lucky for you that's what i like

cause it's gravity Prince Duke of the kingdom of Andalasia here! I'm a student at ASU and the culmination of my parents' combined intelligence, confidence, and beauty - in other words, a triple threat. I'm also a part-time model for my Aunt Giselle's collection, the inspiration for her new men's line, and better dressed than most princesses. Be jealous. keeping you with me

[andalasiasduke]

Though he would never admit it to anyone, Duke Andalasia had more than a few problems with the upcoming nuptials, so much so that even when, earlier that same day, he’d styled himself in his most fashionable suit looking so gorgeous that he could hardly stand to look at himself, he could barely enjoy it. How could he, knowing that it should’ve been his wedding instead?

If he’d just caved and followed Ellie’s timeline, they’d be the ones throwing the first wedding of their generation. Them, not Prince Sweater Vest and Jungle Boy, the sickeningly cute friends-to-lovers story that was even worse when considering that it was normalizing marrying commoners into royal bloodlines. Cripes, it wasn’t fair that someone else could claim this milestone and that he wasn’t close. He didn’t have a girlfriend; he didn’t even have a date to this thing anymore, for though he’d managed to secure a date to the event but at the last second, the youngest of Snow White’s daughters had called out sick. As if the day wasn’t going to be hard enough already, watching some other undeserving people hog all the attention....

It felt uncouth to be complaining though, even internally, whilst Duke took advantage of their open bar and sipped something fruity and delicious. At least it helped dull the roar of the festivities, which were admittedly slightly less tacky than he’d have expected from the happy couple. Before he’d finished though, he saw someone who was probably the only person he was sure had also been judging today as hard as he was and he reached out to tap Ellie’s shoulder. Usually he’d plan what to say first but the little bit of alcohol he’d consumed appeared to have rushed to his head, making him reach out impulsively and not making him quick enough to avoid saying something potentially embarrassing. 

“You look so beautiful. Do you think your date will be mad if I ‘buy you a drink’?” He air-quoted that last part, since they obviously wouldn’t pay for anything, but he was curious to know if she’d come with anybody and if she’d sit with him, at least for a while. He hoped she would. Ellie had a way of making events infinitely more bearable. 

[andalasiasduke]

charmingellie‌:

Ellie was, quite frankly, impressed with the fact that Duke had a playlist of such songs ready on command. She didn’t spare a thought for whether it was in preparation for his own love story or not – no girl in the kingdom besides her was worth this sort of pining – and instead focused on the songs he was listing aloud for her, an eyebrow quirking in interest at some and her nose wrinkling with distaste in turn at others. “I’ve always thought that Lucky is so… insipid. The ‘friends to lovers’ trope seems to obsess over how lazy one can be during courtship, all because the two already are fond of each other! It’s ridiculous,” Ellie scoffed, vehemently against the song.

Others, though… Don’t Go Breaking My Heart was decent, aside from the line about acting like a clown. The Time of My Life might give her a chance to show off her lithe dancer’s body, if Duke was feeling up to the challenge. And Endless Love… Well, the insane amounts of talent they’d be able to display if they performed that almost took her breath away. “Perhaps we should write down our top three choices and see where our lists align,” Ellie suggested, finding that it would be less embarrassing if he read out that that was her preference, rather than her having to voice it herself. “Unless you’d like to voice your favorite here and now; I’ve already expressed my bias against the song Lucky, it seems only fair that you express at least one strong opinion of your won as well.”

Duke couldn’t help the half-smile that crept onto his face but kept his eyes on his phone so that Ellie wouldn’t suspect that she was the cause of it; he loved it when she complained. She had such a way with words and so much conviction when it came to her displeasure and it resonated with him in a way nothing else did. “It never made sense to me either,” he had to admit. “A good lover can become your friend, certainly, but if you’re friends to start, what’s to stop you from becoming lovers from the get-go? It’s preposterous.” 

