#ayortha

[just-a-bookish-reader]

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ugh this book is a masterpiece. While I know little of cozy fantasy I feel like its based on the readers vibes, and holy crap this screams cozy fantasy to me. This is my - well I don't know how many times I've read this since I was old enough to read, but. Lots. I will say I forgot how brutal this book could be and it was almost shocking considering I hadn't read it in so long!

It's my comfort book, and apparently one I can read in just a few hours despite it being a little over 300 pages. I decided to reread it because I wanted to write an actual review for it, but I don't think I have much to say really. It's just so wonderful, and rereading it as a full adult human woman, there's an extra layer there that somehow made me connect even deeper than I had as child and preteen. Unless something weird happens, I'm pretty sure this will remain my favorite book of all time, ever. View all my reviews

[marzipanandminutiae]

did you read Fairest? Because it's so much fun to find the connections in the story happening in Enchanted and match them with what happens in Aza's story. Also just the amazing analysis on music and Ayortha's culture.

I DID. I LOVED IT.

Writing Ayorthian must be so difficult, honestly, since every word begins and ends with the same letters. I also found it really interesting how Aza does have the classic Snow White coloring- but in her world it's considered ugly, because they only like pale blondes/redheads like the queen, or dark-skinned brunettes like Areida.

Highly recommend to fans of Ella Enchanted! Same author; same universe. CW for devaluing of a "large" woman's appearance- no further clarification on what that means -verging on fatphobia; mostly internalized and not endorsed by any protagonist characters besides the (very insecure) PoV.

[thesweetnessofspring]

CHAR!!! 🥰

First book boyfriend. Already we can see the pressure he's under and the training he received, from his stance as he waits for Ella to finish crying. But I love the detail that his father's features are softened in his face, and also the adorable freckles!

By this description (tawny hair and dark skin) gives me the headcanon that Char is "biracial" because Ayortha and Kyrria intermarry. Or maybe it's just a 1997 Cinderella situation.

Did Gail intend this? Idk. But this is what I get from this passage.

[readtilyoudie]

Someone shook my shoulder. “Wake up. Ella, wake up.” 

An order. I was awake. 

Areida thrust a roll into my hands. “It’s all I could get. Eat it before the others come in.” 

In two swallows I ate the soft white roll, more air than sustenance. But more sustenance than I’d had in days. 

“Thank you. Do you sleep in here too?” 

She nodded. 

“Where?” 

The door opened and three maidens entered. 

“Look! Queer ducks flock together.” The speaker was the tallest pupil in the school. She pronounced her l’s as y’s, mocking Areida’s accent. 

“Ecete iffibensi asura edanse evtame oyjento?” I asked Areida. (“Is this how they behave at finishing school?”) 

“Otemso iffibensi asura ippiri.” (“Sometimes they are much worse.”) 

“Are you from Ayortha too?” the tall maiden asked me. 

“No, but Areida is teaching me the beautiful Ayorthaian language. In Ayorthaian, you are an ‘ibwi unju.’” It only meant “tall girl.” I didn’t know any insults in Ayorthaian. However, Areida was laughing, which made it seem the worst of epithets. 

I laughed too. Areida collapsed on top of me, and together we shook the purple chair.

-  Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

[firstprince-ao3feed]

Madrugadas

by SinSong Alex was not cursed on the day of his birth. If you ask his stepmother, he never was. But the fool fairy Lucinda was called nonetheless, and at ten years old Alex was “gifted” with obedience. They had been nearly a year gone from Ayortha by then, and his stepmother and her children had long since grown tired of attempting to break his spirit. *** Ella Enchanted (book) AU Words: 4323, Chapters: 1/8, Language: English Fandoms: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston, Red White & Royal Blue (2023) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, various OCs, Hunter (Red White & Royal Blue), Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, June Claremont-Diaz, Oscar Diaz (Red White & Royal Blue), Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Nora Holleran, Cash (Red White & Royal Blue) Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Ella Enchanted Fusion, Curses, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cinderella AU via https://ift.tt/tDSQ45s

[sophia-sol]

Ten first lines game

Rules: Share the first line of ten of your most recent fanfics and then tag ten people. Don't have ten? Not to worry, just share what you have.

