#be it from characters view point or plot view point ...

[tomtefairytaleblog]

Diamonds, Toads, and Dark Magical Girls

According to Bill Ellis in "The Fairy-Telling Craft of Princess Tutu: Meta-Commentary and the Folkloresque," the fairy tale of Cinderella can be seen as one of the earliest examples of the transformation sequences/henshin seen in magical girl anime, particularly in how the title character is given items that help her achieve a goal, usually given to her by a magical being (her mother's spirit in a tree, a fairy godmother, etc.).

Thinking again about the connection between magical girls and fairy tales--even if they aren't as meta as Tutu, many magical girls do use imagery and ideas from European fairy tales (Sailor Moon alone has references to Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault)--I wondered what other character types from the genre may have some precedent in fairy tales. Then I started thinking about the Dark Magical Girl character.

Not every magical girl story has a Dark Magical Girl, but they do crop up in a lot of works. To name a few, there's Fate Testarossa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Homura Akemi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Rue/Kraehe from Princess Tutu, and countless others that would be too numerous to name. In general they tend to be more cynical, darker counterparts to the main protagonists, who tend to come from relatively more stable environments. Whatever magic they possess also may be more sinister, at least initially.

Tying in somewhat to the story of Cinderella is the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index fairy tale type "The Kind and Unkind Girls" (ATU 480). Many of the stories of this type involve a rivalry between two stepsisters, one being favored by the stepmother due to being the latter's biological daughter. The general idea in most versions of the tale is that both girls encounter a magical being at separate points in time. The kind girl helps the magical being in some way, at which point the magical being gives her a magical ability or magical presents. Meanwhile, the unkind girl refuses to help the magical being and is cursed in some fashion, or, worse, killed. The kind girl meanwhile usually ends up marrying a prince, or a similar character. One of the more popular versions of this story, "Diamonds and Toads," has the kind girl gain the ability to have a jewel or flower fall from her mouth when she speaks, while the unkind girl is cursed to have toads and snakes fall from hers. And while the kind girl does marry a prince, the unkind one is kicked out of her house and dies alone in the woods. (Insert something about Revolutionary Girl Utena's comment about how a girl who cannot become a princess is doomed to be a witch.)

Typically in these fairy tales, the unkind girl is never shown to be a real threat to the kind one; the ultimate threat is the stepmother, who uses her daughter as a means to an end. In contrast, Dark Magical Girls tend to have, well, magic that helps them attack the magical girl protagonist. In this regard, they're the Heavy in the plot, while the witch/mother-like figure/real enemy waits in the background (as is the case in a lot of magical girl shows--the Raven and Rue, Precia and Fate, Fine and Chris in Symphogear etc.). Sometimes the Dark Magical Girl will be a major threat, though--like the Princess of Disaster in Pretear (who is loosely-inspired by the Evil Queen in Snow White).

In The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1976), Bruno Bettelheim argues that the stepmother as a character is a way for children to process the negative traits of their own mothers, while still idealizing the good qualities of them. With that in mind, the unkind sister and the Dark Magical Girl can be viewed as a way of processing/externalizing the negative traits that a girl can have, being cruel, rebellious, and uncaring. They also embody their fears, too--the fear of being alone, rejected, and doomed to fail.

Of course, nowadays, Dark Magical Girls have a tendency to be redeemed and reconcile with/befriend the main magical girl, something the kind and unkind girls never seem to do in the fairy tales. Maybe it's just emblematic of society deciding that killing a girl off for being a little rude is a bit unfair. She's just a kid trying to find her place in the world, too, after all.

