#character: grant andersen

[grimmusings]

“I'm about to close... Maybe we could go somewhere?” Alba to Grant @pleinsdemuses

Answered here! ❤️

[mask131]

So you want to know about Oz! (1)

Then congratulations! Welcome to this quick crash course to know everything about the world of Oz! The movies, the adaptations, the musicals, the books! Yes, books, with an S, because "The Wizard of Oz" everybody knows and love was just the first book of an entire BOOK SERIES that became the enormous franchise we know today! You thought there was just ONE Wizard of Oz movie? Think again! You thought "Wicked" was the only work that gave a backstory to the Witches? Get ready for some discoveries!

And so we begin our journey to the wonderful land of Oz...

The story of Oz begins with one novel. No, not one movie - but the novel that caused the movie... L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

Published in 1900, this children novel is still to this day one of the most famous works of American youth literature, as well as the master-piece of Baum, THE book everybody knows he wrote. Baum intended, with this book, to create a purely American fairy tale: he wanted to rival the European tales of Charles Perrault, the brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen - and he succeeded! The novel was a best-seller as soon as it was released, and is still considered as "America's greatest fairy-tale".

Most people know of "The Wizard of Oz" through its famous adaptation, the 1939 musical movie. While these two works do share a same set of main characters and a similar plot, the novel contains many, many details that were not adapted into the movie ; and, in return, the movie brought a lot of elements that were absent from the novel. Both, however, are still the story of a little girl by the name of Dorothy (she wasn't yet named "Gale") and her dog Toto, who are swept up into a tornado and taken to the magical Land of Oz. There she meets three comical companions (the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion), and together they go seek the Wizard of Oz in hope he can grant their wishes, only to have to escape from the clutches of the Wicked Witch of the West...

If you want to read the original novel, it will be very easy! Not only is it still regularly printed today, with various anniversary editions ; but it is in public domain since the 1950s! So you can go read it for free right now, without any problems!

Most people tend to stop at just this book... Not wondering if there was any sequel, treating it as if this was just a one-shot. Except, we told you, this book was a best-seller! An ENORMOUS success! Never before had a children's book brought so much money in the United-States! As such, Baum was not going to just stop there...

While he did intent "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to be a self-contained novel existing as its own thing, in 1904 he published a sequel "The Marvelous Land of Oz":

This novel does not follow Dorothy however, but rather a very different character... A little boy who lives in the Land of Oz post-Dorothy: Tip (short for Tippetarius), an orphan boy who escapes the clutches of his wicked witch of a caretaker alongside a pumpkin-headed scarecrow he just brought to life. And the two undergo a journey to the Emerald City ruled by the Scarecrow-king, only to get swept into a revolution...

This novel was conceived in a similar way to the first one, as a "self-contained" story. While it does take place after the events of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", reuses several of the same characters (The Scarecrow and the Tin Man are part of the main party, Glinda plays a key part in the final act) and briefly recaps the events of the first novel, it can still be read on its own. This novel especially get a lot of attention today (after decades and decades of falling into pur oblivion) due to its fantasy-dissection of the topics of genders - differences between men and women, boys and girls, unfairness and injustice among sexes (the revolution in question is a "girl revolution" seeking to destroy what is perceived as a misogynistic patriarchy)... All culminating with what is still to this day one of the most famous accidental depictions of a trans character in fantasy!

But I'll return to this all in a later post, possibly...

This novel was ALSO a best-seller and a huge success. And as such... you know what that means. Yes, Baum wrote a THIRD book taking place in Oz! Well, almost... The novel actually mostly takes place in lands neighbors to those of Oz, the land of Ev and the realm of the Nome King... But all the Oz characters return - including Dorothy, who is again swept away into fairy-lands, this time not with her dog Toto, but with a pet chicken Billina.

This story is the novel "Ozma of Oz", published in 1907:

And with these three books, you have the original Oz trilogy!

"But wait, there were other Oz books, weren't there?" you ask. Oh yes, there were more books, indeed! However, I want to stop at this point because these three books do form a specific trilogy for various reasons. The trilogy of the "good" Oz books before everything went... let's say downhill (but more about that next post). But more importantly, the trilogy of Oz books most people know about!

Indeed, even if you have never read "The Marvelous Land of Oz" or "Ozma of Oz", you probably came across various elements of these books, that are regularly scattered throughout Oz adaptations and novels. For example the famous Disney movie "Return to Oz" is mostly an adaptation of "Ozma of Oz", but with numerous elements of "The Marvelous Land of Oz" added to the plot

More recently, the trilogy also formed the basis of the new plot offered by the short-lived TV series "Emerald City"!

Langwidere the princess with a hundred heads, Mombi the witch, Ozma the princess of Oz, the Nome king, Tik-Tok the automaton, Jack Pumpkinhead, general Jinjur, the land of Ev, the Powder of Life and many other names and concepts you might be familiar with come from these two direct sequels to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Sequels which unfortunately never knew the lasting popularity of their predecessor, despite being just as famous, if not more, in their time...

Next post: Baum's downfall...

[the-corvus-luna]

The Tsubasa Chronicle 'Problem'

No eye, no heart, no time, no feathers, and..... no show.

It's April 9th, 2005, 6:30 p.m. BLAZE blares loudly on the TV while you sit in a dimly lit room, slurping whatever instant ramen you could find. You catch the faint silhouettes of familiar characters from Cardcaptor Sakura, looking a bit older, along with a few new faces you don't recognize yet... a new journey, a new world.

CLAMP's Multidimensional Masterpiece.

The legendary Yuki Kajiura's compositions bring the story to life. "Song of Storm and Fire" sparks that electric feeling of excitement and tension just before Syaoran kicks into battle. Eri Itou’s breathy voice floats delicately, much like Sakura’s own feathers, adding a sense of ethereal beauty. The animation is fluid and action-packed, just as you'd expect from Bee Train.

What the hell happened? How did an internationally successful anime with 2 seasons, 1 movie, and 2 OVA's that leave the story incomplete.... what the hell?!

To find out to get the full story, you have to read the manga?!

Was it just bad like this guy's review suggests?

Is it really... a bad... anime?

Let's go on a journey about how censorship ruins everything, a broadcasting company's unreasonable demands, and a group of stubborn artists who refuse to have their story modified.

First off, based on my basic research, Japanese TV shows don't have to comply with rating laws like in the US. Before any US show airs, you usually see a rating in the top left corner—common ones for kids’ shows are Y7, meaning they’re appropriate for children 7 years or older. The US rating for Tsubasa Chronicle was TV-PG. But if you know anything about this series, it’s definitely not TV-PG... more like TV-14, and maybe even TV-MA at certain points, depending on your tolerance for darker themes.

