Story [Disney] Tales as Old as Time (UDC7) Week Eighteen: The Emperor's New Groove

Disney! DISNEY! DISNEY!!!!

These made my day, Nat. Disney reminds me of my childhood, and there are days when I really do need to be reminded of my childhood. Loved the Tangled ones (probably because Tangled is one of my top favourite Disney films ), but all of them are so splendid. Thanks for writing these.

 

Idrelle, please say you're here for keeps!

 

Jade_eyes: Belle is definitely a smart one

Idri: I'm glad you enjoyed them Disney is my absolute favorite, too Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, Aladdin ...

Mira: Thanks! He really is a lout


Week Six: Mulan

Serious

He was so serious.

That was the first thing Mulan noticed about Li Shang. He definitelu didn’t know how to take a joke—or a food fight.

The next thing she noticed was that he wouldn’t tolerate anything but the strictest dedication to training. Run up a mountain. Catch fish with your hands. Fire arrows with precision. Screw up? Go home. You’re not man enough for this.

The third thing she noticed was that he was pretty cute. And he definitely didn’t look bad with his shirt off.

Okay, that was the first thing she’d noticed. But don’t tell anyone.


Silly

Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po definitely did know how to take a joke, and Mulan, despite her better judgment (and Mushu’s), she found herself opening up to them and actually becoming their friend. Her dedication earned their respect; her awkward friendliness earned their trust. For the first time in her life, Mulan had friends.

As time passed, she regretted more and more that she had had to lie to them. She tried not to dwell on what would happen at the end—eventually, she would be discovered or killed or have to leave—and enjoy their company while she had it.


Charming

Shang wasn’t trying to charm anyone in this army of men, but Mulan felt charmed.

It wasn’t a courtship (and certainly anything her mother would have approved of). Mulan felt herself looking up to Shang more and more as his efforts at training his soldiers turned them into an army. And she felt his eyes on her more and more—and sometimes, when she turned, she saw him looking.

But he thought she was a man. He was admiring her hard work, nothing more, she told herself. There could never be anything else between the general and the girl soldier.


Rude

Mulan felt cold.

Shang’s words had sliced into her as badly as Shan Yu’s sword. She should be grateful, she supposed, that Shang hadn’t ordered her execution—as Chinese law said he should have. But when she looked into his eyes, the admiration she had seen before was replaced by—nothing. His eyes were cold and hard and steel.

The cold was only replaced by something else—fear—when she saw Shan Yu rise from the snow.

There was only one person she could trust with the news, no matter that he’d said he never wanted to see her again.


Funny

He was so serious.

And awkward—so was she. After all they’d been through—her saving his life, her secret, him saving her life, their battle to save the emperor—neither of them knew what to say.

But Shang had come for a reason. Mulan, knowing he didn’t know what to say, had to make the first move or they would be standing there until nightfall.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Shang smiled. Mulan smiled back. He would always be a serious man, but as long as she could make him smile, she knew they had a chance.

 

Great set. A nice flowing progression of their relationship.

 

Jade: Thanks! I love how awkward they are

Mira: Aww thanks! Mulan is awesome. I love that she's not the traditional sweet princess. She's a badass and she's kinda awdward and cute


Week Seven: Snow White

Stormy

It hadn’t been storming when Snow White first entered the forest, but she was sure it was now. Wind whipped at her cheeks, and each shadow seemed to reach out and grab her. She screamed, hoping for help but knowing that she was probably all alone in the dark. If there was any daylight left, it wouldn’t break through the dense foliage of the forest.

But this place was her only refuge. Snow had to calm down—panicking would only make her situation worse. Whatever was out there couldn’t be as bad as the stepmother who had ordered her death.


Trapped

Snow was trapped in the forest. There was nowhere else she could go. The huntsman had said to run, and she had. If she ever turned up again, if her stepmother ever found her …

No. It was best to stay here, where she would be safe.

Snow huddled against a tree, frightened and cold. But she fought through the fear, and as the sun rose, she discovered that it could break through into the forest and find her. The sun would always find Snow White.

Her heart began to lift, and she found herself welcoming the bright new day.


Escape

In a little cottage in the forest lived seven dwarves.

Snow stumbled upon it by accident. She, who had grown up in a palace, never imagined that a cramped cottage with seven men (some of whom smelled) and a life of cooking and cleaning would be a refuge, but it was. And as the days passed, she began to enjoy her life again.

