The Tri-Kingdom AU splits from the original story toward the end of Descendants 2.
Mal has been convinced to come back to Auradon, but her effort to return to the Isle of the Lost has shaken Ben considerably. He hadn’t noticed the pressure she was under, which makes him consider if the other VKs have ever felt the same, and if any future VKs he wants to invite over would experience that same pressure, or worse. And he reflects on how out of place he felt on the Isle. It pushes him to decide on an amendment to his original plan to invite the children of villains to attend Auradon Prep.
Ben contacts two other schools in the United States of Auradon; Neverland Academy, and Camelot Heights Excellency Institute, whose principals (Wendy Darling and Merlin respectively) agree to work alongside Ben to provide the best chance for rehabilitated villain kids. And thus the new education plan for VKs is created. They will start at Auradon, be given a trial week, and then are given the choice to stay full time, or move on to Neverland Academy where they will be given another trial week, and so on, with Camelot Heights Excellency being the final option. Should they reach the end of their week in Camelot without prior choice, they are given a choice of all three schools, or a return to the Isle of the Lost. But no one would choose to go back there… right?
(When the barrier is removed for good at the end of D3, Dragon Hall becomes a fourth option for all VKs and AKs of schooling age.)
OCs Masterlist here!
Schools Info
Fic synopses
About the creation:
Working title coined from the central 3 kingdoms; Auradon, Neverland, and Camelot.
I made the first few OCs when I was 14 with the tone and quality of the original movie series in mind, and have kind of just expanded and kept it going since. The AU itself was further finalised after D2 came out. D3 influenced it a little, more towards the events at the end of the series, and Rise of Red influenced a single character’s name and nothing else (I will be so honest, I watched the movie and disregarded most of it). It was additionally inspired by the Melissa De La Cruz books.
Regarded canon and influences:
Descendants 1, 2, and 3
The Melissa De La Cruz book series (it has been a long time since I read these, so heavy on the subconscious inspiration)
Most relevant Disney movies (the Disney Princess franchise, for example)
Jake and the Neverland Pirates
Epic Mickey
Some Disney Parks rides (eg Pirates of the Caribbean)
Various other fanon content and such that I've seen over the years and subconsciously contributed to my own view of the Descendants world.
Disregarded canon (at least mostly):
Descendants: The Rise of Red
Descendants Wicked World
Frozen 2, Encanto, Moana 2 (and other movies I simply haven’t seen yet)
notes: another little one because I am very behind
The library had become her place of solace, and the only quiet the whole town had to offer. Rose had also befriended Gunther in the few seasons she’d lived in the valley, from her frequent and bountiful donations to the museum, and seeing a friendly face there was always a benefit. That, and the other most frequent visitor being her other closest friend in the valley, which said a lot about her friend-making ability. Elliott had only really become her friend since informing her that he’d also only recently moved to Pelican Town, and had little more than a year more experience here than she did. They’d crossed paths a few times before and he’d always met her with a smile or a light conversation is she had time to chat. Through their small talk alone, she’d quickly learned that he was a writer which was intriguing by itself, and had reached a level of enjoyment of his company that she found herself frequenting spots where he usually would be.
Which brought her to the library.
On this particular Monday, Rose entered the old building with a duck feather in her pocket intended for him. Just a few days prior, he’d explained his use of feathers for writing, carved down into quills, and it had been her every intention since hearing it to gift him the next fallen duck feather she found. He was right where she expected him to be, and approaching him was as easy as ever.
"Hey, my ducks dropped this, and it made me think of you," she brightly said, before she could overthink of second guess anything. Holding it out to him, the way his face lit up reassured any initial worries that crossed her mind.
"This is a beautiful gift, thank you," Elliott said earnestly, taking his time in examining the beauty of the feather, before tucking it between the pages of the book he was reading. The vibrant green tip stuck out the top, a reminder to take it with him when he eventually left the library, so for the moment he could turn his attention to Rose. “How are things with you?” he asked.
