#Fairy Tale Spinners

[coceauxpuff]

NEW RELEASE | The Wistful Wild : Fairy Tale Poems of Longing & Ferocity

It’s here, it’s here! I am so glad and proud to be sharing this beautiful collaboration between myself, Stephanie Ascough, Caitlin Gemmell, Jess Lynn, Beth Stedman, & Stephanie Escobar. I must admit that this was such a huge step outside of my comfort zone, and I can’t thank Stephanie enough for 1, thinking of me as a writer she’d want to include in this project. And 2, all of these wonderful…

[guy-agaric]

usually the spiderfolk use their abdomen as a balance, but arachnus is Older and weighs pretty much the same on both ends, so he needs a little help getting back on his feet. good thing calla is a size shifter!

[thelastofthebookworms]

My tag for this series is 'fairy tales'.

[artbyanca]

Rumpelstiltskin

Commission for @swarmofbutterflies 

[thefairyweb]

Some sketches on ideas for queens of my silly fairy tale retellings.

They are still work in progress but not bad for early art process

[ghostreviewsstuff]

The Nettle Spinner

i am discussing a very specific version of the story found here, it is very short and free to read.

the idea that all fairy tales have morals is kinda a weird myth. i blame it on how they are often equated to aesop's fables, which id argue are their own genre of fairy tales in themselves. but a lot of fairy tales are just.... weird thing happens.

anyways check out the first sentence of this story: "Once upon a time there lived at Quesnoy, in Flanders, a great lord whose name was Burchard, but whom the country people called Burchard the Wolf. Now Burchard had such a wicked, cruel heart, that it was whispered how he used to harness his peasants to the plough, and force them by blows from his whip to till his land with naked feet."

insert obligatory simpsons joke here.

the story starts with burchard, and how's he's a shitty bastard, but his wife is nice! his wife is not relevent to the story. the story is about a lady named Renelde, who Burchard becomes weirdly psychosexually obsessed with for no reason, which happens a lot in these kinds of stories. he wants to marry her, but she's not interested. unfortunately she herself can't get married to her actual bf without his consent bc of how laws work in their country.

the story is just him harassing Renalde for years, ordering her to spin nettles, sending his soldiers to kill her, and driving her bf out of the country. Renalde successfully spins nettles, dodges all murder attempts, then when lord dibshit kicks the bucket her bf comes back and they finally get married.

i can def see this one getting read out loud in its segments with pauses for commentary from the audience. its a solid tale, but lacks much room to be adapted into modern stories. but eh who knows. never know till you try.

[jedimandalorian]

Ahsoka Episode 6 “Far, Far Away”: The Story, the Symbolism, and the Score

Episode 6 of Ahsoka begins with the sound of distant purrgil calls as Ahsoka and Huyang travel through hyperspace, crossing the void between galaxies. During their discussion of the tales Huyang used to tell the Jedi younglings there is no music.

I loved that Huyang said such an iconic line in this episode, reminding us that this is indeed a fairy tale, a children’s story.

The Title Card for Ahsoka appears, and then the episode title, “Far, far Away.”

We hear ominous music when Sabine is in the brig onboard the Eye of Sion. The window to her cell is shaped like an upside down triangle.

The sinister music continues during the scene with Baylan, Shin, and Morgan on the bridge. Morgan’s Theme (the Nightsister theme) is heard when the Eye of Sion exits hyperspace.

The line “Peridea is a graveyard” reminds us that this is indeed a “descent into the abyss” a stage of the hero’s journey which I have discussed on this blog before. Ominous music plays here.

The characters who are aligned with the dark side are on a quest for more power to dominate others. They have followed the Path to Peridea as a kind of path to perdition as I have mentioned in my previous metas. But Sabine, our heroine, is descending into the Underworld on a more noble quest. She hopes to find her beloved Ezra Bridger, echoing the story of Orpheus, the hero of Greek myth who descends into the Underworld to find his beloved Eurydice.

Morgan’s Theme continues when they board the shuttle and descend to the planet Peridea.

The landscape of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is suggested by the giant statues and the Nightsister fortress, which resembles an evil version of Minas Tirith.

The characters encounter three Nightsisters, analogous to the Three Fates of Greek mythology, the Moirai. (Note the similarities between this word and the name of Ahsoka’s owl, Morai, a creature I predict that we will be seeing again soon.)

