#the exception to this is literary fairy tales

[lunellum]

Also, there is no "original" version of (many) fairy tales. There are just... versions. They are the result of a long and varied oral tradition, which means there is no definitive, known starting point that we know or can determine. (There are branches of academia that try but they can only speculate)

Plus, as the above alludes to, many fairy tales can be categoried as a type or pattern of story. These types (basic story structures) are surprisingly common and pop up in many different regions and cultures with many variations. None of those variations are more "original" than any others.

The first time you can put a concrete date on a fairy tale, as above, is the first time they get written down. But it's important to remember that is the first *published* date. Because they originate in an oral tradition, they probably existed for a long time before they got written down, so the first published date is their *minimum* age.

(If you want to know more about the fairy tale types (from a white, EU perspective), look up the Aarne-Thompson-Uther index. It's pretty fascinating. Also a fun resource for making up folktales when worldbuilding)

I’m tired of hearing people say “Disney’s Cinderella is sanitized. In the original tale, the stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to make the slipper fit and get their eyes pecked out by birds in the end.”

I understand this mistake. I’m sure a lot of people buy copies of the complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales, see their tale of Aschenputtel translated as “Cinderella”, and assume what they’re reading is the “original” version of the tale. Or else they see Into the Woods and make the same assumption, because Sondheim and Lapine chose to base their Cinderella plot line on the Grimms’ Aschenputtel instead of on the more familiar version. It’s an understandable mistake. But I’m still tired of seeing it.

The Brothers Grimm didn’t originate the story of Cinderella. Their version, where there is no fairy godmother, the heroine gets her elegant clothes from a tree on her mother’s grave, and where yes, the stepsisters do cut off parts of their feet and get their eyes pecked out in the end, is not the “original.” Nor did Disney create the familiar version with the fairy godmother, the pumpkin coach, and the lack of any foot-cutting or eye-pecking.

If you really want the “original” version of the story, you’d have to go back to the 1st century Greco-Egyptian legend of Rhodopis. That tale is just this: “A Greek courtesan is bathing one day, when an eagle snatches up her sandal and carries it to the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Pharaoh searches for the owner of the sandal, finds her and makes her his queen.”

Or, if you want the first version of the entire plot, with a stepdaughter reduced to servitude by her stepmother, a special event that she’s forbidden to attend, fine clothes and shoes given to her by magic so she can attend, and her royal future husband finding her shoe after she loses it while running away, then it’s the Chinese tale of Ye Xian you’re looking for. In that version, she gets her clothes from the bones of a fish that was her only friend until her stepmother caught it and ate it.

But if you want the Cinderella story that Disney’s film was directly based on, then the version you want is the version by the French author Charles Perrault. His Cendrillon is the Cinderella story that became the best known in the Western world. His version features the fairy godmother, the pumpkin turned into a coach, mice into horses, etc, and no blood or grisly punishments for anyone. It was published in 1697. The Brothers Grimm’s Aschenputtel, with the tree on the grave, the foot-cutting, etc. was first published in 1812.

The Grimms’ grisly-edged version might feel older and more primitive while Perrault’s pretty version feels like a sanitized retelling, but such isn’t the case. They’re just two different countries’ variations on the tale, French and German, and Perrault’s is older. Nor is the Disney film sanitized. It’s based on Perrault.

[theoutcastrogue]

So who invented science fiction, anyway?

Dream blunt rotation, sci-fi edition (dead people only): Lucian of Samosata, Cyrano de Bergerac, Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, Alexander Bogdanov, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick (if there's only one of those in the rotation, it's fine, just don't get surrounded by them), Ursula Le Guin, Douglas Adams

First of all, that's a dumb question. Literary genres aren't "invented" by single individuals. Nothing exists in a vacuum, there's no virgin birth in art, and culture is a conversation.

Second, there's no single rigid definition of science fiction. That stuff is loose and fluid and in the eye of the beholder. And depending on how you choose to define it, even The Epic of Gilgamesh can be considered a sci-fi story.

Third, for most intents and purposes, it's Mary Shelley. Science fiction as a genre begins with Frankenstein, that's not complicated at all.

Fourth, before Frankenstein, there are TONS of stories with elements we recognise now as belonging or at least adjacent to science fiction, but they're incidental to the narrative so nobody cares. Lucian wrote about inhabited planets and space battles in the 2nd century. But it was a satirical story, and if it took place in a land of magic mountains instead, it wouldn't make a lick of difference. Scores of people wrote utopias and/or adventures set on the moon, the sun, the stars. So what. It could have been on an imaginary island or the Fairy Realm, and nothing would change. All it says is "we set the stage Elsewhere".

Notable exception to the Fourth: Kepler's Somnium. That story is set (via dream) on the moon, and couldn't have been set anywhere else, because the whole point is to explain how the earth would look when viewed from the moon. That was what Kepler (that's the astronomer, not some random dude) wrote first and what he cared about, the rest is just a narrative framework added later. So it's not really science fiction because it's not really fiction in the first place, it's science with frills.

More exceptions to the Fourth: there are tales written in the late 18th / early 19th century that are, by now, recongisably science fiction. But they weren't novels, they were poems and one instance of prose-poetry, and they didn't make a genre. Frankenstein did that.

Fifth, mayhaps the correct word isn't "invent". It's "kickstart".

[faustianfascination]

predator incarnate

Kinktober 15. Predator/Prey | Degradation

Words: 4904 Pairing: Comte Saint Germain x OC (ikemen vampire) & Comte Saint Germain x Leonardo da Vinci

Tags: NSFW! MDNI! predator/prey, slight dom/sub, creampie, anal sex, biting, oral sex, afab character, comte and leo have the dynamic of the golden girls, leo is so over his shit

Notes: this has been brewing for a while, it's inspired by the story 'The Company of Wolves' by Angela Carter from her short story collection 'The Bloody Chamber'. Dedicating this to fellow mustard man appreciator @valkyyriia. No mustard was harmed in the making of this fic.

The argument in the parlour had continued for longer than Comte had expected; an animated show of wits and expertise that was deeply fascinating and illuminating in equal measure. Since she had requested to remain under his roof, Persephone, or Effy as she had allowed them to call her, had begun to open up like a sensuous bloom allowing them all more glimpses of her surprisingly mercurial character. They also began to witness her intelligence and literary knowledge in full, holding her own against the likes of Arthur and Dazai when she felt like it. Comte knew there was a story as to why she concealed her light, and so desperately he wanted her to share it but she was cautions to let anyone too close too quickly. Tonight however had been something of a turning point.

The evening had begun in the parlour, as she, Arthur, Theo and Dazai had been playing cards. However they got onto the topic was unknown, as it was only when the debate was in full swing he’d let his attention drift from Leonardo. Eroticism was the source of the conflict, from what Comte gathered Arthur had claimed Lady Chatterly’s Lover was one of the most erotic books he’d read, possibly the most erotic book in existence. Effy took exception to this and this led to an exciting exchange over what eroticism in literature was. To make her point, she retrieved her favourite book from her room, yet to be written, by the name of the Bloody Chamber by an author called Angela Carter. It was a collection of fairy tales, her favourite she explained was a particular story called ‘The Company of Wolves’ and to make her point she and Arthur decided to read passages from their respective texts to prove their point. Arthur, not only a good writer could also recite a story with skill, no matter how dirty. Now though, Effy reclined upon the chaise reading this tale to a room of predators; yes the story was erotic, but what gave her an edge over Arthur was her whiskey husked voice wrapping around the words, her body subtly shifting as her breath created a beautifully arousing rhythm of the rise and fall of her chest as her voice filled the room. As the story spoke of a maiden encircled by a choir of wolves, the Count couldn’t help but see the parallel of his maiden of his mansion, encircled by another form of predator incarnate; a beautiful moment of fiction blending into reality.

Every eye in the parlour was on her, enraptured at her tale, every eye caressing her body and Comte felt his immature jealously flare. More so when he could see the desire evident in Arthur’s gaze. The fact they’d had a tryst already bristled him more than he cared to admit, making his more possessive vampiric nature surface, little cracks in his gentlemanly facade. He could give her true pleasure that would make her forget all about him, if only she would look his way. Part of him wanted to drop the niceties, ignore the boundary between them as host and guest, unleash the full power of his seductive prowess so he could finally mark her as his territory, lick every inch of her body clean of the mystery writer’s influence. His mature sided reminded him that she was his treasured guest, now resident, not his property so he did his best to push those feelings down in whatever way he could.

The moans bordered on growls, Comte's bed shaking, sometimes creaking under the force of his thrusts into Leonardo's arse. The fucked as only two pureblood vampires could, all fangs and power as Comte took out his frustrations on Leonardo's now well battered hole. The sheets were balled so much in Leonardo's hands that he'd ripped them to ribbons, he felt a bit bad for Sebastian because Comte's bed would be a mess tomorrow between the torn sheets and the bitten to pieces pillows. Comte plunged his fangs into Leonardo's neck, reaching around to give his cock a jerk to push him over the edge. Comte's release followed soon after, collapsing on Leonardo's back leaving the two a panting heap. This had been going on for days, the Italian knowing he was in for a rough time after Comte pulled him into his room after the night in the parlour and pounced on him. At least tonight they'd made it as far as the bed.

"Feeling better now you bastardo bisognoso" he panted as they began to untangle themselves, he slowly sat rubbing his stiff back. He could tell that this had no way satisfied his old friend due to the melancholic look still in his eyes. Leonardo couldn't decided if he should punch him, fuck him or just go drag Effy to the room and throw her at him at this rate. The things he puts up with for this fool.

Comte rose from the bed and rifled through Leonardo's coat for his pack of cigarillos then wandered out to the balcony for a smoke, swiftly followed by his long suffering bedmate.

"First you interrupt my sleep and now you steal my smokes" Leonardo huffed as he took a cigarillo too. Comte had lit his and at least had the courtesy to light him up too.

"Mon cher ami, who exactly pays for your smokes? Who let's you live in their home and pays your bills?" Comte shot back.

"And don't you like to remind me" said Leonardo reaching over and giving Comte's chin a squeeze and nipping his cheek before he withdrew. Comte just blew smoke in his face with a mischievous grin. "Sebas said you told him to tidy up the old hunting cabin. Going to actually do some hunting so it can live up to it's name or are you just going to make that poor soul trek tea out to you?"

"Well, I spotted her there a few days ago looking for it and thought it might make a nice space for her when she needs a break from fête des saucisses she lives with. Apparently she's also been exploring the empty parts of the mansion when she can't sleep too. Perhaps I should build her a dance studio" Comte said with a tender smile, letting his eyes drift skyward.

The Frenchman enjoyed the fragrant smoke filling his lungs as he gazed to the evening sky. It helped restore his energy after his impromptu liaison, thinking back on what caused it. Seeing her giggling and flirting with Dazai had made his jealousy flare again. This was becoming a problem, not least because his bed was going to be firewood if he didn't deal with this frustration soon.

"That is very sweet but stop thinking and just make a move you fool. Also if you're going to build her anything it's another closet with all the dresses you buy her" Leonardo said after a few minutes of Comte staring at the sky like a sad puppy.

"You make it sound like I giver her an excessive amount of dresses, a young lady needs options for all situations. Also, it's not that simple. She was stranded here because of me, she is a someone who I opened my home to and promised to protect as long as she remains here. She herself said I was like the father of the mansion, how could I make a move without ruining that" he sighed sadly

"I think you're more like daddy than father to her Comte. Have you not noticed how she looks at you? I doubt your advances would be unwelcome and cara is more than capable of looking after herself, she has an entire mansion and castle's worth of vampires wrapped around her pretty little finger" said Leonardo practically rolling his "plus I'm worried if you don't make a move soon Arthur or one of your other little flowers will end up the Seine"

"Fine even if that is the case, how on do I go about approaching her? She is a treasure, one who deserves careful handling" said Comte who was progressively looking more pitiful, making Leonardo only more amused by the situation.