Something about the idea of writing his ideas down felt emasculating in a way he couldn’t really understand, so as soon as Ellie offered up the ‘voice your favorite here and now’ option, he said as decisively as he could, “Endless Love has to be my top contender. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart is too nana-tootsey for my taste today and we can only do Time of My Life if we have the iconic dance move to go along with it. Do you think you’d be capable?” He quirked an eyebrow as he asked that last question, as if daring her to take him up on it. He knew they’d be able to pull off the move, if they spent time warming up first anyway.

[andalasiasduke]

charmingellie‌:

Success. Ellie knew that she shouldn’t turn everything she did into a contest that she was attempting to win, but this moment in particular had felt like one with the highest of stakes, and Duke acquiescing put a spring in her step that hadn’t been there when she’d stomped towards him minutes ago to complain. Clapping her hands together just once, so that she seemed like someone ready to get down to business rather than someone immature enough to visibly celebrate their small success, Ellie stated simply, “Why, the perfect song, of course! With talents such as ours, it of course won’t take us too long to ready it, but making sure that our song choice is flawless will be the true test.”

She hated to admit it, but All Of Me had been incredibly moving and romantic, despite how irritating she found Jimmy Dubois and his entire act. She and Duke would be hard pressed to top one of the most romantic songs of the last decade, and for the briefest of moments, she considered proposing they repeat the song. Their talent level could certainly surpass Jimmy, and there was something so much more romantic about turning a love song into a duet, a song where both loves demonstrated the intensity of their feelings. Only… she wanted this to go well. She wanted public perception to be a smash, both for the chance of Ellie earning admiration for herself and for the sake of continuing to have Duke in her good graces, so that there would always be future endeavors such as this one to look forward to. Singing the same song as Jimmy and making him look bad seemed like it would accomplish neither of those goals.

“I think we should sing a true duet,” Ellie declared finally, arching an eyebrow at him as if daring him to interject and disagree. “While it would show the breadth of our talent if we demonstrated our ability to take a romantic song and split it into parts for the both of us, there’s something already magical about a song that was written with the express purpose of a man and woman expressing their love for one another by singing in turn. There are modern songs of the variety, like Somebody to You by the Vamps, and there are classics like Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, though the slang pains me to sing – and there are a whole gamut of things in between. Surely we’ll find something incredible in no time.”

Duke nodded emphatically, too invested in trying to think of the perfect song to be too disappointed in himself for not thinking of ‘the perfect song’ in the list of things they needed. He almost suggested singing the same song Jimmy had, as sort of a non-subtle ‘how to do it better’ video without ever saying those words, but he’d be happier if they didn’t; the song had always seen a bit stupid to him. Loving all of somebody wasn’t even remotely possible when there were always parts of people that needed improvement.

That was besides the point though. Right now they needed an epic song. An epic duet, as Ellie pointed out brilliantly. “You’re entirely right, as usual,” he sighed. “Singing a true duet also gives us room to play with the advantage of having two wonderful voices instead of one mediocre one, and built in harmonies and moments of connection are always preferable. That’s why I think we need something more emotional than Somebody to You and something a bit, well, more elegant than Ain’t No Mountain.” Duke pursed his lips and brought his finger to his chin in thought before remembering something and pulling his phone hurriedly out of his pocket.

“Strangely enough, I think I have a playlist that could suit the situation just fine,” he murmured, pulling it up. He’d made it several years ago, when he and Ellie were together, as a list of songs they could sing if they wanted to annihilate everyone at karaoke. "Most of these are true duets. The Time of My Life, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Endless Love of course, the classics....” he kept scrolling through. “And then newer ones like I’ve Got This Friend by The Civil Wars, No Air by Jordan Sparks, Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillait. Any of those spark an interest? Or at least a general direction towards old school versus new school love songs?”

