#there is a huge rebellion in auradon still

[shellyseashell]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[isleofdarkness]

Idea for Mal's "proper Auradon princess" looks;

Butterflies.

Butterflies, such beautiful creatures. Graceful, delicate. Symbols of death.

Yes, in some cultures, butterflies are symbols of the dead and communication with them. Like Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, a holiday where butterflies are a symbol like calaveras de azucar (sugar skulls,) they're a huge part of the holiday. So they're both symbols of beauty and symbols of Mal's ancestry. They could be Mal's little rebellion, her pretending to be what Auradon wants her to be while still being true to herself.

Have we considered butterflies for Mal?

[endollvors]

School of Secrets bonus round. Prop design, and the buzzfeed quiz of evil.

Here’s Uhhhhh, Evil and Those Who Practice It, Second Edition. And the evil mirror to Mal’s D2 book Fairies, Jane’s textbook, Bad Fairies, Second Edition. I am a huge fan of the Auradon Prep’s commitment to unbiased learning in their specialty branded textbooks. (Texas history textbook ass)

This second image is from an episode I want to talk about for like, culture of conformity reasons. It’s Jane taking a for fun online quiz, and getting The Isle of the Lost.

Now, there’s a bit to unpack here. First off, there’s uh not a lot that Jane says that’s alarming, especially for a teenager, but her baby rebellions still got her assigned Prison Island at Buzzfeed.

Taking a Propaganda

Propaganda is definitely a thing. It's been covered before, probably more throughly, that the Auradon sponsored Posters and Television channels on the Isle are, kinda wack. Like, that's a section of the budget that's being used judiciously when the main source of food is canonically garbage.

Consider also, the way that Mal, is framed in news footage in Descendants 2. (Rags to riches success story. Aspirational, A triumph of Auradon, look at her now. She's an example. etc.)

VK day in D3 being a holiday. The fact that the applications are Collected the same day as the children are Selected.

That's not what we're here for though. I'm taking you on a journey.

Ok, so School of Secrets, the promotional youtube shorts, not the book series, is I think, technically canon. It's canon the same way a guest passed out in the laundry room at a house party is still attending. They're a minute long and they fascinate me.

This is a screenshot from Episode 9. Where PC culture cancels the school play, (Weird series) which was Supposed to be an adaptation of What's that Spell? a stage dramatization of Maleficent's attack on Aurora's kingdom. Other provided options are 12 Angry Dalmatians, Book of Sultan, and 7 Brides for 7 Dwarfs before they settle on My Fair Lady and the Tramp. May I just say before I get going, fun puns. I would watch the hell out of Tramp's Pygmalion arc.

This begs an interesting question though. Because this isn't, in the world of the series, fiction. Not only are all the plays about a terrible thing that happened, they are about terrible things that happened within living memory to specifically the parents of these kids' peers. Things that caused so much damage that a Generational Prison Island was considered a proportional response and it's an incredibly unpopular policy decision to want to change that. Now, imagine for a moment, being a parent, and going to see your darling pumpkin be an extra in the school play, and then its about how your best friend's stepmother tried to get her killed when she was 14, and also you're a character. Your kid didn't get the role.

They do this twice a year.

Twice a year, the AKs go on stage to replay their parents' story and celebrate the overthrow of a villain. This is some 9/11 Never Forget shit.

[ruffoverthinksthings]

I headcannon that China is more of a cultural influence as it's the only Asian country. They make anime, Chinese Dramas are very popular, and the food is well-known. Fashion is extremely unique as you see a lot of young people trying to look like their favorite C-Pop star (but some fashion trends make the elders raise eyebrows). Music is a special blend of C-pop, J-pop, and K-pop. (I want Lonnie and other girls to dance/sing/listen to the Chinese version of Miss A's I Don't Need A Man).

Hooboy, this is going to be a while, just like the Xiongnu and Youask!

Anyway,some historical parallels and details to establish here first andforemost:

Ibelieve that Mulan takes place during the 15th Century,with some obvious anachronistic elements and historical and regionalinaccuracies, such as the fact that the Xiongnu were actuallyabsorbed into Chinese culture by this point, the invention of thefireworks that feature so prominently in the movie itself, anddetails like the voice actors using the wrong accent when pronouncing“Fa” as they are explicitly in the northern regions.

Inour timeline and our China, this century was a time of greatexploration and expansion of trade deals with foreign countries,along with a fascination in exotic treasures and animals (such asgiraffes) during the former half of the period, with an isolationistperiod and an economic decline in the other half.

It’sreally interesting as it fits really well with the sort of attitudethat you would expect a country to have BGU to even been amenable tothe negotiations and extensive preparations for joining Auradon, andthe resulting reaction when the country doesn’t prove nearly asstable and perfect as it was advertised to be.

