Time passes much more quickly in Rohandor and many long and happy years have gone by since the characters retired to enjoy their respective 'happily ever afters,' their greatest foes were imprisoned in the Forever Stone, bound in an eternal sleep. Until Now.
Happily Ever Afters takes place in Rohandor, a mystical realm on another plane of existence from our own. Here our favorite Disney heroes and villains live in a world all their own; Alive, but far from well. Heroes and heroines fight to keep peace while newly freed villains seek their revenge. Come join us in an epic adventure as the characters you love clash in a struggle that will determine the fate of Rohandor!
HEA is an AU canon-only animated crossover Disney Play-By-Post Role Play with minimal word count.
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News and Updates
4/24/21: We've been on hiatus for a number of years now. I don't know that I'm entirely ready to return BUT I have been cleaning up the site and working to update everything since a number of movies have released. There is still A LOT of work to do but if you see this update and were an active member of the site prior to the hiatus, please send the Yen Sid account a DM to let me know you're still interested in playing and if you wish to retain your current roster. I hope you've all been doing well and staying safe!
Happily Ever Afters is a play-by-post forum role playing game based on the movies and television series of Disney and Pixar. It was created for recreational and entertainment purposes only and not intended to step on any toes, offend, or infringe. We did not create nor do we own the content from the Disney and Pixar stories and movies. None of the threads and writing on this forum is associated or affiliated with Disney/Pixar in any way. We do not make any money off of this site or its content. The icons used in the Forum Information & Statistics and those like it throughout the board as well as the BBC buttons and smileys were taken from a layout called Absolute Madness made by PookyTart from Userbar Depot. All of the other graphics used on this board were found, created, or otherwise edited by Yen Sid or Te Fiti. Please don't steal or use any graphic from this board without explicit permission. All storylines and plots used in the threads/topics were created by the staff and members of HEA and should not be copied or used on another board without permission.
Gaston LeGume was not new to the village. In fact, he was very much the town's darling. He had been ever since he'd started regularly hunting at the age of ten, bringing back game of various sizes, but he always managed to bring something. The villagers were more than happy to trade their different wares for more meat, especially when it was something that they couldn't have managed to catch on their own.
Of course they wanted the game that Gaston brought in; why wouldn't they? He was the one who had managed to kill it, after all, and that was always better than if someone else had been offering it. The girls were already starting to swoon over him at fourteen, and as well they should. Some of them were even older than he was, and he was more than happy to throw a grin and a wink their way.
That is, of course, until the inventor and his daughter came to the little town.
Gaston was doing his usual trading when they came through, their wagon packed with all of their belongings, pulled by a large horse, the kind of which Gaston hadn't seen before. But more than that, it was the young girl at the front of the wagon that caught his eye.
She was a year or two younger than he was, but she was already growing to be a beauty. He knew right then and there that she was the girl he was going to marry. But they were still essentially children; he'd give her some time to get settled into the village, to realize that there were no other good prospects for her. And then, he would sweep her off her feet.
For now, though, he was going to go over there and talk to them.
"Excuse me," he said, standing to his full height (he was still growing and his voice hadn't yet reached its full depth), "You appear to be lost."
Truthfully, Belle didn't mind travel, which seemed to be an odd thing for girls her age. She was happy to sit up front in their little wagon and watch the towns and scenery as they passed them by. And, on the rare occasion that the scenery didn't provide her with enough entertainment, she would delve into one of the storybooks she had brought along with her.
She wasn't certain the name of the little town she and her father were moving to, but he insisted it would be a wonderful opportunity for the both of them, and she could never say no to her father when he got himself so excited about something.
Belle was particularly swept up in her current book-- Scheherazade had just told the king that she had no more stories to tell, and she was quite worried as to the fate of the woman-- when a voice pulled her out of her reading. She looked up from the pages to find that her father had found the town, but seemed to be having a little bit of trouble with the map and locating their home.
