Type 923 Would Play Differently These Days, Huh

[paperback]

The
Fairy Tale Tale Type
Meme



Today, we ignore the thorny questions about the inherent colonialism of type classification and instead, we follow these steps...

Step One

Comment with your character, including preferences or your own starter if you'd like.

Step Two
Roll or choose a tale type:

1. Animal Brides, tales of ATU type 402
2. Beauty and the Beast, tales of ATU type 425c
3. Brothers Turned into Birds, tales of ATU type 451
4. Cinderella, tales of ATU type 510a
5. Fitcher's Bird, tales of ATU type 311
6. Fairy Gifts, tales of ATU type 503
7. Hansel and Gretel, tales of ATU type 327
8. Selkie Wife, tales of Christiansen type 4080
9. Rumplestiltskin, tales of ATU type 500
10. Open Sesame, tales of ATU type 676
11. Puss in Boots, tales of ATU type 545b
12. Rapunzel, tales of ATU type 310
13. The Robber Bridegroom, tales of ATU type 955
14. The Twelve Dancing Princesses, tales of ATU type 306
15. Pick Your Own, tales of getting lost in folktexts

Step Three

Play out a scenario based on the tale! AU your characters into the fairy tale, create your own modern retelling, have your characters put on a school play of the story, remember that folklore is inherently dynamic and transformative.

Comments

[adamantlyardent]

[it's easier to stand her ground like this - where he's on the lower level and she can glare down at him. it gives her a little burst of confidence to vent her indignation instead of just run away crying.

there's plenty of time to run away crying, anyway.]

Well, I'm not magical! So I can't help you. I can't even help myself, clearly! And teasing me won't change that!

[mycrosstobear]

I'm not teasing you! I'm trying to help!

[He is definitely snapping at her, though. The picture of helpfulness, that's him.]

[adamantlyardent]

No you're not, you're just trying to take advantage of a girl in distress! [jabbing her finger at him:] What kind of help requires such a thing of me to even work!? That sounds faker than fake!

[mycrosstobear]

You're just trying to stew in misery by yourself! [Jabbing right back.]

A lot of magic sounds fake!

[adamantlyardent]

[she scoffs, lacking in any better rebuttals. look, kissing in magic stories always comes from like, sleeping curses or as a prize for the magic! this sounds...

it sounds stupid!]

How are you gonna be able to prove you're not just...just making this up, huh?

[mycrosstobear]

["Curses" is the active word here. Stupid curses.

He sighs, forcefully. How does he prove...no, he has a way to make it clear. Stepping forward, Nicholas holds a hand out over the basket and says a few words in an ancient language used for spells. Nothing happens. He steps back again and crosses his arms.]

Kiss me and see what happens when I try the same thing.

[adamantlyardent]

...

[he's crazy. he's absolutely insane!

...and she's going to die by dawn. stressed, distressed, and running out of options, Cecelia turns away, whimpering into her hands. this goes on for at least a minute, and he's just going to have to deal with that.

after dabbing her eyes and wiping her nose with an old handkerchief, she turns around, looking quite unhappy indeed, but in a more defeated, less heated way.]

I suppose dying with dignity...is still dying, isn't it.

[mycrosstobear]

[A minute is a long time to consider exactly how guilty he would feel for letting someone die when they refuse to accept help just because, he guesses, it would be slightly embarrassing. ...He'd still hate himself completely, but, he thinks, he'd also stay a little annoyed.

When she turns and speaks, he sighs with relief.]

Yes.

[Finally! We have a breakthrough!]

[adamantlyardent]

[he might be relieved, but she sure isn't!!! she hugs her arms to herself, still radiating discomfort as she looks him up and down. he's at least not appalling to look at? but one mustn't judge books by their covers! especially with that sassy mouth of his...

she gulps.]

So...so, what. What kind of...kiss. Like--if you just kiss my hand, is that fine?

[mycrosstobear]

[He's...actually not sure. The curse didn't give specifics on the type of kiss, only that it had to be willingly given. As in, he can't get around it by just kissing some unsuspecting girl himself (which would be an awful thing to do anyway, really).]

I don't know. But it'd have to be you kissing my hand.

[This is so awkward and stupid and why did his life end up like this?]

[adamantlyardent]

[she grimaces and scoffs. that's patronizing! she doesn't want to do that either! but if she's going to die anyway...well, if she's going to die anyway, she ought to die with a modicum of dignity, right?!

after a few more seconds of agonizing over this, pacing in a small circle, she stops, turning back to face him with an apprehensive frown.]

...Kneel down, then.

[mycrosstobear]

[Kneel? Just because she's embarrassed, she's going to make him beg-

wait this is because he's tall, isn't it. His expression switches from indignation to resignation. He drops to his knees with a sigh.]

[adamantlyardent]

[he should've just scoffed and left, the idiot!! what does he think he's doing, doing as she asked? stupid, stupid, stupid!

she gulps, her face flushing hot as she goes stiff as a board, arms glued at her sides, hands curled into tight fists. after a painfully long beat of silence, she steps forward, uncurling her fingers, lifting them away to reach forward, sweeping away some of that scruffy hair in order to bend forward and plant a delicate kiss on his forehead.]

