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vulpes-fennec · 1 year

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Prythian's Fantasia 🎪 (Ch. 1)

Summary: It’s 1889. Desperate to save her ailing mother’s life, Feyre strikes a bargain with ringmaster-witch doctor Amarantha. As the Archeron sisters join Prythian’s Fantasia and head for the World’s Fair in Paris, they begin to realize the circus’s magic runs far deeper than its enchanting nightly performances.

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Friday, March 8th, 1889

***Nesta***

The rain had let up by the time 25-year old Nesta Archeron stepped out of the St. John’s Wood Road station. Taking the family carriage was preferable to clustering with all the grimy plebeians, but riding the Metropolitan Railway was considered en vogue for young adults in 1889. Besides, showing up to a suffragist meeting in a fancy carriage wasn’t very humble.

Political disagreements—revolving around Prime Minister Gladstone and Irish Home Rule—had left the budding suffragist movement in disarray. Still, Nesta’s particular group of women’s activists managed to meet every Friday. Which was why, even on freezing March days like this, Nesta was committed to trekking out to central London.

Central London itself was a veritable sludge of shit, coal soot, and rot. But she’d rather be wading through the mucky Victorian streets than walking up the front steps of the Archerons’ house. Nesta didn’t have issues with the four-story building crafted from warm red brick, with its ample windows and three full-time staff to attend to their needs. The home was even outfitted with running water—what more could she ask for?

Nesta had issues with her mother’s disagreeable presence.

Nesta hadn’t minded being her mother’s favorite child when she was younger, for it meant receiving pretty dresses, compliments, and plenty of dance lessons. But as Nesta grew older, she realized Isabella Archeron cared only about social status. And once Nesta joined the suffragist movement, it became abundantly clear that her mother saw her as a marriage mart project—and never as an actual person.

Isabella Archeron had fallen ill last spring. Her health failed to improve at their country home, at the southern coast, and even at the hands of their family doctor. So shortly before Christmas, Nesta’s father returned the family to London.

“The pollution is not ideal, but there will be better doctors in London,” he’d reasoned. “And better chances of finding a husband for you, Nesta.” Nesta had agreed to the move, but not because she wanted to get married. If she couldn’t go to Manchester, where the beating heart of the suffrage movement lay, she would find like-minded women in London.

Society in the country moved at a snail’s pace, as things often did when the closest neighbors were a carriage ride away. Women’s suffrage was met with blank stares, and then revulsion once Nesta explained it in simple terms. Really, did no one find it illogical that in a family with three daughters, the father was the only individual with any say in matters of politics? The women in the family outnumbered him four to one!

“Miss Archeron.” A maid dusting the vases in the front foyer gave a little bow as Nesta entered. Her brown eyes lingered on Nesta’s muddy boots. Though the servants turned a blind eye to Nesta’s comings and goings, she was certain they gossiped amongst themselves.

“Hello, Bridley.” Nesta gave the maid a nod. Poor, poor Bridley, a sweet girl married at such a young age to a boorish man who drank and gambled away into the night. This was precisely why Nesta had no intention of getting married, for upper-class men were hardly any better.

“Your mother called for you several minutes ago. I tried to borrow time, saying you were in a bath, but—”

“Yes, yes, I know. I must make haste.” Nesta waved Bridley off and ran up the stairs. She felt a bit guilty for tracking in street grime, but her mother was a woman who did not appreciate being kept waiting.

Nesta hastily threw on a tea gown and undid her braid, making sure there was no dirt on her face before opening the door to her mother’s bedroom. “You called, Mother?” Nesta greeted cautiously.

“Nesta, dear.” Only Isabella Archeron could make terms of endearment sound unpleasantly cold. “Come, sit by me.” Nesta entered and perched delicately on the edge of the four-poster bed. “Sit up straight, Nesta. You won’t attract any aristocrats with that slouch. And goodness, I know you just got out of the bath, but there is no reason for your hair to be undone,” her mother chided sharply.

Nesta automatically tilted her chin up and squared her shoulders. Surely even Queen Victoria would not meet her mother’s standards for appearances and proper etiquette. “My apologies,” Nesta gritted out.

“Hmm…I just purchased the scarlet dress for you from the catalog.” Her mother’s attention flitted from one topic to the next like a butterfly, and she waved a ladies’ fashion pamphlet at Nesta.

“Mother, I have five dresses that have not been worn in public yet. The scarlet dress is hardly a necessary purchase,” Nesta protested. Prices in those catalogs were astronomically expensive, but of course Isabella Archeron loved spending money like it grew on trees.