Tocompletely and thoroughly discuss all the effects Auradon’s fusionhad on the Chinese people would be a BOOK, not a long tumblr post, soI’m just going to stick with your ask and focus specifically on theculture.

Sowithout further ado, 

“Culture in China, Before and After the GreatUniting”:

Tosay that the fusion and the introduction of many foreign, andsometimes temporally advanced, ideals, cultures, andinformation shook China to its very core is an understatement.

Inits own home realm, it was already a mecca for arts and culture,which is why they have indeed become the center for all Asiancultures because of foreign artists, dignitaries, merchants, andex-patriots from countries like Japan, Vietnam, and India, and someEuropean countries like that of Spain and Portugal.

AGU,it became an even bigger focus due to the vastness of its population,the massive growth and spread of wealth to the common man as career,commerce, and education opportunities abounded, and of course, thealready existing and thriving diversity within its own regions.

Thoughthe list of arts, trends, and cultural changes that exploded from theGreat Uniting are VERY, VERY, VERY NUMEROUS, you can verygenerally classify them into two movements:

Oneis the “Mulan” Movement (named after the famous War Hero, LiMulan, nee Fa), featuring themes, philosophies, and attitudesinvolving rebellion, breaking of age-old traditions, challenging thegender and/or societal roles (they were often intertwined, as womengot more freedoms and economic influence), liberal and democraticvalues originating mostly from London and its stores of knowledge,and an emphasis on personal realization and following through onindividual passions no matter what—being “true to your heart,”as it was popularly phrased.

Thoughthe movement was seen as a very valuable period of experimentation,exploration, and empowerment of many of the working class,minorities, and those that never would have stood a chance atpursuing their crafts BGU, it was heavily criticized for what manyaccused as “irreverence for irreverence’s sake,” the cheapeningand blasphemy of sacred traditions and elements of their society suchas the Emperor, the corruption of culture, and an unhealthy affectionand love for foreigners’ culture over that of their own, the lastmostly being attributed to majority of the new artists of this perioddrawing extremely heavy inspiration from the other states, if theyhadn’t copied it outright as is the case with covers and wholestyles like Coronian lute arrangements.

Itdidn’t help that it happened beside and sometimes instigated a HUGEamount of conflict, societal disruption, and even violent run-inswith the law, as many of the performers and fans oftentimes heldtheir events in remote locations in the mountains or seedy (forAuradon’s standards) underground venues, there was quite a lot ofworking class children who tried for stardom and ended up crashingand burning when they got roped up in drugs, too much partying, andthe fickle tastes of the masses, plus a LOT of the people whoidolized Mulan were also incredibly passionate, but WAY more violentand lacking in self control.

Thesecond is was simply known as “China’s Conservationist Period”where majority of the culture-and-future-shocked citizens retreatedback to what was familiar and established in the face of drastic andtoo rapid societal change, and what they sometimes believed was anattack on themselves and everything they held dear, an attempt toerase their very history and what makes them Chinese, to adopt thecultures and attitudes of foreigners and completely become them.

Thisxenophobic attitude was very apparent with critics and punditsreferring to many foreign acts and faces of culture as “invaders,”especially the controversial ones like the “Sex, Drugs, and Rock‘n’ Roll” idols from London.

Itenjoyed its own period of success independent of the Mulan Movement,owing to the fact that there were also plenty of foreigners whowanted to see this brand new culture and were already familiar, orsick of, the twists, new elements, and foreign Chinese artists wereintegrating into their works (“foreign” and “alien” are allrelative, after all).

Thetwo movements began to wane as societal and political tensionssettled, people at large adapted to the brand new reality they had,and gradually became more open to the change and less hostile tointegrating foreign ideals.

Theartists themselves also realized just how incredibly fleeting anddifficult it was to keep an audience’s attention in thishyper-accelerated and connected world, what with its increasinglyshort attention spans and the constant spotlight on both theirpersonal and professional lives, having to keep up a good front andappearance at all times.

Athird and very important factor was that the teenagers of thatgeneration became the “old farts” they were criticizing yearsearlier, and found themselves unable to keep up, or have legitimateinterest in the latest trends and developments, as they no longerrelated to the themes.

Happilymarried individuals rather found they don’t want to hear about thelascivious exploits of a guitarist who swears she will never getattached to any one girl.

Still,they didn’t want to abandon culture, music, and their craftsaltogether, which led to the “New Horizon” movement, generallyfeaturing fusions of traditional and modern instruments and styles,modern techniques for classic arts such as legends being told throughadvanced holograms than puppets, and the integration of “pagodas”and vibrant, Royal Palace style gardens in modern, mostly concreteand glass buildings.