“Busy, very busy,” Rose sighed while trying to remember her appreciation for her new life and the fact she could make a good living for herself. "The farm's getting big now, it's a lot of work."
"By yourself?" Rose just nodded. She knew that he was aware all the land belonged to her, that there was no one to help, and equally understood the ways in which he communicated sympathy by now. "Next time you need a hand, give me a call. I'll read my latest work to your plants, it helps them grow."
"I'm sure it does," she smiled, willing to have him in her space regardless of the help he could realistically provide. Just having him around to talk to would be a help on its own.
"Trust the expert Rose," he smiled, and she was unsure if he truly believed that reading to plants would help. It didn’t matter, really. But one day, one day soon, she’d have to invite him over just to see if it did really help.
Auradon prep is considered to the be the most traditional choice, despite the endless attempts to brand as modern and innovative. Magic is heavily taboo and not taught anywhere but history classes, and successful students often attend higher education and boast careers similar to those in their families.
Subjects are very standard, and overall there is a focus on academia with a secondary push for success in sport; Auradon's tourney and fencing teams hold a hefty reputation.
Additionally, it is the perfect school for young royals expected to take over a kingdom when they're of age.
Neverland Academy
Neverland Academy takes full advantage of the local beaches and culture to deliver a more relaxed learning approach, perfect for students who prefer an alternate learning style.
The arts are the school's priority; they have a strong dance team which thrives in both competing across the kingdoms as well as showcasing a biennial full length performance. Additionally, they focus heavily on music to fit in alongside Neverland's wide music scene, and the school itself proudly hosts the annual Neverland Sessions music festival. Successful students often don't go far from campus, fitting right into the creative culture of Neverland after graduation.
Camelot Heights
Camelot may seem archaic and traditional at first glance, but Merlin is the forefront of modernising the kingdoms' politics, mentoring Ben outside of his parents' guidance. The school's campus is set into the old castle, but the modern interior reflects their beliefs of never judging a book by its cover.
Most successful students from Camelot Heights are known for having careers as politicians, historians, and explorers, pioneering the future of the United States of Auradon.
Dragon Hall
The Isle of the Lost's main school has a focus on being the opposite of Auradon and breaking every pre-established tradition. Magic is openly talked about and even taught, despite the original barrier rendering it unusable. Younger students are educated on causing uproar, while older classes focus more on the psychology of evil, leadership skills, and independence of becoming infamous, all while giving students of all ages a basic academic education.
In addition to Dragon Hall, the Isle of the Lost hosts Witch School of Potions for evil little girls, and Hell Hall for boys.
Prompt(s): Intertwined fingers | "So, are we official then?"
Pairing: Emilia x Jay
fic: Laws of (e)Motion
wc: 1033
notes: I must remind you, the audience, that I write for the movie. also, I'm incapable of avoiding a hint of angst so cw for poor familial relationships, parents arguing mentions, and mentions of dementia and other age-related ill-health (hinting at death).
“So what’s going on?”
“I haven’t really mentioned it to you or the team or anyone really,” she started, taking a deep breath to prepare herself for where to even start explaining. “My parents have been arguing, like seriously arguing for the past few months, and I’ve just found out a few days ago it’s because my granddad… he’s probably not got much longer?” She could barely look at him, and watched her ice cream melt instead as she spoke. “There’s a lot of dementia signs, from what I’ve been able to find out he hasn’t been keeping up with his housework either.” Emilia paused, mentally refusing to put all of it on him. Jay didn’t need to deal with her family’s issues. “There’s a lot.”
“How do you feel about it all?” He asked. “You’re thinking a lot about other people, I can see it. What about you?” His offer to listen felt like an open ocean to a shark raised in captivity. He’d been the first person to ask.
“Well I don’t really have a relationship with him at all, and I’m kind of used to the rest of it. It’s actually been quiet with Mum staying with him instead,” Emilia explained, once again using logical thought processes to process her feelings. Jay only half believed her. He saw straight through everything she was saying, to how much responsibility her parents were putting on her, if only for emotional support this time. And she hadn’t mentioned it now for months? That consideration, that she’d been putting on a front every time she worked with the team, just had him feeling guilty. “Sorry, I needed to talk to you about summer.” She didn’t need to lose track of why she originally wanted to talk to him because of her feelings.
