#tossawary tpb

[tossawary]

Another Canon Divergence AU idea for "The Princess Bride" is that Westley ISN'T following Buttercup when she gets kidnapped. If he's not doing that, presumably intending on kidnapping and confronting her himself, then he really has no way of finding out about the kidnapping besides, again, spying on Humperdinck and Rugen (which is very difficult to do). And if he's not there to follow the kidnappers almost immediately, then he has no way to intervene in time.

So, Westley has been through a LOT of unpleasant shit to get back and has just found out that his true love has moved on to become engaged to their local prince. He's confused. He's really pissed off. He misses whatever opportunity allowed him to follow Buttercup on her daily ride (didn't see her ride out, didn't hear about it, whatever), because he's following another opportunity into the castle to investigate Humperdinck. Or else he sees Humperdinck and Rugen riding off towards the Pit of Despair together and decides to follow them instead. Either way, Westley overhears the two men very casually discussing Humperdinck's beautiful but forcibly gained fiancée and the kidnapping plot currently underway, and Westley realizes that Buttercup is about to DIE and he's very likely not going to be able to reach his true love in time. He still runs off, desperate and ready to die trying to save her.

And Westley is really much too late to cross the water and climb the Cliffs of Insanity and all that, because Buttercup and her kidnappers are already at the border with Guilder. It's fine though, because when Fezzik and Inigo are confronted with the murder part of the job, they object, and Fezzik ultimately decides that he's really not cool with it. Fezzik thumps Vizzini over the head while Vizzini is berating Inigo. Fezzik apologizes to Buttercup. Inigo looks at the unconscious (possibly dead, heavily concussed at least) Vizzini, shrugs, and then helps Fezzik untie Buttercup and apologizes as well.

It's more than a little awkward, because none of them really know what to do besides wander vaguely back towards Florin. Buttercup admits that she doesn't really want to marry the prince, and he'll find her if she goes back to the farm, which leads into her telling the story of her dead true love, which Inigo and Fezzik find very romantic. Which leads into Fezzik and Inigo both sharing their own tragic backstories in turn. Buttercup is personally very intrigued by Inigo's mention of being in the revenge business.

And then Buttercup goes, "Wait a moment, I know a nobleman like that. Count Rugen is Prince Humperdinck's closest friend and confidant, and he has six fingers on his right hand. I once had to sit next to them at a dinner table while they spent over an hour discussing all the troubles of finding a good glovemaker and skincare for their hands." (Rugen and his wife also once visited Buttercup and Westley's farm when they were younger, but Buttercup would more recently know Rugen from just... around the castle. Rugen is presumably going to be Humperdinck's best man.)

So, Westley is like, "Where the HELL is the love of my life???" presumably harrassing Vizzini about it if Vizzini is still alive. And Humperdinck has his theatric rescue party together to find Buttercup's body on the border, unknowingly following behind a rushing and frantic Westley, trying to keep his lies straight while he's internally like, "What the HELL happened to my kidnapping and murder plot to incite a war??? Rugen, I thought you hired the best??? It's so hard to find good help these days!"

Meanwhile, Buttercup, Fezzik, and Inigo are on a new friendship quest back to Count Rugen's house. Buttercup is the future princess, and so is presumably already acquainted with Rugen's young and beautiful wife, who has to let her in and be a good hostess. The Countess is warily like, "Buttercup... Who are these unkempt and intimidating men...?"

And Buttercup says, "Oh, they saved me from being kidnapped and killed! 😄 I'm sure that my fiancé will want to thank and reward them in person! 😄 This was the closest safe place I could think of! Thank you so much for your hospitality. By the way, when do you think your husband might be home? 😄"

[tossawary]

One of the other reasons Inigo Montoya's revenge feels satisfying is that Count Rugen just... sucks so much. He's a nobleman who took advantage of his privilege to murder Domingo Montoya and then scarred a child on... a whim? You can't say it was over gold or the sword because Domingo was an artist who was basically willing to work for free and Rugen didn't even take the damn sword in the end. It was pure cruelty.