(If you want to play this game then please consider yourself tagged by me!)

@artificialities tagged me in this game! Let's take a look, starting with my most recent fic and working backwards.

1. Valancy appreciated her father-in-law, but it was a relief to escape his mansion for a while to go visit the construction site with Barney.

(she gets you on her wavelength, The Blue Castle)

2. It was supposed to be a relatively straightforward diplomatic trip, but of course these things never were with demons, Shang Qinghua reflected.

(truth can find the strangest home, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

3. I've made a lot of promises in my life.

(Promises, The Cremation of Sam McGee)

4. On Ella and Char's first official state visit to Ayortha after King Jerrold's death and King Char's crowning, I didn't expect to see them for more than a brief night's stopover.

(One Step, Ella Enchanted)

5. As Helene and her sisters climbed slowly back up the long staircase in the early morning, she tried to summon up the determination and pride she used to feel - but she only felt tired.

(last dance for a ticket home, The Twelve Dancing Princesses)

6. Furiosa is growing her hair.

(don't want to look like someone else, Mad Max: Fury Road)

7. Mercutio's laughing as he works on wriggling through the scant opening in the doorlock he's managed to jam open.

(the rest of the world that looks so small, Rómeó és Júlia)

8. After Natasha recovers she still feels so, so weak.

(Au grand jamais, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812)

9. You know Captain America wants to find you, but even after he's out of the hospital he hardly seems to be trying at all.

(how long it's been since I left for the war, Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

10. "Your hair," Steve says one evening.

(as free as my hair, Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Do I have any conclusions to draw from this? It's interesting to see how my knowledge of what I was doing with the voice for various of these fics is reflected from the opening, especially #3 and #10 where my viewpoint character was a lot less likely to speak in extensive sentences with many clauses the way I am

The other conclusion is that my older works on this list were written in present tense, and my more recent ones in past tense! I do prefer past tense, generally, unless there's a pressing reason why a story needs to be in present tense to do what it's aiming for, and I think that maybe in bygone years I was just not thinking about it as much, and falling into whatever tense I'd been reading a lot of?

And I do tend to get right into things with my fic openings. Whatever the fic is about, I'm gonna present it asap. This is perhaps part of why I don't write long fics! I have an idea, and I'm going STRAIGHT for it, no beating around the bush.

Also it's funny to see just how many of my fic titles are song lyrics.

[ace-in-a-shopping-cart]

Was it All a Trick?

Word Count: 1,134 Summary: Halfway through the Ayorthaian trip when Ella’s final letter reached Char, his anger and hurt burned bright. Vaguely based on the song Stitches by Shawn Mendes.

Char looked up from his book when the door opened. He smiled, inclining his head at the messenger. “Anything for me?”

He nodded, handing him a single letter addressed directly to Char. Char thanked him with another incline of the head and moved away from the common room. He reached his own quarters and shut the door, sitting down at his desk.

The envelope wasn’t in Ella’s usual spiky handwriting, nor was it addressed to the general Ayorthaian court that the messengers had come to deliver to him. Instead, it was in a swirling script that was hard to read, addressed directly to himself. Frowning, Char opened it and gripped the pages tightly as he read.

His eyes scanned the lines faster as he went on, his anger beginning to boil below the surface. It reached a new peak when he read the torn sheet that came with it.

When he was finished reading, he read it again, hoping it was a trick. Upon a third reading, he realized there was no use for it. The note was in Ella’s familiar hand, the one he used to look forward to getting and reading in the early hours of the morning when all was still in the castle, and it was in her manner of speaking. He could almost hear her voice as he read it, the last few lines standing out to him the most.