“Okay.”
“Mum wants the whole family to go and stay with him. We’d be back by the time school starts up again for my siblings, but I won’t be in the city before then,” she plainly explained, getting so caught up in remembering the plans that it was only when she looked back at him, she was hit with how much she didn’t want to go. Now was about softening that for him though, he had enough going on with the team. “I just thought you were the most important person to mention it to.”
“Oh,” he mumbled, unable to hide his disappointment at the prospect of multiple months without seeing her. “I mean, no, don’t think I’m upset or anything, hang on.” It was the opposite of what he’d meant but trying to accurately communicate what he was feeling without sounding like he was blaming her would take some thought. “I’m guessing you don’t really have a huge say in it all?”
“No,” she laughed to herself. “I would absolutely not be spending my summer with basically a stranger in a completely different town if I had a choice, I really don’t want to go.” Her lightheartedness meant she could express how she actually felt, but it also left her feeling like she’d been hit in the stomach, struggling for breath. She tried quickly to move on before she started crying. Jay sensed it too.
“Yeah, I was really looking forward to finally having some free time with you especially now school’s done, and things with Poppy are being sorted, but I know that it’s not your fault,” he told her, honestly. “So I guess what I mean is, yes, I’m disappointed at the fact I can’t spend more time with you.”
“Me too,” Emilia sighed. “It isn’t forever though, just for the summer. I think Mum just wants Granddad to get his house sorted, maybe a care team or something too. It’s easier if we’re all in one place together.” With the haste in which the plans were made, and how she found out, talking them through to become even slightly okay with her summer kept subconsciously leaking out.
“That makes sense,” Jay validated her thought processes before she could ask.
“I’m talking too much,” she interrupted with apologies. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologise Emi, I’m not upset at you,” He looked far too deep in thought to not be upset. “No, okay, I think I’m just going to have to be potentially insensitive,” he said to himself.
“Please, I have no idea how I’m supposed to feel,” Emilia admitted. She’d figured she probably couldn’t feel much more vulnerable. “Your worst will at least make me laugh.”
“I hadn’t really thought about how this was going to come up yet, I guess I’d have made a bigger deal about it if I’d had time to think about it, but…” He couldn’t back out now, but it still felt like she deserved a better way for him to ask. "Could I consider you as my girlfriend?" Emilia had been left in slightly dazed silence, but Jay was very familiar with the slightly distanced look of processing on her face. He ended up filling the silence himself before he started actually listening to the thought that it had been a terrible idea. "You know, end the free trial?" She laughed, the joke landed. Of course it did, it was Emilia.
"Free trial..." she laughed to herself, passing Jay a light smile just from their shared sense of humour, before he took her hesitance and started second guessing himself.
"If you don't feel ready for that either, it's completely okay too," he reassured her. "We need to be on the same page for these things. So it depends how you feel about it. I get this maybe wasn’t the best time to ask..."
"I'd feel pretty good about it," Emilia smiled, unable not to as things started to feel a little surreal when the other side of the question flickered through her mind, testing the word on her tongue. "Boyfriend then?" It fit him pretty well.
"Yeah that would be really cool," Jay smiled, nervous joy radiating off him.
"Glad we managed to work that out," Emilia laughed lightly as she took his hand, Jay naturally running his thumb back and forth lightly over her hand. It just felt right. "Boyfriend."
Prompt(s): Kiss in the rain/snow || “Promise me!” || pastels/monochromatic
Pairing: Evie x Hayley
fic: Death's Daughter
wc: 1216
Notes: a little bit of angst to start of the week, but I really mean just a little bit. also slight adjustments to canon, allow it.
The Isle of the Lost was never nice, but it only felt fitting that the skies had opened and subjected the Isle to a torrential downpour the moment the news had been broken. Each of them had reacted slightly differently, and Evie’s choice of response had been to run. She left the tower exactly as she was dressed, and ran through the streets, her hair flattening against her scalp and face as the rain weighed it down, mascara running down her cheeks.