And then Count Rugen... goes on to(?) befriend the like-minded Prince Humperdinck and start a shared torture and murder dungeon together (it might have already existed at that point, idk). Rugen is helping to arrange the murder of Humperdinck's forced bride, Buttercup, so that the two of them can start a war for... wealth? Fun??? These aristocrats running the country are going to get hundreds or even thousands of people killed! They're villains out of love of the game! They're both rotten without regrets!

Inigo is seeking revenge because he loved his father, yeah, and not for anyone else's sake. I like the simplicity of that? That straight, beautiful, reckless line from A to B: "You killed my father. Prepare to die." Like there's only two people in the world: Inigo Montoya and the six-fingered man.

But as a side effect, after 20 years of probably only getting worse as a villain, Rugen isn't going to carve scars into the face of any other young boy who just watched his father be killed for no reason. The only thing I can think of that MIGHT have stayed Inigo's sword is if Rugen had had a child present, a child who loved him more than anything in the world, but that's just not who Rugen was as a person. He was a murderer and a torturer and a warmonger, whose widow will happily move to Paris without him. Thanks to Inigo's revenge quest, there's not going to BE another Domingo and Inigo Montoya.

[tossawary]

I don't think I have particularly high hopes for "The Princess Bride" stage musical? I mean, I love the movie dearly and I think it's a solid foundation for a stage play, and I think there's a lot of excellent material to draw from from the book. I think it COULD be quite good.

But I also think, for me personally, that overall quality and value of this adaptation will depend heavily on the songs and tone of delivery. I like songs that feel natural in placement, like the next logical step is to burst into song, and also move the story along. With musical adaptations of movies, I've found, there's a real risk of the music being 1) just kind of okay in quality, 2) feeling like it was shoehorned in there, 3) not really doing much story-wise for the plot or the characters.

I'm also very sensitive to tones within TPB: I think the comedy and silliness needs that backbone of sincerity and passion to land correctly. I genuinely think that the movie is an improvement on the book in this regard; the book is VERY funny imo, but I think the actors deliver real heart and gentleness of expressions when inhabiting these characters that was kind of lacking.

So, on one hand, I'm going to be real picky about this. On the other hand, I love tearing adaptations apart like a gnawing dog, and another opportunity to dissect the plot beats and character arcs of TPB at length is like a gift for me personally. If it's shit or just mediocre nostalgia-bait, I WILL be complaining at length and talking about all the ways I personally think they could have done better, and I will probably have a very decent time doing those breakdowns.

Anyway, if you didn't know... They're doing a "The Princess Bride" musical! Still in development, but seems like it's most of the way done, as they're doing a workshop in autumn 2026 and apparently have most of the cast already except for Westley.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE Musical Moves Forward With New Development Work Session This Fall

The stage musical adaptation of The Princess Bride is continuing its development, with a new work session set for this fall as the creative

[tossawary]

I keep getting stuck on the logistical timelines of "The Princess Bride" because it's so fun to think about these things. I need to reread the book properly again and will probably do that soon to pick out what few comments are made about these background operational elements of the story.

Westley somehow managed to be JUST behind Buttercup and her kidnappers, so he probably witnessed SOME part of the kidnapping, perhaps an unconscious Buttercup being loaded onto the boat, but was too late to stop it. Or perhaps Westley came across the kidnapping even earlier, but felt unable to intervene when facing at the same time both a formidable giant AND a swordsman who has an expert look to him, as well as a third fellow who is clearly the boss and the schemer and may not hesitate to draw a knife on the hostage.

