[video]- A few days after Ben's speech

[hotheadwarmheart]

[A message from Lea appears on everyone's phones.]

So I was thinking... we don't know when more people are gonna turn up, but it's a pretty safe bet that eventually they will. And it's not super practical to have people walking around specifically looking for new arrivals all the time, or to throw a party and make a big speech every time new people show up.

So how about we set up a spot somewhere, like in the front entrance hall of the school, that's like an information booth? We could take turns manning it in case anyone turned up, and if anyone did, we could answer questions, hand out phones, try and explain the situation, stuff like that. We could maybe even print up some pamphlets or something that cover the information Ben went over in his speech, so we don't have to keep repeating the same basic stuff all the time. And to make sure people know where to go, we could hang a banner on the big 'Auradon Prep' sign; it's a big obvious landmark, so it'd be hard to miss, and the banner would serve double duty covering up the bottom part of the sign and making it seem less full of itself. What do you guys think?

Also, is it just me, or is everything way too... perfect, around here, appearance wise? And I mean like creepily perfect. Not just the grounds, but all the public areas, all the rooms I looked into before we were told which ones were off limits, everything.

There's nothing out of place that can't be explained by people just suddenly vanishing. No one's bed was unmade. No one's desk had just randomly accumulated stuff. The desks in the classrooms all look pretty much brand new. There's no cup rings on any of the tables, no fingerprints on the glass, no books in the library with dog-eared pages that I've seen, no random mysterious stain on the carpet that's probably been there forever, no scratches in the woodwork, nothing. What's up with that?

Comments

Locked

[mal_contented]

[Yeaaaah, someone has been here long enough to learn how to send a screened message. Especially useful when you are dating the king. Also... she's pretty sure that feature didn't exist until Carlos, but she wouldn't swear to it. Either way, the reply was locked, private, screened.]

"Totally agree about the sign. Ben's never going to go for it though. I see he got back to you on the rest of that plan. So we're all good there. As for the creepily perfect thing? That's just Auradon. I swear I went to Atlantica not that long ago and there was no pushing and shoving at the vendor stalls. No markups on prices because of the festival. The booths were clean. Even the eating area was spotless, constantly being cleaned. And more than half the people in Atlantica can't even stay above water for long! If you do want to see a stain though, there is one in the palace. Drives Cogsworth and Lumiere crazy. Anyway, my best bet is that the Isle is filthy and gross, so Auradon people want to be as unlike the Isle as possible. So perfectly clean. Also the pressure here to be perfect is pretty intense. Or so I hear."

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea is grateful for the lock, however it came about.]

I wanna know who thought the second half of that sign was a good idea in the first place. It just sounds so snooty and passive-aggressive. Though then again, rich people, so... [shrugs]

And yeah, I can believe it. It just feels... well, I didn't want to put it this way to Ben- because wow, rude much?-, but it feels... fake. Like people are trying really, really hard to polish up the surface so no one looks too closely at what's behind it. Like a theme part or something where all the mascots are walking around with big smiles, and everything looks happy and perfect, but you can tell it's all staged. You know what I mean?

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Who else? Heroes and sidekicks." [she laughed.] "I've wanted to tag it forever, but at first I was pretending to be good, now..." [shrug] "Whatever, It's just a sign, I've survived better."

"For some of them it is. Chad and Audrey for example. Audrey spent her whole life being told she had to be perfect or else. She... kinda snapped recently. Who knows, maybe she'll actually become interesting now." [But Mal doubted it.]

"Anyway, for some of them they'e actually just like that. I mean, take Jane. she had the same pressures and all, but she isn't all neat and perfect to fake it for her mom or whatever. She's actually just that good. A little too shy and quiet, but like... her whole bad streak? Lasted like... three days, tops. And the harm was easily fixed. she dove into the goody goody thing hard after that. Kinda like her, despite that. Lonnie's also cool. Mulan's daughter. Constantly reminding us of all the things that need to be updated. Which given she's fro, Northern Wei is kinda hilarious. But she's solid. Really, a lot of the kids are actually. Doug... I don't think his dad pressures him at all, but his room is so neat I almost gagged the first time I walked in. But he makes Evie happy, so..." [Another shrug.]

"What was I saying again?"

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

Look, I know a few heroes, and I can safely say that they'd have better taste than that. Or at least would have the sense to ask an outside opinion before putting up a sign like that. But yeah, it's not a huge deal. Just annoying.

Though yeah, if someone actually wants to keep things super neat, or be really well behaved, that's fine. But people shouldn't feel like they have to, you know? Like if they don't measure up to some arbitrary standard of perfection, there's something wrong with them. And what you said about Audery's a good example of why.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Welcome to Auradon," [was the slightly bitter reply.]

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

Great... [Also a bit bitter.]

It's like they think they can just cut darkness out of their lives and pretend it doesn't exist; that's not even remotely how it works. Everyone's got both light and darkness in them; without both, a person's incomplete.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Pretty sure they shoved all the Darkness onto the Isle." [a heavy sigh.] "But... Ben isn't like that. And he is genuinely trying to make things better. It's just... hard." [so hard] "To try to balance protecting Auradon and helping the people on the Isle at the same time."

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea shakes his head.]

Like I said, that's not how it works. Yeah, they could shove the people whose Darkness was the most obvious somewhere, but that doesn't mean that Darkness itself was gone. Even the nicest person has a little bit of Darkness in their heart, and even the worst person has a little bit of Light, even if it's just a tiny bit.

But yeah, I imagine it is pretty tough. Especially when there's probably people on both sides of the line who have a vested interest in seeing that the status quo doesn't change.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Yeah, no kidding. Really weird some of the people who have stepped up though. Some of them made sense, sure. Dizzy was always too sweet for the Isle. But really, some of the people on the Isle side stepping up to the line to try being good, and some of the people on the Auradon side who were willing to welcome us. People on both sides I never would have guessed."