She didn’t stop running until she had long left the built up areas of the Isle, slowing now she could be sure she was alone to search for the specific entry point within the forest. There was only one person she wanted to talk to now.
When Hades had been shut away on the Isle of the Lost, he hadn’t been stupid enough to leave the underworld unguarded. In his place, he left a spell to rule over the undead spirits, and opened a portal into the Forest of Misery to watch over its rule, however after a few continued years of success, he would check in less and less. That was at least the story that the spell itself had told Evie. Over time, it gained personality and individualism, and sentience, and it longed for human connection. And without the restraints of personhood, it wouldn’t be held by barriers or clocked as even existing on the Isle by the royal family. It’s only limits were how far from the underworld it could stray. Evie had met the spell a few years ago, after wandering the wrong way and finding herself deep within the forest. It had called out to her, asking for some kind of companionship, and Evie was glad to give it. She’d return every day, and over time they built a friendship. The spell created a name for itself with Evie’s help: Hayley. Shortly after, Hayley took an image as its form, that of a girl about as old as the spell’s creation, and only a few years older than Evie was. They grew up together, and Hayley’s origin soon became forgotten and meaningless, just as soon as a friendship between them was solidified, which over the years became more than just that. Hayley’s existence at least as it was now was a secret, and Evie’s visits were equally secretive. It meant that the love they had for each other was also kept secret, guarded by each other.
Evie knew the entry point’s location well after all this time, and its glow only made her feel more upset knowing exactly what she’d have to tell Hayley now. As she reached her hand out to touch the glowing light, as good as knocking on Hayley’s door, her stomach turned with nerves. It had crushed her enough to hear, and now she had to be the one to deliver the news. Seeing Hayley’s face almost like a reflection in the mirror only made things worse.
“Evie,” she softly started, the statement of her name keeping Evie holding back tears. “You’re soaked.”
“Yeah, it rained,” Evie sighed, releasing the breath she was holding as she played with her hands. “I have some news.” Now or never, right? “I’m one of the four from the Isle chosen to go to Auradon.” A slight frown flickered over Hayley’s features that she quickly corrected.
“You’re going, right?” Hayley asked.
“I don’t have a choice,” Evie replied, a laugh coming out with it in hopelessness. “We’re leaving at the end of the week.” A moment of silence. Hayley was deep in thought trying to process it all.
“Good.” It hurt her to say, but it was only right. “You go and forget all about me, okay?” As she spoke, Evie had started to shake her head in denial of the request. She wouldn’t dare. “Go and find that prince your mom always wanted for you. You deserve that life.”
“I don’t want it,” Evie said, her voice raised in pitch by the tears that stung in her throat. She didn’t want to cry. She did everything in her power to avoid crying. Hayley just stared at her, and that did nothing to make her feel anything but the pit in her stomach that grew with every passing second. Were they arguing now? “I don’t care if you want me to forget you. Don’t forget about me. I’ll come home someday.” Hayley shook her head this time, in disbelief. A sarcastic smile flashed across her face.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” she muttered, each word dripping with venom. It was hurting her too. Evie pressed her hand against the seal, and it was solid just as she’d expected.
“Let me in,” she begged. For the first time since they’d first met, Hayley looked afraid of her. It broke Evie’s heart. The silence between them persisted as Hayley considered it, trying to hold a neutral expression over the storm of emotion she felt.
It was the first time Hayley had ever felt something this strongly. Her head felt like it was about to explode, a pressure building up from the inside out. She felt like she had to tear her stomach out. Her eyes stung, ached, and felt dry no matter how many times she blinked. And she felt colder than she’d ever felt before. None of it compared to the pain in her chest, despite knowing nothing could be wrong. Spells didn’t get sick, but it hurt like she was dying. Finally, after a long minute, she broke the seal and stepped out of the underworld onto the Isle of the Lost. The rain soaked her clothes in moments, her hair matching Evie’s almost exactly. And she hugged her, holding Evie close for what could be the last time, ignorant to the pressure she was putting on her bones. Evie didn’t care. In Hayley’s arms, she sobbed, holding her as tightly as she could.
