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fbfh · 8 months

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curiosity is a wonderful thing - chapter 2

wc: 3.3k

genre: politics, slice of life, slow burn, best friends to lovers

pairing: audrey x ben, belle x adam (aka beast), eventual ben x reader

warnings: politics, audrey suuuuuucks, the isle has bad living conditions, adam yells (not at ben he's just fired up)

summary: ben is ready to announce his first proclamation to his parents. It's risky, and he knows he needs to rely on the support of his friends and girlfriend. but mostly support from you.

song recs: descendants score suite - descendants score, queen of peace - florance and the machine

a/n: thinking thoughts about ben lol. as always fangs to cici for beta reading <3

tags @yesv01 @magcon7280 @dustyinkpages @demirunner @strawberry-cake1 @kiara7777 @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sunshineangel-reads

“Your first proclamation, huh?” Ben’s dad asks with a deep chuckle. “What have you got?”

Facing your parents is nerve wracking for anyone, but it’s especially intimidating when your mom is regarded as hands down one of the smartest people in the country, and your dad can turn into a hulking 10 foot tall razor toothed beast. Ben has been training to be a good politician and a good king for his whole life. Every single day he’s been praised for listening, not going against the grain, for having a level head and coming to the same conclusions as his parents. Up until now, it’s been a very good thing, his parents have been such great rulers, and he’s grateful to have such experienced footsteps to follow in and learn from. His parents taught him to listen to his heart, to form his own opinions and do good even when it’s hard. He takes in a deep breath, steadying himself for this, for the first time he’s going to stand up for something his parents might not be behind. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, it’s terrifying.

As quickly as the feeling arises, he thinks of you. He thinks about when he first found out that when they were rounding up villains for the isle, there was a lot of debate on if they should put Wonderlandians there as well. They were described as volatile and chaotic. Ben has never, ever thought of you as either of those things. It made him feel sick then - and makes him feel sick now - that if no one had advocated for Wonderland, if no one had advocated for your mom and for you, that he would never have met the best person he’s ever had the honor of knowing. Ben gets to know you, Ben gets the honor and privilege of having you in his life because someone advocated for you, and stood up for the underdog. All of his nerves suddenly stand strong and tall, forming an armor of determination that wraps around him.

“I want to bring four children from the Isle of the Lost over to Auradon, to give them a second chance.”

Ben’s heart pounds, but his gaze is unwavering. He’s not going to have to lay awake at night any longer, worrying about the kids on the Isle and not being able to do anything about it. He’s doing what he always promised himself he’d do - use his power to make good changes for people who can’t make changes for themselves. He almost loses his conviction when he sees how angry his dad is becoming at the very thought of bringing children from the Isle to Auradon. Ben knows why he’s getting like this. He thinks Ben hasn’t thought this through, that he’s putting public safety at risk. Before that little nagging voice of self doubt starts to get the better of him, Ben thinks back to you, and he feels his fear become replaced with conviction.

“Every time I look out at the Isle, I feel like they’ve been abandoned.”

All of the work you helped him put into this proclamation, all the practice and talking points circle his head like the guiding beam of a lighthouse. He finds himself right back on track, and he meets his father’s gaze with what he hopes comes off as confident self assurance. He takes in a small breath, steadying himself. He’s not just defending his ideas, his arguments, he’s defending the rights of every innocent child born into the isle.

Belle looks shocked. All she can think about is the pain and terror she and many of her good friends - and countless other people, to varying extents - endured at the hands of the people who were sequestered off to the Isle. Adam doesn’t even need to look at his wife to know exactly what’s going through her mind, and he feels a lot of the protective and defensive feelings over her coming back. He hasn’t felt this way since before he got rid of that piece of shit Gaston, and ensured he couldn’t hurt his wife or his people again.

“The children of our sworn enemies?” He asks, stepping forward, “Living among us?”

He wonders for a moment if Ben has somehow magically forgotten what it was like before. The sense of fear knowing that villains were out there, in hiding or in far away lairs, that they could come back and wreak havoc at any moment. Adam stares down his son, but Ben refuses to waver under his gaze. Of course he hasn’t forgotten. But Adam had never asked to be treated like a monster all those years, and if things had gone differently, maybe it would be him and Ben on the Isle. The children shouldn’t have to suffer for their parents’ choices.

