#*writing: para

[men-aresuchbabies-blog]

at the beginning | anya & dimitri.

Anya hadn’t even wanted a dog in the first place. It was something she reminded herself of again and again as she trudged through the streets, kicking up fallen leaves and shouting for Pooka at the top of her lungs. He had just showed up one day, and she had been dumb enough to take him in, and where was she now? Worrying herself sick in the cold autumn air, spending hours and hours walking around every inch of Disney she could cover, and the stupid dog still hadn’t shown up. The sun was starting to set, her feet were aching, and all she wanted to do was go home and get a bath and go to sleep. She’d started skipping meals again, to make the money last. The ice harvesters had had to let her go, and she was back to staying at the bed and breakfast, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t used to it. When the orphanage went through a bad time, she and the older kids would give up meals so the younger ones had enough. And honestly, she hadn’t even thought her situation was all that terrible, until Pooka disappeared. Now, though… well, now it felt like the world was falling to pieces. And she was lost, to boot.

It looked like no-one had lived in this part of Disney for years. All the houses were old and grand, probably should have been preserved by a historical society, but they each and every one of them had boards over their windows and doors, gates and fences with bent bars and broken slats, and she was pretty sure she’d seen bats living in one of the houses where the roof had obviously caved in. Wrapping her coat tighter around herself, she let out a breath to blow her fringe out of her eyes when she caught sight of something darting through one of the fences – something small, furry, white and above all, familiar.

“Pooka!” The shout echoed in the empty neighbourhood and she tore through the fence after the dog, just in time to see him round a street corner. Stupid dog. Stupid, lovely dog. She bolted, boots thudding on the ground as Pooka led her out of the neighbourhood and into somewhere even more unfamiliar than before. He dove through an iron gate and Anya squeezed through after him, just in time to see him disappear between two boards on a floor length window. “Pooka! For ffff –“

Her curse was cut short as she reached the window, and she put all her strength into wrenching one of the boards off it. It wasn’t nailed in very well and popped off quickly, allowing her to duck under the one above and through the broken window. Inside, well, it would have been incredibly easy to get lost had it not been so horrendously dusty – as it was, she could see Pooka’s pawprints, leading her right to him. She called out for him again, voice echoing long and loud in the empty hall, though he had mercifully slowed down enough for her to catch up. When she found him, he running in circles in the centre of a ballroom, barking as loudly as he could, and she immediately rushed down the staircase and pulled him into her arms, pressing kisses to his head whilst simultaneously cursing him out. She was so swept up in her relief at seeing him again that the dead could have risen around her and she’d hardly have noticed – as such, she was deaf to the sound of approaching footsteps from the other side of the ballroom.

[tiana-thewaitress-blog]

a little’s enough | tiana & copper.

Dukes always seemed to be packed out during the summer. It always amazed Tiana, considering how easily the place seemed to overheat, but every year, without fail, the restaurant would slowly fill up until people were queuing out the door, waiting for a free table. It was probably something to do with convenience, considering it was smack bang in the middle of the French Quarter, but honestly, Tiana didn’t mind. She got more hours, which meant she got more tips, which meant more money to put away for her own place. At this rate, by the end of the summer, she might even be close to her goal! Everything was coming up roses. And even better, Copper had just walked in the door of the restaurant. 

Loaded down with trays, Tiana hadn’t the chance to go over and say hello. All she could do was give him a smile while she passed out her orders and collected the empty plates, though when she got back to the counter, she gave him a sign that she’d be only five minutes more, and then they could talk. Unfortunately, someone who had just entered misinterpreted that sign as a wave, and suddenly, Tiana found her view of her almost-not-boyfriend obscured by someone who had decided that what she really needed was for him to drape himself over the counter and start flirting with her. He wasn’t the first man to do it and he almost certainly wouldn’t be the last, so by this stage Tiana barely batted an eyelid at it. Rather than kick off, or show just how uncomfortable it made her, she put on her friendly smile and spoke to him as kindly as she could, trying to sneak a glance around him to see if Copper was still waiting. She’d heard about a beach party and whilst she wouldn’t be attending at any point, he might like to go and take the great Tod that she’d heard so much about with him.

