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fairytale lineup [oc]

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cursed prince portrait [fairytale au]

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three cursed princes

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L. Kate Deal, 'The Wild Swans', ''Child Library Readers'', Book Four, 1928

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swan prince oc

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I wasn't supposed to speak anymore of the movie we shall not name so I'll try to make it about the most recent Disney live-action remakes... But this is also what I actually hold against them. Yes I do believe some of the changes they brought to the movie-that-shall-not-be-named were completely unecessary because Disney just literaly dug a hole in quicksands without thinking how they would literaly drown themselves in problem, while they had perfectly safe bridges to walk over RIGHT NEXT TO IT... But this isn't, in the long run, the main flaw of the movie as what seems to be its main flaw it is desire to stick exactly to the original movie. The original animated movie.

The entire point of making a live-action remake is to EXPLOIT, USE, EXPLORE the live-action medium to do things that cannot or should not be done in animation. I am not talking about the essence of a remake, I am talking about a cartoon/live-action transition. Those are two different medium, two different worlds, two different matters to shape. One would have thought, when they started their remakes, they understood this as their big successes - be it their Alice, their Maleficent or their Cinderella - were all about making things different from the original animated movie. That made them good movies - not obviously as in "you like it" but as in "yeah, it works on its own". But the most recent remakes (including the {CENSORED} one) are all about trying to recreate visuals and aesthetics and costumes and hairstyles that DO NOT work in live-action... BECAUSE IT CANNOT WORK IN LOVE ACTION! Especially stuff like the FIRST Disney movie which was literaly designed out of a cartoon aesthetic that was NOT trying to be realistic in the least. More recent Disney movies like The Princess and the Frog, or Tangled, had a more "realistic" aesthetic that allows for an easier live-action transition. But the more you go back the more you return to Disney's original little Silly Symphonies cartoons, which are of course IMPOSSIBLE to translate as live-action! Yes they had live-action models to draw the scenes, but these movies were created to fully embrace the possibilities of cartoon, and thus had physically impossible things or stuff that would look ugly in real-life...

I still hold that the greatest Disney live-action remake of all time was 101 Dalmatians.

Cinderella's Remake if it had been released today

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @adarkrainbow

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Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm - Juniper Tree, 1925 (Kay Nielsen)

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A Motherly Poison

By Alex C. Mouse

With all this talk about Snow White going on, I decided to take my shot at reimagining one of the most iconic scenes of the fairy tale. I want to see your sincere opinions about this.

This is a scene from a story I’m sure you’ve already heard many times.

If you close your eyes, I’m sure you can picture it: a small timber-framed cottage in the heart of the woods, and in front of it, a young woman with hair as black as ebony, skin as pale as snow, and lips as red as blood.

This story is engraved in stone in the palace of your memories, but what we call fairy tales were made more for them than for us. The fairies live for so long that their memories could never keep up with them. After a century or two, it all becomes a mess of senses, thoughts, and feelings. They need something to keep all this chaos in order—a key to bring something concrete out of the abstract. A story that, no matter how simple, will always bring something out of them.

Snow White told them everything that she remembered, and as always, the story trickled down from the Enchanted Ones to us mere mortals. Yet, one detail Snow kept to herself, locked inside her own palace of memories.

I found her diary in my research, and I found her small secret. It’s nothing that will make you see the little princess in a bad light, as numerous revisionists have already tried over the years, but it’s something that must be told in order for people to understand her story.

I also must add that so long has already passed since those times. Rapunzel’s tower is empty and in ruins, Peter Pan left Neverland, the forest critters ate the gingerbread house, and from Cinderella, only one glass slipper is left. So much time has passed in Nemoia, and much more has passed in the Other Realm, the one without fairies.

I’m a storyteller, so I could never tell you exactly what she wrote. It’s best for me and for you that I dramatize my findings.

So, again, picture this:

A young woman leaving a small cottage in the heart of the woods. Her long mithril dress shone in the sun. It had been a gift from her uncles. Since she could remember, they did everything in their power to keep her safe.

“You must never leave, Snow White. You mustn’t talk to strangers,” was what they always said to her right before going to the diamond mines. Snow White always found ways to bend the rules of the dwarfs and go to the forest though.

Snow went to the giant wall that separated the cottage from the rest of the woods—a wall of giant dwarf statues made of wood and bronze, all smiling and with pickaxes raised up, mid air. Their beards were iron wires on which white rose bushes grew—Snow’s favorites.

She pulled the cord, and the water of the creek forced all engines and gears to move. The dwarfs started moving, their pickaxes going up and down without break. Some even whistled steam. Two large bronze doors, ornate like oak trees, opened, and from the other side, a woman wrapped in a dark cloak already waited for her.

