Sophinx Riddleton

Warning: Mentions death and maltreatment of the dead.

"A kingdom for the best of you. A slash for the rest of you!"

- Sophinx Riddleton

Meet Sophinx Riddleton, a Prince Charming’s worst nightmare. She is no ordinary princess. In fact, Sophinx is the heir to the throne of an organ trade empire, financed by the bones and flesh of any foolish princes that tried to win the hand of the kingdom’s infamous princess. Sophinx is a Royal, determined to carry on her mother‘s legacy and strike fear into the hearts of men, potential invaders in particular. Even so, there are minor changes she would like to make to her story.

Personality
When you first meet Sophinx in person, it is hard to imagine her being the monster rumors would lead you to believe. On the surface, she is soft-spoken and polite towards others. Sophinx is prim and proper and she has very good manners. Sophinx shakes hands with her guests and generously treats them to sweet snacks. She’s fond of tea parties and balls. Not unlike any ordinary princess.

Only by further inspection will you realize all that’s sinister about Sophinx leaks out in subtlety. It is no coincidence her handshakes tend to be firm, sometimes even painful. Even if she does apologize for hurting and blame it on her own enthusiasm, it is clear that Sophinx’s tight grip is an intentional power move.

Sophinx possesses a god complex, and a huge one at that. Like an emperor proud of his status as the self-proclaimed son of some almighty god, Sophinx boasts about her swan maiden ancestry. According to local legend, the queen in the first edition of the story was missing for she was a swan maiden who fled the kingdom, leaving the king heartbroken and princess hellbent on finding a way to achieve the same powers as her mother via black magic, resulting in her being cursed by the magician. Sophinx believes in the legend wholeheartedly and assumes she is in a way superior to the average human being. (It doesn’t help that her beliefs were somewhat confirmed after recieving the result of her DNA test conducted by 40ThievesandMe) Therefore Sophinx thinks she is in a position to perform godly duties such as selection and granting “immortality”.

Sophinx has yet to be given her license to kill, but she already has a clear idea why and how she’ll go about doing it.

She is an advocate for the guillotine, which she believes is the most humane method of execution compared to even to modern ways such as firing squad and legal injection. The sharp blade ensures a swift and painless death for the convicted, while the cable holding up the blade can easily be connected and remotely controlled by a lever or a button, removing a professional executioner from the equation and letting “the forces of nature”, in this case gravity, take the blame for the dirty work so no one has to feel guilty. The guillotine deals the least damage to the whole body, which is crucial for organ harvesting. The remaining bones will be processed into various artful items such as flowerpots, chandeliers, bone china and cremation jewels. Sophinx thinks that by turning what was once useless princes in life into timeless treasures,they have been granted immortality at the cost of their identities. Sophinx herself uses such products as an odd way to elevate them and show her respect towards their sacrifices and contributions to her nation’s medical industry.

It is not an exaggeration to say that her moral compass is out of whack, for Sophinx rarely feels any remorse because in her mind, she isn’t in the wrong. She knows exactly what she’s doing and what benefits her actions give not only to herself but to her people. Sophinx takes full responsibility should anything go wrong and doesn’t see that she would ever need to apologize for what she committed. In a way, Sophinx is a very extreme case of doing the wrong things for the right reasons. She’s brutal, but she doesn’t mind so long as she can keep her kingdom and its citizens safe and sound.

She can be stubborn but not stubborn enough to break the rules. Sophinx merely seeks loopholes to bend them or straight up changes the ones she has the power to, within reason. She is already walking the fine line between good and evil, fair and unfair, so she wouldn’t want to throw off that balance and get into trouble for it. That’s why she thinks hard about every plan and scheme.

Appearance
Sophinx radiates beauty. But like radiation, something’s not quite right. She has fiery blue eyes that if you look closely, they shine with a purplish glow like the flame of a bunsen burner. She is a redhead leaning towards the auburn side that is dyed with an ombre that resembles a sunset but with neon green tips alluding to the elusive green flash.

