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...Pure as Reason |
—Princess Common Sense's Tagline | |
Princess Common Sense (she/her) is a 2014 introduced character. Common Sense, also called CS by her close friends, is the only daughter of Queen Pure Reason II and King Finn Arming, the former being the current Pure Reason from Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth. She is currently in her Yearbook Year at Ever After High.
Common Sense was raised believing that destiny was of utmost importance (despite her minor role)- second only to her future duty as Queen. As this narrative was shoved down her throat since she was a child, Common Sense, unsurprisingly, sides with the Royals. Common Sense has very complicated feelings towards the Rebel movement, originally finding it unnecessary and doing more harm than good. However, once her dear cousin, Poem changed her alignment from Royal to Rebel, CS views started to change as well...
History[]
Before Ever After[]
Princess Common Sense was born September 1st, 1997 to the current Pure Reason, and her husband, Finn Arming. Her mother was the heir apparent for the title of Queen Reason, while her father was merely a minor prince from the lands beyond. The two were high school sweethearts, having known each other before EAH via political association and various bordering schools. However, they grew close during their Legacy Year and ended up marrying two years after graduating.
Pure Reason was the kingdoms sweetheart, a perfect little darling that the country simply loved to have on their stamps. Finn and Reason's relationship was loved by the kingdom as well (their Royal Wedding held top viewership in the Kingdom for six years, soon being bet out by the final of one of the Kingdom of Wisdom's beloved sitcoms, The Doldrums. Still, it's in the top 5), and naturally, CS was treated with the same love. Everyone adored the royal baby, heck, "Common Sense" suddenly became the 8th most popular girls' name in 1998 after she was born. The Kingdom loved CS and CS grew up loving her kingdom.
1998... Was an interesting year for the Kingdom of Wisdom. In January, Reason's younger sister, Rhyme, gave birth to Princess Poemette. Poem's birth was surrounded in controversy, considering her mother and father's relationship, plus Rhyme was never exactly liked by the kingdom to begin with. And just a few months after this whole fiasco happened, one of Wisdom's strongest leaders in history and CS' grandmother, Queen Exact Logic, passed away.
Logic's death had a huge ripple effect in the family and the Kingdom. For one, relationships were permanently ruined with a certain neighboring kingdom, Illogica, who may or may not be to blame for her death. A year after the Queen's death, Illogica declared war on Wisdom, which has been going on ever since. The Armings had huge ties with Illogica, which put Common Sense and her parents in an... Interesting position, to say the least. Secondly, Logic, despite being an excellent Queen, was a terrible mother and left the relationship she had with her daughters shattered upon her death. Reason made sure not to repeat history and devoted much of her time to caring for CS.
CS was three when her great-aunt, Queen Rhythmic Poem, was removed from her position as Queen Reason. Rhythmic's mental and physical health was declining and it was formally decided she was unsuited to have the title anymore. There were many factors to this removal, and Rhyme may or may not have had some shady parts of it. Nonetheless, Reason was crowned Queen Reason and CS was formally named heir apparent.
CS' childhood was spent running around the castle with her best and only friend- Poem. Neither had any other siblings and didn't get along well with any of the children in the court, so despite their polar personalities, they became incredibly close. CS enjoyed spending hours and hours in the castle library, reading upon on anything and everything, while Poem ran around the library and caused a recuse, a great summary of their relationships. The two were a dynamic duo and were practically inseparable.
Ever After High[]
Freedom Year[]
The transition into a major High School was a hard one for Common Sense. She grew up with private tutors, and even her lessons were kept separate from Poems. So, naturally, suddenly going to a large school full of much more important Princess and Princes (many of them, at that) was hard. What made it worse was Poem, being Poem, instantly made friends, including Megan Diamonds, among others, leaving Common Sense in the dark. Poem wasn't trying to ignore her, but CS was always too awkward to ever try to spark up a conversation.
Legacy Year[]
TBA
Yearbook Year[]
TBA
After Ever After[]
Classic Year[]
TBA
Character[]
Personality[]
Straightforward / Regal / Logical
Common Sense is, above all else, a logical person. I mean, really, who is surprised? Her name is Common Sense, daughter of Reason, what else do you expect? She's a straightforward thinker and in most situations, is the "brains" of the operation. For the most part, CS tries to think in a rational and objective manner, basing her opinions and actions on the facts at hand. Due to her logical and rational way of thinking, Common Sense often comes off as very blunt. She never sugar coats the facts- because facts are facts, whether they hurt or not.
