#princess florinda

[docpiplup]

Recently I have found a period drama about Tariq ibn Ziyad and the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, so I thought it's an appropiate to share it now because of the bookscans of AL-ANDALUS. Historical figures. This period drama is a Kuwaiti-Syrian series from 2022, Fath Al-Andalus (The Conquest of Al Andalus), that has 30 episodes so far.

(There are ships on fire on the second poster, maybe in the series there's a scene or a reference about the legend of Tariq burning the ships after arriving to the Iberian Peninsula?)

I haven't watch it (yet), but in YouTube there's a watch list of the 30 episodes with subtitles.

As far as I know there has been controversies about this series in Morocco due to some historical inaccuracies, like erasing Tariq's Amazigh origins and undervalue the role of the Amazigh people in the conquest of Al Andalus.

Main cast

Suhail Jabei as Tariq ibn Ziyad

Taiseer Edris as Rodrigo, King of the Goths

Rafik Ali Ahmad as Musa ibn Nusayr

Pierre Dahger as Julián, Count of Ceuta

Marah Hijaz as Princess Florinda

Akef Najem as Abu Basir, the Judge

Creative and technical staff

Directors: Mohammad Alenezi and Saleh El Salty

Cinematography: Dragan Sisa

Editor: Mohamed Rageh

Visual effects: Momen Ebba and Eman Alshehabi

Productor: Al Buraq Production

Music: Nouamane Laholu

[raedas]

YAYYY ORV !!!! this is my epic awesome totally normal sales pitch abt orv ehe

alright. orv is a korean webnovel about a 28 year old guy named kim dokja working a dead end job whose only hobby is reading webnovels on the way home from work.

he has been following this webnovel called 'three ways to survive the apocalypse', or twsa for short, for the last like. 10 years. on the day it gets its final update, the events from the novel suddenly become a reality.

dokja is the only one who has read the webnovel till the end and so knows what path the future will take.

so he uses his newfound position in the narrative to work toward a more optimistic ending.

the pacing is incredible the character writing is amazing the conflict between the characters is written so well and even the shitty webnovel mechanics serve to further the novels themes.

its so so so incredible. genuinely i cannot recommend it enough its a masterpiece in writing……..!!!!

also. kim dokja my everything i want to kick you down the stairs and give you a weighted blanket and a cup of coffee . little bastard i love him so much

anyway. it is a wonderful book!!! and something i would enjoy a lot i think. a lot of thinking a lot of platonic friendships a lot of love !!!! in every form :’)

HIII RURU I JUST REALIZED I FORGOR TO RESPOND TO THIS SORRY!!!!! anyways thats ouhhghghgh... um. puts that on my list & asks you where i could read this...

[igetthedisneybox]

Princesa Madrigal

Inspired by @hannahhook7744's Encanto AU, and her own character headcanons.

Third image made using https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1558575

Fourth image made using https://www.dolldivine.com/la-colombiana

Fifth image made in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Princesa’s full name is Princesa Florinda Madrigal.

Her first name means “princess” and her middle name means “flower”.

She is the oldest adopted daughter of Isabela Madrigal.

She has tan skin, pale, straight blonde hair, and blue eyes.

She is eighteen years old.

She has two younger sisters; Fuega, younger by two years, and Mariana, younger by six.

She likes boys, but is single.

Her gift is geokinesis, the ability to move the earth. She mainly uses her abilities to summon precious metals and gemstones to show off. Outwardly, she loves her gift, as it has made her popular around the Encanto. But on the inside, she fears that people only like her for her gift, and that she’s nothing without it.

Her door portrays her with both her hands palms up and arms bent at the elbows, just below a handful of floating rocks. Princesa will glue different colored gems to her door in place of the rocks.

Her room looks like a cave, including rocky walls with small crystals embedded in the sides, and a matching floor (minus the crystals, ouch). Columns of pink geode crystals extend floor to ceiling around the room, and her bed and other amenities are placed in between the columns. Her wardrobe is bigger than anyone else's, and she has a designated spot for fashion shows.

Her symbol is a jewel.

She adores Isabela, and is very grateful that she chose her to adopt. She just wants to make her proud.

Her birth parents were cityfolk, who decided that they wanted a magical baby. They abandoned her on the steps of Casita when she was a week old, with the intention to take her back when she got her gift. As expected, she decided to stay with the Madrigals.

After an incident as a child which caused her to develop pyrophobia (fear of fire), Princesa is constantly scared of Fuega’s anger issues and gift, sometimes to the point of thinking that she’d be better off by not being sisters at all.

On the other hand, Princesa loves Mariana, and tries to be a role model for her.

She mainly hangs out with Amelia and Beatriz, and occasionally Leta, Lidia, and Carlos.

She gets along best with Pepa, Mirabel, and Beatriz.

She loves to dance, and knows many traditional (and non-traditional) Colombian dances.

She’s a fashionista, and likes to design dresses for the local girls.

Partially because of her gift, she also likes to make and collect jewelry.