The black cloak hid her face, and she walked hunched, as if hiding from view. In her hand, she carried a large basket, filled to the brim with apples.

“Are they gone?” the woman asked.

Snow White smiled. “Yes. They will only return by sundown.”

“Great,” the woman said.

The cloak fell to the ground, revealing a beautiful woman dressed in a simple but elegant purple and blue mantle. She was too old to be young and too young to be old. Her hair still looked as dark as the blackest raven, and her eyes still had life and vivacity behind them, even if the wrinkles under them could no longer be properly hidden.

Tears flowed from the woman’s eyes, and upon seeing the scene, Snow White couldn’t keep hers dry.

“I missed you so much, dear,” the woman said.

“Me too,” Snow said between the tears. “I missed you, Mom.”

Snow White promptly led her mother inside. With a cup of milk and a slice of freshly baked peach pie, Snow greeted her. They had so much to talk about.

Snow had found her mother during one of her frequent secret visits to the village. Among the thickest trees, in the darkest spot, around a place where not even the huntsmen dared to go, these women had found each other after so many years. It was already late, and Snow White needed to go before the dwarfs returned, but Snow showed her the place where the dwarfs lived and they promised to meet each other soon. And now her mother was there in the flesh, just like she remembered.

“I knew you probably were with the dwarfs, but I didn’t know how to find them,” her mother said. She carefully examined the place, touching and sensing all the wooden furniture. “I tried finding their cave again, but it was abandoned.”

Snow’s eyes widened. “How do you know about the cave?” she asked.

Her mother chuckled. “I was an orphan. They were everything I had. Before the dwarfs were your fairy godfathers, they were mine. I left them when I married your father, when I became queen.”

The Queen pulled the apple basket and placed it over the table. “I brought apples from our orchard. Your favorite. Do you remember?”

Snow White’s smile widened. “Yes! Yes! Yes! I remember when you baked apple pies for me. You always pushed away all the servants from the kitchen.”

The Queen smirked. “My magic works best when I’m alone.” She winked.

Snow White continued, “And then, by the afternoon, the whole palace was smelling good. The servants were always imploring you for a slice. You let me sit on your lap while you gave me the first one. It was always too hot.”

Snow laughed.

“You never waited. You were a hungry little monster,” the Queen said.

The Queen pulled Snow White and held her firm while playfully tickling her sides and arms. Snow laughed while struggling to free herself. Suddenly, she was a small child again, and her mother was right there with her.

“I thought about making apple pies with you, like the old times,” the Queen said.

Snow White looked at the apples. They were the most reddish apples she had seen in her lifetime. They didn’t even look real. They were so red that they almost looked black. Yet, just like sin, they were a temptation.

She didn’t lose time. She rushed around the dwarfs’ cottage to get all the ingredients to make the crust.

“I remember the mirror. Is the mirror still there?” Snow absently asked.

The Queen dropped a plate on the floor, shattering it into several pieces.

“Mother, are you alright?” Snow asked.

The Queen gave her an expression she couldn’t decipher very well. Her eyes looked right through her, and her teeth seemed slightly gritted.

“Of course, I’m fine, my dear,” the Queen said.

Snow White started peeling the apples.

“I remember the mirror. It almost covered the whole wall of your bedroom,” Snow White said while cutting the apples. “I liked to play in front of it. You always got so mad when you caught me in your room.”

The Queen pulled the knife from Snow’s hands with such speed that it startled her.

Snow turned to her mother and saw her expressionless this time. Something was stuck in her throat—something she wanted to say but, for some reason, held back.

“What do you remember?” the Queen asked.

Snow White chuckled. “I remember you. I remember the palace. I remember the servants. Then you being very mad at me for some reason. I remember a scary man taking me to pick flowers when I was seven, but then I got lost, and the dwarfs in the cave found me. Some accidents happened, and we moved. After we moved, they said it was best if I avoided leaving the cottage.”

The Queen sat in a chair. She seemed tired, and—was it fear on her face?

“What accidents do you remember?” the Queen asked.

Snow White kept talking. “A comb got stuck in my hair, and I don’t know why, but I passed out. When I woke up, they said I should keep my hair short. Then a bodice got too tight around my waist, and I passed out again. When I woke up, they said I should only wear mithril dresses and that they would protect me from most everything.”

“That’s so horrible, dear,” the Queen said.

“But it’s all over now. My uncles are overprotective, but they’re nice. They always bring me something from the mines or some gift that some fairy friend of theirs gave.”

