Happily Ever After Continued

[Hazel Brightsparkle]

Hello again, everyone! I've missed the characters all of you and this RP so much! We're so close to finishing and I hope we can reboot this.

[Liri Dazzlebeam]

Hazy!!!!! I've missed you!!!! I hope we can get this going again too!

[Night Wish]

You know, I would have missed our characters... If I could remember any of their names.

Just kidding. Mostly...

Welcome back, Hazy!! We've all missed you so much as well.

I also really hope we can still manage to finish this. I'll have to read back over some posts to remember where we were!

[Blaze_of_Glory]

Welcome back Hazel.

Wow, I just realized I said I'd post for this... Back in September. Anyway, I would love to try to finish this if we can. I think all we have left to do is finish the confessions and escape Exilia.

[Hazel Brightsparkle]

Everyone is still interested in finishing this, right? I wouldn't want to leave some people behind who aren't ready to continue.

[Liri Dazzlebeam]

I totally want to finish this! I would post more, but I think we are still waiting for some people to finish their "butterfly" scenes

Hehe! I call them "butterfly" scenes because they are transforming from the caterpillars they were before to the butterflies they have become


We all stand in stunned silence, staring at the limp portal.
"It didn't work." Someone finally speaks into the silence, and shoulders begin to droop everywhere.
"Well, at least we still have each other." Laurel says.
"I'm so proud of you kids." Shang says, and the other parents nod their agreement.
"You did more than we did in the first battle." Hunter adds.
"Everyone has grown so much, even just since you first called for my help." I say next, and I take Mei’s free hand in mine. She squeezes my hand once, and I return the squeeze.

Looking at her, I begin to realize how much even I have changed since the children of my friends called for my help, and all that is even more than when I first met Astrid, Lillie, Dove, and Ivory what seems like ages ago. I hadn’t realized how much I could change, being immortal and all. However, I suppose that I changed when the Man in the Moon first chose me to be a Guardian, and when I met Jamie, so why am I so surprised now?

“You descendants have impacted my life more than I could have ever imagined you would, and I wouldn’t change meeting you all for the world. Yes, my place is on Earth as a Guardian, but you are all my family too. My life changed forever that snowy night that I met you four,” I say, facing my little sisters - who aren't so little anymore. Well, except for Astrid, she still looks as young as when I first met her.

Yes, my center will always be fun, however, I have grown over the centuries. I will always tease people and love to play, for that is why I am a Guardian, but I also have gained wisdom and compassion through my experiences with the descendants.

“You descendants have taught me to care about so much more than only myself.” I finish, looking at each of them in turn and ending with Mei. Suddenly, my bracelet shimmers and transforms. Whoa.

Suddenly, Calla doubles over gasping, having not heard a word I said, "No. No. It can't be. It had to work!"
"Calla - " Ivory reached for her, but she pulled away, lost in her panic.
"Don't you see?! We don't have each other! You say you're proud of us kids, but soon there won't be anything to be proud of! We're going to lose, and the descendants are going to end here. And it's all my fault." She hung her head.
A deep chuckle came from behind us. "Well, perhaps you descendants don't catch on quite as slowly as I thought."

I knew what I was going to see even as I slowly spun around. Sure enough, it was the villains, having already caught up with us. They stood in a line, not looking the least bit concerned to get this over with. Why should they be? This was their moment of victory, and they knew it.

Several of the descendants, and myself, stepped forward to meet the villains face to face. "No," Calla said, in a low, quiet voice that somehow carried far into the crowd. "You're wrong. I don't catch on very fast... In fact, I can't believe it took me this long."
She smiled at us, "How could I have thought of defeat so easily? I used to be that girl, you know. I used to live in my little corner of the world, terrified to come out and face anything. Especially the truth." She laughed softly, "I denied it for so long, but it's no use now, is it? I'm not just some random Estorianian... I'm a descendant. And you know what? I never want to be anything otherwise. You guys, looking around at all of you... You've taught me that who I am is worth being. And I can never thank you enough for that." And with that, her bracelet transformed.

"You don't have to thank us," Annabeth says with a smile.
"We'll always be there for you, no matter what," Julianna adds, sounding both young and innocent, and incredibly wise for her years.
"I think we've all learned something through this," Saige speak up. "I know I, for one, could never regret what we've all done, no matter what happens here." She takes a deep breath, "I've discovered the one thing that no one ever wants to admit."
Everyone stares at her in surprise.
"That my mother was right about everything."

Laurel burst out laughing, and soon Shang, Mei, and the rest of our friends all join in.