Because of her mother, she has an appreciation for flowers and nature, and loves to garden. Her favorites are pretty flowers.

She’s a hopeless romantic who loves sappy romance novels, and one day dreams of finding True Love.

Her favorite colors are purple, pink, indigo, and light blue.

[princesssarisa]

The last three Donkeyskin tales in Cinderella Tales from Around the World come from South and Central America: Brazil (@ariel-seagull-wings), Chile, and Nicaragua.

*The Brazilian version featured in this book is Dona Labismina. A queen prays for a child, "even if it is a snake," and as a result, her daughter is born with a snake around her neck. But the princess, named Maria, and the snake, named Labismina, grow up together, and Maria loves Labismina and sees her as her sister. Eventually, however, Labismina leaves the land for the sea, but she promises to come back and help Maria whenever she calls for her. Some time later, the queen dies, and the king decides to marry Maria because only she fits her mother's ring. At Labismina's advice, Maria asks for gowns that like a field full of flowers, the sea full of fishes, and heaven with all its stars, then sails away on a boat that Labismina provides. Labismina tells her that someday she'll marry the prince of the kingdom she sails to: on her wedding day, if she calls for Labismina three times, then Labismina will be freed from her snake form and be a princess too. Maria becomes a poultry-girl at the prince's palace, then attends a three-day festival in her gowns, and when the prince falls ill with love for her, she slips a jewel that he gave her into a bowl of broth that she sends to him. Thus her identity is revealed and she marries the prince. But sadly, she forgets to call for Labismina, who is doomed to remain a snake in the sea, and this is why the sea storms and rages to this day. This unexpectedly bitter ending parallels some oral versions of Puss in Boots, where the young hero forgets to be grateful to his animal helper after he becomes a prince.

*The Chilean version, Florinda, stands out for one main reason: it's a lesbian version, or possibly a transgender version, much like the Romanian tale of The Princess Who Would Be a Prince! When Florinda's father (a commoner, not a king) wants to marry her, she runs away disguised as a boy. Soon she meets the king, who so admires the "young man's" beauty that he decides to give "him" his daughter's hand in marriage. On the wedding night, Florinda secretly admits her true gender to the princess, who is delighted to be married to a woman! But when the king sends the news of the princess's marriage to her godfather, another king, the latter consults a fortune teller, who reveals that the new "prince" is really female. The other king sails to their kingdom and makes a bet with the princess's father that he can reveal the "prince's" true gender. But Florinda upholds the masquerade, until the visiting king insists that they all bathe nude together in the river. But thanks to a mystical crucifix, which earlier helped Florinda to escape from her father, Florinda is bodily transformed into a man. Thus the visiting king loses the bet, and Florinda and the princess live happily ever after.

*The last story in the book's Donkeyskin section is the tragic ballad of Delgadina, which exists in many forms throughout all Spanish-speaking countries, though the version here is from Nicaragua. It's not strictly a Donkeyskin tale, or a fairy tale at all, but is about a princess with an incestuous father. In the version that this book features, Delgadina's mother is still alive and her father just wants to sleep with her, though apparently in some other versions her mother is dead and he wants to marry her. Either way, when she refuses he has her locked in a tower with no food or water. She pleads for something to drink, until finally her father relents and sends servants to bring her wine. But when they arrive they find her dead, and two doves and two butterflies fly from her body.

This is the end of the Donkeyskin tales, but there are still more subtypes of Cinderella tales to come. Stay tuned!

@ariel-seagull-wings, @adarkrainbow, @themousefromfantasyland

[musicalcastingideas]

Team Starkid Does Into the Woods

Narrator: Lauren Walker

She's the iconic narrator Molag in Firebringer, if I want anything narrated, I'm calling her.

The Baker: Corey Dorris

I've been on the Give Corey Dorris A Lead Role train for a while (even though I'm very new to Tumblr) so this was easy for me. Also, is "A father who's not the best person but is trying his goddamn best" describing The Baker or Bill from TGWDLM?

The Baker's Wife: Bryce Charles

I'm so hyped for her to be the star of Team Starkid's next show, and I need to hear her sing Moments in the Woods.

Cinderella: Lauren Lopez

I don't feel like I need to explain this one? The vibes are just correct.

Jack: James Tolbert

I've only seen him in Black Friday and like 2 seconds of NPMD but he has such a sincere earnestness to his performance, I think he would be a great Jack.

Jack's Mother: Rachel Soglin

She's my favourite exhausted mother in Trail to Oregon, this is the same part but meaner and without an idiot husband falsettoing in a wagon with a floor window.

Cinderella's Stepmother: Mary Kate Wiles

(She's in Working Boys so she counts as Team Starkid) She has a wonderfully dry delivery and while in Spies Are Forever, she uses it for a Jaded Hero character, I want to see her use it for a truly cruel character.

Florinda and Lucinda: Angela Giarratana and Jaime Burns

Both wonderful comedic actresses who would definitely make these relatively small parts very memorable.

