#like for example. rapunzel in the original into the woods

[nexus-nebulae]

i dislike sacrifice characters

[wreckitremy]

I would love for you to tell me about fairy tales as much as your heart desires I think fairy tales and folk tales are cool as hell. I'm hoping to acquire at least some of my mums collection when I next go home.

I saved this to drafts bc I had a meeting and then I forgot about it 😭 im sorry

Oh that sounds exciting! Feel free to check back or tag me if you feel like posting about the collection if you get to it 😊

I've taken two folklore literature classes actually but only one of them was a college class, and more than just an introduction to folklore from around the world.

Cultural Studies of Fairy Tales, while western culture focused, did a deep dive into what we view in the western world as classical fairy tales. The most important thing I learned from this class is

There is no original version.

It's been a common um, actually thing to float around the internet for decades now that "Disney sanitized these classic fairy tales from their original Grimms Brothers version"

While I am very pro shitting on Disney, this is not actually an accurate criticism.

To claim there is an original version of these folk stories, is about as accurate as claiming there is an original dragon. Tracing these stories goes back until before written history.

The Grimms Brothers collected a bunch of stories from traveling around listening to oral tales. Some people may be at least aware of this fact. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, The Grimms Brothers' version of Little Red Riding Hood, is actually called Little Red Cap, recorded in the 1800s

The version that is actually called Little Red Riding Hood is the French story recorded by Perrault in the 1600s.

There is some speculation that Perrault's version is sanitized from a version that was recorded in the 1800s called The Story of the Grandmother bc it was possibly based on an oral tradition predating Peraults version.

And thats one of the simplest stories. Sleeping Beauty and Snow White blur together almost immediately going back further than the Grimms recording.

Bc almost every culture has a story so similar to these classic tales, that there have been multiple systems created to categorize them into what are called Motifs. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are about as similar as two different versions of Rapunzel.

The Swan Princess, The Princess and the Frog & many selkie stories are sometimes categorized under something called the Animal Bride Motif.

They get sorted this way bc these stories, while they don't share the same name, or the same details have similar story beats and similar themes.

And if you read many stories under a Motif, it can make it easier in some ways to accept new takes on an old story with that Motif theme and story beats. Knowing so many versions strips away the inconsequential details, letting you see the story for what it truly is.

Many werewolf stories in the 21st century get criticized for being closer to shape shifters, citing their ability to change without the influence of the moon.

But the influence of the moon wasn't a part of werewolf stories until Wolfman. Most people don't even know that wolfsbane being in bloom was also introduced with Wolfman as being an important reason for transformation.

The older stories that we would classify with werewolves did not involve the moon, but more of a discarding of clothes and running off into the woods to be a hermit. The transformation was more similar to pigs reverting back into wild hogs than the hybrid creatures we think of today.

And knowing about those older kinds of werewolves are necessary to understanding the older versions of Little Red Riding Hood.

The reason we can't say definitely that Perrault's version is sanitized is bc the concept of werewolves had shifted dramatically since The Grandmother was told orally. The difference between Perrault's and the Grimms, (if the latter was influenced by Perrault's) can be explained by the hundred or so years where elementary school started becoming a concept.

Society has changed so much since we recorded these versions of these stories, and it will continue to change. That's why we keep writing them over and over again with little tweaks. We keep what's important, generally, but rework the stuff that no longer applies to our current society.

These stories were a metaphorical ship of Theseus long before we started writing them down.

[hairstyleforteen]

how long is rapunzels hair

rapunzel's Hair: A Historical Perspective Welcome to the fascinating world of Rapunzel’s hair! For centuries, the story of Rapunzel has captivated audiences with its magical tale of a young woman with long, flowing locks. But what is the history behind this iconic image? In this blog post, we’ll explore the history of Rapunzel’s hair and its impact on popular culture. The story of Rapunzel first appeared in the Brothers Grimm’s collection of fairy tales in 1812. In the story, Rapunzel is a young woman with incredibly long hair that she uses to help her prince climb up to her tower. This image of Rapunzel with her long hair has become an iconic symbol of beauty and femininity. The idea of long hair as a symbol of beauty dates back to ancient times. In ancient Greece, long hair was seen as a sign of wealth and status. In the Middle Ages, long hair was associated with chastity and purity. During the Renaissance, long hair was seen as a sign of youth and vitality. Rapunzel’s hair has also been used as a symbol of power and strength. In the Disney movie Tangled, Rapunzel’s hair is used to defeat her enemies and save her prince. In the musical Into the Woods, Rapunzel’s hair is used to break a witch’s curse. Rapunzel’s hair has also been used as a symbol of freedom. In the movie Brave, Merida uses her long hair to escape her oppressive mother and find her own path. In the musical Wicked, Elphaba uses her long hair to break free from her oppressive society. Rapunzel’s hair has become an iconic symbol of beauty, power, and freedom. It has been used in literature, movies, and musicals to represent these themes. As we continue to explore the history of Rapunzel’s hair, we can gain a better understanding of its impact on popular culture. The Science Behind Rapunzel's Long Hair Rapunzel’s long, flowing locks have been the stuff of fairytales for centuries. But what is the science behind her seemingly magical hair? Rapunzel’s hair is a classic example of a phenomenon known as terminal length. This is the maximum length that a strand of hair can grow before it stops growing and falls out. The average human hair grows at a rate of about half an inch per month, and the average terminal length is between 18 and 30 inches. Terminal length is determined by a variety of factors, including genetics, age, and health. Genetics plays a major role in determining the length of a person’s hair. People with longer hair tend to have longer terminal lengths, while those with shorter hair have shorter terminal lengths. Age also plays a role, as hair tends to grow slower as we age. Finally, health can affect hair growth, as poor nutrition and certain medical conditions can lead to slower hair growth. So, how did Rapunzel manage to grow her hair to such an impressive length? It’s likely that she had a combination of good genetics, a healthy lifestyle, and a bit of luck. Regardless of the science behind it, Rapunzel’s long hair will continue to captivate us for years to come. Rapunzel's Hair: How Long is it Really? Have you ever wondered how long Rapunzel’s hair really is? The answer may surprise you. In the classic fairytale, Rapunzel’s hair is said to be “as long as the tower is high”. This would make her hair an impressive 70 feet long! However, this is not the case in the Disney movie Tangled. In the movie, Rapunzel’s hair is only about 20 feet long. So why the discrepancy? It turns out that the filmmakers wanted to make Rapunzel’s hair more manageable for the animation process. They also wanted to make sure that the hair didn’t look too unrealistic. But what about the original fairytale? It’s possible that the author was exaggerating the length of Rapunzel’s hair for dramatic effect. After all, a 70-foot-long braid is much more impressive than a 20-foot-long one. No matter what the true length of Rapunzel’s hair is, it’s clear that it has become an iconic part of the story. It’s a symbol of her strength and resilience, and it’s a reminder that even the most seemingly impossible tasks can be accomplished with a little bit of determination. Read the full article

[im-tempted]

Ok so I found a lot of really interesting stuff

First off a little bit about the plant itself:

Brambles aren't a specific plant, it's actually a family of over 330 plants native to Europe. However, the bramble most commonly referred to is the blackberry bush and less commonly but still present as a raspberry or blackberry bush.

The bramble was actually a very widely used plant, as its berries could be eaten. It was also used to treat lots of diseases like disentery, diarrhea, and even burns and snake bites.

The bramble is also used in superstition, as in Scotland it's believed that if you dream of an arch of brambles it foretells trouble. Specifically, if you get pricked on the brambles it means you will have troubles with friends, and if you draw blood you will have a heavy loss in trade. However, if you pass through safely it means you will overcome your enemies.

One notable example of bramble in myths is actually in the Bible! When archangel Michael casts down Lucifer, Lucifer lands in bramble bushes as he spits on them and curses the bramble.

This day is celebrated on Michaelmas, and it's told that you should never eat bramble berries afterward. Like most stories, this is actually rooted in fact! Michaelmas is in September, which is around the time that the bramble berries rot!

Another example is the myth of Bellerophon from Greece, who rode Pegasus into Mount Olympus, defying the gods. This enraged them, and they made Pegasus buck him off into the bramble bushes where he was blinded.

You actually mentioned Sleeping Beauty earlier, which I brought up with my (German) father (raised in Grimms Brothers and other German folktales) who mentioned that in the German Sleeping Beauty, her name is actually Dornröschen, which translates to what is roughly Little Thornrose.

He also told a few stories if his own childhood in his village, where the bramble was used as an omen for the forest. He said it used to grow "So große wie ein Haus" or "As big as a house". He said that he use to go picking the wild blackberries very frequently with his parents, but he was always warned that he should never go alone or else he would get hurt. He said it also kept people out of the forest because of how impossibly thick it was (this is Die Schwarzwald- a classic thick German woods). This could probably be the origin of brambles specifically keeping people out- like in Sleeping Beauty when the block the Castle or in Rapunzel when the witch summons them to blind the Prince and stop him from accessing the Tower

The more you know!

Love how literally everything can be traced to the bible

That is actually really cool thanks for looking into that for me

It makes a lot of sense that it has some superstition element due to the fact it's used as a punishment of some kind

Also the sleeping beauty I think is the best examples of it

The whole cutting yourself in sharp things is the main running theme with the spinning wheel than the big rose bush

Also weird how being blinded by bramble's is such a thing in story's?

Do you also think it could be possible that back when the story's were told they still had the whole evil brambles thing

But also that I'd assume a plant that hurt you like that would have been harder to control back then meaning that it could have been a genuine threat then growing around your house

[ariel-seagull-wings]

FICTIONAL CHARACTER ASK: JACK (FROM JACK AND THE BEANSTALK)

TAGGED BY: @princesssarisa​

@astrangechoiceoffavourites​ @savagehardyandfreee​ @sunlit-music​ @lieutenant-hel-odinsdottir​ @mademoiselle-princesse​ @superkingofpriderock​

Favorite Thing About Them: I like characters that everyone underestimates as dumb, but are actually witty and resourcefull. And Jack is probably one of the most famous examples.

Least Favorite Thing About Them: The first two times he rides the beanstalk to steal the golden coins and the chicken of the golden eggs are understandable, because those actions come out of need to provide for himself and his mother. But the third time he rides the beanstalk, stealing the golden harp, he probably just putted himself and his mother in unnecessary danger.

Three Things I Have in Common with Them:

I believed more easily in magic as a kid. Nowadays, i’m still open to the belief, but with more caution.

Was reprimanded for not being good with money.

Stoled a book from the bookshop when i was a kid. Tough it was by accident because i tought it was already paid. Fortunally my mother payed for it, so trouble was avoided.

Three Things I Don’t Have in Common with Them:

I am afrayed of heights.

I am not brave to kill giants.

I never suffered a situation of missing food at home.

Favorite Line:

From the 1990 Burbank direct-to-video animated movie:

“Mother. Those aren’t common beans. They are... magical”

brOTP: Hop o My Thumb, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Rapunzel and Cinderella.

OTP: Jack x Hansel, Jack x Little Red Riding Hood or Jack x Goldilocks.

nOTP: Jack x Cow.

Random Headcanon: That one is not necessarily mine, but from the Hallmark Minisseries the 10th Kingdom, that sayed that years after his adventures in the sky, Jack was elected mayor of his hometown.

Unpopular Opinion:  I find both the version where Jack steals from the Giant just out of need and the version where the goods were originally of his father and he is just taking then back valid. Keep theling them both, the fairy tale will not influence the kids to steal. They already know it is rarely the best option because the parents and relatives usually already talk about it with then. Plus, considering that Jack was a kid who stoled because he was poor and hungry, and from a Giant who would eat him if he could, i think seeing him as a villain, like lots of people do nowadays, is not fair.