The Queen remained silent for a couple of seconds. “Do you remember your father?” she said.

“No. I was too young when he passed away. As far as I remember, it was always you, and then suddenly, my uncles.”

“Good,” the Queen whispered under her breath. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Snow White blushed. The pale white skin turned rosy red for just a few moments. “There’s a boy. He’s from another kingdom. I think he’s from Achelois. I always see him and some others training in the woods. I met him a few times, and we even hung around the village once.”

The Queen grew quiet once again. “But it’s not true love, right?”

Snow laughed. “Of course not. I’m just a girl from the forest.” Her voice became more timid and small. “I know for sure that he must know a lot of girls prettier than me. I’m not that special. I will never be as beautiful as you.”

“Exactly!” the Queen said, surprising Snow.

Snow turned to face her mother, and both stayed quiet for a few seconds.

“You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” Snow White said to the Queen.

“I used to be,” the Queen said, her countenance now haggard.

“I remember those fancy balls you dragged me to when I was little. No noble could take their eyes off you. Not even the servants,” Snow White said.

The Queen chuckled. “This was a long time ago. When you reach a certain age, people stop paying attention to you and turn their eyes to the next pretty little thing.”

Again, the Queen looked at Snow White with such intensity that the girl didn’t know how to reply.

“There are other things besides beauty,” Snow said.

The Queen laughed. “Not for me. I stayed so long as the fairest of them all that I don’t know what I am outside of that.”

“You have the dwarfs,” Snow said. “I'm sure they will be happy to see you again.”

The queen closed her eyes and smirked, more to hide frustration than to show joy.

“I shouldn’t even be here. I said some things and did some things that they will never forgive me for.”

“You still have the people.”

“The people no longer love me. We are one step away from a revolution.”

“You still have me,” Snow White said.

The Queen closed her eyes, and now visibly gritted her teeth. Snow could see her hiding something within herself—a wild feeling that begged to be released.

“Do you know what? I’m already hungry. Aren’t you? Forget the pie. Let’s eat these goodies here right now.”

Snow White didn’t know what to think. “We can eat the peach pie.”

The Queen forced a smile. “But the apples are tempting me. I picked the best ones.”

“Okay,” was the only thing that came out of Snow White’s mouth.

She picked one apple. It looked so shiny and polished that she could see her reflection in it.

“Maybe my uncles will be really mad with me this time.” Snow said.

“If anything they will be mad at me.” The Queen laughed. “You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me.”

Snow White smiled. “Thanks, mom.” She said before taking a bite.

It took a few seconds. She first felt an itch around her tongue, then it spread through her whole mouth. Soon, her whole mouth was burning.

“Are you okay, my dear?” the Queen asked.

“I feel weird,” Snow White managed to say.

Snow White felt her tongue swelling and her throat closing. Suddenly, the whole world started spinning. She tried keeping her balance but fell to the floor.

The last thing she remembered before the whole world went dark, before all her senses were lost, was the Queen standing there, grinning at her.

Sometimes, even mothers lie.

@ariel-seagull-wings @thealmightyemprex @the-blue-fairie @mask131 @princesssarisa @tamisdava2 @storytellergirl @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @thelittlehansy @natache

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Illustrazione di "Frau Holle" dalle fiabe dei fratelli Grimm, illustrazione di Pauline Ellison (nata nel 1946), 1981.

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"The Changelings" di Helena Nyblon da Racconti popolari svedesi, illustrazione di John Bauer pittore svedese (Jönköping, Svezia 1882 - Wättern, Svezia 1918), 1913.

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This is a nice complement to my previous posts about sex parodies of fairytales in France X)

Again it is somehow a sort of poetic cycle that all these sex parodies pop up in today's age, as it somehow all makes a nice loop with the Pentamerone and texts of the sort

@princesssarisa @themousefromfantasyland

Picture of afro brazilian actress Adele Fátima playing the role of 'Clara das Neves' (a word play with 'Branca de Neve' (Snow White) and 'claras em neve' (egg whites, snow eggs or meringues in english) in the 1979 erotic comedy movie 'Histórias que as nossas Babás Não Contavam' (Tales Our Nannies Didn't Tell), which was a theatrically released parody of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs for adults, part of the genre known as 'pornochanchada' that was popular between the late 70s to mid 80s during the climate of political opening and relaxing censorship in Brazil during the proccess of redemocratization.

This is the most family friendly picture of the movie that I could find to share on Tumblr.

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@softlytowardthesun

Thank you again for asking me!

And by the way, i am no scholar either, but i love learning about the Index classifications, wich i first heard of in the works of brazilian folklorist Luis da Câmara Cascudo.