"Is it so obvious, my boy?" Her father chuckled, trying to peek over the edges of the map to peer down at the strapping young man. Belle couldn't help the little laugh that slipped free as she took the map from her father, looking at it a moment before flipping it around. "Ah! It seems I'm very lost. I don't suppose you know of a cottage that was recently vacated, do you?"
Seeing that they were so close, Belle shut her book and tucked it away in her bag, putting Scheherazade out of her mind for the moment.
The young man watched as the man in the wagon glanced down at his map, then tried to look over it to see him. He raised one perfect eyebrow (honestly, what wasn't perfect about him?), trying to hide his amusement at the older man's antics.
Before he could step forward to glance at the map, to see just where he was looking and what he was looking for, the girl, his future wife, peered at the map and flipped it so that it was the proper way around. She knew how to read a map, it appeared. That was odd; most of the girls in town didn't even really know what a map was. It just showed that she was superior to the other girls in every way. After all, she was almost as good-looking as he was.
The portly little man (how could he be her father? She must have gotten her good looks from her mother) asked Gaston if he knew of a cottage that had been vacated recently, and Gaston stood proudly to his full height. He was an impressive sight, if he did say so himself, even if he was still growing.
"I know everything there is to know about this town," he intoned proudly, puffing up his chest to make himself appear taller. "Follow me and you'll make it home all right," Gaston said, turning in the direction of the cottage. No one else was going to help these poor, lost souls, and he wanted to get another look at the girl he was going to marry.
Glancing to the boy who had approached their wagon, Belle couldn't help but pause a moment to take him in. He was certainly very good to look at, with his bright blue eyes and raven black hair. A good smile, as well, though it seemed just a bit too... big. She couldn't help but think it was a mean thought, but the way he smiled reminded her of wolves baring their fangs.
She looked back to her father's map to keep from laughing at the mental visual.
"Why, that would just be-- be wonderful, young man! Thank you!" Maurice's happy tone drew a gentle smile to Belle's lips once more; the young man had clearly endeared himself to her father already. Stretching her legs, Belle stepped down off the wagon with a little hop.
"I hope you won't mind if I walk with you, instead? I've been riding all day, I need the exercise." No good would come from being shy or quiet, she knew, so she took it upon herself to try and at least start a conversation. "And... I'm sorry for any trouble we might have caused you. My papa isn't... the best navigator, but he does try his hardest. And we always get wherever we're going, if not just a little late."
Gaston had been prepared to set off, ready to lead these poor, lost souls directly to their cottage, all the way to the front door, when the girl hopped down off of the front seat. He turned back to the wagon, determined to help her down, but she was already on the ground by the time he would have been able to offer her his arm. He pouted very slightly for just a moment, but it morphed instantly into a grin when she asked if she could walk with him.
Of course she'd been charmed by his beauty; what girl hadn't been? But they were still quite young and he knew that she needed time to see just how amazing he really was. They had plenty of time, after all, and soon enough, she would find out that he was the only prospect worth anything in this little village.
"Why, of course I don't mind," he said, grin still spread across his face, "a walk with me is always good exercise," Gaston added, because, of course, he was the best walker in the village, too. Generally, he tended to be the best at just about everything, so it was no surprise that he walked the best.
"And it's no trouble at all; like I said, I know everything there is to know about this town." He gave the girl another grin, accompanied by a little bow and the offer of his arm. "I'm Gaston, by the way, Gaston LeGume."
Belle couldn't help a little laugh at the boy's comment, acting as though walking with him were some sort of honour, but she decided it was all in her head. After all, it wouldn't do any good to offend anyone right on her first day, now would it? Choosing to save any potential embarrassment, she didn't respond to his comment on the walk and instead gave a nod at the rest of his conversation.
"Well, then I suppose we were very lucky to run into you, now weren't we?" She was hesitant to take the boy's arm, but after a moment, looped her own through his, "Gaston, it's a... a pleasure. My name is Belle, and my father up there--" She paused to give her father a glance, and witnessed the man trying desperately to refold his map, "--is Maurice."