Song i associate with them:

Giants in The Sky (from Into the Woods)

Favorite picture of them:

This illustration for the italian children’s book collection Fiabe Sonore

This illustration by Margaret Evans Price

This illustration by Scott Gustafson

This doll book cover illustration by Rose Art Studio

This book cover illustration for the brazilian children’s book collection Paraíso da Criança (Children’s Paradise)

VHS Cover and two Still Scenes from the 1990 Burbank direct-to-video animated film, wich was my introduction to the character:

Mickey Mouse as Jack in the Mickey and the Beanstalk segment of Fun and Fancy Free

Ben Wright in Into the Woods

[ladyfawkes]

A Murder of Snows by LadyFawkes Chapter 2/5 - The Toboggan Incident Current word count: 4278 Story Summary:

Cassandra teases Eugene one too many times about his dislike for snow. Rapunzel’s since been made aware of what the main reason is but she doesn’t know many others that Eugene has yet to divulge. He gives at least 5 examples that include reasons for him to loathe these tiny ice crystals. Each story is successively worse than the previous one.

Chapter Two: The Toboggan Incident

One winter some time after Eugene and his friend Arnie had left the orphanage, the pair were trudging along on a comparably nice-ish day. It had snowed an awful lot the prior weekend, but that day, the sun was shining bright. The air wasn’t frigid and as such, Arnie and Eugene each got a bit stir crazy inside their little warm cave setup in the mountainside. Arnie and Eugene were originally going to head into town when they caught sight of a small child struggling with a toboggan. The little girl had been on the mountain a few times over the past several weeks, ever since she’d received the shiny new toboggan at Christmas.

Eugene and Arnie had originally watched and envied the child because of her family and warm home. But they also knew the other local children made fun of her too. This little girl actually walked with a pronounced limp and all of the others refused to play with her based on that one thing alone. Even her elder brother who was supposed to be watching over her, making sure she wouldn’t fall over or injure herself, would often go off with friends his age rather than minding his younger sister. He typically abandoned her to play alone.

And though he couldn’t explain why, Eugene felt….an obligation to watch over this little brunette whenever her brother would ditch her, so she wouldn’t be left alone on the mountain. Arnie wasn’t so sure….at times young Arnie and Eugene marveled at the cruelty of children, no matter their living circumstances.

After about the third time the girl’s brother ditched her, she had spotted Eugene and Arnie in the trees, watching her. The boys fully expected her to yell at them, to chase them off. Even though they wouldn’t dream of bothering her, she hadn’t known that.

“Hulloooo!!” the girl raised a mittened hand, waving grandly as she could with her feet nearly stuck tight in the fresh powder. “I’m Chelsea! What are your names?” Eugene and Arnie momentarily stared at each other in shock. Townie children were typically encouraged by their parents and others to ignore “street urchins” like Arnie and Eugene. It was a minor miracle that this girl was speaking with them so freely.

“Uh, I’m….Flynn?” said Eugene, giving an alias just in case. “And I’m Lance!” replied Arnie, waving his own arm. The pair continued to watch Chelsea for a few more moments.

“Hey, erm, are you stuck in the snow? Did you need some help climbing out?” asked Eugene as he slowly made his way down the slope. The snow slid easily and sections of it would cascade like shiny bits of frozen sand with each step he took. Chelsea held up her arms and looked down at her lower body, now hip-deep in the white powder.

The girl held up her arms and looked down helplessly at her trapped lower body and shrugged in consternation at her predicament. “Yes, please!!”

“C’mere and hold onto the toboggan, Lance,” said Eugene. At that, Arnie made his way down the mountain in Eugene’s trail. Then Arnie stood off to one side and steadied the sled as Eugene instructed Chelsea to grab the line attached to the toboggan and hold tight so it could help tow her out. Then Eugene reached down in the white powder and unstuck one of Chelsea’s feet and then the other, until the little girl was very sloooowly sliding downhill again, this time on her belly and elbows against the toboggan, with her freshly unstuck feet flailing happily behind her as she laughed.

Arnie and Eugene met the girl at the bottom of the slope and Chelsea stood up to her full still-tiny height and unhesitatingly threw her arms around Eugene.

“Oh, thank you, Lance and Flynn!” she said, her voice wavering. “My big brother Joshua is supposed to be minding me buuuuut he would rather be with his own older friends,” sniffled Chelsea. “I guess I can’t blame him. I am an annoying little tagalong. Mum is busy inside with the babies.” Eugene’s face bunched up in a scowl.

“If you were my little sister, I’d never leave you out here alone,” he vowed. “Yeah,” agreed Arnie, “we know too well what dangers can lay in wait up here on the mountain.”

Unhesitatingly, Chelsea brightened up and invited them to stay and play with her that day, working out a way to exchange towing and other similar services for downhill rides on her new toboggan. After an awkward pause, she could tell they were about to turn her down…..when she instead asked them to wait. She limped across the base of the mountain and into a warm-looking cottage a few hundred yards away.

After a few minutes, a plump sweet-looking woman followed Chelsea out the back door. “Mama, this is Flynn and Lance,” she began, “and they helped me out of the snow after Joshua left me alone. I’m sure I would’ve frozen to death!” she held a hand to her forehead dramatically.

Chelsea’s mother took one look at the boys in their worn-out coats, gloves with holes in the fingers, and ground down shoes. They had much more snow caked on all over in places where there shouldn’t be any….yet they hadn’t the proper gear to keep out the snow. The pair felt a bit embarrassed by her scrutiny.

“Thank you for helping Chelsea,” the girl’s mother said seriously. “Any particular reason why you stopped for her?” she quizzed.

Eugene looked at her in confusion. “We were on the mountain. Saw that she was stuck and clearly needed help. We asked, Chelsea said yes, and so we helped her,” he shrugged and said simply.

“So no thought of reward?” asked Chelsea’s mother.

“‘Reward’, ma’am?” Eugene echoed. “We’re only here at Chelsea’s request.” And the little girl nodded rapidly in confirmation.

“I see,” the woman replied, her countenance suddenly brightening considerably. “I’m Mrs. Thurgood. Do you boys know how to start a fire?”

“Uhh….y-yes? Ma’am?” said Eugene, wondering if this was a trick question.

“Then would you do us the very great honor of starting a fire in the outside stove?” She pointed behind and to their right toward a stand-alone brick hearth with a chimney a ways out from the home. “Everything you need -- flint, kindling -- is out there in that wood chest.” Arnie and Eugene proceeded to get a nice roaring fire started and were thawing out when Chelsea came back out of the cottage and said, “I knew she would like you!” Eugene and Arnie were accustomed to being hated and ran off upon first meeting much of the time.

Mrs. Thurgood returned outside, this time with a rather large bundle of winter clothing. “So long as you boys agree to mindin’ my Chelsea today, she says you may share her toboggan and I’ll let you keep this winter gear. Some of the gloves and mittens are missing their mates but if you both can find any items that fit you, you’re welcome to them. Mittens, gloves, mufflers, coats, and boots!”

Eugene and Arnie stared at one another in shock. “Ma’am, we didn’t do this for any reward.”

“Aye, Flynn, is it?” Eugene nodded. “You didn’t seek any reward so that’s why you’re getting one. Besides, these are castoffs, anyway; thus you’re helping me doubly -- this time by decluttering my home.” And the auburn-haired woman winked at them.

The two boys gaped at one another in awe after Mrs. Thurgood turned around to head back inside and Eugene dove for the pile of winter goods. Eugene and Arnie each found a handsome coat and hat. Although most children complained about wearing mufflers, these boys already appreciated just how warm they could be when properly worn.

Turns out that Mrs. Thurgood’s husband was a commissioned officer away at war. Joshua, a teen, could not be disciplined very well without his father around, especially when Mrs. Thurgood had to mind three other children under five years old. She paid the boys in meals and other perks for minding Chelsea and performing simple odd jobs outside while Mr. Thurgood was away. Mrs. Thurgood was such a kind gem, so unlike the other townie women. He and Arnie agreed they would never steal anything from Mrs. Thurgood.

A few weeks after Arnie and Eugene first rescued Chelsea, when the elder boy Joshua had time to stew over the fact that a couple of orphan children were effectively taking his place at home, thereby making him look bad and getting rewarded for it…..

On this clear day, after the weekend of blizzards, Chelsea wasn’t able to go outside with them. But Mrs. Thurgood was just fine with them borrowing and taking turns with the girl’s toboggan for the day, provided they returned it when they were finished. As such, that meant the boys were traipsing further up the mountain that day for longer sled runs. About an hour into their sledding, Eugene and Arnie had set up for another ride down the hill when they heard a whole bunch of shouting above them on the mountain.

Then they heard what seemed like a slipping-whoosh noise, followed by a deep rumbling.

“It sounds like thunder,” Arnie said, while the boys looked up into a crisp blue sky. Not a storm cloud -- nor any cloud, really -- in sight.

Then they heard some super-loud snapping and cracking sounds as the rumbling grew even louder. Finally, they looked upwards of themselves on the slope and they figured out what it was. A thick 10-ft rolling wall of snow came barreling down the mountain and swept away everything in its path. At the last second, in desperation, they turned the toboggan to face up-slope, and turned it upside down while attempting to shield themselves with it against the coming onslaught.

Poor Eugene and Arnie didn’t stand a chance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~((0))~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait, what?” Cassandra blinked in confusion. “How ever did you and Lance escape the avalanche??”

Again, Eugene nursed his hot cocoa, sipping strategically. “We didn’t,” he answered meaningfully, shrugging off her prying. [Slurrrrp.]

Cass glanced over at Rapunzel; the curly-haired woman threw her hands in the air in exasperation. Rapunzel, who knew that all she had to do was find the correct question, instead asked Eugene, “What happened post-avalanche? Certainly someone dug you out -- you’re sitting here with us now, after all,” the princess reasoned.

“That part I really couldn’t tell you,” Eugene replied. He kissed the back of Rapunzel’s hand. “But let’s see…..I remember cowering under the sled with Lance….and the horrendous thundering noise, the trees snapping like giant matchsticks, being engulfed and tumbling ass-over-teacups in a giant wave of snow.” He wasn’t expecting it, but a chill passed through Eugene as he shuddered at the memory. Briefly, he fell into reverie.

Cassandra wordlessly stood up to take Eugene’s empty mug from him, and surprised everyone by returning it to him with a refill. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

He accepted it from Cassandra gratefully, took a sip….and it helped Eugene far more than he thought it would. “The next thing I knew,” he continued his story, “I woke up in a warm bed with Mrs. Thurgood hovering over me. My left forearm was broken and splinted and I’d been knocked out and unconscious for the previous three days, apparently. The theory was that the toboggan probably smacked me on the arm and maybe side of the head during our tumble. I had a humdinger of a laceration in my scalp that required 20 stitches. Lance’s foot had caught a tree trunk on the way down the mountain and he got laid up too.”

“Whoa,” Rapunzel whispered. “So….do you…..do you have any idea what caused that avalanche?” she inquired timorously.

At that, Eugene’s expression darkened immediately from slightly sullen to downright pissed off. “Oh, we know exactly who caused it and why they did it,” he growled.

Cassandra was still in her rather relentless “poke the bear” mode of curiosity and thus kept egging him on. Though she wasn’t that great with emotions, instinct told her that she was doing the right thing by carefully encouraging Eugene to spill the tea with Rapunzel’s assurances.

