#qa speaks

[queerauradon]

So I just saw your answer that had this "P.S. I am secretly hoping that Disney Channel shits upon my cynicism and at least acknowledges Carlos as gay, even if they don’t put him in a relationship with Jay." I just wonder why you think so strongly he is gay? I'm not saying it's wrong, because I like the idea of him and Jay but still; I just wonder why you are so sure he is? :))

It’s not that I’m “so sure” Carlos is gay, per se.

At the time I made that post, the canonical information about Carlos suggested that he might identify as queer. E.g. feeling pleased by Jay’s laugh in Isle of the Lost, reacting shyly and trustingly to Ben in Descendants, and then…well…basically everything that was Carlos and Jay’s interactions in Descendants. In all the canonical material, Carlos’s language and behavior was queer-coded. More specifically gay-coded, once one takes into account that he didn’t show similar (romantic?) interest in female-identified persons.

Since then, the source material has swerved away from the queer coding to some degree. There’s been some (rather lazy) attempts to show him being paired with Jane, such as in Return to the Isle of the Lost.

I don’t think at this point I could say Carlos is canonically gay. (Like I, humble Tumblr denizen, ever could homg.) But I will still hold out that I think his canonical presentation is queer, whether that means bi or ace or pan or something else altogether, even if that doesn’t get explicitly acknowledged by the source material at any point.

P.S. I am still secretly hoping that Disney Channel shits upon my cynicism and at least acknowledges Carlos as queer.

[queerauradon]

I remember last year when I discovered this blog, you had a smutty piece about jay and carlos based on chocolate frosting?? Just wondering where that went lol

Lmao so actually that wasn’t my piece? Someone else wrote it (can’t remember who) and I know I still have the reblog but I’m pretty sure that the OP deleted their blog so you can’t go beyond the readmore which suuuucks because I feel you. That chocolate frosting was some good shit.

[queerauradon]

Hi! I just wanted to know what your thoughts are on Descendants 2, based on the information we've gotten (trailer, sneak peeks, songs, pictures, etc). It seems that some people aren't as excited for this one. But what do you think? Do you think it'll be a hit like the first movie? Do you have any issues with how D2 might go? Unless you've already voiced your thoughts, I apologize, but I hope you can reply as soon as possible.

To start, I think part of the reason people may not seem as excited has to do with how some of the tie-in material got handled. E.g. Wicked World was really fun but lacked a lot of the campy charm and more serious emotional weight of the original movie. Ooor maybe I’m just projecting my feelings on a wider set of people as you do.

Based on what I’ve seen so far it seems like they may or may not recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the original. (Caveat, I haven’t had time to read the most recent book, Rise of the Isle of the Lost, which obviously leads into this movie and would probably give me a better idea of the tone of Descendants 2.) There’s hint they may get at some meatier questions—how does Mal adjust to the immense pressure of being a King’s girlfriend? why have the other villain kids been left to rot? how are they going to handle (or not) future redemptions? is it even possible to fully redeem a villain?—but we’ll see. I’m hopeful but not expectant, if that makes sense?

One of the things I worry about in terms of how D2 might go is that they might fundamentally misunderstand what made Descendants so popular in the first place. Yes, there was the campy shenanigans, the terrible puns, the inexplicable dance numbers, and the weirdly named children of popular Disney characters. (All of which are veeery present in the promos.) All of that is awesome and wonderful.

But looking at the fandom, a lot of what appealed to people was the characters and the acknowledgment of their pain. Despite the glitter and dubstep, Descendants ended up being a fairly legit look at rising above abusive cycles to find happiness. It hit a chord of genuine emotion that many modern DCOMs can’t quite manage.

Sooo, yeah, I am worried that they’ll spend too much time on the style and not enough on the substance. I think doing so would really rip the heart out of the franchise. (At least for anyone over the age of eight.)

This is probably way more rambly that you were expecting Nonnie but lol I cannot keep my mouth shut whoops. Also one night turnaround is like the fastest I’ve ever done on this blog so my present to you! (◕◡◕✿)

P.S. No matter how they handle it, it’ll still probably be a “hit” at least in terms of viewers and sale numbers. This franchise is too big to fail.