[andalasiasduke]

charmingellie‌:

For some reason, Duke already having a list of his own, without any input from her at all, made Ellie feel as though there were a pit in her stomach. It must be a fear of being left behind, Ellie quickly rationalized. After all, it did seem that many of her princess counterparts were a bit thirsty, settling for the first boy to show any attention to them at all. After all, Princess Marley had recently gotten back together with that wretched Dylan Donati, and her own sister had belittled herself by dating the help! Jace was a kind soul, but he certainly wasn’t fit to date a princess. And yet Adelaide had lowered herself in a way that Ellie never would. And of course any thirsty princess would be blessed to land a prize like Duke rather than some half-trained barely-prince, but it still felt preposterous to her, that he would have a list at the ready and would probably easily be able to sweep one of them off of their feet at the drop of the hat, while Ellie waited. And waited. And felt like she was waiting for an eternity.

“I am adorable, thank you for remembering,” Ellie said casually, as if none of her worried thoughts had happened at all. She waved them away like they were nothing, though deep down she was quite sure that they would come back to irk her later, when she was alone and allowed to wallow away from watchful eyes. “And viewers will certainly agree that I’m adorable, when we figure out the right way to frame your serenade.” Ellie stroked her chin lightly, her fingers barely ghosting across her skin so she wouldn’t leave the area she’d touched with any kind of of lingering oils from her hand. She needed to truly think on this, because the first idea that she’d had was truly… ridiculous. Something that Duke was sure to laugh off, but she hated to seem as though she weren’t quick-witted and like it was taking her too much time to come up with a plan. And so, she spilled her idea anyway, trying to cast it off as something light and humorous lest he think it was foolish.

“It would be beneath us to do a mockery of their moment, wouldn’t it? To specifically announce that we’re recreating their outing, but showing them the ways in which they can improve in the future?” Ellie said tentatively, her idea expanding as she continued to speak. “Or perhaps we can pass it off as an act of kindness and sing together. We can frame it as a Valentine’s gift to the kingdom, so that the messaging can be a  bit more subliminal and a bit less direct. We want to share our talents with the world – but it reminds people that we’re very worth being sung to, and shows them the bar which they need to reach when they decide to make their efforts, since we’re both supremely talented and they have to hope to be at least half that worthy if they wish to have designs on us in the future?”

“You make it easy to remember,” Duke replied happily, relieved that he’d apparently gotten away with acting like he cared too much by listing out names. Complimenting Ellie was a much easier route, and it never felt like he was crossing a boundary; after all, exes or no, romantic interest or not, Ellie was every word for attractive no matter which way you spun it and she knew that she deserved the recognition. It would make their video far better than Jimmy and Maddie’s, and even as the thought crossed Duke’s mind he realized it meant he’d already mentally agreed to the plan before even letting Ellie make her pitch.

Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try to let her convince him, especially since Duke wasn’t sure there was a way to do this in a way that would flatter them both. Whether he wanted to do it almost didn’t matter as much as whether or not it would be a good idea for them publicity-wise, and he was just lucky he was brainstorming with Ellie, the other person on this planet who understood that as well as he did. Her first idea made him laugh though, and it wasn’t an unwelcome feeling. “Honestly? If it didn’t make us look ‘mean’ to the people who already think that we are? I would think it was great,” he admitted. “It’s what they deserve. We could also be a tad more subtle and go with a ‘this is what princes who want to be smooth but don’t know how look like’ caption to a recreation instead of calling them out by name.”

The idea had left him smiling - it was exactly the brand of petty he liked which was also unfortunately why he knew it was the brand of petty most people didn’t like, at least not coming from him. Her second idea was more on brand with how he wanted them to be perceived: kind, generous, adorable, and available. “You know what, Ellie? I think that might just be perfect. You and I singing a Happy Valentine’s Day to Auradon shows off our talents and our big hearts. And our good looks, of course. Everyone will wish it was them we were personally singing to!” He got more excited the more he thought about it, and he pulled out his phone to write down a list. “What would we need for the video aside from hair and makeup, and a camera crew?”