[mycrosstobear]

[He does have the consideration to shut his eyes. It's to protect himself from yet further embarrassment rather than her, but it may still offer some relief. He flinches slightly, automatically, at the first touch brushing aside his hair, but otherwise manages to remain stock still. He gives it a few moments after the kiss (a very light, soft touch) before he opens his eyes again. Presumably, she'll have had time to turn away in a huff.

He blinks, then stands back up.

He doesn't feel like anything has changed. But then, he hadn't felt that anything had changed with the curse was first laid on him, not until he tried to cast a spell. So there's really only one way to find out.]

Can I see the basket?

[adamantlyardent]

Huh-?! [she startles, having braced for something else. a "gotcha" or some kind of rude nonsense to mock her caving to his seedy demands, but...]

What? [she double-blinks, darting a glance over her shoulder at him while that processes. what? basket? oh.]

It--it's there. [she points down. on the ground. there.]

[mycrosstobear]

[He nods, avoiding looking at her. The faster they can get this done, the faster they can get to pretending this never happened.

Nicholas picks up the basket. He closes his eyes in concentration, running a hand over the inside. Filling in the gaps is a matter of convincing the wood that it's solid, even if it doesn't start looking like it.

It's easier than it should be, after so long. That's his mother's influence. ...He blinks.] It worked?

[It felt like it worked. He'd always wondered if there being a way to lift the curse was a lie, another way to make a fool of him.]

[adamantlyardent]

It...it worked?

[no way. Cecelia's still stuck in place, but it's Wolfwood's tone more than anything is what starts to prod her out of place, to step forward, to peer at the basket.]

How-? Are, are you sure? Can I see? [she still has to actually complete her chore, and only has so much time left before sundown...]

[mycrosstobear]

Sure. [The basket does still look the same. But as Nicholas hands it over to her, Cecelia might notice that it feels heavier, as if it's more solid.

Because it is. If she tries drawing water with it now, the basket will hold it.]

[adamantlyardent]

[she takes the basket, turning it this way and that in her smaller hands, biting her lip before stepping around him to get to the well bucket she'd discarded in her dismay. this means she has to fill it up again - something she does with a bit of stammering and fussing because of the audience (any offers to help get met with a what if she KNOWS I didn't do it all myself?! and subsequently blown aside so she doesn't have to look him in the face again).

then...moment of truth: transferring the water to the basket. she does so with her breath held and her heart hammering, fearful to see it all soak into the ground just like the others, but--]

It...did work...! No way!! No way it worked it WORKED!

[mycrosstobear]

It worked!

[He peers over her shoulder at the water which resolutely remains inside the basket. He'd been sure it had worked...but he hadn't been sure.

Could he get another spell or two in? Or is the curse really as powerful as it's supposed to be, and he'll need a kiss for every one?]

[adamantlyardent]

Omigosh, omigoshomiGOSH-- [her voice turns to a squeak, but before she can voice complete delight, she catches herself with a little gasp, fearful of jostling the water and somehow ruining everything.

she hugs the basket to herself tightly as she dares, her mind already on making a bee line back to the house to see her task done and her life ultimately spared - something which has her spinning quickly around and right into the boy who'd been looming over her.]

EEP-! No! Aa-!

[mycrosstobear]

Hey!

[How did you manage to miss that he was there? He's tall and looming! But he has the presence of mind, at least, to catch her hand and steady it to keep the water from spilling. It'd be a real waste to lose that now. To say the least.]

[adamantlyardent]

[she flusters, hugging the basket to herself as she flinches away.] I'm sorry! Sorry! Please, please...I need to go! It's almost sundown, and if I don't get this back, I'm dead either way!

[mycrosstobear]

[He removes his hand and holds both of them up in the universal symbol of 'I'm not armed, calm down.' (Well, he may or may not be armed with spells now. Still.)]

Just make sure you don't trip.

[adamantlyardent]

I! I won't!

[she's gone in a flurry of fluster and curls, hustling back to the house deliver the basket to the kitchen and report to the witch. she held her breath as her work was surveyed, nearly burst into tears again when she was scrutinized for cheating or using a trick, and Cecelia was certain she was done for...

...until she wasn't. the task was done, and the witch was a woman of her word, no matter how cruel it was. despite sensing the trickery, she was bound to honor the promise to not kill the girl if the deed was done, even if it was done in a way she hadn't expected.

curious...

the sun set and Cecelia lived - she could scarcely believe it, could scarcely sleep because of it. more than that... he meant what he said. he said he'd help her, and he did. why, though...?]

Why...did you do that?

[she's snuck out of the closet the witch kept her in, quietly crept around the house until she could find the witch's son. even if he was still scary, she couldn't help her curiosity - it was stronger than fear. she just escaped death because of him, after all! what's his play?]