Nesta refused to balk at her mother’s icy look. “Yet two of those dresses have already fallen out of fashion! You must make a stunning entrance at the Beddor’s gala next week. It’s the debut event of the season, and I heard that several families from the House of Lords will be there, with sons of marrying age.”

Nesta suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at her mother’s obsession with marrying up in society. Didn’t she realize that most courtships these days were based on love—not social and economic value? Did she ever think about how much potential was wasted when women were limited to marriage, children, and managing households? Clearly not.

Her mother continued chatting. “...and Tomas Mandray should be a fine option. Did you know that Lord Mandray’s wealth increased by 40 percent since last year? He was so smart for investing in those railways…”

“With the Beddors hosting, it would be poor taste for me to upstage Clare,” Nesta said carefully.

“Clare? Upstage her? Why, Nesta, that poor girl is so plain, even Bridley could upstage her in last season’s frock.” Her mother chuckled cruelly. “Oh, don’t give me that cross look. You know it’s true.”

Nesta suppressed the urge to defend Clare. Perhaps Clare lacked remarkable features, but at least she didn’t possess a nasty personality like her stunning mother. Besides, vying for attention from men was as close to pathetic as one could get. “But Mother, how am I to attend the gala if you are unwell and Father is still away?”

Isabella Archeron bristled. “Unwell? My dear girl, I am just a bit under the weather. I will be in perfect health to accompany you to the Beddors.”

Nesta highly doubted her mother’s chronic illness would magically clear up in a week, but she chose not to say anything.

Her mother pressed a pair of garnet and gold earrings into Nesta’s hand. “Wear these earrings to the gala, Nesta. They were your grandmother’s, and they will surely catch the eye of every man in the room. I know this to be true, because your father asked me for our first dance when I wore these 27 years ago.” Icy gray-blue eyes glinted with cunning.

It was nauseating. What kind of mother expressed affection in the form of social-climbing strategy and materialistic goods? Where were the hugs, kisses, or warm words of comfort? Although the earrings were beautiful, they reminded Nesta of her fate: you will marry, just like the generations of women who came before you.

“Thank you,” Nesta managed to say, closing her fist.

“You may take your leave now, my dear. And tell your sister Feyre to join me for afternoon tea.” Isabella Archeron’s placid tone indicated she’d grown bored already.

“Yes, Mother.” Nesta closed the door, gripping the earrings so tightly that the metal backings left pricks of pain in her palm. Days like this drove her to dance away her self-loathing in the parlor downstairs. The waltz, the tango, the metal pole…Nesta was a master—or should she say, mistress—of these forms. But first, Nesta needed to find Feyre.

***Elain***

A colossal structure of wrought-iron stretched up, up, and up into the twinkling night sky. What a magnificent building! If Elain craned her neck, she could barely make out the tricolor flag of France fluttering from the upper viewing terrace. The grand lawn before her, a bursting promenade of shops, exhibits, and worldly wonders, invited her to explore at a leisurely pace.

A solid arm looped over her shoulder, drawing her close to a warm body. Elain gasped, startled at the rush of sensations he—for the person was definitely a man—elicited. She felt warm, like she was sitting by a toasty fire. Secure, as if she’d come home. Elated, like champagne bubbles rushing through her body. Elain glanced to her right, trying to see who the stranger was…

Knock, knock, knock. Sharp raps on her door woke Elain from her nap. “Elain! Elain!” Her younger sister’s muffled cries sounded from the hall. “Are you in there?”

Elain stifled the urge to snap at Feyre when she opened the door. She was fairly certain her dream had featured the Tour Eiffel: the architectural wonder waiting to be unveiled this summer at the Exposition Universelle. Photographs of the attraction had been kept hush hush, but if Elain had just seen it in its full glory…that meant it wasn’t just any dream. It was a premonition.

“Elain, look what I managed to get!” Feyre was excitedly waving three slips of paper in Elain’s face. With her mismatched servant’s clothes and faint smell of coal, Feyre must have been wandering the slums of London again.

Elain blinked, trying to regain her post-nap bearings. “What is that?” She took the shimmering crimson slips of paper from Feyre’s hands. In gold lettering, the paper read:

Admit One | Prythian’s Fantasia

A magical night awaits you at the greatest show this side of Earth…

“Three tickets to see Prythian’s Fantasia!” Feyre gushed breathlessly, her blue-gray eyes shining with excitement. “Remember, the circus that arrived last week?” Ah, yes. The circus that Feyre had been raving about every spare minute.