“Do tell,” Cass spoke up, “is it anyone I know personally who caused it? If so, whose ass do I need to kick next week when we’re back in Corona?” She punched a fist into her palm.

Eugene’s eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise.

“What?” Cass asked after an awkward pause. “Nobody can mess with you but me,” she simply shrugged, cocking a hip and folding her arms in defiance.

Eugene’s eyes darted downward and he unsuccessfully smothered a grin with a hand that flew up to cover his mouth. He wasn’t accustomed to anyone being actively protective of him except for Rapunzel. Especially not over something that happened to him around 15 years ago…

He sighed, this time without rancor. “Remember Chelsea’s elder brother, Joshua?” Eugene asked as both women nodded. “Turns out he and a few of his best buddies were out to teach Lance and I a lesson for ‘messing with his family’, i.e. actually being responsible, minding Chelsea, and doing odd jobs for Mrs. Thurgood. So ol’ Joshie and his buddies decided that since we’d be flying solo without Chelsea that day, it’d be the perfect opportunity to bury their competition. Literally.”

Rapunzel and Cassandra gaped openly at him, this latest news was what they considered most shocking of all.

“.....what?” Eugene asked quietly, suddenly finding himself massively self-conscious due to their scrutiny. “As a kid on the streets, you get used to unmitigated hate from practically everyone,” he half-shrugged. Cass looked Eugene hard in the eye. On the flip side, Rapunzel’s eyes looked shiny with tears. She beckoned her beloved to switch from his place on the poufy chair and snuggle with her on the poufy loveseat instead.

Otherwise Eugene had just emigrated from the No. 1 Spot to the No. 2 Spot in the place. He was still good…..really, really good, especially with Rapunzel slipping her arm behind his back, somewhere between his shirt and his doublet. Then she leaned right in against him and with both her arms snaked around his waist, Rapunzel smooshed up against him that much closer by hooking her thumbs through the opposite sides of Eugene’s belt loop. Typically, that would be a nookie signal from her...but at this time….as she took turns stroking his arm and hooking her thumb through his belt loop….he could sense that she felt bad for him.

Eugene glanced up again at Cassandra, who by now had raised her booted foot upon an ottoman and was sipping her own hot cocoa, studying him with renewed scrutiny.

And although Eugene usually liked a lot of attention, his goal was to be admired through said attention -- not pitied. If there was even a hint of pity, it made him squirm. His hands subconsciously balled into fists. Rapunzel’s head lifted off his chest and she said, “Your heart sped up. What is it?”

Eugene clamped his jaw tight shut for a few seconds before blurting, “Okay, see this? The way you two are looking at me, right now….” The two girls tried to share a glance without his noticing.

“What way?” asked Rapunzel innocently. “What look?” demanded Cass simultaneously with forced nonchalance.

Eugene groaned and his face fell into his hands. Out of the blue, Cassandra asked, “When was the last time you talked about your past this way?”

“Lessee,” Eugene took his head out of his hands using a finger to tap his lip and pretended to consider. “Uhm, approximately never,” he answered forcefully, his arms folding stoutly in front of himself, as if he were directly challenging her .

“Easy, whoa, Fitzcowboy,” said Cassandra as she cautiously held out her hands in front of herself. “I’m not trying to provoke you. It was an honest question.”

“No wonder this is so hard for you,” Rapunzel said, “if you’ve never told anyone about this stuff before.” She kissed his upper arm and nuzzled into it.

“I...guess I never thought about it before,” Eugene replied softly, his face dropping into his hands. “I just don’t want anybody to pity me. I can’t stand pity.” Cassandra and Rapunzel exchanged a look of incredulity. Cass urged Rapunzel to keep Eugene talking.

Rapunzel reached up and touched Eugene’s cheek. “Is that why you stopped mentioning most of your past? It was after Cass first started mocking you, wasn't it?” Eugene pressed his lips together and stayed silent while further burying his face in his hands; Cassandra swallowed hard, visibly sank ,and looked sideways toward the floor under Rapunzel’s careful gaze.

“I…..I suppose I might have misjudged you, as a person….” glancing back at Rapunzel out of the corner of her eye, the blonde woman egged her on. Cass clenched her jaw and mumbled, “....even more harshly than I originally thought.”

A very stunned Eugene slowly came out from behind his hands to stare at Cassandra. She was studiously trying (and failing) to ignore his own gaze. Again, Rapunzel urged Cass to just….spill the tea already.

“The past few weeks, Fitzherbert, you’ve made it increasingly difficult for me to find reasons to despise you. First, you haul off in the middle of a cursed blizzard to rescue the King and Queen. Second, even though you and the other guys were waiting for Rapunzel’s blessing to go, something tells me that you would’ve found a way to leave anyway, had she refused you. Third….just these past two stories of yours alone let me know you’ve got every reason to loathe snow; yet just weeks ago, you hauled off in a blizzard, were hit by an avalanche, and fell off a mountain, all in one trip. And yet fourth -- here you are with us in the mountains during winter.” Finally, Cassandra paused and said, “I don’t know that I could personally keep subjecting myself to what amounts to my own worst fear at such a level.”

For a few seconds, Eugene studied the dark-haired young woman. The past several minutes, she’d spoken more kindly to him than she had during the prior several months since they’d met combined. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it all. Good thing Rapunzel knew.

“Would you two just call a truce, already??” Rapunzel demanded impatiently, causing both Eugene and Cassandra to grin warmly, and glance away from each other self-consciously in spite of themselves.

“How can we possibly say no to that?” Eugene shrugged. “Search me,” Cass replied, as she walked across the room. She and Eugene shared the secret truce handshake that Rapunzel had taught them at the beginning of their friendship.

“I suppose that means it’s time for story No. 3,” continued Eugene. “This time, we’re back at the orphanage….”

[justgottafinishthischapter]

Retelling Fairytales

Fairytales are among the oldest stories, the tale of Cinderella dating all the way back to the 1st century with the tale of Rhodopis, a Greek slave girl who married the Pharaoh of Egypt. Disney’s entire empire is built around retelling these imaginative stories, and they’ve been told and reworked many times. They have ranged from sugar-coated fantasies to dark horrors. So, what should you keep in mind when adapting a fairytale?

Does the story contain magic? Most fairytales do have magic, but other retellings ground the story in the real world, stripping away the magic to turn the story into a historical fiction, often being told as the “origin” of the fairytale itself. A great example of this being Ever After (1998) starring Drew Berrymore. This retelling of Cinderella replaces the magical Fairygodmother with Leonardo Da Vinci making sure Danielle can get to the ball, and the dress and shoes belonged to her mother as she pursues Prince Henry II of France.

Disney is also an Adaptation If you’re writing a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the only version you’ve ever heard is the Disney version, you’ll be surprised to quickly learn that depending on the version, the antagonist is actually either Beauty’s sisters, or the evil fairy. Rapunzel doesn’t have a magical flower in most versions, and the Snow Queen is barely recognizable, as it doesn’t keep any of the protagonists, barely any of the plot, and turned the primary antagonist into the protagonist’s sister.

How many versions have you read? It’s a good idea to read other versions of a fairytale because it might just inspire you. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay is a science-fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast where this time, Beast is a prisoner of the blind queen Beauty, and the story also has threads of fantasy and royal intrigue that makes the story compelling. Likewise, there are versions of Little Red Riding Hood where she’s a little girl, a hunter, an assassin, a sexy pin-up with an axe, a werewolf, and an anime school girl.

Does the story run on Fairytale Logic or Real Logic? Akin to the first point, but not quite, Fairytale Logic means that true love’s kiss will break any spell, that talking animals are a common sight, and if a girl falls asleep in the woods and nobody’s around to see it, a creep will make a pass at her. Fairytales also offer a lot more wiggle room for suspension of disbelief, and you can get away with more crazy or nonsensical ideas that wouldn’t work in a realistic setting.

If you’re doing a fairytale with royalty, have you done your research? What is the primary export of their kingdom? Where do they fall in the line of succession? Do people usually marry for love or political advantage? What kingdoms are they aligned with? What kingdoms do they have a sordid history with? Can girls inherit the throne? How did the family come into power? In a more historical fiction setting, what period are you setting the story in? If there is magic, does the royal family have magic? If not, how do they keep control when magic-users could easily stage a coup and overthrow them? What about dragons and other monsters? How does the royal family protect themselves and their people from harm? What’s their climate like?

How much do you know about Medieval History? George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is largely inspired by the Wars of the Roses, a succession crisis which launched a civil war following the death of King Edward III in 1377. If you don’t know that England was ruled by Frenchmen for most of the medieval period, that Spain was once governed by Muslims, or that a Frankish king was crowned Roman Emperor on Christmas Day more than 300 years after the Fall of Rome, you probably should do more independant research on the period. It might just inspire you.

What are the laws, rules, and limitations of magic? Magic can make a story difficult to balance, and knowing how yours works is important. There are two schools of magic: soft magic systems and hard magic systems. Most fairytales rely on soft magic that’s barely explained, while hard magic systems have very clearly defined rules as to what magic can and cannot do. In Sleeping Beauty, the three good fairies say that their magic can only do good, which is somewhat hard, but other than that one limitation, the rest of their magic is fairly soft. Elsa meanwhile has rather hard magic. She can only control snow and ice and nothing else, though her magic is pretty flexible too, as she somehow made a dress out of sleet.

What troublesome ideas are present in the original that need to be reexamined by a modern audience? This is seen a lot in feminist retellings of fairytales. Prince Charming as a creepy polygamist that macks on unconscious women, Sleeping Beauty’s.... basic entire library of older versions, most of which involve... trigger situations. The general tendency for fairytale princesses to fall in love at first sight and marry the first guy that gives them any attention. 

How can you reexamine or twist the plot to an interesting new angle? Versions where the magic mirror pits the queen and snow white against each other for its own agenda. Where Rapunzel cuts her own hair and uses it to escape her tower. Where the wolf is after Little Red Riding Hijab. Where the little mermaid more drastically changes species in the pursuit of love. Where Alice’s entire journey into Wonderland is a drug-induced hallucination, or even the slipping of her sanity into a crippling case of schizophrenia. How can you turn the story on its head and make the viewer see it in a new light?

[keeperofhounds]

Lost & Found (Chapter Three)

Special thanks to my beta reader @rachelbethhines and special thanks to Varian 66 on Discord for their part in developing this story.

We all know how the original story started. We all know how it ended too. Let’s see an alternate take if Eugene were to have been adopted rather than being alone for most of his life.

When Flynn agreed to Long-hairs deal he hadn’t been expecting it to be a literal rollercoaster of emotions. She fluctuated from happy, running around the woods to crying and holding herself regretting her actions. The thief had seen guilty consciousness, but Rapunzel’s behavior definitely took the cake. This was a cycle repeating multiple times to the point that Flynn almost worried over her mental state. He didn’t think that he knew anyone with that kind of problem, he couldn’t see what the big deal was the worst that her mother could do was ground her daughter.

This worked in the thief’s favor though if he could convince her to go back to her tower then he could get the crown. Rapunzel was obviously an example of an obedient daughter, she probably had never done anything to go against her mother. If the apparently forbidden road trip wasn’t obvious, the girl's view of the outside world was another hint. Whoever this “mother” was she was clearly controlling and overprotective.

Flynn leaned against a tree with his arms crossed only able to watch as the girl used her hair to swing around the same tree, “Woohoo, best… day….ever!”

Now she was crying by a stack of stones having spent all of her positive energy with her frog close by trying to comfort her.

Not that Flynn could relate growing up he was a free-roaming child. He had friends who he played with and went into all kinds of mischief. Flynn could remember all the trouble they got into before he left home. Not that blondies issues were any of his concerns, in this case, he appreciated any reason to get out of the “deal.”