The dwarves weren’t so bad (well, except maybe Grumpy), and Snow enjoyed the work; she liked having something useful to do. She began to make a life for herself here with these men, and she was content.


Rescue

Snow tasted the red apple—but it wasn’t as delicious as she’d imagined. It tasted rancid. “I … don’t feel very well,” she murmured to the old woman.

That was the last thing she remembered. She didn’t even feel her body hit the floor.

The next thing she felt was the gentle touch of lips against hers. She gasped and felt the lovely sensation disappear as she opened her eyes. His face was there, inches from hers. Her prince. The one she had dreamed about, wished for. The one who had sung with her at the well. He was here.


Recover

It didn’t take Snow long to recover from her winter of the sleeping dead, but she was still a little dizzy when they reached the castle.

He helped her down from the horse, and she clutched his hand for a moment while she regained her balance. He put and arm around her to steady her, and she decided that his close proximity wasn’t helping with the dizziness.

He bent down, and she wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him back as passionately as he was kissing her. Who cared about dizzy? She would never grow tired of this.

 

SQUEE!! SQUEE! Wonderful use of the prompts. Yup, I think I'll have to use the seven dwarves in a combo prompt

 

Nat, excellent job on these wonderful tales. Snow White is my favorite movie. Thanks for doing this. I love Disney!


Please tag me when you update again.

 

These are a wonderful day to start a day.

Very well done!!

 

Nyota: I'm glad you liked it! And you totally should

Rainbow Knight Star Thanks! I think I remember you saying that once. It actually is not one of my favorites, though I'm fond of some of the adaptations I'm happy to tag!

Hazel: Thanks! I love a little Disney in the morning

Mira: Thanks!!


Sorry it's been so long, guys! It's been a crazy few months, but I'm trying to get back on track and actally finish these!


Week Eight: Pocahontas

Mistake

It was no mistake that they had come.

Pocahontas wasn’t sure why these pale-skinned creatures were here, but she saw them building fortifications and digging into the ground near the shore, and she knew what that meant: They had come here planning to stay.

And her people were in danger.

But despite that danger, she couldn’t stop herself from creeping closer. She had never seen a person with skin that pale or with clothes so shiny. Who were these strangers? Where were they from? What were they like?

But curious as she was, she wasn’t ready to meet them yet.


Corrections

“Savage,” he said, and she soon learned what that meant.

“You think I’m an ignorant savage,” she shot back, “and you’ve been so many places, I guess it must be so. But still I cannot see if the savage one is me. How can there be so much that you don’t know?”

She was determined to educate him about the land and its creatures. If he was going to come here and be a part of her world, he should be a part of it, not apart from it. He would learn to appreciate all the earth had to offer.


Prank

Pocahontas and Nakoma had pulled many pranks—on each other and others—but this was no prank. Nakoma felt terrible for betraying her friend, but Pocahontas was betraying their tribe. Who knew how many men these pale-skins would kill?

She didn’t go to the chief. Instead, she told Kocoum what she had seen. He loved Pocahontas, and he was a great catch—any girl would be lucky to marry him. He could put an end to this without bloodshed. Pocahontas would return, and everything would be all right.

Nakoma regretted it later and wondered if his death was her fault.


Sabotage

Thomas had never killed a man before. But when he saw the savage grappling with Smith, it felt so easy to pull the trigger and save his friend. The copper-skinned man fell with one bullet in him.

In that moment, Thomas was relieved. Later, he threw up everything he’d eaten.

The Powhatans took it for an act of war. Whoever really killed Kocoum, the chief had one of the pale savages. He was going to do the hero justice and execute Kocoum’s killer.

His daughter’s pleas only set his mind further against this Smith. The Powhatans were going to war.


Revenge

Both sides wanted revenge.

The Powhatans would drive away the invaders and kill them for killing their future leader. The English would release or avenge their hero, Smith, and finally rid this New Land of the savages—and take gold, the gold they had come for.

And one young princess, who had seen the spinning compass in her dreams, found it pointing to her future—a future that would include the Powhatans and the English.

It was the destiny Grandmother Willow had spoken of.

She stepped between the two groups, hands out, and she felt John Smith at her side.

 

Stoked these are back!!! Wonderful movie-focus for this set.

 

Nyota: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed

Mira: Thanks! It's good to be back to writing them I love this movie -- Pocahontas is a total bad***!