The three Fates were the personification of destiny in Greek mythology. The three sisters were known as Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the alotter), and Atropos (the unturnable, a metaphor for death). The end credits for this episode name these three Nightsisters as Klothow, Lakesis, and Aktropaw, clearly indicating the intended symbolism of these three characters. As George Lucas said back in the late nineties, “Well, when I did Star Wars I consciously set about to recreate myths and the — and the classic mythological motifs. And I wanted to use those motifs to deal with issues that existed today.” (From billmoyers.com) Lucas’ apprentice, Dave Filoni, has learned this lesson from the master himself.

The music is quieter in this scene, with sounds of low vibrations being heard. Morgan’s Theme continues when Sabine is imprisoned by the Nightsisters’ three orbs, which held her bound within a triangle made of red cords of energy.

Outside of the fortress three wolf-like creatures howl as ominous music plays. Choral music suggesting the mysticism of the fallen Jedi Order is heard as Baylan speaks of Peridea being a realm of “dreams and madness” from old “children’s stories come to life.” Once again, the viewer is reminded that we are being told a fairy tale, a myth. The musical score subtly teases the listener with three notes from Ahsoka’s Ronin theme in this scene.

Sabine is imprisoned inside the Nightsister fortress as the Chimaera arrives with the sound of ominous metallic rumbling. Thrawn’s flagship Star Destroyer was named after the female fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology which was part lion, part goat, and part dragon.

I am no Freudian, but the Chimaera’s open docking bay hovering over the phallic tower of the Nightsister fortress seems to be the most overtly sexual symbolism I have seen in Star Wars in a long time. However, I’m not here to discuss that visual metaphor.

Organ music which anticipates but does not present Thrawn’s theme is heard as the Nighttroopers muster under Enoch’s command. These undead stormtroopers have cracked armor repaired with golden seams suggesting the Japanese art of kintsugi, as well as armor pieces bound with bands of red cloth. They are heard chanting “Thrawn! Thrawn!” as the Grand Admiral makes his dramatic entrance. For me this chant was reminiscent of how the orcs in Return of the King chanted “Grond! Grond!” when using their mighty battering ram against the walls of Minas Tirith. (You can do your own Freudian analysis of that scene. I’m not going there.) What was Grond?

“Grond, also known as the Wolf's Head, was a one hundred-foot long battering ram with a head in the shape of a ravening wolf, used in the arsenal of Sauron in the Third Age. Though named for Grond, Morgoth’s warhammer, it was created in the likeness of the Wolf of Angband, Carcharoth.”—from lotr.fandom.com

Creepy music accompanies the Nighttroopers as they transfer of cargo from the catacombs beneath the fortress. What is inside them? Dead Nightsisters, waiting to be revived by dark magic?

Thumps and low pitched sounds accompany Thrawn’s conversation with Baylan.

Thrawn speaks of Sabine’s desire to be reunited with her long-lost friend. (The word desire is a very intentional word choice, with the connotation that the connection between Sabine and Ezra has potential to be more than just friendship.)

Sabine: I’m sure he’s doing just fine.

Thrawn: You gambled the fate of your galaxy on that belief.

Sabine: You wouldn’t understand.

Thrawn: Perhaps not.

Evil does not understand love and loyalty. (See my previous post about the Path to Peridea.)

Enoch returns Sabine’s weapons to her, and she is provided with provisions and a wolf-like howler for a mount. He tells her to “die well” as she embarks on her “fool’s errand.”

The line about a “fool’s errand” calls to mind this scene from Tolkien’s novel, The Return of the King:

'Tell me,' he said, 'is there any hope? For Frodo, I mean; or at least mostly for Frodo.'

Gandalf put his hand on Pippin's head. 'There never was much hope,' he answered. 'Just a fool's hope, as I have been told…”

“A Fool’s Hope” was also the title of the penultimate episode of Star Wars Rebels final season.

Once again, Thrawn’s theme is only hinted at by the organ music at the end of the scene.

Sabine’s scanner is destroyed during her fight for her life with the red-armored bandits in the wastelands. Her life is saved by her Mandalorian armor and weapons, Ahsoka’s training, and Ezra’s lightsaber in this action sequence.

Baylan and Shin ride out on howlers. Nighttroopers load coffin-like cargo containers onto the Chimaera as uneasy music plays. Thrawn decides to dispatch only two squadrons of Nighttroopers. His disdain for Jedi, light or dark, is apparent: “It matters not whether Wren and Bridger are killed or stranded here. The same can be said for your two mercenaries.” Ominous music plays.