Seeing his chance Flynn walked over to Rapunzel and cleared his throat, “You know I can’t help but notice that you seem a little at war with yourself here.”

Rapunzel moved her head to look at Flynn. She hadn’t thought that she was so obvious, “What?” Although thinking back how could he not notice with all the times she just stopped running and had a breakdown?

“Now I’m only picking up bits and pieces, of course, overprotective mother, forbidden road trip I mean this is serious stuff, but let me ease your conscious this is part of growing up, a little rebellion, a little adventure that’s good, healthy even.” Flynn smiled, slowly shoving her frog off his shoulder.

The words came out of his mouth easily it wasn’t that hard considering he had experienced in the subject. He was an expert in disappointing parental figures even if he did only have the one. Although even if he was just saying it just to get a crown he knew that the girl really did need to hear something along those lines.

Rapunzel wiped her nose, “You think?” She clearly had doubts about those words but she was desperate to not feel so ashamed of her actions. It wasn’t too much to do right? She just wanted to see the floating lights and then come right back home. No one had to know.

Flynn looked at her. Bingo. “I know, you’re way over thinking this trust me does your mother deserve it? No. Would this break her heart? Crush her soul? Of course. But you just got to do it.”

After hearing those words the Rapunzel felt devastated. She held her long hair like a crutch repeating the very words he had described. Nothing that he stated did she want to happen to her mother. Rapunzel was nothing but a good and attentive daughter to her mother.

Thinking that he had gotten through to her Flynn helped her up to her feet seemingly sadly passing her Pascal and her frying pan before stating that he was letting her off the deal. That he would help her back to her tower and he would get back his satchel and then he would leave.

“We part ways as unlikely friends.”

Realizing what he was doing Rapunzel pushed him away and stated that she was still going to see those lanterns. If she didn’t do it now she felt that she would never get the courage to try again. This was her only chance to see the lights.

“Oh, come on what is it going to take for me to get my satchel back?!” Flynn asked outraged.

Rapunzel pointed her weapon at his throat, “I will use this.”

That is when they heard the sound of rustling bushes from behind, frightened Rapunzel went behind Flynn and clutched at his back pointing at “monster” in the bushes. Flynn rolled his eyes at the action there was no way it was anything dangerous and if it was sadly it would have attacked them by now. As if proving his guess the most innocent type of animal jumped out. A rabbit.

“Stay calm it can probably smell fear.”

Embarrassed Rapunzel quickly got off his back and tried to laugh it off. While she was glad it wasn’t anything dangerous it was still embarrassing when she was freaking out over nothing. “Sorry, I guess I’m just a little bit jumpy.”

That’s when Flynn was hit with an idea. An idea so brilliant that he was almost willing to congratulate himself. Thinking of the girl's nervous and naive freakout over a rabbit gave Flynn an idea. Rapunzel seemed awfully afraid of thugs and ruffians maybe he could bring her to the Snuggly Duckling? Flynn shook his head at that she wanted her scared not traumatized. Maybe as a last resort.

 His eyes darted to the little rabbit all sweet and innocent with its big eyes, fluffy fur, and innocent size. Then his eyes darted to the bush which had caused this freakout, then his eyes turned to Rapunzel who was trying to put up a brave front in front of him. It was too perfect and the best part was he barely had to do anything.

“Fine you know what you’re right let's forget this ever happened but before we go we need to take one pit stop before we go to the capital,” Flynn said in fake enthusiasm.

Rapunzel furrowed her brows in confusion, she raised her weapon, “What do you mean?”

“Well I don’t mean to offend but as you’ve obviously noticed you have a lot of hair and since you’re so worried about people cutting and stealing it,”

“Yeah…” Rapunzel didn’t understand where this was going.

 “Or messing with it?”

“That’s right.”

“Then the best thing to do is get it out of the way, I mean you wouldn’t want ruffians to just grab onto all that hair, or heaven forbid something get caught in it and an accident just happens.”

Rapunzel stayed silent at the words. She had never thought of doing anything to her hair especially anything of the nature that Flynn was describing. Her mother had never done anything of the sort just allowing her daughter's hair to drag around the tower leaving all maintenance to the owner of said hair. She was expected to guard and protect the magic within, but she had to admit that Flynn was making some sense. 

There were times even in the tower when her hair got caught in something usually a piece of furniture. Looking down at her hair she noticed all the leaves, twigs, and flowers stuck in her hair. Slowly grabbing her hair she couldn’t help but think of what had happened earlier that day when she asked her mother to go outside.

Mother grabbing her hair when she was singing her song about the dangers of the outside world. The dark tower had only heightened her at the time but even though she knew it was her mother who grabbed her hair and pulled at it in the dark. She would never voice it but she didn’t like that. She didn’t like how surprised she was when she felt it tugged. She didn’t like how she fell and mother rolled her into her own hair wrapping it around her like a makeshift prison. If she can keep it close then why wouldn’t she want that?

Rapunzel still had doubts and there was probably still plenty of time before her birthday, “Well...it would be nice not for my hair to be dragging around for once?”

Flynn smiled, success. He clapped his hands in celebration over the small victory and turned to her, “Well I know a wizard who lives not far from here, his name is Varian.”

[jcmorrigan]

Still on my Crypt TV kick, and I have to gush for a moment, because Crypt Fables was actually my ultimate favorite series despite being disconnected from the Monster Universe, so I have to just spell out for a minute why it’s so great and needs more attention alongside the Look-See and company

-Mermaid is the ur-example of a tragic monster

-I will hike through those woods myself to carry Mermaid back to safety and the ocean. I am not strong enough to lift her but I am determined

-The ending of The Little Mermaid actually REALLY calls back to the original fairy tale, and it took me a few minutes to even put it together, but it puts Mermaid in the position of choosing between a doomed romance and damnation to her existence, which is how the original ended

-Mermaid’s design. (Though there is no work of fiction that cannot be made better with fish people in my opinion)

-Rapunzel/Luke is relationship goals

-Seriously watching them kiss gave me so many feelings

-When do I get a murder zombie boyfriend that will accompany me in my house arrest and kill the people who wronged me

-(Note: I do not actually wish death upon everyone; it’s all hypothetical if I say I do)

-The way Mira says her own name

-That part where Mira shushes Sandra

-Sandra technically didn’t even do anything wrong. She was vain, but not in a way that would actually do harm to anyone. And I think that actually makes the story better. I have a doctrine that “horror isn’t scary when it happens to bad people” (which, yeah, means Mermaid didn’t really “scare” me because I was just like “you go girl”), so the idea that Sandra could slip up so little and still be “punished” for it really makes the audience rethink how safe they are from their own mirrors - there’s no way to say “Well, I’m not like HER”

-The Pied Piper of Hamelin was already a horror story in and of itself and I’m glad someone just took advantage of that

-Kinderfänger’s design, which has the exact opposite energy from Mermaid’s

-JORDAN IS BABEY. PROTECT HER.

-MAX IS ALSO BABEY.

-The ending of Kinderfänger. Just...yeah.

-The ending of Geppetto and all the implications that come with it

-The way Geppetto makes you think you’re watching one kind of horror story and then it turns out to be a completely different type of horror story

-DR. CHESHIRE MOTHERFUCKING BROACH

-I want to marry him

-Best villain

-Really, he has all the trappings of the suave, deceptive manipulator with a dash of supernatural power that really has long-reaching implications if you think about it (what would happen if he took on someone who felt bullied by their classmates or threatened by a politician, huh?)

-I know this is all headcanon and conjecture but I have so many thoughts about how his true villainy isn’t his “insanity” but rather that his stay in the asylum hurt him so badly that what he’s doing now is vengeance upon the system and making others suffer what he suffered while he lives like a king

-He’s also a lovely blend of the “monster” and “villain” archetypes

-And there’s no way they could one-up Mermaid or Kinderfänger but the design of “evil anthro cat demon” is the exact aesthetic they needed to complete the triad

-Let’s face it: we all want to do something like what his patient did deep down (HYPOTHETICALLY)

-DNI if your response is “stop glorifying serial killers.” I’m a big girl and I know the cat therapy man is fictional and I just feel a good horror story requires a good monster

-Though really, the rest of the series offers a lot of wiggle room for headcanons and analysis as well. The last shot of Mermaid thinking about what she did. When you know she has regrets in more ways than one. And we’re left to fill in the details of her heartbreak.

-I thought Knave was the weakest of the series, as 1. they’d already knocked the Alice imagery out of the park with Cheshire and 2. I wasn’t altogether comfortable with how they played the whole “gay best friend” thing, but I did see comments in that vid from people who thought he was cool and empowering, and I’m sitting here like “I like the mentally ill one because he kinda reminds me of my time spent in a mental ward and I can imagine how that would make some people snap into full villainy!”, so really, it’s all subjective and some people really did like the Knave so I’m not gonna cry Problematic - this exact series also gave us a heroine in the form of a deaf girl who said “fuck you” to a sound-based monster

-Just in general the idea of twisted fairy tales is something that horror has been doing for decades and not always been the greatest at, but the Crypt TV series really felt like fresh new takes on all of these ideas and utilizing the symbolism from each tale to create a whole new bite-sized horror story, and it’s really cool looking over each narrative and picking out the little details from each source story (like when you realize the Pied Piper rhyme ended with one child unable to follow the Piper because they were disabled and then you see Jordan, or the idea that Rapunzel being under house arrest is her version of being locked in a tower away from the world)

Okay, the Crypt Fables gush hour is over; please resume your daily activities

[nightsky-wonderer]

Observations and Coincidences

In praise of Varian’s Star Part 2

Continuing from my first post. Below are a few more observations and interpretations to coincidences that may/may not come to play.  

The interpretation and theory may not be in line with yet-to-be seen canon material as the story continues, but I hope in the end it would serve as additional content for generating AU Ideas.

1.) The Pentagram - star-shaped symbol with greater meaning

The stars we a major source of wonder and inspiration for cultures around the world through time.  Each one even implemented a star with a few or multiple points to it, each with their specific meaning.  There is one symbol in particular I would like to focus on.  You may remember seeing this symbol within the book from the episode “Curses!”

The upper right corner of the right page displays the moon, a 5-pointed star, and a sun.  This star is known as a Pentagram, a symbol associated with perfect union, balance, and protection.  It may not be a literal star in the sky, but it has a history of being associated with magic, philosophy, religion, and alchemy.

In one way, the pentagram served as a bit foreshadowing to what Lord Demanitus was describing in “Lost and Found”, where combining the Sundrop and the Moonstone is the key to having access to what is known as the “Ultimate Power”.

Looking through some research, the Pentagram was used by many cultures throughout history and was interpreted differently.  Its creation was believed to be from ancient Mesopotamia, tracing the orbital pattern of the planet Venus, the “morning and evening star” throughout the night sky.  When implemented by the Pythagoreans in Ancient Greece, it was a viewed as a symbol of mankind, health, and “marriage of heaven and earth”.  Each point was associated with parts of the human body and the elements that were believed to have made them: air, water, earth, fire, and ‘quintessence’ (can be psyche, spirit, or aether).  The belief combined with its mathematical purity makes this also viewed as a symbol of perfection.  The Chinese and taoists interpreted a similar view when implementing with their medicine, with the element, Wood, replacing the spirit.  

The pentagram made its way to be implemented in alchemy, adopting a view similar to the pythagoreans.  As each point was associated with the elements, seasons, five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) and other properties, it can be associated with the makings of the “Alchemical Great Work” that produces a Philosopher’s stone.  