Common Sense prides herself on her intelligence. She's a smart kid, definitely, smarter than average. It's a little disappointing to CS that she's attending a school that focuses more on making sure you're fit for a certain role rather than actual study, but oh well, she lives with it. Ever since she was younger, her parents and tutors knew she was intelligent, excelling in most of her classes. She's been keeping this up for years, and will not let herself go if she starts slipping. If she ever messes one a question in class or whatnot, she will not let it go, because she has to keep up this incredibly smart image. Most people merely see her as "the smart kid" and nothing else, and if its what everyone sees her as, its what she must be.
CS has quite the problem with opening up to people. She likes to be seen as a graceful, all-knowing, well keep Queen to be, when in all reality, it's quite hard to deal with. CS, deep down, wishes she could be seen as fun and caring, wishes she could make people laugh and be the kind of person that everyone loves, but she feels most people see her as a prick, a know it all, a teacher's pet, what have you. Plus, sometimes that pressure of one day being Queen and having the fate of her people resting her hands gets to her. Still, she doesn't tell anyone any of this. Only Poem has heard of a glimpse of her worries, but CS doesn't dare tell Poem she's secretly envious of her.
CS also takes pride in her Princess title and is often described as prim and proper. She tries her hardest to take every step with poise and sophistication. Often, she comes off as slightly pretentious, with the way she keeps her head high and the way she talks, however, what others think doesn't bother her in the slightest. Her Kingdom has only gained somewhat recent recognition, and has the heir apparent for one of the thrones, she sees it as her duty to keep that image up. In her mind, one slip up on her part could drastically change how the rest of Ever After views Wisdom. It's a heavy burden to bare, though, it's more or less CS has put onto her else. Still, Common Sense keeps a friendly smile and good posture wherever she goes.
Most can agree that Common Sense is quite mature for her age. Though, many refer to her maturity as her being a "straight-up buzz kill". While no one really forced her to grow up fast, it was more or less something she did on her own. Still, her maturity makes her a great voice of reason, even if that means shutting down her friend's impulsive ideas. The few people that are close to her always go to her for advice, because they know how she sees the world- based around facts and logistics.
Common Sense, for lack of a better word, is quite reserved. She has no problem having a conversation with others, its more or less the actual part of having to strike up a conversation. She's introverted and prefers to keep to herself. And she's perfectly fine this way, having only one really close friend is enough for her. However, there is a part of her that desires to be like her cousin- she wishes she could get along with anyone and everyone, having a large group of friends, all that jazz. But she's not, and that's perfectly fine. Going off of that, CS is a little insecure. As mentioned above, she cares way too much about what other people think of her. Is her crown perfectly centered on her head? Do these shades of blue go together? Oh gosh, I got the answer wrong, now everyone thinks I'm dumb. Everyone hates me, don't that? It's hard not to let it all go to her head but... It always some how does.
Common Sense is, to say the least, very stressed and overwhelmed, just in life. Being heir apparent is hard, and she is constantly pushing herself to meet her own expectations and those of her around her. She's constantly studying and prepping and rereading and educating herself- it's exhausted. She wants to try her best to be the perfect Reason, Princess, and student she can be, which often means pushing herself over her limits. She doesn't really know when to stop, she just keeps going and going, over the edge, out of her comfort zone. But it's fine. She's fine. She needs to do this. She needs to do it for her kingdom, for their image. She can do it.
Can she?
Appearance[]
Common Sense has short, shoulder-length brown hair. She used to wear it much longer when she was younger, but in Legacy Year she decided to chop it off. CS has hazel eyes and light skin. Common Sense is slightly above average height and has excellent posture, if that's an important detail. Since their mothers are identical twins, Common Sense and Poem tend to get mistaken a lot of sisters, though Poem is blonde and has blue eyes. However, the two share the same face shape, high cheekbones, and bump on their nose.
Tiny doodle that captures how CS looks. She unintentionally has Vivian Kensington vibes, but it fits.
Interests and Hobbies[]
Government[]
As the heir to the throne of Reason (the hierarchy of the Kingdom of Wisdom is.. complicated, but let's not get into that), C.S is destined to be a Queen after her mother passing. When that day happens, C.S wants to become the "perfect Queen" as much as she is the "perfect Princess" now. Thus, C.S has spent a lot of time studying the economy, trade, laws, etc, etc, of the Kingdom of Wisdom, preparing herself for the day she becomes Queen. C.S cares a lot about her kingdom and is passionate about running it to the best of her abilities.
While she doesn't wish for her mother's death, she wants to be prepared for when that day does come. Honestly, she could probably start running the Kingdom right now if she had to.
Literature[]
As said before, much of CS' childhood was spent in the castle library, reading up on Wisdom's classical literature.
Math[]
To put it short, Common Sense loves math and the beauty of it.
Computer Science[]
tba
Activism[]
Being a future leader, Common Sense feels responsible to be educated and aware of the issues that the citizens of her Kingdom (and neighboring ones) deal with. She's attended marches and hosted protests within Bookend, along with smaller actions such handing out pamphlets and trying her best to educate herself and others. One thing she's passionate about is education and hopes to provide well funded, equal education across Wisdom and has started working with her mother's court and leadership to make her plans happen.
