#fairy godmother ex machina

[martianbugsbunny]

Fairy Godmother ex Machina in TSATR and Why it Kinda Works

at this point the movie I'm talking about is OLD so like...I'm putting my thoughts under the cut more for the potential rambling than for spoilers bc I doubt there are many people out there going "wait no don't tell me!!!! I gotta see it fresh-brained" but I found it on accident and I really enjoyed it so I'm gonna talk about it

read on and enjoy!

the biggest cheesy plot contrivance in The Slipper And The Rose came right at the very end. it's a Cinderella movie, as you might've guessed from the title, and so it comes with some classic Cinderella tropes that have to be overcome by the characters:

A) One of the driving forces for the whole story is that Prince Edward has to marry for alliance, and about fifteen (? I can't estimate time) minutes from the end of the movie his father has conspired to exile Cinderella and coerce him into marrying the daughter of a king who's threatening to invade. if this alliance falls apart, there's going to be war and the entire reason it was so important in the first place is that Euphrania is too small to defend itself, so it will be destroyed if Edward doesn't marry the Princess.

B) It's not emphasized much, beyond the ball only having foreign royalty and home nobility (to round out the numbers) in attendance, but it's in the constitution of Euphrania that the prince can't marry a commoner, which Cinderella is.

What to do, what to do, what to do?

Enter the Fairy Godmother ex Machina. She points out to the king that because he is, in fact, the king, he can unwrite the part of the constitution that prevents Edward from marrying Cinderella; she says something to him along the lines of "absolute monarchs should act absolutely, it's very becoming," and the king agrees to do it. One problem solved, one to go. But it turns out that the Princess and Edward's cousin have fallen in Love At First Sight, as officially confirmed by the Fairy Godmother, who knows a thing or two about it, and their marriage will preserve the alliance because you apparently can't attack your in-laws in this universe. Both problems solved at once within the span of like five minutes! But to me, it actually didn't feel super obnoxious or contrived, even though it was very much contrived, and I'm gonna tell you why.

Earlier in the movie, while Edward is resisting the idea of marrying for alliance instead of love, his best friend John is having a similar crisis but kind of in reverse: he's in love with a noble lady who loves him back, but he can't propose to her because he's a commoner. Edward's solution, once he thinks of it, is to knight John on the spot without a second thought, because as a prince he can just do that. Thus, the king amending the law to allow Edward and Cinderella to marry is made acceptable by means of precedent. John sets the tone and makes the solution for Edward feel a lot less out of nowhere by being the recipient of similar royal grace first.

The other plot device is admittedly more noticeable, although it still has one redeeming quality. The cousin appeared just often enough in the rest of the movie that it would have been strange and maybe even disappointing if he hadn't had any kind of resolution, but as a side character, it's not like he was ever going to get any significant emotional nuance or depth in a storyline of his own. Thus, while instantly falling in love with the Princess and solving the second problem keeping Edward and Cinderella apart, the cousin actually get the closest thing to a satisfying ending for him. In fact, in my personal taste, the contrived feeling is a worthwhile tradeoff for not having to be disappointed that his character never had a point at all.

So there you have it! There was definitely some magical solving-all-the-problems-in-the-last-ten-minutes going on here, but once I stopped to think about it, it kind of comes out in the wash. Besides, I wouldn't be happy with Edward and Cinderella not having a happy ending. I'll take the hit on reality for this one.

[brunhielda]

Ok- so I have been scrolling through posts for Cinderella’s Castle like a crazy person. Like you do.

Most of the posts are people squealing over their favorite bit currently, or just in general how much they loved it.

However-

Every one in 20 posts has someone expressing disappointment, and finding it lack luster.

It seems like you either are salivating over how good it was, or bored, and annoyed no one else was.

The main complaint seems to be “the characters are flat compared to other shows.”

As someone obsessed with fairytale fantasy, I just needed to come on here and say…

No duh.

Fairytales are not about the character as a person. They are about the person as a symbol/theme. Any detail about them suddenly humanizes them and makes them that much more relatable. But they are never, I repeat, NEVER, a fully realized person. Even in more modern fairytale adaptations, you don’t come for the character, you come for the story as a whole, and stay for the character’s “vibe” that allows you to create elaborate back ground details in fanfiction. The whole appeal of a fairytale is “less is more.”

Ella was raised as a Lady. She likes to paint. She sees herself as brave and tough, and wants to stop evil even if it kills her. She is clever and kind and has dreams. She is utterly practical in accomplishing her goals. She loves her family and friends deeply.

That is all we know.

We don’t know her favorite color, or if she’s a jazz girl, or even what she wanted out of life before this all happened, only that she misses her family.

That is the POINT. Ella, the cinder girl, the girl of ashes, is EVERY YOUNG GIRL WHO IS RAISED IN ABUSE. That is why the tale of Cinderella exists. So grandmothers and mothers could instill in children the deep knowledge that they deserve more, can survive, and do it without letting it break them.

Cinderella is someone you know because she is not pinned down with details. She just is.

Every character in a fairytale is that.

The stepmother is the abuser.

The Troll is a ruling class not from here.

The Princeton a fairytale is an escape and a stamp of approval of your morals. Not his own person. He is Deux Ex Machina. The fact that he HAS a personality here and it is awful is a subversion and holding up Ella’s personal determination over higher approval. She doesn’t need someone else’s approval to prove she is doing the right thing- she knows it, and holds it like the starlight in her hand. And that is GLORIOUS.

The Griswald sisters are a show of how even when you are utterly destroyed by evil, the fact that you were bright, and good, and true MEANS SOMETHING and still helps make the world better.

The frog knight is kindness repaid, and to not judge by appearances.

The mouse squire is that willingness to do something, even if you don’t have the skills, is important. Is worth something. (I saw someone talking about Crumb serving no perpose because he did not effect the plot. Of course he didn’t. The point of him is that he was WILLING, and that alone made her life better. And whimsy. Sometimes in genre, a thing is just for “vibes” and that’s what makes it genre. You cannot have fantasy without whimsy. He be whimsy.)

Even Tadius is a newer symbol of the “faithful servant.” Who does he serve? The Prince? The people? By following orders, or by using his wits?