Tsubasa Chronicle originally showed on NHK-E, an educational channel, alongside a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen...

While Japan might not have a formal TV rating system, it’s probably safe to assume that NHK would prioritize age-appropriate content. Ultimately, it’s NHK’s decision what airs on their network. For example, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (which, unsurprisingly, isn’t shown on any NHK network) airs around 11:00 p.m. The later time slot allows for more graphic content without much concern.

I can hear you screaming from the void, "TSUBASA CHRONICLE ISN'T EDUCATIONAL!" And honestly, if you’ve watched the anime, it’s not educational in the traditional sense... unless you count four people learning how to cope with massive amounts of trauma in various forms.

But Cardcaptor Sakura was kid-friendly… and someone who looks just like her stars in Tsubasa.

Magic Knight Rayearth was so educational it's anime was funded by a government grant!

I think NHK was expecting them to adapt the anime to be more 'educationally friendly' due to other properties they worked on... joke's on NHK, though.

The first issue I remember hearing was how NHK wanted to censor all alcohol references from Tsubasa.

From this interview from 2005 at around the 9:30 mark, we get to have a rare look at their art studio/research library and most important, the bar. Alcohol is a part of their creative process, and based on the KyotoHoLiC collaboration with traditional sake brewers, it means they have no intention to hide their passion for relaxation... not for NHK or anyone.

Second issue, graphic imagery. When the anime came out, the manga was only to volume chapter 66 - chapter 73 (Tsubasa Onmibus Vol 4)...literally 3 pages into the next chapter is the start of the graphic imagery that eventually leads into violent fights, lots of blood, and death by the end of the series. That's assuming that NHK didn't get a sneak peak at what the story was going to become.

For people who've read the Omnibus, to goes from Piffle World to Recourt to the 'Acid Wasteland'... quite the tone shift when NHK picked up this anime for a kid friendly educational show.

That's why Tsubasa Chronicle was canceled, or at least my general theory. Sadly there's no official reason for the cancelation. CLAMP did run Kobato on NHK-E in 2009, so the censorship and eventual cancelation didn't not burn the bridge between them.

Sadly, NHK did cancel a show that was not only getting a following internationally but also had it's own international merchandise sold at retailers! I will always treasure my US Mokona Modoki Soel plush, matching backpack, and Fai's Staff necklace.

Don't forget, even Gaia Online even had a huge promotional event where players had to track down Sakura's feathers alongside other promotional events such as Magic the Gathering and Hollywood produced movies... and that was in 2007, after the anime series was already cancelled, never able to reach the conclusion.

Do yourself a favor and I'd suggest reading this manga if you loved the anime back in the day, but know that the lighthearted whimsy and sweetness of the anime is a palate cleanser for what NHK deemed they could not put on TV.

I found an unsubstantiated rumor on the fandom page about how the S2 opening was already storyboarded in Character Guide Vol 2., but NHK made them re-do it. I'm trying to track down that PDF so figure out what they cut, but it's a difficult one to find.

I did find a short of someone thumbing through their Japanese copy.

Holy shit! That's the scene in CLAMP in Wonderland 2 that's eluded to, but we never see play out in the anime. NHK made them get rid of their weapons for boxing with shadows? I guess Sakura's image also had to be 'softened' too. Ick.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The gift of his fairy tales is wisdom and appreciation and heartfulness is always embedded in them, unlike many ordinary fairy tales, at least the ones passed on, and the way they were passed on…

“Hans Christian Andersen was born April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His parents were poor, but his father, a cobbler, read to him from The Arabian Nights and took him to see plays. He died when Hans was 11, and the boy was sent to a school for poor children where he worked for his board, first as an apprentice to a weaver and later to a tailor. Only in his late teens was he able to attend grammar school. A shy young man, he felt like an outsider who didn't fit in with his younger classmates, and he began to write as a means of escaping his situation. After he published a story, he gained several benefactors (including the king) who paid for his meager education; in 1833, he received a small travel grant from the king, and he set out for Italy and elsewhere in Europe. By 1835 he was writing fairy tales for children, and by 1837, many of his best-known tales had been written, including The Little Mermaid, the Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina, and The Princess and the Pea. By the early 1840s his reputation was well established. The Danish government eventually paid him an annual stipend as a 'national treasure', and he continued to write and publish plays, novels, poems, a book of travel sketches, and more fairy tales until his death at age 70 in 1875.

In all, Andersen wrote 156 stories, most of which were based on his own ideas rather than existing folk tales. His writing style was simple and direct, so the stories could be read aloud. Many of his stories reflected conditions of his early life. A common thread was the outsider who wants to be understood and accepted for himself as he is. Many of his characters were very poor, and they had to try to overcome great odds. A famous Andersen story that combines those two threads is The Ugly Duckling. The last sentence of that story is: 'Then he rustled his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried joyfully, from the depths of his heart, "I never dreamed of such happiness as this while I was the despised ugly duckling!"'

(Leila L’Abate)

[dearestones]

Muscle Memory Part Two (Azul Ashengrotto and Reader)

Warnings: Exploration of merfolk culture, elaboration on certain aspects of canon lore, etc. 

@lottieinlimbo Request: Hi Devin!!! Congratulations on the 750 followers :D!! Your writing is incredible, you have more than earned your success!!!! I’m here to steal the final request slot! There were a lot of cool prompts that would have been fascinating with multiple characters, it was hard to choose! But I’m thinking “why did you help me?” With Azul could be really fun, maybe something platonic? I’m really excited to see what you do with this, congrats again on 750 followers!!

.

.

.

After a long day of getting splashed and almost getting dragged off the boardwalk by overly anxious mers, you were grateful when they finally transformed back into their normal selves. While ingesting the potion was quick and painful, the process to return was gradual and felt more like sharp tingles that flowed and ebbed depending on the location and intensity of the pain. Before you had transferred to this new location, a colleague of yours who was a mer, confirmed that it was a near universal experience that taking the transformation potions daily upon the first week followed by the natural regression into their former selves after such a low dose was more effective at retaining students rather than having them take the full dose that would last seven days.

It helped strengthen their ability to overcome the pain and helped them adjust by allowing them to take breaks after working their human legs. There were actually a few studies done on it, but since the population of merfolk who wanted to live on the surface was so few, it wasn't a conclusive study. For all you knew, it was more of a placebo effect.

After saying goodbye to your students, you picked up the equipment, the cooler, and the clipboard with the roster so that you could return it to the government facility. Inside, your supervisor and your fellow intern were comparing notes and commiserating at some of the antics that you had been slightly privy to. It wasn't often, but sometimes you were called to step in if one of the mers were acting unruly or if someone needed medical attention. Thankfully, you didn't need to call for help—your batch of merfolk were surprisingly well behaved—but the other intern was unfortunate enough to have landed himself not one but two gleeful troublemakers.