Fairy Tale[]
The Phantom Tollbooth[]
Main Article: The Phantom Tollbooth
The Phantom Tollbooth features a whole cast of characters that Milo meets, like most "other world" stories. Rhyme and Reason do not get the most page time out of them all, but they are certainly some of the most major. When Milo first goes threw the Tollbooth, he finds out about the exiled Princess, Rhyme and Reason. Their brothers, Prince Azaz and Mathemagician, trapped them in the Castle of Air for believing that letters and numbers are equally important. Milo and his watchdog, Tock, set off to find them.
How does Common Sense come into it?[]
C.S's parents were close friends in High School. Finn Arming was a Prince from across the Sea of Knowledge, who sorta was like a Prince Charming where they came from. They had known each other for a bit but didn't really become close till High School. After completing her story, Reason and Finn were formally bethroted and were married soon after. Common Sense was born a bit over a year later, and has been their pride and joy ever since,
Views on Destiny[]
The actual destiny of Rhyme and Reason is a fairly new concept, as CS is only the 4th Pure Reason in the Phantom Tollbooth and only the 3rd to actually attend Ever After High, but she still wears her destiny with pride. Common Sense sees it as her duty to uphold the destiny, as it's part of what brings honor to her Kingdom. Without The Phantom Tollbooth, her kingdom is nothing, so she must protect the integrity of her story. Rhyme and Reason themselves play a very minor role, however, they are still the driving force of the story- the MacGuffin, if you will. Without them, there is not Phantom Tollbooth. Thus, Common Sense sides the Royals.
Common Sense never thought much of the Rebel Movement- she saw it as totally fruitless and dangerous, putting many people's lives at risk. It was hard for her to understand, really, coming from such a place of privilege with such an easy destiny and easy upbringing. It wasn't until Poem started to align with the Rebels that Common Sense started to think about it...
Parallels[]
- Okay not gonna lie there's more parallels between the Cousins and their aunts, does that count?
- Cloud motifs - The Princesses are kept in the castle of air.
- Blue, CS' favorite color, is a reference to royal blue. She wears all shades of blue, however, not just royal blue.
- CS' fashion is mainly 60s mod inspired - The Phantom Tollbooth was published 1961.
Relationships[]
Read Common Sense's relationships here
Outfits[]
Common Sense's main color is blue- light, dark, what have you. She likes to accent her outfits with gold and black, it helps with the whole Queenly-vibe.
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Art |
Common Sense's Outfits |
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| TBA |
Signature - Royals[]
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| TBA |
Legacy Day[]TBA |
School Life[]
Class-ic Schedule[]
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | Muse-ic III | Honors Crownculus | Muse-ic III | Honors Crownculus | Free Period |
| Period 2 | Honors Princessology III | Free Period | Honors Princessology III | Free Period | Beast Training and Care III |
| Period 3 | AP Chemythstry | Honors Damsel-In-Distressing III | AP Chemythstry | Honors Damsel-In-Distressing III | AP Chemythstry |
| Period 4 | Honors Hexonomics III | Grimmnastics | Honors Hexonomics III | Grimmnastics | History of Tall Tales III |
| Period 5 | Free Period | Geografairy III | Free Period | Geografairy III | Debate |
| Period 6 | AP Kingdom Management | Honors Science and Sorcery II | AP Kingdom Management | Honors Science and Sorcery II | AP Kingdom Management |
Yes, Common Sense is the type of person to take a lot of AP and Honors, and yes, she may have slightly overestimated her abilities. Common Sense prides herself in her grades and has mainly As with a handful of Bs scattered around here and there. She pushes herself over the edge to try to get high grades because god knows what would happen to her if she got a bad grade. It's more of a personal thing than anything, her parents couldn't care less what her grades are (to some extent, of course), but CS her self couldn't live with herself if she got anything below a B (even low Bs scare her to death). Grades are a reflection on one's intelligence, right?
Hextra-Curricular Activities[]
Royal Student Council[]
Common Sense is the Historian for the Yearbook Class. While she had hopes for Class President, being a minor Princess from the middle of nowhere did not help her case. Thus, she settled for a lesser position, but a position none the less. She's quiet critical of the leadership of Madeline Hatter and Apple White, believing that the two together are ignoring the true values of the Royal Student Council, but she keeps quiets and keeps her notes.
Debate Club[]
Common Sense values her ability to articulate herself above all else- it is a crucial aspect of being a leader, of course. Despite her general researved nature, CS actively joined the Debate Club in order to work on her people and communication skills. Most people generally see her as shy and very quiet, and expected her to last a few days. Of course, Common Sense is far from shy and meek- she just knows when it's right to talk. She's not a major memeber of the debate club, but is known for her strong opinions and well-supported arguments.