And the Fairy Godmother. There is so much happening there, I could do a whole TedTalk. But basically, the fairy godmother is Help. It is offered help. She offers it because Cinderella was kind and had an anger in her screaming for justice. The fairygodmother in any story shows up to reward a virtue that the mc takes for granted. They don’t feel worth of the help, are even inclined to turn it down. The point of Cinderella is you TAKE THE HELP. Pride be damned, self worth be damned, you take it and you USE it to make things RIGHT.

The point is this:

A fairytale is about the themes. It is ABOUT the message. It is ABOUT how older themes get changed to fit modern understanding and turn into new themes.

What they did with ash and fire and starlight was incredible. The fact that they brought Fairy Godmother back to the Fairy who is a Mother Goddess was breathtaking because it made Cinderella’s quest for justice holy, not just empowered.

These characters are not flat. They are given thier depth by their role and themes rather than by the plot or personal details.

If you were bored by this, you don’t like fairytales. You may enjoy some of the trappings, but would like it better in a fantasy styled romance or drama, which is not the same thing.

This is not “connecting to humanity by connecting to a character not you.”

This is “connecting to something deeper and more than all of us put together through the use of symbology.”

Maybe that ain’t for you. Maybe you prefer to explore all this plane has to offer. That’s totally an acceptable preference. But don’t come in here and call it a bad show. It’s just not your genre.

(Also, since ya’ll seem to call out Hatchetfield stuff too- maybe you just don’t like genre centric stories 🤷🏻‍♀️)

[grandma-susan]

❓

( back at ya haha)

Does my muse trust yours?   

If it ever came down to it, she reluctantly does, but she will say she doesn't trust him because she has no idea how long it would take him to actually deliver.

"I trust that he intends to do what he says he'll do, but it will likely take a millennia for him to actually do it, because he's wading through all his woes, anxiety, depression, inferiority complex, superiority complex and ducks, so...."

Does my muse dislike yours?

"No" But she treats him like she does. Do you like him though, Susan? "No."

Would my muse kill someone for yours?

Susan looks up from sharpening her garden tools, "Does he even need me to? He was one of the founding Angels of Mankind, King of Hell, doubt he would ever needs me or my foxes to rip someone's throat out. But if we make a written agreement on a hit, I would."

Would my muse kill your muse?

Susan takes a long sip from her tea cup, racking her brain for that answer. "No. So long as he never becomes God. God is the number one bastard on my hit list. So if he doesn't become god then he has nothing to worry about."

Would my muse save yours? 

"No one can save him from his crippling depression."

I think they mean like in a dire situation.

Susan nibbles on a cookie, thinking of hypothetical scenarios. "Assist, yes. Save, Ha! Ha! Ha! Let's be real sweetheart, the day he needs saving from an old Sinner like me is when Earth implodes, Hell freezes over and Heaven crumbles under its own lies. He's the 'TANK' the deus ex machina, as the kids say these days. What a comedy it would be if I threw a saucer at someone's head for them to be distracted long enough for him to do the killing blow. Don't angels heal pretty quickly too? Don't think he'd need my medical knowledge. But if he ever did....sure, but dont expect to be coddled. Striker can vouch for me."

Does my muse find your muse attractive? 

Susan grimaces, "Like a cockatiel? Maybe? Oh mean sex appeal?" Susan looks over at Lucifer. "If it weren't for those aviator pants maybe he'd look smart."

Is my muse disgusted by yours? 

"When he blubbering and spiraling, yes."

would my muse go on a date with your muse?  

"Like what? Bring your grandma to work day? Free ice cream with grandma? Free admission with a senior citizen?"

would my muse kiss yours?  

"1 in a quintillion chance." So there is a chance? "This is not a Disney Movie and I'm not a Disney Princess or a Fairy Godmother!"

would my muse betray yours?   

"I pledge loyalty to no one, but I don't break promises."

my muse’s favorite thing about yours is ____

"When he's not in the corner farming mushrooms, he at least attempts to put an effort into things, despite his uncertainty. I can see the optimist under all that garbage he carries around. Its a matter how he delivers it."

the thing my muse dislikes about yours is_____

"His insults are lacking. He's been down in Hell for so long and he's still got the mouth of an Angel on his first day to Hell."

[campingwiththecharmings]

*These weren't necessarily written and/or posted in January, but that's when I read them so lol*

🔥 - explicit/mature content

Star Wars

🔥Aphelion (Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @oscarseyebrow

Salt and Sky (Poe Dameron x Reader) - @clints-lucky-arrow

Pretending (or not) (Cassian Andor x Reader) - @dameronscopilot

Taking Flight (Modern!Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

Undoing (College!Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @groguspicklejar

🔥Corner Booth (Din Djarin x F!Reader) - @magpie-to-the-morning

🔥Tender Loving Care (Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @clints-lucky-arrow

Risky Kiss (Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @dailyreverie

🔥Tender (Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

I'm Scared / 🔥Safe and Sound (Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @the-little-ewok

You Are In Love (Modern!Poe Dameron x F!Reader) - @alwritey-aphrodite

Triple Frontier

🔥Illicit Affair (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

🔥I’ll Be Back Again To Stay (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @alwritey-aphrodite

Home is a Person (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @tropes-and-tales

🔥Thank Me Later (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @writefightandflightclub

🔥Big Red Bow (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @villainvindicator

Fairy Godmother (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @tropes-and-tales

Home (Santiago Garcia x Reader) - @bullet-prooflove

🔥Good Form (Benny Miller x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

🔥Watercolor Eyes / Blocked by the Snow (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @psychedelic-ink

🔥Take Care (Santiago Garcia x F!Reader) - @wyn-n-tonic

🔥Patience (Benny Miller x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

Moon Knight

Nocturnal | To Be Alone (Steven Grant x F!Reader) - @moonlight-prose

🔥First Time (Steven Grant x F!Reader) - @luvpedropascal

Cute Aggression (Steven Grant x Reader) - @kittyofalltrades

🔥Fast Lane (Marc Spector x F!Reader) - @shewhohangsoutincemeteries

Stone Heart (Steven Grant x Demisexual!Reader) - @magpie-to-the-morning

🔥Fire & Desire (Jake Lockley x F!Reader) - @marc-spectorr

🔥Friends (Steven Grant x F!Reader) - @foreverinadais

A Sunday Kind of Love (Marc Spector x Reader) - @moonlight-prose

First Snow (Jake Lockley x Reader) - @softlyspector

🔥Forbidden Delights (Steven Grant x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