Little Red Riding Hood: Mariah Rose Faith Casillas

Is this just an excuse for a (albeit not as direct) third "Corey is Mariah's Father" casting? Yeah, kinda. But also Mariah is amazing in pretty much any part.

The Witch: Jaime Lynn Beatty

This feels so obvious. Her physical acting, character work and amazing belt are MADE to play the Witch. I am always open to constructive criticism except for this one.

Cinderella's Mother: Brittany Coleman

According to the Team Starkid Wiki, she's played this part in the Baltimore Centre Stage production, so she not only would obviously slay this part, she HAS already slayed this part.

Wolf/Cinderella's Prince: Joey Richter

Hmm, who do I get to play two parts, one who's supposed to be creepy and one who's supposed to be irresistibly sexy? I dunno. Anyway, Joey Richter has such amazing range, he plays skeevy villains like Mcdoon (the bandit king) in Trail to Oregon and Wiley in Black Friday , but also is so hot and charming as Ethan in Nightmare time and as Owen in Spies are Forever. Don't know why I bring that up now.

Rapunzel: Kim Whalen

Soprano Queen, actual princess. Also, I want her and Curt to play an actual couple

Rapunzel's Prince: Curt Mega

Not to fall into the Internet Wife Guy Trap but Curt seems so in love with his wife and I think he would be so good as the prince who would do anything to be with her (God please don't pull a Ned Fulmer Curt I swear to God). Also, if you haven't seen him and Joey do Agony for Shitty Broadway, please go watch it, it's amazing.

[erikiara80]

We swap plates (Kali)

I think you were swapped in the hospital, to tell you the truth (Karen in S3)

RUTH: I'd make a deal with God, and I'd get Him to swap our places

And there's a mix-up at birth in one of the books here (one of the many interesting things in this photo). A Royal Pain, by Ellen Conford

Plot:

Being a princess is tough, but someone's got to do it! Abby Adams of Kansas was born in a tiny European country, where she and another baby got accidentally switched. Now that the mix-up has been discovered, she's on her way back to Saxony Coburn to begin life as the real Princess Florinda XIV.

ELlen Conford. Kansas. El- Dorothy

[lesbian-in-leather]

Asoue and wwdits

Into the woods if you feel up to it

Thanks for the ask, darling!!

Just answered for asoue here

What We Do In the Shadows

OTP: oh it's gotta be Nadja/Lilith. What can I say; I'm a sucker for lesbians, Lucy Punch, and bitter exes. They really have it all <3

Favourite canon pairing: Nadja/Laszlo of course. Though in recent series they haven't really been getting any screen time so my love for them has been dying somewhat. I hope they get some good scenes in the last season!

Worst pairing ever: Nadja and Colin. Why did they do that. Why did they do that. Why did they do that. Why did they-

Guilty pleasure pairing: I WAS HALFWAY THROUGH WRITING AN 'OH I DON'T REALLY HAVE ONE' PASSAGE WHEN I REALISED I DO. I FUCKING DO AND NO ONE WILL KNOW WHAT I'M ON ABOUT BUT HERE GOES ANYWAY!! Okay so you know in that one episode when Nadja was on the council and they had a fancy banquet and Nandor was in his depression nap and everyone thought he was dead?? Well one of the sexy vampire ladies that turned up was Carmilla (famous vampire from the vampiric novel, Carmilla) and I ABSOLUTELY wanted her and Nadja to get together. There it is, that's the guilty-pleasure ship, yet another one-episode character but somehow worse than Lilith because Carmilla only had like three lines

A pairing you want to see more: Nadja/The Guide!! The Guide is throwing herself at my girl and she is absolutely clueless. Icon <3

That pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no”: Nadja/Jenna. Really not into it, she gave me a VERY strong maternal vibe and I am. Not a fan of shipping them. Again, you do you, but like. Not for me

Favourite non-romantic pair: Nadja & Guillermo! I wish we'd given more focus to their dynamic earlier in the show, they' 've always had the potential to be really great bitchy friends, but we DID get her going absolutely fucking feral to save his life, risking hers in the process, so... it's a win <3

Into the Woods

I have basically never thought about shipping these characters so this is going to be fun

OTP: Baker's Wife and Cinderella. Straight up, I think it would be really fun and also the whole "when you know you can't have what you want what's the profit in wishing?" vs "how can you know what you want til you get what you want and you see if you like it?" I'm just saying, their little late night heart-to-hearts could have turned into something fruity

Favourite canon pairing: Cinderella's Prince/Baker's Wife is literally just funny. Like girlie what was even going through your head there

Worst pairing ever: Rapunzel/Rapunzel's Prince. I'm sorry, she was locked in a tower for her entire life, then abandoned by her mother for the horrible crime of making a friend (and fucking him, but still, that was your fault too buddy-boy), and he has the audacity to complain that she cries too much?? She wandered alone in the desert with newborn twins thinking that you were DEAD. It's been less than a year! My girl had TRAUMA and she deserved better

Guilty pleasure pairing: the Witch and the Stepmother. Do they ever interact? No. Do I think it'd be super funny to pair up the only villainous women just because? Absolutely. They can start an "I was a bad mother but also I love my children with my whole heart" club and make each other worse

