petermorwood:dragonfishdreams:phantoms-lair:kenobi-and-barnes:skippyreturns:miraculousturtle:miracuf
petermorwood:dragonfishdreams:phantoms-lair:kenobi-and-barnes:skippyreturns:miraculousturtle:miracufic:outintheblack:fuckyeahwomenprotesting2:freedominwickedness:In medieval culture, an event like a royal christening is not a private party; it’s the public social event of the year. To not invite any person of rank to such an event is a deadly insult.Maleficent is certainly someone you wouldn’t want at a party, but she’s also someone powerful enough that only a fool would ever dare treat her with such blatant disrespect. The only way the King and Queen could possibly have gotten away with not inviting Maleficent was to not invite any of the fairies at all; inviting the other fairies and excluding her is explicitly taking sides in the conflict between the fairy factions.Which means they made themselves her sworn enemies, and she responded by treating them as such from then on. If you actually get into analyzing the social dynamics of the scene, it’s very clear that Maleficent was willing to show mercy at first by giving the King and Queen a chance to apologize for their disrespect to her. She doesn’t curse Aurora until after she gives them that chance and they throw it back in her face with further disrespect.And yeah, if the King and Queen had done the properly respectful thing and invited her, Maleficent would have given Aurora a scary awesome present. Moreover so would the other fairies, because at that point both sides would be using it as an opportunity to show off and one-up each other. What they gave her before Maleficent showed up was basically just trivial party favors by fairy standards.How do you know so much about the social dynamics of medieval fairiesBecause the very first things anyone reading a legit fairy tale will realize right away isA) there are Rules andB) ignore them at your peril…okay, now I just want to see baby Aurora being told by Maleficent that she will be a conqueror and a ruler without peer, the master of all Europe, to whom kings and emperors bow and scrape.ahhhhhh i needSleeping Beauty AU with warrior queen Aurora leading her armies across the country to glory and victoryYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS@providentially-demonic“Not only will you be a powerful ruler,” the next fairy after Maleficent steps up, “You will be just, honorable, and skilled, respected by friend and foe alike. What you take you will keep, and you will be remembered kindly by history.”“Furthermore,” the second fairy steps up, “Any land you rule will prosper. Under your hand the people will thrive, the crops will flourish, and the stock be in good health. There will be wealth enough for all, with enough left for generosity.”With this, all eyes turned to the third fairy, wondering what gift she would offer, what favour could be grand enough to follow these wonderous blessings of power, strength, and prosperity. Slowly, the third fairy approached the bassinet, standing before it a moment in contemplation, before finally speaking.“All dogs with be your friends. Even the wild ones. Wolves too. If it’s a canine, it’s your friend now, yet they will never jump on you, make you smell weird, or get you all covered in fur.”“Show off,” muttered Maleficent under her breath.The third gift could also be the ability to have cats yet never be shed on, especially a white cat shedding on black, a black cat on white, and a ginger on whatever is handy… :->(I wrote some of this a while back; here it is again, enlarged, polished and illustrated.)Maleficent is one of Disney’s most effective villains because she isn’t acaricature; no more than the other characters, anyway - check the two Kings andthe minstrel. She has the cultured voice of a senior teacher at a posh girls’ school (Roedean springs to mind, as does St Trinian’s) combined with considerable style and an elegant if sinisterappearance (St Trinian’s, definitely). This shifts towards Wicked when her mask slips, but isn’t that wayfrom the very start. The “Mistress of all Evil” business is much more understatedthan having “I’m-The-Mistress-of-all-Evil” in green neon on her horned hat. Compare Madame Bonfamille (”The Aristocats”) and Lady Tremaine (”Cinderella”)- Good vs Bad… …or Sickeningly Sweet vs Just Drawn That Way? The king, or more likely his advisors, are to blame for the “awkwardsituation” with Maleficent. She clearly has enough power, land and authority to be treated as anoble, maybe even a head of state. So what happens? Diplomacy - none.Courtesy - none. Chivalry - none. Manners - none. Good sense - none.Self-preservation - behind the door when it was handed out.“Well,quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and…How quaint! Even the rabble.”From the sound of it, Maleficentdoesn’t include herself among any of those upper orders, probably regarding herselfas separate from or superior to them all, and – except for that last crack, whichseems to strike a raw nerve – her attitude isn’t too far removed from GrannyWeatherwax at her most arrogantly witchy. “There’s Them, there’s Us and there’sMe.”You have to wonder what sort of gift she’d have given if treatedwith respect and properly invited; it would have been spectacular enough to topany other magic gift and prove that she’s Best…Writer Note: how about this? Maleficent is formally invited to thechristening and made welcome. In response - she now has no reason not to, and three reasons to do so - shegrants the baby Princess a gift which makes the Three Pastel Grannies,who’ve gone first, look stingy by comparison. For Maleficent that’s a definite bonus. Besides the gift, Princess Aurora now has a Fairy Godmother in the same wayas Amerigo Bonasera had Vito Corleone for a Godfather. “If by chance aPrincess like yourself should make enemies, then they would become MY enemies.And then they would fear you.” The TPGs have to prevent Aurora getting used to this and turn her awayfrom the Dark Side - which seems to be the right side, because Maleficent keepsher true nature well-hidden. Aurora thinks the people she meets behavenicely because they like her, especiallysince Maleficent isn’t bad-looking – though as my Mum would have said, she’s “striking rather than pretty”… …andif that changes a bit… …well,none of us look our best when we’re cranky.Since the TPGs (or at least Merryweather, the little aggressive blueone) have made their long-standing dislike of Maleficent very plain, anythingthey say against her is obviously biased, and Aurora is constantly wondering why they can’tbe as nice as everyone else…Writer Note: how about this? Maleficent is invited (because of diplomacy, and because Someone Who LooksLike That might get tetchy if passed over) but the TPGs aren’t invited so as to avoid one of them - guess who? - saying something undiplomatic and offensive. No problem, they’re harmless. Harmless enough to disintegratea castle wall and create a magically effective sword and shield out ofnothing. Harmless enough to wield laser wands that can cut through steel chains and locks……transform boulders to bubbles, arrows to flowers, boiling oil to a rainbow, and turna live bird into stone. Sincethe spell’s almost certainly not limited to just avian familiars, and sinceMaleficent’s reaction suggests it’s permanent, irreversible and fatal……Prince Philip had better treat Aurora properly if he doesn’t want to join the statues in the castle garden. Ofcourse Merryweather - who has definite angermanagement issues- would probably be sorry afterwards, but that never helps… Yeah, harmless. Fail to invite the TPGs,and expect more thanjust pouting. If matters unravel completely, Maleficent will end up as the “Good Fairy” - Aurora’s godmother, guardian and protector (would she play Mother Gothel as well?) - because beingtreated courteously by the king requires that response and is probably amusing. How long will it be before King Stefan,entirely of his own free will naturally, appoints her as his Jafar-like chief councillor? After all, she - a medieval woman (it’s the 14th century, that’s movie canon) - has been running her own domain virtually single-handedfor 16 years and probably longer. Okay, it needs a bit of fixing up, but her retainers don’t look like they’re much good at bricklaying, never mind interior decoration. (Though black is always stylish, and purple is nice. Also certain shades of green.) Meanwhile the Three Pastel Grannies will be the “Bad Fairies” because - by default - anyone fighting againstGood must be Bad…Now there’s an interesting twist to any tail. 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