🔥Spirals and Skin (Steven Grant x F!Reader) - @clints-lucky-arrow

Purloin (Marc Spector x Reader) - @laters-gators

🔥Say It Too (Marc Spector x F!Reader) - @astroboots

🔥Gold Skinned and Eager (Steven Grant x F!Reader) - @fettuccin-e

Tales Untold (Marc Spector x Reader) - @softlyspector

Egg Fried Rice (Marc Spector x F!Reader) - @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

A Simple Misunderstanding (Jake Lockley x Reader) - @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

Do You Want to Dance? (Steven Grant x Reader) - @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

Ex Machina

Amende Honorable (Nathan Bateman x Reader) - @laters-gators

The Last of Us

🔥Mule (Joel Miller x F!Reader) - @laters-gators

🔥Radio Static (Joel Miller x F!Reader) - @foli-vora

🔥The Light is Blinding (Joel Miller x F!Reader) - @writefightandflightclub

🔥Code Breaker (Joel Miller x F!Reader) - @inklore

🔥Told (Joel Miller x F!Reader) - @the-ginger-hedge-witch

Tulsa King

🔥Just Like That (Mitch Keller x F!Reader) - @dameronscopilot

The Bourne Legacy

Long Promised Road (David/Outcome 3 x Reader) - @nowritingonthewall

Thank you to all the wonderful writers for sharing their stories with us 🥰❤️

*For more recs, please feel free to check out my fic rec tag.

**If you'd like to have your fic removed from the list, I completely understand, just let me know

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Tattercoats

Favorite Thing About Them: I like that she's a Cinderella character who has a real relationship with her "fairy godfather" figure, the Gooseherd. People always ask "Why doesn't Cinderella's fairy godmother come to her sooner?" Well, in this variant, her helper is there from the beginning, and is her best friend. Presumably he waited to use his magic until it could help her in the best possible way, but in the meantime, she has his emotional support all along.

I also love the idea of a magic flute's music being used to transform her rags into a ballgown. Maybe it's my attachment to the opera The Magic Flute that makes me particularly enjoy it, but I think that's a very charming and creative form of magic for a Cinderella type of story to use.

Least Favorite Thing About Them: That she has to be bullied by the household servants as well as neglected in rags by her grandfather, poor thing. Most Cinderella retellings that have actual servants in the house portray them as being good friends to Cinderella, just powerless to stop her abuse (e.g. in Three Wishes for Cinderella or Ever After). It's horrible that these servants are so cruel instead.

Three Things I Have In Common With Them:

I like music.

I like elegant parties.

I think geese are nice birds.

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

I'm not blonde.

I'm not an orphan.

My grandparents all adored me when they were alive.

Favorite Line:

When the Prince first declares his love for her:

"You would be finely put to shame if you had a goosegirl for your wife! Go and ask one of the great ladies you will see tonight at the king's ball, and do not flout poor Tattercoats."

brOTP: The Gooseherd and the Nurse. In crossover-land, she might obviously be good friends with Cinderella, Donkeyskin, or any other rags-to-riches heroine.

OTP: The Prince.

nOTP: Her grandfather.

Random Headcanon: After her mother died in childbirth, her distraught grandfather blamed her father as well as her, and he either killed him in an insane fit of rage, or else her father left because he was afraid that would happen. This is why he isn't around.

Unpopular Opinion: Her story deserves to be adapted more often. I understand why it's not, because it's so similar to Cinderella, but it has great potential. In the first place, because the magical helper isn't just a deus ex machina, but Tattercoats's best friend whom she has a close relationship with from the start. Secondly, because a grandfather's scorn could be even more painful and poignant than a stepmother's. Third, because the Prince meets and falls in love with Tattercoats in her rags before the ball – so many Cinderella retellings change the story to make this happen, but here it already does.

Song I Associate With Them: None at the moment.

Favorite Picture of Them:

This illustration by Arthur Rackham:

This illustration by John D. Batten:

This book cover illustration by Margaret Chamberlain (my fifth grade teacher had this book in her collection of Cinderella variations rom around the world):

This illustration by Margaret Tomes:

This illustration by Shirley Hughes:

This illustration by an unknown artist:

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

"..." a frown took residency in Nami's face, all because of the story in her hands. Raven should be glad that she had the patience of an inhuman being otherwise she would have crumpled this piece of parchment and chuck it out of the window.

"I don't understand." She sighed in a frustated manner and handed Raven his story. "Don't get me wrong, it's not how you wrote the story it's what you wrote in it. Why do you give the main character of this story such a depressing fate? To wave the promise of a happy ending infront of them only to take it away as soon as it touched their fingertips.."

"Reading that story made me want to become their fairy godmother. Take away their curse and get revenge on that traitorous bastar- Um, sorry." Nami's face fell even more as a theory began to sink in, "By any chance, does this story happen to be inspired by a true event you or someone close to you had experienced?"

[This post references Raven’s curse/backstory, which you can read about here!]

***Art is by tinyfantasminha!***

Raven was very familiar with paper—how it folded and crinkled and creased, and all the sounds it made. He could tell that something was grinding Nami’s gears, if the harsh indentation left on his story was any indication. When she handed the draft back to him, he raised a questioning eyebrow, but said nothing until finally prompted.

“... I don’t know what to tell you. That is just how this story goes,” Raven replied coolly. “The notion of every tale ending in a happily ever after is unrealistic. Moreover, if every story were to have a happy ending, then ‘happiness’ itself would lose its meaning, its coveted status as something to be sought out and treasured.

“Fiction is an escape from harsh reality, but it is also an avenue for exploring concepts which would otherwise mortify us in real life. Making the wrong decisions, having your heart broken and bridges burned, failing despite all your efforts, confronting death... And, sometimes, it is necessarily to witness the downfall of a character, whether to cope with a similar situation or to avoid meeting a similar fate.”

Raven’s eyes narrowed. “Please. If lifting the protagonist’s curse was as simple as a Fairy Godmother waving a magic wand, they would have been relieved of their burden a long time ago. That’s such an obvious deux ex machina.

“It also does you no good to be upset at the characters. A good story will certainly spark emotions, but... fixating on what you feel for the characters can lead you down a destructive path. Characters are just characters and nothing more than that. When you turn your back on the story, they stop existing—but what will stick with you are their actions. Learn from them, but do not dwell in the past with them.”