“I’ve lost nothing.” He stood to pace. “I’ve lost nothing.” If he repeated the words enough times, would he begin to believe them? “She wasn’t who I thought she was, so I’ve lost nothing.” Still, his heart ached and there was a sharp pain in his chest that didn’t go away for the rest of the day.

A noble briefly enquired if everything was well at home as Char seemed troubled. He smiled and put on his princely mask, pretending all was fine even as his heart was slowly shattering inside. As soon as he could, he escaped back to his quarters.

Sitting against the wall, elbow resting on one knee, he thought back to every interaction with Ella he’d ever had, every time they had talked or written to each other. “Was it all a trick?” He asked the empty room, as if the crackling fire could give a response. “Was she truly just leading me on for her entertainment? Were we ever actually friends or was I just a plaything to her?” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine it but it must be true.” He wanted to ride to Frell and demand she tell him the truth herself but he couldn’t.

He stood and pulled out her letters before resuming his position on the floor. Rereading every letter, he wondered if anything on those pages was true. She never spoke of her life, didn’t say what she occupied her time with. She kept up a game of saying she wasn’t able to marry for some reason or other. When he got to the most recent one, he sighed and put them down again. “It must be true. The letters are too vague to not have been leading me on this whole time.” He reread that last note, reading the last phrase again and again until it was burned into his memory.

In a spark of anger, he gathered the pages together and thrust them into the fire, watching the words become illegible, the pages blackened, and the past six months reduced to ash. It left a bad taste in his mouth, to even think of her lying to him, but there was too much evidence against her.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel betrayed as he wrote his journal entry for the day. He’d thought he’d found a friend in her and instead had only been led by a string of laughter and the promise of companionship. That ache in his chest grew, feeling as if he truly were bleeding from a wound.

That night, for the first time in twelve years, he cried himself to sleep.

When he woke, he vowed not to think of her nor say her name. Even so, his thoughts were filled with her as the silence in the halls suffocated him. At least his pen and voice kept the vow. The only thing that kept him there in those silent halls and rooms was his duty to his country and the peace they held with Ayortha.

The days dulled, now that letters from Ella stopped coming and he stopped writing to her. He wanted to, wanted to keep writing even if he never sent them, but his anger was still too great for that. His thoughts were filled with Ella, replaying everything she had ever said or did in his presence. She had seemed so genuine, so caring, so real. He wished she were there with him, to explain to him that it wasn’t true and Hattie was pulling a cruel prank on him.

At night, he dreamed of her. Dreamed of seeing her, in that carriage she had written about with a smile on her face and a ring on her hand. Dreamed of her running to him and saying she was just the right age to marry, that she loved him, that she would only ever love him. Sometimes, he dreamed of her laughing as she read his letters aloud, mocking him. The best, and hardest to wake from, dreams were the ones where she was his wife; the ones where she smiled at him as they stood side by side and faced the future of their country head on and their future together head on. He always woke from those dreams with a pillow wet from tears.

It would only ever be her. Even if the Ella he knew was one fabricated to intoxicate him and make him love her, it had worked. He was still just as deeply in love with her as he had been that day by the weeping willow. Even if she was married to someone who would die in the next few years, he could not stop loving her.

His aching heart faded to the background of his awareness in those next six months but his anger didn’t. That pain and anger were still raw even when he was packing his things to leave Ayortha and return to Kyrria. Against his will, his eyes roamed the streets for her as he went. Still, there was nothing. No sign of her walking nor in a carriage anywhere. Even at the last, as the first ball started and his parents’ expectations for him to find a bride loomed over him, his thoughts turned to Ella and how she would be the only one he ever loved. Even if her love had been a trick.

[storybook-lili]

I’ve been re-reading Gail Carson Levine’s book Fairest for an assignment, which is set in the fictional kingdom of Ayortha, where music and singing is an important and key part of the kingdom’s culture. As such, it’s inspired me to make a post about my OC’s skills and experiences with music and singing.