[frozenheartedprince-blog]

the torture of small talk | hans & anna & vanessa.

Things were finally looking up. Hans had spent the best part of a year on the mainland of Disney, attending parties and galas, meeting with the other royals, playing the charming diplomat, and it had gotten him absolutely nowhere. It was beyond infuriating. Everyone seemed determined to live in a bubble as far as he could see, and just about anyone and everyone he thought might be able to help him inch his way closer to a throne was already engaged, or in the middle of engagement talks. He had to admit, he’d taken a little bit of pleasure in it when the girl from the Highlands had destroyed her marriage on television, bursting that bubble, but besides that one humorous moment, it seemed as though all his work had been for nothing, and he would have to return to the Southern Isles empty handed.

And then, he met Anna. Beautiful, naïve, stupid little Anna, who was so lonely he’d had her in the palm of his hand after barely a week of knowing her. Well, truth be told, he still didn’t know her very well. They met sporadically, had planned a date that had never materialized, occasionally sent each other a text to make plans that would inevitably fall through, and yet every time he saw her, her eyes seemed to light up and she’d fall over herself to speak to him. She was so desperate, it was laughable. He could hardly believe his luck.

He’d made a visit to Arendelle today with a diamond ring burning a hole in his pocket, and had been told that Anna had gone into town, which he had to admit surprised him a little. Every time they spoke, she reminded him of just how lonely she was, cooped up in the castle all the time. He didn’t pay much mind to it, though, figuring she had probably gone out to enjoy the heatwave they were experiencing. Instead, he’d set off for town himself, and though it took the best part of an hour to locate her, it was hard to miss that tell-tale white strip of hair. Sliding his hand into his pocket to assure himself the ring was still there, he made his way over with a confident smile on his face and found it quickly slipping when he noticed Anna had company. Very, very bad company.

“Anna!” It was a struggle to keep his voice light and happy as he locked eyes with Vanessa, skin prickling with apprehension. There was no way this was a coincidence. “I didn’t realize you were friends with Vanessa! How long have you two known each other?”

[not-justaprincess-blog]

under the stars | kiara & ariel.

Kiara had never travelled so far into the Outlands. She couldn’t speak for Ariel (who knew where that girl had been? She probably didn’t know herself) but she had always seemed to catch herself at the border between city and wasteland, amongst the dive bars and seedy shops, unable to take a step further because – well, she didn’t know. It might have had something to do with Simba’s voice in the back of her mind. Incessant. Annoying. (fading) That voice wasn’t there anymore. Despite being the most impulsive person she’d ever met, Simba had been eighty percent of Kiara’s impulse control. Now that he was gone, there was no-one to talk her out of all her bad ideas, or prevent Ariel from enabling them, and so the two girls found themselves trekking through the Outlands, arm in arm, pretending they weren’t about to collapse under the weight of their packs.

It hadn’t all been a matter of boldly going, though. The two had met at Ariel’s house, packed up, set off laughing, and had promptly come to a halt where the city ended and the Outlands, the real Outlands, began. The sun beat down, the sounds of the city could be heard faintly in the distance, and the two exchanged a look that said, we shouldn’t be doing this. Simba’s ghost rose up in the back of Kiara’s mind. Of course you shouldn’t be doing this, he seemed to say. Go home before I tell Dad. (but simba never sounded like that never sounded so far away and formal and the simba in her mind’s eye was smirking but not in the way he did not in the right way and she couldn’t remember how he looked and she didn’t know if she ever would) Kiara took a deep breath, put her shoulders back, and flashed a small grin at Ariel, one she had seen on her cousin’s face many a time, a display of cocky bravery she wasn’t quite feeling.

