Yuletide 2024: Fic Reveal and Musings
Jan. 1st, 2025 04:04 amHeyo! This year for Yuletide I wrote and i left the timberlines (for oil slicks and parking fines), an Into the Woods fic that clocks in at about 4.5k words. There were a few things that I wanted to come through in this fic, some of them more important and/or interesting than others. Vaguely, and in no particular order, these are some of the things I really considered while writing timberlines.
Worldbuilding in a Fairytale
One of my favorite things about Into the Woods in general is how it uses fairytales and fairytale logic throughout. In Act 1 fairytales are used semi-ironically, but for the most part played straight; in Act 2 all that fairytale logic is twisted and turned on its head - past actions have weight and consequences, current actions have to be carefully considered, deep regrets exist and characters mature (or don't). Since I was aiming for something focusing on the Witch and Rapunzel's complicated relationship between Act 1 and Act 2, I wanted to find a balance between Act 1 and Act 2. In the end it really ended up leaning toward Act 2, but with the focus on magic and convoluted fairytale rules regarding magic that's so present in Act 1.
Since the focus leans so heavily on the Witch and Rapunzel, magic was obviously going to be a big part of it. I did a lot of stealing from folk magic and neo-paganism for the mechanics - a more nature and plant-based conception of magical workings seemed to fit well with the Witch's garden and the magic inherent in the beans. I also added in the bit about Cinderella being half-druid because, what the hell, I like having random magical beings and Cinderella seemed to fit, what with her mother's spirit inhabiting a tree and her general connection with the woods and birds.
What required more consideration was how magic-users - who we only see embodied in the Witch and maybe Cinderella in canon (depending on your interpretation of talking to birds) - are perceived in-universe. The Witch, in canon, seems to be both a force of nature and a fact of life, someone who can casually live next door to the Baker but is feared due to her ability to fuck your shit with her magic. But, then again, there's not much a baker can do to prevent the Witch from living next door. And in a feudal, incredibly class-based society, magic that can demonstrably wreck your shit would definitely be something to fear. So magic users are feared by the wider society, cast out when possible, shunned and avoided when not possible. Which, of course, complicates things for a Rapunzel who's been taught magic her entire life and is incredibly comfortable around it, especially when she's been thrust into the most magic-adverse rung of society...
Rapunzel
One of the best things about this fic was really getting to dig into Rapunzel's psychology. She doesn't get a lot of focus in the musical - understandable, since there are a ton of characters to balance, and she does get an epic speech about how much the Witch sucks as a mother in Act 2. But what if Rapunzel didn't deal with her relationship with her mother by cutting off the Witch completely? What if she opened that door a crack for whatever reason?
The central problem for Rapunzel, at least in this fic, is that she's torn between the life that she has and life that she was used to. To put it simply, Rapunzel's problems in timberlines are all about power - she was powerless in the tower despite having magic, she feels powerless in the palace due to feeling unable to practice magic, and she's only able to take back a bit of power when she acknowledges that she can choose to use magic at any time. Which, of course, ties back to one of the central themes of ItW - we all make choices, we all have to make choices, and those choices and their consequences, both intended and unintended, are our moral responsibility. It doesn't matter how complicated the circumstances are, part of being a psychologically and morally mature person is the ability to choose and face those choices head-on, without making endless excuses about how actually the choice was someone else's fault.
The choice may be mistaken, the choosing never is. To butcher a different Sondheim show.
Rapunzel leaves one powerless position for another - she goes from an abusive, isolated existence where she's able to practice magic to a "dream" where she has a massive palace, a ton of servants and courtiers, an emotionally distant prince, and two children. And, most importantly, where she feels she can't go against anything they want her to do, which includes her refraining from practicing magic. Part of this is obviously because the Witch had complete control over her life for so long, leading to Rapunzel being deeply afraid to assert herself, but part of it is just... the way society is. The world is set up a certain way, and everyone in Rapunzel's new world will automatically punish her - socially, if not legally - for going against what is expected of her in the palace.