"Pffft, bastardo bugiardo you know exactly how to seduce her, she literally told you how the other day in the parlour." Leonardo was getting to the point of slapping him now, his hands emphasising this acutely "Also I doubt the puttana di Versailles is really so clueless in such carnal matters" Leonardo jibed as he drew in another lungful of cigarillo smoke.

"Puttana di Versailles!? excusez-moi, I was not that incorrigible" said the master of the mansion with a look somewhere between offended and scandalised despite Leonardo being correct. Seeing his old friend's reaction Leonardo couldn't help but tease Comte more.

"That's rich coming from the man who was at one point frequenting the bed of both the Queen and the King. Your cock was the main thing holding that marriage together"

Realising that Leonardo's knowledge of his philandering past was the winning hand, Comte sighed and continued smoking with a pout on his face. He eventually fell back into his dilemma, voicing the conflict that was haunting him constantly around his most treasured resident to his old friend in the smoke tinged evening air. He was talking for a while before he realised Leonardo had stopped responding and there was now a snoring sound echoing into the night much to his annoyance. Comte considered leaving the ingrate on the balcony to freeze overnight but it wasn't worth the moaning that would come so he unceremoniously lifted him into the room and dumped him on the bed with more force than was necessary. It earned him a bite in the derrière.

Persephone crept out of her room, the cool glow of the full moon lighting her way to the vacant wing of the mansion. It was hardly falling to rack and ruin, but the half decorated rooms, discarded books, trinkets and remnants were fun to investigate. She padded lightly down the hall, her black boots contrasting with the white silken slip she slept in. It was one of the many gifts of clothing from Comte, and although it was technically underwear, she rather liked sweeping about the empty part of the mansion in it and as well as sleeping in it. It felt the part of a gothic heroine, which was fitting for the only woman in the nest of vampires. The thought bought a silly grin to her face, enjoying the levity of the moment she gracefully twirled down the hall, dancing through the moonlight. There was no real reason for her nightly endeavours, just that she enjoyed the peace the small hours bought and tonight she was too restless to sleep so she decided to explore some more.

Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't alone. Comte watched, bewitched at her beautiful figure sweeping through the hall. Like an angel come to his home. He followed, careful to mind his steps; he wanted to observe her but more so a dark idea was taking root in his mind. Leonardo had already said she'd told him what she liked through that story, so tonight he intended to let his inner beast out to hunt the one who had so inflamed his desires.

Persephone came to a stop near the double doors that led to the wooded part of the property. She'd not explored that much of that part yet, spending most of her time around the manicured gardens but the bright moon painting the trees tempted her to try the doors to see it they'd open. It wasn't a cold night, but there was a bit of a chill, raising gooseflesh on her skin, making the hair on the back of her neck stand. Her increased sensitivity making her feel strange, as if she was being watched. She looked around only to still find herself alone in the hall, brushing the feeling off as the atmosphere of the night. The doors were stiff, but with a little pushing, they soon opened out to the woody landscape. She remembered Sebas saying something about there being an old hunting shack out in the woodland in this direction and she’d been searching for days. The curiosity led her eyes to peer between the trees, as if trying to make out a building amongst the tangle of wood.

As she was about to step out, a velvet voice filled the silence "Careful where you wander ma chérie. You never know what beasts lurk in the dark waiting to sink their teeth into such nubile flesh"

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She turned with a start only to find Comte behind her, she let out a small chuckle at his appearance, the fear receding as she relaxed in her master's presence.

"I'm not scared about such things" she said with a light tone "I am no ones meat. Plus what harm could I come to among you and your companions" she added a flirtatious intonation at his warning, winking at the vampire. Although tonight even she noticed something different about Comte. He'd always been devastatingly attractive, but something about him in the moonlight with his top button open, he seemed overwhelmingly sensual. It was radiating off him to the point she felt herself flush just by his presence, the prickle of gooseflesh growing over her body. His eyes even seemed to glow molten gold, a little voice in her mind wandering if it was possible to drown in someone's gaze. Unconsciously, she moved closer to him, as if hypnotised. Comte's smile took on an edge, vampires were not just creatures of blood but sex too. They were sensitive to the arousal of their pray, long using beguilement to lure and disarm so they could devour their prey in every way possible. It had been a while since he'd let his vampiric self out to play and already he was rewarded with the scent of lust, the pretty young maiden coming to him willingly, body illuminated by the moon, waves of dark hair webbed over pearlescent skin, her pert nipples caressed by the silk he'd bought and dressed her in. What a beautiful sight indeed. However, how beautiful she'd look with a flush of fear upon her skin, her blood pumping even faster?

The vampire advanced on his prey, driving Persephone slowly against the wall until she was caged by him. The master of the mansion finally showing his fangs.

It was in that moment, she realised, the beast began to show his true nature. Still dressed in the costume of his gentlemanly role, but the sway of his movements, the power radiating from his body and the blazing gold in his eyes gave away the true nature of this predator incarnate. Inhuman and otherworldly, utterly beguiling. He could subdue her with his strength alone, but his mesmerising aura was enough to cause her to still under his gaze as his arms caged her against the wall

“Ma petite chérie, ma belle proie” his breath against her ear making every nerve in her body buzz with a electrifying mix of fear and lust “you dance around me in such a skimpy little outfit, barely concealing that enticing body of yours like you’re safe and sound but chérie, you seem to forget that my true nature is neither gentle nor a man” his voice dropped an octave and the smoothness of his tone was now edged with a predatory growl

“Oh but cher Maître, you seem very much like a hot blooded man right now…” She teased despite the tension coiling through her stomach, aware of quite how thin the fabric of her nightgown was, how the silk seemed to accentuate her form rather than conceal it. The comment earned her a deep chuckle, that felt like it was reverberating through her bones, setting her nerves on fire and making heat pool between her legs.

“Oh ma chérie, ma jolie petite listen very carefully now” his lips came even closer to her ear, his body pressed her further into the wall “sois intelligent et cours, run as fast as those lovely legs can carry you because if I catch you I intended to devour every last part of you” his forehead was now pressed against hers, eye to eye with something even more dangerous dancing in them now. He was showing her a courtesy, however they both knew that this would end in the predator capturing his prey like a tiger playing with a rabbit.

Comte moved his lips to her neck, giving a light kiss before he gently pulled his fangs over the skin making her shudder in anticipation, never breaking it but reminding her of his ferocity. The feeling of her breath hitching, her body tensing made his lust start spiralling. Pausing over her pulse, pressing the tips a little into her skin, he could feel her blood flowing and wanted to sink his fangs and drink her blood while she sung blissfully under him but alas that was out of the question. The scent of her desire drifting to him made him stiff, but he wanted to prolong the foreplay before he devoured her fully; the harder the chase the more satisfying the meal after all. He drew his fangs back and licked a stripe back up her neck, halting at her ear after giving the lobe a playful nibble. His lips stilled over it so she would hear his warning

"Run" he breathed in her ear, letting out a fearful snarling growl to make his prey flee. She was smart enough to bolt at that point. Comte watched her run down through the doors that lead to the forest, seeing her merge with the darkness. He dropped his coat and waistcoat to the floor, rolled up his shirtsleeves and licked his lips as he began to track her trail.

"Let the hunt begin chérie"

Dodging between the trees, the moonlight warping them into a maze she she weaved through as fast as she could. The chilled air stung her lungs and sensitised her skin, the silk of the slip caressing and pulling over her body in a way that made her more aroused. She was being hunted, but she had no real desire to evade capture. Perhaps Comte had listened too well to her favourite story but she had no complaints as he stalked her through the woods. She lent up against a tree, taking a moment to gather her bearings and slow her breathing

"You'll need to do better than that ma jolie petite" Comte's voice rung between trucks, seeming to bounce off every surface, shooting straight between her legs making her shudder in pleasure. Persephone didn't need to be warned twice and set off on again, she would make that vampire work for his meal.

She had no idea how long they had been playing their erotic hide and seek, how deep in the woods they had wandered. In the distance, a light orange glow caught her eye, it's warmth standing out in the cool light of the moon. Moth like she ventured towards it, as the glow got larger, she came to realise that it was coming from a small cabin. Perhaps the same building that had initially piqued her interest.

The worn wood felt smooth to the touch, soft almost in it's curves and textures. The door opened smoothly, a wall of warmth and smell of a fire embracing her. As she walked in, she looked around at the cosy space. It was simple but luxurious, as expected of her tasteful master. Leather arm chairs by the fire, a small parlour table between. The space stretched on to what looked like a pile of furs adorning a bed near the window. This place was certainly not abandoned, the incongruity of a lit fire in the middle of a night not dawning on her until she heard the door click shut, the turning of a lock signalling there was no escape.

She turned to see his glowing eyes, his shirt even more undone and tie long gone. The firelight dancing on his exposed muscle, emphasising how strong, how utterly virile he looked. The arms that she usually saw handling tea cups and letters now transformed into the strong, unyielding arms of a predator.

His smile was steeped in lust, licking his lips at the sight of her. He took a seat in one of the chairs, turning it so he was looking directly at her, his position lesuirely as one leg crossed over the knee of the other making the bulge in his trousers all the more obvious. The silence was heavy with their unspoken but obvious desires, until Comte's commanding voice said

"Boots, off" she complied, slowly slipping her feet out of the boots onto the warm plush rug.

"And the slip" his eyes felt like they were setting her on fire, she did as he bade and let the straps off her shoulders. The silk fluttering to the floor around her feet. Not a shred of fabric hiding her from him now. He savoured the sight, enjoying every inch of the flesh he intended to enjoy.

"Into the fire with it" he said, moments like this it dawned how much the aristocrat he was, commanding her with such practiced ease. She bent and lifted the silk slowly, keeping her eyes locked on his through the whole movement exaggerating her form as she bent ensuring he enjoyed every moment of the show. The slip evaporated in the flames like moth wings. Once it was gone he got up and finally began his meal. Her lips tasted of salty sweat and the rose oil he gave her, his hands touching every inch of naked flesh, soft and warm yet muscular and strong. He could feel the years of training that had sculpted her, the thought at her stamina and the night of sex ahead making his erection strain at his trousers. Their tongues wrapped around each other like serpents, he pushed her body towards the bed pressing his pelvis into hers until they fell together upon the soft furs. The tickle against her naked flesh making her gasp as he broke the kiss so he could strip himself. She was certain she heard the ripping of fabric as he shed the layers of fine garments until he stood over her naked and painfully handsome, every muscle defined, his cock erect and leaking. The sight alone made her clench, her arousal dripping between her legs longing to feel that impressive organ rearrange hers.

"Legs open" he commanded, the authority in his voice making it clear there would be no arguments. She opened her legs, as wide as she could allowing him full view of her, going so far as to hold them open for his enjoyment. Comte licked his lips at the sight, her cunt flushed dark and painted in firelight, dripping with want. He lifted her leg, bringing the arch of her foot to his face and placed a chaste kiss upon it, making her gasp and try and pull away only for his inescapable grip to tighten. Next his lips kissed her ankle and begun the journey towards her thighs, kissing, nibbling, licking every bit of skin as he ascended. Soon he'd joined her on the bed, between her legs and kissing, marking, sucking the inside of her thighs until he was near her cunt, her body already trembling at his ministrations. He slid his long finger inside, her drenched hole. He withdrew the digit and commanded her again

"Look at me" her eyes locking with his again as he slowly licked her arousal off it. Making a sound of delight as if he's just tasted a fine wine

"Ma chérie, how lovely you taste. So sweet and delicious, you coat my finger so well I can only imagine how fine you'll be on my tongue" he smirked as he bought his lips to her pussy. He kissed up and down, then took to licking every inch of it, tasting every part of her intimate flesh. She moaned as he worked, not even sinking into the best part yet. He spread her open, enjoying every detail of her pretty cunt and sunk his tongue into her quivering little hole. This earned him her voice wrapping around his name and the feeling of her fingers in his hair, pulling, scratching and driving him further in. The enthusiasm making him chuckle into her. He slipped in two fingers, curling them deep into her to stimulate her g spot, sucking on her clit hard to make her come on his face as soon as possible. He wanted to feel her pouring all over his lips. It didn't take long for his wish to come true as she ground against him and shamelessly chased her orgasm.