Raven’s cool expression slightly faltered at Nami’s question. He considered himself a calm and collected bird—but there was something about the way she said it that sounded in his hollowed heart and unnerved him.

Soft and small and awaiting to be swallowed by darkness. So pure in its curiosity that it almost hurt to listen to.

“... It came to me in a dream. No, maybe a nightmare,” he, at last, responded. “Yes... a nightmare sounds about right.”

His own living nightmare—words Raven refused to let out into the waking world.

[robininthelabyrinth]

ahaha, genuinely delighted by your use of the xuanwu of slaughter as a diabolus ex machina. it's so appropriate!!!

Isn’t it? :D And Nie Huaisang as the unwitting fairy godmother :)

[slayerscake]

What Vox Machina did on their summer vacation:

Grog

Got a bear tattoo on his back (the one Kevdak had)

Made a cup out of Kevdaks skull

Went to Vasselheim and defended his title in the Crucible. Said no to train his ex.

Went to the Slayers Take and fought some stuff.

Found a very, very lucky soul to pull a card from the Deck of Many Things (NPC got two wishes). Basically became his fairy godmother.

Pike

Went with Grog to Vasselheim. Checked on her temple.

Joined Grog in the Crucible. Became the 2nd champion under Grog

Thought Grog how to read (a little)

Learned how to be a bit more stealthy

Checked in on Wilhand. Fassbender has been reclaimed.

Sent some money to extended family (Pike plot)

Opened a bakery with Vex, Tary and Keyleth, called: The Slayers Cake.

Vex

Tried to find baby Grey Render. Found it but failed to tame it.

Built her house

Tary moved in

Became the ambassador to Syngorn for Whitestone. Now has a teleportation circle in her house.

Trying to make amends with her father.

Had Tary enchant Voragol scale armor for her

Did a lot of research on the Raven Queen

Vax

Chilled in Zephra

Got a tattoo of some antlers

Met up at Whitestone about once a month

Went to Vasselheim and spent time at the Raven Queen's temple.

Spent time with with each member of the gang.

Keyleth

Got a tattoo of her mantle on her back

Helped create the Crisis Orbs

Took a sprig from the Sun Tree to grow her own trees back home.

Spent some time improving her alchemy

Took some trips with Vax.

Took Vex, Vax, Tary and Pike to the theatre in the Feywild

Percy

Is now taking some responsibility over Whitestone. Created the Chamber of Whitestone.

Hired Tary to help run his workshop

Started working on new projects

Failed at making new glasses

Had Tary make him new glasses.

Created a royal guard but with guns

Is trying to turn Whitestone into a steampunk city

Tary

Was basically everyone's bitch and enchanted and helped with everyones projects

Built Doty 2.0 (with the help of Percy). Doty can now speak. And can fire a gun. Once.

Embedded some Umbrasyl scales into his armor.

Made an earing so that he can talk to the rest of the group.

Made his own flying broom.

Wrote in his book. A lot.

[yddraigwyllt]

8, 19, 48 for the Creators Ask game? :)

Thanks for asking! These are such good questions so I definitely made a bunch of mistakes while answering it))

8: List the 5 things you love the most about your creations

*disclaimer: it’s just my opinion about my own works, and it isn’t necessarily true, but...”

Ambiguity. I write about many different things, and I always try to make my texts complicate in a way; it’s a complicate world and it’s not just about black and white (ironically I like b&w in visual art, yup). I’m trying to write about people, and people are complicated too, they have their own motives, hurts, loves, etc. - and if we look on them closer we’ll realize there is no clear answer. World, just like people, is a spectrum of everything.

Psychology. I have a strange addiction to characters of any kind. For me, any character is like a real person, live and breathe - on pages or screens, doesn’t matter. And every person has its own nature, personality traits, experience, hopes, fears - well, everything. It’s not just a muppet I can put into a random situation just for fun (even if I want fun, there should be a reason why the character does what (s)he does - a set of coincidence, occasions, events, that sort of things). That’s why I’m trying to make my text psychological. 

Disturbing themes. Like I said, the world is complicated, and it contains many things. I don’t write only about disturbing themes, but I often refer to them, because I think it needs to be discussed. I can’t just close my eyes and pretend it never existed. Every single person faced ugly things at least one time (at best), so the least I can do - to write about it.

Realism. Relates to the previous thing. In the real world (how many times I write the word “world” here? xD) there are no magicians, miracles, fairy godmothers, artifacts, and magic wands; no deux ex machina. There are some laws, spinning the wheel of everything, and we can’t ignore them. And I like it. It feels real, I can almost touch this feeling by my fingers. Even if I write, er, about non-real things (werewolves, witches, magic, so on) I rely on these laws. They are different from case to case, but they still exist. And for me, it’s challenging and therefore more interesting.

Connection of people. It is my kink, I admit it. I adore situations, where one person meets another, and some kind of connection magic arises; one deeply understand another in a subconscious level, truly sees her/him, and accept her/him in her/his imperfect. Strong attraction (not just sexual - personal, I think) in every possible way, I can say.

19: Do you like mixing up your style and trying new stuff, or do you prefer to have a more consistent style?

I like to try new things, yes. It is challenging, and I like a good challenge)) In my native language, I have a kinda experimental compilation of works, short ones, where I write whatever I want to. I write stories with a limited number of words, I experiment with grammar, tenses, POVs, visual solution of text (like, I use brackets though it’s considered as a “bad” way to write) and so one; several times I even wrote poetry, even if I know I am bad in it xD Some of this things work quite good and I bring them into a “serious” texts))

48: What inspired you to start creating at first?

Hard question, it stunned me xD I’ve started to write in a middle school, and my very first story was about a vampire girl)) I know it because I found it on my hard drive recently xD 

I think I was charmed by the possibility to create something that doesn’t exist yet; to tell the story that no one can tell but me. After that, when I found myself on a border with “real writing”, I realize that I want to write about things that, err, worried me, bothering me, I suppose. Dark things, debatable things, hard things; I think, this is my way of looking for answers - and finding people who wonder about the same things. 

[movie-titlecards]

Maleficent (2014)

My rating: 5/10

Weirdly generic, with some truly nightmarish CGI (those fairy godmothers, though.), and for a movie that's all about delving into the villain's side of the story, the villains of this story are remarkably one-dimensional and devoid of real motivation. Also, I don't think they ever explained why her wings grew back, so that was a pretty shameless deus ex machina.