"I thought eel merfolk were supposed to be shy," Soren muttered as he wrote down some notes into his log. His pen blotted a little on his notes, which made him curse a little into his open palm before he produced correction fluid to cover up his mistake. "But, somehow, I manage to land not only the most brash mer I have ever seen, but also one who happens to be the most suicidal!"

You laughed a little to yourself as you joined them at the table.

"He is still a child, Mr. Andersen," your supervisor scolded. "And not only that, but he is also a child granted the opportunity to experience life on land. You've read his profile, he's due to attend Night Raven College if his magical proficiency and grades are any indication."

"Are you sure it's not the fat stacks in his parents' back account?"

You punched Soren's shoulder playfully. "I don't think paper money can handle the moisture," you laughed. "More like tall towers of gold!"

Your supervisor rolled her eyes at the both of you before she gestured at the paperwork that littered the table. "Make sure to clean up and organize the documents for tomorrow's session. The second day is usually better, but it's also the day when we get the most dropouts."

"You think that the Leech twins will drop out?"

"Mr. Andersen!"

You didn't know Soren too well, only that he was from the Land of Pyroxene and had spent most of his adolescent years in the City of Flowers before attending Noble Bell College. Although a proficient mage in his own right, he decided to dip his toes into a field that not many would have imagined him entering. 

Years ago, he had told you, he thought that he was going to be an archivist for magical artifacts. However, he fell in love with the many canals and underwater routes that flowed in and out of the City of Flowers. One thing led to another and eventually, he had immersed himself into learning more about merfolk culture and how they acclimated to living on land. Given his background in magical artifacts and history, he was a heavy proponent of the research and experimentation of using talismans or charmed objects to make the transformation both instantaneous and painless. Unfortunately, such an invention was still out of reach for various reasons, but he was confident that one day, accessibility for merfolk would be greatly increased.

Until then, he had to satisfy himself with this internship.

"Do you think any of yours would drop out," he asked to continue the conversation once your superior had headed out. He tapped on his notes, a furrow in his brow before circling something in red ink. "I think all of mine are willing to stay the whole period, but I can't say for certain they'll actually live the rest of their lives on land."

"Hmmm���” You thought for a moment. “One of my classic mers looked a little too weirded out after my cecaelia transformed. He actually handled it well, but she looked like she was about to turn tail and swim away."

Soren nodded, lost in thought. "Shame. It's rare that we get a one hundred percent attendance rate."

"True, but for those who do stay, we definitely get high ratings on how well they adjust and adapt to life on land."

After at least half an hour of chatting and locking up the lab, the both of you proceeded to your assigned dorm rooms. The initiative for acclimating merfolk to land life was fairly small, which meant that the community was fairly well knit and cohesive. Sure, there were times when a new intern or a transferee would cause some friction, but it wasn't all too often.

You passed a few other interns (some of whom were hard at work monitoring and working out the correct dosages for the merfolk) and a security guard (he tipped his hat to you in greeting after you presented your badge) before entering. Inside, you had your classic dorm room layout. 

On one side hugging the wall, there lay your bed with hastily made covers and a few clothes strewn at the foot of it. There was a small desk with a chair parked in front of it, and a window with a view overlooking the ocean. You were assigned to the third floor, a fact that you flaunted to your friends and colleagues just to mess with them. It was perfect: you could see how the full moon lit up the sky and if you waited for the right moment, you could see some bioluminescent creatures light up the water around them. During your first week, you had sent photos and videos of the phenomena to your parents, both of them delighted that you were having a grand time at your internship.

Tonight, however, you were tired.

While you did not have to call for help, you did have to jump into the water to soothe one of your classic mers. She was far from a predator, which was apparent from her whispery soft voice and the way she hugged herself despite your efforts to tell her that it was best to either hold onto the boardwalk for balance or to spread out her arms for proper wading.

Instead, she gave a low keen that had your heart clenching in your chest. You wanted to pat her head and rub at her scalp to soothe her, but protocols dictated not too much skin to skin contact. There were too many incidents when certain people in positions of power took things too far when manhandling their charges. (There was a scandal a few years ago which resulted in cold relations between the land dwellers and the children of the sea before reparations were settled between the two parties). To make up for the lack of comforting contact, you gave her a floating paddle, to which she awkwardly cuddled it close to her chest while tears ran down her smooth skin.

The angler fish and the other classic mer took to the pain and the loss of their tails and fins with just as much grace as the cecaelia, but they were quicker to use their legs and arms. Within half an hour of coaching and practice, both the angler and the classic were able to tread water and even swim like a human! It wasn't unheard of—there were even stories of mers who drank the potion, crawled onto the boardwalk and started walking as if they had been doing it since they were born—but you were surprised to see such rapid growth under your care.

(You made sure to take special note of this and the time taken from your heavy duty waterproof watch).

You let the angler fish play with the classic mer (both of them didn't look like they were going to antagonize each other, but you made sure to keep an eye out just in case playful nips became gaping bites) before you turned your attention to the cecaelia and the other classic.

The classic mer kept her head down low, tears still dripping down her cheeks, but you gently reminded her that the pain would go away if she moved her newfound legs for a little bit.

"Just a little bit," you cooed. You climbed back onto the boardwalk (you were soaked to the bone and wet from the angler fish mer trying to play with you) and sat down so that your shins and feet were submerged in the water. Kicking your feet made little splashing noises; you were pleased when you saw that in between the sniffles, she was trying not to laugh at how the water felt on her skin.

However, try as you might, she refused to move her legs and continued to cry even with your kind words caressing her ears.

"It's okay—" Quickly, you tried to remember the list of names upon your roster. Not Azul... Not Pacifica... Oh! Her name was Adria! "—Adria. The potion will wear off soon. Do you want to float while I help the other student?"

Adria shot you a terrified look, the tears in her eyes spilling like a fountain over her cherubic cheeks. She glanced at the cecaelia—who, up until that point, had chosen to float by hanging off the pool noodle in the most rigid way possible—before fearfully nodding in your direction.

You frowned. Had the cecaelia bullied the classic mer earlier when you were tending to the angler fish and his playmate?

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, you advised Adria to stay close to the boardwalk and to keep the buoyancy paddle close to her chest. She was welcome to keep trying, but something deep inside of you knew that she would be dropping out as soon as the transformation potion wore off.

Now that your attention was no longer split between the other mers, you focused on the cecaelia.