“Not all of them, just a few at first. To start out.” Ben says, hoping it will clarify that he doesn’t intend to turn Auradon into a state of anarchy and chaos, “The ones who need our help the most.”

Belle takes a breath and nods at her son’s words. She’s trying to keep an open mind about all this, not rush to judgment and jump to conclusions like the people in her village would when she was growing up. She waits for Ben to continue. He locks eyes with his mom for a moment, and even under the current circumstances, he can still feel her unwavering support. A brief wave of love and gratitude for her wash over him, but he knows now isn’t the time to get sappy. Feeling a renewed sense of belief in him from his mom, he smiles a little as he looks back at his dad.

“I’ve already chosen them.” He states.

His dad can smell fear - literally. Being able to smell nervous systems and pheromones are one of the many bizarre abilities you gain after being magically transformed into a beast - so Ben uses all his strength to stay calm and confident. If he can pull this off, if he can really sell this confidently, the potential good it could bring to innocent people trapped on the Isle would be immeasurable. Adam doesn’t say anything for a moment, waiting to see if Ben wavers under his gaze. When he finally speaks, his voice is tense.

“Have you?”

Ben is fighting with his life to stay composed. Belle looks between them for a moment, then places her hand on Adam’s arm. He rests his hand on hers, acknowledging her, but doesn’t break eye contact with his son. Belle knows that all her son wants is to do good. He’s the best parts of both of them. Maybe their generation wouldn’t have been ready for this, but Ben is paving the way to a new era. It’s his time to step up, and trust his instincts. Although the thought terrifies her, Belle would be lying if she said she couldn’t see any merit to his plan.

“I gave you a second chance.” She says softly. Ben knew this was going to be hard, he was expecting opposition, but he’s infinitely grateful that his mom is on his side. If she’s on board, eventually his dad will come around too. Her support always means the world to him, but there’s something extra special there today. It’s the same way that you support him, and as his thoughts turn from his mother's support to yours, he finds himself full of renewed strength and determination.

"Who are their parents?" Belle asks. Ben takes in a breath, deciding to work his way up.

"Cruella…"

Belle takes in a small breath at the mention of her name, and Adam's shoulders tense. It's only going to get worse from here, so Ben bites the bullet and continues. After being hunted like an animal by an angry mob, Adam can't stand cruelty to animals even more than he had before.

"Jafar…"

Belle takes in a sharp breath at the mention of his name. After the technological boom that resulted in Auradon creating an alliance with Atlantis, magic is mostly antiquated. However, that won't stop someone as power hungry as Jafar from seeking out any artifacts he can, no matter the cost.

"The Evil Queen…"

Adam clenches his jaw, trying his hardest to remain calm. It's taken years to repair the damage to the Winter's Keep agriculture, even the mention of a poison apple will have them importing all their produce. The very idea of having the child of the Evil Queen in Auradon could send the agricultural industry spiraling.

"And…" before Ben can announce the last one, a wave of nerves manages to get past the wall of confidence he’s been so carefully building. His dad can sense it, Ben’s sure. He knows the only way to handle this is to keep going before he gets even more nervous.

“Maleficent.”

A chill passes through the room, and you’d think Ben had declared the last refugee to be the spawn of Hades himself.

“Maleficent?!” Adam barks. Behind them, Lumier gasps, dropping his pins. He gathers his sewing supplies and exits quickly. Ben is unsure if Lumier’s shaking hands are from his father’s outburst, or the mention of the evil fairy’s name.

“Dad-”

“She’s the most dangerous, volatile villain in the land!”

Ben had expected this kind of reaction. Fairies becoming evil is incredibly rare. Most mainland fairies originate deep in the enchanted forests of Schwartzvald, and as seasons change, they can migrate to other forests. There’s a certain type of magic that’s unique to fairies, it’s very powerful and impossible to recreate by non fairies. When a fairy corrupts itself with dark magic, another incredibly powerful and corrosive source of power, the consequences are cataclysmic. Maleficent is living proof of that.

“Just, hear me out dad-”

“Absolutely not!” Adam barks, “I won’t hear of it!”