#magical girl #magical girl lyrical nanoha #puella magi madoka magica #princess tutu #senki zesshou symphogear #dark magical girl #fate testarossa #homura akemi #rue kuroha #princess kraehe #chris yukine #cinderella #diamonds and toads #kind and unkind girls #fairy tales #hans christian andersen #brothers grimm #charles perrault #bruno bettelheim #the uses of enchantment #random thoughts #text #read more

[arty-cakes]

am i just blorbo brainpilled to hell or does zote technically haunt the narrative if you leave him to die because of the glaring 'neglect' achievement you earn and how the pale beings did the same things to ghost and the vessels and therefore ghost can never be the same once it consciously decides to do that

#what the fuck. i guess i cant really see them the same after that since it is framed to be quite callous #what other characters haunt the narrative. pk obviously #in a literal sense since his visage is everywhere and you can't even sit on a bench without paying him geo. he also traumatized ghost #who else..... im trying to see it from a thematic point of view. plot wise almost everyone from the past is haunting the story. #including the citizens #i also cant remember anything about this game my brain only likes the two loser bugs who aren't super plot relevant. post CANCELLED

[starlooove]

This is all because someone said that tim being wealthy DOES impact his character. Like the ppl in the screenshot are defending the idea that tim should be written as middle class and even claimed that plot points about/made possible or exacerbated by his wealth have nothing to do with his characterization bc they’re plot points and not character traits. They also previously said there’s little to no mention of his wealth whilst also trying to say his wealth doesn’t matter because it’s just “new money” (which I’d argue adds a LOT of context to the drakes vs the Waynes but that’s into analysis territory and I’m not getting into with someone who said plot points don’t impact the character 💀)

Anyways the main point of the post isn’t just to clown on them I just want y’all to take that final tweet into account; “They come and take only what they want, they don’t like to delve into the great character that is Tim.” On a post saying Tim being rich doesn’t matter and has nothing to do with his character. Tim Stans I’m not saying this is all of you, but this group of y’all is sooooo. Let’s be nice and say weird. That it makes y’all look bad. When they’re saying “they pick and choose to ignore his character” in order to defend picking and choosing to ignore his character…have a group meeting or smth yall. This is crazy.

#this lowk made me appreciate tumblr tim stans #like Ik y’all wouldn’t say shit like this God Bless #dc should rewrite tim as middle class 💀 #just say you have 0 understanding of why certain details were added to Tim’s character post Jason Todd #and like even if you think it has nothing to do from an in comic standpoint #are u gonna sit there and tell me his being rich doesn’t impact his writers at all? his fans at all? #the way tim has been so accepted and subsequently flanderized (not even flanderized bc some of the traits y’all boil him down to are traits #he doesn’t have) has a lot to do with him being a rich white teen #and i specify teen because the way y’all baby him has to do with his class and race #y’all make it so when you say ‘he’s socially anxious bc he was so secluded at home 🥺🥺🥺’ #and tbh let’s get down to it this is another way for y’all to make him ‘special’ or more likeable without thinking about it #if you think his wealth hasn’t impacted his character why do you want him to be middle class so bad? y’all just wanna relate more #it’s like when u hc him as a poc but refuse to acknowledge that him being white may impact his character #like u don’t know shit and I don’t trust u with subjects like race or class #back to the drawing board sweetheart #im not even tagging this anti tim Drake this is just who he is lmao #anti tim Drake Twitter fans #anti Thomas and Kyle #OH and the “why Is him being rich relevant’ you don’t even know how plot points impact character you wouldn’t know #OOOH and if you mention how it might’ve impacted Bruce’s view of him they’ll call it fanon #like no thats just point A to point B #to be fair they’d prolly call Tim’s mistreatment of Steph being misogyny fanon too #craaaazy #nothing is real it all exists in a void where social issues don’t exist #Ur so so smart

[dapperrokyuu]