The 5 elements is also used in Wicca Culture’s view of the pentagram.

The symbol was also used to construct a symbol associated with King Solomon, known as Solomon’s pentagram.  Solomon in Jerusalem Culture was known for his great knowledge and wisdom.  It was believed that the pentagram can be perfectly made if used the correct ingredients: Gold and Silver, metals associated with the Sun and the Moon in alchemy.  When placing another symbol, the Seal of Solomon, on the back of the pentagram, this creates a key object of great knowledge, and brings a being closer to cosmic perfection.

From the involvement of the pentagram representing unity and perfection, and its uses in magic and alchemy, this appears to be a star-shaped symbol that can indicate Varian’s involvement and association.

1.1) Zhan Tiri and the Inverse Pentagram

(Based on voice actor confirmation, I will refer to Zhan Tiri as “her”)

Despite the pentagram’s usages for positive purposes, the symbol over time eventually became implemented into a much darker image.  If we were to invert the star, we will have a symbol normally associated with black magic and Satonists.  Sometimes the representation involves a goat’s head within the star.  The normal pentagram has its tip pointing to heaven, while the inverse symbol is pointed to the ground towards hell.  The symbol, therefore, can be seen as both good and bad.

You may recall a post made by @david-yells-about-cartoons​ that talks about the star representing the 5 elements mentioned above and Zhan Tiri.  They identified something physically similar between warlock and her disciples and the symbol.  Zhan Tiri’s torso was shaped like a pentagon, reflecting the center of the pentagram, while the body of her disciple, Sugracha, was more triangular shaped in proportion (most notably her head and hair).  In addition, their theory revisited post notes Tromus (aka Matthews) displaying triangular body portions, and the potential associations with the five elements.  Sugracha was closely related to earth, as her plan was “rigid”, requiring absolute perfection in the paintings in order to be successful.  Tromus’s House Of Yesterday’s Tomorrow was in a shell-shaped house, he had many back-up plans that were in-store and flexible, it happened to be a rainy night when he meets the Rapunzel and friends, and had a plan involving a mirror (reflectivity being a characteristic of water).  

The theory continues with the possibility of her arch enemy, Lord Demanitus being a former disciple, given the triangle-shaped eye patch, representing the element of air.  However, this was later debunked from the airing of “Lost and Found”, revealing a silhouette figure shaped similarly to Mother Gothel.  Looking at Gothel, her triangle can be found in her hair.  

Whether or not there is more to Zhan Tiri and Demanitus’s story is yet to be seen, and if there are two more additional beings/objects connected to her that may be associated with other elements

Other than trees, which Zhan Tiri is heavily associated with, it can be seen as a possibility that the warlock’s magic is connected to nature itself.  In “Queen for a Day,” she was portrayed drawing energy from a mountain to cast her snowstorm spell in Xavier’s legend.  

With Varian’s involvement with alchemy, which in this universe is like combining magic and science, his battle alongside Rapunzel against Zhan Tiri could parallel the warlock’s previous conflict with Lord Demanitus.  The dynamic appears to exist: Adira’s tale in “Rapunzel and the Great Tree” portray Zhan Tiri in the traditional Disney Villian Green, and Demanitus with its complementary (opposite) colour: Red.  @animemoonprincess​ has identified an association of red and pinkish red with Varian throughout the series, being more prominent in season 3.

For the sense of the pentagram observations: Varian could represent the upright Pentagram, and Zhan Tiri, the inverse pentagram.  Might also serve as a small detail for the growing Mom!Tiri theory.

2.) The Star as a guide and navigator

Other than useful symbols, stars were used as nightly tools to help people navigate their way through the night.  The pole star for example was always in the North direction.  In religion, The Star of Bethlehem helped the Wise Men and Shepherds meet the new born Jesus Christ.

As far as symbolism goes, the stars can be seen as destiny signs that allowed people to achieve their dreams, goals, and sometimes find their way. 

Now leads to a puzzle: Varian didn’t literally instruct Rapunzel to touch the black rocks and send her on her journey outside Corona...or...

Rapunzel’s final nightmare in “The Alchemist Returns” portrays Varian appearing behind her with a cryptic message: “Face your destiny, or all you hold in your heart will be in grave danger.”

Flash forward to the Varian conflict, She recalls that moment from her nightmare, which prompted her to finally touch the rocks, defeat the real Varian, and create the path that led her to the dark kingdom.

it is interesting to note that in some dream interpretations, that seeing dull or red stars foreshadows trouble up ahead, or be prepared for sorrows, possibly alluding to the events of “Secret of the Sundrop”.  Rapunzel appears in vibrant colour, while Varian was dull along with his surroundings.

Beyond “Be Very Afraid”, with Varian translating the Graphtic Scroll, Rapunzel and her friends will need his instruction and guidance to finally unify the Sundrop and Moonstone.

3.) “to "Touch a Star" is a metaphor which means that we have realized our Dream, Achieved our ambition, and safely and successfully arrived at the end of our latest adventure.” - Joseph Panek (2009)

There were some portions of this interpretation that appeared poetic, mostly in regards to the ending of “Rapunzel’s Return”.  To break it down to parts in the context of the ending of season 1 and throughout season 2:

Dream (in terms of S1-S2): Experience the world beyond the Corona Walls

Ambition (or Goal): Follow the Black Rocks and realize her destiny (though arguably failed due to Cassandra’s Betrayal)

Dream!Varian tells her to “face her destiny”, leading to events of SOTSD and Rapunzel’s adventure in Season 2.  She returns home to find it overtaken by Saporians.  She then reconciles with Varian, and together, reclaims her kingdom.  Her final task involves her using the Reverse Incantation to finally free Quirin, which she also succeeds.  She embraces Varian, and he gets a happy ending with his Dad.  From there, Rapunzel finally settles in Corona to begin filling in the role of ruler for her amnesic parents.  Her embrace with Varian marks the ‘end’ of her adventure beyond the Corona Walls.

For thought: Something similar but different could play again when Varian is needed again to unify the Sundrop and Moonstone, defeat Zhan Tiri, and ending the adventure of the series.

*4.) Fun: Real-life shooting star coincidences 

From modern science, shooting stars appear in many colours due to their chemical composition.  Varian’s exposure to Green and Pink/red/pinkish light and objects appears similar to spectrum live photos of the famous Perseids meteors.  Starting from pink, then to green towards the tail. The meteors portrayed in the show seem to appear pinkish.

*fun coincidence

Sources:

https://www.originalbotanica.com/blog/pentagram-pentacle-meaning-origin/

http://www.lakeharrietlodge.org/lhl277/MainMenu/Home/MasonicEducation/TheSymbolismofthePentagram/tabid/413/Default.aspx

http://symboldictionary.net/?p=1893

http://www.omega-magick.com/2012/01/pentragam-of-solomon.html

http://www.alchemygothic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161:pentagram-reference&catid=48:alchemy-encyclopedia

https://dreamastromeanings.com/spiritual-meaning-of-stars/

http://dreamingfordreams.com/meaning/watching-the-stars/

https://www.whats-your-sign.com/ancient-alchemy-symbols.html

http://opsopaus.com/OM/BA/PP/index.html

http://www.aseekersthoughts.com/2009/05/star-as-symbol.html

Extra:

https://blog.world-mysteries.com/ancient-writings/alchemy-ancient-writings/four-elements-alchemy/

https://sciencestruck.com/list-of-alchemy-symbols-their-meanings

https://thehouseoftwigs.com/2018/09/25/applying-alchemical-symbolism-to-magical-practice/

https://exemplore.com/dreams/Dream-Interpretation-Symbolic-Star-Meaning-1

http://www.aseekersthoughts.com/2009/11/shooting-star-symbol-and-myth.html

[mainstreettalk]

My Top 5 Disneyland Attractions

Disneyland is home to many fun attractions and rides for guests of all walks of life. When you go to Disneyland, one of the hardest decisions to make during your trip is choosing which attractions to visit first and which attractions you’ll have to skip on. So, here are the attractions that I personally deem are the top 5 attractions that every guest should experience at least once during their trip.

5. Mickey and the Magical Map

Image by D23

It’s important to note that though many guests go to Disneyland to enjoy the rides and food, the live shows really should not be skipped out on. Mickey and the Magical Map is a musical live theatre show located at Fantasyland Theatre near the back of Disneyland park. This show features the titular icon of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey Mouse, but also incorporates some of Disney’s most popular characters, including Rapunzel, Mulan, Stitch, and many others. I could go on and on about how much I love this show, but there are a few distinct characteristics that make this one stand out above the rest. The fact that so many of Disney’s most recognized ballads and anthems are performed by live actors and singers really makes you feel like you’re immersed in Disney canon. The dancers have incredibly creative routines and perform them flawlessly. The show uses a visually stunning blend of live characters and set pieces as well as a digital background that’s really able to capture the magic that Walt Disney had originally intended for all guests of his park to experience. This show runs only about 20 minutes long and it’s a great place to just sit down, relax, and keep yourself entertained. Personally, I think this is the best live show at the park, even topping the live Frozen show at the Hyperion Theater in DCA. Mickey and the Magical Map is definitely worth your short amount of time to go visit and watch and it will really help round out your whole Disney experience.

4. Storybook Land Canal Boats

Image by Disney

The next attraction on this list is one of the original 13 attractions that debuted on July 17, 1955 when Walt Disney first opened the gates to Disneyland park. The Storybook Land Canal Boats take the guests through a calm, narrated boat ride on a river that winds through various detailed dioramas of iconic buildings, scenes, and sets from Disney films. Some of my personal favorites are Pinnochio’s village, the sultan’s palace from Aladdin, and a London-set park from Peter Pan. Though the ride starts with the boats entering Monstro the whale’s mouth, it’s all smooth sailing from then on. It’s sad to see that many of the original 13 rides that Walt himself had a hand in creating- including these canal boats- have lost their popularity to the newer, flashier rides at the park. However, this is a ride that guests shouldn’t sweep under the rug just because it isn’t thrilling; the lines are usually short and move fast and the ride itself is a substantial length, so there’s no worries about you or your children getting antsy waiting in line. This attraction is especially a must-ride for couples- there is a beautiful fairy-light adorned overhang that the boats pass through that is notably stunning when it gets darker outside, and the overall ambiance of the ride itself is very romantic. The Storybook Land Canal Boats is honestly my favorite ride when I just want to sit, rest my feet, and enjoy that nostalgic old-timey Disney feeling you get when you ride classics like these.

3. The Haunted Mansion

Image by Disney

Now we’re finally getting to the E-Ticket attractions. The Haunted Mansion is a celebrated fan favorite attraction at Disneyland, and this is reflected by its often extensive wait times. The thing that makes this attraction- and the next 2 picks- so fun to ride is the level of in-depth immersiveness that the theming of the ride gives to the guests. The exterior facade of this ride is quite possibly the best themed facade in the entire park. It just fits perfectly in the land that it’s in (New Orleans Square) and the antebellum-style of the mansion accurately emulates the large manors of the old South. When guests are taken in, they are immediately thrown into the story of the Mansion before the ride even begins. The guests are placed into what is known as the “stretch room,” where the walls of the room, by an optical illusion (I’ll talk about this in a future post), look to stretch up vertically to show the morbid demises of the portraits hung up on the walls. While this is happening, the prologue of the story is presented by the Ghost Host, who reveals that he himself is the spirit of a corpse that is hanging from the ceiling of the room. It should be noted that the Ghost Host’s voice is done by Paul Frees, a voice actor that is legendary for lending his voice to other Disney attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, and Adventure Thru Inner Space. After the stretch room, guests are ushered down the hallway that has portraits hung up on the walls that look to be changing or following them. The ride itself includes some of the best of Disney Imagineering, and each scene makes great use of Disney’s animatronics system as well as hybrid-projections. One of the most famous Disneyland characters, the Hat Box Ghost, is from this ride. The Haunted Mansion is a prime example of how perfect theming, memorable characters, and an invigorating story can truly immerse the guests in the fantasy world that it has created. This attraction would be higher up on this list if not for the fact the next two rides are not just my favorite attractions at Disneyland, but are likely my two favorite rides ever.