“Dad-”

“She is guilty of unspeakable crimes!”

“And her child?!”

His question hangs in the air between them.

“All of the children, are they guilty too? Their only crime is living.”

Sixteen years ago, Adam never would have entertained the thought. But now, being a parent himself…

“The children are innocent.” Ben continues, and Adam can hear the passion, the desire to fight for those kids on the Isle in his voice, “They deserve a chance.”

Belle is moved by Ben’s argument, and in spite of his hesitance, Adam is too. A small flurry of pride rushes through him at the sight of how strong and well spoken his son is becoming. They sit in the space between Ben’s words for a moment, but it feels like an eternity. Belle gives Adam’s arm a squeeze, silently encouraging him. After a moment, he speaks.

“I suppose… the children are innocent.”

Adam turns around, pinching the bridge of his nose, and Belle walks up to Ben, adjusting the collar of his shirt.

“Good job.” She says, so softly he would have missed it if not for the glimmer of pride in her eyes. She pats his chest affectionately before walking back over to Adam, taking his arm as they leave. She’ll talk to him about all this later, Ben knows she will. If anyone can get his dad to be on board with this, it’s going to be his mom.

Ben gazes down at his signet ring, remembering the promise he made to himself when he first received it. He hasn’t taken it off since. He is going to be a good king. He looks out at the Isle, wishing he could do something about it right now. He wishes he could just take Fairy Godmother’s wand and fix everything, but real change takes time. Sustainable change takes time. Ben is going to be a good king, who makes real, sustainable change. He’s going to be a good chapter in the history books - the ones written in Auradon, and on the Isle.

With a deep sigh, he carefully takes off the suit jacket Lumier had been tailoring and makes a mental note to reschedule the rest of his fitting from today. He begins to run through his schedule for the day, but his thoughts keep getting pulled back to you. He's so excited to tell you everything. You were both prepared for a much bigger fight to get his parents' support on this, and he didn't end up having to use a fraction of his talking points. He exits into the hallway, elated at how it went, and heads toward his room. He's not even ten steps down the hall when he almost trips over a pair of legs.

He looks down, surprised to see you. You had been so engrossed in what you were doing that you entirely lost track of time. Your face lights up when you see him.

"Ben!" You exclaim happily, shoving your things back into your tea pot bag. "How did it go?"

You study his face for some kind of indication, but all you see is surprise. And warmth. You had told him you'd wait outside for him, but he hadn't actually expected that of you. Wonderlandians have a distorted sense of time, so hours can feel like minutes, or minutes can feel like an eternity. You explained to him what it's like all those years ago, and he's always been very understanding and done his best to make sure you're accommodated. Most importantly, he's never asked you to push yourself, and he's always covered for you when you need to slip away for a little while. All thoughts of the meeting with his parents are gone as he looks down at you, how you'd been waiting for him.

"You… you waited out here for me instead of going to Wonderland?" He asks, his voice soft.

"Of course," you say matter of factly, still waiting to hear about how it went. Ben’s chest flutters with appreciation for you, for having you in his life. Wonderland is your favorite place in the entire world, there's nowhere and nothing that makes you happier. But you still waited out here for him. You chose him. He snaps out of his train of thought, realizing you're still waiting on an answer.

"It went well." He states. Your face lights up, and he can't help but smile.

"It did?" You ask, and Ben realizes that you're just as invested in this as he is. He laughs a little, nodding.

"Yeah. I- I need to rearrange some things, we have to plan for their arrival, and call a press-"

His words are cut off by the celebratory laugh that bubbles out of you. You throw your arms around his neck, hugging him tight. Your body is warm against him, and you smell like tea and pastries and… something familiar.

“I knew you could do it!” You exclaim. He lets out a hesitant laugh, and holds you back. He's done a lot today, so he lets himself indulge in your embrace. When you finally pull away, he holds your arms, rubbing them gently as you ramble.

"So, what next?" You ask, still beaming up at him.

“Uh…” He starts, still processing everything. “We need to go over the agenda, make sure their arrival is smooth. A press conference, definitely,” he adds, and you nod, agreeing.

He suddenly remembers he was supposed to meet up with Audrey today. He pauses, hating to have to cancel on her again.

