Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales 87 “Märchen mal anders”: Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales Jaime W. Roots University of California, Santa Cruz Abstract: This essay investigates the evolving definition of what it means to be a family member and likewise to be considered an “outsider” in German society by comparing classic Grimm tales with modern-day adaptations in Internet fan fiction. It begins by examining the role of the cruel and tormenting stepsister and stepmother as well as the kind and loving biological sister and brother in the Grimm tales. While the tales emphasize the cruelty of the stepfamily members, they also highlight their foreignness and suggest the corrupting nature of foreign influences. The essay continues arguing that the definition of “family” in Germany is evolving which can be seen in modern fan fiction versions of the same Grimm tales. Fan fiction tales de-emphasize the role of blood kinship and acknowledge personal character as paramount in the definition of “family.” Keywords: fairy tales, folk tales, fan fiction, Grimm, Internet, siblings In Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812-1857), the roles of siblings in nineteenth-century bourgeois Germany were quite clear. While in the Grimms’ collection biological siblings experience a relationship of reciprocal love and compassion, often sacrificing their own happiness or well-being for family members, stepsiblings maintain an antagonistic relationship with their stepfamilies which often ends in death or dismemberment� Tales such as “Hänsel und Gretel,” “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen,” “Aschenputtel,” and “Frau Holle” demonstrate that blood relation is portrayed as necessary to a loving relationship with a sibling and they present stepsiblings as foreign elements introduced into the family disruptive and untrustworthy� Yet as times change, do these familial expectations change with them? Just as the Grimms adapted the tales in their collection for their nineteenth-century German audience, making changes to emphasize the closeness 88 Jaime W. Roots of the biological family as well as the importance of the German cultural heritage, their tales continue to be adapted and changed by others� In the twenty-first century, we have experienced adaptations of the Grimms’ tales through a variety of delivery methods from the written word to the theater, cinema, television, and more recently through Internet fan fiction. In modern interpretations of the tales mentioned above, there is a clear re-evaluation of biological ties as well as indications of writers grappling with questions of foreignness and belonging in society. While the Grimms portray the blood-sibling relationship as paramount, fan fiction versions of the tales de-emphasize the role of blood kinship, often diminishing its significance to the tale itself. Stepsiblings, on the other hand, are either given justification for their apparent evil deeds, or turned into more compassionate figures. This shows that these contemporary writers no longer see blood relation as an absolute marker in determining the closeness of a bond, but rather emphasize personal character� In this essay, I focus on the evolving definition of what it means to be a family member, and likewise to be considered an “outsider,” by comparing classic Grimm tales with their modern-day adaptations in Internet fan fiction on the German site FanFiktion.de. The wicked nature of step relations, specifically stepmothers and stepsisters, is a prominent feature of folktales. In the Grimms’ “Aschenputtel,” the mistreatment of Aschenputtel by her stepsisters is a theme throughout� Here, a short passage from their 1857 edition details the cruelty stepsisters can inflict: “Soll die dumme Gans bei uns in der Stube sitzen? ” sprachen sie. “Wer Brot essen will, muß es verdienen: hinaus mit der Küchenmagd�” Sie nahmen [Aschenputtel] seine schönen Kleider weg, zogen ihm einen grauen alten Kittel an und gaben ihm hölzerne Schuhe� “Seht einmal die stolze Prinzessin, wie sie geputzt ist! ” riefen sie, lachten und führten es in die Küche� […] Obendrein taten ihm die Schwestern alles ersinnliche Herzeleid an […]� Abends, wenn es sich müdegearbeitet hatte, kam es in kein Bett, sondern mußte sich neben den Herd in die Asche legen. (94) With their tormenting behavior, the stepsisters question Aschenputtel’s membership in the family circle by forcing her to live the life of a maid� They mock her and attempt to separate her from the high status she would have enjoyed through her familial connections� Her father is described as a rich man, yet after he remarries, the stepmother and -sisters exclude Aschenputtel from any aspects of family life or those class-related advantages she might otherwise have