Cursed Girls and Sin Eaters
is a fanfic by a half-measure set in the world of the Selection, taking the form of a rather demented fairytale with plenty of curses, revenge and betrayal.
The night before the prince Artem's execution for the attempted poisoning of his father, the king comes to visit his son and tell him the story of the last murdered king, and how he met the wife that would kill him in the last Selection.
Tropes in the fanfic:
- Action Girl: Hma.
- Anguished Declarationof Love:
Fermata's doesn't end well - to be expected, considered she has a voice that kills. - Animal Motifs:
- Beastand Beauty: An utterly platonic example with Hael and Chernila.
- Big Brother Instinct: Lisitsa displays this towards Kesalia in the most heartwarming manner. Arash also tends to treat Otrava this way.
- Emotionless Girl: Chernila has tendencies.
- Fallback Marriage Pact: Inverted - Hma and Vran don't even bother trying to find someone else first. They're engaged prior to the Selection, and it's treated as a given that if she's eliminated, they'll get married because why not?
- Foregone Conclusion: The king is poisoned by the wife he chooses, several of the girls die, and Artem attempts to kill his father.
- Framing Device: the night before he executes the prince, the king tells his son the story of how his grandmother met his grandfather and killed him.
- The Ghost: In a manner of speaking, Artem. The entire fic takes the form of his father telling him a story, so we never get to hear from him.
- Last Kiss: Fermata.
- Like Brotherand Sister: Rua and Chernila.
- Meaningful Name: All over the place, to the point that it's almost excessively spoilerish.
- The prince's name, Artem, is derived from the Greek word Artamos, for "butcher". Time will tell if this is a meaningful or non-indicative name.
- The Selected girls all have meaningful names also, but the most notable are:
- Kesali, the Rroma word for a wandering forest spirit, is given to one of the most genuinely kind, if rather blithe and dreamy, girls.
- Fermata, which the name of a symbol indicating music is held for a few minutes longer than it should. It's also an ironic name, as Fermata is a wonderful musician but can never sing or speak as a result of her curse.
- Hma, Hmong for "wolf", is given to a girl described as "like a jackal" and "wolfish". She's heavily identified with wolves also, from her red hood to her missing fingers.
- Otrava, Romanian for "venom". Considering the story we're in, chances are this will become meaningful at some point or another.
- Chernila, whose hair is described as inky, and her eyes like oil, has the Russian word for ink for a name.
- The Not-Love Interest: Arash is this for Otrava.
- Parental Substitute: Hael for Chernila, and later Rua.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Vran and Hma.
