him a look. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm truly sorry," he grabbed the cursed pirates hands with his own, "I would've told you that I was leaving, but I was busy. You know I would never leave you, my happily ever after will never happen until we are side by side."

There was a pang in (Y/n)'s chest and it got hard to breathe. Then there was someone calling Carlos.

Jay ran up, "You're girlfriend was looking for you, Jane is blaming herself for Audrey," He looks at (Y/n) "See ya." And he walked away

. . .

Heartbroken. Pain spread through her chest once more, but worse. She pulled her hands away from Carlos'.

"Oh a girlfriend? How nice. You know what, forget about happily ever after the isle is my life and Auradon is not my type of place," she hold back her tears, "have fun living your life, I need to go back to my home."

"(Y/n)? Wait!" It was too late the door was closed. Carlos stood there silently before walking off.

(Y/n) closed the door and closed her eyes tightly. "(Y/n)?" She opened her eyes looking at Uma who gave her a sad look, "Come here."

She may not have been close with the Three, but right now she just needed someone. She moved next to Uma who had her arms open before wrapping them around the heartbroken girl.

She started to cry, then it turned to sobbing as Gil rubbed her back. Uma was shushing her, Harry was cursing Carlos under his breath saying that this girl didn't deserve this.

~-~_~-~

The pain got worse everyday, staying in her room all day and only coming out for food. She would cry from the feeling of betrayal. Yes Carlos was only a friend, but when they were on the isle together there was always something else in between the friendship.

(Y/n) wiped her mouth as she tried to get the taste of blood and vomit out of her mouth. Over time the pain went towards her stomach, now she would vomit often and now blood has come into the mix.

"Shit!" More blood came out of the suffering girl's mouth. Her life was never supposed to be like this yet her she is crying as her body is slowly shutting down on her.

(Y/n) wasn't ready to die, but she just couldn't get over Carlos, except for Harriet, he was all she had.

In a flash spots started taking up her vision and she started to feel dizzy. All she heard was crackles and she started to breathe heavy.

Love was truly a curse.

[amethxxt]

My thoughts on D3

It took me so long to finally write this, I don’t know why. But let’s get started.

First, all I wanna say is that I liked the movie, I thought it was good but as always, there are a lot of things that should/shouldn’t have happened and that we need to talk about.

I wanna start saying that VK Day wasn’t really important in my opinion. Dizzy had received an invitation at the end of D2 so we knew she would be coming, but why, WHY, the whole application thing happened? VK Day happened ONCE, and it doesn’t really have a reason to happen. They could’ve kept sending invitations to the VKs they wanted.

The whole VK Day thing is so, so wrong and it didn’t make sense in the movie.

Getting out of and abusive place with abusive people shouldn’t be turned into a contest;

Do you think all of the kids would be able to fill out an application? That all of the parents would let their kids participate?;

What about people who don’t know how to write/read and what about babies and little kids?;

When the Cour Four announce which kids were chosen, it was so weird to see the VKs cheering and clapping, never looking disappointed, sad or angry. I know I would feel terrible if I hadn’t been chosen. And how was everyone suddenly in love with the Core Four when in the last movie they said they weren’t really welcome on the isle?

Moving on, there’s Ben proposing to Mal. All I can’t think of is that maybe it’s too soon? I mean, D2 was about Mal not feeling like herself, like she didn’t belong to Auradon and not being able to handle being Lady of the Court but in D3 she’s totally okay with being Queen? But alright, let’s do this for the sake of the plot.

We see the new VKs and omg they are adorable, the twins are the custest and Dizzy and Celia’s friendship, I’m here for it.

Uma. My savior, my soulmate, the love of my life. She was gorgeous and Harry was so in love with her, no one can tell me otherwise. They finally showed her true intentions (we knew them already but people needed to finally see SHE ISN’T A VILLAIN). All she wants is for all the kids to be free at once and not having to wait god knows how long for that to happen.

Now talking about Mal and Uma’s friendship...

Yeah okay, sure, the scenes were good, we saw more of Uma and all that, but... Do you really think it would be that easy? The girl bullied you for 7 years and betrays you 3 times. But after one day together all is forgiven? 

That’s what Disney needs to understand: you can be mad at people if they deserve it, you don’t need to forgive them if they don’t deserve it. Your feelings are valid and forgiveness takes time. They showed this with Maya and her dad in Girl Meet World, so why not in Descendants? Some kinds of forgiveness don’t come so easily.

To forgive someone, that person has to say they’re sorry. Mal never says she’s sorry for what she’s done to Uma. Mal and Ben don’t say they’re sorry for what they did to Audrey. The only person who hears Mal say “I’m sorry” is Evie. 

When Mal decides to close the barrier forever they don’t have a meeting about it. What Ben says suddenly doesn’t matter and there is no council and Evie (the king’s counselor) isn’t there to say what she thinks. Mal, Belle, Beast and Fairy Godmother agree with it and that’s it.

I saw a post here that made me realise that if they closed the barrier forever, they would basically kill everyone there since there wouldn’t be food. What. The, Fuck. Mal.

What else does she have to do for people finally realise she is selfish. It doesn’t matter if Mal’s your favorite character, she has flaws and she is so, so selfish. If you think that she was the selfless hero for deciding to bring the barrier down at the end, please, that was that was the bare minimum.

If you wanna talk about a selfless hero, how about Uma? The girl who had been free since D2 and was still trying to find a way to free the VKs, the girl who helped the Cour Four save Auradon because that place was their only hope. And the girl who was willing to go back to an abusive place, knowing she would never get out, so she could protect it, giving up her freedom.

But, yeah, I guess Mal’s the hero.

Now let’s talk about Hades. Ah, Hades. Mal’s daddy.

I knew, you knew, everyone knew. But I had a little hope it wouldn’t be true. I’m gonne be honest, yeah, the scenes were cute, I’m sure the song is gonna get stuck in my head at some point but I don’t think I’ll ever completely like the idea.

Because I can’t get over the fact that this was lazy writing. Now, I’m far from the best writer in the world but the books told us Mal’s dad was a human. Since D1 there was no evidence that Mal was related to Hades. No blue hair, no blue flames, nothing, zero.

Suddenly, she knows he is her father and Evie knows too. What? I thought that the least they could do was Mal finding out that her father is Hades but the fact that she already knew makes no sense. She knew and never tried to see if she had any power like his? If they had given us any kind of hint it would be better. Like, during her fight with Uma at the Cotillion, when she turns into a dragon, what if the fire was blue? There would theories about it.