Persephone throat already felt dry from yelling Comte's name over as he ate her, but now the real show began. He stood up, wiping the liquid from his face, licking it from his fingers. It only made her wetter.

"On all fours" came another of his commands, making her stomach flip. As she settled on all fours, she made a show of gently wiggling her bottom to him, looking over her shoulder with a pretty look of mischief. He gripped her hip, then bought his hand down in a light smack

"What was that for?!" she asked in faux indignation

"Because I can" he said, his smirk widening to revealing his fangs. The sight made her giggle, enjoying seeing the usually so put together man so very feral.

His grip on her hips tightened as he bought his cock to her entrance, rubbing the tip to lubricate it, then he lined up and sunk in with a strong movement, nearly knocking her forward. She let her arms down a bit only to spanked again letting her know she was to stay on her hands. He started pounding her, thrusting in while using his grip on her hips to to slide her up and down his cock as he thrusted in, the sensations making both of them curse. Persephone gripped the furs as he mounted her like she was a bitch in heat. It felt good to be his, to be claimed like this and she called his name each time he sank in. Overwhelmed sometimes by how deep he got.

Just as another climax was building, he pulled out and rolled her over onto her back. He lifted one leg to his shoulder, pressed the other one wide and sunk into her again, enjoying the view of her reaching into the furs, her fingers gripping them tight, her hair spread everywhere and her body gleaming in the dim light pulled tight and arching like a bow. He pressed their bodies close, enjoying the sensual possibilities of her flexibility that he would explore for the rest of the night. The position was closer, more intimate, when his hips came flush with hers they reached new depths making her scream into him. The sensation made Comte growl, a string of curses falling from him in an array of languages. Seeing the vampire fall apart for her, it was dizzyingly good. He moved smoothly, rolling his hips with each thrust, pressing along every part of her silken walls. He kissed her again, capturing her lips and taking the breath from her, kissing down her neck and chest landing at her nipples. Taking one in his mouth, he sucked as he fucked deep into her, the sensations making her come on his cock. The tightness and fluttering sent him into oblivion too, his hips stopping and pressing deep as he filled her with him. Their bodies stay connected while they both rode out their highs. He slowly raised himself and pulled out of her, savouring the sight of his seed mixed with her. Partly tempted to lick it up, he held off to enjoy her relaxed form recovering from his embrace. The delight of finally having her made the coil of frustration that had been building for days finally faded and he couldn't keep the satisfied smile off his face. He rolled one the bed, pulling her close and running kisses down her neck.

"So chérie, how does it feel to tame a beast with your body" he whispered into her ear, the room quiet save for the crackle of burning wood. She squirmed in his arms. The feeling of her pulling away from him caused a slight concern of pushing her too far to bubble up. However, before it could take hold though, she climbed atop him brushing her cunt on his half hard cock. The feeling made him swell again instantly, the feeling of her suddenly sinking down on him making his hips buck and his voice howl. She let out a breathy chuckle, looking down at him

"I don't know Comte, you'll have to tell me when you've managed to tame this beast" she said as she caressed her own body then bringing her hands to his chest. Her tone was affectionate, leaning down to kiss the tip of his nose before she began riding him with fevour.

The howls from the hunting cabin continuing long past the break of dawn.

[mirrormazeworld]

Silver, The Knight of Dawn and "Sole, Luna, e Talia"

A while ago I came across a tweet on X where the writer was disappointed because Silver's dad has the same face as Silver and accused twst for being lazy (and maybe some of you have been thinking this way as well). But here I have a feeling this is yet another subtle "Easter egg" as tribute to "Sun, Moon and Talia", a literary fairy tale in which it was an inspiration to the original Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault (which later Perrault's version is the main inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty)

From the main story, particularly from Lilia's dialogue when he found and blessed baby Silver, Lilia said "The golden hair that shines like sunlight was caused by the blessings of the day" and Silver's hair turned to be silver colored as if it had been "lit by the moonlight with the night blessing"

"Sun, Moon and Talia" also has a similar synopsis to the Sleeping Beauty we know as this was what inspired the original "Sleeping Beauty"

However, it's widely known that most Disney fairy tales are from folktales all over the world. And those folktales are really dark that Disney must revise them so the animation would be acceptable and safe for children. (Like the Evil Queen in the original Snow White who danced wearing red-hot slippers in the prince's and Snow White's wedding until she dies for example). Sleeping Beauty is without exception, as its darker version, "Sole, Luna e Talia" tells about the "Sleeping Beauty" (Talia) who got r4ped while she was under the curse and gave birth to twins, which she named as Sun and Moon"

And of course twst also knew it wouldn't be appropriate if they wrote book 7 and included something about r4pe somewhere inside of it, so instead of writing the "Sun" and "Moon" as baby twins, they used the same baby (baby Silver) to represent both Sole and Luna with the changing color of his hair, and also purposely make both Silver and Knight of Dawn like twins, with Knight of Dawn represents as the "Sun" and Silver as the "Moon", even Silver's name was inspired from the moonlight itself.

Personally I admire how twst team revised a once inappropriate and dark folktale about a sleeping beauty that was r4ped by a lustful king becomes a story about family bond beyond time and blood ties that can make you cry...and I wish they will continue their work this way and exceed my expectations.

Cr: Screenshot translations by Otome Ayui

[moriartyluver]

May I request William as a father hcs? Preferably to a quiet prodigy son as the oldest and a spoiled rotten sassy daughter as the youngest🤭 (also Albert and Louis as uncles to them if that’s not too much💕)

A/N: I wasn’t sure if this was a platonic character x child! Reader request so I just decided on making it a William x reader and they have two children too. Thank you for your request btw! I love father! Liam smmm

(Also in terms of the timeline, I’m thinking the first son would be born before liam “died” and then the daughter would be born when he returned.)

Characters: William James Moriarty x fem!Reader

Format: headcannons

Genre: fluff

Prompt: William as a father of a quiet son and a spoilt but cute daughter headcannons

Warnings: Reader is female, reader is William’s wife, reader takes William’s last name, reader has a similar personality to William but can be a bit spoiled and competitive (mostly when she was younger though. She’s not implied to be unkind dw), Reader is a prodigy in a more literary and philosophical sense , mentions of childbirth & children, cursing, some nsfw themes. THE TIMELINE ISNT ACCURATE

When (sons name) was born, both you and William were ecstatic. You both weren’t planning on having any children but when you both found out that you were pregnant, you had no objections to keeping the child.

He was such a peaceful child even as a baby. You could tell he took after his father a lot but in terms of looks, he looked like a genderbent you but with scarlet eyes just like his father’s.

I think William would be a pretty gentle parent but also quite disciplined. He loves you and his children more than anything in the world and he tried his best to show it despite being quite busy and (unintentionally) emotionally distant. He wants his children to grow up in a loving environment that he never had but will be strict if it’s for the sake of their safety.

Everyone in Team Moriarty adored your son. Jack would often comment on how similar he was to William when he was a child, sometimes calling him “little will” just like he did for your husband except it would be his own nickname instead of ‘Will’

Moran would also play card games with the young boy, (even though he was barely tall enough to look him in the eye as he knelt down) and would usually lose. James would often tease him for his inability to win against a toddler.

James really liked playing dress up with him, even though (sons name) would usually get all pouty when James tried to put make up on him but he was happy when your daughter came along, as she was a lot more fond of dress up games (but I’ll get onto that later)

Your son probably got along best with Fred due to their shared quiet nature. He had taken a special interest in the flowers in the garden and would often go and talk to Fred about how he would grow them and their different meanings.

It didn’t take either you or William long to realise that your son was a prodigy (who had especially taken a liking to the sciences) just like you two. Instead of playing outside or socialising with other children his age, he would stay in the library or William’s office while he worked silently and read whatever he could get his hands on, whether it be a fairy tale (which he had gotten tired of by the time he turned 3) or a book on philosophical concepts that he found on your desk

William once caught his son trying to mark his own papers and he didn’t even do anything incorrectly either.

“(Son’s name)? What have I said about being in my office while I’m not there?..wait are you-?”

“I’m marking your papers for you, father.” (He spoke very politely and had a wide vocabulary despite his young age) he held up his red crayon to show him “I noticed you didn’t have much of one to spend with Mother recently so I wanted to give you some free time to enjoy yourselves so I can have a little brother or sister .”

William blinked and got a bit flustered at the comment about his son wanting a younger sibling but was more focused on the fact that his 3 year old was marking advanced mathematics papers. He picked up one of the papers and looked through all the corrections. “Not a single mistake..”

“Of course there are. He got only 69% on the test after all,” his son said, thinking he was referring to the paper “You really should be checking on some of your students..now may you please go make a little sister, or brother but preferably sister, with mother?”

It was only natural that you’d have an incredibly intelligent son with a quiet personality, he took after both of you. His parents were some of the smartest people of the century ,after all.

Once the two of you noticed his abnormal intelligence that seemed to be even grander than either of yours, you both decided to give him more resources to aid his brain development. He would tend to understand material fairly easily and often got bored of the childrens textbooks you would give him.

If Sherlock ever met your son, probably post time skip, he would constantly point out how intelligent he was and although your son would find his attitude occasionally ridiculous, he would soon become very close to him, even referring to him as ‘uncle sherly’ which annoyed Louis a little. They’d do science experiments together and Sherlock would take him under his wing, teaching him everything he would ever want to know.

Your son was only a about 4 years old when his younger sister was born, who you originally thought would have to be raised by only her mother, and he was quite happy about her, despite asking for confirmation on his theory of how babies were made whenever he saw his baby sister.

“Mother, did you and father have s-“

“(Sons name)! Who taught you that?!”

“…the biology textbook..also Mr Moran might have had some involvement in my extended knowledge..”

Safe to say that Moran wasn’t allowed to babysit again.

As for your youngest daughter…she could certainly be a handful..

She had taken after her father quite a bit, but with slightly younger and more feminine features. She had your eyes though which complimented her pretty blonde hair. Even as a baby, she was incredibly beautiful and people would often tell you that whenever they met her.

She grew up a lot more spoilt than her older brother. Not because either of you favoured her more, but it was mostly because (daughter’s name) required a lot more attention than her brother who was alright with peace and quiet to read his science books in.

James would often dress the little girl up in pretty clothes that he would insist on buying her, Moran was very fond of her too, Fred would give her flowers to put in her bedroom, Jack would offer to a babysit and would treat her like his own granddaughter.

Sherlock would sometimes compare her to James’ previous us identity as Irene Adler due to her cunning behaviour (she was very good at getting whatever she wanted) honestly he was kinda scared of her, but would hope that she would grow into a girl like yourself some day.

She was on a similar intelligence level to her brother but could get jealous at his achievements if she felt insecure. Sometimes she felt as though she didn’t fit in as much with the rest of her family but both you and William would remind her that it was okay to be different and she gave personality to what would otherwise be a quiet and slightly boring family.

(Daughters name) grew up to be quite competitive with her brother and other people she knew. She had a fairly sarcastic and spoilt personality, a lot more extroverted than you, your son or William. At parties, she would be well liked and she made friends a lot easier than her brother would. Although she could come off as rude, she was very kind at heart and you and the rest of your family all knew that.