Note: To better express Tara’s bigender identity, I will now be switching Tara’s pronouns every so often between she/her and he/him. I may make a post later on how I’m going to do this, but this is for anyone who are confused as to why Tara is now suddenly being referred here with masculine pronouns.

Etain Amell: She can’t sing. At all. Don’t ask her to sing, we beg you. If you value your hearing, you would avoid listening to her sing at all costs. Why use magic to defeat the darkpawn, when she could just wipe them all out with her singing? We don’t need Solas to destroy Thedas, Etain could do that just by singing. Please don’t ask her sing. P l e a s e.

She has absolutely no talent or knowledge in music, but to be fair, why would she? She’s lived in a Circle her almost her whole life, her time dedicated to her magical studies. Who has time to study something so trivial like music? She also tends to hate being in or near noisy areas, so she’s not a big fan of loud music. She does like listening to Leliana playing the lute once in a while, of course.

Tara Hawke: Everyone is always surprised when they first hear Tara’s singing, which is a beautiful, smoky alto. He’s able to express the emotions of a song very well, especially when the song is bitter or melancholic.

Leandra gave him some training when she realized he had a gift for singing, but otherwise he’s never been professionally trained in music. He can kind of read music sheets, but mostly just sings based on memory. Aside from singing, he can’t play any other musical instruments.

Kallen Lavellan: While she doesn’t have a grand or illustrious voice, Kallen’s singing is no less pleasant or comforting to listen to. Her singing voice is soft and silvery, and she’s able to sing fairly high if she puts enough effort into it. She prefers to sing in a group over solo, since she finds singing much more fun when in good company.

Her close friend, Iyo, had a far better singing voice, as well write her own music. Because Kallen always forgot the lyrics of a song, Iyo developed a unique style of singing for Kallen where the singer only had to sing the vowels of a song. It works well for Kallen, since she preferred singing with long vowels over consonants.

She can also play the ocarina, having been given her late-grandmother’s old one when she was little. She’ll sometimes separate herself from her clan or party and just play by a river, pond, or the sea. She’s probably a better ocarina player than singer.

Alaia Shepard: Her singing is only slightly better than her dancing, but that’s not much of a compliment. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. She’s never expressed interest in singing or music, so she possesses no musical talents or knowledge whatsoever.

Chloe Ryder: She has a perfectly nice singing voice, having a typical indie-girl style of singing. Singers like Amanda Palmer and Alanis Morissette had a big influence in the kind of music Chloe likes to listen to and play.

She’s self-taught in the guitar, and brought her acoustic guitar with her to the Andromeda Galaxy. She’s by not means a perfect guitarist, but she still enjoys playing and prefers playing her guitar over singing.

Also, have this funny comic of Chloe performing for Vetra I did a few years ago, lol.

Saga Peg’asi: ‘Beautiful’ doesn’t even come close to describing Saga’s singing. She has an alluring, almost ethereal singing voice that captures anyone within earshot. At the palace, Nerissa would refer to her as the ‘sirena of the stars’, while the crew of the Andromeda Six sometimes refer to her as the ‘space siren’. She likes to sing sea shanties when it's her turn to clean the ship, although sometimes she has to be scolded by Calderon to get back on track.

Along with singing, Saga is trained to play other musical instruments, but her favourite instruments are the harp, lyre, and kutiyapi. She had an especially beautiful harp back the palace that she loved to play, which she misses dearly. While she can’t have a harp on the Andromeda Six, she was able to obtain a small lyre that she’ll play in her room.

While Saga disliked most of her tutoring, she always looked forward to her music lessons. At the palace, she spent more time in the music room than anywhere else and would either sing and play instruments there, or sing on the balcony of her bedroom to herself. Sadly, no one but Nerissa showed interest or pride over Saga’s musical talents, but Saga was content with just performing for Nerissa. Nerissa would often request Saga to sing her favourite, “The Cost of the Crown”.