2. Splash Mountain

Image by Disney

Ever since it debuted in 1989, Splash Mountain has been one of the most popular E-Ticket attractions at the park. Splash Mountain takes the guests on a log-flume ride through “The Laughing Place” and the woods where the Br‘er animals live. The story is based off of the controversial live action Disney film Song of the South (again, I’ll go over the controversy in a future article), and the charming woodland creatures are some of the most entertaining animatronics at the park. The joke, they dance, they sing, and the light-hearted tone of the characters really balances with the scarier, darker part of the ride (The Laughing Place), as well as the large drop down the waterfall. Speaking of the drop, I believe this drop is the biggest drop at Disneyland (not counting DCA) at a height of 52.5 feet, a 45-47 degree angle, and up to 40 miles per hour. Personally, Splash Mountain is far and away my favorite “mountain” at the park, beating out Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and the Matterhorn. This is objectively the most physically thrilling attraction at Disneyland. Funny personal story about the Splash Mountain ride- I hadn’t ridden this attraction until about a year or two ago since, before that, I was too young/scared to get in line. However, I unknowingly already cherished a part of the ride from a young age- the “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” scene during the Disneyland Railroad was my favorite scene during the train ride and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually a scene from Splash Mountain. Disclaimer- this ride will get you wet. I tend to enjoy this attraction the most in the middle of a particularly hot day, and I try to avoid it at night or on colder mornings.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean

Image by Disney

For my number one, absolute top favorite pick of the attractions at Disneyland, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was a no-brainer for me. Pirates of the Caribbean is often the first ride I’ll run to as soon as I enter the park, and the last one I’ll visit before I leave. There are not enough words to say all the good things that I want to say about this attraction. Aside from being an iconic, classic attraction at Disneyland, PotC features some of the most impressive and quality animatronics to ever come out of Disney Imagineers. It has one of the largest collections of advanced animatronics at any given theme park and has beautifully designed set pieces. The guests are taken on a boat ride through a Louisiana bayou, passing by an old man on his banjo, before being dropped down a waterfall and transported back in time to an era where pirates openly ruled the high seas. The attention to detail in every single scene of this attraction is what truly makes it, in my opinion, the most immersive ride at Disneyland. The guest is truly made to feel as if they are experiencing the battles of the pirates on Isla Tesoro. From the moment you step foot onto the cobblestone pathways of the queue, you instantly feel the connection to the adventure that you’re about to embark on with the characters. The song “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)” plays every now and then during the attraction and, like “It’s a Small World,” it’s a catchy tune that guests will find themselves whistling as they spend the rest of their day at the park. Another thing to note about this attraction is the immediate wave of smell the guests notice when they walk into the building. The famously dubbed “pirate water” scent is one that was so popular that it is one of the things that guests remember about the ride, if nothing else. It truly makes the guest feel as if they are sailing the seas with the crew (although technically, the smell of the pirate water is actually the cleansing chemical Disney puts in their water attractions called bromine). A great thing about the PotC ride is that the ride vehicles are constantly moving and seat approximately 20 guests (5 rows of 4) and sends through about 3,400 guests per hour. This means that the line is consistently moving so you and your young ones will never get too antsy. Though it seems as if I’ve exhausted this attraction of all it could offer, there’s actually one more notable feature about this attraction that makes it stand out from the rest- built right into the attraction is the Blue Bayou restaurant, which is one of the best dining options at the park (and very expensive at that). Though this isn’t a necessity by any means, it is just another unique characteristic of this attraction that makes me love it so much. Though I’m always sad when my day ends at the park, I’m comforted by the fact that I can end the day right by riding Pirates one more time and then, if it’s early enough, grab a snack from the Mint Julep Bar right beside it.

So there you go guys, my top 5 Disneyland attractions of all time. Let me know if you agree, disagree, or if you just want to talk about anything Disney parks related with me!

*Revised 2 Oct 2019

[ashleyfanfic]

The bullshit about a Disney ending

So, I’ve been seeing underpins complaints about if this had happened it would have been a Disney ending. Well, let me point out by saying that EVERYONE ONE OF THOSE HAPPILY EVERY AFTERS WERE EARNED!! Now, let’s just take the princesses for example:

SNOW WHITE: hates by the evil queen who told a hunter to take her out into the woods, kill her, and bring her back her heart. Instead, he sends her away because he couldn’t do it. She is forced to live with men she doesn’t know and clean up after them. When the evil queen realizes she’s still alive, she hatches an evil plan to kill Snow White herself and she dies! SHE DIES! Yes she is resurrected, but she still fucking died by the woman who was raising her.

CINDERELLA: she lost her mother and father. Then was put to work as a servant taking care of her ungrateful and bratty stepsisters and cruel stepmother. Every eligible maiden is invited to attend the party and she’s told she can go but her stepmother has no intention of that happening. Once she is ready her step sisters rip her dress apart. When her stepmother realizes the girl at the ball was Cinderella, she locks her in her tower hoping to keep her away from happiness.

AURORA (SLEEPING BEAUTY): this little innocent baby who had done nothing was cursed to die by her sixteenth birthday because a witch didn’t get an invitation to a party. She lived in exile away from her family. She finally finds love only to be told her whole life is a lie and she’s actually a princess and can never see the boy again. Her prince is kidnapped to keep them apart where she tortured him with the notion that he will be allowed to go get her when he’s old and feeble and unable to help her.

ARIEL: Curious about the world above her, she’s kept away from it. She’s not given a voice to argue against being held back. Her father finds out and her grotto and destroys everything even the statue of Eric. She’s tricked by the sea witch who undermines her opportunities to woo the guy she’s in love with. She watches as he almost marries the witch in disguise and her father gives up his crown to save her life.

JASMINE: born and raise a princess essentially in captivity. Wants to buck the traditions of the crown as she feels stifled and like a cow on an auction block. Meets cute guy in the market who helps her out of a jam only for guy to be taken away and she’s later told he was killed. Royal advisor’s scheming makes the sultan declare that she has to marry Jafar. He sends Aladdin away, and uses the powers of the genie. It looks like his intention is to use Jasmine as a sex slave.

BELLE: considered odd and peculiar by most people in town. Ostracized because of it. The only one who wants to be with her has the emotional range of a hair brush and no ability to handle rejection. Her father gets kidnapped and she traded places with him to live in a castle with a beast that she does t like or trust. Falls in love with him despite the difference in species, and has him die in her arms as he tells her he loves her.

POCAHONTAS: (I know this one is controversial since the glossed over the story of the real girl, but we’re going with Disney movies and I don’t have time to list all the problems) is being urged to marry a man she doesn’t love while her people under go a new threat. Meets John Smith and has to show him that what he thinks he knows is not real. The other guy gets shot and killed and she feels responsible. John Smith is taken prisoner and they’re preparing for his execution, and instead puts her neck on the line and then watches the man she loves take a bullet want for her father. She had to watch him leave.

MULAN: raised in a society that doesn’t understand or encourage her free spirit. Joins the army to save her father. Is terrible at it and makes enemies fast. They get into a battle in which she gets injured saving the captains life and so he spares hers, but she was going to be sent home without honor for her family. (MULAN is too smart for the bad guys and manages to get the thanks from the emperor himself)

RAPUNZEL: Kidnapped from her home as a child and held by a psychologically abusive “mother” and forbidden to ever leave the tower. She escapes the tower with the help of a thief and they manage to get out of some sticky situations while they get closer. She believes he betrayed her because of her mother and she’s not truly being held against her will with chains and gag. Watched her mother stab the man she loved, watched the only mother she ever knew die, and then have that same man die in her arms.

TIANA: doesn’t grow up wealthy but her mother is the seamstress for a wealthy family. She only wants to buy a restaurant but finds out the guys are going to sell it out from under her. Kisses a frog to help him out and gets turned into a frog in the process. Watches one of her dear animal friends die trying to protect her. Believes she will remain a frog for the rest of her life.

MERIDA: is being forced to be something she isn’t. Her mother wants her to be a sophisticated lady, but she wants to be more than that. She accidentally curses her mother who turns into a bear, her mother bear nearly dies fighting another bear and she’s forced to realize her mother only wanted what was best for her.

ANNA: remembers having fun times with her sister but no longer does and spends her life in mostly isolation. She doesn’t understand why and no one tells her. She falls for the first guy she sees and doesn’t get worried when it is all moving really fast. Is shocked her sister was hiding all of this from her. Confronts her sister to try to make her change it back, singing about how they can do it together only to get hurt. She’s falling for the reigndeer guy but also needs to make it back to the castle where she is betrayed by the original guy she loved. Is frozen solid due to the curse she was hit with by her sister.

ELSA: grew up having to be isolated from everyone due to fear of her powers. Loses her parents. Is forced to run away when she sets off an eternal winter. Finally becomes ok with who she is only for her to realize the damage she’s caused and hurts her sister. Is taken prisoner and told she killed her sister and then watches her sister freeze solid in front of her.

MOANA: feels a call to the ocean she can’t explain. Her father tells her to be happy in the life she has and she tries. She leaves home after losing the only person who encouraged her wild spirit. Has to fight a demigod, and then another demigod to get items to help them end the devasatation that is being caused to her island. Realizes what it is and sets out to make it right, even if she has to do it alone.

So when you look out over these woman, each one SUFFERED to some degree to earn those happily ever moments. Not all of them ended with a prince. But they all earned them. So what I’m saying by this is that when people say to give a Disney ending to game of thrones would have been bad I say “do you even know the actual stories?” Of course there’s also Bambi, Dumbo, the Rescuers, UP, Toy Story series...Disney is not the evil here. The evil is believing that to do something other than this was the only way to go because the show is so bleak.

But fuck that.

These ladies earned their happily ever after just like Daenerys did before she was being gaslighted by Bran. I have a headcanon I’m trying to write into a fic about that. Don’t worry.

[rosecorcoranwrites]

MacGuffins Matter

If you know what a MacGuffin is, you're probably thinking that they actually don't matter in the slightest and that I'm full of nonsense. If you don't know what a MacGuffin is, here's a definition from Merriam-Webster: an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance. The most famous example is the Maltese Falcon, in the film of the same name. It sets the plot in motion, in that every character wants the statue for himself, but lacks intrinsic value in that "the Maltese Falcon" could be swapped out for the treasure of your choice: the Abyssinian Monkey, the Peruvian Chinchilla, the MacGuffian Beast.

Technically, a MacGuffin only lacks intrinsic value in the meta sense, as the characters themselves obviously want the object for some reason. The Harry Potter books, I think, are perfect examples of well-done MacGuffins (except the last book, but more on that later). The Philosopher's Stone in the first book is a powerful magic item that grants perpetual life, so it makes sense for it to be under lock and key, and for Voldemort to want it. In the meta-narrative, it's just an object that provides a mystery for Harry & Co. to investigate. Rowling does something similar with the horcruxes, which are vitally important to stopping Voldemort, ie, are a convenient way to provide a challenging search for our heroes in the final book.

And yet, many authors don't treat MacGuffins like they matter. Because I overanalyze every bit of media I consume, I've noticed two trends of late wherein MacGuffins are misused, and I'm here to tell you all why this is a problem.