But there was nothing, which means they had no plans of Hades being Mal’s father and just decided that would be good when she needed the ember. Come on Disney, there wasn’t any other way for them to get the ember? The VKs couldn’t just steal it? After the barrier is down he helps Audrey and yay, party.

He didn’t have to be her father for the story to work. But they want Mal to be powerful, they want her to be the best character, so why not make her the child of a god?

Here are some other things I think about the movie:

Audrey was amazing. If you think she didn’t have the right to be upset, you’ve watched it wrong. Go back to D1 and do it again;

Her grandmother is the worst, she says she’s sorry to Mal but doesn’t say it to her own granddaughter after she hurted her feelings and put so much pressure on her;

Ben’s crown still looks like plastic. Why didn’t they change that? And the CGI of the dragon, omg. It’s never perfect but it was worse than D1 and D2;

We should’ve seen more of Jay, Carlos and Evie. 

Gil is my baby, I love and will protect him. He’s precious.

The huma moments, thank you Disney.

But why imply that Audrey and Harry are something else at the very end? People just need one second to forget about all the hugs and cute moments Harry and Uma had;

Queen Of Mean if the best song and no one can change my mind;

Also, Celia is Uma’s Dizzy and no one can change my mind;

I missed Lonnie and they could’ve done something with her like they did with Audrey calling Chad in D2;

Dr. Facilier and Celia were adorable.

The tribute to Cameron was beautiful and it made me cry. I miss him.  (https://thecameronboycefoundation.networkforgood.com/)

I thinks that’s it for now. Like I said, I liked the movie but we need to talk about these things. If you’ve read this, I hope you liked it.

[hetalialoverwrites]

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Part 11

First  -  Previous  -  Next

        Ben drove through the forest on his moped, you on the back behind him. You were leaning on him with your arms wrapped around his waist, making him smile as a warm feeling filled him. Your wings were spread out directly behind you so you wouldn't stop the bike as it drove. You closed your eyes and leaned on him, enjoying the breeze on your skin and feathers. You sighed happily, making Ben smile as he heard the sound next to his ear. Once Ben stopped, you both got off and put the helmets down, Ben taking your hand. "Come on, this way." He smiled at you gently and started to lead you down a forest path. You looked around, feeling completely at home surrounded by all the nature. This was honestly the best place Ben could have taken you to. Looking in front of you, your eyes lit up when you saw a giant valley with a creek at the bottom, dimming a bit when you wondered how you were going to cross the hanging bridge that went across it. You walked in front of Ben, feeling his eyes on you and you skipped onto the bridge. You stopped a few steps onto it and turned around, flashing him a wonderful smile and sending a blush to his cheeks as the light hit you. Something was off though, there were odd shadows around you and the light seemed to shine off something just a little above you.

        "Ben, this place is amazing!" You exclaimed, eyes wide as you took in everything, "Thank you so much for taking me here!" Ben laughed a bit, "We aren't even to our destination yet." He teased, walking up to you and taking your hand. You glanced down at your hands before looking back up at him, your smile softening, "I know, but I adore nature, you know? Being here after so long trapped on the Isle is like a breath of fresh air." You admitted, looking around with a peaceful look on your face. Ben watched you curiously as you let go of his hand and sauntered further across the bridge, playing around but making sure not to have him too close. "Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone," Ben said, following behind. You looked back at him, "Something I've never told anyone?" You echoed, before tilting your head back to think. "Hm... Oh! Here's one. I've never stolen anything before." You admitted. Ben laughed, "Really? That's it?" He asked. You turned around and sent him a pout, crossing your arms as you walked backward, "Everyone on the Isle has stolen something except me." You told him, stopping when he kept laughing, "Oh alright. Fine, I'll give you another one. I can talk to the trees." You told him, waiting to see his reaction.

        Ben paused his laughter and stopped in front of you, looking down at you with a curious grin on his face. "You can talk to trees?" He asked. "Yep! I can talk to trees. Is that so hard to believe? Cinderella can talk to animals, why can't I talk to trees?" You shot back, giving him a challenging look. He noticed the amused tone in your voice and smirked, "Alright, I am going to go tell a tree something where you can't hear, and you have to tell me what I said to it." Ben declared. "Oh yeah?" You challenged, grinning at him. "Yeah," Ben said as you both walked off the bridge. Staying far enough where you couldn't hear him, but close enough he could still see you, Ben whispered something to a tree. "Alright!" He called. With an amused expression, you walked over to him and put your hand on the tree before snorting and turning to look at Ben with an extremely amused expression, "Your middle name is Florence?" You asked, shocking the prince. "You can talk to the trees!" He shouted, throwing his hands up in shock. You smirked and leaned against the tree, "Yeah, I know." "How can you do that?" He asked. You winked at him before continuing to walk down the path, "Talent." Ben watched you for a moment with a crooked grin before shaking his head and jogging to take your hand in his. 

        "Alright, close your eyes, I'll lead you the rest of the way," Ben whispered in your ear, causing you to flush pink. "Okay..." You obediently closed your eyes, following him slowly and keeping your wings close to you so you didn't bump into anything. You followed Ben's quiet directions so you wouldn't fall until he stopped you and you could feel him moving behind you. you bristled and cast subtle magic to make him oblivious to your wings, but you still pulled them tightly to you. "Okay... Open." Ben murmured softly in your ear, watching you for your reaction. You opened your eyes and were surprised and touched to see a picnic at the bottom of a steep hill, set up on a large beautifully ruined stone structure. It was almost fully surrounded by water as it was bordering a lake. You turned to look at Ben with a crooked grin, "You did all this?" You asked incredulously. Ben smiled shyly and nodded towards the picnic, "Go on." He encouraged. You smiled brighter and ran down the steep hill toward the picnic. Ben was surprised as he watched, it almost looked like you were floating each time you jumped further down, wind surrounding you just before you landed.

        You and Ben sat down on the red checkered blanket, talking and eating for what seemed like forever. "Is this your first time?" Ben asked softly, looking up at you as he was laying on his side. You looked at him, swallowing the chocolate you had in your mouth. "Hm... Well, people don't really date much on the Isle, it's more like gang activity. However, I have been on a few dates before." You chuckled. Ben paused and laughed, "No-. No- I meant, is this the first time eating chocolate?" Ben corrected with a dorky grin on his lips. You flushed, "Oh, uh... Yeah. We don't really have this stuff on the Isle. Is it bad?" You asked embarrassed, wiping off your hands. Ben chuckled under his breath and reached up, leaning forward and brushing some chocolate from the corner of your mouth and licking it off his thumb. You flushed red and looked away, "You know, I've done all the talking. Your turn. I don't really know much about you. Tell me something." Ben said, propping himself up.