Read ~60 chapters of Chainsaw Man today, WHEWWWWW-

#dee p thoughts #overall review so far: pretty good. author's style is very distinct and potentially offputting/unhinged so I 1000% get someone not liking #this for that reason. theres a lot of food for thought to chew on among it so I enjoy it tho. but I do think the plot in terms of arcs and #how they tie into character development/progression can be very...fast and sudden? couldve used more time to make the progressions more #gradual and natural feeling imo which is where I think the anime expanding on scenes enhances this. ex: aki's care for power and denji is #very sweet but it also feels a bit sudden in terms of...well how to word this? like it ultimately MAKES SENSE but the turning point makes i #feel like his care stems from them almost dying reminding him of himeno as opposed to. caring about them afdadljbkndlkj- yes its establishe #that aki views denji kind of as a little brother but they couldve had the trio cook a little longer imo like at that point I dont really #feel aki has had much connection to power either tbh but...I get it I get why lol- #THO I WILL GIVE THAT THE SUDDENNESS FEELING MAY STEM FROM ME READING ~60 CHAPTERS YEAH. just like? denji's relationship with makima has mor #gradual progression than the trio's imo which makes sense but we should strengthen the trio bond for extra impacttt- #thinking deeper I do think aki has individual moments with denji and power has individual moments with denji so its probably the lack of ak #interacting with power that makes me feel the trio isnt fully baked lol. kind of just shown annoyance and then happiness at her not throwin #vegetables and now you dont want her to die I guess thats what makes me feel something is missinggg #which makes sense at the end of the day I guess? whats important is their relationship with denji not each other? but eh still I guess we'l #jot this down as a personal preference of mine

[cinnabeat]

im still mad about the kairi thing btw like so/kai is good dont get me wrong but i wouldnt be mad about like literally ANY of it if kairi had literally any development herself or any kind of friendship with sora like girl has been absent character development wise since fucking kh2 and youre gonna look me in the eye and tell me kairi is still soras most important person?? with what evidence bitch

#cant even say its just normal misogyny and bad character writing for girls bc aqua namine and xion are RIGHT THERE #everyone else has SUCH good character writing and development and interactions between each other like the relationships are THERE #but sora and kairi barely get ANYTHING and when they do its the same shallow ill protect you :) i want to be by your side :) #telling not showing you know #make it fucking believeable at least #not even from a sor/iku point of view i could care less i want kairi to have like an actual personality #girl hasnt talked to sora ALL GAME #actually she hasnt talked to sora since?? MAYBE recoded????????? #if not since kh2 #and that says a lot!!!! #like really they couldnt find ANY way to bring her more into the story?? #and like sure! maybe that just isnt kairis character! as maby people have said kairi isnt the kind of person who WANTS to fight #not like sora or riku. shes fighting bc she wants to protect her friends and ultimatrly bc she has to. not bc she particularly wants to #and it shows! and maybe shes always stuck in the past and doesnt like change #but bro you gotta be insane levels into it to catch that shit. its background shit its barely addressed unlike literally every aspect of eve #every ither character #MY GUY DEMYX HAS MORE CHARACTER THAN KAIRI #i want to like kairi so bad and i DO but like the potential she has?? as she is its like. she barely exists except as a plot device #im not saying i hate her im like neutral. i just hate how she was SHOVED into every aspect of the endgame as if it made any sense #maybe it gets explained in future games idk maybe she'll have a bigger role (DOUBT) but again as it stands #shes just a plot device #and i HATE that for her she deserves so much better man #michi tag #society if kairi had a character beyond plot device #let kairi DO something for once god fucking damn #gonna kill nomura with my bare fucking hands

[icewindandboringhorror]

this is not the exact one I watched but I saw one of these "dish scape" things at someone's house who actually has TV (like they pay for dish/cable instead of just watching stuff online) and I think they're meant to be relaxing atmospheric stuff that you mostly ignore, but I sat there for 35 minutes watching absolutely engrossed.. further proof that I genuinely think my brain is incapable of experiencing boredom lol..