William also had the tendency to shower her in affection and spoil her with gifts, but he made sure to raise her in a way that she wouldn’t forget her own privilege and treat those less fortunate than her as inferior, which she surprisingly had no issues in understanding and would often stand up for those of the lower class.

Bonus headcannons for Louis and Albert as uncles

Albert would be like the rich wine aunt trope. As your children grew up, he would spoil both of them with expensive gifts, for your daughter it would be dresses, make up, dolls and other things she liked whereas your son would receive microscopes and up to date science equipment.

With your children, he would tell them stories of William in his youth and if he had known you for long, he would do the same for you.

If your children ever asked about how the two of you met, trust Albert to give them a long ass romance story about your relationship from the start, when the two of you met, to present day where you were both just as in love as ever.

I feel like he’d get along with both children equally as well. With your daughter, he could be a bit more fun and a slight gossip about which nobles were doing what. As I said earlier, he’d shower both children with gifts but especially your daughter who could be very materialistic sometimes. He’d try to keep her in check though, as he didn’t want her to turn out like his younger biological brother.

With your son, he would be more of a listener to what he had to say. An easy way to make the quiet kid to come out of his shell was to mention anything about a subject that he would be hyper-fixating on and boom 💥 he’s blabbering on about it for at least an hour while all Albert has to do is sit and listen while he drinks his wine. His knowledge astounded him more than William’s did when he was his age, which was very difficult indeed. While you were a literary and philosophical prodigy, and William was a maths prodigy, your son had more knowledge than most scientists of the era.

Your children both really liked uncle Albert, especially when they grew into teenagers. Your daughter would always smile with glee whenever she got presents from him and your son would often come home and ask his father for confirmation on the stories his uncle had told him. They’re only issue with staying with him was that he was a terrible cook and everything he made would either be burnt or undercooked, no in between.

Louis as an uncle would be a lot more serious than any other adults that the siblings would interact with. He was very loving too but would show it in other ways.

Your daughter was a fairly picky eater, and sometimes you would worry for her because of it. Louis was surprisingly tolerant of this though and would ask her for her favourite dishes so he could cook them for her alongside the meals she didn’t tend to like as much, which she was incredibly grateful for.

Louis really liked your son too, mainly because of how nostalgic he made him feel. The quiet boy would remind him of William when he was a child. The same looks of excitement when they found new pieces of information, the protective nature over their younger siblings, their intelligent personalities. They were almost carbon copies of each other.

Louis was very protective of the kids. If Sherlock ever came home after a day of teaching (sons name) science experiments and how it could tie into detective work, Louis would frown and drag the boy away as he said goodbye to uncle sherly, then clean him up and ask him if Sherlock had been reckless with him, which your son would deny.

If your daughter was ever criticised for her big ego or given subtle remarks about her looks, it is on sight!!! Louis would not hesitate to get into a fist fight for the sake of his niece and nephew.

If you ever needed someone to babysit, Louis is the best option. He would be able to take care of your kids better than you and William could take care of them.

He also noticed that your son took after William in terms of his strange eating habits but he didn’t mind. Oh he want tomato shortcake with chocolate and sausage icing? Why the fuck not? He’ll make it in seconds. William wouldn’t have a problem with it and would just remain 😊 while you would try not to throw up at the sight.

Overall, both of the uncles absolutely adore their niece and nephew and protect them with their lives. Nobody would ever even look at the kids funny and remain in one piece afterwards.

[adarkrainbow]

Aulnoy's famous fairytales: The White Doe (2)

Now that we made a recap for the overall story, let's look at little details here and there, shall we?

1 ) Despite this being one of the most famous and reprinted fairytales of d'Aulnoy, The White Doe/The Hind in the Woods is one of the more dated of these stories. Not just because of the problematic racist elements of "princess Black of Ethiopia", but also because this story was clearly written in honor and reference to the king of the tme, Louis 14. When the fairies create a palace for princess Desired to live into until her fifteenth birthday, and have inside of it the whole history of the world depicted by art pieces, d'Aulnoy breaks her narration to describe in a poem form the "greatest and most brilliant warrior king of History", who is not named but is very clearly Louis XIV. Earlier, when the queen visited the six fairies' palace, the fairies told her that to build it they hired "the architect of the Sun", who basically recreated "the Sun's palace" but in smaller proportions. This is an obvious reference to Versailles, the wonderful castle of the "Sun-King", Louis 14. And if this wasn't enough, there are also several explicit comparisons to an actual historical event contemporary to the story: a royal wedding. Several times throughout the narration, d'Aulnoy says that the beautiful clothes or gorgeous outfits of Desired are identical with or "right behind in term of beauty" to the outfits and jewels worn at a "certain princess" wedding. These are all comparisons made to a certain woman named Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie, who had just married the duke of Bourgogne, aka... Louis XIV's grandchild.

All of this makes the story feel very NOT "intemporal" since, if you don't have the historical context, all those moments seem a bit weird and mysterious. And yet, this fairytale stayed one of d'Aulnoy's most popular ones... My guess is that what seduced people in this story was the imagery it brought rather than the story or writing itself. People's mind and imagination were struck by the supernatural white doe a prince cannot capture, by the visual of this monstrous crayfish terrorizing a queen and fairies by cursing a baby, by the idea of a beautiful girl doomed to live in the dark until her fifteenth birthday...

In fact, the way madame d'Aulnoy writes this tale to celebrate the royal wedding might explain why the main protagonist here, Desired, has such a young age - barely fifteen. Because Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie, upon being wed to Louis XIV's grandchild, was only twelve... [Note however that madame d'Aulnoy did not condone or enjoyed at all child-weddings of this sort - she herself had suffered from an atrocious arranged wedding in her very early life, and this ended up in a complicated business of manipulations, false accusations, exiles and murders - but when you live in 17th century France, you better be a propagandist of the king, especially if you are a woman who tries to write fiction.]

2 ) The beginning of the fairytale is obviously to put in parallel with Perrault's Sleeping Beauty. Same "gift-giving christening by the fairies" scene, the same way the older and more powerful of the fairies arrives to curse the babe only to have her curse "eased" by the others, the list of gifts offered by the fairies being quite similar to the one of the Sleeping Beauty fairies - more explicitely, in the beginning of Sleeping Beauty it was explicitely said the queen visited/tried several miraculous/healing waters to try to have a baby - which is what the queen does in the beginning of this tale, except here it becomes the start of the plot.

3 ) While there is still the manichean divide typical of French literary fairytales of "good fairy and wicked fairy", here d'Aulnoy plays deliberately on the fairies ambiguity, to show that despite acting by a binary pattern, fairies stay a "gray" set of beings. For example, the Fairy of the Fountain or Crayfish Fairy, despite being one of the main antagonists, starts out in the story as a helper and a benevolent force - and in a twist, still does fulfill her role of "good fairy godmother"... but she does so to the princess Black, who is an unwilling/accidental antagonist to the hero of the tale. (A similar process, where the antagonistic fairy is just the fairy godmother of someone other than the hero, was already used by d'Aulnoy in several of her previous fairytales, including The Blue Bird). As for the six benevolent fairies, while they are all good and nice throughout the story, the narration still highlights that they have two sets of chariots, and that when angered they drive the dragons, snakes and panther-driven chariots, hinting that while they are here helpers they can become antagonists in other stories.

4 ) While there is all the racism I talked about before, it is quite interesting to see here that we have two "anti-portraits" of ugly women, meant to oppose Desired's supreme beauty, two anti-portraits that actually help us understand the beauty criteria at work in this end of the 17th century of France. For Princess Black, we see that her ugliness comes from a "dark skin", "big lips" and a "crushed, large nose" - which are, beyond traits typically "African connoted", the opposite of the French ideal of women with very pale skin, very small noses, very thin lips. But in contrast, we also have Long-Thorn who presents another set of flaws. Just like princess Black there is the nose - here too red and too hooked - but beyond that we also have added poor teeth hygiene (Long-Thorn has black and unaligned teeth), and more interestingly a body too tall and too skinny. In general, when it comes to ugliness d'Aulnoy typically invokes smallness/dwarfism or fatness/obesity, but from time to time she also insists that when a character is too tall or too skinny, they also are ugly. Because in this time era, while they wanted women tall, they still didn't want them as tall as men, and there was still a certain "interest in the curve" as without being very large or big, women needed to be plump and fleshy enough to have a body to appreciate (a bony and skinny body was not a beautiful one at the time). Of course, no need to remind you that this was a set of aristocratic ideals - because only the noble and the rich could afford to be chalk-white and "pleasantly plump".

5 ) People have noted that, funnily, the way prince Warrior falls asleep in the woods after eating apples he found there looks like a "male Snow-White". It is quite interesting because, while there probably wasn't a Snow-White reference (since it is not a typically French tale), madame d'Aulnoy had the very Christian background and culture of the apple as the "forbidden fruit" with the whole Garden of Eden story. Which leads to an interesting point...

6 ) This fairytale is a sexy tale. It is not an overtly erotic fairytale, no, but there is an obvious VERY romantic if not sexy if not erotic connotation. This however only appears in the second half of the story, when Desired becomes the White Doe. Desired, turned into a prey, and Warrior, improvising himself a hunter, those two lovers, find themselves reunited deep into the woods (the uncivilized, savage, wild world) after purposefully leaving or fleeing their respective courts (the forest is noted to be filled with dangerous predatory animals, such as bears or lions). Warrior hunts down the White Doe, not knowing that she is the girl he is in love with and obsessed over - though he also grows a fondness, familiarity and love for this white doe. And all the while, the White Doe recognizes her hunter as the one she is in love with, and having to flee from him for her life is said to be just as painful as if she was actually hit by his arrows... Madame d'Aulnoy clearly plays here on metaphors and allegories to weave a whole "game of love" or "love as the hunt", "hunt as the love" section. Warrior hunting for the White Doe, the White Doe making sure she can be hunted while never letting herself be caught, it all evokes a bizarre game of seduction. Warrior clearly treats the Doe as more than a simple pet, claiming he "loves" it and wants it to follow him everywhere and to live with him. When the Doe tricks Warrior to escape him, and Warrior complains to his friend, Becafigue jokes about the situation being like an unfaithful woman cheating on her lover - but the prince answers his joke absolutely seriously. And of course, it is after the prince and the princess spend the night together, sharing their love, in human form, that the spell is broken... [Note: In my previous recap I might have written things backward, saying the spell is broken when "night comes and nothing happens". It is the reverse - they talk all ight long together, and as the morning comes she doesn't transform. Sorry about that.]

Beyond the general image, if things weren't clear eough d'Aulnoy keeps addng little details that make the story even more erotic - almost scandalous. The apple section I mentionned - prince Warrior eating apples in the woods before falling deeply asleep reminds of the first human consuming the "forbidden fruit", and it is when the White Doe dares sleep near him for the first time. When the prince catches the Doe or tries to "woo" it with gifts, it is said he keeps petting it, hugging it, caressing it, kissing it - as a pet, as an animal of course, but we reader know that there is a human woman underneath this doe skin, and so the erotic content cannot be escaped. ESPECIALLY when it is said that, after running from each other all day long, both return to their respective bedrooms "sweating and panting, exhausted by the time they spent together". And don't even get me started on how the prince ends up, to conquer and tie up the doe, hitting her with a single arrow in the leg, making her bleed... This is not a fairytale safe for kids.

