#truth tea

Before y’all blast me with novel material that contradicts this, allow me to explain.

Cruella DeVil is crazy, but she is no fool. She built a Damn fashion empire and was smart enough to get away with a lot of shit before she ever got banished. Not to mention she has a ton of money and is very talented. Her designs have literally built her an empire. Her perception is clearly very good.

She is a very impulsive woman, as shown with her driving and other aspects of her life. So that being said, she could have gotten pregnant on a whim. Certainly possible. But the question then becomes why didn’t she abort? Cruella might be a bit crazy but she’s no idiot. Children are a time consuming, costly endeavor. She could have easily nipped it in the bud, but she didn’t. She kept him.

Now, I know y’all are gonna come for the slave angle. After all it is in the books and implied in the movies. But what if that is just a front to cover up their relationship? Hear me out:

Cruella is an absolute master of perception. Not only does it influence her business but it also gives her a shrewd mind for how others will perceive her. Her reputation reaches far beyond her. Even though she doesn’t have particular powers, she’s still feared. Maybe because she’s crazy. Or maybe because she’s supposedly cruel. I will never deny all the shit she put those puppies through, but I also think every person has layers, and cruelty is only one layer.

On the Isle of the Lost and even in Auradon, loved ones are the easiest bait for making a deal. Cruella, mistress of perception, recognizes this. She did not terminate her pregnancy because she loves her son. But the world doesn’t need to know that, because it makes him a target. She wants to ensure his survival so she makes herself a bigger one. She becomes more grandiose, more cruel to Horace and Jasper, seemingly goes mad and keeps Baby on her shoulder. But she isn’t mad. She’s calculating.

She teaches Carlos from a young age that in the eyes of the Isle love is weakness and life is difficult. She fabricates stories down to the last detail that he must perpetuate in order to keep a target off his back. She helps teach him how to protect himself, how to hone his strengths. She shows him the life that others on the Isle lead. She is firm, but very loving toward him and the only thing that even comes close to that love is her furs. The villains stupid enough to cross him are strangled and skinned by her hand. They learn not to touch Carlos. And he is protected but not totally safe because he lives on the Isle. She has instilled a fear of Dogs in him so that he doesn’t repeat her mistakes to be forced to stay here if the chance for freedom comes in the future.

When Maleficent announces that her son has been chosen to go to Auradon, a part of her is thrilled. He can be free at last and have a real chance at life. Though she is sad to see him go, and tells him so in a moment of weakness before covering it up with a list of chores. Her fortune is still there for him in Auradon. He doesn’t have to worry about money and can still dress himself however he sees fit.

None of his friends know of his relationship with his mother. They are still, for better or worse, on the Isle. One pair of lips spilling that secret could result in problems. He doesn’t tell them until long after their settled in Auradon. When he does, he makes them promise to never speak of it on the Isle, to protect him and his mother. They all agree.

When at last her son comes home, savior of the VK’s and a hero no less, Cruella can at last let the façade drop. She is a mother and he is her son. And she is incredibly proud of him, and doesn’t have to hide it anymore.

And that’s the tea y’all ☕️

He really didn’t mean to do it.

He had just wanted some peppermint tea.

Wu had rearranged the cabinets without telling him again.

And now Kai was off sulking in his room, Jay had run off, Lloyd was trying in vain to stay under Nya’s concerned radar, and he himself was stuck here.

With Cole and Wu.

Who both refused to leave him alone.