Mysterious Fathoms Below
is an in-progress Descendants fanfiction written by MissKate.
The story takes place after Descendants 2 and in place of Descendants 3. It starts with a brief scene of Dizzy being taken from her family, to live in Auradon, followed soon after by Uma destroying the barrier to the Isle of the Lost in a burst of sea magic. From there, the story jumps across many of the territories and personalities of Auradon, accounting for the aftermath of the barrier's destruction and, more broadly, the consequences of Auradon's past political actions.
The first chapter of the story was uploaded on September 4, 2017.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: CJ Hook did this to Zarina, before the events of the story, by saying that she didn't believe in fairies...when she was a child! Especially tragic, because Zarina was Harry's mother, and CJ's relationship with her older brother (and her relationship with her father) never recovered from this, and she never stopped blaming herself.
- Broken Record: Used to eerie effect in Chessa's conversation with Yen Sid; every statement she makes is followed by, "You know this, even as I do."
- Cast of Personifications: Most, if not all, of the princesses from Disney's animated canon seem to be this: Rapunzel is the sun, Moana is the ocean, Tiana is the swamp, etc.
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Harry saying that he believes in fairies over and over again is what revives the Pixie Hollow.
- Crapsaccharine World: The story very much paints Auradon as this. Beneath all the happiness and pretense is a lot of corruption and large scale misdeeds against the powerless.
- Deconstruction Fic: The implications of canon are examined ruthlessly, here.
- Elemental Embodiment: Many of the characters (most notably, the princesses) seem to also be embodiments of whatever element is most thematically relevant to their film of origin.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Chad is implied to be this; he's rude to Dizzy, but he also looks out for her when he discovers her crying by herself, and he helps her get to her classes. He's still quite a jerk, though.
- Madness Mantra: Throughout the scene when the pirates are first navigating the ocean (as well as for a while after), Harry is calling out deliriously for Uma, who is not there. He happens to be correct that it was her magic that freed them, but he comes across this way to the crew. Similarly, him saying that he believes in fairies becomes this when he is reviving the Pixie Hollow; the words are necessary to heal the tree, but as he says them he becomes increasingly emotional as he remembers doing the same thing over his mother's corpse.
- Make an Example of Them: The reason for executing Harriet: they can't kill Harry or Uma, and a statement must be made.
- Politically-Active Princess: Nearly every princess from the Disney Animated Canon appears to be this. They meet to discuss recent events and accommodate refugees.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Uma develops this after using her sea magic to break the barrier. She no longer remembers her own name, nor those she left behind.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Commonly displayed by the Isle kids, as a result of their abusive pasts. Merryweather is especially disturbed when Harry and Jonas think that she wants physical compensation for having taken care of them.
- Wham Line: The first chapter ends with one. After Uma awakens from having destroyed the barrier, she meets her grandfather (Poseidon) and asks him, "What's my name?"
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Zigzagged. Elsa shows signs of this early on, due to Anna and everyone she knew in her youth being dead by the time the story starts. Rapunzel seems completely fine, though, because her magic hair enables her to keep her loved ones alive with her. Moana is fairly chipper about awakening after a years-long sleep.