7 ) Speaking of love, I did not mention it in my recap, but this fairytale is one of the rare ones of d'Aulnoy to have a moral in the end. To summarize it, d'Aulnoy explains that "With the story of this princess that wanted to leave too soon the dark place a wise fairy placed her in to hide her from the sun's light - and the metamorphosis and misfortunes that resulted from it - you will find an illustration of the dangers to which a young beauty exposes herself when she enters too young, too unprepared in the world. If you were gifted with all the traits and qualities that attract love to you, you better know how to hide them, because beauty can be deadly. If you think that by making others fall in love with you, you will shield yourself from love, well know that by giving too much, you always end up taking." So yes, long story short, this is meant to be more than just a fairy love story, but a warning for girls that too young, too beautiful, too unprepared, throw themselves in the world of love, adult and serious romance, and have to be confronted with the many dangers in it.

8 ) On a more "traditional love story" side, this fairytale accumulates ALL the story devices typical of romances of the type to avoid having the two lovers meet each other. In fact, this is the entire point of this story, the apex and climax and culmination: when princess Desired and prince Warrior can finally see each other in person, and talk to each other. At first you had the exchange of portraits and the sending of ambassadors, then you had the fake princess Long-Thorn hijacking the planned meeting, then the two lovers finally got under the same roof, but not only ignored each other's existence, even when meeting each other they didn't recognize themselves thanks t the doe curse... So when they finally see themselves as humans and touch each other as humans and talk a full dialogue, the story is complete and the curse is broken

9 ) Note however that despite the seemingly virtuous and chaste moral added at the end, madame d'Aulnoy does write the character of a more proactive and manipulative princess that "plays" her male lover. It is she that is happy with his caresses and petting and allows herself to be "touched" of the sort, and it is she that sneaks up by her lover's asleep body, and again the terms of the curse are clear - by day she is forced to become a beast, and to do as beasts do, aka to wander in the woods, aka to return to the world of savagery, primal desire and bestial behavior. On the other side, something that might escape a reader at first glance is that prince Warrior is not supposed to be a "prince Charmng" of the traditional genre. As I said, we are inside d'Aulnoy's second book of fairy tales, and so she reached a point where she plays with the conventions of the genre. In the whole hunt story, we have a brutal lover who tries to kill, seriously wounds though he heals it afterward) and ties up with knots his lover, treating her like a prey and a beast (well, because she IS, but you know) - and there is also the use of the peep-hole by Becafigue that solves the whole problem indeed, but by the undignified way of spying into women's bedrooms (Becafigue had already a not so good behavior when he acted as Warrior's ambassador, encouraging Desired's parents to ignore the "powerless" and "silly fairies" and disobey Tulip's warnings - and in the world of fairy tales one should NEVER underestimate the power of fairies)

But that's just for the second part of the story. In the first part, prince Warrior's behavior is also to be criticized. In fact, it is quite ironic that he is called "Warrior" and introduced as the winner of "three battles", because the first part of his character act has him acting as un-warrior, if not un-manly as possible. He becomes a love-stricken mess, he locks himself in his room talking to a portrait, he despairs of not being able to be with his love, he spends his day dreaming, and doing nothing, and wasting away, with no appetite for anything, making himself sick over lethargy and depression - and so fragile that he can't even wait three months for his loved one to come without fearing he would die. And even worse, when his hopes and dreams of love are crushed, he acts as a selfish coward by simply abandoning his parents, his throne, his court and duties, leaving secretly at night with just one letter behind to explain everything to his parents, and isolating himself from the world in desire to just cry on his own fate forever in some isolated place... We've got some emo teen in love vbes here.

10 ) This fairytale is very "medieval" like in tone. Beyond the "fairy christening" scene that is reused everywhere ever since Perrault and inherits from similar medieval scenes, a la Perceforest, the entire topic of the hunter going after a supernatural, white animal he cannot capture is an iconic topos of medieval literature. Typically this doubles or is tied to the hunter meeting some mysterious woman in the woods, preferably near a fountain, who might take him to a wonderful palace - but this happens rather to Desired's mother, who meets a fairy at a fountain, and is then taken to the six fairies' magical castle.

11 ) In terms of folkloric inspiration, if we use the Catalogue Delarue-Tenèze (a local form of the ATU Index but exclusively covering French fairytales), this story is clearly a literary take on the story type 403, "The substituted fiancee", "The fake fiancee". More specifically, it is a literary take on the 403-B (characterized by the metamorphosis of the real fiancee replaced by a fake one), though there is one element typical of the 403-A (the fact that the prince falls in love with a portrait). While inspired by it, madame d'Aulnoy clearly adds several purely literary elements that make this story very unique. For example the scene of the "fairy-gifts" and the "fairy-curse" at Desired's birth, or the presence of a first fiancee for the prince in the person of the princess Black, two elements united by the character of the Crayfish Fairy or Fairy of the Fountain - this all comes from d'Aulnoy's mind, and is traditonnaly not found in French folktales. And this was clearly placed here only to complicate the originally straightforward story into something much more focused on a "twist-and-turn romance".

[beguilingcorpse]

top five book series?

okay this is REALLY TOUGH!!! i feel like (with one notable exception) i’ve really only read standalone books (or only the first book in a series) for the past couple of years so FORGIVE ME IN ADVANCE

5. i am admittedly Not Far in the murderbot series (just started the second one) BUT i’ve really loved what i’ve read so far and i’m STOKED for the tv adaptation. it’s such a fresh take on an android character while still feeling like robust classic sci-fi. love it. want more

4. the hunger games I AM NOT KIDDING!!! i reread the first one a bit ago and i want to reread the other ones soon but it is CRAZY how much they hold up. i really do think that as time goes on they’ll just keep getting increasingly regarded as earnest and important additions to the literary canon. for being Baby’s First Dystopia the worldbuilding, themes, characters, and allegories are all incredibly compelling and well-thought-through. i WILL be reading the haymitch prequel when it drops. suzanne has me SAT

3. ok take this with a grain of salt because maybe they do not hold up. but the lunar chronicles was one of the first book series i really truly fell in love with. i am aware that there are many problems with it (on a number of levels lol) but i stand by the fact that sci-fi fairy tale adaptations about cyborg princesses and girls with guns and evil moon hypnosis is a badass concept. unless the series is way worse than i remember it being when i was 14. in which case i take all of that back

2. i went through a series of unfortunate events renaissance recently when i watch the tv show for the first time and it made me remember how damn good the books were. genuinely funny and clever and macabre and silly and weird. more books should be a series of unfortunate events

1. looks at the name of my blog. looks back at you. looks back at the name of my blog. coughs

in conclusion: i need to read more book series written for adults. and i need to FINISH THEM

(ask me my top 5 of anything!)

[utilitycaster]

thanks for the book answer! would you share your fiction favorites in general?

Hi anon,

I'll post a few but I think to clarify - this is also kind of just going to be a list. I meant more like...are you looking for book recs? If so are you looking for specific things (eg: queer characters, fantasy and if so which subtype, sci fi and ditto, literary fiction, etc.) Or do you just like, want a list of books I have liked.

Anyway this is a list of a handful of books/series/authors that I'd count as favorites, loosely grouped, but I didn't go into any details about anything.

Fantasy I read a teen and has permanently shaped how I interact with fantasy fiction; some of this is YA

a large swathe of what Diana Wynne Jones has written

The Belgariad and Mallorean by David Eddings

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede (this came up on the comfort reads panel I watched yesterday and it is indeed a comfort read for me) and Mairelon the Magician by Patricia Wrede (set in the same sort of world)

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read some of the Patternist series by Octavia Butler as a teen but then didn't revisit it until adulthood

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Piranesi is very different and also excellent but that came out when I was an adult, but it's still a favorite)

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (I also read a bunch of her fairy tale-based books which I don't know if I'd call them favorites still but I do think they're an influence)

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Middlegrade/YA fiction I read as a kid that also permanently shaped something

Several Ellen Raskin books but especially The Westing Game

Elizabeth Enright's books but especially the ones about the Melendy family and Gone-Away Lake

Fantasy and SF I read as an adult and would consider exceptional/a favorite

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisen

The City and the City by China Mievelle

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

Phedre's trilogy of the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey (have not read the others in the series so this isn't saying they're bad, I just can't speak to them)

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin

Arcadia by Iain Pears

The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Night Watch books from Discworld by Terry Pratchett; I have read like, one other Discworld book and it didn't have Sam Vimes in it so I didn't really care

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delaney

Literary fiction/not sf I read as a teen or adult

(there's notably a lot less of this because I do lean heavily towards fantasy but)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

[fictionadventurer]

Imaginary Book Recs Cover Thoughts: Round One

Two Passengers on the Last Train by A.G. Benedict: Obscure English literary fiction from the 1920s. I read it as a Gutenberg ebook, but the original cover was one of those clothbound classics with silhouette images. Any modern-day reprints are by very small publishing houses that provide minimal, low-budget covers using old illustrations (something like this version of Manalive.)

Song of the Seafolk by Marjorie A. Penrose: American children's fantasy from 1954, with illustrated cover typical of the era. Has had rerelease covers in subsequent decades (including one very nice painted cover from the '90s).

Bright Folly by Glorya M. Hayers: 1930s comedy mystery. Most representative cover is the mass-market paperback that looks like the more cartoony covers of Wimsey novels (like the editions that contain this version of Gaudy Night), though with a bit more of a sunny Wodehouse twist.

On Eternity's Doorstep by Willa Aldecott: Classic autobiographical novel about WWI nursing. Several rereleases over the years, all involving variations of historical photographs or historical-nursing-items on a colored background. (The Hiding Place keeps coming to mind as a cover comp, except with more sepia-toned photos and gentle browns and neutrals as background colors.)

The Queens of Wintermoon by Jessica Wagner: 1980s (or '90s, I can't remember) adult fantasy with an illustrated cover. A 2010s attempt to repackage it as a YA series split the book into four covers that each featured the heraldic symbol of the House of each of the four sisters (Raven, Eagle, Falcon, and Firebird) on a different jewel-toned background (probably blue, green, orange or red, and violet or black).

Caroline by Maria Layton: 1820s classic novel. Anything that's been done for an Austen book is applicable here.

The Lands of Dorothon series by Barbara Lamley: Off-brand versions of Narnia.

The Autumn Queen’s Promise by Rose Rennow: 1990s children's historical fantasy. Illustrated cover that combines the fantastical autumn colors of An Enchantment of Ravens with the more straightforward historical imagery of a book like The Sign of the Beaver or The Witch of Blackbird Pond.)

Island in the Stars by Carolyn Taylor Harris: 1970s children's science fantasy, with the period-accurate slightly wonky cartoony style.

The Camille series by Annette Nowell: Anne of Green Gables covers but with more exotic settings as the background. Both Camille in the Alps and Camille in the Andes involve her climbing mountains in intrepid Edwardian girl-reporter wear.

The Lakeshore Plan by Louise Zajac: Something between Swallows and Amazons and The Penderwicks. Could go full-on painted summer scenery, but simple drawings and/or silhouettes are also valid options.

Ever Miss Eliza by Charlotte Koning: 1940s slice-of-life light fiction. Honestly, I just picture the cover of D.E. Stevenson's Charlotte Fairlie, except the illustration is a woman in front of a rural schoolbuilding.

The Ocean’s Revenge by Edward G. Whitmore: 1940s pulp fiction in all its glory. Cover features a striking painting of a futuristic submarine in the grasp of a huge squid-creature.

The Book of All Days by Harriet Street: Painting of a little girl peering at an old-fashioned book.

The Guardian of the Nest by Aurelia T. Noah: 1960s children's fantasy. Probably a cloth-bound cover with the images (fairy tale carved right into the cover the way they are in some old books.

The Thief’s Debut by M.J. Ponders: Very recent indie-published fairy tale retelling that is unfortunately saddled with the genre-typical "girl in a sparkly prom dress" cover that probably involves her wearing a mask and standing in front of a vaguely Venetian-looking building. In a better world, it would get a digital-painted cover more along the lines of The Electrical Menagerie, (though the subject matter would be something between The Princess Bride and The Lies of Locke Lamora).