“I love you,” Evie confessed. Hayley froze, the first time she’d heard the words aloud. “You can’t tell anyone that. But I know it’s true, and I can’t stop it.” Love wasn’t something she was allowed, but she supposed nothing she’d shared with Evie was allowed. And all this time, she knew it was love.
“I won’t forget you,” Hayley muttered. “I… if I ever have known love, I’ve known it with you.” Hayley took a tiny step back, breaking the hug, and taking Evie’s face in her hands instead. They were no warmer on her cheeks than the rain. “Do you trust me?” Evie nodded. Hayley squeezed her eyes closed, and pressed her lips against Evie’s. They were warm, despite the weather. She often forgot how warm Evie was, for nothing was warm in the underworld. Hayley broke their kiss just as suddenly as she’d started it, and they were left with a moment to just stare at each other and accept everything that had changed between them so fast. Time froze. And then Evie’s hand reached out to her face, and Hayley learned how it felt to be kissed. It was still uncertain, but a little less uncertain this time, and without saying it aloud both girls shared the gratitude that their best friend chose to be here right now, over anywhere else.
warnings: cw for generic dysfunctional families, divorce mentions, arguing
wc: 1697
summary: Lloyd and Daisy's most difficult conversation yet
It had been too long since they’d spent actual quality time together, and it was rapidly no longer becoming a case of being too busy with the team. Hockey was reaching the end of its outdoor season, and so the lull between the transition to indoors was in full effect. There were no external pressures stopping them seeing each other. So why hadn’t Daisy replied to anything properly in what felt like a little too long? How come they hadn’t made plans? He caught up to her after her training session that evening, the brightly lit hockey field behind them as they walked. He prompted her the longer way home, by the park.
“Daisy, we need to talk,” he started in slight desperation to start saying anything. Now they were hardly talking any time they were in each other’s company? Immediately he watched her close her shape a little, turning away from him, still without saying a word.
“I’m not doing this to manipulate you,” Daisy said, her voice wavering through tears. Lloyd had seen her cry before, and he recognised it now. He’d got things wrong this time.
“Hey, I never thought that,” he gently reassured her, looking around for somewhere to pause for a moment at least. “I never thought that.” A few paces away was a park bench. With one hand on her lower back, Lloyd guided her to sit with him. “This is kind of what I wanted to ask about.”
“I’m sorry,” Daisy whispered through sniffles, wiping away tears as fast as she could.
“It seems like since we talked about being together, you’ve been a little… not you,” Lloyd started, hoping in everything he had that his clumsy words would come across in the right ways, that it would sound like he cared about her, because he did. “I wanted to ask if something was wrong? I probably should’ve phrased that in a less scary way though. I’m sorry, I was wrong for that.”
“I really didn’t want any of this to be a thing in the first place, but I guess we’re here now so…” she started, held back by her own thoughts. If he didn’t understand, or didn’t take it well, this would likely be the end of everything. Considering it made her feel slightly sick. “I don’t like being vulnerable.”
“I’m ready for it,” Lloyd reassured her, meeting her eyes and sensing her hesitance. “Hit me with it.” He’d hoped to lighten things a little and at her tiny smile, it seemed to have worked.
“I’m really not used to things going well. I know it seems like it, that I probably have everything and I have no reason to not feel great all the time, but—”
“That’s not true for anyone,” Lloyd said. It was clear that it was a taught sentiment, something someone had said to her that had stuck, and that alone changed the way he saw her. Someone had said that to her, and it resonated so much that she carried it ever since. “Sorry, I interrupted you. Continue.”