“...And Audrey.” He pulls out his phone to call her. You prepare yourself to comfort him, to reassure him that he’s not being a bad boyfriend, he’s being a good politician. You don’t know why Audrey insists on giving him such a hard time. You would think that she’d know what to expect of having a boyfriend in politics at this point, much less a boyfriend in the royal family. You listen to Ben’s conversation after she picks up.

“Hey, Audrey, hi. So, about my first proclamation pitch,” Ben says, excitement bubbling out of him. Through the speaker of his phone, you can hear Audrey’s voice.

“Right, right. When is that supposed to happen again? Cause you promised you’d take me to Camelot Heights this weekend, Bennyboo…”

You don’t understand how anyone could be so apathetic towards something as monumental as a first proclamation. You can tell Ben feels the same. He’s thrown, but he’s trying not to show it.

“Uh… today. It- it happened today. Just now.”

“Oh, so you’re finally done with all that stuff?”

There’s a moment of silence that hangs between the two of you before Ben answers.

“Uh…” he chuckles again, “done preparing for the pitch, yes. Remember when we went over the agenda? Pitch, then timeline and planning, then press meetings…” He says, trying to jog her memory.

“Uh-huh.”

You can almost see her now, filing her nails before cheerleading practice.

“Right, so now we need to plan everything out, make sure it’s practical to follow through with the pitch.”

She doesn’t say anything, waiting for him to get to the point.

“I know we had plans tonight, but I’m going to be in and out of meetings all day, probably all weekend, then it’s going to be a media frenzy…” he says, mentally trying to fit everything into his already jam-packed schedule.

Sitting out on the tourney field before cheer practice, Audrey pauses. A media frenzy? That’s going to give her a lot of face time, and publicity with Bennyboo.

“I totally understand,” she starts, suddenly engaged in their conversation. Ben pauses, looking mildly confused.

“You do?”

“Of course, Bennyboo. You have fun at your meetings. Let me know the day before we start all that press so I can get a hair appointment.” She looks down at her nails, setting aside her file. “And my cuticles need some serious work…”

“Uh…” Ben chuckles. You can tell he’s disappointed by her reaction. You are too, you just expected she’d do something like this. Ben has been trying to connect with Audrey about politics since they started dating, she said she cared about helping the people of Auradon just as much as he did, but she only said that to get closer to him, to win him over. Ben wishes she would engage with the people more, wishes he could get her to care like he does. But he knows it’s not worth a fight with her, not on a day as important as today.

“Right, right. I’ll, uh,” He pulls out his planner, scribbling something down, “I’ll make sure you get that hair appointment…”

“And nails.” Audrey adds.

“Right.” Ben states. You watch them say goodbye and hang up, and you can sense how unsatisfied Ben feels with that whole exchange. He needs a pick me up, he needs to be reminded about what a success today has been. You smile at him, trying to contain your excitement. One look at you and he already finds himself smiling again, thinking about what’s important.

“So, what’s first? A meeting with Fairy Godmother, surely.” You say, seeming to read his mind.

“Yeah,” he nods. You follow him down the hall as he begins to ramble. “We’ll need to discuss security, too. And accommodations.”

His dissatisfaction with Audrey, with her apathy towards politics fades away as he rambles to you. You agree with his plan, adding in a few vital things he hadn’t thought of. Ben feels a renewed sense of strength as you accompany him to the million proclamation meetings he has for the rest of the day. You really are his right hand man, his best friend, and he’s so grateful that you’re here for him through all of this. He knows as sure as anything that he could never do it without you.