The Interdimensional Book Carrier by Martin Kaspar: Modern-day bestseller. Cover comps coming to mind are The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

[scoobydoodean]

I think some of the "Sam thinks Dean is stupid" stuff comes the repeat "joke" of him constantly being surprised when Dean reads or knows literary references lol

Sure. You know what I think this is also a function of though? Dean saying things like, "Dude, could you be any more gay?" in 3.05 because Sam remembers the story of Cinderella. Actively supporting a narrative that he does not like reading or at least certain types of books (I actually think maybe Dean isn't a huge fan of classic fairy tales for various reasons but I digress). Also Dean often frames Sam as the researcher and himself as the do-er. Even in season 1, where Dean's competence at hunting alone (both the researching side and the actual killing part) is very evident, in Scarecrow, he jokes, "I’m actually on my way to a local community college. I’ve got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don’t have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research." He allows this narrative of himself versus Sam to persist, except when he doesn't and goes, "What? I read" ("Baby" is one example). (Really he just likes keeping Sam on his toes and constantly turning the tables to remind him that there are things he does not know jhvdshggvzhsdvhsa.)

Dean seems to be an avid reader of fiction and he extensively incorporates his consumption of media (watched, read) into pop culture references throughout the series. He loves a good story. He is also an extremely competent researcher when he wants to be... but there are also suggestions that Dean most of the time doesn't particularly enjoy the research grind. Sam? Well—he does seem to have a fondness for fairy tales specifically, but he's that nerd who looks at a call number from the Library of Congress and goes, "This references sciences and probably birds specifically". Also the kind of nerd who would probably work up a whole reference system for the bunker library, which I think Dean would do if he had to--but he wouldn't enjoy doing it and I think Sam is the kind of person who would actively enjoy doing that.

Dean's relationship to research comes across very ADHD to me personally in the mid to late series. Like he can suddenly be sitting for hours doing research if that is what he NEEDS to be doing in that moment and there's some real urgency to that need. But most of the time I think looking through tomes for hours and hours searching for an obscure spell is not what he would like to be doing, and Sam kind of enjoys that shit. I also think perhaps Sam has trouble understanding the difference between the two ways he and Dean relate to books and how both of them like reading but for different reasons, and that not enjoying what he enjoys about research does not mean you don't enjoy reading books generally. But Dean also contributes to this narrative of "Sam is the researcher, and I do not like books", like in 13.17 (because they are about to spend hours and hours researching) saying very sarcastically, "I love books!"

As an aside though also, thinking your brother doesn't like to read also doesn't mean you think he's stupid. There are many reasons not to like reading. Facts about me: I loved to read novels as a child and now I hate reading novels. I can enjoy reading only VERY selectively, have a very short attention span for reading certain types of materials, and haven't picked up a novel in years because I don't want to. But I also have a Masters degree and am working on a PhD. I also don't believe formal education is always a great indicator of intelligence, but neither is not reading books. When Sam gets really scathing and jokes about how "Yes I read books without pictures even", I don't think that is something he would say if he genuinely believed Dean was stupid.

[anthurak]

Ruby’s and Ozpin’s Mythology Allusions and How to Flip the Script on Ragnarok

Ever since Volume 6, I’ve talked quite a bit about how the possible allusions that a number of RWBY characters could have to Norse Mythology. Mostly how I think Ruby Rose herself has surprisingly quite a bit in common with Odin, and particularly how I think Ruby in many respects makes a far BETTER Odin than Ozpin does. Basically, I think the only thing Ruby needs to be a full-blown proper literary allusion to Odin is an eyepatch.

And of course, Ruby’s not the only one: We’ve got the more-well known cases like Nora being an allusion to Thor, Qrow and Raven being Odin’s ravens Huginn and Muninn and Ozpin having a few nods to Odin, even if I think Ruby ultimately has more in common with Odin. Then there is less obvious examples like how Yang’s missing arm and being her team’s most upfront fighter could make her a reference to Tyr. Or how Cinder’s fire powers, use of flaming swords and ties to Salem’s doomsday plot could make her a nod to Surtr. And I think we can all agree Neo could make for a perfect allusion to Loki.

However, there is one prominent Norse deity that has really stumped me for a while now. Not because I feel he HAS to be included somehow, but because one RWBY character has connections to them that throws a lot of theories into question.

Specifically, I am referring to Baldr. And here’s why the absolute golden boy of Norse Mythology has had me so stumped:

You see, Baldr is the son of Odin and is a god of light and beauty and purity and general goodness and is basically beloved by all the Norse gods. He’s also invulnerable to harm from all things except mistletoe, which of course he manages to get killed by. Specifically thanks to Loki being his customary chaotic little shit.

However, Baldr also doesn’t STAY dead. He’s supposed to be resurrected after Ragnarok when all the older gods, giants and monsters (Odin, Thor, Heimdall, Tyr, Loki, etc.) have been slain. From there he leads the other survivors of Ragnarok, mostly the other children of those other gods like Thor’s sons Magni and Modi, as well as surviving humans, into the new world that comes after Ragnarok.

Now, does quite a bit of all that sound a LOT like one RWBY character in particular? Friendly, nurturing, beloved by all their friends and family. Leads the new generation after the previous generation has fallen. Heavily associated with LIGHT?

Yeah, as far as I could tell for a while, the best candidate for a Baldr allusion among RWBY’s main cast is Ruby herself. You know, the one who ALSO happens to have a lot in common with Odin?

Needless to say, this question of whether Ruby is an Odin allusion or a Baldr allusion left me rather stumped for a pretty long time now. After all, it’s just a bit hard for Ruby to be an allusion to BOTH. But recently, I think I may have finally come up with a way of rectifying all this. And it’s definitely one of the weirder theories I’ve come up with…

Because I now think there is another RWBY character that fits a lot of Baldr’s characteristics. Someone who was a very well-liked and respected leader (in his time), was very optimistic, is heavily associated with light, and unlike Ruby, HAS come back to life after being killed. A bunch of times actually.

Yeah, I’m talking about Ozma.

Specifically building off the reverence/respect/loyalty his followers show him (at least at the start of the show), the fact that he’s effectively an agent for the God of Light and how he’s been resurrected.

And you know how RWBY always takes its folklore/fairy tale/literary allusions and turns them around, flips the script or otherwise don’t play the narrative straight?

Well, I now have a feeling that Ruby and Oz represent a role-reversed Odin and Baldr!

Ruby is effectively an Odin in the position of Baldr with many of his positive qualities, specifically a young leader of the next generation after the old guard has failed. And Oz is a Baldr in the position of Odin with many of his negative qualities, specifically an old, weary leader whose obsession with forestalling the end of the world has driven everyone away from him.

With Oz, we basically have a subversive, deconstructionist take on Baldr that shows how his whole destined chosen-one status could crush even the most idealistic heroes. And on the flipside with Ruby, we have a subversive, reconstructionist take on Odin that shows how they can be a genuine heroic figure and leader who can lead their family and friends to save the world.

This also neatly explains why not just Ozpin, but all of the Oz’s seem to be missing a lot of the typically key elements of Odin, like a hooded robe/cape, a tall staff or spear or especially an eyepatch. I mean, the fact that Ruby pulls off the ‘Mysterious Hooded Figure’ look a bunch of times alone makes her a better Odin than Oz.

Going back to Oz, consider how Ozma is revered and remembered as this great, flawless hero in his own time and recounted in ‘The Girl in the Tower’, who also happens to die tragically, a death which sets off a series of domino’s that leads to a great battle that causes the end of the world. And then he is resurrected into the new world that came after in order to fulfill a ‘great purpose’ and lead/save the new humanity.

Really, looking at Oz’s life from the start, his story really starts feeling like some twisted version of Baldr’s, where him dying and being resurrected after Ragnarok is only the START of his story. Where his being some prophesied leader/savoir figure was a role effectively forced upon him, and has now effectively crushed him. Even the way Oz constantly reincarnates could be considered a twisted version of Baldr’s resurrection: No matter what happens, Baldr/Oz just can’t seem to die.

And of course, this would create an all too effective contrast with Ruby being an allusion to Odin and basically flip the whole concept of the Norse Ragnarok narrative on its head: The whole point of Ragnarok is that it can’t be stopped, no matter how much Odin with all his cleverness, guile, trickery and knowledge struggles to prevent it. In that sense, we can consider Odin as representing the futile struggle against one’s Fate, while Baldr represents an acceptance of Fate.

Which means that Ruby representing Odin and Oz representing Baldr completely flips this idea: Oz’s ‘acceptance’ of Fate represents cynical defeatism and assumption that Salem cannot be stopped and that the Gods cannot be allowed to return because they too cannot be stopped. While Ruby’s defiance of Fate represents optimistic determination and a refusal to submit or give up.

If Oz is a deconstruction of Baldr, then Ruby is a reconstruction of Odin.

Consider how many times Ruby has achieved victory through cleverness and outwitting her opponents: Disposing of Neo at the Battle of Beacon, incapacitating Tyrian with a sneak attack, manipulating Cordovin to get a killing shot, exploiting the Lamp’s effect of freezing time to use her Silver Eyes, manipulating Harriet by needling her competitive streak, tricking Ironwood with the help of JNPR and Emerald, disposing of Neo again during the battle in the void, the list goes on.

Also consider how Ruby is both the first to be shown using the Lamp of Knowledge and the Staff of Creation. And how a major aspect of Ruby’s character is the pursuit of answers that her parents, mentors and leaders have either hidden from her or don’t even know themselves. In other words, a quest for Knowledge.

And then of course there are the numerous symbolic references Ruby has to Death just like all Silver Eyed Warriors. Just like Odin is a God of Death.

Odin is a clever trickster who wanders the world in a mysterious hooded cloak with a tall spearstaff often on a quest for knowledge and answers. Mostly in a doggedly determined quest to avert an end of the world that others have called inevitable. A so-called fate that Odin defiantly refuses to accept.

Like I’ve said before; at this point I think the only thing Ruby’s missing is an eyepatch.

[generalluxun]

You know what’s extremely ironic about Astruc's comments about Miraculous Ladybug being for kids?

Let me tell you a story:

Once upon a time; a man was working on a project for which he was very passionate about, a project that involved a skill that had been perfected for many years by him, his team and many other teams of artists. But he was met with many problems.

This project had cost him a lot of money and unless it was a succes with the people, the man would lose everything he had worked for, as he had feared it would happen eventually if he didn't try to make his idea a reality.

Nobody really expected him to succeed and thought he was just drawing his end ever nearer. A "folly" is what they called it.

Eventually he ran out of money and the only way to get the money needed to even complete his folly was by asking a loan from the bank. Easier said than done, because as nobody believed in him, they would not expect him to pay the loan back.

Undeterred; and despite the fact that if he failed to be a success he would lose his home, he decided to bring some of the paintings, drawings and concepts his team had created, to show the bank's board of directors what they were hoping to do.

One of the directors proclaimed that in the future no one would remember the name of anyone in the room except for the name of the man who indeed got his loan and then completed his project.

The man was Walt Disney, and what he showed was a half-finished Snow White.

That's right, Walt Disney had to charm a group of adults with his first movie before he could charm anyone else with it. And if he hadn't succeeded, then animated movies would have probably not become a thing while animation itself faded into obscurity.

And that's not the end of it either, it's established in the movie that Snow White will be saved in the end like anyone who had heard the fairy tale knew already. And despite that, you know what the people at the premiere of Snow White did back in 1937?

They cried their hearts out during the funeral.

Fully grown adults who had heard of Walt's Folly as it was called and were skeptical of watching such a long "cartoon" were moved to the same tears as the seven dwarfs.