        "Uh, well..." You hesitated, thinking about what you could tell him. "I am 16 years old. I am a twin, Mal being my twin sister. I've only ever lived in one place, and I really enjoy the forest." You told him, smiling a bit. "Hey! I'm 16, I've only lived in one place before! We have so much in common already!" Ben joked, grinning. You laughed bitterly, "No, trust me. No, we don't." Ben's smile faltered and he looked down, so you changed the subject. "And now you're going to be King. Isn't that exciting?" You asked, trying to catch his eyes. "Well..." He trailed off. "Yeah?" "A crown isn't what makes a king," Ben said, looking into your eyes. You sighed with a melancholy smile, "To some people, it does." You said, remembering your mother's first love. Ben, noticing the somber mood now, stood up. "Let's go swimming!" he declared, already unbuttoning his shirt. A slight panic filled you, "Swimming? N-No, I'm alright here." You shook your head, leaning back as he took his shirt off.

        "Come on, it will be fun!" He encouraged. You shook your head faster, "No, n-no thanks. I'll be here watching instead." You faked a smile as the idea of your wings pulling you down as they were heavy when wet and you didn't know how to swim made you scared. Ben shrugged and took off his pants, revealing swim trunks, "Alright, come join me when you want." He agreed easily before waving and jogging up to the tallest rock wall around the lake. You stood up and went over to one of the pillars, leaning against it as you saw Ben ready himself on the edge. He yelled out a roar before jumping into the lake. You laughed at him for a moment before turning away, a small smile on your face. 'This is so fun! Ben's been unbelievably sweet the whole day...' You thought to yourself before you remembered, 'Right... Of course he is... He's under a spell... Do I have to leave- Yes I do. I must get Mother out of that place. Will he forgive me when I steal the wand? Ha! Absolutely not. Why would he? Everyone in Auradon thinks we are villains, he probably does too. Just touching the wand would prove them all right...' You sighed sadly, your smile following your mood. 

        After a few minutes of thinking, you turned around and looked over to watch Ben swim. You scanned the water, no sight of the prince. You started to panic. What if he was drowning? What was in this lake? What there were snakes!? "Ben!? Ben!! Ben where are you!?" You cried out, beating your wings strongly and diving into the water, taking a big gulp of air. You looked around and could feel yourself sinking so you tried to resurface, only to remember you can't swim. You thrashed in the water, trying to get to the surface to breathe when you felt someone's arms under you. You held onto Ben tightly as you two surfaced and you coughed up water. Ben walked across the shallow end and set you down on the stone structure, shaking his hair and wiping his face. You took in some deep breathes and looked at Ben, "You scared me! What were you doing down there so long, I thought you were in trouble!" You yelled, scolding him as he looked up at you.

        "Y-You can't swim?" Ben asked, panting a bit. "No!" You hissed at him. "You live on an island!" Ben furrowed his brows at you. "That has a barrier around it! It's safe to say that practically no one can swim!" You glared at him for a moment before leaning back on one of the pillars. You breathed out a sigh of relief as you pressed your hands against your eyes. "And now I'm soaked... But at least you're okay..." You whispered the last part. Ben blinked in surprise as he heard you before he cleared his throat, making you look at him. "Here. It’s a rock from the lake. Make a wish and throw it back." Ben said, looking into your eyes and handing it to you. As you looked down at it, Ben finally realized something was different about you. You had giant dark wings with red amber accents, reminding him of your eyes. You had horns on them as well which lead his eyes up to your head, where a pair of dark horns sat, reminding him much of your mother Maleficent. Sighing, you made a wish that your plan will go well, and you tossed the glowing rock back into the water.

        You looked up at Ben, "Ther-..." You cut yourself as you saw Ben's eyes scanning something above you and around you. You stared at him wide-eyed and moved your wing into your line of vision, watching as his eyes followed the movement. You glanced at your right-wing and realized it wasn't invisible anymore. You let out a shriek of fear and you beat your wings, launching yourself into the air. You watched Ben look up at you in surprise before you turned and flew into the trees, hiding amongst the branches. 'He saw me. He saw my wings and horns. He's going to hate me. He's going to tell everyone and then Mal and I are going to have to flee from angry mobs. What if they have those iron bombs prince Philip's mom has!? What if they have iron weapons for fighting faeries!? Aurora's kingdom is the only one that accepts the Fae, what are they going to do to me?' You wrapped yourself into a ball on one of the tree branches, hiding with your wings.

[perfectlyloudbouquet2]

Okay, so I have a rule: don’t judge things until you’ve tried it yourself.  So, because I didn’t like a lot of the choices made in Descendants 3, I wrote my own version.

Descendants 3: A New Beginning

It’s a new school year.  The school is more integrated w/ Villain kids and Auradon kids, but it’s still 1 VK to every 10 AKs.  The OG VKs have graduated.  Mal is in training with the Blue Fairy to be Queen.  Evie is an assistant to 3 fashion designers (the fairies from Sleeping Beauty).  Carlos is a vet’s assistant (the dad from 101 Dalmations).  Jay is a coach for Auradon Prep.  The opening song shows all of this :

the new VKs (including Dizzy) looking outnumbered by AKs in class

Mal entering a room labeled ‘Queen Prep’ and being taught by Blue Fairy (Mal is unhappy and clearly terrible at it)

Evie looking happy and being shown around a boutique by the 3 fairies

Carlos looking happy and wearing a vet lanyard nametag

Jay in a coaching uniform in front of a mirror looking happy

Mal is mentally distant and sad because she’s worried about Uma, she feels like her Queen Prep classes just highlight how much she doesn’t fit, and she’s still not sure what ‘home’ means for her.  Ben and Evie are worried about her because she’s so distracted and sad.

Jay is excited to show up to his first day as coach.  The head coach (Phil from Hercules) introduces him to his team: the first-year Auradon Prep class (a group of 14 year olds).  Dizzy’s a part of the group.  They’re all terrible.  Jay is no longer excited.

Evie admits she’s worried about her and Mal drifting apart in their adult lives.  Mal’s royal family will replace her and the VKs and Mal will become a different person.  She’s also stressed because Doug is distant as well and she doesn’t know why.  She sings a song that reflects this and parallels ‘Space Between’ from D2.

Ben proposes to Mal in front of a crowd, something that enrages Audrey.  She’s mad because she was next in line to be queen until Mal swooped in.  She starts formulating a plan.

Audrey approaches Mal and, acting friendly, tells her she wants to see where Auradon’s new queen came from.  Mal, who is excited to have an excuse to visit the Isle, agrees to take Audrey on her motorbike.

