they really did everything except show the act or the bruises to make us think Beast physically abused his family….
rotten to the core still hits like it did the first time
the sequence where Evie is flirting with that fabric guy is so cute
Carlos is literally a menace, i love him
the market supports my theory that in the start Auradon dumped seeds for like the most basic farming, because they do have fresh food it’s just scarce and not diverse
i also think that there’s probably a portion of the Isle residents that want to live as normal lives as they can, we see people hanging out at the market, peacefully doing laundry, eating together (….leftists)
A Prep is so obnoxious, with all their music and cheering (i think this every time)
I can not with Jay flirting straight out of the gate, he was probably like ‘oh yeah she saw me throw this blond idiot on the ground yeah that’s fantastic groundwork to hit on her’
Evie trying to hypnotise Ben while everyone else is talking
Sarah Jeffery plays that popular bitch everyone hate-loves really well, with like a lot of condescension and eyes tracking everything
Jay: does something weird
Jay: :D
it’s so weird that the girls’ rooms are smaller than the guys? what was the reason, set designers?
Jay’s haul includes a lot of wallets and bracelets, a laptop and a spoon, love that for him
as someone who’s studied in a boarding school, the part where they sneak out really irks me because we had guards, cameras, motion sensors and the main doors were magnetic. i know it’s a dcom, but they could at least add FG patrolling the corridors or something
they really run almost 4km to the museum… athleticism
Jay and Carlos making fun of the spindle… muah
Mal looks so relived that the spell worked, i think, after the first failure, she was worried that her magic is weak
when Jay was sitting on the floor, both girls patted his head as they walked by
i still don’t understand why Jay says ‘killer’ when he sees Jafar’s statue. it’s clearly not said in a positive sense, he looks almost betrayed?
the way Dove plays Mal is so tense. her face is almost always scrunched up, her hands either on her hips or hovering a little to the sides (like she’s trying to make the personal space bubble bigger), her posture overall is rigid. and when she’s near Maleficent it only worsens, plus the way she walks changes, it’s almost like she’s cowering? her knees are a little bent and she steps not from the above but from below.
Mal is like a generational villain, i keep forgetting
also the ‘this is not for us to ponder, this was preordained’ can be interpreted in so many fucked up ways, that’s exciting
in the end of the song, Maleficent rises to the ceiling, to the stars and Mal is left on the ground to look up at her
actually i take back what i said in the notes. having them all be marketable cookie-cutter dolls is by far THE worst/funniest outcome. brb i gotta draw this
Core Four, general ~drama~ and hints at what might be the larger plot here. Set during D1, 2400 words.
*
“Thanks Fairy Godmother.” Jay says. He’s the only one of them who seems to be able to speak right now. Mal can’t, she knows that for sure, and Evie doesn’t seem to be able to either, if her lock-jawed silence is anything to go by. Her face looks perfect as always, but one of the delicate crystal drops in her tiara is twisted around sideways, sitting ever so slightly out of place.
Mal reaches out to tap it back into place.
Evie straightens her shoulders automatically, dropping them down and back as she lifts her chin and twitches her hand up towards her hair, a small movement, cut off before she fully executes it.
“Fixing your crown,” Mal whispers. “There’s a drop out of place, that’s all. You look perfect.”
“I’m not very perfect if there’s a drop out of place,” Evie hisses back, but she stays still so that Mal can fix it instead of running to a mirror to do it herself, so that’s something. Ever since her magic mirror almost got confiscated for being a “dangerous magical object”, Evie’s taken to hiding it any time they’re not in one of their rooms.
“Our parents agreed to this?” Carlos is asking. “Really?”
Fair Godmother frowns slightly. “Well, yes,” she says. “It’s been ever so long since they’ve seen you in person, and we made sure to stress the importance of this tradition in the letter--”
“You sent them a letter?” Mal bursts out, before she thinks about the words. “You think that’s going to mean anything to my mother? You might as well have sent a carrier pigeon to bounce off the barrier for all the good that’s going to do! We don’t receive mail, except for that oh-so-official royal summons we got to come here, and that’s only because my mother could tell from a mile away that something was up with that. If you sent them a letter on school stationery my mom is going to delight in burning it, and she’ll probably make your future funeral pyre with the ashes.”
“Your parents,” Fairy Godmother says frostily, turning to look at Mal, “have responded by mail, taken in personally by our courier. They did not burn the envelope, as it was, in fact, printed and distributed by royal decree. The young prince thought it best that the missive came from the crown itself, presumably after hearing as much from one of you four.”
“I’m sorry,” Evie breathes. “I told him about the mail when we were talking about the possibility of increasing isle infrastructure programs.”
Fairy Godmother looks at her. Evie looks back, shamefaced, glancing demurely up through her lashes. “I’m sorry to cause a scene, Fairy Godmother.” she says. “We’re very grateful for the chance to hear from our parents, really. I’m grateful that Ben was so thoughtful when he got the letter to our parents. It’s just an unexpected surprise.”
