YMMV / Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms

• Complete Monster: One Good Knight brings us Queen Cassiopeia, who conspires with her adviser, Solon, to summon storms to wrack the coast of her country, sinking dozens of ships and drowning hundreds of sailors so that she can claim the salvage for the crown. When her citizenry become dissatisfied with her rule, Cassiopeia has Solon mind control the (otherwise harmless) dragon Adamant, forcing him to ravage the countryside, so that she may set up a lottery and feed the daughters of her political enemies to the dragon. After her own daughter, Andromeda, begins to suspect that someone is controlling the storms, Cassiopeia arranges (in a move that revolts even Solon) to have her sacrificed to the dragon, and take advantage of the public wave of sympathy that will follow. Totally convinced that the common folk should just put up with her capricious rule, Cassiopeia is plotting to have Solon assassinated when he finally makes his own move against her, ending her role in the story.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: When Bella in Beauty and the Werewolf first learns about the Tradition, she thinks she's stumbled into 'the Monster in the Labyrinth', with Sebastian doubling roles as both the Magician (Daedalus) and the Monster (the minotaur). Elena informs her that she's actually living out 'the Monster and the Maiden' (ie Beauty and the Beast). But for Bella, this is actually a good thing: it means that since there is no room whatsoever for the Maiden to become a Monster herself, the Tradition will ensure that she isn't infected with Sebastian's lycanthropy. But now, for those of us playing at home... anyone remember how things ended in Shrek?