As the group set off towards the cottage, Belle found her gaze wandering around the little town, trying to take it all in. She could smell flowers from the little shop on the corner, and from the fields that surrounded everything. A small baker seemed hard at work, and the girl inhaled deeply as they passed, the sweet smell of fresh bread filling her senses, and she smiled. "This really is a beautiful little town."
The girl laughed at his comment; clearly, she didn't yet understand that walking on his arm was quite the privilege. That was all right, though; they were new in town, and he had to give them some sort of leeway. Once they'd been here longer, she would realize just how much of an honour he'd given her, the moment she'd stepped into the town, and she would come to see him to apologize for laughing at him like that.
For now, though, he was going to be the perfect gentleman, because, really, what else could he be? Of course he was perfect.
Finally, the girl introduced herself as Belle and her father as Maurice. Their names suited them perfectly; hers meant 'beauty' and Maruice..., well, Gaston wasn't sure what it meant, but he looked like a Maurice.
"Pleasure to meet you, Belle," Gaston said with a grin, stopping a moment, to sweep into a bow, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, as well. "And yes, yes, it was quite a good thing you ran into me; there are other people in this town who would have taken you in completely the wrong direction." Because who knew this town better than he did? Okay, all right, that old man that had lived here for about sixty years probably did, but none of the people Gaston's age knew half as much about the town as he did.
But then the girl said that this really was a beautiful town and Gaston grinned. Finally, she was starting to notice him and just how beautiful he was. "It is," he agreed, knowing that he had to follow through and let her play coy. "I hope you like it here as much as I do." Or to put it in the terms that he was trying to get across, I hope you like me as much as I like you. But if you don't, it doesn't matter because you're still going to marry me someday.
Belle wasn't certain if the boy thought very highly of himself or very little of everyone else in the town, with how he was going on abut how other people would have taken them in the wrong direction. It really wouldn't have been so awful; in the end, no matter how long it took, as long as she and her father made it to the cottage... it couldn't really have been so terrible.
"Oh, I'm sure I will. Everything looks just... just so peaceful." Her eyes were trying to take in every tiny detail of the beautiful little town. There was a fountain they passed, a flower shop with a lovely woman outside who gave her a little wave when she saw her watching. The scent of the meadows that surrounded the town was sweet and made Belle feel more relaxed than she had in days of travelling. "The city my papa and I are coming from was busy all the time. It's nice to see that things here are a little more... calm."
Of course, the business of the city wasn't really why Belle and her father were moving, she knew. Her papa needed to get away from the home that reminded him so much of her mother, and he thought the countryside would be better for her in the long run. So far, Belle was enchanted with the little place.
Oho, Belle was volunteering more information about where she and her father were coming from; that meant that she had to like Gaston. If she didn't, why would she be telling him details about herself? Not that he really cared what she was saying; she wasn't talking about him, so he was only marginally interested. Still, he paid attention for the most part, just in case she asked something and he needed to be able to respond to what she'd said.
A grin slipped onto his face when she said that it was peaceful, though; this little town certainly was that. Most of the time. When he brought in the big game to the market, then it tended to get pretty exciting, but he figured that without him, this town would have nothing to talk about. It would be entirely too peaceful. But she didn't need to know that yet; that was the sort of thing that a person needed to find out for themselves.
"It certainly is, at that," Gaston said, grin still spread across his face, "Though there are things that are exciting, and the weekly market tends to be quite the gathering place for people to meet, swap stories with, and just generally be sociable." And come to see him, of course, but that went without saying. Soon enough, Belle would understand just how lucky she was that she had caught his eye. But she was still new; he'd give her a little bit of time.
They were nearing the cottage, which meant that he'd have to leave them alone (most likely, unless they invited him in for tea or something), and he didn't like that idea. He quite liked looking at Belle and he wasn't ready to leave quite yet. But that gave him an idea.