Fairy Godmother’s face softens. Evie’s always been better at manipulating adults than Mal is, which is why Mal should remember to keep her damn mouth shut when Evie’s around to do it better than she’ll ever be able to. They’re playing a delicate game here, and talking to their parents is only going to make things more difficult. Mal hates talking to her mother at the best of times, and with Fairy Godmother listening in and the potential for other cameras in the classroom…it’s not going to be pretty, is what she’s thinking.
“Your parents agreed to the call quite gracefully,” Fairy Godmother says, speaking to Evie and Mal now and largely ignoring the boys, as is her custom. It’s sort of ideal right now actually, because whatever silent conversation is going on between the boys doesn’t seem especially good and gentle and appropriate for the classroom. “They’re quite excited to hear from you, your mother especially, Evie dear.”
“Oh.” Evie says.
“How wonderful!” Mal chirps. Look happy and unassuming, that’ll buy them a bit more time before the old bat makes them actually talk to their parents. And maybe give Evie a moment to get herself together again. “I’m so looking forward to hearing from my mother again.”
“I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear from you, dear.” Fairy Godmother says, looking at Mal with an expression that might be something close to pity. Disgusting. Mal is the heir to unimaginable magical power, and she is not something to be pitied. Her mother is the spineless worm in their relationship, and before long Mal is going to finally get her chance to pour a bucket of iron shavings down her throat and laugh over the corpse.
“Oh, I’m sure!” Mal says brightly. Stall for as long as she can, that’s the way it goes. The longer she delays the shorter the inevitable call is going to be, and the less chance their parents will have to ruin this for them. “It’ll be such a lovely reminder of home, seeing them again. We’re so excited, really.”
“Wonderful, dear.” Fairy Godmother says. “If you’ll give me a moment I can set the call up right now, and you’ll have plenty of time to talk with them before class is over.”
Carlos snorts. “You really think they’re going to be able to make a video call?” he snaps, voice flat. “We don’t exactly have laptops on the isle.”
“We sent over a laptop for them that is wifi enabled and has all of the necessary programs installed, so yes,” Fairy Godmother says, “I do believe that they’ll be able to make the call. I understand that some older adults can struggle with technology, but-”
“You think we have wifi?” Carlos demands, eyebrows inching up his forehead as his voice gets even more incredulous. “Your magical dome blocks fucking everything—”
“Language—!”
“Dad knows how to use the dial-up.” Jay interrupts.
Good catch there Jay. The teachers, and especially Fairy Godmother really don’t like it when they use their parent’s names and titles instead of calling them mommy and daddy like the good little Auradon kids they’re pretending to be.
“Sure,” Carlos says, already scanning the room for exits, like they aren’t in here three times a week already. It’s a coping thing, Mal knows that, but it’s not going to endear him any to Fairy Godmother, who prefers it when people give her their full undivided attention while she’s talking. Besides, the only exits they’ll be able to get away with in this situation are the glass doors at the back of the room. The door up front behind the chalkboard leads to the secret hallway between the classrooms and the teacher’s rooms, and it’s not one that they’re allowed to use while there's any teacher present, much less the headmistress. The windows along the upper side of the classroom are possible exits, but Evie can’t scale the wall in her heels, and they’re not safe to use with adults around either.
They’re stuck in this situation, and Mal’s determined to get them through it, without resorting to running away.
“I don’t think our parents will be able to connect to the call, Fairy Godmother.” Mal says. “But it’s very kind of you to set this up anyway.”
Fairy Godmother offers her a condescending little smile. “I know you may not trust your parents with the new technology dear, but I assure you that the guards who delivered the computer and supplies said that they were very excited to see you children again.”
Fuck.
“Of course, Fairy Godmother.” Mal says, doing her ever-fucking best to keep her face even and not scrunched up into a teeth-barred growl that she’d like to. The result is a sort of pained grimace that scrunches her nose up in a way that her mother has told her over and over doesn’t actually hide anything, but it’s what Mal can manage right now, so that’s what she’s going to make work.
It has to work.
“Good, good.” Fairy Godmother says absently, ignoring her students and plugging cords into the laptop that she has set out onto one of the older A/V carts. There’s nicer new ones, but they’re only in use in the science wing, and certainly aren’t going to be used for a class of only villain children. They can’t be trusted after all, not after the things they’ve done to the poor innocent technology in other buildings. “Just a moment and this will be all set up, dearest.”
Mal definitely hadn’t meant to break the library computer while looking up a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but mistakes happen, and sometimes when a girl isn’t allowed to officially train her magic into something useful, it comes out in weird ways. Like sending a bolt of 375 degree energy down the cord connecting the computer to the mouse, and frying a bunch of the insides like they’re the cookies she was trying to bake. Just normal technology mistakes, something that could happen to anybody.
