Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-5305135-20131016220319/@comment-22525977-20131017180429

Oh, should've clarified—I'm all for the way Tink was treating Regina (friendly, helpful, supportive, encouraging) if not necessarily the specific method (see the Robin/Regina thread for why I have problems with pixie-dust True Love). In describing Tink as having "behavioral problems" I meant that Blue's perception of Tink's actions was that she was behaving badly, that there was this problem with authority, etc.

Which is exactly what I'm talking about—objectively, Tink was trying to help Regina as best she could, which is what fairies are supposed to do, and she did so at great risk to herself. She's not rebelling against a just system, she's refusing to follow orders that she believes (rightly) will hurt a person she's trying her best to support—the former would be behavioral problems, the latter is using critical thinking and making a decision not to follow rules that she finds unfair and harmful. I don't, however, think Blue makes that distinction, and that's why she punished Tink for disobeying orders—as far as she's concerned, Tink is just a maverick who isn't worthy of her fairy wings and powers.

Tink has "behavior problems" in that she plays fast-and-loose with the rules, but she's doing that because those rules hamper her ability to do her job. Most of us, I think, focus more on the "but" part of that, especially since we do see that Regina desperately needs someone to support her like Tink tries to do, whereas Blue exclusively sees the first part only (or else dismisses Tink's valid concerns about the consequences of following these rules as a stupid phase that Tink needs to grow out of).