“This side of earth?” Elain repeated. A craggy mountain with two branches of magenta amaranth flowers crossing below it was printed on the ticket. A strange choice of imagery for a circus. “What does that even mean?”

Nesta’s angular face appeared behind Feyre like a ghostly apparition. “Feyre! You’ve been out of the house again, haven’t you?” Nesta accused sharply. “It’s a miracle you haven’t been robbed, stabbed, kidnapped, or caught some venereal disease!”

Feyre’s expression soured. “Says the one who went to a suffragist meeting today!”

“Be quiet.” Nesta whipped her head around anxiously. “Unless you want me telling Mother about your dalliances.”

“Look, Nesta,” Elain tried to diffuse the situation. “Feyre got us tickets to Prythian’s Fantasia.”

Nesta’s icy eyes narrowed at Elain’s hand. “Where’d you get those from? Isaac Hale?” She spat his name like a bitter root on her tongue. Elain winced. Isaac Hale, the butcher’s son in the seedier side of town, was Feyre’s paramour. She’d met the man once, and found him relatively handsome and well-mannered. But she privately agreed with Nesta: Feyre could do better.

“He gave them to me for free.” Feyre crossed her arms indignantly. “Why are you in such a mood today?”

“Nothing in this world is free. Especially between men and women,” Nesta scoffed.

“Well, they’re for tonight’s show. Eight o’clock. Do you want to go or not?” Feyre jutted her chin out stubbornly. Eldest and youngest Archeron sisters faced off, like a viper versus a wolf, their matching blue eyes blazing. Elain held her breath, preparing to intervene again.

“Fine.” Nesta was the one who relented. “By the way, Mother asked to see you for afternoon tea.”

“How is she?” Feyre asked, cooling down quickly from their verbal exchange.

“As superficial as she always is.” With that, Nesta turned and left. She didn’t have to specify that their mother only wanted to see Feyre. Isabella Archeron rarely asked for Elain.

Perhaps all middle children were simply doomed to be forgotten.

It was always like this: Elain meekly sandwiched between Nesta and Feyre, the two rebellious and squabbling women of the Archeron house. Nesta, who openly derided the male species and passionately spoke about women's rights. Feyre, who renounced high society by excelling at archery and sneaking off to the seedier parts of London.

While Feyre’s artistic talent was her only refined hobby, Elain seemed the perfect lady, all agreeable manners and poised like a princess.

But it was all a defense mechanism. Excelling as a high society lady prevented her cruel mother’s scrutiny. And if the peerage saw Elain as a docile, conventional woman, they would not suspect her of seeing the future. For what man would marry a woman who fell into fitful dreams, one who could predict his death and misfortunes?

At least Elain’s visions only came when she lulled herself into a meditative state or dreamed. If she fell into random, episodic trances, she would definitely be sent off to an asylum for insanity. The future came in flashes and snippets, always cryptic but never subject to change. And with the number of startling—and sometimes horrific—premonitions she received outnumbering the pleasant ones, Elain would hardly call her ability a “gift”.

“Any news from Papa?” Feyre asked Elain. Reginald Archeron, a renowned merchant who sailed to the four corners of the earth to do business, had set off for Continental Europe just after Christmas. He still had not returned.

Elain shook her head. “The postman didn’t have any correspondence.”

“It’s unusual for him to be gone so long, and not send any word.” Feyre chewed her lip worriedly. “Perhaps we should alert the authorities?”

“What good will that do?” Elain replied shortly. “We don’t even know what country Father is in.”

“I don’t see how you can be so calm about this.”

Elain blinked, trying to keep her expression neutral. Why worry about her father, when he was probably having the time of his life cheating on their mother? The terrible premonition arrived three years ago: Reginald Archeron kissing a woman with dark hair and emerald green eyes in a continental-style opera house. Possibly in Moscow. Or perhaps it was Berlin.

The most striking detail was the ornate golden locket that had glinted in the woman’s hands. Elain went rooting through her father’s study when he returned from his trip, and she found the exact same locket, complete with the woman’s picture in it. Holding the offensive jewelry piece in her very hands had Elain tasting bile.

Elain had been 21 years old and well aware that not all marriages were pleasant. Still, the realization that her own father was unfaithful had been a shock. That her loving Papa was one of those types of husbands. But Elain didn’t dare breathe a word of her findings to her sisters, who knew nothing of her abilities. Nesta…Nesta would probably tear their father apart with words alone. Feyre…Feyre, who valued their family unit more than anything, would be crushed.