[andalasiasduke]

charmingellie‌:

Oh. Hearing all of Duke’s ideas, she realized perhaps she was being overdramatic after all, thinking she’d have to resort to commoners. Breathe, Ellie, she reminded herself. Just breathe. She smiled at him, thinking that the falseness of it would have been masked from anyone else in the kingdom, but he could see through her unlike any other. If anyone was going to realize that her eyes didn’t match her lips, or that there was a pinched manner about her cheeks, it would be Duke. Her smile didn’t grow any more real as he listed options, either; they were plentiful, but all of them filled her with dread. They’d take so many improvements, so much training and worst of all, she’d have to lay so many traps to even hook them in the first place. She wanted someone to notice her now, without all of the hard work that should be reserved for servants and peasants behind her designs. Ellie didn’t want to make her life happen, she wanted it to be something effortless and magical that happened to her.

“Yes, well, I suppose all of those options do merit consideration,” Ellie said dismissively, as if Duke hadn’t just done her a great favor, shaking her out of her frenzy and listing a great many options worth consideration for her. “And perhaps I can come up with a similar list of princesses for you, although I do hope you’ll understand if that’s not my highest priority. After all, none of the eligible female royalty has publicly snubbed available princes by making a show out of wooing remarkably rich garbage lately.” Because even when they cared about each other, they’d always cared about themselves more, hadn’t they? That was how she and Duke operated, and she couldn’t seem too interested in his well-being. Not more interested than she was in her own, at least; it would be highly embarrassing should he feel that she still cared too much for him. 

Even if at times she wondered if she did. Times like now, when all of his royal options had seemed loathsome to her ears. Times when her face lit up delightedly at the implication that he’d still sing for her. Times when she had to hold herself back from lighting up with true enthusiasm, and remind herself to stay measured and regal rather than open and honest and free. “And where might I find one of those?” Ellie asked, her voice with a hint of amusement as she looked towards Duke. Curse him if he turned out to mean someone else, but for now, she was hopeful that they’d get the chance to show off for the kingdom just how much better than they were than their peers, at least this once more.

Duke didn't blame Ellie's smile for not being 100% of the way real; these options were less than desirable. In a way they were hardly options, which was perhaps a rude way to think about people, but Duke himself had had a similar moment when he'd tried listing out the remaining princesses in the land, with the loosest definition of the word 'princess' possible. True, they had genetics and breeding on their side unlike commoners but that was the one difference. Even worse were the crown princes and princesses who 'forgot' they were royalty and seemed to want everybody else to forget it as well. It was disgusting, truly. He and Ellie were some of the last of the real royals in Auradon - why should it be their job to wrangle the others into acting accordingly? Weren't they do enough by holding an example?  

Listing options was the least he could if he didn't want his conversational partner falling into a pit of panic, but as soon as Ellie shrugged it off and suggested perhaps making a list for Duke if she had nothing better to do, he blushed. Duke hadn't been playing, but it felt like he'd been caught showing his hand somehow. Ellie was good, embarrassing him when there was nothing to be embarrassed over. Casual, quick, always on her feet - how had another prince not snatched her up yet? It would always remain a mystery. "You're adorable for thinking I don't already have a list of my own," he tried, "but unfortunately it's about as tempting as yours." A smile came out of him, a real smile that wasn't meant to be manipulative or confusing or anything but a smile. It was kind of funny, that they were in the same boat. Maybe they'd always have too much in common.

Was that a bad thing, though? Duke loved himself, after all. And in turn he had an affection for Ellie that went beyond mere pleasantries, although was it the sort of affection that would lead him to serenade her on the holidays? Maybe not. He cocked his head to the side and grinned, striking one of the many poses he'd cataloged. "Well, I think I fit the classification of royal male friend," he started, "and we all know I can sing better than anyone else who's serenaded somebody today. I guess what it boils down to is what I'd get out of it. Having the whole of the kingdom think that I'm still hung up on my ex is hardly the best way to find my next beloved, so the question lies: how do we rebrand this so that it makes both of us seem desirable?"