Abilities and Interests
Sophinx is able to transform into a black neck swan or sprout wings in her human form allowing her to take flight. She inherited these owers from her ancestor. Sophinx is descended from a swan maiden who was the missing queen in the first edition of the story. The king’s sorrow after her disappearance was amplified when the princess made her first kills as he felt he had failed as a parent and that he had failed his beloved.
 * Gardening
 * Dance: Sophinx knows that life is limited so she tries to enjoy as much of hers while it lasts. And she swears she’ll be dancing til the very end. Dance is an important aspect of her social and personal life. It helps her interact and bond with people.
 * She does ballroom dancing and waltzing.
 * Collecting:
 * Glass eyes
 * Squishes including mad balls and flippy
 * Anatomy
 * Remembers all the bones in the body and can quickly point them out on an anatomical model.
 * Has a few minature plastic models in her dorm. Sophinx is admittedly a fan of the work of Dr Gunther von Hagens but she isn’t consideirng using his methods in her kingdom due to the fact she has to remain faithful to her tale. She also owns the full Gunther von Hagens collection on DVD, which she only watches on her laptop at night to avoid creeping out her roomie.She’s a night owl so can stay up enough to go through an episode. Sophinx has visited one of his exhibitions and posted some pictures of herself participating the included educational actities on her mirror blog, such as one of her dancing in front of a projection of her skeleton.
 * Knitting: What’s a girl to do while she waits for heads to roll? That’s right, knit.
 * Dressage: Aside from the killings, Sophinx’s kingdom is also known for its grand parades featuring the men and women of court in their finest, with the princess herself being the main attraction. As the star of the show Sophinx is trained in dressage.
 * Magic: Sophinx is fascinated by supernatural forces.
 * Sophinx carries a bejeweled dressage whip which is both her royal sceptre as well as a magic wand that she can channel her inner magic with. She sometimes zaps people she dislikes with it.
 * The environment: Sophinx not only recycles human remains, she recycles normal trash like everyone else. Sophinx tries her best to give back to nature through small actions such as sorting her waste, using reusable products and planting trees.

How the story goes
Main article: The Traveling Companion

After “Happily Ever After”
"An entire city built on top of the dead."

Many generations after the first reenactment of the story, the Riddleton royal family has transformed their kingdom into an empire profitting off the remains of the dead.

Sophinx’s family, the princesses in particular, is infamous for their mass executions of princes and how they dealt with the bodies. According to the story, the skeletons of dead princes are hung in the royal gardens. Most of them are to be returned to their home kingdoms once the princess’ “curse” has been lifted but a few unlucky individuals are left behind to entertain tourists visiting the gardens, which are open to the public while the kingdom waits for the next generation.

Every prince who wants a chance at winning the princess’ hand must sign a contract, agreeing to donate his body for the greater good should he fail. After the decapitation, the bodies are to be used for medical research or harvested for transplantable organs. Sophinx says it’s sometimes the donation is the only ‘’useful’’ thing some of the princes will ever do in their lives. Little goes to waste. The blood from the bodies are examined then sucked clean to fuel the national blood bank. Even the fat gets made into tallow for soapmaking. The remaining bones are processed, articulated and left in rusty gibbets to terrify the next John. Those unclaimed by the end of the story are left in those cages. New skeletons replace older ones, which are used to construct an ossuary in the form of a chapel as a final goodbye to the unlucky princes disowned and forgotten by their families and kingdoms. Bones which are too small or too fragile for construction are turned into bone ash to be made into bone china. Sophinx casually nicknamed her kingdom “the Prince Charming processing plant.”

Though never officially acknowledged, applying their sons for the destiny of the unlucky princes was a legal way for some Charming branches and other royal families with too many children to get rid of ones that are inept and spoiled to save money (and save face). Her kingdom is not the only one to serve this function but it is the most business-oriented.

Sophinx admits it’s a little bit harder to find healthy lungs, kidneys and livers due to some of the donors being smokers and alcoholics. She has considered earning some extra bucks from plastinating these less than perfect specimens...

The princes’ contributions have allowed the Riddleton kingdom to provide some of the best healthcare services in Ever After, therefore becoming a popular destination for medical tourism.