[crownprincessoftherusalkas]

Cinderella

The story of Cinderella is often full of plotholes.

Some versions have it where it's actually the spirit of her mother providing her with fancy gowns and things, and in others it's the more widely-known and almost-never explained (I have yet to see an explanation) fairy godmother.

The fairy godmother, especially in Disney's Cinderella, is a true deus ex machina, coming in to save the day when all seems lost, with very little rhyme or reason (I still really love Disney's Cinderella). She's here to sing a song, make Cinderella's dreams come true, winds up setting Cinderella up to find a way out from her terrible life, and she's only here for one scene. Never comes back. Never talked about before or after that.

And then there's The Prince. In Disney's movie, the whole point of the ball is to force the prince to settle down (and start a family so his father, The King, can see his grandchildren), and I guess hes been avoiding it. He greets every other maiden politely, but with no discernible interest, no matter how beautiful she is,  much to the chagrin of The King and The Duke. However, when he sees Cinderella, standing in the shadows, across the ballroom, he's immediately smitten, and at the end of the night is already ready for marriage. That's just odd (and may have something to do with fairy activity? Food for thought.)

And Disney is not the only adaptation I've seen where Prince Charming is reluctant to marry until he meets Cinderella.

All in all, pretty strange when you think on it, but it's also an example: not everything in the story has to work "perfectly" to be a good story. 

[bxebxee]

Why Cinderella Is Important To Me, an Informal Essay

There are some feminists who are vocal opponents of Disney princesses like Cinderella. Before I really go into why Cinderella is important (to me), I think it’s important to recognize that without the work of the feminists of the 60s/70s/80s/90s...etc., the world would truly be a worse-off place, and I am FOREVER grateful for all of their contributions. The world is not perfect, and neither is feminism. Older feminists got (and continue to get) a lot of important, good things right, but some of their views concerning Disney princesses in general rubs me the wrong way. (The article linked is from 2006, so take it with a grain of salt. I will reference this later.) 

I think there are some key generational differences in feminist culture of women who were born in the 70s versus women who were born in the 80s, and certainly for all women moving forward. When we are born into a society with a set standard (whatever that standard may be), we respond in a different way, and our priorities/activist attention will be centered on other issues. I recommend that everyone read this really good take by Anne Marie Slaughter concerning women, the workplace, and living. This article does a better job at explaining this than I could ever possibly hope to do. 

I don’t like to block-quote, but this is POWERFUL stuff from Anne Marie Slaughter: 

I owe my own freedoms and opportunities to the pioneering generation of women ahead of me—the women now in their 60s, 70s, and 80s who faced overt sexism of a kind I see only when watching Mad Men, and who knew that the only way to make it as a woman was to act exactly like a man. To admit to, much less act on, maternal longings would have been fatal to their careers. But precisely thanks to their progress, a different kind of conversation is now possible. It is time for women in leadership positions to recognize that although we are still blazing trails and breaking ceilings, many of us are also reinforcing a falsehood: that “having it all” is, more than anything, a function of personal determination.

Okay, now to the fun stuff. 

Let me summarize Cinderella:

Cinderella (Cindy) is a rich, privileged girl who lives with her single-parent father because her mother died when she was just a baby. Cindy lives in a de-facto castle with a Pony. Her dad is hella rich, and since he adores her, she’s probably the sole beneficiary. 

The dad feels guilty that Cindy doesn’t have a mom and then unilaterally decides to marry some woman for the sole purpose of having her act as a mother to his kid. Note: in the Disney movie, it’s expressly stated that Cindy’s dad went out looking for a mom replacement - nothing more. 

The dad dies. Cindyis then “abused and humiliated” by the stepmother and made into a servant in her own home. 

Cindy’s room is in the servant quarters. She hangs out with rodents and birds and basically lives at the whim of her terrible stepfamily. She has no life and does menial labor for people who make her life miserable. 

But One Day, there’s this Ball she wants to go to, and her stepmom is terrible human being who taunts Cindy by saying she can go if she has a dress. Note: this serves two purposes - (1) it’s a way of saying no; and (2) it’s a way of rubbing it in Cindy’s face that she has nothing and is nothing. 

Big theme that’s always repeated and is relatively true is that Cindy stays “kind and good” throughout all of this and perseveres through sheer “goodness” of her heart. Because she’s “kind and good” to the animals, they make a dress for her using the scraps luxury goods lying around the house. 

The stepsisters assault Cindy and rip the dress from her body. This is violent and humiliating, and tbh you should be locked up if you pull this shit! Anyway, they stepfam leave for the ball after twisting the knife and Cindy is miserable and probably at the Brink. 

Important: The Fairy Godmother makes an appearance and saves the day. I want to stress that it is not the prince who ends up saving Cinderella, but rather the Fairy Godmother. Without FairyG, you don’t have a happy ending. 

The Fairy Godmother is the one who presents the magical Deus Ex Machina for Cindy to get her life for one night. But FairyG knows that Cindy is a hot girl who’s been thoroughly sheltered for her entire life, so she gives a curfew of midnight. “The magic will wear out” is such bullshit tbh like just say you don’t want Cindy out too late. 

Cindy loses 1 slipper in her rush to get home, and that sets off the whole Find Cindy arc of the last 1/3 of the movie. 

The prince is so fucking into Cindy omg. He wants to wife her. 

Eventually, the search crew gets to Cindy’s place, but stepmom catches wind that Cindy might be mystery gal. Cindy gets locked in the tower but she breaks free due to the help from her animal friends!!

Stepmom trips the guy holding the glass slipper, causing the slipper to SHATTER so that Cindy doesn’t put it on. But stepmom is a cuck who doesn’t know Cindy is a real bitch with a backup plan. 

Cindy pulls out the spare shoe she has, puts it on, and we montage to the marriage scene and happily ever after. 

The supposed message that is distasteful to a lot of people is that Cinderella is a girl who doesn’t have a dream outside of marriage and aspires to being someone’s wife as her ultimate goal. She escapes one servitude for another. In THIS article, which I linked above as well, the author says this about Cinderella when she talks to her daughter: “It’s just, honey, Cinderella doesn’t really do anything.” 

Cinderella’s "Passivity” Explained: 

Now I agree with a lot of things in that article, but I am purposely pulling out that one quote because it Pisses Me Off when people categorize Cinderella as some jobless shut-in. 