[queerauradon]

I just wanna say I can't wait to read the he'll out of your Descendents/Stars Wars fanfic. And I wanted to ask if you'd be doing more aesthetics for it for like Doug, Chad, etc.?

Anon: Hey I was just wondering if you were writing that star wars au? I completely understand if you got busy and gave up I was just curious

Anon: oh, my god, can someone make a fanfic/story for your descendants the force awakens au storylines ??

@takenbydisney​: Hi so I was just reading all your Descendants Star Wars AUs and I was wondering if you were going to or if you've already written a fanfic based on those AUs because I would not hesitate for a second to read it 

@rainbowpandababy​: how's the Star Wars au?

Or: Here’s where I answer all the asks sitting in my AskBox re The Star Wars AU.

These were scattered all through the AskBox so thank y’all for still caring about this trashy AU even though its been forever jfc?

I’m still writing on the Star Wars AU but it’s going to be more like a collection of drabbles and one shots loosely connected by an overarching plot than it will be an actual legit fic. Because an actual legit fic would be way bigger than I have the time/energy for whoops.

Basically yeah there’s nothing online aside from whats in that tag because life ended up slowly killing me and I lost the plot for...ever. But now I’m back and things will get posted as I finish them.

Yes I would love for people to write (or otherwise create) in this universe! Take my concepts or make your own or whatever. I’d love to see what people make with it. I’m all about this. Never enough Star Wars AUs to go around. Go. Do. Achieve.

Also if you make some of this plz link me so I can squeal and make you graphics for it.

Speaking of graphics yes I’ve got several more aesthetics planned out. Now including new characters from Descendants 2! (Space pirates, fuck yeah!) Coming soon to a dash near you.

If you’d like to help me get the plot back either send me Star Wars AU headcanons or ask for them or whatever I don’t care please just feed my trash soul that wants to talk about this AU until the heat death of the universe okay?

[queerauradon]

Reading 'Isle of the Lost', it felt like I was reading a dystopian novel then something for Disney. I cringed at the moments they ate spoiled and rotten food. King Beast sounds more like a dictator since he allowed children to live in these conditions.

I think a lot of time the fandom focuses on the ways that the Isle of the Lost serves as a dystopia. That makes sense. It’s a prison island where they live off the literal garbage of Auradon. Everyone has cracked, twisted, warped. Survival isn’t something that comes easy; no matter how many dubstep dance numbers get included or how snarky the kids are about it.

Still, that focus on the Isle means that the fandom as a whole seems to miss how inherently horrific Auradon itself is. We’re treated to a country were:

sentient animals (apparently capable of university-level education, even!) are denied personhood and are enslaved to complete menial chores for the upper class

faeries and other magical humanoids (such as the Genie) are restricted not only from the use of their magic, but also from traveling without permission from the crown

dwarfs (specifically the seven dwarfs) are forced to meet mining quotas to satisfy the desires of the upper class, and are not compensated fairly for their labor or allowed days off

the entire kingdom of Atlantica has been transformed into a tourist attraction, where mer and sea creature alike must work without compensation or days off

Basically? Auradon Prep is an extension of the Court, which is made up of the wealthy, important, and human. It’s heavily implied throughout Secrets of Auradon Prep and the rest of the Descendents tie-in media that there is little to no social mobility, even among the humans we see attending Auradon Prep. For example, Doug may be allowed to attend Auradon Prep due to the “helpful” actions of his father, but he’s certainly not given any attention beyond what Ben occasionally deigns to give.

What we see in Descendants is the elite. The less that 1% of Auradon. The people whose lives are enabled not only by a mass incarceration re: the Isle, but also by the systematic and institutionalized enslavement and exploitation of literally every sentient being who is not part of that less than 1%. This system was explicitly put into place by King Beast. Within the novel, it notes that attempts at reform have never succeeded due to Beast using tactics of intimidation that he encourages Ben to use as well.

True, Ben displays throughout the novel and the movie a genuine desire to initiate reform. His decision to bring the Rotten Four over from the Isle is perhaps the most obvious example of that. He also, in the novel, makes the first steps toward dismantling the worst aspects of this oppressive system.