A pairing you want to see more: Florinda and Lucinda with Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, respectively. First of all I think it's funny that it would fulfil the whole 'good marriage' thing, but also I just think the stepsisters get a really rough deal and someone needs to get those princesses out of there before the aspiring Henry VIII's get on to their second wives

That pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no”: Baker/Baker's Wife. I'm sorry, there is no good option here. She cheated, he undervalued her at every turn, yells in her face because she just wants to help, and then has this ~wonderful realisation~ that "wow, maybe I should work with my wife!" before going straight back to his "you stay here and do nothing Because I Said So" mindset in act two. Mans has anger issues and I don't like it. Also, again, she cheated. There is no good angle to this relationship

Favourite non-romantic pair: Cinderella and the Baker. They really said "well, that was an awful lot of trauma none of us asked for. Guess we're sticking together and raising a family of two orphans and your infant son that you had with your wife (who's now dead) who cheated with my husband (who's telling people I'm dead)". Like that's so fuckin iconic.

Wait but ALSO the Witch and Rapunzel??? That's a fucking fascinating dynamic right there, like the Witch does love her! She absolutely unequivocally does! But also she doesn't know how to love her, and it is SO endlessly interesting to me and always will be

Send me a fandom and I'll answer these questions!

[whatcha-reading-today]

Princess Florinda | Tamsyn Muir

Princess Floralinda is a fun, quick read that I'd recommend to anyone that enjoys Muir's work. It's not as strong as The Locked Tomb but it's still well-written, humorous, and gets pretty gross at parts.

However, major negatives for this only being released as a 'special edition' book. I got super lucky that I could get a signed physical copy from the library of all places (???) which you now can't check out and there's no international options. It's an odd choice, the book is fine, if you can score an e-book from the library give it a read.

Format: Physical book

Read in: 2021

[heidigentille]

（快訊）義大利製片人、攝影師瑪莉納．西孔納（Marina Cicogna）辭世，享壽89歲。作為既時髦又叛逆的貴族、時尚偶像，她曾助《青樓怨婦 Belle de jour》（1967）獲得威尼斯金獅獎，再將《對一個不容懷疑的公民的調查 Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion》（1970）等作推向奧斯卡，其他作品如《狂沙十萬里 Once Upon a Time in the West》（1968）亦深��肯定，點石成金的能力，使之被《紐約時報》譽為歐洲電影界最具權勢的女性之一。

．

瑪莉納．西孔納是商業巨擘、威尼斯影展創辦人朱塞佩．沃爾皮（Giuseppe Volpi）的孫女，其父親切薩雷．沃爾皮（Cesare Cicogna）也是《單車失竊記 Bicycle Thieves》（1948）的共同監製之一。由於出身顯赫，西孔納早期的生活有如置身於費里尼（Federico Fellini）的《生活的甜蜜 La Dolce Vita》（1960）之中，還曾受邀參與傳奇收藏家卡洛斯．狄．貝斯特古（Carlos de Beistegui）在1951年舉辦的世紀舞會。

．

西孔納早年在紐約就讀攝影學院，由於與華納影業創辦人傑克．華納（Jack Warner）的女兒結為好友，她得以敲開好萊塢大門，受邀參觀《願嫁金龜婿 How To Marry A Millionaire》（1953）片場，與瑪麗蓮．夢露（Marilyn Monroe）、洛琳．白考兒（Lauren Bacall）等明星建立交情。

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後來西孔納以平面攝影師的身分在美國進行拍攝，這些作品在其晚年亦整理成攝影集公開，特別的是，這些照片多是在非正式場合拍攝的，主角都是她著名的朋友們，例如奧黛莉．赫本（Audrey Hepburn）、卓别林（Charlie Chaplin）、瑪格麗特公主（Princess Margaret）等人。

．

32歲時，西孔納回到義大利與弟弟比諾（Bino Cicogna）投身發行工作，她先以極富創意的行銷手法，幫助一部以性教育為題的西德電影《婚育寶典 Helga – Vom Werden des menschlichen Lebens》（1967）創下驚人票房。為了吸引大眾討論，她安排救護車在電影院外待命，表明可能會有觀眾看到心臟病發。她還在不被看好的情況下押寶《青樓怨婦》將會贏得獲得威尼斯金獅獎，最後如願以償。

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同一時期她還參與了《伊底帕斯王 Oedipus the King》（1967）、《異鄉人 The Stranger》（1967）、《定理 Theorem》（1968）等名作，與巴索里尼（Pier Paolo Pasolini）、柴菲萊利（Franco Zeffirelli）、狄．西嘉（Vittorio De Sica）等名導建立密切合作關係。

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當瑪莉納．西孔納以《對一個不容懷疑的公民的調查》登上奧斯卡高峰時，她是首位能以製片人名義在美國影壇獲得如此成就的女性，因為其顯貴家世，她又被業界尊稱為「伯爵夫人」。儘管事業仍然大有可為，她卻在與狄．西嘉（Vittorio De Sica）合作之後不再出任製片人，弟弟比諾（Bino Cicogna）突然在巴西輕生可能也使她重新調整了事業走向。

