How is one supposed to start a fairytale story? Once upon a time? But this isn't a fairytale story. This is a story with history, and mythology, and even the real world. It isn't just a fairytale story. And besides, some of those stories, they aren't the whole truth. You think Aurora was a queen with no intellect in her head? You think Snow White was awoken by a kiss? You think Ariel or Mulan never had moments of nonsense? Okay, okay, I'll start over.
There's no once upon a time, because this story happened not too long ago. There lived a man with a head full of dreams. With his dreams, and a lot of friends, he created some of the most famous stories ever told. They were created in The Studio, a magical place, and recorded in a beautiful and living storybook that moved and shaped these stories into sentient beings. The recorder of this book was Scribe Mickey, who watched over the book and everyone who lived in it.
Unfortunately, one day, the man got very sick, and died. His friends tried their hardest to run The Studio, the source of all these stories, and eventually got the hang of it, after a few missteps. Actually, a lot of missteps. Yeah, don't ask about Home on the Range. Ugh. It's not good. And The Black Cauldron? I think it's decent actually, but it almost crushed The Studio. The Aristocats sucks though. And I'm a big 2000's fan but not an apologist. They're not going to show up here, but Brother Bear? Dinosaur? Chicken Little? The studio had so many rough spots back then.
Anyway, the characters of those stories one day came together. You see, the princesses, the most famous of all of these, were disillusioned. Never to look at each other, never to touch, never to acknowledge the presence of each other. That was ridiculous! They were created to bring joy and life to everyone, but they couldn't even look at each other?
So, the Classic Three, as they were known, devised a plan. They'd unite their kingdoms and their people and rule them all equally, taking care of them. They had already unified their husbands' kingdoms, so how much harder could another unification be? The process took sixty years in the real world, but only thirty in the storybook world! Isn't time nifty like that? Anyway, more and more kingdoms heard and asked to join the union. For protection, for trade, for modernity, or just because. The characters of these magical tales started having their own children, wanting to have lives and generations of their own. The High King and Queen were chosen every few years by a vote, and this cohort, it's High King and Queen Lio and Belle. However, it was decided that each one of the royals would have a chance, and until everyone had their turn, they couldn't be elected again. Everyone is happy.
Of course, this wouldn't be much of a story without a conflict, now would it be? So of course, let us introduce our protagonists. A young princess, with poison in her veins. A young fairy, with magic in her roots. A young thief, with magic in his blood. A young man, with fierceness in his soul. Darkness is descending on the lovely continent of Auradon. Magical artifacts are suddenly going missing, magic itself is becoming rotten and twisted, people are falling ill for no reason, and there are even darker rumors that already-defeated villains are making appearances, a rumor that disturbs even the kindest and most open-hearted of souls. Of course, these are just rumors, and rumors can be wrong.
And so, this is where our story begins. Perhaps not with a 'once upon a time', but in a land of fairytales all the same….