So, I saw Frozen with my family Thanksgiving weekend and absolutely loved it! And I was inspired


Week Nine: Frozen

Mistake

It was an accident.

This certainly wasn’t the first morning that had started with Anna pouncing on Elsa’s bed, asking, “Do you want to make a snowman?” As usual, even though she wasn’t a morning person, Elsa couldn’t resist.

It went the way it always did: ice across the ballroom floor, snowdrifts piled high, and a little snowman named Olaf who loved warm hugs. But this time was different.

This time, Anna ran too fast, and Elsa wasn’t able to create gentle snow for her to fall into quickly enough. Instead, her winter magic hit her sweet younger sister’s head.


Corrections

It wasn’t too late.

Elsa’s magic hit Anna’s head, not her heart, and her head could be fixed—all but a stripe of her hair that would forever remain white. But while the wise old troll removed the ice, he also removed Anna’s memories of her sister’s magic.

“It’s too dangerous,” he said, and their father agreed. Anna was never to know about Elsa’s abilities.

***

The next day, Elsa moved out of the room the sisters shared and into her own.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” Anna asked. But the door between them remained closed after that.


Prank

Anna thought at first that it was some sort of prank—but no, the icy shards that sprung up around the door were very much real.

And they were caused by her sister.

Before Anna could move, Elsa was out the door.

All their guests began to murmur—and some began to do more—but Anna ignored the furious tones and rushed after the new queen. Elsa wasn’t exactly hard to find—as she fled, ice and snow sprung up behind her. Before long, all of the port city Arendelle was covered with winter.

Elsa was nowhere to be seen.


Sabotage

Anna stopped thinking about her sister the minute she realized that the bolt of winter magic—the second one Elsa had ever hit her with, she was remembering—had hit her heart this time. Pretty soon, all she could think of was how cold she was. There was only one way to stop the chill and save her life.

Hans. Her prince charming. Her fiancée.

As he was leaning down to kiss her, Elsa was the farthest thing from her mind. All she could think of was her freezing body and the man she loved.

Who didn’t love her back.


Revenge

Anna didn’t go to the docks to watch as Hans, manacled, was led onto a ship to be sent back to his brothers as punishment for his treason in trying to kill her and Elsa. She would leave her revenge to them. It was better to focus on love—real love.

So while the guards were carting Hans away, Anna was with her real love: Elsa.

(She wasn’t willing to say that she loved the handsome woodsman who had rescued her more than once—but she was open to possibilities.)

Elsa and her snow magic? They were back—for good.

 

Wonderful use of the prompts. Especially liked Corrections, Sabotage, and Revenge.

 

Great story. I loved Frozen too, and I haven't stopped writting on Frozen since seeing it. I actually, saw it three times already.

 

Excellent Job on both stories, Nat. I haven't seen Frozen yet, but I loved the post. Please, keep um coming!

 

Nyota: Thanks!!

mrjop: Thanks! I really enjoyed the movie and can't wait for the DVD. Seeing it convinced me I need to start actually buying these movies instead of borrowing them from family members

Mira: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed them even though you haven't seen the movie (and I highly recommend the movie).

Rainbow Knight Star: Thanks!! I"m glad you liked them I loved Frozen; you should see it! And I definitely will keep them coming


This next set is for Brave, which I saw a couple months ago for the first time. Honestly, I didn't really like it (or Merida), but these prompts fit perfectly! So I enjoyed writing them anyway


Week Ten: Brave

Enemy

Long ago, four disparate kingdoms put aside their differences and banded together to face a common enemy. After their victory, the alliance held true. The lands were at peace, and the only real enemy that threatened was a rather large, rather nasty bear (who became larger and nastier with each retelling, if you asked Merida—which no one did).

But the alliance was perhaps more fragile than any of the four leaders cared to admit, for continued peace in the kingdom would rest upon the marriage of the king’s daughter to the son of one of the other three leaders.


Attack

And the king’s daughter had no interest in that—not, again, that anyone thought to ask her.

Princess Merida longed to be free. She wanted to go on adventures in wild places, just her and her horse and her trusty bow. She had no desire for a husband (and even less desire after she met her suitors).

But as always, no one had asked her, and she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She could outshoot any of the louts competing for her hand. And if that didn’t work … well, there were other options.


Negotiate

But here’s the thing about magic: It’s very specific. There are no shades of gray, no ways to work around it. It takes what you say, not what you mean. And if you mess up, there are no second chances. Magic does not negotiate.