Yearbook[]
Truthfully, Common Sense joined the Yearbook Committe because her mother had when she was her age.
National Fairy Honors Society[]
Common Sense is a member of the National Fairy Honors Society (NFHS). She's very dedicated to keeping her tutoring requirements up, and specialized in Crownculus and Algebra. It was threw the NFHS that she met Seacilia McMerhon, a fellow member and her common study session partner.
Trivia[]
- Common Sense's birthday is September 1st, making her a Virgo.
- Common Sense's nickname, CS, was given to her by none other than Poem when they were around seven.
- CS' favorite color is royal blue because of course, it is.
- "Common Sense" is a really popular girl's name in the Kingdom of Wisdom, the name booming in popularity after her birth. For this reason, CS isn't too fond of her name and how common (ha) it is.
- Common Sense rarely curses, as she finds it unprofessional (even in casual conversation). You won't even hear her drop a "dammit" when she stubs her toe.
- CS is an expert at makeup and she loves it.
- Had Common Sense not been born a Princess, she would've wanted to become a college professor. When she gets older, she does end up giving lectures at the University of Wisdom, where she got her degree in International Relations from.
Alternative Universes[]
Reality AU[]
Casey Juster-Armstrong is the heiress to her mothers share in Rhyme & Reason & CO, a generically wealthy marketing firm. She and her family live in the Wisdom Gardens, a gated community in upper New Hampshire, of which her mother is head of the HOA. Casey, along with her future business partner, Peony, attend EAAcademy like their parents before them, though Casey is far more focused in learning to run the family business than traditional schooling.
Playlist[]
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Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she doesn't have a lot to say |
Quotes[]
As of right now, this will be used as an archive of most of CS' past taglines throughout her years, which I think is a nice little touch to show how I've written her character has changed.
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I'm not controlling your life. I'm molding you into what I want you to be, what you NEED to be |
—november 5th, 2015 - july 19th, 2016 || a perfect example of how poorly written cs' character used to be | |
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Insufficient facts always invite danger |
—march 3rd, 2018 - march 21st, 2020 || like 90% sure this is a spock quote | |
Notes[]
- Pinterest board time, baby!
- CS' interest in computer science was suggested by Zena!
- Her owl, Hypatia, was named after an early female Greek mathematician of the same name. An owl was chosen due to the obvious association with Athena, goddess of Wisdom, mathematics, and justice- generally, a goddess Common Sense shares vibes with.
- The powerful qualities icons in her infobox were made by Tale and Patch!
- Pie was chosen as Common Sense's favorite food for the very obvious math joke. Apple was chosen because it is my favorite kind of pie, but apples have a lot of associations fitting for CS (Apple the tech company, Isaac Newton and the apple, giving apples to teachers, etc).
Name[]
- Common Sense is synonymous with reason, and was suggested by an old friend of Grimms.
Concept[]
One fateful day, five or so years ago, Grimms was talking with their friend and brought up a possibility of the daughters of Pure Reason and Sweet Rhyme, from the book they were reading in class. Said friend immediately came up with the names Poem and Common Sense, and that's the start of our story. Common Sense and Poem have come so far in the past half a decade it's like wOw.
From the start, Poem was always the cousin that got a lot more attention from me. I started using her in RPs more than CS, developing more friendship and a romantic relationship, starting to develop her backstory and relationship with her mother more, the whole jazz. However, during this "immense" development Poem went threw, CS kind of got left in the dust. Her deal was pretty much "overprotective cousin" and her whole character was just kind of hating Scythe. Once I changed Poem's alignment to Rebel from Royal, I even put Common Sense and Poem as enemies, which I think reflects my views on the character's relationship at the time very well.
I was young when I wrote Poem and Common Sense, and as I've grown and matured and come back to the wiki, I realized how poorly I treated CS' character. It truly saddens me I never gave her the same amount of love I gave Poem during my height in the wikia, that I cast her aside. I wanted to make her her own character, with her own struggles, instead of some secondary character to Poem's narrative. And so, that's what I did. I expanded on her love for destiny and her perfect princess attitude and worked that into something I really enjoy writing! I love her passion for her country, how all she wants in the world is just to be a good Queen, bring recognition to her kingdom. Ironically, I think I enjoy Common Sense far more than Poem know adays. Poem doesn't have much of a character at all anymore, while Common Sense is a lot more stable and enjoyable for me to write about.
Fanfiction Appearances[]
- Impractical
- One Shot
- In which Common Sense meets up with Frankie after many years apart.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Poem and CS (De-spell-opment Gift by Checkers).jpg (2.21 MB)")