Independentof periods and movements, and focusing on specific styles of cultureand arts:

Theaterand live performances experienced a massive surge given that there’ssuddenly so many avenues for performers to perform in for cheaper andwith less barrier to entry, it’s much more easy to organizethemselves logistically, and they have a willing crowd that can paythrough all manner of means, and “patrons” are not exclusivelylimited to rich merchants and the ruling class.

Recordeddramas also experienced the same popularity due to the demand and theease with which they could be produced and profit, though obviouslythey have their own market, with some overlap to the former.

Literatureexploded now that self-publication and distribution wassuddenly available, and you better believe that fanfiction bloomed assoon as people got wind of it. As with Sturgeon’s Law, though, mostof it was EXTREMELY bad, especially when you consider culturaldifferences and people only getting the appeal of certain memes,jokes, and themes VERY superficially.

Animationwise, I wouldn’t call what China produces “anime,” since Idefine anime as “animation originating from Japan,” though I canunderstand with how foreign countries produce shows clearly inspiredby and mimicking many of the distinct styles and elements from iconicanime shows, you would come to describe South East Asian animation ora certain style originating from there as “anime.”

(IfI missed any specific form of art you’d like, such as that ofpainting, it’s because this is already a lot of work as is, andthey can be answered in a later ask when I’ve had time to rest.)

Backto Movements, some common themes in these works, from both the Mulanand the Conservationist:

Rebellion,evil emperors, and impossible threats being conquered by herofigures, who are frequently outcasts, eccentrics, and vilified bysociety at large until they prove that their strangeness is whatallows them to become great.

Fantasiesinvolving being trapped in heavily restrictive and unimaginativedystopias, and breaking away the metaphorical and sometimesfigurative chains that keep the populations in line, and a sense ofoptimism and idealism despite the uncertainty and chaos that awaitstheir victory.

Loveletters to the Chinese Imperial System, with Emperors often beingcast as Divine Forces of Good, or heavenly beings locked in battlewith Evil, and needing the assistance of the protagonists to bringpeace back to the land.

Idealistic,oftentimes inaccurate, and heavily romanticized accounts of theirhistory, such as that of their legendary heroes being reborn inmodern times to revive the lost traditions and ideals, benevolentfeudal lords fighting back to the invading barbarian hordes and theirradical, dangerous new ideas and ways, oftentimes by discovering orpreserving the artefacts and culture bequeathed onto them, frequentlygiven some form of personification like benevolent spirits (inspiredby Shintoism), or even the souls of their beloved ancestorsthemselves.

Ontofood: you bet your ass the food is popular!

Iactually imagine that Mulan’s China becomes a love-letter to“Cooking Master Boy” (and still is, to this day, complete withsecret techniques, mystical glows of deliciousness, and flyingingredients from the sheer speed and force of chopping) due to howimportant the culinary arts is to their culture, and how they wereall too eager to share it with the rest of the world, both to make aliving, and to make a name for themselves in the world.

Withthe Silk Trade being one of their most enduring legacies and highestpriorities, yes, fashion did explode with China, now that they had amassive audience that are constantly hungering for new designs,incredible ease with which orders could be fulfilled and shipped allover Auradon, and the creative bloom as everyone was constantlyrubbing elbows with foreign influences, citizens, dignitaries,culture, now that physical travel was easier than ever, and massmedia really got a foothold.

(Ona side note, if you thought the current congestion and traffic inmodern day China is bad, Auradon’s unexpected automotive boom wasleagues worse, whichincidentally caused a gigantic boom in services and companiesspecializing in streaming media on the go.)

Yes,China has a massive influence with their music, especially due to themany different styles and regional differences in their country, andhow easily they could experience, sample, mix, distribute, and moreimportantly, profit from them.

Auradondidn’t have as much problem with illegal pirating and downloadingas we do, and as I’ve said earlier, the recent interest in fusionof the old and the new has lead to such songs and styles like you’vementioned.

DidI miss anything or did not expound as much as you’d like, If so, Iapologize, and please ask again, I’ll get to it when I have theenergy and interest once more.

[umaspirateship]

Heavier than a Crown

June 28: Li Lonnie (also posted on archiveofourown under the same name)

Train hard, they said. A strong and compassionate mind is more powerful than a sword. Take a deep breath. Be yourself. Give no ground to the enemy. Do not be passive.

Her mother had learned these lessons fighting for her life. For the lives of her countrymen.