As promissed, here are my favorite types of fairy tales in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther classification index:

ATU 302: Ogre's Hearth in the Egg

This is the type of tale where the main villain (usually a giant or ogre) has his life hidden outside of his body, and the hero must go in a journey with his animal friends to find the hiding place of the life and destroy the villain and his curses once and for all. Here in the Northeast of Brazil we have several variants, brought here by the portuguese. English speaking audiences may remember an episode of Jim Henson's The Storyteller, wich adapted a tale with this theme, ading a twist of making the hero a child who befriended the Giant and questions himself about killing him or not.

ATU 310: The Maiden in the Tower

Stories about young women traped in towers, either at adulthood by order of an evil stepfamily or as a child because she was kidnaped by a supernatural being in revenge for their parents stealing their fruits and vegetables. The second half of the story, during the heroine's adulthood, are romance focused, and concern the wounding of the heroine's lover or husband by an enemy. The climax of the action in both cases deals with the healing of his wounds by the heroine and their happy reunion.

ATU 333: Little Red Riding Hood

Tales about a girl who has to deal with the manipulations of a big wild animal who wants to lure her into a trap eat her and sometimes her grandmother. A perfect metaphore about victims of predatorial people. Sometimes the protagonist and her grandmother survive, but other times the tale ends with them both eaten.

ATU 410: Sleeping Beauty

The tale about a princess who is forced into an enchanted sleep and is later awakaned reversing the magic placed upon her.

ATU 425: Animal Bridegroom

Tales about human beings who fall in love with enchanted animals, and take journeys to recover their love after making a mistake like looking with curiosity at what should have kept a secret, accidentally hurting their beloveds, trying to break their enchantment too early, etc.

In Jim Henson's The Storyteller, there is an episode adapting the Brother's Grimm tale "Hans, my Hedgehog", wich is a great example of the genre.

ATU 451: The Maiden who Seeks her Brothers

In this type of tale, brothers leave the parental home because their father plan to kill them if the next baby their mother has is another boy, or are cursed by a family member, normally the mother or stepmother, to become birds (ravens, swans, eagles). The mother gives birth to a girl who after discovering she has siblings and why she never heard of them goes out to find them. When she finally finds her brothers, usually at the top of a glass mountain, they tell her she must keep silent for a period of time, for example one year for each brother. Sometimes she can't laugh or cry too. She also has to sew shirts and other pieces of clothing during that period of time. One day before the enchantment is over a king finds the heroine and brings her to his castle to marry her. The king's mother hates her daughter in law because she's mute, and each time she gives birth to a baby she abandons the baby and accuses the heroine of killing her own children. After so many allegations the heroine, who can't defend herself because she can't say a word, is condemned to die. The execution's day the brothers appear carrying the heroine's children and say to her sister that the spell is over, and that she can talk now. The heroine reveals all her mother-in-law's scheme, and proven her innocence the mother-in-law is executed instead. Normally although the spell is broken one of the brothers is left with a wing instead of an arm because her sister couldn't sew the missing sleeve, or missing an eye if she shed a tear when she was supposed to not cry besides not talk.

ATU 510 A & B: Cinderella and Donkeyskin

The first version refers to the tale about a girl who is orphaned from her mother and has to deal with her father's neglect and her stefamily's abuse, before finally finding her happiness. The second version refers to the tale of a woman who, usually because of her father's incestuous desire for her, has to run away in a grotesque desguise, surviving by working as a scullery maid in a palace before winning the love of the Prince by impressing him at a ball, where she wears three fantastical dresses. Together, these two tales as the Persecuted Lady Cycle.

Adaptations include the 1970 french movie musical Donkeyskin, adaptations of the british variant Cap O'Rushes by the anthology TV Shows Storybook International and Animated Tales of the World, and the episode Sapsorrow from Jim Henson's The Storyteller TV Series.

ATU 560-61: The Magic Ring and Aladdin and his Wonderfull Lamp

Tales about rogish young man who adventure trough magical worlds and rise from rags to riches with the help of a magic object. Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp is probably the most famous example, considering how many times it was adapted, but other examples include The Bronze Ring and Jack and his Golden Snuff Box.

ATU 707: The Three Golden Children

The name refers to a cycle of tales wherein a woman gives birth to children of wondrous aspect, but her children are taken from her by jealous relatives or by her mother-in-law, and her husband punishes her in some harsh way. Only years later, the family is reunited and the jealous relatives are punished. This type of tale develops the narrative in two eras: the tale of the calumniated wife as the first; and the adventures of the children as the second, wherein the mother becomes the object of their quest.