“Dare you,”

And then they were off again, across the invisible border, and everything seemed to return to normal. Perhaps setting off in the summer hadn’t been the brightest idea, but after a few hours of walking, they seemed to have found a nice spot. A few trees were around to give shade, and didn’t look too bad for being half-dead, there was a small lake close by (lake was a strong word. it was more like a large puddle, but there was still more water than mud, and that was good enough for her) and there was a lot of open space where they could pitch their tent. Kiara shrugged off her pack, letting it thud off the dry ground as she stretched. There was a dull ache in her shoulder blades and the small of her back and the muscles in her legs burned from the walk, but she didn’t want to bring the mood down by complaining. Pulling off her sunglasses, she gave the place another glance around and turned towards the redhead, gesturing around with the hand that held the glasses; the other had come up to rub the back of her neck, which was feeling a little tender after being exposed to so much sun.

“Well, this looks pretty cosy to me. An’ I don’t know about you, but I need to take a break before my legs fall off. Should we make camp, or keep going?”

[shooting-formyownhand-blog]

all at once | merida & simba.

“If,” Merida started, opening her eyes. “this – y’know, if there is a, y’know, baby…” her mouth dried up around the word, and she swallowed hard, letting out a deep breath. “We should probably have names fer it,”

It felt surreal to be having this conversation, when everything else around them was so normal. Anyone who looked in on them, lying atop the bed in her room, would have assumed they were talking about the same things they always talked about, though Merida had taken a lot of pain to craft and keep up with that image. Music wasn’t exactly blaring out of her docking station speakers, but it was loud enough that no-one passing the door would be able to hear her conversation. The last thing she needed was for anyone to hear what they were talking about, especially her parents. Her mum might string her up there and then. She felt sick to her stomach when she thought of telling them. How would she even do it? Sorry I brought disgrace on the entire Highlands by divorcing the guy I never wanted to marry but eloped with because of a love potion, my bad that the media has been slagging us off for the last five months, sorry our lawyers can’t seem to get the bloody thing finalized, by the way I’ve been in a secret relationship with Simba Kiburi for the last year and a half pretty much except I can’t admit how I feel because that’s gross, and congratulations, you’re gonna be grandparents to the most notorious bastard in the country? She’d be dead. Dead or flayed alive or locked away in a tower somewhere to live out the rest of her days with no human contact bar a squalling bairn. She felt like flinging herself out the window already at the idea of it.

There was a brief moment of silence as the track changed, and Merida took another deep breath, tapping her foot to the rhythm as she picked at her nails. The plastic bag filled with assorted tests was hidden under her pillow, and the image of it flashed through her mind’s eye, sending another wave of nausea rolling through her; she turned to catch Simba’s eye, as if turning away from the picture in her head could make it disappear, before reaching out to touch the back of his hand. She was tired of avoiding him. They’d spent more time together since that night in the Outlands than they had in the last six months.

“I dinnae wanna be namin’ it after anyone on my side, though. All kind of auld-fashioned names, like Cullodena, or Eóin, or Barry.  Not fer a first name. But middle names, y’ken, they’re allowed t’be the weird ones. Elinor would make a nice middle name,” Would that appease her mum, or piss her off? She had no idea, but ever since she’d found out where babies actually came from (a horrifying day she mostly tried to put out of her mind), she’d wanted one of her kids to have her mum’s name as a middle name. If she had kids, an idea that had seemed laughable at the time. It wasn’t quite as funny right now.

“Fiónn’s a nice name, fer a wee lad, ah think,” she said, wondering if she should start writing things down. “Fiónn DunBroch… or Fiónn Kiburi. Except it cannae be your surname – can it?”

[shooting-formyownhand-blog]

soft little secrets | merida & simba

It had been a spectacularly bad idea to take the back entrance. All the lights in the Kiburi place were off, and even the floodlights set up to deter burglars, deviants and would-be assassins remained dark as she slipped over the fence, hitting the ground with a dull thump and a loud grunt. Her legs almost gave way beneath her, and she reached out to grab at the fence for support. 