The scene with Sabine and the howler is accompanied by gentle music played upon wooden flutes. Sabine processes her abandonment issues and her complex feelings for Ezra in this scene by taking out her emotions on the howler. “You. You abandoned me. I should have known you are a coward.” She tries to make the howler stop following her, but the loyal animal comes back as soon as she walks away. “Okay. Fine,” she says. “I’ll give you another chance, but you better not bail on me this time.” The gentle flute music continues. A motif of ascending perfect fifths suggests Ezra’s Theme.

The howler stops to drink water and sniffs the air. The thing that Sabine and the audience assumes to be a rock is revealed to be a sentient little hermit-crab-like creature called a Noti. Gentle music plays when Sabine kneels, puts down her blaster, and extends her hand to the creature. The Noti recognizes the Rebel Alliance symbol (an evolution of her own Starbird design) on her pauldron. The creature has a medallion of his own, marked with a similar symbol.

“Do you know Ezra Bridger?” Sabine asks, touching her heart. “He’s my friend.”

Ominous music plays as Baylan and Shin discover the dead bandits. Once again choral music is heard when Baylan reminisces about the Jedi Order.

It is also revealed that the Nightsisters are fleeing from a power that is greater than their own.

Baylan and Shin see the red Bandits in the distance. “The enemy of our enemy is our friend,” says Baylan, “for now.”

Peaceful and noble sounding music is heard when Sabine sees the Noti encampment. She smiles at the mother Noti rocking her baby in a hammock.

With Sabine in the foreground, the camera pans to show a now adult, bearded Ezra Bridger wearing a red robe and leaning against the wall of his home. “I knew I could count on you,” he says as joyful music plays, music which features the piccolo, flute, and other woodwind instruments.

The closed captioning for this episode says that there is captivating music playing when Sabine and Ezra finally embrace. We hear a beautifully orchestrated rendition of Ezra’s Theme on the French horn with a new countermelody in the strings to heighten the emotional impact of this long-awaited scene.

Ezra’s Theme is heard again when he says “Sabine, thanks for coming. I can’t wait to go home.”

When we return to where the Chimaera is docked with the Nightsister fortress, a suggestion of Thrawn’s Theme is heard at a quick tempo suggesting the urgency of the situation that is about to unfold. Ahsoka Tano is coming. “The thread of destiny demands it” is a line that further emphasizes the three Nightsisters playing the role of the three fates. We finally hear Thrawn’s Theme presented in an obvious way as the episode ends.

I have blogged about the magnificent end credits music in previous blog posts, so this time I am going to discuss something different: the alchemical symbolism in Ahsoka.

The central focus of alchemy was to transmute base metals into gold and create the elixir of life, as any aficionado of the lore of the philosopher’s stone knows. The process is a metaphor for the purification and transformation of the human soul to a state of perfection.

Three colors symbolize this process, black, white, and red.

First there is the nigredo (blackening) stage of the alchemist’s work, representing the breaking of the human spirit. This is where both Sabine and Ahsoka are at the beginning of the series.

Second is the albedo (whitening) stage, which involves washing away impurities or vices, and being ready to grow and learn again. This is most clearly illustrated by Ahsoka the Grey’s “death” and transformation into Ahsoka the White.

Third is the rubedo (reddening) stage, which is where we are in the story right now. It represents the purified and awakened spirit reaching its highest and purest form.

“The symbols used in alchemical writing and art to represent this red stage can include blood, a phoenix , a rose, a crowned king, or a figure wearing red clothes.”—Wikipedia.

The color red, of course, is symbolic of Nightsisters and their magic in this series, as well as symbolizing the red thread of fate.

Baylan Skoll’s line about having to “destroy in order to create” is an example of the alchemical concept of “solve et coagula” meaning to separate then join together. Nothing new can be built without destroying the old. Perhaps this is really telling us about the destruction and rebuilding of the Jedi Order.

In the completion of the rubedo stage there must be a union of sulphur and mercury, also known as the wedding of the Red King (the sun) and the White Queen (the moon). Sulphur represents the masculine principle, the soul, and the fire of life. (Remember Ezra’s red robe?) Mercury represents the feminine principle and the mind, flexible and changing. (Sabine is a clever young woman who lives inside her head, sometimes too much. Lately she’s been distracted by her heart.) Mercury also represents a state that can transcend death.