Shelly was a bit of an oddball, even according to others of her own kind. Back on the beaches of the Land of the Red Dragon, she would chance capture or sightings from the locals by wading up the shore and proceeding to walk along the sandy beach. The dryness of land and the harsh feeling of pebbles and rocks upon her suckers caused irritations at best and bleeding at worst, but she proudly told you that it was practice for the real thing. In fact, that was one of the reasons why she was so close to the beach in broad daylight during your first meeting. She had been scouting for a good place to practice, even if she didn't have proper human legs yet.

For most cecaelia and other species of mer that had to give up multiple appendages, the loss was almost too much. Most dropouts were octopus and squid based merfolk, which was a shame considering you knew that most depictions of sea dwellers were heavily skewed in the classical mers' favor.

Shelly was able to breeze through her lessons within two weeks of her land boot camp experience.

(Well… not without plenty of help and assistance from you. The land boot camp she had gone to was not as pleasant an experience as it was now). 

You wondered if this cecaelia would do the same.

First of all, however—

"Right arm and spread your fingers, please."

You had to make sure that all of his limbs were in working order and could respond on command.

And so, for the better part of at least an hour, you helped the cecaelia master all four of his limbs. His customary human arms were the easiest to obey him, you found. That was good, that meant that any and all problems had to do with his lower half being downsized into two working legs. After making sure that he could grasp onto the boardwalk of his own accord, rotate his arms to show off his full range of motion, and even write his name upon one of your notes, you deemed it safe enough to start working his legs.

This was trickier. It seemed like the cecaelia was firing off too many commands at once, but they weren't being well received by the lower half of his body. His legs would twitch one way instead of another or maybe he would overshoot and end up losing balance upon his pool noodle.

Shelley explained it to you once when you were stuck in the same dormitory and she was busy penning down her thesis.

"All of my arms have brains in them, you know that right?" You kind of had to know that. Your mother would bury herself alive if she found out that the most basic of octopus facts had never pierced your skull. "Well, when most of your body have a mind of their own and that disappears, the lone brain that gets left behind has to overcompensate, but then you end up sending mixed signals or canceling demands that were never completed in the first place."

"Like... a computer overloading on too many open applications so you have to use task manager to end them?"

"Kind of." She canted her head to the side in thought. "You know what? Yeah, you're right."

"So how did you stop overcompensating?"

"By relaxing."

Easier said than done.

There wasn't a lot of overlap between land and merfolk culture, especially in regards to the expression of feelings, but you had the feeling that the cecaelia was trying too hard to appear confident. His eyes were bright and determined, but beneath that steely veneer, you could detect the same sort of tension that you had previously associated with the other tearful mer. However, despite the similarities, you found that the cecaelia was more likely to attend the entire boot camp.

"Azul." His name sounded foreign on your tongue, but you kept your hesitance to yourself. At the sound of his name, he straightened upon the pool noodle and regarded you with a distant expression. "What do you like to do for fun?"

You tried not to laugh at the naked expression on his face. For all of how he seemed to hold himself up with a rigidity you would normally associate with your haughty superiors, the young cecaelia looked absurdly adorable when he tried to process your question. His mouth went agape and his eyes had widened in comical surprise.

"Fun?" He spluttered out. The grip he had on his pool noodle wavered, causing him to thrash a little on the water. Out of instinct, you gave him a steadying hand upon his shoulder. It was a slight touch, well within regulation, but Azul stared at you with an indiscernible expression on his face that you didn't have the heart to interpret.

(There was another reason why this government initiative was so discreet and small compared to other well known government plans: land dwellers were often let go and blacklisted if something untoward happened. Given his age, if he said something...)

You kept a professional smile on your face before you nodded down at your legs.

"When I was younger, I liked to chase my friend around. Both of us liked to swim in the water, but we ended up splashing each other more often than not." You peered at him, true curiosity brimming in your eyes. "You're from the twilight levels of the Coral Sea, right? How often have you gone to the surface?"

Suspicion lined the tension in his shoulders and darkened the brightness of his eyes.

"You're not going to get into trouble," you murmured, "it's not like I have the power to turn you into the authorities. It's just that I've taught a lot of merfolk over the past few years, and a number of them liked to sneak up to the surface to have fun."

A number of them had also been delinquents, often choosing to skip school just so they could splash water along the decks of small cruise ships or to wreak havoc upon the local fisherman. Out of respect for your past students, you refrained from saying that last bit.

Besides, something told you Azul didn't look like he was a troublemaker.

"Well..." Azul looked like he was weighing his options, probably scrutinizing you for any sort of underhanded behavior. You let him take his time. With more rest, you hoped that he would muster enough energy and bravery to start kicking his legs. "A few associates and I would explore sunken shipwrecks... but there were also nights when we would swim up to the surface and watch the fireworks show."

"Associates? Not friends?" You couldn't help but tease him. He glared at you and you watched as his eyes seemed to drift past your figure and towards another group of merfolk that was spearheaded by your fellow intern. Before you could inquire as to what held his interest, he turned towards you again, only to haughtily huff at you. "Okay, associates."

Were all fifteen year olds this edgy?

"Indeed." He sniffed, clearly done with this conversation.

"Well, have you splashed each other once you guys breached the surface?"

A scandalized look this time, that bordered on incredulous.

"Watching the fireworks was purely for educational purposes and—"

You didn't want to give him the look, but you had no choice.

With the full force of your irritation, you gave him one of the most deadpan stares ever. Even the most vicious of predators hailing from the abyssopelagic zone would have been stunned at the pure power behind your stare.

"A little bit." He muttered more to himself than to you. 

You would think from the solemnity in his voice that he was talking about a funeral. Still, you nodded your head and smiled with what you hoped was encouragement.

"Do you remember how you splashed each other?"

He looked at you and you decided to amend your approach.

He didn't want to be babied; that was understandable.

"Well, I want you to utilize those memories of splashing each other so that you can start kicking your feet. You used all ten of your limbs, right?"

"Not at first," Azul conceded. "Eventually."

"Good." Without missing a beat, you sank into the water with practiced aplomb, much to the surprise of your student. He gasped, a sound that he tried to stifle, but you were too close to hear it. "Splash me."

"P-pardon?"

"Come on! You need to exercise and gain control of all four of your limbs. Splash me."

At his continued hesitance, you splashed him with both arms before returning to wading in the water.

Surprise was quickly replaced with irritated determination. Before you knew it, you found a tidal wave of water heading in your direction.

Not bad, you couldn't help but think as you dove beneath the waves.

But he still needed to use his legs.

It took some time, but later on, you saw that he was wading in the water; his movements were a little jerky, but sure enough to signal that he was consciously controlling his legs.

It was strange seeing a cecaelia beaming at himself as he allowed his arms to splay out gently in the water as his newfound human legs tread the water underneath. For a moment, as you murmured congratulations to him, you saw Shelley in his place. Once upon a time, she had also been a young, aspiring cecaelia who had also been in the same boat as Azul. The only difference was, when she showed you how well she adapted to her legs, she lunged and tackled you into the water without a care for your need of oxygen. 