Evie sees Mal and Audrey leave together and is worried Mal is already replacing her.  She tries to talk to Doug about it, but he’s clearly avoiding her for some reason, which makes her sad.

Over time (and through song), Jay teaches the kids how to do better at their sport (old school soccer?  The sport from D1?).  He teaches them how to work together to get the ball away from the person who has it.  He shares the stuff about teamwork that he’s learned over the past two movies.

Mal and Audrey arrive at the Isle and Audrey realizes how bad things are.  She shows some kindness and empathy by giving money to some begging kids and helping other kids with their jobs.  Mal sees this and realizes Audrey isn’t too bad when she’s not just thinking about herself.  Suddenly, some kids steal Audrey’s jacket.  Remembering her anger at Mal (and all VKs), Audrey sneaks away from her and looks for someone to help her with her evil plan.  She’s complaining out loud about how, thanks to Mal, she doesn’t fit in at the Isle OR at Auradon (unknowingly paralleling Mal’s complaints).

Uma appears out of the water and pulls a ‘You don’t like Ben as a ruler?  You don’t like Mal at all?  You want to rule the world?  Let’s team up.”  Uma says she’ll help her IF she promises to bring down the barrier when they rule Auradon together.  Audrey agrees, but she’s definitely lying.

Audrey and Uma reveal they’re working together and steal Mal’s bike to get to Auradon, stranding her on the Isle (the irony of which makes Uma especially gleeful).  The pair have an AMAZING VILLAIN DUET and go off to the museum to steal the spellbook and Maleficent’s staff.

Evie is stressed that Mal is ignoring her texts.  She goes to Ben, who’s having an intense conversation with Doug.  Doug makes an excuse to leave when Evie shows up.  Evie tries to push that aside and tells Ben about Mal.  He agrees that Mal has been gone for longer than she should have been.  Ben, Evie, Carlos, and Jay join up to go get Mal.  Dizzy catches them leaving and she admits she’s been feeling homesick.  They let her tag along.

When they all reach the Isle, Mal explains what happened with Uma and Audrey.  When they get back, EVERYONE is magicked into loving Uma and Audrey as rulers, something that doesn’t affect them because they were on the Isle.  Ben immediately recognizes this as the spell he was under (TWICE!), so he goes to pull water from the enchanted lake.

Meanwhile, Carlos goes and uses True Love’s Kiss on Jane and Evie uses TLK on Doug.  (Song?)

The group rejoins and Ben realizes they can’t just bring everyone in Auradon down to the lake.  Evie says she can make an invention (a water cycle machine) to make the lake water rain down onto Auradon.  She and Doug can build it, but it’ll take time.  In the meantime, they need to stop whatever Audrey and Uma’s next steps are.

Audrey and Uma are in the castle and they’re arguing over who outranks who.  Audrey admits she’s never going to bring down the barrier when she’s a ruler.  She’ll toss all the VKs out, including Uma.  Uma says she thought Mal was entitled and self-absorbed, but now she sees that Audrey is way worse.  They have another song: a reprise of their first song, but with ironic callbacks to the ‘teamwork’-y things they’d said before.

While they’re distracted, Carlos gets Dude (his dog) to fetch the spellbook and sics all the animals from his vet job onto Uma and Audrey to slow them down.  He runs away and passes the book off to Jay.

Back at the lake, Evie and Doug are working on the machine.  Evie finally directly asks him why he’s been so distant.  Doug reveals that he’s been planning on proposing to her, but he’s really nervous he’ll mess it up and he was asking Ben for help.  Now he’s worried he’s ruined things because Evie deserves a perfect proposal and he’s spoiled it.  Evie tells him she loves him and any proposal is good for her because it means they’ll be together forever.

Jay finds his team and breaks the spell on Dizzy.  The two of them work to individually break the spell on the rest of the team.

When Uma and Audrey escape the animals, they exit the castle to see Mal, Ben, Carlos, Jay, and Jay’s team of children.  They mock the group, but Jay’s team use the teamwork they learned earlier to get Maleficent's staff away from Audrey.  Uma uses a spell she remembered to sic all of Auradon against the good guys.  The people start surrounding them, acting like mindless zombies, and start dragging them away from Audrey and Uma.

Suddenly, it starts to rain!  The spell breaks!

Feeling defeat nipping at their heels, Uma and Audrey run away.  The good guys chase after them.  Uma and Audrey are nearly caught by angry townsfolk at every turn and get cornered into climbing the stairs.  They end up on the roof (at night in the rain).

The VKs, who are close behind, block the door to get back down.  Realizing the jig is up, Uma and Audrey bemoan their fate, explaining why they were upset enough to curse everyone in the first place.

Mal stops the mob and says she understands: “Not like I haven’t cast a few curses of my own”.  She apologizes for how she’s been treating them and says she realizes the integration for Auradon of the VKs has been slower than she would like it to be.  It’s also been a mostly one-way street.  It’s not like the royals have been trying to beautify or pour resources into the Isle.

MAL

(to Uma)

I promise, bringing down the barrier, joining the Isle and Auradon, and helping make the Isle a better place will be my first task as -

(seeing Audrey looking away angrily)

You know what?  I don’t want to be queen.

[Gasps, shock.]

BEN

What?

UMA/AUDREY

What?

MAL

I never wanted to be queen.  I’m terrible at it!

(to Ben)

Ben.  I love you.  But . . . I think Audrey should be the queen.

AUDREY

What?!

UMA

You’re not serious.

MAL

She’s the one who’s been trained for it from childhood!

(to Audrey)

Audrey, you saw the Isle.  It’s in bad shape.  They need you.  You can help them all.

CARLOS

Mal, Audrey may not be the best choice for this.

JAY

She doesn’t care about anyone but herself!

MAL

She does.  There’s a different side to her.  I’ve seen it.

[Audrey looks like she’s thinking about it.  Evie waves, getting her attention.]

EVIE

If you need help with ideas for beautifying the Isle, I can help.  I’ve been a fashion consultant for a whole month now.  It’s kind of my speciality.

AUDREY

(disbelieving; quietly)

Really?

[Mal takes Evie’s hand, grinning.]

MAL

And Audrey being queen means I could spend more time with my family.

[Evie looks elated that she’s not losing her best friend.]

BEN

Wait, Mal.  I don’t love Audrey.

(to Audrey)

No offense.

AUDREY

No, it’s fine.  I don’t like you either.

(Ben frowns)

Like that.

MAL

Is it possible you and I could still be married and you could be king, but Audrey could still be queen?

BEN

(considers it)

It’s never been done before.

MAL

(gestures to the VKs)

Look at us!  These past few years have been pretty full of things we’ve never done before.