Her asserting herself at the end, making the choice to own her own power, magical and otherwise, is an essential step in her personal maturity, one that ends up being what will save them all from the Giantess in this particular AU version of events.
Speaking of the Witch...
The Witch
The Witch will always be my problematic fav. Sorry not sorry. She's just the best - not in an "apologist" type way but in a "oh my god, I don't support women's wrongs but she could totally make me support women's wrongs" type way. Best, most complicated character in the show, hands down.
Into the Woods only works as a story if the Witch is, as she says, not good, not nice, but - to a certain extent at least - right. That's especially true in this AU, with its bonus tragic magic worldbuilding. The Witch understands, painfully well, the darkest aspects of the Grimms fairytale world they live in, especially as it pertains to the world's perception of magic-users. It makes her bitter and vengeful and more than willing to use that perception to her own advantage, often to the detriment of those around her, but it doesn't make her wrong. She's probably the most reliable narrator when it comes to the wider view of magic, society, and the rules that govern both - and the least reliable narrator when it comes to her own choices and their consequences.
Of course, some of this is tied up in her own relationship with her mother. Mommy issues in a Sondheim show? Color me surprised /s. I personally headcanon that the Witch's mother had almost the opposite approach to raising her as she had with Rapunzel - instead of protecting her (to a deeply unhealthy, abusive degree), the Witch was thrust into situations in a magic-adverse society that she was unprepared for, both talent and maturity-wise. When the Witch's mother couldn't find a situation to throw her into, she created them, making tests and traps that the Witch was meant to fail to "teach her a lesson". Hence the beans that started this whole tragic series of events. Hence the curse.
So the Witch wound up with a ton of painful experience, an incredible fear of the world she's forced to live in, and a determination to shield Rapunzel, the only person she can genuinely care for at this point, from everything that had harmed her in the past. When Rapunzel pushes against that, the Witch falls back on what her Mother did to her - teach her lessons in the most painful way possible. Instead of improving her parenting, the Witch managed to go way too far in all the wrong directions.
I could write a bit more about magic and power in this fic, but I'm honestly less interested in that whole theme than the worldbuilding and characterization that comes from that worldbuilding. Thanks to![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hilandmum for some great prompts and the Yuletide mods for a great event!
Worldbuilding in a Fairytale
One of my favorite things about Into the Woods in general is how it uses fairytales and fairytale logic throughout. In Act 1 fairytales are used semi-ironically, but for the most part played straight; in Act 2 all that fairytale logic is twisted and turned on its head - past actions have weight and consequences, current actions have to be carefully considered, deep regrets exist and characters mature (or don't). Since I was aiming for something focusing on the Witch and Rapunzel's complicated relationship between Act 1 and Act 2, I wanted to find a balance between Act 1 and Act 2. In the end it really ended up leaning toward Act 2, but with the focus on magic and convoluted fairytale rules regarding magic that's so present in Act 1.
Since the focus leans so heavily on the Witch and Rapunzel, magic was obviously going to be a big part of it. I did a lot of stealing from folk magic and neo-paganism for the mechanics - a more nature and plant-based conception of magical workings seemed to fit well with the Witch's garden and the magic inherent in the beans. I also added in the bit about Cinderella being half-druid because, what the hell, I like having random magical beings and Cinderella seemed to fit, what with her mother's spirit inhabiting a tree and her general connection with the woods and birds.
What required more consideration was how magic-users - who we only see embodied in the Witch and maybe Cinderella in canon (depending on your interpretation of talking to birds) - are perceived in-universe. The Witch, in canon, seems to be both a force of nature and a fact of life, someone who can casually live next door to the Baker but is feared due to her ability to fuck your shit with her magic. But, then again, there's not much a baker can do to prevent the Witch from living next door. And in a feudal, incredibly class-based society, magic that can demonstrably wreck your shit would definitely be something to fear. So magic users are feared by the wider society, cast out when possible, shunned and avoided when not possible. Which, of course, complicates things for a Rapunzel who's been taught magic her entire life and is incredibly comfortable around it, especially when she's been thrust into the most magic-adverse rung of society...