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後來西孔納曾表示：「對我來說，製作一部有費里尼和維斯康提（Luchino Visconti）執導的大製作很容易，因為我太了解他們了，但我不感興趣了，我更喜歡找一些沒這麼有名的人合作。」

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除了在事業上的輝煌成績之外，西孔納也因為活躍於名流圈而獲得矚目，她與亞蘭．德倫（Alain Delon）和華倫．比提（Warren Beatty）都有情史，之後又與巴西女演員弗洛林達．保坎（Florinda Bolkan）交往達二十年，被稱為「義大利第一位公開愛上女性的女性名人」，不顧外界眼光的處世態度使之獲得非議。由於受限義大利同婚尚未合法，晚年的她甚至收養了自己的伴侶班尼迪塔．哥多拿（Benedetta Gardona），再次引發社會話題。

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在弟弟死後，西孔納曾前往美國派拉蒙任職，直到2002回到義大利電影界任居要職，並依然以社交名流的身分活躍時尚圈，年過八十仍被選為古馳（Gucci）代言人。其作為義大利電影界女性先驅的意義近年獲得挖掘，2023年，義大利電影金像獎終於賦予了她終身成就獎殊榮，其自傳也在同年出版。

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2023年11月4日，瑪莉納．西孔納辭世，結束了幾乎能被拍成電影的傳奇一生。

[bartonsedai]

Princess Florinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

Princess Florinda has been trapped at the top of a tower by a witch. Princes have given up on rescuing her, she is lonely and bored, and she’d really like to be home before Christmas. So what is a princess to do?

This was a strange and delightful read that I couldn’t possibly describe. Nothing about this was what I expected which is really for the best. Whimsical, but definitely not light, I was surprised at every step of this very short book.

4.30/5.00

[goamazons]

My darling sibling @wistfulpoltergeist invited me to play a game:

Post 4 pics of media (songs, films, books, video games, comics, TV shows, etc.) that were life changing. Tag 4 other users to do the same :)

This was fun to pull our roots and find out all these buried diamonds. Like Xena, wow, old like life and still cool and amazing. No wonder we turned out this fem-n-furious! True amazons’ blood runs in our veins. 

Mass Effect is beyond any definitions. First time ever we could play a mega mighty and ruthless, cold-blooded warrior and stay women, cos before that you were either one or another (meh!)

Singer Joan Jett’s reflected our inner riot and protest. Like in one of her songs: I'm only doin' good When i'm havin' fun An' I don't have to please no one An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation

And yes, after reading “Being-in-dreaming” by Florinda Donner the world changes forever. Try it, if you dare to shift your entire being 8)

I tag @susen70 @maladi777 @ladyhawkewitch @awkward---af and @matterandstuff

Guys, let’s play!

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Genderqueer Folktales

About two years ago a kind anon asked me for folklore around transness and I only had one fairy tale to share. Since then I’ve done a lot of reading, and now I’ve gathered some proper gender nonconforming fairy tales to share with you all.

I specifically chose stories with happy endings and positive characters, but please keep in mind these are all translated products of their time. Usually I don’t shy away from retelling stories a bit, but in this case I think it’s worth leaving them untouched for history’s sake.

I’ll try putting some modern-day labels on these stories to make them easier to choose from:

The Unicorn, Spanish, collected in 1947. AFAB, bisexual protagonist who physically transitions to male through magic while he is already married to a fully supportive wife. [Cw: murder, attempt at being outed.]

The Counterfeit Marquise, French, literary fairy tale written in 1697 by (allegedly) Charles Perrault. AMAB protagonist (noble) is raised and identifies as a woman, she falls in love with a handsome nobleman who turns out to be in the same situation but AFAB, they marry happily and have a child. [Cw: gender dysphoria]

Florinda, Chilean, collected in 1962. AFAB protagonist who physically transitions to male through divine intervention while he is already married to a fully supportive wife. [Cw: attempt at incest, attempt at being outed.]

The Abbot of Druimenaig, Irish, collected or written 1484-87. A young abbot finds himself transformed into a woman, lives as a wife and mother for seven years, is then transformed back and goes back to his wife, but divides parental responsibility with his husband. [Cw: initial unhappiness at both transformations, mixed-feelings ending.]

Ileana Simziana, Romanian, collected 1870s. AFAB protagonist (royal) who physically transitions to male while completing impossible tasks because of a “curse” that suits him very well. [Cw: attempt at being outed]

The Girl Who Was a Boy, based on the previous tale, but “gently adapted into the 21st century” by Paul B. Sturtevant. (In other words: minus some “product of its time” issues.)

The Princess and the Dív who exchanged sexes, Persian, collected in the 12th century. AFAB protagonist (royal) who was raised as a man strikes a deal with an AMAB spirit to briefly exchange sexes so that he can marry his betrothed, the exchange is made permanent because they are both happier for it. [Cw: threat of parental abuse.]