Is the much-discussed Ezra and Sabine hug the union of Sulphur and Mercury? Or should we expect something more than that?

Much has been written about Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati as the mythological wolves who chase the sun and the moon. This episode ends with the pair in pursuit of Ezra (sulphur, the Red King, the sun) and Sabine (mercury, the White Queen, the moon). When Skoll and Hati catch the sun and the moon, Ragnarok begins.

Besides sulphur and mercury, there is another element present at the rubedo stage of alchemical transformation: salt.

Ahsoka the White is coming.

Please reblog and comment on what you think of my musical and literary analysis of this episode of Ahsoka. I am looking forward to reading your replies.

[thealias0]

I might have came up with alternate resolutions for both The Giggle and Empire of Death in the shower

I think that those resolutions are both really underwhelming and deserved more. So, let's start what i came up with The Giggle.

Originally, The Toymaker was defeated by him just messing up. No clever play from anyone. 14 and 15 haven't displayed one of their biggest traits, which is their Time Lord super intelligence. They only displayed their ability to play catch, which is just such a waste imo. My proposal: Game of catch goes just like it did in the episode, but eventually 14 and 15 look at each other in understanding. They have cooked a plan. 14 catches the ball and throws it to 15, but he misses and ball falls off the edge of the rooftop. Both act shocked and 15 immediately sprints into the building. Toymaker looks at what just transpired and laughs and screams. "Go ahead, run if you wanna play hide and seek next. You will not escape me anyways." Turns to 14. "Are you proud? Your next incarnation revealed himself to be a coward! I expect many things from you, Doctor, but that sure surprised me. Now, you lost the game, so now's time for me to collect my reward." 14 smirks. "I wouldn't be so sure, as I believe... it is still falling" The moment he said that, the ball hurling from the entrance to the building hits The Toymaker and falls to the ground. In the way stands none other than 15 visibly exhausted from running and expression of relief on his face. Toymaker visibly angry, scared and confused asks: "Wh- What?! How did you... No... don't tell me-" "That's right, Toymaker" 15 expeled. "There are no rules forbidding the usage of time machines" 14 finished the thought. Then the flashback plays out showing the whole thing from 15's perspective. He runs as fast as he can straight to the TARDIS passing himself on the way, travels to the time and place where the ball is supposed to land, catches it, travels back and runs back to the rooftop passing himself on the way back. The rest transpires as it did in the original. I'm not claiming it's the best, great or even good alternate ending, but i think it would be more satisfying than what we got.

The resolution for Empire of Death is one of the most disappointing events I've ever seen in Doctor Who. It made Sutekth into a complete joke. Are you really telling me that the supposed most powerful being in existence. A god so powerful and terrifying that even The Toymaker ran in terror, wasn't able to handle a fucking rope? I don't care if it's a "smart rope" whatever that means. Toymaker was able to turn bullets into confetti, people into bunch of bouncy balls and implied he could turn galaxies into figet spinners or whatever. Sutekth is supposed to be more powerful than that and he couldn't do anything about it? Sutekth deserves much better than this. So this is what i came up with. It isn't nearly as detailed as the toymaker stuff, but i hope you'll enjoy the concept. So, i decided to actually use the spoon to save the universe in hopefully interesting way. I didn't think of any good scenario yet, but here's my idea for the concept itself. What if Doctor defeated Sutekh by using his power against him using the spoon. By that i mean that The Doctor could psychologically manipulate Sutekh into believing that the spoon through some classic Doctor Who technobabble, power of love and fairy tale salt spilling mumbo jumbo became an actual weapon capable of defeating him. Sutekh being a god and having power over reality itself could subconsciously make that story a reality and unknowingly empowering the spoon with his own power, which then Doctor could use to defeat him.

So that's what i came up. I am not a writer, so i apologize if that's an unbearable slop of a read. I'm not claiming that the dialogue i wrote is any good, as im just not experienced in writing. All i did here was not very thought through and only served the purpose of conveying my core ideas about the alternate resolutions for those stories. Hope you enjoyed and have a nice day

[coceauxpuff]

NEW RELEASE | The Wistful Wild : Fairy Tale Poems of Longing & Ferocity

It’s here, it’s here! I am so glad and proud to be sharing this beautiful collaboration between myself, Stephanie Ascough, Caitlin Gemmell, Jess Lynn, Beth Stedman, & Stephanie Escobar. I must admit that this was such a huge step outside of my comfort zone, and I can’t thank Stephanie enough for 1, thinking of me as a writer she’d want to include in this project. And 2, all of these wonderful…

[guy-agaric]

Calla and Arachnus posting because instagram Fucking Sucks and I think everyone should look at my babies

[aethon-recs]

HP Rec Fest, Day 18 ❄️

@hprecfest daily prompts running through Dec 31. Goal is to find lesser-known or underrated works, even by well-known authors, to feature here.