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

I know what you mean there. You can really find friends where you least expect it sometimes. And it can be pretty surprising when someone shows you their true colors.

Like take Aeleus for example. The guy's like 6' 8", built like a brick wall, and doesn't tend to talk much. I mostly knew him as a palace guard as a kid, and let me tell you, he is super intimidating when you're under five feet tall. Now you'd think from that that he was just dumb muscle and probably kind of a standoffish jerk, right?

Well turns out he was one of Lord Ansem's personal apprentices, so he's actually pretty smart, and he's so quiet because he's just kind of awkward and shy. He also apparently enjoys baking, though that part I have to take Vexen's word for.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

She chuckled. "Never thought I'd see someone that would make Jay look small. Can't wait to see them together. Better yet, think he'd sit on Harry Hook for us," [she asked with a laugh.]

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

Aeleus makes everyone look small by comparison. And none of Lord Ansem's other apprentices came up short in the height department either. Well, except for Ienzo, but he had a good excuse; he was like 10 years old at the time. Though he's still not that tall even now that he's grown up.

Though honestly if this Harry guy is being a pain, Aeleus is more like like to just pick him up and toss him out on his butt.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Now that I really want to see. And I've got the cash for front row seats."

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

Same here. And it'll be nice to not be on the receiving end of it; him and Dilan were always tossing me and Isa out of the palace when we got caught sneaking around, which we did like, 3/4 of the time. We had a lot of fun though.

[Up until it stopped just being about a bit of fun adventure. But he's not about to go down that particular path.]

...You know, I don't think they ever did figure out how Isa and I were getting in. Wonder if our 'secret entrance' is still there?

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Yeah, somehow not comforted by the idea of someone being able to sneak in and out of castles at the moment," [she said, but she was clearly amused at the least.]

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

Hey if it's any consolation, neither Isa or I'd be able to do it now; our entrance was too small for an adult to fit through. You might be able to make it, but it'd be a really tight fit.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Can't say it is that specific castle I am worried about at the moment," she said with a bit of a laugh.

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

Well I don't think I'd have the B&E skills to sneak into the one around here either. I did figure out how to pick a lock but that was a long time ago. I haven't really had any use for it since, because for the longest time I've been able to teleport most place.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Teleport, huh? Sounds useful. Lock picking's not that hard though. Then again the locks in Auradon and on the Isle... are kind of pathetic, each for their own reasons. It was harder in other worlds."

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

It is, believe me. I didn't do it too much back on the Voidtrecker because it was too crowded, but here, I find myself wanting to go strain back to my room or something, then realizing that I actually have to walk there. Not that I've got anything against walking, mind you, but the school's a pretty big place, and when you're on one side and your room's on the other... yeah.

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

She laughed. "I should have you talk to FG when sh gets back. Five minutes with you and she'll no longer consider me a lazy child who relies on magic too much," [she teased with a smirk and a glimmer in her eyes.]

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

[He laughs.]

Hey, I'm nothing compared to some people. At least I don't cast Float on myself so I don't have to actually walk when I can't teleport.

Though what's this FG got against magic anyway?

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

"Float so you don't have to walk? Please tell me no one actually does that!" [she laughed, then considered.] "Well, okay, Genie, but for a while it took him actual effort to have legs. And Magic Carpet, I guess, but... I suspect that now that I think about it, I can come up with examples all day. So gonna skip that and jump to the question."

[A deep breath as she gathered her thoughts.]

"While good has used some magic in the past. Fairy Godmother herself, Flora Fauna and Merryweather, Merlin, and such... It is used far more often by evil. Or had been, before the barrier. FG's argument is that magic makes it too easy to just do whatever. That when you have to actually make an effort at something, you think about it, and maybe realize it is a bad idea and don't do it. Sure, magic is a tool... but she says that restraint is goodness." [She made a face.] "She says that when good says that magic isn't allowed, then you can tell who isn't being good by their use of magic." [Have an eye roll at that.]

"Magic artifacts especially, since anyone can use them... Like her wand, my mother's scepter, the talismans. Anyone can pick them up and use them for good or for evil. But she ways evil is more likely to do so."

Re: Locked

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea is silent for a long moment after hearing all that. He is extremely glad this is locked, because this way he doesn't feel the need to soften his language like he might if Ben were listening.]

...That is one of the stupidest, most backward-thinking arguments I've ever heard. I mean, I don't even freaking know where to start.

Yes, magic makes things easier, but so does literally every other advancement people have made ever. That's kind of the point of advancing; making people's lives easier and better. And if she thinks magic doesn't require effort, she can come talk to me, because I had to work my butt off to learn any magic besides fire, and before that to learn to actually control my fire magic. It can be every bit as demanding as physical work, especially if you do too much of it within a certain timeframe; everyone has their limits, and magical exhaustion is a real thing.

And restraint doesn't equal goodness; using the resources available to you- magical or otherwise- to help people who need it is goodness. Restraint is just common-freaking-sense, not to go completely overboard or run yourself into the ground doing whatever you're doing; it has nothing to do with good or bad.

And don't even get me started on being against magic things that anyone can pick up and use. For Light's sake, has literally no other world ever heard of magi-science or magi-tech?

Re: Locked

[mal_contented]

[Luckily for him, Mal is in her dorm room, and not at the castle. If she was at the castle, locked wouldn't matter much.]

"We don't have magi-science or magi-tech here," [Mal confirmed.] "As for the rest, when FG shows up, can I sit and watch as you say all of this to her directly? I'll bring popcorn."