Cinderella wasn’t like this by choice. Her dad died when she was too young to be independent, and her new guardian was a terrible human being who basically kept her around for inheritance purposes. Cindy was not financially independent, nor did she have any power. Let’s really consider her background!!! If her father thought that she “needed” a mother, he probably never taught her anything about finances or her rights (assuming we’re in an era where those existed). Like... I can see he loved her very much, but what it’s a very 1950s thought to assume your kid needs both a mother and a father. (Cinderella was released in 1950 LOL.) 

So Cinderella’s real problems started because her dad made incredibly poor choices related to co-parenting. And for all of the stepmother’s faults, maybe it pissed her off that she was only being wifed because this guy wanted her to act as a glorified nanny for his brat. The stepmother is still terrible though, no excuses. Anyway, it’s evident that Cinderella’s childhood and adolescence were not happy times, and she had very little time to adjust to this new world order. 

x

“Good and Kind” is Misleading: 

Cinderella is part of the union of Nice Princesses, the OG3 of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora. You have feisty Disney princesses like Ariel, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Merida...etc., and then you have girls like Cindy. 

One of the main themes of Cinderella that they push really hard is that she’s a good person. She’s kind, hopeful, and doesn’t let the meanness of the world change her. Her purity is related to purity of spirit, where the negative circumstances around her do not turn her heart towards bitterness. Check out this song for the proof. 

I agree that she’s a good person, but throughout the movie you’ll see a lot of places where Cindy gets snarky and shady!!! I mean the FACES that she makes when her stepmother gives her ridiculous chores: 

(You can watch the full vid here. Also, can you believe how hilarious that this face appears right at 4:20? LOL) 

“Good and Kind” doesn’t mean she’s not sneaky when she wants to be. There’s this one scene where Cinderella drops a tray of tea in “surprise” at the news that the duke is going around testing feet sizes of all the maidens. Now, I’ve seen Cinderella balance three loads of laundry while avoiding a nasty cat who always tries to trip her. She didn’t look like she dropped it in surprise because she HARDLY jumped. I guess you can say maybe she was so out of it and surprised that nothing else registered, but my take is that she dropped it on purpose to eavesdrop on the stepmother. 

Cinderella’s version of sneaky is also kinda funny too because when she escapes the tower, she has that other glass slipper with her. A Real Bitch Is Always Prepared!!!! And she had the nerve to chirp “if it would help~~~”

I love her. 

x

Cindy is Not Perfect:

The one thing I will say about Cindy is that she is Naive. She is Naive as HELL. She does try to believe in the goodness of all people/animals, and she gives people the benefit of the doubt. But she’s terrible at hiding her emotions when she’s happy. She’s transparent as Glass whenever she’s in a good mood, and she gets Radiant. The stepmother cannot stand this, and it kills her to see Cinderella happy. 

The only reason Cinderella gets locked in the tower right before the duke shows up with the slipper she left behind is because the stepmother notices Immediately when Cinderella is happy. The stepmom has this sixth sense for it, and she puts together two and two to figure out that Cinderella was the Mystery Gal from the ball. 

x

The Prince is Irrelevant:

People also dislike OG3 princess movies because the prince “saves” the princess for her happily ever after. I want to stress that it was the Fairy Godmother who was the mvp in all of this. The prince is an Afterthought, and he was a happy accident for Cinderella, but the person who made it all possible was the Fairy Godmother. 

I will always say that Cinderella was craving a life, not a man.

But back up for a second because frankly... Cinderella getting with the fucking prince is Peak Revenge on her terrible stepfam. I mean you have Cinderella who has lived the better part of her life as an abused servant-orphan suddenly getting married to the prince, who will probably have political and financial power over these terrible people. Also, can the stepfam do any better than the royal family? Probably not. Even at the ending, Cinderella flat out kisses the king’s head as if he was a child. The duke is probably pissing himself over keeping her happy because she basically saved his life by pulling out that the shoe letting him complete his task successfully. She has EVERYONE in the royal family eating out of her palm.

x

Conclusions: 

On a personal level, I feel emotional fondness for Cinderella because she hangs in there. She endured a lot of bullshit, but she eventually got out. That’s the happy ending that gives me hope. Marriage/finding a man is not what drives satisfaction of that movie. We cheer because Cinderella gets to leave her abusers behind in the dust while living her best life. 

SHE LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER! 

The End!

[themousefromfantasyland]

I love everything about this movie. The way they handle Cinderella's story, the way the Fairy Godmother feels like an actual mentor instead of just a Deus Ex-Machina, and the way they have a colorful and diverse cast without having to focus on race.

But the thing that gets me are the costumes and the set design. It's so colorful, whimsical and just plainly unreal. It's perfect for a fairy tale

Tonight was the 25th Anniversary special of Cinderella

And it's the best adaption of any Cinderella hands down

It's still relevant, the songs are amazing, and it's hilarious. It also helps when you have Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, and Brandy in the cast.

Now if we can only get a soundtrack release, that'll be great

As the Fairy Godmother says "Impossible! Things are happening every day!"

[theomnilegent]

Drag Teen by Jeffery Self - review

Drag Teen was Jeffery Self’s first young adult novel, the story of an insecure young gay man finding his place in the world. It is a lighthearted, quirky, occasionally laugh-out-loud little book, and it was an easy read on an evening in the library when I had no work to do.

This book isn’t bogged down with exposition – it is a very breezy novel, with a fast moving plot centered on JT, an aspiring young drag queen, Seth, his supportive (and sometimes a little too perfect) boyfriend, and Heather, his overweight and lovable best friend. JT wants, more than anything, to leave his homophobic small town and go off to college, which is a familiar story I’m sure a lot of LGBTQ+ readers will relate to. His best friend and boyfriend hatch a plot to get him there: winning Miss Drag Teen USA, a drag competition held in New York City. The three set off on a road trip to make JT’s dreams come true.

There was very little sense of tension in this book, however. Every conflict that arose was quickly managed by either our three crafty protagonists, or a sudden deus ex machina in the form of a drag fairy godmother, an aging country star, or pretty much anything else the author could pull from his arse and set upon the page. I enjoyed the story very much, don’t get me wrong – but it had no real drama or tension outside of that which was created by the characters, between each other. JT’s journey from teen with low self esteem to beautiful, charismatic drag queen was a given, but it was just a touch unrealistic, and happened overnight. We see how he gets there, but it’s like, one makeup lesson and suddenly he’s a contouring master? One singing lesson and he can belt his heart out, ignoring all the stage fright he’s been shown to have previously?  It makes JT’s personal development a little flat.