Say what you will about the man himself, but you gotta give Walt Disney this: he knew that if adults weren't moved by his work then entertaining kids would be the least of his worries.

I've head this tale before, and I get your point.

I think the 'It's for Kids' runs deeper than this for ML though, specifically. It's used disingenuously to shop for praise *and* deflect critique.

It's Schrodinger's show. If it gets criticized for bad messaging through oversimplification then 'It's a kids show! what do you expect!'

If it feels it's doing well then 'Look at what they're doing in a kids show!'

We've been told by the creator that kids 'get it' in places where adults have concerns. Conversely we've been told 'Kids won't understand' in other places.

Now, you can make a silly shallow kids show and *that's fine* we have silly shallow adult shows. Kids shouldn't be left out.

You can also make a kids show that punches above it's age range, pushing kids to think and learn. *I personally love these shows* they were doing (modified)Shakespeare on Sesame Street when I was growing up. Disney's Gargoyles is RIFE with all sorts of literary references.

What you can't do is swerve between lanes as suits your desires at any given moment. As a creator you need to establish a framework by which your media can be approached. As the creator you have a very wide latitude in how to build that framework, but it does need to remain consistent.

I should clarify- This doesn't mean the more serious kids shows can't be silly and funny, nor that the shallow shows can't dip their toes into more complex topics, but *how these things are approached* needs to remain consistant.

Example: Dearest Family: We're throwing in an addiction reference, that's pretty intense. We're going to give it to our magical fairy stand-in so it is one step removed, and we're mixing in the serious and laughs along the way. It's not until the end where it falls down. the addiction is solved with.... a pep talk. ML loves pep talks, it's 80's cartoon style to the core. Pep talks work for a *lot* of problems. Just stopping to think matters.

Pep talks don't work for addiction. However, you can imagine they don't want to keep this as a running theme with relapses and struggles. It's a one-off lesson. So what you need to do is make it clear that the one-off solution is *also* magical in nature. Have Plagg cataclysm one of those Galette's making it nasty and gross, so Tikki eats it and YUCK! now she doesn't want Galette ever again. Boom, you've 'solved' it through magic so the one-episode-solution for a complex problem flows more cleanly.

I think the inability to learn/accept critique is the biggest problem in the writing room. There are good things in ML, and *every* show makes mistakes of some kind or another. Someone in the writing room just seems completely unwilling to engage in reflection, or if they do they simply will not admit it.

It's weird.

I'm not someone who 'hates the show' I want it to succeed and prosper, and I want it to have good messaging. S5 Miraculous was paralleling Chloé's descent. you are just watching bad choice after bad choice, hoping there will be a course correction.

At least we still have the movie, and maybe S6 will be a new direction. S5 did feel like a glut of 'We need to finish tis before the end of this season' developments.

[bonesandthebees]

What's your favorite fairy tale?

I'm gonna give such an asshole answer to this because my answer technically isn't an a fairy tale so it's kind of a cop out, but one of my professors once said this story was like a medieval fairy tale in a way so I'm going with that. also I just want an excuse to talk about this.

The Lais of Marie de France was a collection of narrative poems written in the 12th century that I had to read for one of my uni classes a few years back. the stories were similar to fairy tales with each one having a 'moral lesson' inside of it while also containing fantastical elements, and my favorite of these was a story called Bisclavret

(gets a little long so I'm putting it under the cut)

Bisclavret (which translates to 'The Werewolf') was a story about a baron who is well-beloved by his king vanishes 3 days a week and no one knows where he goes. his wife asks him where he goes, and he confesses to her that he hides his clothes in a safe spot and turns into a werewolf. he also explains that he can't change back without his clothes. so his wife ends up conspiring with a knight and the two hide his clothes while he's in his wolf form so he can't change back.

a year passes and our poor baron is still trapped as a wolf. the king's hunting party comes across him and the baron is thrilled to see his king, and the king is amazed at how friendly and docile this wolf is. the king ends up being like "this wolf is fucking great" and takes him back to his castle to be his pet.

a little while later the king holds a celebration that the baron's wife gets invited to along with her new husband, the knight who she conspired with. when our wolf baron sees his wife he immediately attacks her, and instead of everyone freaking out that the wolf attacked someone, everyone in the castle is like "wow this wolf has always been super friendly and great to everyone else wtf did this woman do to piss him off" which is objectively hilarious. so the king interrogates the woman (under torture) and she admits what she and her new husband did to her baron husband, and then brings out his clothes. they put the clothes in a bedchamber so he can change back to his human form in private, and once he does the king sees his baron again and they embrace and kiss

the baron's wife gets banished along with her knight husband, and the baron and the king live happily ever after.

my professor was very explicit in telling us this was a queer story. that in literary history werewolves had often been used to represent queer people and this was no exception. he pointed out how intimate the king and the baron were and how the ending has the baron and the king end up in the happily ever after role, with zero mention of the king having a wife and the baron never finding a new one. of course this was written in the 12th century so historians love to debate if it was actually intended to be queer, but my professor was pretty adamant in telling us it was definitely queer and that's how I choose to interpret it as well. so yeah I just really love this medieval gay werewolf fairy tale lmao

(also, when the baron attacks his wife in his wolf form it specifies he tears off her nose. then at the end of the story after she and the knight are banished the narrator tells us all of her daughters were born without noses which is just insanely funny)

[adarkrainbow]

A brief talk about Fables and LGBT

When it comes to works dealing with oe re-creating fairy tales, I always like to take a look at any possible LGBT representation. After all, fairytales became such a monolithic symbol of a heterosexual world with no place for queer people that taking a look at non "orthodox" orientations is always one of the easiest but also deepest subversions of the genre. (There's a whole thing to say about the very strong queerness of literary fairytales from madame de Murat and the knight of Mailly to Andersen and Oscar Wilde, but we'll keep this for later - let us focus on the "popular opinion" and "random Joe or Joane" knowledge that "fairytales are for heteros only").

As such, I had to take a look at the LGBT representations in the comic book "Fables". Being one of the big names and great example of fairytale media, building an entire franchise on reinventing fairytales into a modern fantasy and marking the first American entries into the urban-fantasy fairytale world... And it is very interesting because in recent years "Fables" has come under heavy criticism precisely because of a lack of LGBT representation. You have this numerous series, that spawned numerous spin-offs, and co-existed with other great Vertigo titles filled with queerness (Neil Gaiman's Sandman to take an example)... And yet all people remember of it are "heteros everywhere". Is it true? Is Fables truly as queer-unfriendly as we recall?

This post originally began last year as a catalogue of all the queer characters in Fables... But I stopped halfway, realizing I was exhausting myself by just dissecting every little part of the comic. Not that I do not enjoy it - but I have better things to do on my free time. So instead of making a full and exhaustive list of every mention of non-hetero things, I will rather make some broad and general observations based on my knowledge and reading of this franchise.

If we look at the main series, we can only confirm this popular opinion: homosexual characters are neither primary nor secondary - they are tertiary at most. The only character I remember to have been truly confirmed as homosexual was Moss Waterhouse from "Jack Be Nimble". A very cool character - an intelligent, ambitious, charismatic, slightly morally ambiguous Black, gay and Jewish man who knows he is every minority the old world hates and doesn't hesitate to use it as a weapon, and ultimately gets the fame, the wealth and the power. A very cool character... that lasts a few issues and disappears completely. Beyond that... What do we have? Rose-Red says she had "experiences" with women before - but it is a detail thrown hastily in a dialogue of "Animal Farm", and it is unclear if she is truly bisexual, simply "experimented" in her past, or purposefully had lesbian relationships in her conscious and intense effort to break all the social taboos of the Fables community... I did notice a hairdresser that seems to be a "gay hairdresser" stereotype in "The Sons of the Empire", but after that, the series is a desert.

So, while Bill Willingham recognizes gay people exist, he clearly doesn't want to focus on them or talk about gayness in his plots. In fact, he seems to have been thinking more about them in the beginning of his comic (all the mentions above are from the first third or so of the series), before completely focusing on something else. There is not a refusal of depicting homosexuals, no, there is simply no desire to focus on them or push them forward or tell stories about them (except for Moss Waterhouse, who is a focus-character and one of the main characters of the Jack Be Nimble arc - but a tertiary character in Fables as a whole). [Note: I am only looking at here through the lense of inside the comic, but it doesn't help that Willingham is in real-life an openly Christian and old-fashioned author with some... specific ideas that do not really fit with modern sensibilities, resulting in some of the series' primary controversies, like the handling of abortion.]

HOWEVER! To say Fables is not a gay comic FRANCHISE would be a big mistake. Because while the main series is a desert with one oasis, the spin-offs are BURSTING with gay characters! Well, it isn't a Pride Parade still, but we have prominent, important, front-stage homosexual characters, and gay romances are part of the plots and character growths!

"Fairest" is probably the most gay of all the spin-offs : in "The Hidden Kingdom", Rapunzel is confirmed to be bisexual and a key part of the plot is her romance with a female kitsune. In "The Return of the Maharaja" Prince Charming is revealed to be bisexual and Nathoo (of The Jungle Book) to be gay. And in "Clamour for Glamour" Mary is in an homosexual relationship too... Not only are homosexual relationships openly depicted and primary characters confirmed as queer, but the topic of accepting these relationships is also heavily talked about - from Rapunzel facing the rejecting of a feudal Japan moral system, to Nathoo being afraid of his own feelings and Charming having to explain to him they are normal. What is especially interesting about "Fairest" is that the series seems to go at counter-flow against the main series. For example, Prince Charming is confirmed to be bisexual and to have loved at least a man before... But if I recall well, in the beginning of "Fables" Charming made clear he was NOT into guys, only girls. Another case could be brought up - Crispin, whose "gay-coding" was massively amplified in "Of Men and Mice" - in fact, it is very obviously and strongly suggested by the story that Crispin and the Huntsman are more than friends, given how the Huntsman rushes by his side and refuses to leave his hospital bed after the explosion... It is not openly said, leading to Wikipedia articles to go with the usual routine of "They're just good friends", but the way it is framed and having this "very strong same-sex devotional friendship" sandwiched between openly gay romances, it all VERY strongly implies some homoromantic feelings...

Another spin-off that deserves a good place on this list, but that is not well known (because A- it is the last of the spin-offs and B- it got cancelled due to low sales) is "Everafter", which explicitely confirms that Connor Wolf, one of the children of Snow and Bigsby, is not just homosexual, not just bisexual, but PANSEXUAL thanks to his extensive shapeshifting abilities allowing him to turn into all kinds of sexes, genders and species. And this isn't just told to us by dialogue, but also explicitely proven and shown by having Connor enter an homosexual relationship with one of his male colleagues, Tom Swift (from the Tom Swift novels).

So, what made this "queer boom" in the spin-offs? Was it because Willingham was less present, if not completely absent, allowing other voices to write and speak? Was it because it was "side-stories" that could be split from the "main stuff", and thus there could be more experiments? Was it because these series were made and written in the late 2000s and early 2010s rather than the late 90s, and so these subjcts were more on people's minds? Probably a mix of all that - after all, one thing well known is that the spin-offs were places of free experiments and competitive alternatives, resulting in contradicting plotlines that made the series semi-canons compared to Willingham's main continuity (see the dual Sleeping Beauty origin backstory).

The Fables franchise is not "anti-gay", far from it - I do hold the idea that fairytales are an inherently queer genre and so every work dealing with them for too long ends up showing queer themes at one point or another - even though it is true that the Fables SERIES is very, if not almost exclusively, heterosexual-driven. But the very open and normalized homosexuality, bisexuality and pansexuality of the spin-offs help balance this in the scope of a franchise.