Thoughts on destiny
Sophinx loves her destiny. It her duty and a pleasure to carry on her family’s reign of terror if it meant her kingdom will be in peace for another day. She wants the power to put some of the most influential families such as the many Charming clans under her thumb and to be the force that keeps potential invaders away from her kingdom. The executions have done so much good for her people, saving thousands of lives at the cost of a few hundred princes per year and allowing for some industries such as medicine, funerary services, artisanal crafts and tourism to thrive; it would be a huge blow to take that away from the people.

However, there are a few things she would prefer to carry out differently. She understands that having a fool like John for a king was a way to maintain some secrecy and ensure sincerity towards his successor. But if actually given the right to choose her own prince, Sophinx would rather marry someone who can truly impress her.

She isn’t required to be in love with the next magician but Sophinx still wants to keep him alive. His magical proficiency would be of great help to the court and kingdom if the magician is given his own position.

Sophinx knows at the end if her story, she will be ceremoniously “brainwashed” and stripped of her swan maiden powers. Powers that she worked so hard to gain by using dark magic to allow special genes to express themselves. She will never be able to fly again, which to Sophinx feels like losing a part of herself.

But what can Sophinx really do if any deviation will be considered a breach of policy in the eyes of the Fairy Tale Authorities? The only reason her family’s gruesome practices have been allowed to continue was because they didn’t have a huge impact on the plot of the story. Her wishes will change the story too dramatically. If she ever wants to fulfil them, then the whole system has to undergo surgery.

Paralels

 * Sophinx’s appearance is based on sunsets because the princess’ beauty in the story is often compared to the sun. Her eyes are based on the flames of a bunsen burner because the princess was described to have fiery eyes.
 * Sophinx’s designs feature moths and tulips because the princess wore a mantle with butterflies sewn on. The princess and her riders were carrying tulips as they rode.
 * Sophinx does dressage. The princess makes her first appearance leading a group of riders. Ceruse is the same color as the horse she was riding.
 * Sophinx is capable of turning into a black neck swan. At the end, the princess shortly turned into a black swan, then a white one while John was trying to wash her with magic water.

King John Riddleton (father?)
King Riddleton is a kind and generous man. He’s just not very smart and that’s intentional. His title is ceremonious and he only has as much influence as a royal consort to Queen Riddleton. He’s been led to believe his beloved daughter has been cursed. There’s not a day he’s not secretly in despair about it. His innocence ensures authenticity in his emotions when he eventually pleads for help from his successor.

Conquest (pet)
Conquest is Sophinx’s prized Lipizzan horse which she rides during parades.

Rising Charming (Roommate)
TBA

The Villain Cliqué
TBA

Rookie 'Doc' Hornigold
TBA

Basic

 * A spiky halo crown sprinkled with rubies and diamonds. Tiny gem-encrusted skulls are impaled on some of the spikes. She also has yellow Rembrandt tulips around her head.
 * Skull shaped glass gem attached to black choker.
 * Black cape with yellow lapels over a warm yellow dress. Both feature prints mimickingg the patterns on a death’s head hawkmoth. The dress has a silver stripe that goes from the top of the bodice to the bottom of the skirt. Around the skirt is a pattern with diamonds on a black background. Each diamond has a ruby attached to it.
 * High heeled boots with skulls carved into the back of the heels.

Dressage/Parade
Sophinx normally wears clothes that comply with arena dress codes, opting for a black top hat, matching tailcoat with golden lapels. For parades, she wears a gilded tailcoat with black moths embroidered onto it. Her top hat has a short veil and fabric moths attached to the brim. There is a golden ribbon wrapped around the top hat. She wears jewel-encrusted English spurs on her boots.

She always carries her whip, in and out of uniform.

Birthday Ball - Sugar Pig
Her hair is white with red streamers for highlights. Sophinx’s dress is scented to smell like strawberries and peppermint.