BEN

(considering it)

Okay.  We could do that.

AUDREY

On one condition.

CARLOS

She’s not even queen yet and she’s already making demands?

[Jay elbows him.]

AUDREY

Uma gets to be my co-queen.

[Uma looks surprised.]

BEN

I don’t think ‘co-queen’ is a real -

[Mal puts a hand on her chest.]

MAL

Let her finish.

AUDREY

Uma’s the one who had the idea to destroy the barrier in the first place.  She’s always put her people first.  Because that’s what they are.  Her people.

[Audrey puts out a hand.  Uma considers it, then takes it.]

UMA

Deal.  I mean, let’s be real.  You need me.  Who else is going to keep you in line?

[Laughter.  Warm glances all around.  The rain stops and the sun starts to come out.]

We cut to months later.  The school year is over.  Doug and Evie are clearly engaged.  Everyone is gathered for the crowning ceremony for Uma and Audrey.  Everyone claps for them.  The audience is full of VKs and Auradon kids in a much more even balance.  It’s a little hard to tell who is a VK and who is an AK.

There’s a final number where they all sing and celebrate.  The final shot shows the bridge between the Isle and Auradon, which is permanently up to join the two lands.

THE END

[thetimelordbatgirl]

I’m so sorry but I wanna hear you rant so fandom ask 003 for Mal

Ranting about Mal is confirmed to be my brand at this point 

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: That I miss Descendants 1 her, since she was actually a little likeable and the only problems found with her was the love spell thing and the fact that she obviously humiliated Audrey with said love spell, but Descendants 2 just made her slowly dislikeable with how she can do whatever she wants, including trying to spell her boyfriends memories when he found out she was lying, and still get away with it cause the story will twist it to be everyone elses fault, and Descendants 3 just made her completely hard to like anymore, since she willingly plans to close the barrier forever so no more VKs, manipulates Ben into agreeing and then lies to her friends and uses Uma with a false promise to free the VKs and once more, SHE NEVER HAS TO DEVELOP- she gets forgiven way too easily, and this is ignoring how she treated Audrey in Audrey’s own diary and how she treated Uma and Evie in both books and films. All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one really, unless you count fanon!Ben X Mal, since fandom can at least write them better, but Mal’s lied to everyone in her friend group, has bullied three-four characters/humiliated those characters and is toxic as fuck with Ben, including attempting to use magic on him- Mal doesn’t need romance, she needs therapy at the rate shes going. My non-romantic OTP for this character: I do enjoy the BROTP she and Jay had going in the first book, just wish the films had adapted it better then Jay enabling Mal to blame Ben for her own problems in D2.  My unpopular opinion about this character: To be honest, feel like a lot of the problems with Mal isn’t really unpopular in this fandom, but I guess this could count: that Mal made that choice willingly in D3. Is Beast a dick in D3? Yes, but I do not see him or Belle pressuring Mal to make that choice, Mal made it very willingly and did not suggest ANYTHING else, therefore, this defense of Mal being pressured in that scene isn’t really true from what I’ve seen in that scene.  One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That she had something called character development, consequences and all. Descendants 1 HINTED that she could be developing and maybe sequel would continue that development, but Descendants 2 did not and instead, showed Mal acting like Ben forced her to be this perfect lady when he never did, showed her trying to spell Ben when he catches her lying and then getting prissy when he panics at nearly being spelled again and fleeing to the Isle, but the story refuses to let have her consequences and instead, blames everyone but her, the same happening in D3 where they ALMOST show her friends being done with her, but then force the friends to forgive her by the end, so she never has to change and develop and when your main character won’t develop while others have to take the blame for her actions and crap, its not great writing, its a dumpster fire someone refused to put out. 

[bearvibe]

What Descendants 3 Means for 2019 America

First of all, my name is Bear Dever and I’d like to welcome you to my new blog, WhatBearThinks. The tagline for this page is Movies, Positivity, and Life. I’m gonna post about movies because I’m a film buff and aspiring actor. The world can sometimes be a dark place and I hope to bring a little bit of light to it by writing this blog. So enjoy!

Descendants 3 premiered on Disney Channel last night. I love pretty much all things Disney and I was excited to see what else this franchise had to offer. It was a very enjoyable movie though not perfect. There were a few plot holes and things that did not quite make sense, but overall Kenny Ortega made another fine film that is worthy of the Disney name.

(From here down there are spoilers.)

What is most remarkable about this film, especially considering the fact that it’s a kids movie, is its meaning and how it can relate to the real world. One of the main struggles in this film is how to deal with immigration between Auradon (the kingdom led by the son of Belle and the Beast) and the Isle of the Lost (the land of the villains). In the first film, King Ben decides to let the four main villain kids, pictured above, come and live in Auradon. He ends up falling in love with Mal, daughter of Maleficent played by Dove Cameron, and in the beginning of this film makes her his queen. The king decides to expand the immigration program by letting four new villain kids live in Auradon. As the barrier is closing after the new kids are leaving the Isle of the Lost, Hades attempts to make his way through but is stopped by the four kids seen above. This makes it very difficult for King Ben and Queen Mal to make a decision about immigration. They decide that it would be best to close the portal forever. This means that the villain kids that were chosen to live in Auradon could never see their parents again. By the end of the film, after Mal has a lot of time to realize that bad people really can change, she decides to open the barrier for good.

In 2019 America, immigration is a huge issue. You hear it on the news, read about it on Twitter, and it can be really frustrating. Knowing that, in my own country, there are people being contained in such horrible conditions is really difficult. I don’t believe in a completely open border like in the film but there are a lot of good people that we are keeping out that could really enrich our culture in so many ways. But this blog is about positivity, so I want to preface all this by saying that I believe the situation will get better.

How this film can relate to people on a more personal basis is that you shouldn’t assume that people are bad. I believe in treating all people with love and kindness, and like I would wanna be treated. The only way I judge people is by their actions. Not by the color of their skin, who their parents are, who they voted for, what religion they practice or anything else. And even if someone has made bad decisions or has treated me poorly, I hope and pray that they start making better decisions and change who they are as a person. This can be hard to do and I can’t say I do this 100% of the time, but it is what I strive for.

I hope you found this thought-provoking and got something positive out of it. I would like dedicate this article to one of the late stars of the film, Cameron Boyce, who tragically passed away at 20 last month. We actually share a birthday. He was born the day I turned 1. Not all people will agree with me on issues like this and that’s okay. This is just WhatBearThinks.