Westley is both very clever but also extremely reckless when it comes to Buttercup. If he had any time to confront the kidnappers, rather than seeing them just as they sailed off, I think he would have needed to spy on them enough to at least personally ascertain that it was just a kidnapping and not an immediate murder, giving him time to follow and ambush them later. Personally, I think Westley is mad as hell (unreasonably) at Buttercup at this point in time because he (has been through hell trying to get back and) doesn't yet understand why she's apparently moved on and is marrying their dickhead prince now, but he's also still madly in love with her and I think that he would act immediately (improvising like hell) if he thought her life was in imminent danger and had any opportunity to act.

I think that Westley has to have witnessed some part of the kidnapping because there's not really any other way to find out about it, except from spying on someone like Humperdinck or Rugen, but I don't get the vibe that Westley knew then that Humperdinck was the main threat to Buttercup's life and Movie!Westley clearly meets Rugen for the first time after fighting Inigo. (I don't think Fezzik or Inigo knew who had hired Vizzini either. They're clearly surprised by the murder part of the job. I can't remember how much Vizzini knew about Humperdinck's involvement either.) I think Westley would have probably made some bitchy comment about Humperdinck being a murderer to Buttercup when they were arguing.

So, Westley was probably not far behind Buttercup when she was kidnapped, perhaps planning to kidnap her himself for a dramatic confrontation and reunion when he happened across someone ELSE kidnapping the love of his life. Inconvenient! Infuriating!

And for THAT to happen, Westley was probably in the area beforehand, trying to figure out why Buttercup had apparently left the farm. Both Westley and Buttercup's kidnappers might have BEEN THERE in the crowd when Buttercup was presented as Humperdinck's future bride (going by the general series of events as depicted by the movie, rather than the book timeline with all of its princess lessons cut for time). Which is fun and heartbreaking to think about. In the crowd, a confused and furious Westley might have accidentally brushed up against a bored and daydrinking Inigo, and neither one of them would have made anything of it then.

Anyway, it would be funny if Westley managed to kidnap Buttercup first. Vizzini is very angry about his employer hiring a second team and not telling him about it - the professional disrespect! The prize being snatched from underneath HIS highly intellectual nose! Inconceivable! Humperdinck is probably also angry because HE wanted GUILDER framed for the murder, not for Buttercup to just vanish completely. He can just lie about everything, of course, but it's sooo inconvenient. Or else Humperdinck is angry because what do you MEAN the Dread Pirate Roberts is apparently involved and the Revenge has been seen nearby? That wasn't the plan! He has PLANS! And if Vizzini tries to meet up with and talk to his displeased employer about this at all, probably a secretive meeting without too many witnesses, it may quickly get VERY messy if Inigo Montoya and Count Rugen (either with Humperdinck for backup or sent on Humperdinck's behalf perhaps) end up in the same room at any point. Fezzik, who must know his friend's backstory by now, will presumably ultimately side with Inigo in a confrontation.

(This does raise the intriguing question of who exactly hired Vizzini. If Humperdinck didn't do it himself, and he may not have because he's a prince and a busy man as a warmonger, then it may have been Rugen. Or another trusted underling, but Rugen is the only underling we really know of in on the kidnapping and murder plot here. And if it WAS Rugen, then we can headcanon that Vizzini, who must also be very familiar with the revenge quest by now, presumably noticed the six fingers and simply decided NOT to tell Inigo because he's an asshole and didn't want to lose his personal expert swordsman. And in a Canon Divergence AU, it's all blowing up in his face!)

And meanwhile Westley and Buttercup are probably heatedly making out on a scenic isolated hillside somewhere.

[tossawary]

There are some things that I don't like about Buttercup's characterization in the "The Princess Bride" book, which I can't articulate fully before re-reading it. She's not too bright, especially compared to how poetic she is in the movie, and the narration seems a little mean about it. (In general, I find that the characters each being inhabited by good actors, who can deliver specific expressions and vocal tones, gives the film a degree of additional sincerity and feeling that works well to balance out the book's sharp wit.)