Or. Almost anybody, at least. Fairy Godmother’s perfect daughter Jane never makes stupid mistakes with her magic, but Mal’s pretty sure that’s because the poor girl has less magic in her entire body than Mal has in her little finger.
“Is there any chance that we’ll be able to take a moment to fix our hair?” Evie asks, eyes huge and face attractively relaxed into something between a blank look and a gentle princess smile. “I’ll only take a second, and I want to look my best for my mother.”
Fairy Godmother glances up from her tangled cords. “Well–”
“It’s been so long since I fixed it last, and I’ll just be a minute,” Evie adds. “Please.”
“If you must, but be quick, child!” Fairy Godmother calls after Evie’s retreating figure. Evie herself is already out the door, beelining for the bathrooms just outside their classroom. Goddess help them, Mal hopes that she’s only fixing her hair and lipstick in there, and not anything more stupid and self-destructive to appease the theoretical digital image of Grimhilde that they’re about to see.
“Are we waiting until she’s back?” Carlos asks, still scanning the room as subtly as he seems to be able to manage, which to his credit is probably too subtle for Fairy Godmother to notice. Mal can see the way his eyes are still flickering over every exit in the room though, and it’s a little worrying. “She shouldn’t miss this.”
Fairy Godmother sighs. “We can wait a moment, if anyone else would like a chance to freshen up.” she says. She’d probably like a chance to ‘freshen up’ herself, the old bat, Mal thinks to herself. Despite being the oldest magic user that she’s ever heard of, Fairy Godmother never seems to look her age until she’s around Mal’s pack for a while. Strange, the way things just work out sometimes.
“Thanks,” Jay says, without moving. He’s keeping his body in between Fairy Godmother and Carlos, which is probably the smartest move he can make right now. Fairy Godmother and their littlest pack member have an antagonistic relationship at best, and one of outright distrust and hostility at worse. Springing this surprise on them unannounced is going to fuck with all of them pretty badly, but it’s going to be an especially bad night for the insomniac crew tonight, Mal can tell that already.
Her blood feels like it’s pumping double-time in her veins just thinking about seeing her mother again, even just through a video call. Her magic, which is an ever-present force at her fingertips, is buzzing to be released. Her body is burning to do something, anything which will get them out of this unharmed. Her mind knows that it’s already too late, but her body is ready. Or whatever it is the Auradon kids say on their phones these days.
Gods, she really doesn’t want to deal with the fallout of whatever this call is going to be.
The door thumps open, and Mal clenches her jaw so tight that she can feel all of her teeth creak to avoid whipping around in her seat and throwing a fireball so big it’ll burn the whole building down at the intruder.
A set of sturdy, comfortable high heeled boots click down the aisle between the desks. The tile floor in here makes everything sound so very loud, Mal knows this.
Evie drops into the seat next to Mal. “Thank you all for waiting, and thank you for allowing me to go, Fairy Godmother.” she says, brushing a tendril of hair back from her face. She’s refreshed her eyeliner, and it’s so sharp and perfect that if it were a sword, she could slice the very air from Mal’s lungs before she’s feel it. Sharper than a scalpel, that’s their Evie.
“No trouble at all dear,” Fairy Godmother says, tapping away at something on the screen. “Your parents have just connected to the call, so if you would mind coming closer to the screen, there we are dearies…”
She gestures them forwards with an expectant flutter of her hand. Oh, but Mal doesn’t want to move right now. This desk, which she’s never really felt a particular affinity for before, is really a wonderful place to sit.
She’s the leader. The alpha. She has to be the first one to move.
Mal stands, dropping both of her hands into their okay singal. It’s the best she can manage right now, short of actually pulling Evie up alongside her. They’re going to have to pick up on it. It’s going to have to be fine, or else Mal is going to have to find some sort of drastic measure to make sure that nobody fucking runs away from whatever special circle of hell they’re going to go through in a moment, and she doesn’t have the physical or mental capacity for that today, not with the way things have been going lately.
Her pack follows the lead, thank the goddess. They shuffle forward, settling into their usual huddle. Mal and Carlos on the inside, Jay and Evie flanking them. Evie at Mal’s right hand, and Jay at her left, between Fairy Godmother and their crew, ready to keep their family safe. Sure, Jay’s hand is tight on the back of Carlos’s shirt, and Carlos is holding the leash that Ben brought for him to drag the little school dog around like it’s the only thing keeping him from flying rather acrobatically right off the fucking handle, but they’re fine. This is all going to be fine.
Fairy Godmother hits one last button, and glances back over her shoulder to beam at Mal’s crew. “They’re here!” she announces, like they can’t all see the bright red button on the bottom of the screen flashing that the call is live.
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