The cecaelia in front of you had no intention of doing that, but the hope within his eyes mirrored that of your best friend’s.  

For a moment, as you lounged within the dorm room, your head still swimming with the possibilities and opportunities that would surely arise come tomorrow, you watched as bioluminescent algae sparkled and glowed to life as small waves began to wrack the beach. If you paid attention, you could see that there was a large mass disturbing the glowing algae, but you chalked it up to either a fish or one of your students fooling around. 

You took a glance at your clock and cursed to yourself. 

Tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.

.

.

.

Tagging: @missam

[PART ONE] [PART TWO HERE] [PART THREE] [PART FOUR]

If you want to donate a Ko-Fi, feel free https://ko-fi.com/devintrinidad.

TWISTED WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

[dgttwisted]

Floyd meet Jekyll&Hyde

for those who have known me for a long time you already know this about me but for those who don't.

this is Jekyll&Hyde the fgo version to be more precise

an i love this character they are very near an dear to my heart now you may be wondering what this has to do with twst an the answer is very simple.

Floyd this silly goof

reminds me in so many ways of Hyde everything from the attuited to the mood swings an his love of fighting.

back in the yander years of when i first started to rp Jekyll&Hyde an Andersen were the charcters i latched onto strongly for Andersen i thought he was a sad but but all around cool guy who historically might have either been bi or asexual(story for another day) who has we all know wrote the little mermaid.

an Jekyll&Hyde whose story on it's own is really neat but fgo has given of snips an peace's that they were friends with Sherlock an other such neat things which i will not talk about today or on this blog because that is not what we are here to discuss.

Hyde actions an personality lines up so well with Floyds that i fear is they ever met an became friends the universe would be done for(perhaps i'll write a crossover in the future)

i was in a bit of a slump a ways back i lost all motivation to write i would only chat with some mutuals an that was it for a long while. one said mutual recommended that i play twst when it came out in NA my interest was waning at best till chapter 3 came around an saw Jade an Floyd for the first time. my motivation heavily spiked because of these lil gangster eels especially Floyd.

thanks to that i had much more motivation not just to write but to even make a twst blog in the first place. this probably seems irrelevant but this is sort of what Jekyll&Hyde did for me when i first got into fgo.

i guess little shark toothed chaos babies are my favorite type of character you never know what they'll do next an that makes me happy to see always. granted Hyde's fights usually result in murder but if Floyd had a knife it would probably result in the same XD.

for me i think they have such a similar vibe an that's why i hold such strong feelings for them. which i will not apologize for an you cannot change my mind on this!!!

this a post more for me then anything else I'm very glad i got into twst it's made me much more motivated then before but even so i have no intention of getting rid of Jekyll&Hyde anytime soon they are to precious to me.

can't say i won't make them a apart of this blog somehow but knowing me I'll find a way.

[byneddiedingo]

Robert Helpmann and Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Cast: Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer, Marius Goring, Robert Helpmann, Léonide Massine, Ludmilla Tchérina, Esmond Knight, Albert Bassermann, Austin Trevor, Irene Browne. Screenplay: Emeric Pressburger, Keith Winter, Michael Powell, based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Cinematography: Jack Cardiff. Production design: Hein Heckroth. Film editing: Reginald Mills. Music: Brian Easdale. Costume design: Hein Heckroth. In its digital restoration, The Red Shoes almost certainly looks better than it ever did even in the most optimal theatrical showing, its colors brighter and sharper, its darks deeper and more detailed. But is that necessarily a good thing? I'm not like one of those audiophiles who insist that old vinyl LPs sound better than CDs or any digital audio process -- I like being able to hear things without surface pops and skips. But I do think that in the case of a film like The Red Shoes, where suspension of disbelief is essential, something has been lost. The great red snood of Moira Shearer's hair is revealed to be a thing of individual strands that might have benefited from a quick brushing before her closeups. The special-effects moments, like Vicky's (Shearer) leap into the red shoes or Boleslawsky's (Robert Helpmann) transformation into the newspaper man, are more glaringly just rudimentary jump cuts. There's a loss of glamour and magic that hasn't been compensated for, even though we can now see Jack Cardiff's photography of Hein Heckroth's designs with greater clarity. I will also admit that I have never been in the front ranks of the fans of The Red Shoes. While I admire the storytelling ability of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I have to question the moral of the story, which seems to be that a woman can't have both a great career and a successful private life, or in a larger sense, that art is impossible without a loss of self. Granted, the story comes from the realm of fairytale, which is never without an element of cruelty, but is Vicky's suicide a necessary follow-through, or just a submission on the part of the screenwriters to the demands of some kind of closure, given that they've never made the character more than a stereotype: the woman torn between the demands of two men? Ravishing to the eye, The Red Shoes doesn't satisfy the mind or the heart.

[corneliafm]

☆ –– come back......be here! the following accounts have 48 hours to post in character or contact the main, or risk being their roles being reopened:

elody maverick @vanderlylecrybabygeeksx (1 post)

harlan durpe @vanderlylecrybabygeeksx (1 post)

walker "kwon" miller @vcgabonds (2 posts)

hayden duchannes @brckendreams (2 posts)

arabella huntzberger/archibald mctovish/benjamin grant @starlliiqht (2 posts each)

maeve walsh @maevewalsh (2 posts)

odessa "izzy" montague @marblegraced (1 post)

aurora andersen @clxndstine (intro + 1 post)

charlie becker @charlie-becker (intro + 1 post)

joseli ryan @incandscents (1 post)

[grimmusings]

⭐

⭐ Thor Odinson (MCU) + Ellen Ripley (Alien): I just think this would be such a fun crossover! I'm picturing post-Ragnarok (maybe post-Thanos) Thor with all the #trauma and Ripley hunting Xenomorphs together. He's finally got an alien problem he can do something about. *cracks knuckles*

⭐ Andy Barber (Defending Jacob) + Isabella Meyers (OC): Former district attorney meeting his replacement? Or maybe just a fresh start and new lawyer friends after the events of the show, but he could be a threat to her professional reputation. I've never written him in a paranormal verse, but that could be interesting too!

⭐ Grant Andersen (OC) + Alba Reyes (OC): Aside from the fact that they have cute photo ops together (and I'm a sucker for photo resources), tell me these two aren't a set up for the fluffiest coffee shop AU. He's totally that sweet idiot who would come to her cafe every day just to see her.

[athoshq]

The following characters have been accepted into Athos! Please get your account ready and send it into the main within twenty-four hours - if you need more time, let the admin team know and we will grant you an extension. We are excited to have you here and we can’t wait to see your characters in action!    