The supporting characters weren’t particularly memorable. Seth isn’t given much characterisation beyond being the only other gay kid in town, and being wholeheartedly supportive of everything JT does. Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted to see a happy, healthy gay relationship in fiction, and I was extremely glad to see JT’s insecurities about their relationship worked on and resolved in the novel, but it was all about JT. We never really get to see who Seth is. As for Heather, she’s the fat best friend who is full of self-loathing and poor life choices – and god bless her for it, because girl, we’ve all been there. That being said, though, her actively seeking out guys who are much, much older than her just because they give her attention? Not cool. A little creepy. Definitely not my favourite part of the book, though a lot of her banter with JT perfectly encapsulated the teenage voice.

As for the things I loved about this book – the numerous shout-outs (some obvious, some more subtle) to Rupaul’s Drag Race and the New York drag scene, the Club Kids, and notable gay icons were really well done. JT’s characterisation was a really well done look into the mind of a teenage gay guy in this day and age, probably because the author is a young gay man who first rose to prominence through YouTube. It definitely reads like it was written by someone who knows firsthand what this life is like. Unfortunately, some of the constant references to social media kind of come across as pandering, like an adult using outdated slang to seem cool.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and found it to be a really simple read. It wasn’t overly complicated, but it did rely a little heavily on random bouts of good luck to keep the plot moving. I really appreciated the happy ending, which is something often overlooked in YA literature these days. It was, in fact, probably the most realistic part of the story. It was really refreshing to read a YA novel about queer characters that ended with a unanimous happy ending.

[awed-frog]

I read on a confession blog that there's been foreshadowing this season for both/or Cas and Crowley dying and I was surprised but I'm really bad at media reading so I wanted to ask you since you are very clever. Have you seen foreshadowing and could you point me to specific examples? Thank you!

Hi and thank you for saying that! I’m not sure I’m all that clever, but I’ll certainly do my best to answer your question.

So, someone asked me last week about Crowley dying - I guess Mark said something I missed - and you can find my answer here. All I can add is that, narratively speaking, Crowley is still an antagonist (sort of), and since this is not a Haneke movie, the arc for antagonists generally ends in three ways: a bad death, a good death or redemption. What I mean by that is that a villain can be brought down as his schemes are foiled by the hero (sort of what happened to Ruby, for instance, and also Zachariah and Raphael), or they can have a change of heart and sacrifice themselves for the hero (Meg, Gabriel), or they can somehow earn a complete redemption and a happy ending (as was the case, briefly, for characters such as Benny and Cain). 

The way things are going, Crowley is being paralleled with Cas in that he too will soon(ish) have a choice to make: his destiny, or something else. I mean - just as Cas was programmed to be a loyal soldier of Heaven and help out with the Apocalpyse and still feels that pull to stand by his brothers, Crowley is brought low and pushed into ‘sin’ by his demonic nature. In the past, it was always obvious that whatever he did, his motivations were largely selfish. Sometimes I wonder if this changed after that ‘summer of love’ with demon!Dean - I think that was the moment Crowley truly realized that there was no way to trick his way into this one: if he wanted Dean’s affection and friendship, he had to earn it the old-fashioned way - the human way. He’d tried binding Dean to him before that - he’d blackmailed him and forced him to do his bidding in one way or another - and I’m sure Crowley always low-key thought, because how could he not, that what was preventing Dean from being fully his was that stupid heart of his - so big, and always, always bloody bleeding. So when Dean turned - that must have been a dream come true. Only, well, we know how it ended, and since then Crowley’s being trying both to be like Dean (exhibit a, a sudden interest in his long lost family: the old Crowley would have killed Rowena by now) and truly act for Dean, even against his own interests, because this is what you do for your friends: you love them and support them, no matter the cost. In this sense, Crowley saving Cas’ life was perhaps the most significant bout of character development we’ve seen on this show. This is why I’m not sure Crowley can truly take a step back now - we know he hates ruling Hell, after all, and I think we’ve never met a demon he actually likes, so his only logical way is forward - towards humanity (and ‘humanity’). As to whether this will mean his death - for the reasons listed above, I think we can rule out the ‘bad death’ by now, but I’m not sure they’re planning for Crowley to survive the show. He is clever, perhaps the cleverest of them all, but he also overestimates himself, and he’s way too emotional for his own good, so all these things are dangerous. Also - does he have someone who’d take a bullet for him if the time came? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. Maybe him saving Cas is foreshadowing Dean (finally) feeling some obligation towards Crowley and coming to his help later in the season (I don’t think he would have bothered otherwise, to be honest), but I’m not holding my breath. No, given the general landscape of this stupid show, I’m going to expect a ‘good death’ for Crowley - but I’d love, love love to be proven wrong.

(As to when that would happen: I’m hoping, as late as possible, and it would make sense, because Crowley is a great character to keep around - we don’t know much about him, so you can make him do and know unpredictable stuff and have him act like a daemon ex machina whenever needed. Plus, Mark’s great and gets along with everybody, so fingers crossed.)

As for Cas, things are a bit different.

Cas is no longer an antagonist, but he’s not a protagonist either. He’s a helper, but his personality and character’s journey are deeply interwoven with Dean’s, which complicates predicting what he’ll do next. Traditionally, the role of the helper is -

- to help the hero. They don’t have much of a scope beyond that, and, as for their fate, they can either bugger off into the sunset once the crown has been recovered and the prince has married the princess, or they can give their life for the cause (or, if not their life, suffer a heavy loss of some sort so the protagonist can go on with his quest: think Ron Weasley being beaten bloody by a six-foot chess queen, or Elliot Waugh renouncing his homosexuality so Quentin Coldwater can - hopefully - save the day). Most of the time helpers sacrifice themselves willingly, but this is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than an actual rule. To me, the most horrifying exception will always be Medea chopping her brother to pieces so she and Jason can escape with the Golden Fleece.

Now, as I said things go a lot deeper with Cas, because he’s not only Dean’s helper, but also Dean’s princess. His fate ultimately depends a) on which one of these two roles will prevail and b) on what kind of show Supernatural even is. 