Still this world is broken. The Lost Children aren’t the only ones who have been cracked and twisted and warped by what they survived. Jane is frightened of her own magic because it marks her as other. Doug is passive in the face of injustice because for years he and his kin have been helpless in the face of it. Audrey is determined to remain in power because her parents foster those who have fallen out of power. And they? They are the lucky ones.

This is the legacy that Beast as wrought.

-drops the fucking mic-

[queerauradon]

I saw a drawing of Mal with pointy ears and now i can't stop thinking of Mal being all proud of her ears because they're like her mother's but as soon as she gets in Auradon and sees Fairy Godmother's, Jane and all those others fairies ears she immediately grabs Jay's hood and put in her head because she don't want (not even for a second) to have something in common with them. I don't know why I'm sending this I just feel I should share this with someone..

No like this is exactly the kind of thing that ought to be shared at large because damn, yes. When she was little she cut her hair brutally short because she wanted her ears to be seen. Even once she let it grow out a little she was always tucking her hair behind her ears because, like her eyes that glow green with a magic she doesn’t actually possess under the barrier, they identify her as something fae. Something feared.

But then there’s Auradon. Where everyone with pointed ears wears pastels and dotes on royalty and doesn’t even want the magic flowing around them. It’s a betrayal of all the things Mal dreamed of and she hates them for it.

Things only get worse when she finds out that maybe outside of the elite circles that dance attendance to the court, outside those who play along, outside the beatific smiles and glittery dresses and perfect manners…the fae want their magic back. Not so they can rule the world. But because the magic is them and they were never meant to be human.

(What, sue me, I want Activist!Mal who realizes that just because she’s good doesn’t mean she stops fighting against the oppression that coerced her into being “bad” in the first place.)

[queerauradon]

Ahhh I'm still embarrassed lol I truly didn't think anyone would like the fic [it's mostly kink disguised as character study/plot, and terribad kink at that] so the mostly positive feedback has overwhelmed me. But I'm glad you liked the necklace bit [spoiler: Jay gives a piece of jewelry to each of them]. And sorry for being anon; tumblr doesn't let sideblogs send asks, and I would tell you my sideblog, but it's kinda. extremely nsfw. and terrible lol

…tell me your sideblog. Let me stalk you. -Winsome, not at all creepy smile.-

And dude, if this is your “terribad” kink pretending to be character study, then I’m going to quit because I don’t think I could handle your actual character study fic. It would be too good. TOO GOOD.

[queerauradon]

Me: finds chanthony Me: oh god here I go again So cute!!! Aka I'm trash and I saw you were writing a soul mates au¿?¿?

Yasssssss join me and like three other people in the trash can that houses Chanthony shippers. (O‿O✿)

AND YEP. Soulmates!AU that’s actually gonna be part of a multi-part series that includes all my trashy OTPs like Jaylos and Audvie. I might have small issues with controlling myself.

Originally I was just gonna answer this but then I was like lulz no let’s also include a sneak peek of what utter trash this is really gonna be so haaaa here you go. I’m so sorry. But not really.

Anthony spends a lot of time looking at the name on his wrist.

‘Looking at’ actually doesn’t imply the reality. It’s not ‘looking at’ so much as ‘scowling at’ or ‘glaring at.’ Or, as Harriet Hook once put it: ‘planning murder while staring in the general direction of.’

If he hadn’t been on relatively good terms with Harriet he might’ve called her out for that. Unlike him, she had not been graced with a name that spelled out her romantic destiny. And unlike him, she had not had to put up with increasingly moronic insults from the plebeian masses about being practically Auradonian because no real villain would have something so goody as a soulmate mark. Really, Harriet had no room to give commentary.

Of course, injury was added to insult. Not only did he have to put up with having a name; he had to put up with having an utterly ordinary name that promised nothing grand. ‘Chad’ had to be the least interesting name ever created.

It probably was the name of a baker.

His Auntie Anastasia had fallen in love with a baker. Look at the good it had done her. Twenty years on an island, slowly wasting away, bruises over her soulmate’s last thoughts still inked around her wrist because she never stopped pressing her thumb against the words. Anthony had only seen those words once—don’t take her please don’t take—but that had been enough.