ATU 709: Snow White

A young woman who is horribly mistreated by an envious and jealous relative, is spared by a servant who was ordered to kill them, gets refuge in the home of an unconventional group like mining dwarfs, thiefs, fairies or dragons, suffers two or three more murder attempts by her envious relative before falling into a death like coma, and trough a happy accident is wakened up, ending either reunited with her father or happily married.

ATU 875: The Clever Farmgirl

Tales about a witty woman of humble background who marries a nobleman after solving his proposes enigmas, impressing him with her inteligence, but that he doesn't really want his wife to be involved in the ruling of the kingdom. Either because of gossip of his envious ministers, or he got angry because she dared questioning one of his decisions, the king orders his wife to leave the palace taking only what she finds the most important thing. The heroine asks him to have a fairwell dinner, where she puts a sleeping potion in his wine, and he takes him to her old poor home, and when he wakes up, she tells that to her, he is the most important thing. This amazes the king, they reconcile and return to the palace to live happily ever after.

ATU 1640-41: Lucky Accidents

Tales about an everyman who is tought to be (or boasts about being) the most clever, strong and brave of its kind, and succeeds in a mission given to them by a nobleman, sometimes with cunning and witty, other times by sheer luck.

The most famous and adapted tale of that kind is probably The Valiant Little Taylor, by the Brothers Grimm.

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Apartments in Fables (Spoilers)

Felt the need to clarify I haven't finished the main Fables yet, and haven't read any of the other fable comics. As of writing this I am on issue #37 so this is subject to change.

Not to cornplate a franchise that basically ended ten years ago but I think the apartments are really good indirect characterization.

Bigby Wolf

Bigby's apartment is small, the tiniest in Woodlands in fact, it's messy, isolated, and has no room for any sort of fun other then a tiny t.v. and cigarettes (but even that's for a medical reason in the comics). I think it reflects Bigby's place in Fabletown, both as a sheriff and as a citizen. His relationship with the public is messy, constantly walking the line between respected and feared (moreso in TWAU). His apartment is small because he knows not to go over his means or pretend he's anything he isn't. He doesn't try to live in a fantasy like many of the other fables. This apartment is probably the closest thing in Woodlands to a Mundie apartment, and I think that's intentional Bigby is one of the most grounded characters in the comics. His apartment is also filled beer and cigarettes, probably to help drown his senses when he's at home. His apartment is almost the exact opposite of…

Beauty and Beast

This is largely based off of the game, but I think some of the points can apply to the comics too.

Beauty and Beast's home is practically a shrine to their homeland. Money is shown to be tight between them in the comics and in TWAU they go into debt to keep their lifestyle. The decor in their apartment and even the couple themselves are almost begging to be seen as happy and successful. They have a bigger, higher-up apartment because they see themselves as higher. Nobles who can't dare to risk becoming a "lower class." So much so that they were willing to deal with the crooked man. I can't say I've seen much proof of this yet in the comics but I'll edit this post if it comes up.

Ichabod Crane

This is exclusively based off of the game since he isn't really in the main comic.

Ichabold's apartment is full of himself, literally. He has a bust and a portrait of himself. Something that many old great heroes would have. Obviously Ichabold isn't a hero, but he sees himself as one. One who deserves great riches and the girl. But nobody is as obsessed with him as he is, so he has to turn to the only person who would indulge his delusions, himself.

Side note: I'll have to find the issue but at one point Bigby mentions Snow white has "one of those magical rooms" that's bigger on the inside. Much like how behind her professional and cold demeanor she cares a lot and has a lot more to her than the public gets to see in passing. (It's cheesy but you know.)

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fighting the urge to write an in-depth essay about not just how different Comic Bigby Wolf is from Video Game Bigby Wolf, but how they essentially serve as mirror opposites with directly opposing moral beliefs, political stances, and self-perceptions.

They are so opposed, in fact, that their characterizations essentially lead to the comic and video game having directly opposed moral messages.

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Reading Fables comics means going back and forth between “ah that’s neat and creative” and “shut the fuck up Bill.”

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Paul Hey (1867-1952), 'Der Froschkönig' (The Frog Prince), ''Märchen''. 1941 A reproduction of this book can be viewed here if you're interested.

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ILLUSTRATIONS BY OMAR RAYYAN FOR RIMONAH OF THE FLASHING SWORD: A NORTH AFRICAN TALE (RETOLD BY ERIC A. KIMMEL)

@isthemedia @adarkrainbow @themousefromfantasyland @tamisdava2 @storytellergirl @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @professorlehnsherr-almashy @grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales @softlytowardthesun