"I can always give you a tour around the place, if you're interested," he offered. Oh, he was being SO kind to these poor, new people; they'd never learn to find their way around without him. Well, they probably would, eventually; it wasn't that big of a town, but it would certainly take them a while longer if they didn't have him as a guide.
"Weekly market?" Belle perked up a bit at that; she couldn't help but be a bit enamoured with the idea of a place where she could go to see and meet people, see new things, on a regular basis. She knew her idea of it was probably a bit fantasized, but she couldn't help her imagination.
Swinging her hands a bit at her sides, her eyes caught sight of the little cottage she and her father were to call home, and Belle found herself immediately falling in love with it. There was plenty of space for Philippe, plenty of room for her father to work on his inventions. A chicken coop sat off to the side, the young woman already excited at the idea of keeping the little creatures.
She was already mentally helping her father unpack their things when Gaston offered to show them around a bit more, and Belle couldn't help but shake her head just a bit. "Oh, that's very sweet of you. But my papa and I should really--"
Before she could finish explaining her thought, Maurice beamed down at his daughter, "Oh, now Belle-- there's no reason both of us should be stuck with unpacking all of this. You go on, have some fun, and then you can give me the tour tomorrow."
When Belle tried to refuse Gaston's tour, his mind was whirling, trying to find some other way that he could keep looking at Belle for a while longer. And so that she could keep looking at him. Though, again, she didn't realize just how well she had it right now, with Gaston showing her to the cottage they were going to be staying in, offering to show her around, etc, but he knew that she would learn. It was only a matter of time, after all, before she learned just how ... boring it could be here. But life with Gaston was always interesting.
But even as she was attempting to say no, her father insisted that she allow him to show her around, and a smirk slipped onto Gaston's face. Even the old man could see what a catch Gaston was; the boy wouldn't be surprised if her father started trying to get them to spend more time together.
"It shouldn't take too long," he told her, resting his hands at his belt, "And after that, I can help you unload your wagon." It was a selfless offer, and surely, she would realize that and be touched that he'd even thought to say such things. But that was just the sort of person he was, helping those in need.
At her father's insistence and Gaston's proud look, Belle had to exhale a little sigh of defeat, allowing the smile to return to her lips as she lifted her shoulders in a simple gesture of acceptance, "I suppose that's that, then. I promise, I'll be back as quickly as I can, papa."
She realized after she spoke that she must have sounded ungrateful, and she looked to Gaston again with a nod, "Not that I don't enjoy spending time in someone else's company, of course. It's just been... a very long day, and I'm looking forward to spending an evening in some peace and quiet. You understand, I'm sure."
His offer to help them was sweet, but for whatever reason, Belle didn't particularly want this boy looking through her things. She was very introverted when it came down to it, and didn't care for him to know a few more intimate things about her that he may discover in such a way. It was a strange thought, she knew, but something in her stomach told her his helping out wouldn't be all that helpful. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that, Gaston. But you're very kind to offer... I think we'd rather do the work ourselves. That way we can be sure we know where everything is. But, please, I'd very much love to take that tour now."
Belle spoke, telling her father that she'd be back as quickly as she could, which made it seem as though she didn't really want to spend time with Gaston. But he must have simply interpreted that incorrectly; there was no way she didn't want to spend time with him.
And she proceeded to state exactly that. It had been a long day, and being in Gaston's presence had dazzled her even more; she was tired. He understood how that went; it happened to the best of the other people in the village. (Because, of course, he was the best.)
The girl said that she and her father would unpack and do all the work that came with it themselves and he raised an eyebrow. She was refusing his offer of help....; didn't she know how valuable such an offer really was? But no, of course she wouldn't; they were new in town. He had to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she really knew just how selfless he was being, how honourable, she would have been touched.
He saw her refusal for what it really was, though; she didn't want to spend time with both her father and him in the room. Which was why she was boing on this tour with him; she wanted to get him alone. Not that he could blame her, of course; it was clear that she had good taste.