“It sounds dramatic, but I never really got over my parents’ divorce. One minute they were in the happiest marriage ever, and then the next day they weren’t together anymore,” she explained, her chest tight from the anxiety of his silence as she listened to herself talk. “And I never understood how that could happen. How someone could go from being totally in love, to shit-talking each other to their kid all the time.” Daisy didn’t talk much about her parents usually. Lloyd knew they weren’t together, and he’d only ever met her dad, but other than the obvious assumptions she hadn’t said anything specific about where her mother was, or why.
“That doesn’t sound dramatic to me,” Lloyd said. “I sometimes wish my parents did get divorced.”
“Wait, they're still married?” Daisy blurted out. It was news to her. She and likely the rest of the city assumed Garmadon was as bitterly divorced as they come. A paperwork issue, probably. Becoming an evil warlord was probably a time-consuming process, and sending divorce papers to ‘The Volcano Off The Coast’ probably wasn’t an easy job for the mailman either. Lloyd just nodded, shrugging with the most I don’t know either expression she’d ever seen. Watching her smile at his response was relieving at least.
“Keep talking, I’ll try to stop interrupting,” he told her. He was serious about hearing her.
“I guess after that I just saw it everywhere. Celebrities that got married like it meant nothing. My friends’ parents were single. Then when my friends started getting in relationships, they’d say they loved each other and then treated each other like shit,” Daisy explained. “And then my first relationship.” Her words and pointed look carried enough weight that Lloyd didn’t need to ask, he’d always remember the pieces she’d already told him about her ex. “And I feel like a total idiot for justifying that, and even for staying, but I can’t explain how much safer it felt to be in it than to have the conversation about leaving. He had to leave me.”
“That’s not your fault,” Lloyd said, like he had many times before and was prepared to many times again. Each time he did, he saw Daisy believe it a little more.
“It took me a long time to even consider being that close to anyone. I have a lot of friends, but I’m not at all close to most of them. Emilia’s the closest and we hardly actually see each other,” she continued, pushing past every uncomfortable and downright painful feeling that had been brought up. “And then you came along, and I tried so hard to avoid everything but…” she couldn’t bring herself to say it. No matter how much she wanted this, how much she wanted him, it was so difficult to put her faith in their future when the patterns of her past seemed so much more reliable.
“If you want to call this over, I won’t be offended, I promise,” Lloyd said, an obvious waver to his voice that he’d tried to prevent. He didn’t want to lose her, it wasn’t an offer he wanted to make, but he’d forever prefer her to be happy without him than miserable with. “I’ll still be nice to you.”
“That’s… that’s not what I want, I know that much. I’m actually really scared of losing you, which maybe doesn’t make the most sense,” Daisy admitted. Having her innermost worries so easily heard made her far more relaxed. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Lloyd. I feel like I’m just scared of everything, and it feels so selfish to drag you through all of that with me.” It felt like she could breathe again after being trapped underwater for hours.
“Are you scared of me? Be honest.” Even saying it felt selfish on his part, but Lloyd had to ask, and this was perfectly in context. He couldn’t stay with someone who looked at him and felt even a hint of fear, and in his mind that felt like a tall order.
“Not at all.” Her reply was fast and easy and certain. A part of Lloyd still didn’t believe it, he was far too destructive. Far too like his father in too many ways.
“Can you name what you are scared of?” he gently asked, as if he was unsure of each word being the right one.
“Being in a relationship and the uncertainty of it all, I’m scared one day you’ll just decide you hate me,” she openly said. A lot of progress had been made from the start of their conversation. “I’m scared of saying the wrong things to you or in front of you. I’m scared that my dad will hate you, and you’ll hate me for that. I’m scared your parents will hate me, and then you’ll agree with them.” She took a breath, aware that it seemed like she was just offloading now, so she tried to get back to the point, the height of what she actually feared. “And most of all I’m scared that one day you’ll see me like I see myself on my worst days. You’ll see all of this wasn’t worth it, that I’m not worth it, and even though we’ve been together for years you’ll decide one day that you don’t love me anymore and we’ll just never see each other again.”