It was a disastrous attempt – after the battering she had received in the pub, and the frantic punches she had thrown back, her hands were bruised and swollen, and a few of her fingers couldn’t bend right.  She managed only to hang on to the wood by the end of her fingertips before her legs steadied beneath her, only for her to panic when she realized that her usual method of creeping into Simba’s room was definitely out of the question. Scaling the fence had almost killed her. There was no way in hell she was ever going to be able to get up the tree, and she cast around the garden wildly, before coming across a few pebbles. That’d do. She went to throw one to the window, only to find that whatever way the guy had pinned her arm meant it wouldn’t quite bend back that far without an intense shooting pain going through it. The pebbles immediately fell back to the ground,  and she winced, tears welling in her eyes from the pain. The entire night was an unmitigated disaster, and now, she couldn’t even visit the one person she wanted – needed – to see.

It then dawned on her she had such a thing as a mobile phone.

Shrugging off her rucksack, she linked her arm through one of the straps, unable to hold it properly, digging through it with the other hand, the one which had fingers that still worked. After a moment, those fingers brushed the phone and she gripped it tightly, pulling it out and hastily swiping across the screen. Simba wasn’t in her recent contacts anymore, but she still knew his number by heart, and quickly punched it in, shaking as she raised the phone to her ear; after a few rings, it connected.

“Simba?” She started, hating how quiet her voice was, and how quickly it cracked. “S’me. M’ – m’outside, a-an’… ah messed up so b-bad, Simba, s-s-so bad, ah need t’speak t’y-you, can you – can you let me in? Please?”

[mad-miss-alice-blog]

from door to door | alice, wendy & michael.

Alice was excited, almost beyond all belief. She'd left the house very little since her return home, still apprehensive about going into public, lest she run into anyone familiar to her, but those concerns had melted away since Wendy had asked her to go trick or treating with her. True, they would mostly be playing chaperone for her little brother, but she hardly minded that. Any company was good company, even if it was the company of a four year old.

Her costume was mostly homemade, and a little less than professional looking, but she was rather fond of it and had already donned it before she'd even set out to meet the Darlings, unconcerned about anyone giving her odd looks in the street, for once. It was getting close to Halloween, after all; people in fancy dress was normal this time of year, and besides, she had already seen groups of people dressed up trailing past her living room window for the daily costume contests held at the carnival. She would have to ask Wendy if they could go there at some point, and see if she would be interested in getting on the ferris wheel, or having their fortunes told.

Checking over her wig one last time, she set off for Wendy's house, glad that it was fairly close - the fish tailed skirt she had picked out was pretty, but somewhat awkward to move in, meaning the journey took her a little while longer than it should have. Still, she showed up at their house with daylight to spare and was promptly shown to the nursery, where she was told Wendy and Michael were getting ready. Knocking twice to announce herself, she pushed the door open and quickly shut it behind her, twirling to show off her mermaid costume.

"Happy early Halloween!" she sang, grinning at them both. "Are you both excited for tonight?"

[shooting-formyownhand-blog]

everything has changed | merida & simba

Her rucksack was throwing her off. Usually, she could scramble up the tree outside Simba's window no problem, and shimmy through within minutes, but usually she wasn't also carrying just about every stitch of clothing she owned on her back (not to mention a fair amount of food she'd nicked from the kitchens, just in case she ended up on the streets for the night). She was relieved that the nights were already getting longer in Disney, as the cover of darkness helped prevent anyone from seeing her fail miserably to climb the tree, and to fall out of it onto her ass when she finally did make it up into the branches. So far, the night was not going well.

After a good twenty minutes of struggling, though, she finally swung herself up onto the branches at the right height, beginning to shimmy along the thickest one to get close to the window. After a few moments struggling, she slid the rucksack off, tapping the pane of glass on the open window to alert Simba to her arrival, before chucking the bag through the open window with all her might. She followed it in a few seconds later, landing less than gracefully on her feet, but at least this time, she came out of her climbing adventure unharmed.

It was so strange, to be standing there  after all that had and hadn't happened to them, and for a long moment she stood silently, under the pretence of catching her breath. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea.

"Hi," she said eventually shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "How... how's things? Been a while... missed you," she mumbled, dropping her eyes to her boots. This had been a bad idea, she had already decided. Maybe things were too different now for it to ever be the same. She'd stick around for ten minutes and then leave, she told herself, and save them both the embarrassment. Her mouth, however, did not seem to get the memo.

"You miss me too?"