"Then let's go," he said with a grin, offering her his arm once more. She'd taken it once; obviously, she'd take it again.
Belle kept the pleasant smile on her face until it felt a bit unnatural to do so, and allowed her features to relax into a calmer expression. It seemed to be that Gaston was thinking over her words, perhaps searching for some deeper meaning or offence in them before coming to the conclusion-- she hoped-- that she was simply tired and not a bit of a recluse.
His grin returned, and she exhaled a breathy laugh in response, a bit glad her refusal hadn't turned into anything bigger than it needed to be, and took his arm after only a moment of pause.
A moment or two into their walk, once they had wandered away from her father and back over the small bridge that separated their property from the town, Belle looked up to her company, trying to think of an appropriate question to ask.
"So, Gaston, have you... lived here long? You seem so well-versed, I'm willing to guess that you were... born here?" It wasn't the most interesting topic she could have mustered up, she knew, but it was a start. Some people had an easier time talking about themselves than other things, and she had a feeling Gaston would prove to be that sort.
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Welcome to Happily Ever Afters!
Tony Dracon: Responded to your PM, Kat/Ratigan, incidentally.
Jun 27, 2018 20:25:02 GMT -5
David Xanatos: Kat's back. Hope the vacation was fun.
Jul 21, 2018 21:00:05 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: 'Twas a good trip! I'm sad it's over, but at the same time I'm glad to be back home so I can finish up my cosplays for a con next month and hang out with my cats
Jul 26, 2018 12:34:56 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Hope the cosplay goes well. I'm putting away a little extra for a con in a few weeks. and yay cats, they're always good company. Except for that one who slaps me unprovoked XD. So what cosplays do you have in mind unless they're secret?
Jul 26, 2018 17:07:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm cosplaying Pearl from Steven Universe and Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!
Jul 26, 2018 23:16:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm almost done both of them, I just have to finish styling Pearl's wig and fix up Joseph's gloves and wristbands
Jul 26, 2018 23:17:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Awesome. Had to look up Jojo because I'm not hip with the modern pop culture but I hope they turn out well.
Jul 30, 2018 15:33:15 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I only just started watching the anime last year and I haven't even touched the manga, so I'm barely hip with it lol. fortunately I have my cosplay buddy guiding me through the whole experience
Jul 30, 2018 22:29:38 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: also I finally finished the gloves! They were more of a pain to work with than I expected, but they'll hold together... I hope...
Jul 30, 2018 22:30:13 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Niceness. Hoping they hold also. Got the Dublin comic con next Saturday here. Hoping to meet Karl Urban.
Aug 1, 2018 19:05:32 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Cool! I think he's coming to my city in the fall, if I remember correctly. Hope you enjoy the con, Daryl!
Aug 2, 2018 19:10:23 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: I spoke too soon. Karl Urban had to cancel for schedule conflicts. They got Nick Frost though, I'm gonna ask him if he'll sign my Hot Fuzz.
Aug 3, 2018 18:08:47 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Dang! Nick Frost is great though, I love his character in Into the Badlands
Aug 4, 2018 22:54:36 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Enjoy your weekend Kat, hope the costumes came out as you wanted.
Aug 10, 2018 16:49:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Met Nick Frost and Michael Dorn at the weekend. Both very nice blokes.
Aug 13, 2018 15:22:59 GMT -5
Dodger: Happy 2019 everyone
Jan 1, 2019 10:54:04 GMT -5
Yen Sid: If anyone is passing by I posted a Hiatus update. Hope everyone is doing well!
Apr 18, 2021 11:31:09 GMT -5
Yen Sid: I've temporarily disabled account creation while I update the site. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience!
May 9, 2021 18:31:45 GMT -5
Owen Burnett/Puck: Checked the site again and saw the update! Here's hoping to a revitalized 2022.
Dec 15, 2021 14:41:27 GMT -5