"Okay, seriously though," Saige says, grinning. "While I will never get Laurel - or, heck, most of you guys - with all your obsession with balls and fancy dresses, I will have to admit... I learned something special, and you all have taught me that. Fighting isn't always the best way to solve your problems - sometimes, you have to calm down, think rationally, and act with wisdom. It's especially important if you are going to be any sort of leader - some may even say imperative. And guys, I think I owe you all an apology," She says, "I'm sorry for all the times that I yelled at you, or got frustrated at you because you weren't a fighter, or just insulted you in general. You guys are the most amazing people I've ever had the fortune to fight beside, and I'm sorry I don't tell you that often enough. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with, and I admire all of you for putting up with me."
"We're sorry," Sparrow adds, coming up to stand by her. Then, both their cuffs transform.

“Guys, look!” Mei points out each of our transformed cuffs to the descendants who hadn’t noticed yet.
"Something's happening," Saige gasps.
"It's the power of love and loyalty," Sparrow says, and I glance up to see her standing by Dove. I realize for the first time how alike they look... I can tell, without a doubt, that Sparrow is most definitely her mother's daughter.
"Keep talking!" Dove adds, smiling at her daughter with pride. "Sparrow is right. The words we speak are a powerful magic..."
"Showing how much we care for one another, and what we have learned from each other," Mei finishes for her.
Saige smiles at her twin, at all of our family and friends. "Whatever happens here, guys... These bonds that we have formed will remain with us. Always."

Phoebe speaks up next, "You guys have taught me something. You taught me to believe. In myself, in all of us, and most importantly, in love. I love you all for being my friends, for sticking with me, and for believing in me. And it's time for me to believe in you. We can do this, for we are the descendants! And I am proud to be one. We are not just random people. We are the descendants of legends, and we will be legends, just like our ancestors. I believe that nothing can take away magic, for the magic of friendship and love is always inside you. Believing is just the beginning." And her bracelet transforms.

One by one, everyone says how much they care about everyone and how proud they are, and as the last person speaks, we realize that our powers are back - well except mine of course. I am out of stars.

"You are all too late!" A voice says from behind us, and we all turn to see Jafar standing there with his staff raised.

"No Father!" Jalilah yells, stepping forward to face him, "I won't let you hurt them."
"Move girl. You are not any daughter of mine. My daughter would never betray me." Jalilah flinched at his words, reeling back slightly, and I could tell his words cut her deep. But then Layla steps closer and puts a hand on Jalilah's shoulder, and Jalilah's resolve hardens.
"I will not let you hurt them Jafar." She says coldly, "They are the only people who have ever cared about me. You certainly never did."
"You fool." He spits angrily, and then he shoots a blast of magic at Jalilah, who barely raises a hand in time to block her face.

I watch as her bracelet flashes, and the beam of magic rebounds, hitting Jafar instead. He yells in pain, staggering backwards, and Jalilah looks wide-eyed at the bracelet.
"No way." Saige says, "You guys, I think we somehow reversed the spells on the bracelets. Now, instead of blocking our powers, I think they are protecting us!"
"I think you are right..." Jalilah replies slowly.
"If so... Julianna! Try the hat portal again!" Calla exclaims, as we are all filled with hope again.

Julianna picks up the hat again, takes a deep breath, then lets the hat portal go with a flick of her wrist, sending it flying high over our heads. The portal whirls to life, and we all cheer.
"Lets go home!" Sparrow yells.

(I tried to combine all the butterfly scenes we had so far into my original post. I hope more people write their butterfly scenes! Lets get this rolling again!)

[Night Wish]

Great post, Liri! I love how you decided to call them "butterfly" scenes! I agree, it really is like a metamorphosis for our characters, and I think that's a great name for it.
Thanks for gathering all those butterfly scenes up into one post. That will make it easy for people wanting to catch up.

[Liri Dazzlebeam]

Thanks Night Yeah, thats what I hoped. We have been gone for so long, so I had to re-read the whole thing!

[Night Wish]

You're welcome! Haha, I had to do the same, it's been so long. But I'm not complaining - it was great reading back through the story and getting reacquainted with all of our wonderful characters.

Oh, and I hope you don't mind, Liri, but I wanted to alter Ivory and Laurel's forms a little bit. Reading back through the RP, I realize their personality descriptions don't quite fit anymore. Ivory especially has grown and changed a lot since the beginning of OUAT, and I want the forms to reflect that. I underlined the parts of their forms I made changes to.
Also, I realized that on Ivory's form, under "Descendant of", I had previously put "Anna and Elsa from Frozen." Okay, I have NO idea what I was thinking at the time. Iv is definitely not the descendant of Anna!