Music not only brought her joy, but she could express her feelings more clearly in her singing than any other way. It’s tied so tightly to her identity, that she feels she wouldn’t be herself without it. When she lost her memory after being rescued by the A6 crew, her songs were the first memories to resurface, and she would sing them to herself while exploring the ship.

Dana De Sardet: Her singing is fine, but it’s not one of her finest traits. Her singing can be best described as “technically competent”, but lacks real emotion or style. She was taught some basic music lessons when she was a child, but she’s always been more interested in science and medicine than art and music.

While she has no real love for singing or playing music herself, she enjoys listening to Constantin play or sing. Whether he’s actually musically talented is a matter of opinion, but she likes how enthusiastic and immersed he gets when performing, and always stops what she’s doing when he does.

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Fairest - Gail Carson Levine

A Snow White retelling set in the same fantasy world as Ella Enchanted.

Aza has an ugly face but a beautiful singing voice, something that is highly prized in the kingdom of Ayortha. She also has the unique ability to throw her voice and make it sound like it's coming from anywhere. When she is given the opportunity to visit the palace for the king's wedding to a Kyrrian princess, she stumbles into a precarious situation: the new queen can't sing, so she asks Aza to sing for her. The consequences if she says no are dire, but so will be the punishment if she is caught. Throw in a sinister magic mirror, gnomic prophecies, and a cute prince with a cute dog, and you get a fun, magical adventure and a lesson in how important outward appearances really are — but told in a way I've never read before!

The Ella Enchanted universe: Ella Enchanted | Fairest | Ogre Enchanted

More fairy tales

[book--brackets]

Hi, I saw that someone submitted Kyrria from Ella Enchanted. Can I also submit Ayortha (from Fairest), Biddle (from The Princess Tales), and Tortall (from…Tortall)?

Yes to Ayortha and Biddle, and Tortall is already on the list

[earnestlyeccentric]

Fairest (Ella Enchanted #2)

Fairest (Ella Enchanted #2)

Author: Gail Carson Levine Rating: 2/5 In the kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is fully convinced she’s ugly. However, she has a captivating voice. When she gets the opportunity to travel to the palace, Aza’s talent attracts the attention of the new queen and the crown prince. Spoilers ahead. (more…)

[benries]

Ella Enchanted, Chapter 24 (via thecolourofwater) (via fuckyeahobedience, fuckyeahobedience) (via gruzinkerlady, gruzinkerlady)

Dear Ella, Impatience is not usually my weakness. But your letters torment me. They make me long to saddle my horse and ride to Frell, where I would make you explain yourself. They are playful, interesting, thoughtful, and (occasionally) serious. I’m overjoyed to receive them, yet they bring misery. You say little of your daily life; I have no idea how you occupy yourself. I don’t mind; I enjoy guessing at the mystery. But what I really long to know you do not tell either: what you feel, although I’ve given you hints by the score of my regard. You like me. You wouldn’t waste time or paper on a being you didn’t like. But I think I’ve loved you since we met at your mother’s funeral. I want to be with you forever and beyond, but you write that you are too young to marry or too old or too short or too hungry — until I crumple your letters up in despair, only to smooth them out again for a twelfth reading, hunting for hidden meanings. Father asks frequently in his letters whether I fancy any Ayorthian young lady or any in our acquaintance at home. I say no. I suppose I’m confessing another fault: pride. I don’t want him to know that I love if my affections are not returned. You would charm him, and Mother too. They would be yours completely. As I am. What a beautiful bride you’ll be, whomever you marry at whatever age. And what a queen if I am the man! Who has your grace? Your expression? Your voice? I could extol your virtues endlessly, but I want you to finish reading and answer me quickly. Today I cannot write of Ayortha or my doings or anything. I can only post this and wait. Love (it is such a relief to pen the word!), love, love— Char

[deeisherenow]

Ella Enchanted, Chapter 24 (via thecolourofwater) (via fuckyeahobedience, fuckyeahobedience) (via gruzinkerlady, gruzinkerlady)