enjoyed� At the end of the tale, as Aschenputtel has reclaimed her birthright and exceeded her previous social standing by marrying a prince, the stepsisters “wollten sich einschmeicheln und teil an [Aschenputtels] Glück nehmen” (99). Rather than treat her as a loving sister, the stepsisters view Aschenputtel opportunisti- Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales 89 cally as a means for their own material gain. We are reminded shortly after this scene, however, that this is not how true siblings should act, as the stepsisters are described as “Die falschen Schwestern” (99). And as Aschenputtel marries the prince, the two stepsisters are punished for their actions by having their eyes pecked out by doves as they stand beside Aschenputtel attempting to share in her good fortune� With its emphasis on the “Bosheit” and “Falschheit” (99) of the step-siblings, the tale suggests that biological siblings would not torment one another as Aschenputtel’s stepsisters have. Edited and rewritten by Wilhelm Grimm to be more suitable for children, the Grimms’ collection came to demonstrate clearcut morals so that children could learn societal expectations� Beginning in the 1820s, there was a growing expectation that folktales should be guided towards children� As literature for children, they were expected to not just be entertaining, but also didactic (Zipes 20). In the first edition published in 1812, the story ends with Aschenputtel’s marriage and the stepsisters are not punished. Yet as Wilhelm revised the later editions, he established clear lines of reward for characters who adhere to societal standards and punishment for those who do not� Ironically, by ostracizing Aschenputtel in the tale, the stepsisters ostracize themselves� In their attempts to remove Aschenputtel from the family circle, and distance themselves from her, the stepsisters were instead the figures who separated themselves� This distinction between true and “fake” family members also reflects the desire of many nineteenth-century German intellectuals, including the Grimms, to establish boundaries around what they considered to be German and what was foreign� The stepsisters are “fake” because they have no hereditary ties to Aschenputtel - they are presented as foreign elements in the family by virtue of their status as step siblings� Likewise, stepsisters, as well as stepmothers, are often used in folktales to represent competition and a threat to the traditional family unit as stepsiblings are children whose paternity, or even sometimes maternity, is often not firmly established in the tale (Tatar 32). The Grimms’ tales present no background information on the provenance of these characters, nor is this information important to the tale itself - the stepfamily members are only depicted as a foreign, imposing presence and they are almost always portrayed as disruptive outsiders� The tendency of many German nineteenth-century intellectuals to give distinct definition to what they saw as foreign was strongly influenced by years of French occupation and rule, during which borders within what would later become a unified Germany were continually redrawn. The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 seems to have marked the beginning of an era that promoted the national agenda - and many German states moved to create national histories 90 Jaime W. Roots that denied French involvement in their pasts (Planert 678). From 1815-1830, the historical novel was the most popular genre in German literature as many attempted to grapple with defining a German identity after French occupation (Peterson 287), when Deutschtum was not just ideologically, but also literally under threat� As the century progressed, nationalism was on the rise and it was during the last half of the century especially, that the growing need to identify and defend a distinctly “German” culture was tied to the political will� Throughout the century and in folklore collections especially, intellectuals such as the Grimms, Achim von Arnim, and Clemens Brentano strove to prove that Germany was much more than a geographical location� They often created tension between German culture and foreign influence (Norton 7) and highlighted the hereditary and cultural aspects of what it meant to be German and to be included in that society� The attempt to define what was German manifests in the very careful way in which the Grimms specify the difference between hereditary family members and foreign, stepfamily members� Step-relatives symbolically invade the traditional family and seek to pull it apart - often degrading biological and socially elevated family members such as Aschenputtel in an attempt to raise their own children to become members of the powerful, ruling class. In the Grimms’ tales, this invasion is