Rapunzel
One of the best things about this fic was really getting to dig into Rapunzel's psychology. She doesn't get a lot of focus in the musical - understandable, since there are a ton of characters to balance, and she does get an epic speech about how much the Witch sucks as a mother in Act 2. But what if Rapunzel didn't deal with her relationship with her mother by cutting off the Witch completely? What if she opened that door a crack for whatever reason?
The central problem for Rapunzel, at least in this fic, is that she's torn between the life that she has and life that she was used to. To put it simply, Rapunzel's problems in timberlines are all about power - she was powerless in the tower despite having magic, she feels powerless in the palace due to feeling unable to practice magic, and she's only able to take back a bit of power when she acknowledges that she can choose to use magic at any time. Which, of course, ties back to one of the central themes of ItW - we all make choices, we all have to make choices, and those choices and their consequences, both intended and unintended, are our moral responsibility. It doesn't matter how complicated the circumstances are, part of being a psychologically and morally mature person is the ability to choose and face those choices head-on, without making endless excuses about how actually the choice was someone else's fault.
The choice may be mistaken, the choosing never is. To butcher a different Sondheim show.
Rapunzel leaves one powerless position for another - she goes from an abusive, isolated existence where she's able to practice magic to a "dream" where she has a massive palace, a ton of servants and courtiers, an emotionally distant prince, and two children. And, most importantly, where she feels she can't go against anything they want her to do, which includes her refraining from practicing magic. Part of this is obviously because the Witch had complete control over her life for so long, leading to Rapunzel being deeply afraid to assert herself, but part of it is just... the way society is. The world is set up a certain way, and everyone in Rapunzel's new world will automatically punish her - socially, if not legally - for going against what is expected of her in the palace.
Her asserting herself at the end, making the choice to own her own power, magical and otherwise, is an essential step in her personal maturity, one that ends up being what will save them all from the Giantess in this particular AU version of events.
Speaking of the Witch...
The Witch
The Witch will always be my problematic fav. Sorry not sorry. She's just the best - not in an "apologist" type way but in a "oh my god, I don't support women's wrongs but she could totally make me support women's wrongs" type way. Best, most complicated character in the show, hands down.
Into the Woods only works as a story if the Witch is, as she says, not good, not nice, but - to a certain extent at least - right. That's especially true in this AU, with its bonus tragic magic worldbuilding. The Witch understands, painfully well, the darkest aspects of the Grimms fairytale world they live in, especially as it pertains to the world's perception of magic-users. It makes her bitter and vengeful and more than willing to use that perception to her own advantage, often to the detriment of those around her, but it doesn't make her wrong. She's probably the most reliable narrator when it comes to the wider view of magic, society, and the rules that govern both - and the least reliable narrator when it comes to her own choices and their consequences.
Of course, some of this is tied up in her own relationship with her mother. Mommy issues in a Sondheim show? Color me surprised /s. I personally headcanon that the Witch's mother had almost the opposite approach to raising her as she had with Rapunzel - instead of protecting her (to a deeply unhealthy, abusive degree), the Witch was thrust into situations in a magic-adverse society that she was unprepared for, both talent and maturity-wise. When the Witch's mother couldn't find a situation to throw her into, she created them, making tests and traps that the Witch was meant to fail to "teach her a lesson". Hence the beans that started this whole tragic series of events. Hence the curse.
So the Witch wound up with a ton of painful experience, an incredible fear of the world she's forced to live in, and a determination to shield Rapunzel, the only person she can genuinely care for at this point, from everything that had harmed her in the past. When Rapunzel pushes against that, the Witch falls back on what her Mother did to her - teach her lessons in the most painful way possible. Instead of improving her parenting, the Witch managed to go way too far in all the wrong directions.
I could write a bit more about magic and power in this fic, but I'm honestly less interested in that whole theme than the worldbuilding and characterization that comes from that worldbuilding. Thanks to
hilandmum for some great prompts and the Yuletide mods for a great event!