[andalasiasduke]

Nova, Marley, Kiara, Adelaide, Margaery, Scarlett

do the sexy love™ with: It seems I’ll have to marry one of Ellie’s sisters and sacrifice myself for the other, how droll. I suppose I’d rather marry @margaerycharming, when all is said and done. She’s young and impressionable and isn’t spending all her time around droll books.

sacrifice myself for: Adelaide Charming. Simply for being a Charming.

kick: Kiara. She’s never really quite used up her full princess potential, has she? It’s such a pity, too.

take to prom: Marley. A princess through and through, as it ought to be.

abandon in jurassic park: @novafitzherbert. She’d be happier out there and at least it would give her an excuse for how tangled her hair is.

push off a bridge: Scarlett. She’s acted like I did something horrible to her from the start, let’s give her a reason to be unbearable.

send 6 characters/people and i’ll tell you who i would!

[andalasiasduke]

Nadia, Rosalie, Ivy, Audrey, Venus, Ruby

do the sexy love™ with: Thank you for the women of a suitable standard. I daresay Rosalie’s dating history loses her points, and Audrey and Chad seem most entangled, and the Fitzherbert sisters are notorious for being a bit…loose. So, once @nadiaazar and Mateo break up, I’d gladly court her. She’s absolutely stunning, almost as beautiful as me.

sacrifice myself for: Audrey. She’s an innocent who’s done nothing wrong. And she’s Ellie’s future sister-in-law as well.

kick: Rosalie for her horrid taste in men.

take to prom: Ivy. I don’t hear from her much which is a good thing when it comes to damsels, really.

abandon in jurassic park: Ruby. 

push off a bridge: Venus.

send 6 characters/people and i’ll tell you who i would!

[andalasiasduke]

Ellie, Chloe, Evangeline, Leilani, Tori, Evie

do the sexy love™ with: My future bride, of course! And between the two of these options that I’d most likely marry, the more comely option is without a doubt @leilaningata but I think I’ll have to go with Chloe. She’s more royal, and she doesn’t have such a complicated romantic past.

sacrifice myself for: @charmingellie. My bond with Ellie is unusual to be sure but it is special as well.

kick: Evangeline for not noticing me in the past. She’s magnificent but having dated that Isle boy takes points off of her in the end.

take to prom: @leilaningata. And I would’ve treated her right, too.

abandon in jurassic park: @toritriton. That strange “princess” would probably enjoy it out there in the jungle, ugh.

push off a bridge: @happyevieafter. It’s nothing personal, dear. It’s just that you’re not a real princess.

send 6 characters/people and i’ll tell you who i would!

[neganmaggie]

send 6 characters/people and i’ll tell you who i would:

[charmingellie]

abbyskane‌:

do the sexy love™ with

sacrifice myself for

kick

take to prom

abandon in jurassic park

push off a bridge

@charmingellie​ @zevonchanca​ @nadiaazar​ @weseltonsdarcy​

[andalasiasduke]

@andalasiasduke @hookedoncj @mateobjorgman @vicwestergaard

[andalasiasduke]

charmingellie‌:

A younger Ellie might have raked her bottom lip through her teeth at his question, but this older, more mature and refined Ellie would never dare do something that might undo her perfect lip care. Instead, she kept her face completely even, not letting anything wrinkle or furrow or move out of place in the slightest, although Duke’s question had her unnerved. She’d certainly tried making lists of eligible princes in the past, but he was right – the names on said list were dwindling, more and more being crossed out all the time. And though she could say that they hadn’t been the right prince for her until the cow’s came home, where was the right prince for her? Liam Dubois was an Isle kid, a prince in disguise; his brother was currently under discussion, but he wasn’t set to inherit a kingdom, nor was he particularly refined. Mateo Bjorgman? Taken. The Koenig boy? A possibility, but he wasn’t around nearly enough to dote on Ellie to the extent that she wanted. The truth was unavoidable – Ellie might have run out of options.