portrayed as a threat to traditional societal standards and expectations� Characters like Aschenputtel free themselves from the injustices imposed on them by stepfamilies and regain their rightful places in society while the foreign members are destroyed or ostracized� The Grimms’ depiction of familial foreigners was further influenced by the German understanding of Staatsbürgerschaft which was based on cultural, ethnic, and linguistic elements of an individual rather than territorial location (Anil 454). The focus on Staatsbürgerschaft in German society allowed for easy exclusion of anything perceived as foreign and an emphasis on hereditary ties for membership in society - thus there is an emphasis in the folktales of the time on discovering the “falsch” family members and an effort to promote and reward the family members who are somehow “real” - or related by hereditary ties� The foreigner is described as somehow bad or wicked, and the hereditary siblings as kind and true� Another example of the efforts to separate the “real” members of society from the “fake” ones can be found in the Grimms’ version of “Frau Holle,” where the main female character and her stepsister are judged differently by the mother: “Eine Witwe hatte zwei Töchter, davon war die eine schön und fleißig, die andere häßlich und faul� Sie hatte aber die häßliche und faule, weil sie ihre rechte Tochter war, viel lieber” (103). Thus the mother (or stepmother) is described as preferring one to the other according to hereditary criteria� Despite the fact Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales 91 that her own daughter is ugly and lazy, she prefers her only because she is her biological daughter� Her “real” daughter will be able to carry on the traditions and blood-lines of the mother and the stepdaughter is implicitly shunned as one who will never be able to do so. While “Frau Holle” could be a tale describing the beautiful and hardworking daughter as a foreigner because she is not the widow’s “real” family, the tale very clearly defines the widow as Stiefmutter , and the beautiful, hardworking daughter is never referred to as a Stieftochter � Thus the widow and the ugly, lazy daughter are designated as the foreigners, and the tale highlights the good, noble qualities of the beautiful, hardworking daughter against the laziness and ugliness of foreigners� The beautiful and hardworking girl is presented without mention of either of her parents or biological siblings� Yet the tale makes clear by their very descriptions, that the other two characters must be stepfamily members according to the Grimms’ portrayal of familial relations� The stepmother is described as “unbarmherzig” and the stepsister not only as “häßlich und faul” but also at the end of the tale as “schmutzig” as she is punished for her laziness by being covered with tar - making her outward appearance reveal her inner heart even more dramatically than her ugliness� The faithful and hardworking daughter adheres to the societal standards emphasized in the Grimms’ collection while the step-members who deviate from these standards clearly represent unwanted members of a society that transcends the family� In comparison to the relationships between stepsisters, biological siblings enjoy an entirely different relationship as they are neither foreign nor “falsch.” Two tales, “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen” and “Hänsel und Gretel,” highlight the closeness of the blood-sibling relationship which is detailed in many folktales in the Grimms’ collection. In “Hänsel und Gretel” the following phrase is repeated time and again: “Und Hänsel tröstete sein Schwesterchen” (67). The two siblings, abandoned at the behest of their stepmother and thrust into the evil clutches of a murderous witch, have only each other to rely on and they are each other’s only comfort. After Gretel kills the witch and she and her brother are finally reunited, the following tender reaction occurs: “Sie haben sie sich gefreut, sind sich um den Hals gefallen, sind herumgesprungen und haben sich geküßt! ” (72). The story may now continue to its happy end as the two “real” siblings have been reunited, the stepmother has died, and the lateral biological family unit has been restored� “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen” also focuses on these same themes, yet the relationship between the two siblings is brought even more to the fore - demonstrating a relationship of such total devotion that it is shown as the only means of happiness and fulfillment for the siblings. In this tale, two siblings are lost in a forest while a witch tries to kill them by enchanting every water source 92 Jaime W. Roots the children encounter� If the children drink from the water, they will be transformed into wild beasts and shot by