Dear Ella, Impatience is not usually my weakness. But your letters torment me. They make me long to saddle my horse and ride to Frell, where I would make you explain yourself. They are playful, interesting, thoughtful, and (occasionally) serious. I’m overjoyed to receive them, yet they bring misery. You say little of your daily life; I have no idea how you occupy yourself. I don’t mind; I enjoy guessing at the mystery. But what I really long to know you do not tell either: what you feel, although I’ve given you hints by the score of my regard. You like me. You wouldn’t waste time or paper on a being you didn’t like. But I think I’ve loved you since we met at your mother’s funeral. I want to be with you forever and beyond, but you write that you are too young to marry or too old or too short or too hungry — until I crumple your letters up in despair, only to smooth them out again for a twelfth reading, hunting for hidden meanings. Father asks frequently in his letters whether I fancy any Ayorthian young lady or any in our acquaintance at home. I say no. I suppose I’m confessing another fault: pride. I don’t want him to know that I love if my affections are not returned. You would charm him, and Mother too. They would be yours completely. As I am. What a beautiful bride you’ll be, whomever you marry at whatever age. And what a queen if I am the man! Who has your grace? Your expression? Your voice? I could extol your virtues endlessly, but I want you to finish reading and answer me quickly. Today I cannot write of Ayortha or my doings or anything. I can only post this and wait. Love (it is such a relief to pen the word!), love, love— Char

[projetoimperio]

Esse texto se passa durante um dos bailes de apresentação que eu falei a respeito, é uma conversa entre a Zan a líder da casa Umareth e a Lyaen a líder da casa Tauriath

Zan

A líder da casa Tauriath vinha na sua direção. Zan tentou se lembrar se havia alguma renovação de contrato importante com os Tauriaths no futuro próximo, a única coisa que lhe ocorreu foi as plantações de trigo no centro de Ayortha mas essa estava firmada e estável há 20 anos e provavelmente continuaria assim por pelo menos mais vinte. Lyaen Tauriath era uma mulher de setenta e nove anos e líder se sua casa há cinquenta. A maior parte dos líderes idosos tendia a delegar as tarefas relacionadas a assembléia para os membros mais jovens de suas casas, ela no entanto podia ser vista na sua cadeira do círculo Sanh mais frequentemente do que não. "Mor Lyaen" Zan disse e inclinou sua cabeça levemente em respeito. "Mor Zan" Lyaen disse e fez o mesmo. "Tem algum motivo para a sua presença aqui ?" "Basicamente apenas a curisiodade" "Curiosidade sobre o que ?" "Sobre o porque você recusou a pedido daquele adorável rapaz que veio lhe pedir para dançar" "Oh. Isso" "Você não precisa responder se te deixa desconfortável" "Eu não estou desconfortável. Apenas surpresa com a pergunta. Ele é Berlok da casa Ponferath, eu tive uma reunião alguns dias antes com ele e Mor Jinrak seu pai a respeito de uma reequisição adiantada de alguns hectares em Yalen, o convite provavelmente levaria há sondagens a respeito de qual vai ser a minha decisão, e eu já passo a maior parte dos meus dias falando sobre aquisições e reaquisições, eu não quero passar as minhas noites da mesma maneira" "E ele vai conseguir as terras?" "Eu temo que não, meus ancestrais compraram os direitos por aquelas terras por mais duzentos anos ainda e a oferta deles para a reaquisição não foi o suficiente para reaquisição de acordo com meus analistas" "Eu entendo, mas deve ter alguém para você dançar que não tenha negócios pendentes no futuro próximo" "Eu temo que não, mas essa noite é para os jovens e seus cortejos, não para mim" "Minha garota, me perdoe a familiaridade mas isso é tolice, você tem 33 anos caso a memória não me falhe, você é jovem. Eu tinha 37 anos na época em que eu conheci o meu segundo marido e 42 quando a minha filha mais nova nasceu e cortejo teve muito haver com isso" "Bem, mas-" "Isso é sobre a maldição ?" Zan se espantou por um segundo, era raro que mencionassem aquele assunto, especialmente tão diretamente. "Não completamente, mas sim eu suponho que isso pesa um pouco. Eu não vejo porque me envolver com danças, flertes e cortejos se não há chance de ir além disso" "Eu entendo. Eu tive um problema similar após a morte dos meus irmãos e do meu primeiro marido. Em retrospecto eu acho que foi bom, eu não acho que eu teria gostado de um marido que não tivesse coragem e deixou o caminho aberto para o homem certo, mas os dezesseis anos entre as duas épocas foram uns de razoavel solidão. Mas eu vivi, e minha casa viveu também. Como você e a sua casa irão também" "Obrigada Mor Lyaen" "Agradecimentos não são necessários, eu apenas disse o que eu acho. Se vc quer a minha opinião essa geração coloca peso demais em superstição, se tivessem comentado há 200 anos atrás sobre considerar não se casar com alguém por causa de maldições eles teriam rido. No entanto se fosse 500 anos antes teriam concordado como sendo um motivo perfeitamente razoável. Sempre parece ser assim, três passos para frente e dois para trás. É uma pena todos os meus netos serem novos demais pra você, eu adoraria marcar um encontro com um deles pra você. Da sua idade apenas as filhas do meu Niltor, e ambas já estão casadas e sem interesses desse tipo em mulheres até onde eu sei"