[disneygirl2202]

Come Back (Carlos de Vil x reader)

Requested by @bluebells-and-nature-spells Request:  Can you do Carlos De Vil x reader where the reader is the daughter of Yzma, and with a purple style like Mal but looks traditional Latina; dark skin, curly thick hair. She's kinda like Mal in descendants 2 who still doesn't know if she wants to be good or evil, and Carlos understands and helped her release that anger in a safe place but one day hes not there to help and she accidentally hurts one of the princesses daughters and runs away and Carlos convinces her to comeback and is welcomed?

A/N: Sorry that this took forever to get up. I really hope that this is what you meant when you requested this. I also hope that you like it!

Your P.O.V.

You could feel all the faces just watched you as you just look at your hands.

Where was Carlos? He told you that he would always be there so this didn’t happen.

You look around, then you quickly run away from Auradon.

“I can’t believe that just happened. How could I have been that stupid to lose control.” You would whisper to yourself “Where was Carlos anyways? We were supposed to meet up today.”

You continued to run until you get to where the bridge originally would be. You look at the isle and think back to when Carlos and you would just do the normal things for you guys. Steal things from little kids. Hide from your parents, not wanting to face their anger from the previous day.

“Oh, how I wish I listened to you mom. I should have never come to this stupid school. I should’ve known that something like this would have happened.” You whisper “It’s obvious that I don’t belong. I can’t seem to change myself like Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos have seemed to.”

It’s almost as if you could hear your mother actually agreeing with you as you admit to your mistakes. You shake your head, trying to get her voice out of your head.

“I can never go back. Not after what I just did.” You whisper

You sigh as you pull out one of your potions and drink it, diving into the water before you can fully turn into a shark.

Hopefully this works.

-~-

You climb up onto shore and look around as you look around your old home.

“The barrier must still be weak from when Jane hit it.” You mumble as you pull your jacket hood up, covering your face

You make your way to your’s and Carlos’s old meet up spot. You reach it and look at all of your carvings in the table. You sigh and look back at Auradon.

“I’m sorry Carlos.” You whisper

Carlos’s P.O.V.

I run into Jay’s room, completely out of breath as I am holding onto the door frame.

“What’s up Carlos?” He asks as he sets his laptop down and stands up

“Y/N...” I manage to get out

“What about Y/N?” He asks

“Do you know where she is?” I ask

“No. I haven’t seen her all day. Weren’t you two supposed to meet up earlier?” He asks

I nod as I walk in and shut the door behind me. He looks towards the isle and shakes his head.

“She couldn’t have. Could she? She doesn’t have Mal’s kind of magic.” He says

“I don’t know. I know she has been thinking about going back cause she doesn’t fit in.” I say

“Jay! Carlos!” Evie yells as she comes right in, Mal behind her

“What’s up Evie?” Jay asks, looking at her

“Y/N, she went back to the isle. She hurt another student on accident then ran.” She says

“How do we know she went back to the isle?” I ask

“Some other students saw her transform into a shark and swim off towards the isle.” She says

“I have to go back and get her to come back. I am the one who failed at keeping my promise.” I say

“Carlos, you can’t risk it. If Harry, Uma, or Gil, find out that you are back. They might try to take you this time.” Mal says

“Us isle kids need to stick together. Somebody needs to go back for her, and that somebody needs to be me. I know how to stay low and not get caught.” I say

“Fine. Just be careful. Don’t get caught.” Mal says

“Jay, mind taking me?” I ask

“Not a problem. We just have to be quick.” He says

-~-

I get out of the limo and look around, then looking back at Jay.

“You stay here, hide the limo then lay low for a little bit. I know exactly where she should be.” I say

I run off and quickly head towards where I would always meet up with Y/N.

-~-

When I reach the area, I see her ponytail as she is leaning against the fence, looking towards Auradon.

“Y/N, why did you leave?” I ask as I walk up to the space next to her

“I had to Carlos. I’m not like Mal, a Lady of the Court. I’m not like Evie, as she belonged there the entire time. I’m not like and Jay who can adapt.” She starts “I don’t belong there. I’m exactly like my mom, I don’t really belong anywhere but here.”

“Y/N, that’s not true. Why didn’t you come to me about this? I could have helped you figure everything out. I understand that are still debating about what side you belong on.” I say, reaching for her hand

She rips her hand away from mine, looking away from me, walking away a bit.

“This is where I belong Carlos. I hurt one of the princesses in Auradon because I lost my anger.” She says, looking back at me, tears in her eyes “I’m sorry Carlos. I hope you can understand one day.”

“Y/N, I am not leaving without you. So I could either have Jay come and drag you back to the limo, or you can come willing and believe me that they will forgive you.” I say

She just shakes her head as she slowly takes few steps towards me. I smile as I hold out my hand, she places her hand in mine and I move some of her hair out of her face.

“Lets go.” She says

-~-

We reach Auradon and she just shakes her head as she looks out the window.

“Can’t believe I agreed to do this.” She says

Your P.O.V.

You look around Auradon and see Mal and Evie sitting on the steps, waiting for the limo to pull back up.

Once the limo stops, you get out and sigh, holding your arms close to your chest.

“Glad you decided to come back easier than I did.” Mal says

You shrug then look back at Carlos.

“Didn’t really have a choice.” You say

-~-

You walk into class the next day and see the kids smile at you. You look back at Carlos as he nods in encouragement. You take a deep breath as you sit down and the kids next to you just start to talk to you, welcoming you back to the school.

[karenhikari]

Destiny If You May

Alright, after a very long time I'm finally going back to the Descendants fandom! This is a story that I've been meaning to write and publish since forever ago. It's sweet, it's a tad bit angsty and, mostly, it's just these two cinnamon rolls being dorks together, so...

This is the first Bal and solely Bal story I wirte (mainly because I've kept my mind in Jaylos and nothing else), so I really hope you enjoy it!

"Mal, do you mind listening to me rehearse my second decree and tell me what you think about it?" Ben inquired suddenly, after a complete hour during which they had been sitting next to each other in perfect silence. Time, Mal supposed, he had invested in re-reading and editing said declaration.

"Your second decree?" she replied, barely looking up from the sketch she was working on. "Don't you mean your first one?"

"Well, I do mean my first one as official king, crown and everything, but I'm surprised you could have forgotten my actual first one, since it was―"

"What are you talking about? You were crowned two weeks ago and I've been in Auradon ever since and, trust me, I've attended every one of your meetings, I would remember if―"

"Mal, are you serious?" Ben cut her off, raising a concerned eyebrow.

"Dead serious," she answered blankly. "I should be the one asking you that!"

"Don't you… don't you remember?"

"What am I supposed to remember?" Mal inquired, and if her voice seemed to shake at the end, Ben decided not to comment on it.