If you are interested in this topic, I heartily recommend the thesis “She was really the man she pretended to be”: Change of Sex in Folk Narratives by Psyche Z. Ready (2016).

[magicalbeings]

"I assure you fairy godmothers are very real." Florinda said as kindly as she could, she came from a long, long line of fairy godmothers. And her own aunt had helped the princess' own sister-in-law in her moment of need.

So Florinda wasn't a full-fledged fairy godmother yet, and maybe her aunt wouldn't exactly approve of this conversation, fairy godmother's were supposed to be discrete after all. But Florinda was nothing if not stubborn that she did in fact exist.

"And I can prove it!"

"Would now be a bad time to mention I'm just a fairy godmother-in-training?" (for Camilla from Florinda)

this makes camila laugh. it wasn't malicious or cruel laughter ——- of course, she was no bully ! the sound was born out of pure amusement and perhaps a bit of concern for the absolute nonsense this woman was spewing so earnestly. after a few moments, the laughter dies with a deep inhale and following exhale but a smile remains. " fairy godmothers aren't real. they're made up for children which... " she'll gesture to herself. " i am not. "

[softlytowardthesun]

Curious: what are your favorite type of fairy stories listed in the Aarne-Thompson enciclopedia classification?

First off, it's nice to meet you and thank you for asking! Secondly, I want to preface this: I'm not a student or a scholar of folklore as a genre, and my knowledge of ATU is limited to what I've managed to find online over the years. More often than not, it's either something I've found on JStor in college, something in a Maria Tatar book, or this website.

Still, I love seeing these stories and all their variations across times and places. Without further ado:

306: The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes: I love the mystery element of this story, and I'm forever intrigued by all the variations of the other world the women travel to, whether it's the palace of Indra, the court of Satan, or something else entirely. Many versions attribute their actions to some curse that must be broken to achieve a heterosexual happy ending, but it's in the in-between that this story really sings to me. And a not-quite-variant of it, "Kate Crackernuts", may just be my favorite fairy tale of all time; how often is the ugly (or at least, "less bonny") stepsister the hero of her own story?

310: The Maiden in the Tower: I'm a sucker for a magical chase, and Rapunzel's relatives absolutely provide. My favorites include "Snow-White-Fire-Red", "The Canary Prince", and "Louliyya, Daughter of Morgan".

311: Magic Flight: Stories of magical escapes from dire situations, like "Sweetheart Roland", "The White Dove", "The Fox Sister", and "The Tail of the Princess Elephant".

407: The Flower Girl: Plants who become women or vice versa, often coupled with an escape from an abusive romance. I love these stories purely for the folkloric weirdness factor: "A Riddling Tale" (shout-out to Erstwhile for introducing me to this one), "The Gold-Spinners", "The Girl in the Bay Tree", and "Pretty Maid Ibronka".

451: Brothers as Birds: This one's purely on my love for the Grimms' "Six Swans" and "Seven Ravens". I love a resilient heroine who draws her strength from her family. I admittedly haven't read many others, but these two mean so much to me they get a place here entirely on the strength of these two.

510B: All-Kinds-Of-Fur: The story of a woman's escape from her incestuous father who then gets a Cinderella ending. I admire the heroine's courage in face of an all too real type of monster. Grimms' is a favorite, as is "Florinda" (which could also qualify as 514), "Princess in a Leather Burqa", "The She-Bear", and "Nya-Nya Bulembu".

514: The Shift of Sex: I first came across this story when I stumbled on Psyche Z. Ready's terrific thesis some years ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. All of these variations from all over the world -- I find it cathartic to know that we've been asking these questions about gender and sexuality forever, and a happy ending is an imaginative possibility.

709: Fairest of Them All: This I owe squarely to Maria Tatar's anthology from a few years ago. Unfortunately, this also means that there are several I can't find online, including "Kohava the Wonder Child" (a rare Jewish heroine in a genre infamous for how it absorbs anti-Semitism) and "King Peacock" (one of the few African American fairy tales I know, also included in Tatar's collaboration with Henry Louis Gates). I love "Princess Aubergine", "Little Toute-Belle", and especially "Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree" - my little bi self was elated to stumble across a princess who lives happily ever after with her kind and gentle limbo husband and her cunning and resourceful wife.

Even as a hobbyist, I love folklore and fairy tales. I love these little glimpses into other cultures, and I love the way these story structures act as magnets for so many nuances of people's lives across history. Still, I hope this answers your question, gives a glimpse into my experience with fairy tales as a genre, or (at the very least) gives you some new and interesting stories to read!

[ariel-seagull-wings]

TOP 05 FAVORITE TYPES OF STORIES

@faintingheroine​ @storytellergirl​ @princesssarisa​ @softlytowardthesun​ @the-blue-fairie​ @themousefromfantasyland​ @superkingofpriderock​ @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark​ @captain-dad​ @angelixgutz​ @parxsisburning​ @amalthea9​ @darasuum​ @marquisedemasque​ @filmcityworld1​

01. The Search for the Lost Husband and The Persecuted Lady

Those are considered the two most widespread kind of folktales. What personally touches me the most about these stories is how they explore the resilience of its female heroines, wich we often underestimake as weakness in real life women.