Odd as Ruaidhri Samos with the faceclaim of Alex Hogh Andersen

Ray as Damon Miles with the faceclaim of Jordan Calloway

Ray as Saulo Reis with the faceclaim of Marco Pigossi

Ray as Owen McAnthony with the faceclaim of John Cena

Vanjie as Kit Lovelace with the faceclaim of Mason Gooding

Melli as Mekhi Lincoln with the faceclaim of Ty Olssen

Melli as James Walsh with the faceclaim of Lee Pace

[ageofxail]

I am a multi-muse! I’m simply lacking in time management skills to actually get all of my graphics and whatnot update since mushing all of my muses into one blog on top of Noel’s old one. 

My URL is an attempt to be Clever and cover many bases at once. Each muse comes with a “pun” of sorts that can play into the main url. Nicholas, Noel, and Daniel are the primary muses, with the others available upon request.

Age of Sail ;; Noel Thomas Mercer - Modern England. (1648-Present).

Born in the middle of the seventeenth century he, was born into the latest era in which a peasant boy could hope to ascend to a gentleman’s title – with the only route of option being that of becoming an officer in the Royal Navy. While born a human, the lack of one of England’s representatives tolled on the Kingdom and required a new one step into Nicholas’ place. Having proven himself to be what constitutes an ideal Englishman - loyal, gritty, fiercely devoted to his King and Country - Noel was granted the life of an Immortal. And he complains about every moment of it.

Age of (chain) Mail ;; Sir Nicholas William Grey - Medieval England/Plantagenet England (1048-1514)

Born in the late 10th century, he came to represent the Kingdom of England under the guidance of the royal family Plantagenet. He served as a personal, immortal bodyguard and advisor to the Kings of England throughout the medieval era until the aftermath of the War of the Roses & the rise of Tudor England left him so disconnected from his kingdom that he could no longer serve. Some say he still haunts the Tower of London to this day, but modern sightings are incredibly rare.

Age of Rail ;; Daniel Aleksander King Hill  Fitzroy - Manhattan/New York/The United States of America (1627-Present)

Born and soon orphaned in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in the early days of its conception, adopted into the British Empire, he learned and grew with the fledgling colony and developed a right love of the ideas of equality and fairness. He was loyal to the crown and fought desperately to keep order within the colony, to stamp out the Rebellion. However, the will of the People won out, and Daniel found himself growing ever prouder of his People as time went by. America itself went through many tests in its time, questioning what was right and what was fair, the struggle of embodying an entire nation is not an easy task, but the weight has fallen upon his shoulders.

Non-primary muses, in order from most to least developed.

Gabriel Emmanuel Hill, The American Southwest/Deseret/Utah. (Daniel’s son!) Bradley Marion Walker-Rhodes, Appalachia/Tennessee. Rhydian “Rhys” Eurig Mathonwy, Wales Jonàs Immanuel Federer, Switzerland. Noah Jack Martin, Australia. (Noel’s son!) Ferdinand Muyskens, Belgium Thore Taubel, Brandenburg Thiel Joachim Semjezaheit, Prussia Santiago Tercero del Oroitz, Spain. MacKenzie James Hudson, Canada Richard Adlerstahn, Austria Johannes Becker, Steiermark Matthias Andersen, Denmark Special case: Milovar Menowen, Latveria. (Fictional country in Marvel Comics. I’m very undecided if I want to actually have him here???) Please note that my personifications are NOT the Hetalia character - and in most cases (particularly notable with Daniel!) they have almost nothing in common with their Hetalia canon counterpart. My muses are intended to co-exist with Hetalia muses, NOT replace them! Noel is of lower rank than Arthur, but still a representative of England, likewise for Daniel to Alfred. All of my muses have highly specific origins and if needed for comfort, they can pass as representatives of “lower” rungs on the ladder, ie Daniel a representative of New York, Noel is Northern England/Working Class, Noah is Queensland, etc.

[blondejellykitty]

୨୧ dear diary ୨୧

hii my name is natalia :)

ironically my favourite colour is actually blue, i love to take photos of the moon (its about the only thing i have saved on my camera) and my favourite food is pizza.

my interests include reading fantasy and crime books, watching sci-fi and youtube commentary, learning about greek mythology and the roman empire, playing video games (badly), and procrastinating writing fanfictions.

i love found footage series' (slenderman and backrooms mostly) and want to one day make my own. my dream jobs are being a historian or a detective/csi.

i was homeschooled most my life, and i have a lot of social anxiety irl so sometimes that blurs into online as well, so i apologize if i don't immediately respond <33

characters i write for <3

SLENDERVERSE - PLUS CREEPYPASTA (2009-2018) 🩷 Brian Thomas (Hoodie), Tim Wright (Masky), Jay Merrick (Skully) (platonic), Alex Kralie, HABIT, Evan Myers (platonic), Jeff Koval, Michael Andersen, Jeffrey Woods (Jeff the Killer), Liu Woods (+ Sully) (Homicidal Liu), Toby Rogers (Ticci Toby), BENDROWNED, Cody Denzel (X-VIRUS), Jason Meyer (The Toymaker).

PERCY JACKSON - BOOKS (2005-2014) 🩷 Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Luke Castellan, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Clarisse La Rue, Octavian Blair, Clovis Grant, Ethan Nakamura, Castor Riley, Pollux Riley, Triton, Apollo, Ares, Dionysus, Nico Di Angelo (platonic), Will Solace (platonic).

MARAUDERS ERA - PLUS LIGHTNING ERA 🩷James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Regulus Black, Evan Rosier, Barty Crouch Jr, Tom Riddle, Mattheo Riddle, Lorenzo Berkshire, Theodore Nott.

CALL OF DUTY - MODERN WARFARE I & II (2019-2022) 🩷 Simon Riley (Ghost), Kyle Garrick (Gaz), John MacTavish (Soap), John Price, König, Phillip Graves, Keegan Russ.

GAME OF THRONES - PLUS HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (2011-2024) 🩷 Jon Snow, Theon Greyjoy, Jacaerys Velaryon, Cregan Stark, Aegon II Targaryen.

HADES - SUPERGIANT GAME (2018) 🩷 Zagreus, Thanatos, Hypnos, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Zeus.

STARGATE ATLANTIS - STARGATE (2004-2009) 🩷John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Peter Kavanagh, Todd/Guide, Janus.

BLOOD OF ZEUS - SEASON ONE (2020) 🩷 Heron, Seraphim, Zeus, Apollo, Hermes, Ares.

THE WALKING DEAD 🩷 Carl Grimes (Aged up/AU where he lives).

FOLK OF AIR - BOOKS 🩷 Cardan Greenbriar.

CRIMINAL MINDS 🩷 Spencer Reid.