hunters� Schwesterchen is able to sense all of the witch’s enchantments, but at one point she is not able to warn her brother quickly enough� He drinks the water and is transformed into a deer� After his transformation, Schwesterchen weeps but announces, “Sei still, liebes Rehchen, ich will dich ja nimmermehr verlassen” (53), and as the reader discovers at the end of the tale, she remains with him ever after� There are also scenes such as “abends, wenn Schwesterchen müde war, legte es seinen Kopf auf den Rücken des Rehkälbchens, das war sein Kissen, darauf es sanft einschlief� Und hätte das Brüderchen nur seine menschliche Gestalt gehabt, es wäre ein herrliches Leben gewesen” (54). Schwesterchen’s happiness is tied completely to the happiness and well-being of her brother - and theirs is a relationship depicted as one of deep devotion and love� Later, Schwesterchen meets a king and they marry and eventually Brüderchen is changed back to his human form� And while the tale claims that Schwesterchen lived happily with the king and they have their own children, the final line adds: “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen aber lebten glücklich zusammen bis an ihr Ende” (57), asserting the primacy of the blood sibling relationship over exogamy� As the last line of “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen” shows, it is not the love of her husband or children that allows Schwesterchen to live happily ever after, but the love and partnership of her brother - evoking a nearly romantic relationship between the two in order to emphasize their closeness� In the Grimms’ collection, tales such as “Aschenputtel” and “Frau Holle” describe in detail how siblings should not behave� The evil stepsiblings torment the good and pure sister and in the end, are physically branded for their misdeeds whether it be the loss of their eyes as in “Aschenputtel” or being covered in tar in “Frau Holle.” The physical punishment they receive further solidifies their status as outsiders - the consequences of their evil hearts are now visible to all� In contrast, tales like “Hänsel und Gretel” and “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen” show what the love of a biological and true family looks like� They highlight the dedication and loving nature of a “real” sibling relationship� They will risk anything for each other and are only truly able to attain happiness and fulfillment when they remain together. The tales themselves attempt to highlight blood relation as necessary to a loving relationship and show the dangers of outsiders being allowed into the family circle� While the Grimm versions may not necessarily duplicate the oral tradition of folkand fairytales, they do represent a window into the mid-nineteenth century bourgeois conception of familial relations� Hereditary ties are represented as vastly important in familial bonding and love� Stepmothers and -sisters represent something evil, unnatural, and ultimately foreign—an encroachment on Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales 93 the ideal that the Grimms presented of the traditional family of father, mother, and child who are all related by blood� Yet as societal perception of familial relationships has shifted and changed since the publication of the final edition of the Grimms’ tales in 1857, so, too, have the representations of familial bonds in folktales. A study done by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth has found that “the family today has many more facets than in previous times” and that there is a large and growing number of non-married families, single parents, and families made up of several households - or stepfamilies� The study also noted that the traditional family of father, mother, and child living together under one roof is continuing to shrink as two-thirds of all homes in Germany are one-generation households: either single individuals or couples living without children� People in Germany are less likely to stay together as a tight family unit under one roof and children are moving out and away from their parents earlier than previously� The study also found that of households of parents living with children - 45 % were stepfamilies. While in the past a large number of stepfamilies were formed from remarriage after widowhood, this has been supplanted with remarriage after divorce. In fact, in 2006, less than half (39 %) of Germany’s population lived in a traditional family (“traditional Families”). Likewise, as the perception of stepfamilies has changed, discussion of what it means to be “German” has as well� In the nineteenth century there was a strong pull to unify and solidify what German history was and, consequently, what constituted being “German”� The emphasis on culture and linguistics as defining who could be