*

Day 18: A Fairy Tale-Inspired Fic

Until Midnight Comes by @dividawrites (E, 26k, complete)

Summary: A few years after the war, Harry reluctantly attends a party at Malfoy Manor. He drinks a few too many and runs into a handsome man called Tom. What happens after is definitely not a drunken error in judgement— it’s love at first, blurry sight instead. Why I rec it for this prompt: Post-war Harry is such an endearing, hilarious mess in this fic, but then again, so is Voldemort, living in isolation in Spinner's End, with only Snape's portrait for company. This fic is a brilliantly cracky take on Cinderella and her missing glass slipper, except this time, it's Voldemort and his missing... some other body part (that I won't give away the punchline to). There is a happy ending here, with lots of delicious smut along the way!

*

Running list of recs:

Day 1: Favorite under 5k | Such a Noble Villain Day 2: Comfort Fic | In Somno Veritas | Ouroboros Day 3: Podfic | a taste so good (i'd die for it) Day 4: Fic with Art | A Soulmate Like You Day 5: A Non-AO3 Fic | The Anti-Midas Day 6: Unreliable Narrator Fic | Anabiosis Day 7: A Canon-Compliant Fic | In Your Soul is Sealed a Pleasure Day 8: A Canon-Divergence Fic | Thirst Day 9: A Rare Pair Fic | dust in your pocket | A Breed Apart Day 10: A Fest Fic | In Your Image Day 11: A Dark Fic | As Portioned from a Whole Day 12: A WIP Rec | Lover's Spit | Revolution of Configured Stars Day 13: A Fic >100k Words | One Year In Every Ten | if we were lovers Day 14: A Favorite Series | The Immortal Duties of Lord Voldemort Day 15: The Most Recent Bookmark | Creatures of the Dark we are Day 16: A Fic that Made You Laugh | Make a Wish | Do You Want Fries with That? Day 17: A Fic that Made You Cry | We Still Have Time Day 18: A Fairy Tale-Inspired Fic | Until Midnight Comes 

[mha-shiz]

Ok- so uh-

I really like the idea of the Crown and how they operate in Ikemen Villains (a mobile Otome game). So imma make an AU about that now- because why the fuck not?

Quick explanation of the Crown in og series: the Crown consists of those who have been cursed with powers. They have a specific ability that ties back into a Fairy Tale or Litarature along with traits of their personalities that also tie back into the stories. Their main goal is to 'destroy evil with evil'. So basically they are a counter measure that is kept secret from the public and they take out corruption in different areas. They are all descend to die brutally and painfully.

So- let's put this into MHA because the hero system fucking needs it so badly.

After the failure that was Lady Nagant as an internal executioner. Some research was done into ways that other governments kept their heros and corruptible figures in control. They learned about 'the Crown' a group of people who would investigate and fight corruption, then when their time comes to die. They accept it with open arms. It seemed interesting, so, they started their own program.

Anti-Villains are what they have been called. As apart of the seeds being made of the group. The first official member was a boy that they were already going to make into the next Lady Nagant. Keigo Takami.

Since the boy was quite young he would be staying in the Manchine with his Mentor. The one that started the whole program in Japan to begin with.

Keigo and his Mentor discussed differnt things on how the basis of everything would be formed and how the rules of the Manchine would be.

1. Those who live within the Manchine do not need to have a job outside of it

2. Those in the Manchine will accept the judgment of those not deemed to be Evil by those within

More would be allowed to be added later as the group grows to a good size, but not too big.

Around this time, a new recruit joined the ranks. A scared, skinny boy, who seemed lost. The Mentor took him in and introduced Tenko Shumura to the Manchine and its rules.

At first meeting, Tenko and Keigo were very weary of eachother, keeping a good bit of distance. But over time they grew into being good friends who often played video games together and just hung out quietly.

Later on, another addition joined the group known as Dabi. The Mentor managed to convince Dabi to join since he wanted to kill Endavor, and thr Mentor agreed to help.