Mulan. Mulan was everything Lonnie had ever wanted to be. She was beautiful and kind. She could tear her father apart with a single glance. Easily won everybody’s nomination for favorite princess, even though Mulan technically wasn’t one. Small children would dress up as her during festivals and chase the adults around claiming to be “keeping out the huns.” In their living room, a huge portrait of her parents hung on the wall, their triumphant grins glaring their way into every room.

Mulan.

The word felt strange in Lonnie's mouth. She had always just called her mom. She loved her mom, looked up to her. But sometimes the name was too much. Sometimes she wishes her mom was just her mom. As in, "Sorry, mom won't let me go to the party” without the additional, “We have training today." Lonnie lived to train – in the morning, during lunch breaks, during the semi-weekly “smashing the patriarchy” club meetings. Train hard, they said. As in, "Why can't you be more like your mom?"

She heard that one a lot. When she got a little too hotheaded. When she started wearing pastel dresses around school. When she somehow managed to be too fierce and too fragile at the same time. Like, for instance, everyone was outraged that she wouldn’t try out for the tourney team, as if she had time for that. Just because she was a girl who was athletic didn’t mean she wanted to do all the sports. She didn’t even particularly like watching the games – she only came to support Ben, her closest childhood friend. Just because he was the one running around din’t mean she couldn’t still beat him to a pulp if she tried. They didn’t notice that, though. They saw her watching on the sideline and called her weak. A strong and compassionate mind is more powerful…

And if she knocked people around with her sword every once in a while? It didn't gain her any favors with the other preppy princesses at Auradon, but it's not like they understood her anyway. A STRONG AND COMPASSIONATE MIND IS MORE POWERFUL THAN A SWORD. She had to remind herself sometimes. The weight on her head was not the weight of a crown.

It was the weight of her ancestors. Mom. Dad. The ghost of her grandfather who had died trying to make the world safe for her and her friends.

Why didn't they bring him back when they brought back Shan Yu?

Yeah, yeah. Fairy Godmother’s “No Magic” policy. The one that left her family and her people out. Whenever an important festival came around (which seemed practically every week given the cheeriness of this hellforsaken place), Tritan would pull out his trident, Fairy G would give the wand a twirl, and you might even be able to get a wish or two out of genie. But Lonnie was stuck doing dances and sword fighting and chilling with her ghost ancestors. Which she loved. But not as much as she would have loved it if she didn’t have to worry every time a drought ruined their crops or a thunderstorm caused an avalanche in the mountains. Also, what was with those Agrabah people who flew their flying carpets with no regard for the rules? Take a deep breath. Be yourself. She heard her mother’s voice say, “Give no ground to the enemy.”

So Lonnie rebelled.

It was quiet. No one noticed at first, not even when she tried to befriend “poor, stuttering, squeaking” Jane who everyone expected to do magical things but still be straight-laced and boring. Jane and Lonnie would sit in the back of classrooms and plot terrible curses they would put on the boys who had mocked their hair that day. Everyone said they lacked self confidence, but was it too much for Lonnie to ask for one less thing to burden her? It took everything Lonnie had to help Jane hold onto what little self esteem she had left. If she couldn’t be what everyone expected her to be at least she could help someone else. A strong and compassionate mind is more powerful than

A sword. She was the first person Ben talked to when he asked the villain kids to come to the Isle. She listened, patient, then stood up, walking over to the window. Lonnie looked out at the Isle of the Lost and could almost see the faces of Mal, of Jay, Carlos, Evie, take a deep breath

“Lonnie?” Ben asked, reaching out for her shoulder. She had gripped the handle of her sword without realizing it. “Do you think I did the right thing?”

Lonnie turned to her future king, a fire in her eyes.

“Why can’t we bring all of them to Auradon?”

“What?” Ben asked, confused. His thoughts flickered to the girl with purple hair he still saw in his dreams. His parents had given in, eventually, persuaded by his level-headed thinking and quick diplomacy. Probably. But this was different. He didn’t plan for – “Lonnie what do you mean?”

“I mean what would I have to do to get those kids off that island?”

Because when she had looked at the Isle she hadn’t seen villain kids. And when Mal came striding out of the limo she didn’t she villain kids. She saw a person who shouldered all of the hopes and dreams of her parents. Audrey snapped back, jealous of their cool indifference. But Lonnie knew better. The weight on their heads was not the weight of a crown.

She was the first girl to willingly speak to Mal and Evie. Give her this small rebellion, her friends said, let her see she is wrong. Lonnie was not wrong. She got her hair fixed and got a little revenge of her own on the headmistress’ stupid policy. Plus, she didn’t even need a sword to take down their emotional barriers, just acceptance. It was cheesy, but…

It was just the kind of hero Lonnie wanted to be. Chin up. Smile. Give them unconditional love.

Do not be passive.