German, however, has come into question and one can see this manifested in more contemporary legal discussions� Beginning in the early 1990s definitions of German citizenship began to change with legal battles over a naturalization policy that was more inclusive of foreign workers and their descendants residing within Germany� Additionally, international migration is no longer considered a minor branch of administrative law (Ingram 354), but is now a major part of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. While the legal discussions have certainly come to be much more liberal than the mainstream discourse on who should be considered a citizen, there has been a clear shift in the understanding of who is “German�” In contemporary fan fiction, writers challenge the depiction of foreigners as inherently evil as German society moves toward a more liberal conception of citizenship. Birthdates listed on the fan fiction site indicate that most participants grew up during the 1990s and early 2000s� Likewise, as the family structure within Germany changes, it is only natural that familial portrayals in folkand fairytales would follow suit� In the rest of my investigation, I will analyze the ways in which these fan fiction writers changed and adapted the tales 94 Jaime W. Roots I considered above� The writers not only adapted their tales to more modern ideas and understandings of the world by showing the inclusion of foreigners and a disregard for blood relation as necessary for familial bonds, but also to a completely different medium: the Internet and digital storytelling. For FanFiktion�de, the main mode of information is the written word as the fan fiction pieces themselves contain no sound or images. The website describes fan fiction as “Fangeschichten und Gedichte über Charaktere, deren Copyright nicht beim Autor der Arbeit selbst liegt� Eine bereits existierende Geschichte wird von einem Fan derselben weitererzählt, ausgeschmückt oder auch umgeschrieben” (“FanFiktion”). Yet unlike more traditional modes of writing within the literate, Western world, Internet fan fiction as a form of digital storytelling gives “ordinary people” an opportunity to become creators and writers of their own stories much more easily than going through the more traditional means of publishing. One of the major differences is that the means by which fan fiction is being created and produced, i�e� being posted on the Internet with a computer, has become increasingly affordable as well as widespread. Not only is everyone a potential storyteller, but with new technologies such as the Internet, everyone has more of a chance to be read by a wider audience� Thus these stories can come from anyone with access to a computer and the Internet - vastly increasing not only the number of perspectives and interpretations of media, but also vastly increasing their distribution throughout the world� Creators of fan fiction generally seek to expand upon existing knowledge of the text, add explanations of character motivations, bring minor characters into the foreground, and develop or intensify character relationships� Thus quite unlike the anthology put together by the Grimms, where collectors largely transcribed the tales from oral performance and the Grimms edited them, fan fiction versions of these tales, offer multiple ideas and perspectives, as fan fiction writers attempt to understand and re-evaluate the place of traditional stories in their societies. As examples of the changes fan fiction writers undertake when reworking and rewriting a tale, I have chosen three pieces or “fics” from Fan- Fiktion�de� These tales are fan versions of “Aschenputtel,” “Hänsel und Gretel,” and a crossover, or combination, of “Rapunzel” and “Aschenputtel” all of which highlight the importance of close sibling bonds� A fan story entitled “Cinderella - was wäre wenn…? ” opens with the following note from the author to her audience� She writes Cinderella ist in dieser Geschichte nicht begleitet von Mäusen oder einer guten Fee� Eine ihrer beiden Stiefschwestern wird die gute Fee sein und die immer ihr zur Seite stehenden Mäuse� Sie wird alles versuchen um Cinderella weit weg von ihrer Mutter zu bekommen damit sie endlich ein glückliches Leben führen kann […]. (NoBelieveNoTrust) Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales 95 Right away the writer rejects the idea of the inherently evil stepsister� Cinderella still has an evil stepsister (Ofelia) and stepmother who both follow the traditional trope of untrustworthy, foreign elements entering the family unit� However, her other stepsister, Alyson, cares for her deeply� The story continues: “Alyson, es tut mir leid�” Cinderella schluckt “immer wieder behandelt Ofelia dich so wegen mir und du musst mich beschützen�” Ich [Alyson] drehe mich zu