Dabi often trained and tried to be alone, but his instincts kind of got to him and he warmed up to Tenko and Keigo. The three of them being a sort of brother figure to one another.

Around this time they had agreed upon haveing all the staff being underprivileged and paying them all well. This all being insisted upon by Tenko due to his early life treatment that he has locked away.

When the three of them were in their late teens, someone finally took justice on one of the two who would go out in the feild at that time. The Mentor. They were killed on Keigos first mission.

Some time after the Mentors death, someone new peaked Keigos interest and brought it up to the rest of the group. A middle schooler named Himiko Toga had killed a boy in her class and drank his blood. Dabi was the one to leave and recruit the girl I to the group.

Finally, their informant brought them three more recruits to finish off the main group. This was Twice, Magne, and Mr. Compress. Each haveing taken an interest in the group and their informant takeing them to the Manchine.

If you're wondering about where Spinner is in all of this, he works for the Manchine and often spends his time with Tenko as his best friend.

Now, we have caught up to the main plot of MHA. I wonder how thubgs will change will these new peices?

[holycatsandrabbits]

Want to write a fairy tale? There are 3 magical posts on my Weird Wednesday blog, with writing prompts:

The Obstacle Flight: Evading Ogres with Everyday Objects

The Transformation Chase: Shapeshift Your Way Out of Danger

Outwit the Undead With This One Weird Trick

‘Quick! quick!’ called out the giant’s daughter, ‘take my comb from my hair and throw it down.’

Nix Nought Nothing took her comb from her hair and threw it down, and out of every one of its prongs there sprung up a fine thick briar in the way of the giant. You may be sure it took him a long time to work his way through the briar bush, and by the time he was well through, Nix Nought Nothing and his sweetheart had run far, far away from him. 

Writing prompt: Update your objects. Yes, we still have combs and mirrors, but what would happen if your heroes threw something much more modern behind them? What about a rubber band, pack of chewing gum, or key chain? How about a reusable grocery bag or an automatic umbrella? What on earth would a fidget spinner turn into?

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers 

Image credit

[princesssarisa]

Sleeping Beauty Spring: "Prinsessa Ruusunen" ("Princess Briar Rose") (1949 Finnish film)

The late 1940s saw several enchanting black-and-white live-action film versions of fairy tales released in Europe. The most famous of these is Jean Cocteau's French Beauty and the Beast of 1946; another is the charming Russian Cinderella of 1947. But another, similar film was produced in a country rarely known for its cinema: Finland, where this Sleeping Beauty premiered in 1949.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch the film with English subtitles, and I have no knowledge of Finnish. But luckily, there is a detailed English synopsis of the film online, which helped me understand what was happening in each moment.

Set in a stylized 18th century Rococo kingdom, the film's opening scene shows the peasants bringing gifts to the Queen (Mirjam Novero) to celebrate her recovery from an illness. But the Queen and her King (Aarne Laine) are sad because they have no child. (Was her "illness" a miscarriage?) That is, until the beautiful Fairy of Light (Eeva-Kaarina Volanen) foretells the birth of a princess. When the baby Princess Ruusunen is born (her name, the traditional Finnish equivalent of the Grimms' "Briar Rose", just means "little rose"), the King and Queen invite nobility and peasants alike to the feast – as well as the Fairy of Light, and five other good fairies, all youthful beauties in white robes and with long blonde hair. But the buffoonish Cook has lost one of the seven golden plates reserved for fairies, so at the suggestion of an impish little scullery boy named Sam – a comic character throughout the story, who, in a surreal, dreamlike touch, always stays a child even as the princess grows up – the grim, dark-robed Fairy of Death (Enni Rekola) goes uninvited. But of course she comes unexpectedly, and curses Princess Ruusunen to prick her finger at age fifteen and die, which the Fairy of Light can only soften to a hundred-year sleep.

The film's next portion is especially creative, as we spend more time in the princess's childhood than usual. On her fifth birthday, little Ruusunen visits the villagers with her nursemaid, giving them gifts and befriending a five-year-old peasant girl named Sanna. Unfortunately, she also sees a spinning wheel for the the first time and gains an interest. It's now that her parents have every spinning wheel destroyed, except for the one belonging to the castle's spinner Liisa, who confines her work to a secluded tower.