Feyre sighed, not waiting to hear Elain’s response. “Well, I’ll see what Mother wants. Be ready for the circus by seven. We need to travel to the south bank.” Elain nodded, closing the door distractedly.

Elain’s mind returned to that mysterious man from her vision. Oh, how she longed to return to that hazy dream, so warm and tantalizing it was! He existed somewhere. He had to. Elain didn’t catch any of his features, but she felt so sure that he wasn’t anyone she knew at that moment. The man was waiting for her in the future. In Paris, too!

Oh, Paris! The Continent! As her father’s favorite child, Elain was shown the goods he’d help procure, like beautiful fabrics, spices, rough-cut gems, and wood carvings. She had fond memories of spending hours in his office, staring at the large maps on the walls and devouring books about foreign lands. “I’ll bring you to the continent next year, Elain,” Reginald Archeron had promised. Then he promised again, the next year. And again, the following. Many years passed, a slew of broken promises in their wake.

Not that she would ever want to explore the continent with her father now, knowing that he spent those trips canoodling with mysterious women. But the London gloom outside her window had Elain wishing her life was different.

If Nesta and Feyre were shamelessly carving their own unconventional paths, why couldn’t she do the same? She didn’t need to wait for her father to take her to the continent; she was 24 years old, a modern woman with the means to travel the world.

As if an answer to her thoughts, the mystery man’s phantom touch seemed to linger on her shoulder, urging Elain to make her way to the Exposition Universelle. To find him in real life.

***Feyre***

Isabella Archeron had been a formidable woman just two years ago. Her golden-brown hair had been a luscious mane that shimmered even under England’s clouds. Her back had been ramrod straight, the sharp lines of her cheeks and jaw had nary a wrinkle. Flitting from one party to the next, Isabella Archeron was truly London’s finest social butterflies.

But her mother’s hair turned limpid, even gray. The pale hue of her skin was almost sickly, and the angles of her face only made her look hollowed out, older. Now, Isabella Archeron spent most of her time confined to the bed or the bath.

Watching her mother’s chest rattle with phlegm-filled coughs and her frail hands tremble, Feyre wondered if something swift and sure like cholera would have been better. It would’ve been better than this gradual chipping away at life over the months.

“How are you feeling, Mother?” Feyre asked cautiously when she entered the room. Although illness had dulled Isabella Archeron’s quick mind, it soured her temperament, leaving her prone to mood swings.

“Feyre. Pour me a cup of tea, won’t you?”

“Yes, Mother.” Feyre dutifully placed a sugar cube into the dainty china cup, and poured steaming tea from the ornate teapot.

She was about to stir the sugar and cream with a spoon, when her mother snapped, “And do not stir the tea. I may be ill, but I am not invalid.” Feyre set the spoon down cautiously and dutifully walked towards her mother’s bed, hating how her shaky hands rattled the cup and saucer.

“Have you heard from your father?”

“No, Mother.”

The difficult pregnancy had meant that Feyre would be the last Archeron child. Feyre suspected her parents hoped she would be a son who could inherit the family business and lead the household while Reginald Archeron was away for work. Feyre wasn’t a son, but her parents still expected her to be the “most responsible” of her sisters since early childhood.

For example, ever since she was 16, her father assigned her to managing their bank statements while he was abroad. All Feyre had to do was sign the checks and record the transactions in the balance book, but at this point, she could forge Reginald Archeron’s signature in her sleep. Feyre had also tended her sisters whenever they got sick, bringing them warm soup and administering tonics. Thanks to those years of “experience”, Feyre was now charged with managing the rotating circle of doctors, household expenses, and servants ever since her mother fell ill.

Perhaps she was assigned this role of “caretaker” because her parents were reluctant to change their attitudes toward her sisters. Nesta, the first-born, could have easily been taught the tools of the trade. But Isabella Archeron was keen on shaping Nesta to be the wife of a lord or a prince, not a merchant’s apprentice. Then came Elain, who took after their father and automatically became his princess to dote on.

That left Feyre at the scrutiny of both, but without the love from either parent.

“Hmm. I’m feeling rather abysmal today. I fear these doctors are not helping me whatsoever.” Her mother gestured to the array of tonics and powders on the bedside table. Feyre’s eyes widened in alarm when she noticed a pile of brown-stained handkerchiefs.

“Are you coughing up blood?” she said in alarm.