RESIDENT EVIL 🩷 Leon Kennedy.

CSI 🩷 Greg Sanders, Nick Stokes.

BALDURS GATE 3 🩷Astarion.

LEGEND OF ZELDA 🩷 Link.

Z NATION 🩷 10K/Tommy.

STAR WARS 🩷 Cal Kestis.

୨୧ till tomorrow ୨୧

[best-character-named-x-poll]

A lot of suggestions: Moe Szyslak (The Simpsons) Chad Vader (Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager) Piper Halliwell (Charmed) Summer Holiday (The Sims 4) Darcy Olsson (Heartstopper) Carl Johnson (Grant Theft Auto: San Andreas) Esther Fink (Gerda: A Flame in Winter) Celeste (Animal Crossing) Elle Argent (Heartstopper) Bernard Woolley (Yes Minister) Stanley (The Stanley Parable) Riley Andersen (Inside Out) Prudence "Prue" Halliwell (Charmed) Constance "Connie" Tucker (Young Sheldon) Mike Heck (The Middle) Heather Biblow (The Nanny) Cole Turner (Charmed) Stuart Bloom (The Big Bang Theory) Stuart "Disco Stu" Discothèque (The Simpsons) Ralph Wiggum (The Simpsons) Ralph (Detroit: Become Human) Ralph (Mafia) Ron Jakowski (Grand Theft Auto V) Ron Swanson (Parks and Recreation) Ron Weasley (Harry Potter) Vivian Ward (Pretty Woman) Hans Geering ('Allo 'Allo!) Hans Gruber (Die Hard) Hans Moleman (The Simpsons) Hans (Frozen) Olaf (Animal Crossing) Olaf (Frozen) Olaf (League of Legends) Roman Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV) Roman Roy (Succession) Roman Sanders (Sanders Sides)

I'm not sure if this counts for the name Trixie or not: in "Back to the Future: The Game", there is a character whose real name is Sylvia Miskin but she uses a stage name Trixie Trotter

BTW Hugh and Lois appear twice in "Names I have an incomplete list for"

Sending much love, hope everything is going well in uni ❤️

Thank you for the suggestions! and thanks for pointing out the mistakes in the list - fixed that!

Thank you! uni is going alright, we're in the backend now, no more teaching only assessments it'll all be over soon

[thedistrictroleplay]

ID:

Name | Nickname | Age:  Grant Matthew Andersen |  35  Birthday | Astrology:  July 30, 1986 | Leo sun, Taurus moon  Pronouns | Sexual identity: He/him | Bisexual    Birthplace | Raised: Boston, MA Residence:  Brookland Occupation:  Graphic Illustrator Faceclaim: Chris Evans 

TRIGGER WARNINGS: child death tw, parent death tw, cancer tw, death tw, infidelity tw, adultery tw, divorce tw 

TIMELINE: 

July 1986- Grant Matthew Andersen is born to Sarah and John Andersen.

2001- He meets James Lane.

2004- Sarah is diagnosed with breast cancer. Grant starts college at SVA.  Grant and James break up. James enlists in the US Army.

2007- Grant starts dating Anna McKay.

2010- Grant and Anna are married.

2014- Their daughter, May, is born.

2016- May is diagnosed with leukemia and dies later that same year.

2018- Grant and Anna divorce. He moves to D.C.

BIOGRAPHY: 

The Andersens were solid upper-middle class Boston natives. There was love there but expectations too, and Grant never had trouble meeting most of them. He was good in school, good in sports (baseball and boxing his preferred activities, outside of drawing), and never had trouble making friends or keeping them. He was responsible and well-mannered with a low tolerance for bullies and an occasional streak of mischief.

Nobody meets their soulmate when they're fifteen years old, but no one could convince him of that. When his car stalled and James Lane stopped to help, it seemed like fate. Grant was good with people and bad with romance. As soon as he realized he found someone attractive, he got tongue-tied and awkward. Somehow, the message got through (or maybe James was just much better at flirting than he was), and he barely left his side after that. He'd never been in love like that, before or since. Grant planned to go to college; James wasn't sure, but they were going to figure it out together.

It was his first lesson in the fact that life didn't care at all about his plans. His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before graduation, and he wasn't able to defer his enrollment to the School of Visual Arts. She wouldn't hear of him not going, so he split his time between New York and Boston. She later went into remission and has been ever since. James's family had just relocated to Chicago, with James planning to join him later in New York, when his father died suddenly that same fall, leaving James home to look after his mother and sister. It was inevitable that they would crack under the pressure, two nineteen-year-old kids who were bad at communication and dealing with issues that would crush most adults.

It wasn't until James enlisted in the army that he realized it was really over though. (It had been over for months; he just couldn't admit it.) There was no chance of patching things up with an ocean between them. He was devastated, but Grant was the last person to let on when he was hurting. From the outside, it probably looked like everything was fine. Still, it took him over two years to start dating again and a few more before he proposed to his college girlfriend, Anna. He didn't tell her about James, at least not specifically, but she knew when they first started dating that there was someone he was holding on to. She only mentioned it once, years later, when they were both drinking and fighting. She told him to stop comparing her to the person in his head, the one he couldn't let go of, because she couldn't compete with a ghost. Neither of them ever touched the subject again.

They stayed in New York City while they both started their careers, his as an illustrator and hers as a lawyer. They put off starting a family for a few years while Anna opened her own law firm. When May was born, she became the center of his world. He loved being a dad, and they planned to have more kids after things had settled more with Anna's firm, which was finally gaining recognition with a few high-profile clients. May had just turned two when she was diagnosed with leukemia, and she died later that same year.

Their marriage died with her, but Grant was slow to realize it. Maybe he'd always had trouble recognizing the end when he saw it. This was a pain he couldn't hide, and neither of them knew how to deal with it. They both started drinking, and Anna worked longer and longer hours. He couldn't bring himself to pick up a pen again, so he quit drawing and helped out at the firm. The drinking eased over two years, but the rift between them stayed. They had friends over for a dinner party when he realized she was having an affair with their best friend, who had helped her start her law firm. It was nothing dramatic, just an observed moment in the kitchen when she smiled at Daniel. It had been years since she smiled at him like that. He probably should have felt betrayed, but his primary emotion was relief. Neither of them had to pretend anymore.

They took apart their life together with the same quiet efficiency with which they'd built it up. He was happy for them; he wanted Anna to be happy, but he wasn't self-punishing enough to stay and watch. Staying in New York seemed out of the question, going back to Boston equally so, so Grant decided to keep moving south and relocated to D.C. where there weren't any memories. It was close enough to commute when he had to once he started drawing again, and he spent the last couple years settling into an old job and a new city. He'd been alone by himself and he'd been alone with another person, and he knew which one he preferred. Somewhere in every story he illustrates, there's a tiny blonde fairy watching and laughing from the sidelines.