But one thing I do really enjoy about Book Buttercup, especially when she's young, is that she's so spiteful. She's a jealous, self-centered little creature as a child. All she wants to do is ride her horse (named Horse) all day, which frustrates her parents because she also hates bathing. She fails to notice all of the other village girls giving her the silent treatment for a month. She thinks boys are gross and quickly learns to freeze them out because they harass her relentlessly. In my opinion, with how she likes to keep her own company and seems disconnected from everyone else's behavior, she comes across as potentially some flavor of neurodivergent.

And after recently finishing "Some Unknown Corner", Young Buttercup reminds me of no other character more than Young Shen Jiu (SVSSS) at the moment. The difference in their backstories is obvious, the comparison feels bizarre from that angle, but the "everyone except for me is an idiot" tone of voice is remarkably similar. There's a shared "I have a lot of my sanity resting on this one other human being whom I like to boss around, and if anything happens to them, I will lose my mind" vibe.

[tossawary]

Okay, here is selection of non-SVSSS fics that I have a fair amount of writing for already, which I currently can't pick between casually working on. I want to get at least one of them off the back-burner and OUT of my damn house sometime soon.

First: "The Princess Bride" Canon Divergence AU in which a grieving Buttercup meets Inigo before he starts working for Vizzini and before she's forced to get engaged to the Prince, just because Inigo happens to be drunkenly stumbling around Florin. A surprising amount of chaos ensues immediately, with more to follow when Westley finally gets back from pirating and discovers his True Love is both missing and wanted for murder.

Second: "Naruto" Founders-Era Canon Divergence AU, tentatively titled "On Both Your Houses", in which the warring Senju and Uchiha clans get cursed by a prehistoric demon. Tobirama and Izuna are forced to work together for the survival of their families and they both hate it the entire time. For my friend who once said that this one "Justice League: Unlimited" episode plot would be fun to inflict on these particular characters.

Third: "Merlin" (TV Show) Canon Divergence AU in which Arthur finds out about Merlin's magic by the third episode of the first season (inspired mostly by spite because I don't personally like Identity Shenanigans very much). Arthur and Merlin are forced to face threats like Nimueh's plague and the Black Knight as an actual team, while bickering the entire time, and also face the pain that Uther has caused Camelot.

I won't promise that the winning WIP here will actually get done (I definitely won't promise that all of them will get done), especially anytime soon, but I could use a boost to help my indecision here and inspire me to get a chunk of work done. I'm in a swashbuckling fantasy mood.

Tossawary, go work on...

The Revenge Business (The Princess Bride)

On Both Your Houses (Naruto)

Two Can Keep A Secret (Merlin)

Voting ended onNov 7, 2024

[tossawary]

When writing both original fiction and fanfiction, it's my personal preference and style to remind people who characters are in the narration when I feel it might be needed. It's especially handy when bringing OCs into a fanfiction. Example: "The person calling out to them was [Character's Name Here], the baker they had met earlier that morning." This quirk of narration often reads to me as the POV character internally reminding themselves who someone is.

Sometimes, a character is quite bad with names or wasn't given one, which is where it's handy to refer to this other character by a fixed epithet. Example: "The person calling out to them was the square-faced man from yesterday, who had given them those bad directions." OR: "The person calling out to them was the mayor's daughter." This reads to me as though the POV character is distinguishing people by a particular feature or remembers them by their relationship to someone else, which is a common way to remember people, until their own name becomes more fixed in your mind.

I also think it's important to keep an epithet / title the same across a scene. Epithets are best used, in my opinion, when that particular feature or quality is actually relevant. It's a little weird for a POV character to suddenly think of their own husband as "the tall man" unless his height is suddenly important in some way, and it might confuse the audience into thinking another person is in the room. If a character doesn't have a name, then "the square-faced man" or "the mayor's daughter" effectively becomes their name, and it's confusing to have a character's name change too much with every other paragraph. (It would be fine to also refer to "the mayor's daughter" as "the girl" or "the young woman" as long as there aren't any other nameless girls speaking in the scene.) Keeping the same title allows it to blend in in the same way that the word "said" does, rather than break up the flow of a scene.