Ten years later, Ruusunen (now played by fifteen-year-old Tuula Usva) again celebrates her birthday by giving to others, this time by handing out roses. This includes a visit to Liisa's tower to give her a rose too... and when Liisa drops off to sleep, the princess indulges her longtime wish to try spinning. The Fairy of Death is there, unseen, and under her steely gaze, Ruusunen pricks her finger. But the subsequent "falling asleep" sequence is especially gentle and sweet in this film. Ruusunen doesn't collapse in a deathlike swoon, but peacefully dozes off in her chair, and the Sandman then arrives to sprinkle his sand throughout the castle. causing the rest of the court to doze off too. Afterwards, the castle is magically covered with climbing roses – thorny, but lush with leaves and flowers throughout the hundred years. A group of friendly gnomes also stay in the castle to watch over the sleepers.

When Prince Florestan (Martti Katajisto) finally arrives, Sanna, now an ancient grandmother, tells him about the sleeping princess. The peasants now wear 19th century dress, but Florestan wears Renaissance clothing for a classic "Prince Charming" look. The Fairy of Death has filled the castle with spiders and webs, but Florestan slays the most monstrous spider (a battle only seen in silhouette – a wise choice to keep us from laughing at the crude spider puppet) and scales the castle wall. He wakes Ruusunen with a chaste kiss on her head, and Cupid's arrow makes them fall in love. The King, Queen, and court awake too, the villagers greet them, the Fairy of Light blesses the prince and princess's union.

This is a sweet, charming Sleeping Beauty, with a gentle atmosphere that blends magic, humor, and warmth. The expanded role of the kingdom's peasants adds an appealing down-to-earth quality, while further charm is added by the comic portrayals of the royal courtiers, the inclusion of magical beings such as elves, the Sandman, and Cupid, and the enhanced role of children in the story. Although neither the sets nor the special effects are very sophisticated, their stylized nature suits a fairy tale, and the musical score is effective too, with shorts songs – charming, if not very memorable – and dance sequences peppered throughout the story.

Both as a unique Sleeping Beauty and as a glimpse into the world of 1940s Finnish film, this production is very much worth seeing.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @thealmightyemprex, @themousefromfantasyland, @the-blue-fairie, @reds-revenge, @faintingheroine, @paexgo-rosa, @autistic-prince-cinderella, @thatscarletflycatcher

[nocturnal-impala]

dear nocturnal impala i want to know are you a boy or a girl and where did you get the idea for the stones fairies and is claudia is columbine and is she the mysterious tale spinner duck and fakir are looking for what does ivan want with the book men and why he doesn`t want dal segno to come and fight him and will fakir master and control his tale spinner powers and which of the last two stone fairies will come next is it the ice fairy then the dawn fairy or dawn fairy and then the ice fairy last and what are their names can you please answer my questions thank you very much sincerly yours bluefury713

Hello!

I'm a girl/woman :)

I can't spell out the entire plot like that, you'll get the answers when the story preceeds :)

p.s.: please don't send me the same questions multiple times, once is enough <3

[fictionadventurer]

A Ranking of all the Cinderella Retellings I’ve Read

(Completed via a very unscientific method where I try to balance between “I liked it” and “It was well-written.” Your mileage may vary and my ranking would probably vary if I made this list again.)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: The Gold Standard. The retelling that started it all for me. Manages to twist the fairy tale (even dislike some parts of it) while remaining true to the heart of it. A+ worldbuilding, A+++ ending.

A Cinder’s Tale by Stephanie Ricker (in the Five Glass Slippers collection): A sci-fi retelling where Cinderella works a highly-dangerous space mining job. Fantastic worldbuilding with a wonderful ensemble cast.

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley: Cinderella meets Joan of Arc. Has a fantastic multi-first-person-narrator structure. Some of the fairy tale plot points are an awkward fit, but I still enjoyed it.

Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: A fairly basic retelling with a fantastic autumnal atmosphere that tempts me to reread it every year, even though the story’s rather basic and the ending’s too convenient.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: The famous science-fantasy retelling. There are things I don’t like about the series, but this first book is a solid retelling with some good twists. I like it less than several others on this list, but it’s too solid to rank it much lower.

The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare: If Georgette Heyer wrote fantasy. Cinderella’s spunky stepsister and a roguish hero manipulate each other in competing schemes. The worldbuilding’s sketchy and the ending’s very rushed, but I had too much fun to care too much.

Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: Fantastic twist, adorable relationship between Cinderella and her prince, a sweet and melancholy atmosphere, and an underwhelming ending.