“Am I going to have to groom a commoner?” she whispered in horror, her face finally shifting as her eyes widened in horror. She looked at Duke, expectantly; solving problems caused frowning and wrinkling and stress, things that didn’t suit her at all! She wanted someone else to magically make this conundrum went away, but now her terrified question was out in the open. If she was going to let her ex-boyfriend see her vulnerable in such a way, the least he could do was try to solve her problem for her… Or perhaps step up to the plate and volunteer himself after all, at least as a backup. 

Duke fought the urge to bite his lip, impressed at he was at Ellie's facial control. Had she always had a mastery of the many muscles in the human face on par with working models of today? No, that was impossible. He would've noticed, as that was something he himself worked on daily. The only answer must have been that Ellie was maturing, and gracefully too. The realization that she was only getting better with time made him wonder, for a brief moment, if they'd been too hasty in cutting it off. If they'd never broken up, they would've been together a long time by now and they'd undoubtedly be the power couple of Auradon. Had he made a mistake, not wanting to get engaged so early?

But then she spoke and he decided he'd made the right call after all. How silly of him to doubt himself, he was always right. If Ellie thought grooming a commoner was even a possibility, she wasn't ready for marriage. "Absolutely not," Duke blurted, grooming his eyebrows with his fingers like he did when he felt a head-ache coming on. "That shouldn't even be a last resort. If anything, there are near-royals that can be groomed. Like one of the Triton cousins, surely there's a male one somewhere in the throng. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of merfolk, but at the very least they received the proper etiquette growing up. Or the Koenig boy, even if he's a bit of a lump on a log. Similarly, there's Ralphie's son - again, a bit of a lump, but a lump with potential. Or a Dunbroch son - Queen Merida's brothers have children, don't they? I know they're all very bottom-of-the-barrel and not in line for any thrones any time soon, but they have the grooming. All you need to do is pick the one with the most potential and make him fall in love with you so that he tries his darnedest to win you. And the making him fall in love with you part will be easy," he promised. "It's the selection that'll tax you."

“Of course, those are all long-term plans,” he allowed. “If you’re looking for a short-term fix, someone to serenade you today, there probably isn’t one. Unless of course you have a royal male friend who would reap some benefit from it as well.” Duke let that last sentence hang as delicately in the air as he could, keeping an unassuming look on his face. A grand romantic gesture for his ex would make people think he hadn’t moved on and that he wasn’t an option - if Ellie had a way to eliminate that problem for him, though? He wouldn’t mind helping her out. For old time’s sake, of course.

[andalasiasduke]

charmingellie:

And this was precisely why Ellie had turned to Duke for such a crisis. Other people would have told her such ridiculous things, like that it was selfish to want to take someone else’s happiness away from them, or to think she deserved it more than they did. Or worse, they’d try to rationalize that the heart wanted what it wanted, as if a heart had any business wanting some stupid commoner when someone as sophisticated, refined, and royal as Ellie was available. Her breathing steadied as Duke rattled off possible reasons that this could have happened to Maddie when nothing of the sort was happening to Ellie, and finally she clicked off on her phone screen to give Duke her full attention instead.

“You’re right, of course – I have heels that would certainly make me taller than he is, and the runs were certainly tacky and too try-hard. And with someone like Maddie on the receiving end, well, it must be a joke. Maybe it was simply a trial run and he was trying to make sure that his performance would be well received by someone better.” Ellie was really just repeating Duke’s words, but hearing them come from her own voice, as if she had thought of them first, certainly made it feel more viable. And it certainly made her feel more at ease. “Well! Good, that’s settled, then. This is all just a ridiculous farce, and people will forget about it by tomorrow, when the next grand gesture pops up. And perhaps said grand gesture will be for me,” Ellie added pointedly. She didn’t know if she wanted Duke to perform said gesture, just so she could feel paid attention to again, or if she wanted him to use his connections to other princes to make something happen. She just knew she was entirely sick of spending February alone, and even sicker of waiting for people to come to their senses.