#IT'S BECAUSE there's so many little details that like you can spend minutes just scanning every corner of the image and taking it all in and #you keep finding new things! like 'oh I didn't know that blade of grass moved!' or 'I didnt see that bucket before!'. And then on top of #so many details - some things genuinely do change. The one I saw was a Beach house scene and sometimes a bird would fly by or ONE TIME kite #came out of nowhere. a sandcastle built and unbuilt itself. there's a firepit and it comes on when the sky changes from day to afternoon!! #this is like watching a sports game to me. I need weird detail oriented friends who will sit for 20 minutes staring at a barely moving pict #ure & cheer and clap with me when a seagull flies across the screen ghgj.. THERE HE IS!!!! etc!! and there's just so much to think about!! #Like how the images are layered or animated and the choices that were made (like I think the sunrise and sunset sky background images for t #e beachouse are just the same picture flipped and recolored) and trying to predict what's going to happen next (will the lights in the hous #turn off for night time? will another bird show up??) etc! I even got up at one point to walk close to the screen and get a better view of #hese paintings that were visible through the beachhouse windows. and then thinking about building a similar home in the sims! OR ALSO THIS #WOULD BE SUCH A COOL medium I think to tell a story! Like you upload a video to youtube that is framed just as a completely average moving #screensaver ambiance type of thing. It's like 7 hours long and mostly loops the same still image. However. over time at certain points you #can see some thing happen like watching characters interact through the windows. animals or people walk across the screen. certain elements #in the environment morph or change. etc. In such a way that an entire like plot is conveyed. maybe like fantasy mystery sort of thing. I WI #SH I could do this style of art / had friends who could or had money to pay somebody to. I would LOVE to collaborate on a weird surreal #It's Just Your Average Slowly Looping Moving Screensaver Video I Promise' type story.. jjhhgHH.. Or even just making one of these set in so #me of my fantasy world environments. not as a secret thing with easter eggs that tell a story but just literally an image like this tha #moves over time and etc. HHRRGRGHhhhhGG.. ANYWay!! I had to actually turn it off not because I was bored but because it was distracting me #. which is funny since again. I think for most people it's meant to be a 'just leave it on in the background' type of thing that's bland an #neutral . But it was just making me think too much ghjgh.. This is why I can't go to amusement parks or nightclubs bars or concerts like.. #a moving screensaver image is too overstimulating to my brain. Could you imagine me going to an environment just full of sensory informatio #like loud noises poeple talking flashing lights etc. etc. ? hghghb... Visiting a grocery store at a slightly busy hour is like my upper lim #it... Anyway.. everything is just so interesting to me. Even if I was locked in a room alone I would have plenty to think about & amu #se myself. I am also a hater definitely like I'm a very analytical person who is critical of society and systems & everything that exists #and even generally am just very opionated and have distinct preferences - so just because everything is INTERESTING does not mean I LIKE or #enjoy everything or never get tired of/annoyed by situations or ideas or etc. But it's more just like.. I literally dont think I could ever #be bored because of the way my brain works and also I approach life with elements of childlike whimsy and constant obsessive curiosity and #attention to detail. so as much as I am an analytical bore I also love everything and the world is fascinating at all times. lol.. duality #of man. if you get it then you get it. ANYWAY.. wanted to ramble abt it. I don't like the above video as much as the one I actually saw but #I couldn't find the beach one online.. BUt.. aaHH! best viewed whilst talking to yourself narrating/cheering! ALSO I want to make one!!!

[saltedsolenoid]

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

ALUZIE 🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️

Best memory... probably something mundane. Like the smell of rain while playing outside with a warm jacket on or the sunlight hitting the river at just the right angle while sitting on the swings.

Worst memory: somehow, it wasn't her dad's death. Lots of things compete for that spot. It's not really something you want to devote time to ranking.

#together in hell #ask #Ough. explaining writing process for the first one because this is like. telling a character's story without the rest of the story's #context to back it up: #best memories (the mundane ones) would all be with rosie. it's seen as a given that everything good in aluzie's life would be with rosie #from aluzie's point of view #also aluzie's trying real hard to distance herself from all these memories. Yknow. For normal reasons. (Plot)

[rostomanologist]

*makes a commander character*

*instantly makes a non-commander au for them*

#why am i like this. #imean. for Reasons i dont want to mix “canonical” appearance of the character as the comm with my and my frens shenanigans #i just wanted to leave them as they are in the story #with interactions only with npcs and building relations with them as the game and plot intends #and viewing them only from this point without too much headcanoning #but oh man my veggie catboy is too pretty to be left alone with only npcs so now i want them to stop being a commander!!! what the fuck!! #(or at least make an au for em yeh) #dunno why is that all so important for me. oof #not art #my ocs #ciaráhn

[micamicster]

I had this whole long post written out about how my current writing project is presenting unique challenges and I’m struggling a lot with it when I realized it’s all because I haven’t been able to have my sister read it and tell me what works yet