As the queen found out when, one evening, she turned into a bear.

It wasn’t her fault, Merida cried, pushing back the increasingly uncomfortable feeling that it was, in fact, her fault. And that feeling grew worse when she realized the extent of what she’d done … and how difficult it would be to undo it.


Truce

Love is the most powerful magic of all, some say. Those who say it should know that it didn’t exactly work on this spell (at least, not at first), but Merida was desperate enough to do anything to get her mother back—even marry one of the boys she despised.

But she wasn’t the only one willing to call a truce. A mother’s love is powerful, too, and the queen finally realized that she had to let her daughter make her own choices about love (after she was done being grounded for the whole turning-Mom-into-a-bear thing).

At least, for now.


Friend

So at last we get to the part where love really is the most powerful magic of all. Merida and her mother saved each other—from the magic, from the great bear, from living a life apart and alone.

And while it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing from there on out—mothers and their teenage daughters aren’t meant to never bicker, after all—it was much better than it had been before. No forced marriages, no unrealistic expectations, and no mouthing off (well, at least, less mouthing off).

And if that’s not its own kind of magic, then really, what is?

 

Fantastic! I love this movie, so I'm glad you added this one to your collection in this thread. Looking forward to the next update.

 

Very interesting use of the prompts. Yup, I can just imagine turning someone into a bear would get one grounded

 

Rainbow Knight Star Thanks! I wasn't a huge fan of Brave, but I had a ton of fun writing this

Nyota: Thanks! And oh heck yes it would

Mira: Thanks! I wanted to go for a different sort of style (particularly because I actually didn't love Brave -- but the prompts fit so well!). I love little story interruptions Oh, that is totally a Rumplestiltskin moment!

Thanks for reading, ladies! I'm moving away from the princesses with this one to another Disney movie that's not exactly a classic, but still a sweet story.


Week Ten: Brother Bear

Sky

The bright sky seemed to be laughing with her three favorite sons as their kayaks swished through the tumbling waters. They had been successful on their hunt, but now there were important things to attend to.

Which didn’t stop Kenai from flicking water into his other brother’s face.

“Come on,” oldest brother Sitka said gently, stopping the scowling Denahi from taking revenge. “This is an important occasion! Show some dignity.”

Kenai laughed, excited. It was time for him to find his sacred totem—a big event for a young man.

The tribe cheered as the three absent brothers returned home.


Sun

The sun shone brightly still, a sharp contrast to the blackness in Kenai’s heart as he looked at his oldest brother’s broken body.

My fault. All my fault.

No.

No, it wasn’t his fault—it was that bear, that horrible bear, that had taken Sitka’s life. Standing—and ignoring the bear totem he wore around his neck, the totem he despised even more now—Kenai vowed revenge from his brother’s life. That bear would pay the price.

And before Denahi or anyone else could stop him, Kenai raced into the woods, following the bear’s trail, bent on killing the bear.


Moon

By the light of the sun, Kenai vowed revenge, and by the light of the moon, he would have it.

But mere seconds after the bear fell at his feet, the spirits made their unhappiness known to him. Sitka’s eagle, the spirit animal that had guided his life, appeared, and after that, all Kenai knew was pain.

When he woke, he tried to wrinkle his nose, move his hand. It was only when he opened his eyes and saw the paw in front of his face that he realized what had happened.

The spirits had turned him into a bear.


Stars

Kenai turned his bear head to the stars, wishing to see his brother again, in any form. But Sitka was gone, and all the pleading in the world wouldn’t return him to life.

Kenai roared softly, careful not to wake the cub he agreed to take to the salmon run and—presumably—his family. And after that …

After that, he would journey to the mountain, and he would return to his human form. And nothing—not the bears, not Denahi, not even the spirits—would stop him.

Kenai lay on the ground and rested his head in his paws.


Lightning

The sky flashed, and the spirits descended on the bear who was once a man. Another flash, and he was a bear no longer.

The spirits watched as Kenai and Denahi hugged, and Sitka’s spirit smiled when Kenai requested to return to bear form to help his new little bear brother. Kenai had grown into the man Sitka had always wanted him to be—even as a bear.

Another flash, and his own little brother was a bear again, this time for good. Kenai’s spirit totem had guided him on the right path. It was all Sitka had ever wanted.

 

Wow, what a unique use of these prompts. I like the legend-ish feel.