The first trend is when the writers forget why the MacGuffin matters to the characters. This occurs when a plot revolving around a MacGuffin stops dead in its tracks, sometimes for chapters or episodes on end, for no discernible reason. Now, I can give some leeway to dawdling around in comedies, since their purpose is to provide laughs rather than tension. In Slayers Next, for example, the characters are looking for the Claire Bible, a MacGuffin of untold power, but spend 90% of the plot derping around getting into ridiculous situations. To be fair, most of these situations are, in fact, because they are looking for the Claire Bible but keep getting false leads. The only arc where they actually stay in one place for multiple episodes is when they learn that the father of one of the characters has been assassinated and have to investigate. Notice, something intrinsically important—solving the murder of an important character—briefly takes precedence over finding the non-intrinsically important plot device. This diversion works, first, because the diversion is deeply personal and, second, because finding the MacGuffin is not time sensitive, as far as the characters know.

On the other hand, you have Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where the characters camp in the woods for-seemingly-ever. This isn't a comedy, and what's more, lives are at stake. Every minute that Voldemort isn't killed is a chance for him and the Death Eaters to murder muggles and muggleborns. Yet, we the audience are treated to five million chapters (perhaps I exaggerate) of the characters sitting around wondering what to do next. What's even more frustrating is that the non-camping-in-the-woods parts of that book are so interesting: infiltrating the Ministry of Magic, escaping Malfoy Manor, breaking into Gringotts, returning to Hogwarts. I will be the first to say that a story needs downtime as well as action, but the chapters in the woods felt not like downtime, but wasted time: we learned that Ron has feelings of inadequacy, as well as a strong loyalty to his family, which we already knew; we learn that Harry is willing to brave freezing water to get important stuff, which we already knew; we learn, retroactively, that Snape's patronus is a doe because he loved Lily, which... Wait, why would he associate her with the female version of the animal her husband turns into? As usual, I digress...

Anyway, these chapters make the plot stop dead, making us wonder why the characters aren't doing more to find the horcruxes. They know some of the horcruxes are associated with the Hogwarts founders, so why not seek out a historian? They know they need some serious power to destroy them, so why not seek out a powerful wizard? Why not do something? You could easily argue that they were trying, but I'm not blaming the characters, I'm blaming the writer. She gave us these MacGuffins, but rather than use them to drive the plot, she lets the plot slowly, agonizingly crawl forward due to happenstance. The characters happen to overhear that the sword in Lestrange's vault was a fake, and then they happen to have the real one delivered right to them. Harry happens to be correct in his unsubstatiated theory that Helga Hufflepuff's cup might actually be in the vault, and then they happen to fly to Hogwarts where it just so happens that a ghost knows where the diadem is. Although they do take action once they know where a Horcrux is, they do nothing to actually try and find out where they are. Voldemort showing up at he end with Nagini in tow, by this point, is a convenience rather than a threat, because they don't have to bother finding him!

A more recent example is in Tangled: The Series, season two. The characters have a MacGuffin: nigh-unbreakable black rocks that are spreading across the land and that have a magical connection to the flower that saved Rapunzel's mom during childbirth. The characters are questing to find out what, exactly, these black rocks are all about. Much like Slayers, the series is rather lighthearted and episodic, so it's okay for them to take random side adventures here and there, since they are traveling and thus encountering various people and creatures. What is not okay is for them to get shipwrecked and stranded on a island for three episodes! The writers chose to do this, chose to have the characters stay in one spot rather than journey toward their goal. Like the horcruxes in Harry Potter, the black rocks are somewhat time sensitive, as they've eaten up swaths of land that people need for farming and living and whatnot. There is also a certain side character who shall remain nameless (no spoilers; watch the series!) who very much needs them to figure out how to undo the damage the rocks have done, ASAP. Dropping the main characters on the island makes it seem as if the writers forgot that all those people affected by the rocks exist. Yes, technically the MacGuffin doesn't have intrinsic value—they could be purple rocks or black thorns or whatever—but whatever they are, they do have value to the characters in that there is a pressing mystery to be solved.

And that is why dawdling in a MacGuffin-based story is so frustrating. The MacGuffin spurs the plot; forgetting about the MacGuffin stalls the plot. Worse, it erases the value the characters put on the MacGuffin, which undercuts the realism of the story and, at times, can make the characters seem not fully invested in whatever their mission is. The only thing that should divert the characters from this mission is something even more urgent that, in the best case scenario, in some way will end up relating to or enhancing the plot.

Worse than stalling, however, is adding more MacGuffins before the first ones are dealt with. Again, we can look at Deathly Hallows. In each of the first six books of the series, a MacGuffin of one sort or another is introduced and then found by the end of the book. Book six, along with establishing and then revealing the identity of the Half-Blood Prince, also introduces the concept of horcruxes. Ah, thinks the audience, so these will be the five MacGuffins that Harry is looking for in the last book (as two of the seven have already been destroyed). But alas! In the final volume, we are introduced to three extra MacGuffins: the Deathly Hallows, in the form of Harry's invisibility cloak, the stone in Marvolo's ring, and the most MacGuffiny of all, the Elder Wand. Despite the fact that the horcruxes are a rather pressing matter, much story time is spent discussing the Deathly Hallows, their origin, Dumbledore's and Grindlewald's connection to them, the fact that the ring shows you wraiths that entice you to throw your life away, how Voldemort wants the Elder Wand but Harry's actually the master of it, and other things which completely divert from the actual plot of the book.

I'll come right out and say it: nothing about the Deathly Hallows actually adds to the story. In fact, I argue that they detracts from the message of the series as a whole. Is love the ultimate weapon against evil? Nope, you just need to become master of the Elder Wand! Is a focus on blood lineage a bunch of hokum? Not at all, because Harry and Voldemort are secretly related to the three brothers! But I digress once again.

The main reason Rowling should not have introduced these three MacGuffins was that she already had five, which get left by the wayside due to so much focus on the Hallows. Let me rephrase that: the reason she should not have introduced this new plot line was she already had a complicated plot line that gets diverted by this new addition. Chapters that could be used by our heroes to look for horcruxes are spent focusing on who is currently in charge of the Elder Wand. It's like the author is saying, "Yeah, I introduced a prophecy regarding Harry, and the idea that love is more powerful than magic, and that you have to slowly destroy Voldemort one piece at a time, but all that is boring. Here's a one-hit-one-kill-wonder weapon. Wouldn't you rather read about that?" Maybe I would, if that was what was introduced as the means of ending Voldemort. But it wasn't. Horcruxes were. Focus, Rowling, focus!

Lest you think I'm only picking on Harry Potter (I really do like the series, I promise!), lets take a look at another story with far too many MacGuffins: RWBY. The first several seasons of the show were pretty low-key fantasy school type plots, with magical fighting thrown in. We were introduced to our first set of MacGuffins in season three, in the form of the four maidens: Spring, Winter, Summer, and Fall. At the end of the season, the spirit of the Fall Maiden was transferred to a new host, leaving us to assume that in subsequent seasons we might be introduced to the other three maidens, who the good guys and the bad guys want for... reasons? It's a little vague, but still intriguing. We meet one of the other maidens in season five and it looks like we might be on our way to—Oh, just kidding; she leaves the show and our heroes and villains have a new MacGuffin that they want: four relics that are housed under the four schools. So they coincide with the maidens? No? O-okay, well, I guess in the next seasons, they'll be looking for the maidens and the relics, and—Nope! Gods! There are two Manichean gods who destroyed the world and will destroy it again if the relics are brought together and humanity is still fighting, so that's why the good guys are gathering them... during a war? What? Wait, where are the maidens? Where is the plot? What's happening? A lot of viewers jumped ship at this point, and although I'm going to stick with the show (I have a high nonsense threshold), I don't blame them. It's gone off the rails. We don't know what the characters want, other than the relics, but we don't really know why they want them, since, as long as the relics aren't brought together, everything is hunky dory. Truly, truly, I do not know what the writers were thinking introducing so many plot lines. The Maiden MacGuffins were driving the plot, but by introducing the Relic MacGuffins, it necessarily diverts the plot elsewhere.

One final clarification: I'm not saying that a story can't have multiple plot lines. I love stories where each character wants something different, and thus leads the narrative in different directions. What I'm against is letting any of those storylines die on the vine, which is what happens when MacGuffins are forgotten and characters either sit around not going after them or run off after new ones. This makes the audience assume that the MacGuffin isn't important to the characters, that it has no intrinsic or narrative value, and that it doesn't matter. What writers need to ask themselves is, if it's that unimportant to characters and doesn't drive the plot, why include it to begin with?

[nagichi-boop]

KH3 Review / Opinions

So some people wanted me to post my thoughts on KH3 and I'm super bored rn so I'm gonna try to do it.

Please keep in mind that this will have spoilers in it, so if you don't want that, don't keep reading this. Without further ado, here are my thoughts:

Pros:

The game included a lot of fun new mechanics, which made attack choices more varied. Some of these were awesome in my opinion - such as Anti Form, the different Keyblade forms and having more new team members in different worlds - and others were...not so great, but I'll get into that.

For the most part, the worlds were very fun to explore. Olympus, while not my favourite world, certainly did have one of the biggest areas to explore. This sometimes meant that I got lost, but it was nice to be able to roam freely without having to wait for sections of the map to load whenever I went into another area. The Kingdom of Corona was such a pretty place to explore and being alongside Rapunzel and Eugene was so fun.

The background music in this game was amazing. I don't tend to pay attention to background music and such, but I noticed that the music fit each area very well. For example, Toy Box had an instrumental version of "You've Got a Friend in Me", which was very fitting and Arendelle had a very upbeat and enchanting song, though hearing it over and over on things like the Kingdom Hearts trailers and adverts did kind of exhaust it for me.

The cutscenes. Oh boy, were there a lot of cutscenes. My dad even came in at one point and asked me why there was more cutscenes than gameplay, and I suppose some people may have found it annoying to beat one round of enemies and then have a 5 minute cutscene, but for someone like me who isn't necessarily the best at games and is more interested in the story, I quite enjoyed it. Plus, unlike other games, I didn't think any of the cutscenes were lazily animated. Each character had unique movements in each scene and it was very charming to see the characters interact with one another.

Being able to play as different characters was nice, even though it was only Aqua and Riku. I heard that they did have other characters sorted with move sets and stuff, so I'm low-key hoping that as a DLC, you'll be able to go back to the worlds and play as different characters. Like imagine Ventus visiting Corona and maybe having a small cutscene of him and Rapunzel being all soft and stuff, hhh.

Some of the characters were treated to some nice development this game. Sora still had his cheerful tone and determination to help his friends, but he was also given a few other traits that I liked. I loved how sarcastic he was at points such as in Arendelle when he falls down the mountain after X amount of falls, which perfectly reflected how I felt at that point in the world. He also showed that his reliance on friends cut into his own self worth a little, and so being alone trying to save everyone must have been confusing to him and certainly very difficult to find the resolve to keep fighting. Another character I thought was treated well was Roxas. I don't know what it was but he really stood out to me. He came at just the right moment to save his friends and had an assertiveness towards Xemnas that was much appreciated. He also ran towards Xion when she started crying, which was very cute. Ienzo was also really cute, my goodness. I didn't care about him when he was an Organisation member but he was such a sweetie in KH3.

The animation in major cutscenes was also gorgeous. The ending cutscene has such pretty animation and lighting, I loved it.

Although it's only a minor detail, I thought having NPCs talk their lines instead of having to read them yourself was a nice subtle touch that was much appreciated.