Now, you might say: "Hey, you spoke of queerness at the beginning of your post, but now you're all rambling about sexualities! Where's the transgenders at?". And believe me, it was deliberate! Here is the thing - when it comes to trans folks, Fables becomes a whole other lot of complex topic. I do not know what Willingham's personal opinions of trans people are, and it doesn't really matter here because am looking at the actual created work as it can be received from someone with no knowledge of the author. Here's the thing: while the Fables main series is a desert of gayness, it develops a very strong transgender esotericism through focus on specific fairytale topics, reversal of fairytale tropes, and discussion of motifs that truly work as gender-breaking occultism. This is why anyone who reads some arcs of the main series can easily believe Willingham is trans-friendly (again I don't know if he actually IS, and from the rumors I vaguely heard, he might not be fully okay with trans people, but his work speaks a different language). If Willingham truly is against trans people, than this proves my point above: anyone dealing too much or for too long with fairytales in their work will grow queer-messages and queer-themes, that they want it or not.

On one side, you have numerous shapeshifters in this story who explicitely keep altering and changing their appearances and identities, which brings forward questions of "living into two worlds" (like the cubs, halfway between humans and wolves) or having to choose one identity other another. When this gets mingled with inhuman, cosmic entities and personified natural powers this results to some very interesting gender issues - most famous being the North Wind case. When there is talks of the North Wind getting an heir among his grandchildren, there is a whole discussion about how the North Wind will always be King of the North and of Winter... even if the new North Wind is a girl. Which, as the North Wind attendants say, lets the heir choose if they want to become male to match the title, or stay female while being called "King" - because ultimately the North Wind, being a seasonal and weather power, is above and beyond these gender considerations, and mostly uses them as attributes and titles more than anything of real substance.

On the other side, the topic of names is truly fascinating... Fables being iconic characters of popular stories, feeding off their fame and celebrity to gain power, means that they are deeply attached to their names, that their names are their essence and their being, and that these same names will keep haunting them. And yet... in the second half of the comic, we have numerous characters changing their names. Changes that not only mark deep personal growths and dvelopments, but also are accepted by others and change the perceptions of who the character is. When Flycatcher stops being a low janitor in deny, and decides to become a brave, powerful, messianic king, he returns to his original name of "Ambrose". Similarly, Frau Totenkinder when returning to her true self, abandoning the nicknames and disguises, gains a new identity so that the other Fables do not recognize her and mistake her for another person. And of course, there is how Stinky - who got a name he hated, not by choice - becomes Brock Blueheart, though this is here meant to be more of a religious allegory than anything else. But still - for anyone aware of his transgenderism works, to see this importance and focus on the power of names, of names as defining an identity, and of the changing of names to change who you are... It is hard not to see some trans motifs in the second part of the Fables comics.

But even more relevant, even more obvious, even more trans-coded, was the story of Rodney and June. This arc was the definitive proof that no matter what Willingham's personal opinions might be, Fables was a trans-friendly comic, even if maybe against the author's own intentions, or by accident. [Or again, purposefully if Willingham turns out to be cool with transgenders people, I don't know the guy]. Rodney and June, wood-soldiers, born out of trees, made of wood, part of an entire elite nation and civilization of wooden people... Are fascinated by people of flesh, dream of becoming flesh people, even if others see them as weird freaks and advise them to "keep all this hidden" not to compromise their reputation ; and their story is fully developed and fleshed out (no pun intended) from awkward and failed attempts at imitating and understanding the behavior of flesh-people (things like eating or kissing), to them openly and bravely undergoing a quest to demand that their creator grants their wish of becoming people of flesh, and be recognized as such by the empire they live in... When you read this story, it seems massively obvious that this is a barely-veiled plot for anyone dealing with identity issues and trying to change who they currently are to be true to who they want to be - and more importantly who they feel they have to be. You can't do more trans than that - from the whole "don't tell, keep it hidden" behavior of the awkward friends around you to the secret experiments and roleplayings in the privacy of the bedroom...

In conclusion: Next time someone says Fables is homophobic, point out to them that the comics themselves are not. The main series might not have prominent gay stories or characters, but it has some very strong transgender motifs and characters (accidental or not, they're here, they're queer and people have to deal with it) ; while the spin-offs are bursting with unashamed gay romances and explicit lesbian sex. It is definitively not the greatest franchise when it comes to gay representation, but it cannot be said it isn't a queer comic in its whole.

[dustedmagazine]

The Black Watch — The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours (Dell'Orso)

John Andrew Fredrick, founder and lone permanent member of the Black Watch, generally sounds irrepressible. His creative output follows that energy, following a drunken boat of Romanticism through a slew of albums over the past 30 years (and if he's bored of us talking about his prolificness, at least we aren't bored of following it). New album The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours explicitly comes out of the joy of making music, but what Fredrick mostly captures is a tension in life between what could be and what is. The band's jangly post-punk has goth leanings, but it's hard to hear the act ever going that dark, even if what we often hear is the sound of Fredrick pulling himself back into the light.

The jaded hopefulness comes through on tracks like “Almost Words.” Fredrick begins by singing, “Mind you, try with all your might / To look upon the side called bright / though colored shadows cross and stop your way.” Fredrick quickly undercuts optimism here, but he can hide his earnestness in seeking it to begin with. The syntax might be Browning's influence (despite the prevalence of the term “literary” in describing pop music, few artists wear this descriptor as happily as novelist and former professor Fredrick), but it might be a wry take on poesy. Just a few tracks earlier in “Sorry So Far,” he sang, “In a lyric how much can one say? / And lyrics aren't poetry – no way,” a twisted phrase that laughs at Fredrick's own pretensions even as he discovers exactly what he has to say throughout the writing process.

What that comes to continues the tension. “What's All This Then” opens with, “Never felt like this before / Except for 13 times or maybe more.” Fredrick goes on to doubt the value of promises, jaded by the repetitive experiences of failed fairy tales. But he still “half-believes,” and that half-belief remains essential to The Morning Papers. Were Fredrick to give in to his despair, the claims of hurt or loss would become irrelevant, just part of a faded background pattern. When anger or bitterness come through, as on “Oh Do Shut Up” or “The Morning Papers,” it feels genuine, and well understood from a place that still has enough hope to produce anger.

Most of the music comes with a slightly dreamy quality, a perfect match for Fredrick's lyrics. Some touches of the Cure peak through, but the Black Watch sounds more drawn toward New Zealand or Australia (The Go-Betweens make a reliable reference point) this time, with some shoegaze textures laid over it all. It gives the album a surprising brightness among its harsher edges, so when Fredrick sings, “Just you wait till one day till my faith is restored,” it can sound like both a threat and a wish. Fredrick feels most at home in that space in between. He's comfortable in that space where he can't quite give in to one side or the other, Maybe that's where all the energy comes from.

Justin Cober-Lake

[harrison-abbott]

Copenhagen Travels - Part II

When you wake up you hear the tinny spidery voices of the girls again

Down the hotel corridor. You like the noises, though they make you lonely;

You’ll never translate what they just said, and yet, the sounds of the tongues

Are brilliant. Up, you get, hot and dehydrated. The bottled water doesn’t taste

Like water as you slug it down. … What shall we do today? Let’s head up to

The military fort, surrounded by water: sounds wacky, intriguing.

When you get outside the air is white and brittle and the flags alongside the

Canal side vibrate in the breeze. … You turn west, taking a new road, turning

Grimy, and loud, with native men in their vehicles and fluorescent workclothes,

Repairing the roads with their tools, yammering back and forth in Danish and

Smoking cigarettes, drinking steamy foam cups of coffee. Ordinary men, non-tourists,

Starting their day jobs. … At the end of the street is some gargantuan building

Resembling something like a mammoth white tent, with a jumbo logo MAERSK

On the tall side. As you venture you hear an apocalyptic boom booming of some

Kind of machinery that actually scares you even though you’re on civilian land.

As you pass the innocent stalls with their magnets and glitter globes; and dotted

By these are the seafood cafes, wherein, through the back windows you see

The young folks gearing the kitchen up for the long dreary shifts ahead. …

They’ve turned what used to be the army fort into a tourist attraction: though

There are still army folks that reside there. Nearby the premise there is a museum

Of the Danish Resistance Movement, from World War Two. And close by it

The statue of a man holding a stone rifle in weatherbeaten cyan, looking crestfallen.

It’s crazy how often this particular war crops up in Europe. And, how you can

Feel the aftermath of the Nazis even in a barren oceanic place such as this.

Seventy five years back those rancid tyrants would have been here, marring these

Very docks … But it’s also a fair thing to know that there were men & women

Who stood up to those fiends. Even if it took other powers to fully end their fantasy.

You walk through the park, where the blossom trees are in a confetti pink against

The straights of water which reflect the grey clouds a few miles upwards.

On the far distance are the other hulking factories with their chimneys and rapt echoes.

You get to the famous Den lille Havfrue statue, stranded on a boulder a few metres

Above the water height. It’s a tiny affair, and nice ornament. And though it’s

Early in the morning, is already surrounded by folks snapping on their phones.

Good to know that literary icons still inspire attraction. Even though the

Fairy Tales that we all know are as mucked up and perverse and violent

As anything else can be in global storytelling. ... Stuck on the banisters

Nearby the statue are all kinds of stickers in a meddly of pop art; a range of

Rock bands and music venues up town and there are soccer badges and motifs

Of social movements too. ... You head on from the Little Mermaid and come across

This other statue, of a nude woman nursing her baby. You don’t know the story there.

Is it a monument for the woman, or her infant? The name on the front of it doesn’t

Connect with you. Onwards you go, climbing up the hills of the park. Inside the hills

There is a hexagonical moat. And, on the side of it, an Anglican church that, as you

Approach, ding dangs out the clanky tune when the Hour strikes on point.

The building is half depressed and half handsome in the sombre light.

And by the kirkyards and slinking onto the moat water are these tall willow

Trees that draipse their branches into the mini abyss in quiet drowning.

There is a willow that grows aslant the brook, indeed. Though you doubt

Ophelia will be making much appearances in tourist land, except perhaps

By night and when the castle lands have closed down. ...

Atop the mounds of the fort you can see out for some distance across this

End of the city. And then one of those navy ships hurtles down the port water.

The sailors scurry about the flanks of the vessel in minature mania.

You go to take a short film of the boat on your phone bit it moves real fast

And your lens doesn’t capture the focus well enough. Hey ho.

Walking down to the land-fort, you pass another group of soldiers.

They’re holding real guns. You really don’t know anything about guns

Aside from in movies, and it’s always tantalising when you’re that close

To them in the flesh. The soldiers are babyfaced and probably younger than

You are ... but, they’re all clad in camoflague, and hold these weapons,

And so you get a little prickly by being near them, and you head out of the

Security gates, expecting some kind of dodgy thing to happen to you.

Alls well, though, and you exit safe and then head back into the city.

A few times, at length on the horizon, you’ve seen the dome of a church

In pulsating note, a handful of times. So you reckon you’ll head over there

To see if you can go in. Along the streets, the cyclists fizzle by, and the sun

Comes up in brief spurts of loud yellow, and you get to the church in short

Time and, yes, you are allowed to go in. Many other folks have had the same

Idea as you, and when you enter the atrium there are maybe thirty folks

Scattered about the long benches leading up to the podium, and all under

The planetarium-like dome reaching apwards 200 ft. Watercolour artwork

And alabaster masonry align the perfectly circular walls, and you wonder

The architectural feat of the people who made this place so long ago.

And what’s more wondrous is how hushed thirty strangers in a huge

Room can be when inside the vicinity of a mighty church – for – you

Can barely hear anything save the silent ticking wonder of the crowd

Spanning their eyes around the innards of the dome. Seems like religion

Still has a little relevance, in terms of peace, amidst the wrath and confusion

Of the modern age elsewhere. ... A building to respect. You leave after a

Short while. And head out exploring unto another district of the town.