#curiosity is a wonderful thing #descendants #descendants x reader #ben florian #ben florian x reader #daughter of alice!reader

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transcendentalmaggot · 4 years

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(This is just me screaming about living with a disability in our present hell and being in a constant state of precarity with everyone asking when I’m going to “get better”)

Finally received approval of my temporary disability from January... and only for January. The paperwork was delayed due to a combination of me being incredibly ill and my HR department not sending the paperwork when they told me they did, but I didn’t expect it to take this long. The approval, received on March 26th, also included a request to submit additional paperwork for approval of February’s payment. I had already called and emailed my case worker to confirm they received the February paperwork weeks ago but I guess that will be delayed until my doctor fills out a form that is simply a retread of the same information included on the original form with different wording and a bunch of information on physical labor that is completely irrelevant to my job. Temporary disability through your job is almost always determined on a month-to-month basis but it’s never taken this long for a response when I’ve had to go on it on the past due to my disabilities. I knew both the health and disability insurance policies at my job were significantly worse this year than the last based on the information we received for the New Year because the company is naturally looking to save money by cutting benefits while moving our warehouses to the south to save even more money on labor. The new owners (a holding company looking to maximize the value of this bullshit, useless company until they sell it in two years for a profit) literally sent an email at Christmas letting us know we’d receive our holiday bonuses for this year but as a matter of policy we wouldn’t be receiving them in the future. Of course I’m expected to be grateful I have any insurance coverage at all working a CS job where I’m making minimum wage but somehow I feel less gratitude than I do an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety for the future. I haven’t been able to get several tests or doctor’s evaluations completed due to the pandemic and financial considerations (my deductible was met in late February, perfect timing) so of course my health status hasn’t changed. The hospital I go to in NYC has cancelled all non-urgent procedures and appointments on a case-by-case basis and despite my concerning blood work re: my kidney function I’m being forced to wait by the insurance company handling my disability claim with no consideration of the current crisis. I understand the need to do this for hospitals but please be cognizant of the shitty position people with chronic health issues are being thrown into during the pandemic. I can make telemed appointments with my doctors but everything is being held up by the need for tests and lab results.

There’s also something grim about the fact that the outstanding balance I owe from this year’s deductible to the hospital is almost the exact amount I received to live on for the month of January in March.

I’m exhausted and sick and completely isolated from my friends and chosen family outside of instant messaging at my dad’s house and I don’t know if my health will ever get better or if I’m going to need major surgery in the near future and if I’m going to be fired and lose my health insurance by the time I find out. My boss emails me every two weeks to ask about my health as if I’d ever give her more information on my status than she already has. My manager keeps texting me prayers at random intervals. I’m purposefully isolating myself from the people I love because I constantly feel like a burden - I hate not being able to be there for them because being this sick feels like a full time job. Apparently their awful treatment of me was because of how “needed” I was. These texts and emails keep mentioning how productive and beloved by the customers I was while I was constantly being criticized for not bringing my numbers up. I was only number 2 or 3 in the reams of useless data my boss pores over as a fucking job and the obvious reaction to that is to make me feel awful knowing about my health issues so I can raise my numbers even higher. I don’t know if I can return to this job without completely sacrificing the last shred of my sanity. Between the pain, the exhaustion, and the panic attacks induced by people berating me with the job title “happiness ambassador” I don’t think I can handle working with these assholes anymore. But then I remember that any job in CS involves this level of mental degradation and at least I had health insurance. Fucking insurance. I’ve lived my entire life under the crushing terror that I would lose my insurance. I’m just tired. I’m so fucking tired. I can’t afford the medical supplies I need to live without it and Medicaid is incredibly awful to ostomy patients in terms of providing enough supplies. But maybe that’s my fear talking, I’ve just helped a lot of people with catheters and other supplies who didn’t receive a sufficient supply through their state’s Medicaid program through support groups for my condition in the past and the problem has only gotten worse with the severe under funding and cuts to the program. I want to believe it isn’t so awful but experience has taught me time and again to expect the worst.

I’m trying to hold onto hope but everything feels too heavy right now. I’m just going to numb myself with video games until I’ve cried myself out. I’m too exhausted for another panic attack today.

#venting #personal #this is just stream of consciousness because i can barely think #getting better feels so fucking pointless if it’s even possible #most of my issues are chronic and will get progressively worse #i am lucky enough to have some family support but i am definitely the black sheep of my family and it is very lonely here #this is my version of screaming in the middle of the woods #disability #i don’t know how much longer my landlord will waive my rent because i’m not well enough to live at my apartment on my own right now #every facet of society is set up to make life that much more difficult for the unproductive #being sick suuuuuucks #long post #covid19 #this is probably incoherent #i'm too mentally ill to motivate myself to get better physically at this point

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