“Like your parents…” Lloyd realised aloud, gathering his own thoughts. It took a moment for him to say anything else of substance. “Okay, I can promise that you could never make me leave with the wrong words. Anything you do won’t be enough to make me hate you, you wouldn’t hurt me on purpose. I trust that.”
“Okay,” she breathed, taken aback with his certainty while supposing it made sense. She didn’t expect him to intentionally hurt her either.
“I need you to make a deal though?” he continued. “Talk to me about this. It’s okay to be scared, but I need to know. I don’t want you to make decisions without me too.”
“Okay, it does sound awful when you say it like that,” Daisy laughed.
“Not awful, it’s human. But if we’re together then we have to be together, okay?” Lloyd smiled. “You’ve already taken on so much with me. Let me do the same. Then it’s fair.” Lloyd reached his hand out for a formal handshake to confirm their deal.
“Deal,” Daisy agreed, taking his hand. In one swift movement, he brought her knuckles to his lips, planting a soft kiss on her fingers.
“Thank you for talking to me, and again, sorry I made it so stressful,” Lloyd said, his apology earnest. Even just the way he looked at her, a soft smile reaching into the depths of his eyes, made her feel safe. Adrenaline faded. “Do you have time to come over?” She nodded, standing up from the bench, ready to go immediately. Lloyd kept hold of her hand as they walked, slowly coaxing her into letting him carry her bag. The silence between them felt comfortable now. Things were okay.
Our story begins on the Isle of the Lost, with three protagonists whose choices guide their exploration of the wider world of Auradon: Hannah, daughter of Hans of the Southern Isles; Elizabeth, daughter of Gentleman Starkey; and Grace, daughter of Gaston.
Hannah's story revolves around finding herself outside of the perceptions of her father, and making reconciliation with the next generation of Arendelle possible. She has a front row seat in learning how to lead, from King Ben of Auradon, and Princess Elianna of Arendelle.
Elizabeth's story is of learning how to fit into her family, both born and found. She's spent her whole life looking for someone, and only once they're found does she realise that's the only objective she's ever had. A new search begins, for a new purpose, over the beaches and amongst the jungles of Neverland. A crew of pirates surrounds her in support of her journey.
Grace's story is rejection of where she came from, something that's always been in her nature. And it's of choosing to show herself, particularly plainly when she joins Neverland's dance team. Despite her rough integration into Auradon and Neverland's culture, she eventually accepts guidance from Rosa Fitzherbert, and builds a life she can be proud of.
In between these paths and the locations they span, the Isle of the Lost and Camelot equally hold their own share of past, present, and future, full of potential...
notes: I restarted this prompt 4 times with 3 different pairings. but it is out.
Every day was starting to feel like yet another long day. Whatever wasn’t adding up about each new, minor threat to the city made each attempt at drawing some kind of connection draining on their mental energy as a team. And beyond that, the constant state of uncertainty was definitely starting to jeopardise sleep. And that meant another night of staying up into the early hours of morning, doing anything to distract themselves.
Jay and Emilia had done everything in their power to maintain some kind of sleep schedule, despite how difficult. At one in the morning, they were two chamomile teas into the night, and had got into bed together even if actually sleeping still felt far away.
"Can you play that one where you do nothing?" Jay asked upon Emilia’s suggestion to waste a few hours on a video game to take their minds off things.
“You want that one?” she queried. He never wanted that one.
“Yeah, put it on the big screen, I want to watch."
The game loaded up, the familiar jingle playing before the option to start came up, followed by another loading screen. There would be a lot of that before it was actually playable.
"Are there shooting stars?" Jay asked in the new silence, his voice small from where he lay on top of her.
"I don't know yet," Emilia said. She wouldn’t find out until she loaded up the game fully, and ran around the island for a bit. "Probably not." He snuggled closer while he had a moment in which movement wouldn’t disrupt her too much, burying his head against her neck and pulling the covers over himself. With his head on her chest, Emilia could still comfortably hold the controller with her arms around him. She kissed his head before the game came to life, a summary of the day’s events to start that she scrolled through.