Grant written by Carrie.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

FICTIONAL CHARACTER ASK: THE PRINCESS FROM THE SIX SWANS/THE WILD SWANS

Tagged by no one.

@princesssarisa @softlytowardthesun @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9 @parxsisburning

Favorite Thing About Them: She is clearly the point of view character and the proactive part in saving the day, trough the vow of sewing the nettle shirts in complete silence to break the curse that turned her brothers into swans. And as she does this, she still enjoys romance and marriage. This shows one doesn't need to choose between romance and relationships with other friends and family, you can enjoy both. And her marriage is an event that happens in the middle of the narrative, but is not necessarily the ending of it, there are still trouble for the princess to solve.

Least Favorite Thing About Them: Neither the Grimm and Andersen version mention a forbidding of the written word. Only of the spoken one. So the fact that she doesn't try to use this alternative feels a bit arbitrary, specially in the Andersen version because since it mentions she reads a hymn-book, the story is clearly set in a time when european nobility already was literate, compared to early Middle Ages when literacy was reserved mainly to the clergy.

Also i agree with @princesssarisa that the fact she ends the story still married to the king who sentenced her to burn at the stake in Andersen's version is still troubling. At least in the Grimms’ version, her apparent crime justifies the sentence more: she’s framed for killing and eating her own three children, with all the evidence pointing straight at her. In Andersen’s version, she’s condemned just for behaving strangely and for picking nettles from a ghoul-filled graveyard, without having apparently harmed anyone.

Three Things I Have In Common With Them:

*I love my family

*Like in the Andersen version, as a lonely child, I had to resource to my imagination for playthings

*I have sometimes felt forced to be kept silent

Three Things I Don't Have In Common With Them:

*I am not royalty

*I don't do textile work

*I’ll never be so beautiful that roses will say I’m more beautiful than they are, or so pious that a hymn-book would say I’m more pious than itself.

Favorite Line:

This line she says to her husband

"Dearest husband, now I may speak and reveal to you that I am innocent, and falsely accused."

From the Grimms version

This line she says to her siblings

"Heaven grant that I may dream how to save you"

From the Andersen version

brOTP: Her enchanted swan siblings

OTP: Her husband the Young King, as long as he apologizes profusely for her near-execution.

nOTP: The Archbishop from the Andersen version.

Random Headcanon: The youngest sibling who kept a swan wing was the one to continue living with her, her husband and their children, while the eldest sibling returned to their home kingdom to assume the throne and the other middle siblings went to travel to live their own adventures. She is very protective of that young sibling because she considers him fragile, but he lets clear that he still can be strong and independent with just one arm.

Unpopular Opinion:  I think both the Grimm's Six Swans and Andersen's Wild Swans are intriguing yet flawed stories and I think the best version would combine aspects of both.

Song I Associate With Them:

The japanese opening song from the anime Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics, wich adapted the tale into one episode

Favorite Picture of Them:

This illustration from the collection Fiabe Sonore for Andersen's Wild Swans, wich was my introduction to the tale

These illustrations by Paul Hey for the Grimm's Six Swans

This still from Toei Animation's 1977 anime film adaptation, wich combines the Grimm's Six Swans with Andersen's Wild Swans

This still from the Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics anime adaptation of The Six Swans

[the-fae-folk]

Does fairy dust (or pixie dust) truly exist when it comes to faeries? It reminds me of the quote from Peter Pan: “All you need is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust.”

There are many old stories that associate Faerie Folk with dust, though it is not the sparkling dust of your Peter Pan stories. It is, or so it appears, ordinary dust from the road. People once believed that dust clouds stirred up in the wind along the roads were said to be signs of Faeries traveling, often with the people they have taken. Several tales involve Faeries throwing dust into the eyes of humans and then making their getaway while the human is forced to wipe their eyes clean. A similar idea is revisited in the tale of Yallery Brown where instead of dust, it is the seeds of a dandelion. In George Sand's short story "La fee poussiere" a fairy like character is given the name “Fairy Dust” which explains the title. And in Mary Augusta Ward's “Milly and Olly: or, A Holiday Among the Mountains” golden dust is mentioned as having been said to be thrown into a girl’s eyes to let her see the true beauty of a place. There are no real fae in the story, however a similar idea is also visited in Félicité de Choiseul-Meuse's 1820 fairytale "The Marble Princess," where gold dust is used to blind a serpent. And in "What Mr. Maguire Saw in the Kitchen," an 1862 story where dust was used to take the character’s five senses to an Otherworld beyond his body. Other stories that involve both Faeries and dust often depict humans who have been trapped in Faerie for a very long time and crumble to dust upon returning to their own world. But since you’ve asked of Fairy Dust from the Peter Pan stories, the culprit is likely the character of the Sandman. Born from Western and Northern European Folklore, the Sandman is a strange Fairy-like being who was said to sprinkle sand into the eyes of children to bring on dreams, and the sleep that remained in your eyes upon waking was said to be his handiwork. As he was experimented with in literature, particularly in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “Der Sandman” and Hans Christian Andersen’s “Ole Lukøje”, he was more and more closely associated with Fairies. By the time we reach “Bluebell in Fairyland”, a children’s play in 1901, we have the character of the Dustman, a fairy who sprinkles golden dust to make children fall asleep, and they can enter Fairyland that way. The play influenced many stories, such as Algernon Blackwood's “A prisoner in Fairyland” which involved a nearly identical character to the play who sprinkled golden dust to bring dreams and entry to Fairyland. But J.M. Barrie’s play and then novel of the Peter Pan stories is what solidified Fairy Dust into the magical golden dust that we are familiar with today. Still in those stories we can see the connection between fairy dust, dreams, and a mysterious place that seems to be made from both magic and stories. It is interesting to note that in the book, though the children travel to Neverland, their parents return home to find them asleep in their beds. It is only in dreams that they can travel there, something borrowed from the Bluebell play. It was Disney who changed the term Fairy Dust to Pixie Dust, and the dreamworld elements of Neverland are severely toned down in the animated feature. It is interesting to note that some ideas do remain consistent over time as the Dust evolves through stories. The idea of it being cast into the eyes of humans to cause dreams and alterations of perception, to hide or to confuse like glamours do, and even to draw humans into otherworlds beyond their own...sometimes with their bodies...and sometimes just with their consciousness. Though in Barrie’s work it was flight that the dust granted and this is what we associate with it most, for most of its history the dust was something else entirely. Whether it was merely dust thrown by a Faerie who needed a distraction, or enchanted golden dust from a Sandman in the night, this dust has the potential to be both frightening and sinister, as well as the stuff of dreams.