That Donald upgrade tho. He had a much more proactive role in this game which was awesome. I also felt like his and Sora's interactions and having them insulting each other were a very nice addition.

I don't know if I got lucky or if I'm secretly okay at video games, but I didn't find any bosses to be so difficult that I was stuck on them for hours. I think the most I died was the final fight, where I died 2 or 3 times? But even then, it didn't take me very long to defeat Xehanort and generally throughout the game, even bosses I thought I'd die to didn't kill me, or if they did, it wasn't more than once. Unlike in KH1 where I spent an hour the Wonderland candle thing and in KH2 where I spent two hours on the Demyx boss.

XION'S, LEA'S AND ISA'S OUTFITS AT THE END, OH MY DAYS!!

Don't hurt me but I ship Sora and Kairi and so having them be shown more as lovers than friends was just the fangirl fuel I needed.

Favourite world in Kingdom Hearts 3: probably the Kingdom of Corona for me. I love Tangled and being able to play through that world was amazing. The small interactions between Sora and Rapunzel were also super sweet and pure. I also liked San Fransokyo because it had an original story and I love that movie, too.

Cons:

As much as I loved most of the worlds, there were a few issues with some of them, one of which being some of the stories. Worlds like Arendelle really annoyed me as it didn't really feel like you were part of the story. You just went up and down the mountain observing Elsa. You also didn't get an ally until right at the end of the world's story which was a bit annoying. Arendelle wasn't the only one though. The Kingdom of Corona also felt like you were just a spectator to the story, though to me it didn't feel as intense because only certain cutscenes felt this way (such as the boat scene and the scene where Eugene "dies"). I wish each world had a unique story instead of focusing on the events of their respective movies.

Another issue with the worlds was the exploration. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy exploring, but some weren't as fun as others. I hated the boat mechanic of the Carribbean world and when looking for lucky emblems, I found myself trying to escape fights because I didn't want to go through with them. I didn't hate Monstropolis like a lot of people, but I do see why people would hate it as a lot of the rooms do kind of look the same. And as much as I enjoyed San Fransokyo, I do wish you could explore a bit more. The city was also quite hard to navigate as everything looked the same. Even just opening up the bridge would have given us a bit more to explore.

I literally forgot that the 100 Acre Wood existed until I looked up worlds just now for wiring this post, oof. I did go there but you literally did different versions of the same mini game for about 30 minutes and that's it. I did like the cutscene when he leaves the book though because it foreshadows later events. (He says something about not wanting to lose his friends, I don't remember the exact quote tho.)

While I appreciated having so many different ways to fight, I did find a few things quite annoying. Like I did have a few moments outside of battle where I just wanted to open a chest but I'd accidentally trigger an attraction or form change. Apparently, there was also a button to switch situation commands but I literally found out about that after someone read this review so that’s fun. I remember being so annoyed because I couldn’t use the command I wanted to use but apparently that was just me being stupid. Attractions also weren't always appropriate to the situation, which sometimes meant using an attraction and not really dealing a lot of damage or having difficulty trying to aim and attack enemies. Or maybe I just suck at video games, idk.

Because there were so many different mechanics, I never felt the need to be creative with my battle strategy. I never really went to cook with Remy because I didn't feel the need to and I also never really touched magic unless it was needed, either. I guess I just enjoyed being able to hit A and Y to get through the battles. Yes, I played the Xbox One version, don't kill me (A is X and Y is triangle to you PS4 people).

While a few of the characters were treated well, a lot of them were done pretty dirty in my opinion, probably because of having to bring together ALL of the characters. One of these is the infamous Kairi, who severely suffered from a lack of development, which caused a lot of people to hate her and also meant a lot of people hating the portrayal of Sora and Kairi's relationship (I still love her tho because of how people in the fandom characterise her). Another character is Naminé, and while she's not really my favourite, I can see why people were upset. If you missed a certain cutscene in the Final World, you would only get to see her in the end cutscene. The fact that you could miss a whole cutscene with her is kind of strange. I missed it when I played it. Also, I thought Lea sort of suffered a bit, too. He did have some scenes that showed him off nicely, but people forget that he was also quite weak like Kairi for some reason (but now isn't the time to go into that debate). He had his Keyblade destroyed very easily and struggled to protect Xion. I don't know if he just lost his other weapon but I would have thought he could have at least yeeted them at Xemnas, at the very least to distract him.

I thought the labyrinth section of the Keyblade Graveyard was very...strange. I did appreciate that the fights weren't particularly hard (because I'm not a particularly great gamer imo) but what I did find weird is how everyone except Vanitas was redeemed and how quickly everything happened. Like Luxord and Marluxia suddenly became super chill like "I know we tried to ruin your life, Sora, but you're actually pretty chill". Like...what?? (I know Marluxia is in Union X but I haven't gotten to that yet and in the main games, he wasn't a particularly interesting character to me, so I didn't really care that he became "good".) And while I do appreciate Xehanort getting some sort of redemption, it felt a bit off. He tries to destroy the universe and also murders a bunch of people, but then his bff comes along and says "yo, stop that" and suddenly he's good? Like he doesn't even apologise to everyone or help bring Kairi back or whatever, he just poofs away.

Speaking of things being rushed, I felt like I was getting whiplash nearer the end of the game. One second Aqua is bad, the next she is in the realm of light. Ventus is asleep, Sora suddenly gets the power to wake him up. Terra tries killing his friends and then he comes back. I love my children and I'm glad they're happy but it felt like a lot of it happened so quickly that I couldn't process what was happening.

I feel like the game would have benefitted from a bit more character interaction. I know that's asking a lot from a game with so many characters, but even small things would have helped. Like @chachacharlieco suggested in a recent post, even having the characters coming into Yen Sid's tower for a small interaction could have helped, like Kairi and Riku quickly talking about what had happened, then having Sora come in and complimenting them both on their clothes or whatever. Also, maybe having her give Sora her letters would have made their relationship a bit easier to swallow for people who don't ship them because it did feel somewhat underdeveloped at times.

Why was Kairi sitting alone in the end cutscene? Like I get that she was having a sentimental moment of reflection for what Sora had done and wanting him back, but I feel like even having Riku stand near her and share some understanding eye contact or him putting his hand on her shoulder would have been reassuring. It just felt weird for everyone to be having fun while she seemed to be the only one to remember Sora.

I thought the game would be a nice closing point but it wasn't. I would understand just having the cliffhanger of Sora being gone because not all stories have a happy ending and it still would have closed that chapter and we would assume maybe the next arc would be saving Sora. But also having the whole Luxu reveal and having there be uncertainty about that? If this is setting up the next arc, so be it, but it did feel a bit weird to have the end of a story line but still have so many loose ends and questions.

This isn't to do with the game in particular, but I feel like some things in the trailer should have been left out. Like showing Saïx meeting up with Lea, showing Scala Ad Caelum or showing Sora screaming and being mad in the Keyblade Graveyard. Could you imagine playing the game without knowing about Scala As Caelum and just seeing it for the first time? And could you imagine hearing Sora scream for the first time in game and feeling that raw emotion blind? Plus, I felt like the trailers built up that scene in particular a lot and I remember feeling underwhelmed in that scene because everyone just...died.

Least favourite world in Kingdom Hearts 3: The Carribbean. I wanted out. The pirate life ain't for me.

So I know I sound like I'm one of those people who hated the game, but I really didn't. I enjoyed the game quite a lot actually. I think I mostly enjoyed the cutscenes, which there was a lot of. Being able to see the characters interact with one another and having them be animated and not just standing still made the game feel a lot like a movie for me, which made the cutscenes more fun to watch and pay attention to. I do feel like the game could have done with just a couple extra cutscenes to address some character problems outside of a couple shots of chess and some paopu fruit but I understand that there was a lot to cram in and I'm sure this isn't the last game that we will see all these characters in. I didn't think that everyone would survive Kingdom Hearts and they didn't, but I thought we would lose more characters tbh. Plus this isn't the end - I'm sure Sora will come back.

I can't wait for the next Kingdom Hearts game and the start of a new chapter in the story!! Coming to store in 2158.

[vore-scientist]

Hey so I have just found out about this wonderful world you have crafted with Yonah the giant. I love it and I wanted to ask are you using DnD as your basis for the world you have made and making changes to it as you go? Also by extension are you using TAZ as well cause I saw you mention DnD as well as Griffin a few times as I was flipping through your stories? Sorry for the paragraph I just get excited.

Ahhhh!!! I’m so glad you like my writing!!! 

Mystic Woods takes inspiration and elements from a lot of sources, I’m probably not even aware of all the influences at play. 

The BASIS for Mystic Woods is The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (EFC). My favorite comedy/adventure/fantasy books series. It’s about an improper princess and a dragon! But I thought, what if Improper Princess and a Giant! And also vore. (not that there isn’t kinda vore in EFC, the dragons eat a LOT of evil wizards. ). 

Thus Mystic Woods (MW) was born! In practice it takes place in the EFC world but on a different continent. EFC is a world that runs on fairytales, and the people in that world fulfill classic fairytale plots/tropes. The Princess Sophia’s fairytale is Princess Captive of a Mage in a Tower in a Forest (the classic example of this is Rapunzel).

Yonah himself plays a part in fairytales all the time. He is a giant for thieves named Jack who steal from giants! 

I’ve mentioned peoples and events from EFC a few times, notably in Negotiating With Giants, which saw The Society of Wizards. Fire-Witches are a race unique to EFC that I love a lot and just had to use. Of course, there is a lot in my world that is very different from EFC stuff i changed, added, or expanded upon. And I continually do so.

The second major influence is a TTRPG called Abantey, but it’s way more subtle. In terms of things I could point to, the healing process in Injury to Insult is a modified version of the mechanics use to heal in Abantey. Oh and the elves are a combination of races and cultures from Abantey

DnD has influenced some of the story. A few spells I mention are DnD spells bc thinking up original spells is hard! 

TAZ didn’t really influence much of MW, though naming one of the elves Jacuzzi was influenced by Justin McElroy naming his wizard Taako. Though… TAZ will in fact be directly referenced in stories to come. But probably not in a way you expect.

I highly recommend you read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. They books aren’t the most grand or complex story wise, but they are incredibly fun. 

[ariel-seagull-wings]

Things that almost always appear in the parodies of fairy tales (like if they were generic things to the genre).

- A prince or knight in shining armour. Maybe it can be a combo, where the prince wears silver armour. Rides a horse (usually white) and sometimes kills ogres, but usually he will apear using a spear or sword to defeat its arch nemesis, the Giant Dragon. Ironically, this is a scenario less common in most of the actual fairy tales, being actually imagery taken from the religious story of Saint George and The Dragon.

-The princess is a combo of Rapunzel with Sleeping Beauty: like Rapunzel she is imprisoned in a tower, this time of a full castle instead of just a tower in the middle of the woods. But unlike Rapunzel she usually doesn't have hair long enough to serve as rope. Instead, she will be somehow put to sleep in a rich bed waiting for a true love's kiss that will wake her up, like in Sleeping Beauty.

I remember this being a thing in the first two Shrek movies, varied story telling themed cartoon episodes, and kids comercials.

And started to wonder: so this counts as the original example of the Fractured Fairy Tale Trope? When the combination of all those things started to get popular? When did people started to thing that this was the average fairy tale scenario, when the actual fairy tale scenarios are way more varied? Was it born as a sincere homage to the genre, or was it born as a Shallow Mean Spirited Parody?

So many questions...

@princesssarisa @superkingofpriderock @sunlit-music @mademoiselle-princesse @ardenrosegarden @gravedangerahead