[sophia-sol]

Hey so the fic I wrote for yuletide this year was the following!

One Step (1786 words) by sophia_sol Fandom: Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Areida & Char & Ella (Ella Enchanted), Char/Ella (Ella Enchanted) Characters: Areida (Ella Enchanted), Ella of Frell, Prince Charmont

Summary: On Ella and Char's first official state visit to Ayortha after King Jerrold's death and King Char's crowning, I did not expect to see them for more than a brief night's stopover. What would keep them in Amonta, after all, when the politics happen in the capital?

And now that reveals are past, I can also post my book thoughts about this book without revealing what I wrote for yuletide!

Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine

A charming retelling of the fairy tale Cinderella! I read this book a lot as a kid, and I still really like it. The basic premise: Ella was given a gift/curse by a fairy as an infant, and as a result she must be obedient to any direct commands from anyone.

I like Ella as a character, and I like how the book makes a point of having her and the prince spend time with each other learning to like each other and be friends, long before the balls ever happen. None of that crappy love at first sight stuff here. And I enjoy Ella's friend Areida, and her fairy godmother Mandy is great too, and all of the fun worldbuilding with the other sentient species (and nonsentient ones! I am both charmed and weirded out by centaurs having the approximate intelligence of a not-very-smart horse).

I paid more attention on this read-through to Areida than I usually do, since my yuletide assignment was to write about all three of Ella and Char and Areida, and I was surprised to discover just how little page-time she gets. I guess because there's so much else going on in the book that needs to be covered, and it's a relatively short book. But it surprised me in part because in my memory of the book Areida gets a much larger role. Her friendship is so important to Ella that I guess I just expanded her part in my head!

Also, I have a couple issues with the book that I never thought about when I was a kid.

For one thing, I'm kind of uncomfortable these days with Ella's fairy book allowing her to spy on the personal correspondence and diaries of people she knows. This is a huge boundary violation that the book totally doesn't recognize. I think a large part of the purpose of the fairy book is to allow the narrative to show the reader what's going on when Ella's not around, since it's all told from Ella's POV, but I don't think the author once considered the morals of the thing.

And the other thing is that I'm just really wondering why nobody goes the obvious-to-me rules-lawyering route of ordering Ella to obey orders just exactly as much as she chooses to. This kind of order clearly works, given the example of Mandy ordering Ella to feel however she feels about being obedient. Then Ella would still technically be cursed but be able to act just like a non-cursed person! Unless anyone has thoughts about why doing what I outlined wouldn't work as well as I'm thinking?