If it turns out this was a tragedy all along, then Cas is fucked. It doesn’t even matter if he’s a helper or a princess - he’ll die in either case, because this is the endgame: for Dean and Sam to lose everything, and/or to die themselves.

If Supernatural is a quest thing, then the situation is a bit more hopeful. If TPTB get their heads out of their arses, Dean and Cas can get married in a darling little chapel and eat wedding pie until they burst, and if TPTB decide to no homo the entire story and pretend nothing ever happened, Cas will probably get a satisfying ending of his own, because quests generally end well for (mostly) everyone involved.

Finally, if Supernatural is actually the longest and most painful coming-of-age drama your side of the Atlantic (the one on my own side being The Odyssey, in a sense), then - I don’t know. Personally, I think Cas is someone who’s made Dean more mature, and more in touch with his feelings, and yet he’s not a father figure, so he can stay (and again, snog Dean into the next century or become a gardener or something), but it can be argued that the ways Cas is helping Dean to grow are, after all, a surrogate for parenthood (for instance, we have Cas getting Dean to ‘pray’ and have faith and believe in himself, like his parents should have done if Dean had had a normal, healthy childhood), which means his role will ultimately disappear when Dean is ‘old enough’ to make it on his own. Think fairy godmother, for instance. This view is supported, among other things, by the fact that the role Sully played for Sam was heavily paralleled to the present day relationship between Dean and Cas.

(However, if this is what they wanted to do, they had the perfect occasion at the end of S8 with that ‘E.T. goes home’ comment. The fact they didn’t seize what was a golden opportunity to make Cas disappear from Dean’s life in that kind ‘you don’t need me anymore, you’re all grown up now’ way leads me to think this is not where they’re going at all.)

As to when this will happen - again, Cas is a flexible character, he’s got a sizable fanbase and Misha gets along with everybody. The only problem they have with him are these cyclical accusations of queerbaiting they bring down upon themselves - and the fact that, judging from his emotional post-election day speech, Misha will want to do something else at some point. As I said, though - his arc is so strongly tied to Dean’s that I see a high likelyhood of Cas sticking around till the very end. Whether we’ll be happy about this, well - we know how things go with this show.

[babyspacebatclone]

I strongly prefer this form of government.

(personal original content aside under readmore)

Just have to share this.

So, I (of course) have an Aladdin fic which is technically an AU with three if my fav OCs. Mostly based off of the animated Disney movie, but not bound to it.

I want to share with you the Aladdin character’s (Eric) first wish, because I do believe it’s genius even if I’m the transcriber. (Genie is female and called Daphi’indi, deal).

*Eric and Daphi’indi are still trapped in the Cave of Wonders. Daphi’indi has made it perfectly clear she’s bound to three wishes, is free to interpret them however she wants, is significantly smarter than Eric, potentially evil, but also bored and fulfilling the three wishes traps her back in purgatory.*

*Eric is smart enough to be creeped out by the entire thing but also acknowledge he’s at her mercy anyway.*

*discussions about what to do, mostly Daphi’indi guiding Eric because she’s already read his memories*

Daphi’indi: Ok, the smartest thing for you to do is wish for me to make you a prince worthy of Princess Seraphina.

Eric: what.

Daphi’indi: You’re free to argue, but it’s your smartest first wish.

Eric: *again, creeped out but aware he’s at her mercy* Ok, I...

Daphi’indi: Exact wording. There are some things I’m bound by.

Eric: O-kay... I wish for you to... *helpful writing* make me a prince worthy of Princess Seraphina.

Daphi’indi: *stretches fingers* Ok, let’s get to work.

*pair are now standing on the middle of the desert*

Eric: Wha...?

Daphi’indi: Can’t possibly be worthy stuck down there. Now... *summons a glass vial. fills with sand. hands it to Eric.* There.

Eric: *seriously thinks he’s getting punked*

Daphi’indi: There are a lot of ways to be royalty, but four main ones. One, get born into it. Two, marry into it. Three, conquer into it. And fourth. *indicates sand* Be granted land by a divine being.

Eric: *seriously believes he’s getting punked*

Daphi’indi: *sighs* By my divine will, you are granted the land, and all it contains, you can currently see right now.

Eric: *thinks. frowns*

Daphi’indi: Knew you had some brains.

Etic: We’re standing over the Cave of Wonders.

Daphi’indi: And so it, and all it contains, is now your divinely given property.

Eric: The Cabe. Which used to be one of your former masters. Who used his last wish to forever possess the treasure he accumulated in life.

Daphi’indi: And when people forget the possess one of them, it’s returned to him. But you are feee to ask me to retrieve anything from there while I am bound to you.

Eric: *now exceptionally creeped out and aware how he’s at her mercy*

Daphi’indi: So, next steps, get you some servants and training...

*servants are slaves from all over the world. Daphi’indi visits them in their sleep and asks if they want a new master who will be respectful of them as he understands their suffering. those that agree have their current bodies die, and are given new bodies to serve the new prince, as well as appropriate memories.*

*Eric gets a 25 year world experience of being raised a prince rammed into his head. he continues to be creeped out and weary of his genie.*

*they’re friends by the time they get to Agrabah.*

Daphi’indi’s backstory (in this setting):

She’s actually an interdimensional being whose race inspires fey/djinn/god myths. Culturally, they’re allowed to interfere slightly with mortals, but not actually, you know, befriend them. Daphi’indi actually likes mortals, and says screw the rules. She’s bound into service across dimensions by her kin as punishment, manifesting in appropriate roles when summoned: bound genie, fairy godmother, Baba Yaga, etc.

She cannot be freed by her own power, so no wishing for her freedom ex machina (also covers no extra wishes). She is still bound to never end a soul before it’s time (rule 1: kill someone), or change the core of a soul (rule 2: no falling in love etc, but mind/memory tampering is ok). She cannot create souls herself, but can do whatever she wants with physical forms. Animals are a grey area; she’s technically allowed, it choses to give them the same consideration as humans.

She has little tolerance for selfishness, but honestly does believe the best in mortals. She’s just willing to give harsh punishments as she sees fit, and has a trickster personality.

Ten: So you’ve been around for centuries now. 

Ryoko: Yeah.

Ten: How do you not know how human politics work?

Ryoko: To be honest, I don’t know. When rulers start to annoy me I just go and give the divine right of kings to whoever I think would do a better job.