Name: Ivory
Gender: Female
Descendant of: the Snow Queen (Disney version: Anna and Elsa from Frozen)
Where are you from: Arendelle
Appearance: Tall, slender and willowy, with very pale skin. Ivory has long, silvery blonde hair and ice-shatteringly blue eyes.
Personality: Iv is outgoing, playful, and a bit mischievous. She is caring and fiercely loyal to those she cares about. Ivory is brave and strong, but a bit sensitive, and has a natural wariness and unwillingness to easily trust others. She also has a dryly sarcastic sense of humor.
Other: Queen of Arendelle

Name: Laurel Alvery-Khan
Gender: Female
Descendant of: Rapunzel
Where are you from: A kingdom in the Enchanted Forest
Appearance: Slender and petite, with light skin, long golden hair and leaf-green eyes.
Personality: Laurel is often quiet, gentle and soft spoken. She is understanding and compassionate, but can be too trusting at times. Though not a fighter, Laurel will always try to come through for her friends and family.
Other: Married to Shang

Hope this isn't too much trouble!

[Liri Dazzlebeam]

No trouble at all Night!

[Blaze_of_Glory]

Nice post, Liri. I also really like the name "butterfly scenes".



I listened to my friends' heartfelt confessions, knowing each of them spoke a vital truth that they had learned on this incredible journey. I thought about what would await us in just a few moments, when the villains caught up. And to my surprise, I found that I had no regrets. None.
I watched their bracelets light up and transform, transfixed by their beauty. Where before they had been cuffs of confinement, of dark magic, now they were things of beauty. And each one had a design that reflected the descendant who wore it, I realized.

"You guys," I began. "All my life, I had always been so sure of what I wanted. Where I wanted to go at the end of this crazy adventure. Who I wanted to be. And it wasn't this. I never wanted to be special, or magical, or a descendant. I just wanted my normal life back... To go home." I looked around at all of them. "But I was wrong."
"I'm not the same person I was at the beginning of all this. Because of you guys, I've been on this incredible, unbelievable journey. And it has changed everything. I wanted my old life back because it was ordinary. Normal, and safe, and comfortable. I don't have any of that anymore. But what I do have is purpose. Because of all of you, I've been a part of something that is so much bigger than myself. And because of it, I will never go back to being what I was."

Now I paused, and glanced at my parents. They nodded at me, smiling encouragingly, and I knew that they would let me make my own choice this time. Whatever I chose, they would support me on it.
"It wasn't my choice, coming to Estoriana. But this is. I have always known that I wanted to go home at the end of this. I still do." I reached out towards the other descendants. Then, taking a deep breath, I say what I now know, deep in my heart, to be true.

"But my home now... Is with all of you. Because I am a descendant."

And with that, the bracelet around my wrist transformed in a glittering burst of light and color. I stared down at it in awe.
The band was now made of gold, encrusted with tiny turquoise and aquamarine jewels. A pattern of small jasmine flowers encrusted the bracelet. And at the very center of it was a cluster of jewels in the shape of an arrow. Like the ones I'd been firing during the battle, but I knew this one was different. It was my compass arrow, and it would never lead me astray.
It was pointing me in the direction of my home. My purpose. My friends. And the person I had become.

(I hope it's okay that I described Jess's bracelet. I assumed the cuff would be decorated in a way that reflected who they were, or what they had learned through this journey.
I'll post for Amaryllis soon. Danton probably won't have a butterfly scene, since he's still not 100% on board with the descendants just yet.)

[Hazel Brightsparkle]

Wow, I just looked at the OUAT RP and it was created on October 27th, 2013... I can't believe it's already been over a year and a half! I think it's just so wonderful that we've stuck with our characters literally all these years, and now their kids too.

[Night Wish]

Thanks Liri!
Great post, Glory!
I agree, Hazy. I guess the OUAT experience has just been that amazing!

[Hazel Brightsparkle]

Sorry I haven't posted yet! I have something I really want to write, but I've spent so much time apart from my characters that I feel like I need to reconnect with them again. So, I'm writing Dove and Hunter's wedding. (Their wedding was after OUAT, but before HEA, to avoid confusion. They aren't actually getting married in this RP! ) I might post it later, but it will be pretty long!

[Blaze_of_Glory]

It's alright Hazel. I think we all feel the same, since it has been a long time.
I'd love to hear the story of their wedding.