Trivia

 * Sophinx’s first name is a combination of the name Sophie and Sphinx. Alike the princess, the Sphinx kills people who fail to answer its riddles correctly.
 * Coincidentally, hawkmoths are also known as sphinx moths. Sophinx’s basic design is based on the death’s head hawkmoth, a creature often viewed as a bad omen and a sign of evil.
 * Her legacy day outfit is inspired by the black witch moth, another moth with similar associations. The latter being featured in the novel Silence of the Lambs and the former appearing in the movie adaption of said novel.
 * Sophinx’s clothes are based on mourning wear, as the entire kingdom goes into a mourning state while the executions took place.
 * Sophinx’s motivations are based on those of Vlad Dracul, the infamous Wallachian prince known for impaling his prisoners. He was greatly feared by invaders yet still respected by his people.
 * Sophinx is also inspired by the reimagined Dr Hannibal Lector played by Mads Mikkelsen in NBC’s Hannibal tv series.
 * I may or may not have been basing Sophinx’s kingdom off of Geneco from Repo! The Genetic Opera.
 * Sophinx’s knitting hobby is a reference to the tricoteuse, knitting ladies who attended public executions during the French Revolution.
 * The month of Sophinx’s birthday is chosen as reference to the Semper Augustus tulips, which are known for their fiery streaks caused by the tulip breaking virus.The date is a nod to the fact that the princess is the thirteenth member of her group of riders seen during the parade in the story. Each rider carried a tulip in her hand.
 * Her pet horse is named after Conquest, the horseman riding a white horse during the apocalypse.
 * Sophinx likes bubble baths.
 * Her favorite drink is her kingdom’s famous black brandy created to commemorate the executions. Sophinx has a few book-shaped bone china flasks filled with the stuff hidden on a bookshelf among real books in her dorm room.
 * Sophinx is sort of a foil to Easter Benedict, another sun-inspired dancing princess. Only Easter is much nicer and a bit shy, her palette features lighter colors and that she can trnaasform into a duck instead of a swan. Sophinx shares some similarities with Sola’s otehr OCs, such as the spikes and skulls in Grizzabella Penumbra’s designs, the butterfly theme and black used as a major color in Mariposa Lavador’s basic and her being a scary tea-loving future serial killer redhead like Bane O'Rouge.

Quotes
"Without their pain, without their sacrifice, we would have nothing."

"Guess what this cup is made of? Ex-boyfriend material."

- Sophinx holding a bone china teacup. She’s kidding...isn’t she?

"Like tulips, I break them. Beautifully."

- Sophinx in regards to her suitors

"We do have records of participants throughout the years. We just can’t put a name to the face after so many years. Like anyone cared for them that long. The lucky few that were remembered we already sent them back home."

"Forget Netflix and Chill. Here, it’s Riddles and Kill."

Theme songs
"No one ever thanks me when I’m done. How self absorbed people can be. Like a mop and a broom, no one wants a thankless job!"

"You were kicking the crown. Now you’ll be sleeping in the ground."
 * Thankless Job - Repo! The Genetic Opera.

"She will capture your heart and your head."
 * Dirty Harry - Jack Stauber. This is what she shes of her princes.

"If you long to never die, baby plug in upload your mind."
 * Madame Guillotine - The Scarlet Pimpernel The Musical. Sophinx, like the guillotine is a lover and a killer. Literally.

"I don’t need love, for what good will love do me? Diamonds never lie to me. When love’s gone, they lustre on!"
 * We appreciate power - Grimes. Sophinx is pretty and she’s ready to use it and the promise of immortality to lure her suitors and enemies into submission.

"Something close to love, but more victorious."
 * Diamonds are forever - Shirley Bassey

"Society’s altered, you see. Kill all your fear in your sleep cause’ everytthig’s formed in a dream."
 * Birth of an Empire - Sophie Ellis Bextor. She loves her kingdom and she’s willing to do anything to protect it.

"My logic will prevail. So shut up, nightingale. This is no fairy tale: every single male that I’ve met til’ this day had a curly tail."
 * Weapon - Bastille


 * All men are pigs - Studio Killers. Yes I am completely aware it’s sung from the perspective of a guy berating other guys to make himself seem more desirable. But let’s forget that for a second. For Sophinx, this song shows how she sees her princes: mere pigs just ready for (commercial) consumption. She also hates many of them for the same reasons mentioned in the song, such as unfaithfulness and egotism.