The Search for the Lost Husband touches on the anxiety about arranged marriages, and how women feared they would be sold by their fathers to wild, monstrous beasts, specially because their husbands are full of secrets. Them the heroines break a taboo, discovering the secret, wich makes the husband depart full of fears and insecurity, while the heroine, having grown in love for the husband, reveals courage and confidence to go in a long, dangerous journey to, now in her own terms, win back her beloved. Rather than end the narrative with the marriage celebrations, this kind of story explores what it takes to keep the marriage.

The Persecuted Lady touches in the domestic drama of women who suffer familial abuse, be it the work force exploitation imposed by a stepmother, the appearance shaming imposed by a birth mother, the sexist neglect of a father or grandfather, or the sexual harassment committed by a father. In some tales, the heroines suffer in silence at their own homes, in others, usually under a disguise that makes her look ugly by societal standards (like a straw coat or an animal’s skin), she runs away and works in servitude in another place, also suffering abuse from the employers, until she has the chance to enjoy at least three festive occasions and catch the eyes of a handsome and young rich suitor (usually a Prince), who uses a piece of garment like a shoe or ring to identify the heroine and marry her. The heroine has a long time to cope with harsh situations, but keeps hopefull for better days, and finds the love and happiness that she didn’t had back at home.

My favorite Search for the Lost Husband tales are The Black Bull of Norroway, The Singing Springing Lark and The Iron Stove. My favorite Persecuted Lady tales are Dona Labismínia, Bicho de Palha, Maria Borralheira, Donkeyskin, Thousand Furs, Princess in a Leather Burqa, Florinda, The Three Sisters, The Tale of Popelka, Tattercoats and Cap’O Rushes.

02. The Story Inside the Story

This is when one character presents a fictional narrative to another character, and the narrative presented is just as engaging as the in universe “real” characters we have been accompanying. Sometimes the characters are just amusing themselves with a fun story, and other times the story has a thematic moral relevance to the “real life” situation they are living. The Story Inside the Story can take the form of A Book Within the Book, A Play Within the Play, A Movie Within the Movie, and so forward. The most famous example, and still my favorite, of Story Inside the Story is probably the One Thousand and One Nights book. Other famous examples include Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Giovanni Boccacio’s Decameron.

03. The Family Saga

When the story stars being about a character, them this character dies and we move on to see the story of that character’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all the while we see their different points of view about the political, cultural and societal changes troughout history. My favorite Family Sagas are the myth of The Mahabharata, the myth of King Arthur, Shakespeare’s Henriad and Rose Tetralogy cycle of plays, Érico Veríssimo’s novel Time and the Wind and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude.

04. The Band of Heroes in a Quest

A group of people who in normal circumstance unlikely would meet and talk to each other is united by fantastical circunstances to go on a quest. The object of the quest varies: it could be a treasure, a search for spiritual enlightment, save an innocent in distress, destroy a cursed artifact or eliminate an ancient evil and save the world they know from doom.

My favorite examples Band of Heroes in a Quest are probably the Vampire Hunters from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, the Fellowship of the Ring from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novel and the Bronze Saints from Toei’s Saint Seiya anime.

05. Deal with the Devil

A human being who makes a deal, out of either desperation or pure ambition, promising his soul to the Devil. Sometimes the deal is selling the soul right away, other times the deal is a bet, where if the human fails at accomplishing a task, the Devil will take their soul  to suffer eternally in Hell. We accompany the main character’s journey as he asks: should I use what the Devil gaved me for my own benefit, or should I use it to help other people in need? If I use it to help people in need, so I am redeemed, or my deal with the Devil will forever tarnish me as an evil person? Was I wise in making this deal? Is the Devil truly evil, or is he just testing the evil I may have inside me?

There are two ways in wich this story ends: either the main character escapes with his soul redeemed (usually by a loophole in the contract) or he has sank so low in doing evil deeds that the Devil wins and takes his soul to Hell. The most famous example of a Deal with the Devil kind of story is the german myth of Doctor Faust.

[drops-of-moonlights]

The Winx’s parents in the AU, re-redrawn! Because their old art was very crusty and I re-redesigned a couple transformations since so they were outdated anyways. Copypasted information below!

Michael “Mike” Peters and Vanessa María Florinda-Peters: Vanessa’s Mexican-American and works as a florist, managing her shop and making arrangements for events and parties. Mike has worked as a firefighter since he was 20 and has always made sure Bloom knew the dangers of fire, which ended up helping when it turns out she has fire magic. After the whole Princess deal gets discovered Bloom resorts to spending her winters with Mike and Vanessa (who she always considers her “parents parents”), and the springs at the Domino Castle. Bloom teaches them both the most basic of spells whenever she visits, and it has helped in their respective jobs.