ihr um “weißt du ich erinnere mich immer noch daran wie wir das erste Mal in dem Haus angekommen sind…. Ich hatte wirklich Angst aber als wir ankamen stand ein kleines Mädchen, ungefähr in meinem Alter zu der Zeit, da und hielt einen großen selbstgepflückten Blumenstrauß in der Hand� Ihre lockigen blonden Haare waren total verstrubelt� Sie lief auf meine Mutter zu als diese ausstieg doch die ging einfach an ihr vorbei genauso wie meine Schwester Ofelia� Als ich sah wie traurig das kleine Mädchen war nahm ich meine Bürste und ging auf sie zu� Ich fragte sie ob ich ihre Haare kämmen dürfte und sie strahlte übers ganze Gesicht und als dann ihr Vater verschwand nahm ich mir vor dieses Kind vor meiner Mutter und meiner Schwester zu beschützen� Ich mache all diese Dinge weil ich sie für richtig halt. Verstanden? ” (NoBeliveNoTrust) Loyalty and love are not dependent upon biological ties, but rather on one’s character� The evil sister, Ofelia, is described as incapable of loving anyone other than herself� Yet her inability to love is not tied together with her status as a stepsister� She torments Cinderella, her stepsister, and Alyson, her biological sister, equally� She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants and family ties are unimportant to her. While there is certainly still an aspect of the evil, foreign stepsister and -mother in this tale, the depiction of the loving sister Alyson, questions the Grimm ideal of a purely biologically related family and the evilness of foreigners. While Alyson could still be seen as somehow “foreign” in her status as a stepsister, the tale makes it clear that she has integrated into Cinderella’s life completely and that she is more a part of Cinderella’s family than she is a part of her biological sister Ofelia’s or even her own mother’s. “Die Prinzessin im Turm,” is another tale that features the remarriage of the main figure’s father to a woman with daughters. The stepmother is still evil, and two of the three stepsisters are as well, but the main character, Rosella, finds a good friend and sister in one of her stepsisters. The two girls “spielten den ganzen lieben Tag gemeinsam” (Minerva Fan). When Rosella gets locked in a tower by her evil stepmother, it is her stepsister Anastasia who comes to her rescue� Once freed, the two girls band together and convince their father to exile the evil stepmother and sisters from his kingdom� Anastasia rejects her evil biological mother and siblings in favor of her kind hearted and loving stepsister and stepfather� In their tales, Minerva Fan and NoBelieveNoTrust show the changing status of the family� These stepsisters are integral parts of the family, 96 Jaime W. Roots and do not represent a threat� Instead they are the ones who save and protect their stepsisters from evil� Real families, we see, are made up of people who love each other and they do not necessarily need to be related. While these stories do still have characters who could be described as “die falschen Schwestern,” they are false only because of their selfish natures, not because they are not biologically related� As the concept of the evil foreigner has certainly not been eliminated from the tales but put into question, there is a shift towards examining who belongs and who does not� The tales seem to suggest that many foreign elements in the stories (such as many of the stepsiblings and stepmothers) are still untrustworthy and to be feared, yet there are some who have redeeming qualities and transcend the category of stepfamily� It is no longer necessarily clear that foreign elements are threatening and biological family members are pure and good as fan fiction writers seem to grapple with questions of belonging and inclusion� The relationship between Cinderella and Alyson as well as Rosella and Anastasia show that they are the true sisters� Alyson and Anastasia reject their evil biological sisters in favor of the sweet and kind stepsister� While these two “Aschenputtel” fan stories emphasize that blood relation and hereditary ties do not necessarily determine one’s insider status, and that stepsiblings, if they can prove they have kind hearts, can easily become family, another fan tale simply entitled “Hensel und Gretel,” takes this one step further� In this tale, Hensel and Gretel are no longer related at all. Gretel (or Gre for short) is a young man who has been hired to help around the house after the death of Hensel’s mother. The biological sibling relationship has been completely erased, and the writer, SnowWhiteApple, appears to rely on a popular subset of fan fiction called “slash” to highlight the closeness and devotion of the two men. (“slash” fiction refers to fan fiction that emphasizes romantic same-sex -nearly always male - relationships which are often, but not always, sexual�) Because slash fan fiction almost exclusively describes male / male relationships, Gretel transforms from a sister to a brother figure. Although Gre is of no relation at all (not even a stepsibling), the subject of family and inclusion is emphasized� This is highlighted in a conversation between Gre, Hensel, and Hensel’s father. The father has remarried but states that he hopes Gre will stay with the family� “Gre nickte lächelnd: ‘Ich will nichts anderes als hierbleiben. Ich liebe euch genauso wie meine eigene Familie.’ Nun mischte sich auch Hensel ein: ‘Dann sind wir uns ja einig� Alles andere als das, wäre auch falsch. Ich liebe Gre wie einen großen Bruder’” (SnowWhiteApple). This quote returns us to the discussion of what is considered “falsch�” Hensel makes quite clear that not accepting Gre into the family, although he is nominally a foreign element, would be completely wrong� This version of “Hänsel und Blood and Family in Fan Fiction Versions of Classic Folktales 97 Gretel” shows even more strongly that fan fiction writers are dealing heavily with the discussion of inclusion� Gre, though not a biological family member, should become a part of the family as he has been able to prove himself as trustworthy� In this tale and the others mentioned above, those who stick by us, who protect us, and who love us are just as much a part of our families as those who are biologically related� Hensel and Gre are “brothers” because they choose to be, not because they were born as such� The “brothers” are responsible for each other’s happiness. The reader encounters scenes describing the close relationship between the two as in “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen,” In SnowWhiteApple’s tale, there are scenes suggesting even romantic involvement� The boys frequently stare deeply into each other’s eyes and the reader often encounters descriptions that “[Gre kniete] neben ihn und [berührte] ihn sanft an der Schulter�” The tale continues to highlight the importance and closeness of Hensel and Gre’s relationship and ends with the following conversation: “[Hensel] sah sich um und dann seinem Freund in die Augen: ‘Alles was ich mir wünsche, ist für immer mit dir hier in diesem Haus zu Leben.’ Gre lächelte ebenfalls: ‘Das wünsche ich mir auch.’ Beide blickten in die unendlichen Weiten des blauen Himmel [sic] und so lebten sie glücklich und zufrieden bis ans Ende ihrer Tage�” The ending to SnowWhiteApple’s tale strongly resembles that of “Brüderchen und Schwesterchen�” In both tales, the “siblings” are only happy when they can remain together� Their relationships seem the most important of all and perhaps even more important than possible romantic relationships with others� In reframing this tale as slash fan fiction, SnowWhiteApple emphasizes their intimate relationship in order to imitate the type of closeness and intensely devoted bonds many blood siblings, such as Hänsel and Gretel and Brüderchen and Schwesterchen share in the Grimms’ tales. Their close relationship becomes the most important part of the story as it details not only the devotion and total acceptance of the “brothers,” but also the lengths one will go to in order to save and remain together with someone who is considered family� These fan fiction writers challenge the often one-sided depictions of families shown in the Grimm versions published more than 150 years prior� It is clear that through repeated portrayals of evil stepmothers and -siblings in fan fiction that the elements of the evil or frightening foreigner have not disappeared, but the writers invite and allow a wider interpretation and seem to be seeking to discover what place these tales still hold in their lives. Who belongs and who is excluded is a major part of the dialogue these fan fiction writers are grappling with in their tales. Their familial depictions stand in contrast to the Grimms’ anthology which portrays biological families and stepmothers and -siblings in a clear good vs� evil dichotomy� 98 Jaime W. Roots Folktales have stayed anything but static� They are constantly being retold, rewritten, and reinvented by writers, painters, and filmmakers. In this cross section of fan fiction versions of tales, writers depict the constitution of the families as moving away from the Grimms’ idealistic portrayal of biologically related members with more nuanced depictions of who is considered foreign or evil. The folktale continues to be retold time and again as its flexibility and broad familiarity allows it to be shaped to fit new ideas. Ultimately, folktales grow to represent cultural beliefs and expectations and they continue to be adapted to the ever-changing interpretations and perceptions of our societies� Works Cited Anil, Merih. “No More Foreigners? 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