Duke closed his eyes and nodded along as Ellie said back his theories in her own words. It was such a pleasure listening to somebody who actually got it - he himself would've been just as appealing a conversational option if correctness was all he wanted, but talking to an ex was far more socially acceptable and less likely to get one called crazy than talking to oneself. And Ellie always ended up elevating his ideas as well, which he could hardly complain about. Genius needs company, after all. "Oh, a trial run, that makes way more sense," he agreed. "They're just friends, so she’s the perfect person to practice a grand gesture on, somebody who isn’t so grand herself."

He smiled at the way their conclusions seemed to ease Ellie. If he was being honest, it seemed silly to him for her to be wasting head space on someone like Jimmy Dubois anyway, who was royal by birth but hardly royal by nature. A prince wasn't just the title, after all; it was also the breeding and the behaviors. Did he really have room to be trying to lecture her on that though, when breeding and behaviors should have led him to make the ultimate romantic gesture with Ellie back when they were together instead of wimping out? No. And anything he said would've likely sounded like a catty ex, which wouldn't be good for his image. His brow cocked at the mention of Ellie on the receiving end of a gesture and had to know, "Who exactly do you plan on fulfilling that prophecy for you?" For a moment he considered that maybe she had a secret boyfriend but that idea was preposterous. Ellie, like himself, would never be able to keep that a secret. "Just out of curiosity, of course. Because I hate to say it, El, but royals around here are getting paired off as if there was a flood coming." He hated saying it for himself as much as he hated saying it for her. There simply weren't as many princesses around for the taking as there used to be.

[charmingellie]

Ellie was fuming. She’d been staring at this ridiculous InstaRoyal live video for what felt like an eternity, unable to believe that it was real. A perfectly eligible prince, wasting his time on a commoner? Again? There was only one person she knew would understand her frustration, and so she’d stormed off to find her ex-boyfriend, waving her phone frantically in Duke’s face the second she found him. “Have you seen this?” she hissed, unable to believe it. How was she still alone while ratty-looking tomboys like Madison La Bouff had princes knocking down their doors? “What is James Dubois thinking?”

@andalasiasduke

[andalasiasduke]

Duke wasn’t surprised when Ellie showed up with a phone in her hand and anger in her voice; it was the “season of love”, after all, where unworthy people paired up to flaunt their togetherness in the face of people far more deserving. That’s why he’d preemptively chosen to be on a self-declared ‘social media cleanse’ for the month, but that just applied to his phone - Ellie’s, on the other hand, was fair game. He took it from her so he could hold it up closer to his face, squinting to better see what was going on. He needed new contacts, these old-prescriptions ones were making life unnecessary difficult. “Oh goodness, just watching this gives me second-hand embarrassment,” Duke muttered, lowering the phone back to Ellie’s height so she could take it back. “My guess would be that he’s thinking the correct thought that short boys have very slim pickings.” 

An alternate idea popped up and his face lit up, certain that it made sense and would make Ellie feel less spurned. “Or we all know how little the Dubois boys take anything seriously, it could very well be a joke video. That’s why he had to sing it to someone who clearly doesn’t fit the bill. It could also explain why he’s adding all of those ridiculous runs.” He scoffed a bit at that last part - the truth was that anyone with ears could hear that Jimmy was great, but Duke was too busy thinking that, had he sang the song, it would be a million times better. His recent male-version of Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings had tested well on AuraTube, after all. Why did any of his male peers even try?