#need to get this thing into the sort of shape that she could take a look as soon as possible #im hitting the point where i stall without outside input #that said it IS presenting unique challenges for me! #it’s very different from what I’ve written before (not in terms of plot or anything like that) but in terms of character #Because the lead is a very quiet reserved even resigned sort of person #And i don’t think I have the skill yet as a writer to make that point of view interesting for 20k of repressed romance and self denial #who tf do I think I am trying to write an Anne eliot ass character? #I gotta increase my skills rn immediately #anyway. writing progresses or whatever #while you were sleeping au

[mishkakagehishka]

Where's my post ab being a two-faced bitch bc i like both eichi and valkyrie i'm feeling it again

#sorry. i love how like #enstars doesn't allow a villain and hero dynamic to exist #they're all villains they're all heroes... it just depends on whose point of view you're looking for #from* and. ain't that just so refreshingly realistic? for a gacha game anyway. idk i'm jusz #we all clown so much on enstars' story but i like how it approaches characters and the narrative #if i could i'd write an essay on it. on how wonderfully intricate the plot actually is #the characters that are so much deeper that have so many layers... #how you can call each character horrible and irredeemable for x but a poor little thing for y..........

[outerspace-iiinnerspace]

#Catch-22 is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. #He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. #Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century (comma) it uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person #omniscient narration (comma) describing events from the points of view of different characters. #The seperate storylines are out of sequence so the timeline develops along with the plot.

[phoenix-before-the-flame]

My deep desire for END Natsu can be summed up in this meme

#my stuff #u dont understand!!!! #he needed his moment!!! his resolution!!!his moment for growth!!!!! #hes nevrr had a moment for introspection ot calm to question himself or his goals or his views! #his entire worldview was shattered when he lost igneel and nothing even came of that! #following up and tying the END plot point with the recent loss of igneel wouldve done so many things with natsus development emotionally #he feels woefully flzt and almost regressive as a character bcus he never got the chance to grow! #he was put in situations but never reacted to them never questioned! #i dunno if im makin sense here but END was supposed to be more than just hey cool demon power up! #it was supposed to be the culmination of natsus arc and all the mysteries anout him coming to light #as the first moment to look into the stpry from his pov! #i just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #why was this plot point dropped off the face of the earth and used incorrectly!

[yanderefairyangel]

Dear VNC fandom. I have a question : why fighting over ship being canon ? Why does it matter so much that the ship you like is canon ? Why does it matter so much that Mochi- sensei makes your ship canon ? Seriously, will another ship than the one you like being canon stops you from enjoying the ship you like despite it not being canon ? I don’t think so and I don’t think you would have the heart to listen to someone comming at you saying “stop shipping this ship because it’s not canon”. So what does it bring you that your ship become canon or that it stays fanon ? 

Moreover we are speaking of a fictional work written by Jun Mochizuki herself. Did you all not have learn anything from Pandora Hearts ? 

It’s already very embarrasing to fight over two pixels hooking up because you like those two pixels together, but fighting over whether it is canon or not as if canon meant true, when canon just means things as the author imagined them or things that are said in the story to guide what you should believe when suspending your disbelief is even worse precisely because fiction only relies on suspension of disbelief. You prefering your fanon ship over the canon one is not disrespectful, it is just your taste and why I can see you would feel happy if the original author happened to share your taste, it’s not worth a fight.

At the end, we all know that fans whether they share it on social media or not will still prefers their own ship regardless of whether it’s confirmed or not so why fighting over this ? espiecially over pixels hooking up in a serie where every character would die ?