Not every person or character is bad with names and remembering people, of course, or is inclined to give them funny little internal titles. There are people who are very good at names. There are tricks to use to get yourself to memorize names as you're introduced to someone. Narrative styles are going to be different by author and by the current POV character. (Sometimes, you might want the audience to be confused and disoriented!)

In fact, thinking about how different characters think about each other is one of my favorite starting places for crafting a perspective voice. A single character might be referred to in the narration as "His Majesty" by one character, "my husband" by another character, "the king" by a third character, "the usurper" by a fourth character, and "Dad" by a fifth. The name that a character calls someone else by will often say a lot about their relationship and their opinion of that other person. If the prince appears to think of his father as "the king" rather than "Father", that implies something about their relationship.

But back to introducing character names, you as an author, in my experience as a writer and reader, generally can't rely on the audience to easily recall very minor character names unless they're very distinct or the character was introduced in a particularly memorable way. Like, if you introduce a character as the protagonist's best friend, Mary, and immediately start refering to her as Mary because it's followed by a conversation between the protagonist and Mary, that's fair! It's reasonable to expect the audience to just learn Mary's name here! But then if Mary disappears after Chapter 1 and doesn't show up again until Chapter 10, I think it's reasonable to subtly reintroduce her to the audience again. Example: "It was Mary smiling at me from the doorway, and I jumped up to hug my best friend immediately."

Like, there's no one way that you have to refer to characters and introduce them and reintroduce them, of course. Characters have different levels of importance and sometimes we don't really need to know who they are. Sometimes, an author wants an audience to feel grounded, to recognize people, and sometimes they want their audience to feel lost and scared. It's all situational. Style is a thing.

But because it's all situational, this is something I like thinking about and I think it's something worth studying when you're reading original fiction. It's interesting to pay attention to how characters enter and exit scenes in different forms of media, and how the narrator introduces them and how other characters greet them aloud. (Shakespeare comes to mind as a neat thing to look at, to see how theatre does it. Comic books and films and visual media will do it differently to a text-only story.) The audience doesn't have the background that you, the author, carry around in your head all of the time, and you often need to give them a helping hand in keeping your cast of characters straight. Even in fanfiction, without including OCs, not everyone in the audience has the whole canonical cast perfectively memorized, and not every character in any given cast actually knows every other character! It's not just OCs who need introductions, whether those introductions happen subtly or a character enters the story with a bang.

Kind of another side note:

One of my favorite character introductions comes from the book "The Princess Bride", in which Princess Buttercup is kidnapped by three men who are referred to only as "the Spaniard", "the Turk", and "the Sicilian". You don't know their names for quite some time. Buttercup doesn't know these people.

You only learn the Spaniard's name when the Sicilian leaves him at the top of a cliff, tasking him the Spaniard fighting and killing "the Man in Black" who is pursuing their kidnapping. When the Spaniard is about to fight someone to the death, the book pauses to tell you that his name is Inigo Montoya, and then there is an ENTIRE CHAPTER dedicated to Inigo Montoya's long and tragic backstory, in which you learn about his decades-long quest to find the six-fingered man who murdered his father. And then the book abruptly dumps you the audience back out onto that cliff, where Inigo (no longer just "the Spaniard" and no longer just some random kidnapping thug) is about to fight for his life.

I think it's a terribly fun piece of whiplash that suits the comedic style of the book really well. (The book is a little different to the movie and there are things about it that I don't like, the movie gets across a level of a sincerity and love through the acting that the book misses in places, but there are lots of really funny elements to the book that the movie sadly couldn't cover.) The transformation from "the Spaniard" into "Inigo Montoya" is really neat to me.