[ryanmccartcn]

[andalasiasduke]

harryhookx‌:

“now why would i respect the law that never respected i?” the pirated taunted, standing his ground while he had his eyes set on the boy before him. it all started to take a turn as the other was yelling and he glared - wanting to not look away, his own face stern and attentive. “witness - ha! you are just reminding me i have a crowd and a show to give … “ in that moment, he rushed him and took him by the shirt, pulling him in closer, laughing. “oh dear - are those tears welling up… now, we can do this the easy way and you can just move on and forget - or….. “ as he was speaking, he had the point of the sword pointed at the others side. “we can give them a show - and i do have to say - i do miss a good show.” 

“Because the law brought you here and saved you,” Duke said as firmly as he could, “like it’s saved others before you and like it will continue to save others after.” He’d never felt more like his father, the swashbuckling but utterly kind hero he’d heard so much about, and he also had never felt more terrified in his life. At least, he could tell himself, if this pirate boy killed him or even wounded him right now, there would finally be a case for sending the villain kids back where they belonged. They’d been given a chance, and they still stole and threatened violence. There had to be a limit. 

But he didn’t want to die before his face ended up on currency, and the truth was he’d never felt pain before and today didn’t seem a good day to start. “Consider me in the moving on and forgetting portion, then,” he replied, his usual calm and superior mask creeping back on slowly as his posture straightened. “I love a good show, too, but this is not my idea of entertainment. You really should pay for it, though.” With that, he swiveled on his heel and walked away as calmly as he could, not looking over his shoulder in case the other boy was following him, and mentally promising himself to call the police on the thief when he was back home and safe in his castle. 

[andalasiasduke]

into anyone around here?

Of course. I don’t like showing preferences for one princess over another, but I don’t think it’s been a secret that I’ve been interesting in getting to know @leilaningata better. I understand if she isn’t in a good place to get to know somebody well in that capacity yet, or if that somebody isn’t me, though, and I suppose that there’s lots of fun and fascinating women in this kingdom: off the top of my head, some girls that I’ve had things to talk about in the past or think that we’d have things in common and would be interested in having more conversation there with include @rosemarydubois, @harlowtriton, and @ivynotpoison.

[andalasiasduke]

harryhookx‌:

harry stood still for a moment, trying to process what just happened and what he just got himself into. thinking of an escape route - he then cocked his head. “would you really do such a thing? would that make you feel better to go ahead and send off a perfectly troubled boy that is just doing a mistake … wanting to remember how it was back in the day - playing with swords?” he smirked, moving in closer as he licked his lips. “maybe you should do the right thing – do the safe thing .. “ harry stated just before he rushed the end of the sword to the others neck with a laugh. “oh, how i missed this – now, would you like to play a bit, mate?”

“It would make me feel better if the law was respected, yes,” Duke said as firmly as he could, switching his phone back to the dial screen in case he had to call the cops right that second. “They won’t send you to jail or the Isle, but bad actions deserve some consequences. And however pure your intentions may be, as I said, if you stole it, you’d have to do something about it.” He swallowed thickly, thinking about how his dad could battle trolls - he certainly wasn’t that brave or strong, but he believed in morality. “And hurting somebody with a sword would certainly reap worse consequences!” he screamed, garnering the attention of people around them. “I do not want to play, and I do not want anything to do with you, so if that’s a stolen good, kindly go return the sword to whence you found it or pay the market price. There are witness here and the cops on the phone and if you hurt me, you won’t get away with it.” He was almost crying, even more terrified of villain kids now than he’d been even when they first moved here. He found himself thinking for the 100th time that King Ben’s law was a mistake. This never would’ve happened in good old Auradon. 

[andalasiasduke]

Who do you think made a really cute couple under the love spell? Who do you think should never, ever be together?

I thought @rayradcliffe and @audreytherose had some potential, actually; being inspired by somebody is always romantic. @whereswaldohatter and @scarlettcorazon were apparently perfect together - I can’t say I noticed this one personally, as I was ‘hanging’ with @leilaningata and for once Scarlett wasn’t there, but Scarlett not being there speaks to the efficiency of her match, I think. I don’t think any couple should become a couple solely because of this weird, mixed up experience, but who am I to judge?