gcdeater

[gcdeater]

charles melton. cis-man. he/him. 34/323. ⸻ king roberon cole welcomes phillip fairbanks to fabletown—or, as they were once known, prince charming from fables. before the magic mirror, they come glamoured in the mirage of a nameless sea of admires to sustain you, fineries disguising an inner rot, . the tale from which they hail exalted their + charming and + passionate, but decried their - superficial and - fickle in equal measure. no matter; this time, they shall write their own. in accordance with the fabletown compact, they are granted amnesty for any and all transgressions, even that which is little known: he paid a pretty penny (almost as pretty as him) to have the old head doctor disposed of… but he’s having second thoughts now.

once upon a time…

there was a prince, just as there is in any tale. he’s doted upon incessantly, far more than any other of his nameless siblings, something they pick up upon easily, and something he largely chooses to ignore. 

sounds like every old story, right?

the only difference is that in this story, giving the prince everything he could’ve ever wanted only begins to rot him to his core. this, paired alongside the absence of accountability and lack of consequences, begin to shape the boy into anything but charming. he’d want for nothing— a platinum spoon laced between his pitiless, youthful fingers. his parents never batted an eye at his outbursts and temper tantrums. 

they  did not think twice when he’d pull his mother’s hair, nor when his lips would twist upward in wicked satisfaction after successfully pulling a cruel joke on one of his father’s advisors.

these details about the prince have a habit of never making it into the final product, so we won’t linger upon the details for too long. 

the weight of expectations reach him near adulthood, but charming never seems to falter. he slays every beast, and perhaps draws a little too much enjoyment from the process. he rescues princess after princess (hell, even a prince on occasion), any and every that need rescuing— and in his own, self absorbed way— he truly did love them all. 

this is largely how he continues his life— never sparing himself of any luxury or indulgence, simply because he doesn’t have to. even when he inherits the kingdom, there is no change of heart. he does not rise to the task of a leader— largely ignoring the people of his kingdom, to the disdain of his advisors, and even his queen. but what reason did he have to be better, when he could do everything and anything he wanted— without even an ounce of reprecussions?

It is in fable town, when he practically loses it all, that the prince realizes the life he lived may have been a farce. he realizes. that his adventures and pursuits of hedonism were an attempt to fill an emptiness that he did not realize was there. he somewhat comes to terms with the havoc he’s wrecked and the hearts he’s broken— and decides that if there was ever a better time to begin staying true to the source material, then its now. 

that’s right, prince charming is claiming to have to turned over a new leaf. he’s attempting to be good now, because that’s what a prince is supposed to be, right? 

prince charming is a changed man. he’s a man worthy of redemption, worthy of love, worthy of endless adoration, and most of all, a man worthy of immortalization. he’ll prove them all wrong, one way or another. 

etc…

y’all already know he ain’t shit fr

basically cinderella’s prince charming from into the woods attempting to have a redemption arc

the problem him is that he believes it’s his duty to be everyone’s prince charming. it’s all very superficial and he’s quite empty as a result.

beyond that he’s selfish, egotistical, melodramatic, sensitive, volatile, shallow, and impulsive

and really fucking charming… did i mention that already?

seriously though— he cares a lot… in his own, fucked up way. 

this dude knows nothing about introspection.

after an epiphany of sorts, he’s decided that becoming an actual prince charming, like on the inside, nonnegotiable. he wants to be a hero! forreal this time! via being a doctor. 

kinda weird, because everything he knows about what prince charming is *supposed* to be comes from the grandiose, false narratives created to make him look better. this dumbass is modeling the new him after fake things written about him lol.

(who let this man be a doctor? and gave him a medical degree? that’s probably the only time he’s actually worked hard though ngl.)

desperately wants everyone to love him, but always on his own terms.

[gcdeater]

CHARLES MELTON

by Blair Getz Mezibov for VMAN Magazine (August 2024)