Oritel Silvanus Ferreaum-Drazul, Marion Celosia Drazul, and the late Linus Xavier Lissen-Drazul: Linus’s Daphne’s dad and Marion’s original husband, who were an arranged marriage. They got along incredibly well and they were best friends, but it was never a full-blown love. Linus died during an avalanche when Daphne was 11, and 5 years later Marion married Oritel, who she met as a member of the Company of Light. After 4 years of marriage they had Nina (Bloom), and were shortly after imprisoned in Obsidia as statues. Marion is the Queen Regent, Oritel and Linus were/are consorts. Bloom is still awkward around them, and sticks to calling them Mother and Father. Oritel ends up kind of a mess at seeing his daughter being a young adult when they properly meet and Marion has to somewhat reign him in sometimes. Marion is an Altheix Sorceress, her title being the Sorceress of the Dragon’s Roar (Source of Sound with auxiliary Wind), while Oritel acts as the head of the military, hence the armor details in his formal king outfit. He has a Metal Source, while Linus had an Earth Source but was never formally trained in magic.

Anthonius Lixtro-Smith and Audra Smith: Original names were Electronio and Magnethia, changed to be a bit more human. They both work as freelance industrial designers and engineers, usually working for the bigger companies and are very well off as a result. Tecna takes most of her looks from her dad but her natural hair color - her original dye attempt was green, but her spell failed and got pink instead, and liked it enough that she kept it. Both of them know a bit more magic than the average non-Caster, but it’s not enough for them to go get a proper license and as such they skate by technicalities.

Alyssa Benedetta-Robledos and Rodolfo Ernesto Robledos: Rodolfo’s original name was Rhodos, changed for personal reasons. They work at the Lynphean Magiwolf Sanctuary, with Alyssa acting as the ranger and Rodolfo the veterinarian. Rodolfo is the Fairy of Wolves, and uses his Silvestrix magic to enhance his medical training when tending their patients. They homeschooled both Flora and Miele until they were 11 and 8 respectively, and teached them both ways to defend and heal themselves if they ever got in trouble. Amarok acts as both pet and help, acting as “ambassador” for any wolf that enters the sanctuary to help them acclimate to the place. Alyssa also assists via potion-making, and has a passive Poison Source.

Lu Huan (formerly Xun Huan) and Lu Marina: Ho-Boe and Matlin/Wa-Nin were terrible racist puns I am disposing of them they fucking suck okay? okay. Marina worked as a singer for private and public events and Huan helped her with instruments, as well as running an instrument shop on the side. They met by accident during one of Marina’s events and started dating shortly after. They had two kids, a boy named Jian and five years later, Musa. They never were rich but they had enough to live happily with some frivolities sprinkled in once in a while, and they always got to play music together. Marina died when Musa was 14 of a magic-resistant virus, who ate away her Aura and made her inmune system fully collapse, her own magic unable to sustain her. Her death threw the family in dissaray, and while Jian got a job shortly after to make ends meet, they went through some rocky years. They managed to stay afloat, and started to stabilize shortly before Musa left for Alfea. Huan and Marina loved each other very much, and while he knows she would encourage him to seek out love again, he doesn’t feel ready. Marina was an Enchantress, the Enchantress of Music, and wore her sash in her casual attire as a belt often. Musa carries her title as a Fairy in her honor.

Teredor Bahari van Amstel and Niobe Saran van Amstel (née Citrone): Aisha’s parents, they’re very strict and stick to the Androsian traditions, which ends up as an accidental source of strife for their daughter. Niobe is more lenient with her, but does want her to be married to Nabu as fast as possible and has a hard time when both Aisha and Nabu reject the arrangement. Teredor is far more strict, but mellows out after Aisha comes back from the Siege of Alfea, and starts trying to understand her daughter better. Teredor is Ligea’s twin brother, and is a Caster, more specifically the Druid of the Coast, with powers over sand and wind, shown in his formal King attire.

Radius Solaris Oriol and Luna Azura Argentis: Their marriage was arranged by their parents, and while they were in a similar situation to Marion and Linus, their friendship turned into spite as the years went by. They divorced when Stella was 14, and remained single for a few years. Luna still acts as the Queen of Solaria, per their arrangements, and even if Radius remarries they will only act as supportive consort. Luna starts dating Allan Damarte around the time Stella starts her original first year at Alfea, and they have been a stable couple since. Count Alessandro Mirthos of Vespero, in contrast, had been secretly courting Radius a few months after the divorce, originally just Radius’s rebound before it developed into love. When Stella’s Princess Ball arrives, they announce their engagement, and will end up marrying in a few years. Alessandro has a daughter from a previous marriage, a somewhat spoiled girl called Carmilla, nicknamed Chimera. Luna is the Cosmix Witch of the Winter Moon with power over ice, while Radius is the Cosmix Fairy of the Summer Sun with power over fire. Alessandro is also a Caster, shown through his sash, and his title is Caster of Relaxation, focusing on potion-making aided by his Healing Source.