#les mémoires de vanitas #the case study of vanitas #memoir of vanitas #vanitas no shuki #vanitas no carte #vnc #i say that for vnc #but it applies to literlay any piece of media #I just don't care about whether the ship I like is canon or not #there is just no stake in the author confirming which pixel hooks up with which #the only moment I would care about a ship being canon is if said ship being canon creates plot holes #and only because it would be a bad decision from a writing point of view #I'll add that this is even more pointless if you already know the endgame ship is the ship you like #but you still feel the need to tell others not to ship the ship they like because this ship is not canon #because at the end of the day you know your ship is canon and that the others are not so why getting upset? #idk if your gonna think I am proship after that and idc #shipping character is not a reason to fight #and if I see a pairing I find problematic i will simply avoid content depicting it #but to each their own limits and I don't see how fighting over this ship being canon would help #and anyone complaining about morals #just remember that you are reading a work by Mochizuki #So obvioulsy she is gonna makes us question the morality behind each thing #But liking a relationship doesn't mean that you are not aware of its flaws irl #so that is even less an argument of why it should matter whether or not the healthy ship is canon and not the toxic one

[seven-saffodils]

.

#i love reading books from the same writer at different points in their career and seeing them revisit topics or motifs #and explore different angles or try to be clearer in their expression or take the opposite point of view #it's like they've written fanfic of their own works #or meta or sth #this is about cat sebastian writing alex in ''daniel cabot'' as a prickly neurodivergent and the parallels and differences between that and #lawrence in her turner series #who also has a lot of anger and is scared of having a relationship #this is also about john green's books and how in so many there is a search for a character #like not that that's an uncommon plot device but it's always there it's like he's continually grieving or sth #anyway i'm sure there are some other cool examples of authors having an extended conversation about a topic #through their multiple fictional works #but those were books i've read recently and thought about

[dallonwrites]

me, 2 days before nanowrimo ends, when i want to hit 50k and im behind and i want to just get words down so i hit 50k: i need to rewrite half of the chapters so they’re in second person

#im about to write an essay in the tags if you want to hear some WS behind the scenes lore #SO BASICALLY #i already have a structure where every other chapter is only one scene #so far only one of them has broken 1000 words #and the aim of them is to either a) show an event that will be important in the next chapter #for example theres a minor character who dies but their body being discovered is a huge plot point so the first of these chapters actually #shows the death #b) give a chance to look at part of the story from a different angle #so one thing i like and want to do is have these chapters be a chance #for side characters to have a POV moment #and do a character study for them but from the pov of like their view of whatever just happened in the plot #c) reveal something about a character that will be important to understand how they act in the next chapter #the chapters are usually in the fictive present but atm 2 of them are flashbacks #i call them interludes right now but idk if thats the right word if the interlude is happening every other chapter LOL #i do like how it shapes the pacing #and its fun to play around w structure in a low stakes way since im not publishing #ANYWAY im starting one now and i have the urge to write it in second person and now im like. wait what if these were all in second person #i think that would be so hot actually

[cinnabeat]

re:mind costs 30 fucking dollars............

#im gonna replay kh3 and im gonna Pay Attention #i WAS planning on playing re mind too and i will but god damn thirty fucking dollars #also while i do understand how the disney worlds and the attraction flow make sense in the context of the story #like the sleeping realm theory like i see why they would do that #and by didney worlds i mean basically replaying the whole movies with sora as a background character #rather than an actual driving force that has an affect on the preconceived plot #like i see why its like that from a narrative point of view #but as a real person playing the game its just really annoying having so much disney shoved into my face #yes its dumb to be saying that about a game thats literally disney but Anime but at least in previous games its like #like i said sora has an ACTIVE affect on the stories like things play out differently maybe a bit similar but at least not beat for beat the #same or even its not set in the movie timeline at all just before or after the stories or somewhere in the middle #the point its not a retelling its like those fix it fics where someones like what would happen if this person was here instead #and i like dthat! made it very unique and enjoyable and not make me feel like i was watching a movie in the middle of a game #and like i said i can see why narratively having sora in the background and unable to truly influemce the stories bc ultimately it was about #the people and THEIR relationships and not some outside force (heartless) causing problems #like i get that but good god was it tedious and annoying and just ugh #i swear hearing fucking let it go in the middle of the game was so annoying i cant even remember what the point was of it like character wis #wise for sora i mean like idk what he gained from that bc i just checked out #like thats truly my one complaint about the game is just all the disney. it was only confusing for me bc i did NOT pay attention to the plot #at all which is not a fault of the game. also the attraction flow was useless to me like just plain annoying man like literaly disney advert #advertisements i hated it #michi tag