"How about catching bugs?” Emilia suggested, getting a content hum from Jay. “Bug man's here." He already knew of bug man, an NPC who the player could sell bus to for a higher price, although he’d never actually seen the character. The first course of action upon the game’s final start up was to find that NPC, before collecting as many bugs as was physically possible in one night. Fortunately, locating bug man didn’t take that long, and she prompted her character to engage in dialogue. His very first line was about his enjoyment of bugs, giving Jay all the context he needed.
"That's a lizard," he said, Emilia’s laugh at his bluntness vibrating through her chest, making him smile too. She felt him relax further as she skipped through his dialogue. "Catch some bugs."
An hour or so passed, and Emilia ran through several nets as her player character scooped up bugs, filling her pockets before returning to bug man to sell. She was quickly making thousands of in-game currency, and was pleased for that to continue until they fell asleep. That was, at least, until she heard the familiar twinkle sound that had her scrambling to adjust the camera angle in time to trigger the ‘wish’ function. Her face lit up, Jay noticing her baited breath as she waited for the sound again. There was usually more than one. It sounded again, and she smiled, pressing the right button in order to trigger her character to do the same.
"I get star pieces tomorrow if I catch enough tonight," Emilia explained, totally unprompted, while Jay just smiled from under the covers.
“You look like that when you’re excited about something,” he softly said, more to himself than to her. "Star." Jay had prompted her just in time for her to press the right sequence of buttons to catch it.
With the added input of shooting star wishing, the game became far more intense as each bug catch was paired with quickly altering the camera angle and putting away the bug net in order to acknowledge it. Jay spoke again just as she’d started to think he’d fallen asleep.
"What's the point of all this? Like, what do you do?"
"You just run endless errands, decorate the place, document the wildlife," Emilia explained in the best way she could, because the real answer was essentially ‘nothing’. "You basically just live on an island."
"It looks so nice," he said. Her player character ran towards the back of the island in search of more bugs, which technically she found, but it wasn’t that obvious to Jay. “Emi what is that?” He’d only seen a monstrous lump of vague material.
“I forgot!” She exclaimed in joy. “I’m going to be so rich. That’s my bug pile. I save the bugs I catch sometimes for when bug man gets here.” She said it like it made sense, but all Jay saw was a clumpy mountain of squares. She started her character’s sequence of loading them all into her pockets.
"Is that why there aren't any now?" Jay asked, it seemed like a logical explanation especially given the size of the area occupied by the various plastic bug boxes. "Because you caught them all?"
"No, they're just asleep," Emilia explained. "There are some that come out at night. June has fireflies."
"Oh, it's real time?" he said. It made sense as to why it had been night time for so long in game when he gave it more than a moment’s thought. The day and night cycles in most of their other games weren’t real time though. "That's cool!" Half the bugs fit in her pockets, if that. This was to be a multiple trip kind of situation.
“Yeah, they have real world holidays too,” she continued explaining as her character made the trip back to bug man, sold the first wave of bugs, and then returned to the pile.
“We should put it on next time one comes up,” Jay suggested. While on her second trip to bug man, she smiled softly. He was actually starting to enjoy it, which only surprised her a little. It was an incredibly understimulating game.
The bugs all got sold, and she was left repeatedly pressing the same button each time a shooting star flashed across the screen, and the music had transitioned to the 2am track at least fifteen minutes ago. Every few moments she considered starting something else; going to another island, getting back on top of decorating her house, maybe even diving for sea creatures. Her eyes felt heavy, maybe it was time to take advantage of that and turn the screen off.
“Jay?” she whispered, in the knowledge that he’d reply if he was awake enough to hear. Nothing but a few light snores escaped him. Emilia smiled, relieved. If anyone needed the sleep it was him. She turned the volume on the TV down low enough that the jingles of shutting down the game wouldn’t disturb him, and once it had saved, turned the monitor off and dropped the room into darkness. As she pulled him a little closer, for her own comfort more than anything, and closed her eyes, she hoped that he’d be okay if they put the game on again tomorrow evening. There would be beaches full of star fragments to collect after all.