"Mal, I've been the king of Auradon for a couple of months now, the coronation was a mere ceremony."

"Yeah, I know that, but―"

"My first decree has already been carried on with," Ben continued, not minding Mal's interruption. "I decided that the first thing I wanted to do as the king of the United States of Auradon was to commence a program with which the children that had been born in the Isle of the Lost were brought to Auradon so they could live here."

"You… you did what?" Mal let out in a low voice, her fingers dropping the pencil she had been drawing with.

"Wait a minute, you… you didn't know, Mal? For real?" the king inquired, amused. "Didn't they read you guys the declaration? Weren't you asked to sign your agreement to come to Auradon and―" however, Ben never got to finish his questions, as Mal cut his train of thought with a laugh that was almost cruel, almost sinister, the un-felt crackle of someone who knew all there was to expect was disappointment.

"We were supposed to sign our agreement to come to Auradon?" she uttered, an unamused glint of rage in her eyes.

"Well, yes, of course, you and your parents, but―"

"It's true," Mal stated sternly. "No, of course, you wouldn't be lying, you're freaking Benjamin Florian, you don't lie," she continued, as if talking to herself. "And you certainly wouldn't play with me, would you?"

"Mal, please…" the young king exhaled, barely concealing the hurt in his voice.

"Right, Ben, I'm sorry," Mal all but whispered, and though her voice was low, it conveyed her regret―her regret for the distrust that had stained her voice, her regret for the fact that she was incapable of forgetting the first sixteen years of her life and still expected to be deceived by everyone whom she spoke to.

With a small grimace, Ben reached for Mal's right arm.

"Listen, Mal―"

"So it is true, then," the daughter of Maleficent whispered in a defeated tone.

"What is true, Mal?"

"Everything good I have in my life has been given to me by you," she replied in an aplomb-less shrug.

"Come… come here," Ben offered, opening his arms and reaching up to circle Mal's shoulders instead of saying anything, as the loquacity he'd been trained to possess seemed to have abandoned him.

Mal, feeling Ben's arms tighten around her made a move to stand back, stiffening, her whole body bracing up either for a fight or for a retreat. Her preparations, however, came to a stop when Ben gently pressed her face into the curve of his neck, until she was able to inhale the scent of his lotion. Sweet and well-known. Reliable and constant.

"If you're going to tell me that it's not true, I swear I'll punch you," she threatened when she felt Ben breathe in, as if to add something.

"Except it's true, Mal," he replied instead, adding, before she had time to argue: "You being friends with Evie and the boys is an example of a thing in which I had nothing to do with."

"You think?" Mal mocked. "Had we not come to Auradon, 'friends' wouldn't be part of our vocabulary. We would be acquaintances at best, and even that is saying too much."

Giving her lean figure a last squeeze, Ben let go of the daughter of Maleficent and pretended not to notice the way in which she bit her lower lip.

"Wait, Mal, if you... if you guys didn't know about the decree… then how… why did you come?" Ben inquired, suddenly feeling as if the loose ends of their story were starting to make sense.

"We didn't stop to think about it!" Mal argued, making a tiny fuss with her hands. "I thought… Well, it certainly never occurred to me that the perfect, golden king of Auradon had asked us to come live and study in his fairytale land, I-I just assumed that my mother…. I thought Maleficent had some contacts and…"

"Maleficent?" Ben questioned, more than a little confused by the fact that Mal had even entertained the idea of Maleficent having something to do with Auradon's decisions. She shrugged.

"Of course. She wanted the Fairy Godmother's wand―it was merely convenient to receive an invitation for us to come over to Auradon precisely after she had developed her 'flawless' plan to take over your silly kingdom. You didn't see her in the Isle, Ben, you don't know the power she…. You have no idea of what she possessed. What you saw of her? That was a nonentity. She isn't known as the Mistress of Evil for nothing."

Flabbergasted by her own words, Mal stopped with a gasp, blinking numbly a few times before drawing in a shaky breath.

There had been fear in her voice, Ben contemplated miserably, Mal's eyes were turned away from him in anticipation, her long fingers ―the one of an artist, not the ones of someone meant for war― turned into fists, the curve of her jaw stiff with tension.

"Mal, you can tell me to mind my own business, but did you say Maleficent had a plan to break through the Isle's barriers?" the young king asked, squinting. Mal snorted.

"Certainly."

"But… to break the barrier you would have needed the Fairy Godmother's wand… how did she… how did she plan to get a grip of it?"

"Oh, Ben…" the former villainess let out, tracing the king's left cheekbone with her index finger, a smile that spelled 'pity' in her lips.

She had never told him. Through all the months and despite the many opportunities she'd had to confess what they had really meant to doing Auradon… she had never gathered the courage to look at Ben ―sweet, gentle, selfless Ben―straight in the eye and plead guilty to the fact that she had wanted to torn his kingdom and his family apart.

Let it be said, the daughter of Maleficent thought. Let him see the kind of people ―of creatures― he brought to his kingdom and then, let whatever punishment we deserve come too.

"The only reason Maleficent agreed to let us come was because she had a plan. She coaxed the others to let their children come here because of the same reason―Jafar needed Jay to steal for his shop, Cruella had Carlos as her own personal slave and Grimhilde was convinced that she'd marry Evie to a rich prince and then get out of the Isle," she started to explain, her voice a bit too loud to be considered secretive. "Maleficent never gave me chores to fulfill. I could come and go as I pleased, and even if that sense of liberty only came because I was the daughter of the Mistress of Evil, it was better than what they got. And then, one day, she came with a way of shattering the barrier and, you know, conquering Auradon and bewitching your kingdom."

"But… the wand… there's no way she could have―"

"Your magic isn't flawless and, I assure you, the barrier isn't as vigorous as you've been told it is," she snorted. "Carlos broke through it for a brief period of time back when we lived there. Maleficent wanted the Fairy Godmother's wand to destroy it permanently."

"Mal, what are you―"

"Let me finish," the former villainess cut him off, her breaths coming out in a rush. She wanted him to know, she realized numbly. She had never stopped to wonder whether or not if Ben had an idea of what had been their original mission, she hadn't wanted him to, but now that she had started… she couldn't stop. Better yet, she found that she didn't want to do it. "During our stay here we were supposed to get Maleficent the wand. The first night we spent in Auradon we actually went to the museum and tried to… to steal it, but we found out that it was better protected than we had originally expected it to be."

"That's not… that can't be true. There was an alarm in the museum that night, I was personally informed of it, but it was a false alarm, it… The officer even―"

"Your guardian was asleep, Ben. I tricked him into falling asleep," Mal explained, a tiny ounce of exasperation hinting at her voice. "I can't believe you didn't put two and two together. Do you think we weren't intelligent enough to cover after ourselves?"

