What Rumpelstiltskin was.
Da infamous "turning straw into gold" conjurer was indeed an amazing "spingenius", but he also put a cruelly-opportunistic "spin" on da bargain dat he made wif da girl in question --- he acted like her giving him her first-born child would not be all dat big a deal to her, but in reality it turned out to be an absolutely devastating prospect. I never was totally comfy wif his not actually being given da promised child, though --- I mean, he held up his end of da bargain by spinning all of da hay into gold, so common honesty and morality dictates dat he should have been at least granted some consideration in dat regard. I mean, if he truly desired to be a father-figure out of loneliness or whatever, perhaps he could have babysat da new queen's child during periods when Her Majesty was otherwise occupied and thus couldn't care for said youngster on her own, and maybe even been said child's tutor or "caring uncle" figure; dat way, da queen could still have retained her child to raise herself, but her savior-wizard could also have gleaned enjoyment and satisfaction from being a part of said child's life.
by QuacksO October 14, 2025