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo: Wodehouse meets Cinderella, starring a very grumpy fairy baker. Gets a bit too slapstick, but its snarky, silly vibe is a breath of fresh air in a YA-romance-dominated retelling world.

Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson: I love the Ruritanian atmosphere and the political tension between the two brothers, even though it’s at least 33% too wordy and the plot makes less sense the more you think about it.

The Windy Side of Care by Rachel Heffington (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Cinderella meets Shakespeare. Has a strong voice, a heroine with a ton of spunk, and a fun “fairy godfather”.

Fated by Kaylin Lee: Great magical-1930s worldbuilding. The characters were also solid. The plot was a bit too long and too convenient at points. But the worldbuilding is the draw here.

The Earl of Highmott Hall by Nina Clare: Another Regency fairy tale by this author. Probably technically better-done than The Stepsister and the Slipper but I found it less fun.

Silver Woven in my Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Short and sweet little book with minimal magic and a lot of charm, but I don’t remember much about it anymore.

Midnight’s Curse by Tricia Mingerink: Set in a European-castle + American frontier setting that’s unique (even if I can’t quite decide if it’s cultural appropriation), with some interesting twists and themes.

The Spinner and the Slipper by Camryn Lockhart: Mashes up Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin with just a touch of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. If I remember right, it did a decent job of it. The loving competition between Auberon and Titania was fun.

Letters by Cinderlight + Wishes by Starlight by Jacque Stevens: A Russian-ish retelling with some fantastic ideas (parts of it reminded me of Ella Enchanted) and unfortunately shaky execution. If it had been better written, it may have been one of my favorites.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix: I was pleasantly surprised by parts of this (mostly Ella’s character arc of learning to accept help) and hated other parts (the villains were completely unbelievable strawman caricatures). In the balance, I’ll stick it here.

Mask of Scarlet by Sarah Pennington: Set in a very unique and very complicated 1920s Chicago + Iceland world. Of the series, this was the book where I was best able to understand the worldbuilding, and I think the fairy tale was decently done, but even though I read it earlier this year, I remember almost nothing specific.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George: This one’s hard to rank because I think it was decently written, but I remember so little about it. I’ll stick it here, for whatever that’s worth.

What Eyes Can See by Elisabeth Brown (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Sweet, magic-free Regency-ish retelling with a very shy Cinderella and a nice stepfamily. It’s a bit basic, but it’s grown on me over time.

The Moon-Master’s Ball by Clare Diane Thompson (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Very strong autumnal and slightly spooky atmosphere. I remember liking this one well enough, but can’t remember much else about it.

The Other Cinderella by Beka Gremikova: This treats Fairy Tales as an external worldbuilding thing (people are cast in fated roles, etc.), which I usually hate, but there’s a twist at the end that impressed me.

A Gown of Spider Silk by A.G. Marshall: Short story retelling with one twist that’s kind of fun, but not quite my thing.

Another Midnight by Amanda Marin: Short-story Cinderella involving a time-loop. I remember almost nothing about it, but I think it was decent enough.

Cinders and Blades by Amanda Kaye: Short story Russian-influenced retelling. I remember almost nothing except that it disappointed me.

Slipper in the Snow by Alice Ivinya: Another short story. I remember even less about this one.

Rook di Goo by Jenni Sauer: I was promised Cinderella meets Firefly. I got an ensemble cast I didn’t connect with, worldbuilding I didn’t understand (what do they even do with their spaceship?), and a fairy tale that felt shoehorned-in.

The Stepsister’s Tale by Tracy Barrett: I don’t remember much except that I found it disappointing.

Broken Glass by Emma Clifton (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Mildly steampunk retelling imagining that the slipper fits the wrong girl. The humor here just isn’t my cup of tea, and the ending doesn’t make sense.

The Coronation Ball by Melanie Cellier: Short, shmaltzy and basic. There’s nothing that terrible about it, but for some reason there’s a lingering distaste that makes me recoil from it.

Cinderella (As If You Didn’t Already Know the Story) by Barbara Ensor: Written for lower middle-grade. One of those fairy tale retellings that thinks making anachronistic references is clever. It’s not.

Happily by Chauncey Rogers: Ugh. There’s one really dumb twist to the fairy tale that’s so dumb that it makes me angry just thinking about it, regardless of what else may be in the story (I don’t remember much else).

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwall: Double ugh. It had such a promising premise, but I hated so many things about this worldview that it gets the bottom ranking forever.