"Mal…"

"We tried to steal the wand, and we couldn't do it. Let me finish," the daughter of Maleficent cut him off, yet again. "Afterwards, we realized that the only way to come near it was during your coronation. However, even then only your significant other was allowed to be close enough to the wand as to touch it."

"The love potion," Ben whispered, understanding flooding his features, a disappointment so noticeable in his eyes that the daughter of Maleficent cringed.

"Indeed," Mal nodded. "The day of the coronation, when I admitted ―better yet, when you admitted knowing about it― to having used a love potion in you, you assumed that I had done it because I had fallen for you from the beginning, while you were dating Audrey or something along does lines. I honestly don't know how you got that idea―I didn't like you, not when I arrived to Auradon, I didn't care about you and much less did I care about your petty kingdom. I solely wanted Maleficent to stop harassing me. I wanted the wand so she would leave me alone."

"But… what happened at the coronation? Did you―?"

"To begin with, Jane wasn't supposed to take the wand," Mal argued. "In the original plan, I took it and then gave it to Maleficent, but… things happened―it started because Jay and Carlos didn't want to leave, because of the tourney team, Evie had Doug and I… I didn't want to leave either," she said with a hitch, her green orbs trained in Ben's.

"Are you saying that if Jane hadn't tried to take the wand for herself you guys wouldn't have―"

"That's not what I said, golden boy. We could have changed our minds at any given moment," she stated, all of her remaining aplomb rolling off her tongue with that sentence.

"You could have," Ben nodded. "Yet, even when Maleficent appeared in all of her dragon glory you refused to help her. You stood by Auradon's side―by my side, Mal. It must not have been easy to go against someone like Maleficent, much less when she looked like a seven-foot dragon."

"It was the least we could have done after all the havoc we'd broken loose here," Mal tried to spite defiantly, though her reply came out as a shaky whisper.

"Mal, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that to brew a love potion one of the ingredients you need is a tear of human sadness."

"Are you insinuating that I'm not human enough to make a stupid potion, because I'll have you know―"

"Mal," Ben huffed. "You know what I mean."

Sighing, the daughter of Maleficent closed her eyes. When she reopened them, instead of the green glimmer that had terrorized her fellow islanders, what shone in her orbs was the meek trace of a plea.

"The first one wasn't mine," she admitted in a low voice, her eyes stubbornly fixed on the wall next to Ben's head. "Or of any of us, for that matter. The second one, though…"

"What second one? You only made one love potion, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, we only made one love potion, but I had to give you the antidote too," Mal admitted sheepishly, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Why did you even brewed an antidote?" Ben whispered, because of all the things that didn't make sense, this was the only one that he wanted to be answered.

"Because, at some point, I figured that to have you head over heels for me while I destroyed everything you loved was… cruel and ruthless… I don't know."

They stayed in silence for a minute, which then prolonged into two, then five. Finally, Mal spoke again.

"You can say you don't want anything to do with me anymore, you know," the girl offered miserably, with a snicker that was only a reflex reaction. "I'd understand."

"I'm aware I could do that," he said. Mal's breath hitched. "But I'm making my own decisions here, and, in the same way you chose to stay, I've chosen you."

Of course, the daughter of Maleficent thought. Of course Benjamin Florian, High King of the United States of Auradon was incapable of telling her to step aside and get the fuck out of his life. Enough had he done for her and the others already, getting them out of the Isle.

"Mal, do you remember what I told you on our first date, when we were at the lake?" Ben inquired, ignorant to the girl's inner turmoil.

"You mean, after you discovered I was using magic to get your attention?" she deadpanned.

"I told you I was in love with you, Mal, right after I had found out that the love potion was even a thing indeed," Ben continued, his voice just shy of a secretive whisper. "And I asked you if by any chance you felt the same way."

"I answered I didn't know what love felt like," the daughter of Maleficent finally complied, blinking rapidly, her eyes still fixed on the wall behind Ben. "And I may still think the same about love, but―but perhaps what I feel for you is the closest I can feel to genuine affect."

"Mal…" the young king let out, allowing himself to take her smaller frame into his arms once more. "As a matter of fact," he quietly began after a moment of silence. "The reason that the potion struck so strongly was because it wasn't creating new feelings―it was merely making me act on what I already knew I felt for you, reluctant as I was to admit it."

"What in hell are you―?"

"What you did up there was beyond courageous, Mal, even if you don't think it was."

"Excuse me, golden boy, but as far as I understand, courage includes selflessness, and it is no way selfless if you had any ulterior motives for your actions―and trust me, I had ulterior motives to act the way I did."

"If you must know, I'll tell you a secret," Ben offered, pulling back slightly so he could stare down into Mal's eyes. "I wasn't being completely altruistic either ―the reason I was so keen on getting you guys out of the Isle was because I had seen you once, Call it as you wish, a dream, magic― all I knew is that I had seen you, and I had to get you to Auradon."

"Ulterior motives, you, the High King of Auradon?" Mal said, hiding her amusement. "Please forgive me if I don't believe you."

"Well, who knows, I may be talking to the High Queen of Auradon right now, that has to count for something," the son of Belle replied, before he even had time to think over what he had sad and a deep vermilion blush colored his neck. Mal arched an eyebrow.

"We'll see, golden boy, we'll see," she let out with a smile. "But, if you may, I'll admit that I saw you myself for a millisecond, when Carlos broke through the barrier."

"Then we might as well call it destiny."

"You're such a sap, I can't believe you!" Mal cried in exasperation. As all answer, Ben attempt to send a flirting wink her way.

"I won't deny that, but I am your sap and it's too late to back off now," he laughed, intensifying the red of his blush, which only caused Mal to raise both eyebrows at him.

"Shut up before I regret everything I just said," she threatened, which made Ben laugh even louder, wholeheartedly. Lightly. Naively.

"As you wish, then, as you wish," he said, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "But I'll have you know that I don't regret anything."

"Please shut up before I throw up," she repeated, rolling her eyes for better effect. Ben, on his side, merely laughed some more. Oh, and what a sound was his laugh, Mal thought to herself, what a sound.

Destiny, if you may, her thoughts whispered as she allowed herself to rest her head on the king's shoulder, her eyes half-closed and Ben's left arm securing her waist. Destiny if you may.

Okay, so how did you like that? Good, bad, should I go back to Jaylos?

Please let me know what you think of this little something by pressing the 'Comment' button (or 'Review', it depends) and also tell me what you think of the new movie? Are you excited? Because I sure am!

Love you all and read you soon!