“Don’t be silly. Why would I be coughing up blood? I just spilled my tea.” Her mother sounded like she even believed it herself. But Feyre was doubtful; she’d seen those tell-tale colors on Isaac’s work apron numerous times. “Do write to your Aunt Ripleigh and ask if she could send some more of that rose and daisy tea. It was delightful.”

Aunt Ripleigh had been dead for six years now. There was no rose and daisy tea in the house, either.

“Of course, Mother.” She made a mental note to ask Nesta if their mother had experienced another bout of memory loss during their session together. Isabella Archeron’s diminishing moments of lucidity were concerning.

“Well, Feyre. You’d better hurry along and get ready for Watson's charity ball. I’ve already told Mrs. Watson that I’ve fallen ill, but your father should be able to accompany you three.” Isabella Archeron’s blue-gray eyes closed, and within moments, she’d fallen asleep.

The charity ball her mother spoke of had occurred two seasons ago.

Hopefully she would sleep past supper and continue assuming her daughters were at a charity ball instead of a circus. Isabella Archeron considered anything below the opera or classical music hall a lowly performance unfit for their presence. Laughable, considering the Archerons were only wealthy merchants, not the aristocracy.

“Yes, Mother.” Feyre said, even though she couldn’t hear her. She touched her mother’s hand before she left the room. It was deathly cold. Feyre didn’t love her mother, but she didn’t want her to die. Despair rose within her like the tide, as if it was her fault Isabella Archeron wasn’t getting any better.

It was rumored that Amarantha, the circus ringmaster, was a powerful witch doctor. Apparently she learned her craft from the natives in the tropical latitudes and left a trail of miracles from town to town. Feyre had nearly laughed in Isaac’s face when he told her that.

A female ringmaster? Impossible. And a witch? Those were from the Dark Ages.

But now, Feyre was desperate. If modern science could not cure her mother, why not try other methods? The Archerons had money. Jewels. Exotic antiques. Feyre was quite confident she could pay Amarantha for a little healing spell.

Nesta was wholly focused on the suffragist movement. Elain was swept away by the pageantry of fancy dinners and shows in London. Both seemed rather ambivalent about their mother’s health and their father’s suspicious silence over the last few months. Once again, it fell on Feyre to do something, anything that would keep her dysfunctional family together.

Tonight, she would see for herself what this Amarantha was all about. Even if the ringmaster turned out to be a dud, at least she got a famed circus show out of it.

✨

Taglist: @velidewrites @reverie-tales @highladysith @shadowsxgwynriel @foxwithagoldeye @sunshinebingo

#feysand #nessian #elucien #acotar #acotar fanfic #feysand fanfic #nessian fanfic #elucien fanfic #Prythian's Fantasia

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mendelpalace · 9 months

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POWER! SuperDIGI is a tribute album to the vast world of digital hardware synthesizers, containing eighteen completely original pieces of music encompassing a variety of genres, with all sounds coming straight from classic and new hardware alike, such as the Roland XV-5080 and Korg Trinity. 00:00 Nixine - Spirals I 03:00 Princess Sylvysprit - Mumu Skies 06:40 Nuclear - White Space 09:36 HaruMKT - Mako 14:34 nico-breon - Beauregard's Castle 17:07 MJG0117 - On Hold (10AM) 21:07 MelonadeM - Ancients of the Dawn 23:19 02FD - Journey 25:18 MIDIMan - Jungle Stroll 27:16 Nuclear - Mercury 29:49 Nixine - Spirals II 32:48 Mimidia - When the World is Waking Up 37:36 now_its_dark - onTheScene 40:21 Viravax - Purina 43:50 HaruMKT - Crystal 49:36 Headache Central - Dragon Train 53:20 Nuclear - Flight Star 3000 55:58 Mikantsumikiwi & Noelle Amelie Aman - Fantasia Institute

#POWER! SuperDIGI #Roland XV-5080 #Korg Trinity #Music #Video #Youtube

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campcis · 1 month

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(tw: transtorno de estresse pós-traumático) a destruição de pride lands foi como um lembrete de que, apesar de estar em um mundo fantasioso, a realidade sempre se fazia presente e não conseguiria fugir dela por muito tempo. os estrondos, gritos e correria só levavam laís para um local em sua mente que ela nunca havia acessado e, se não fosse por uma alma bondosa, ela não teria conseguido voltar para o salão a mando de merlin. se não fosse pela alma bondosa, ainda estaria sentada no jardim, abraçando as próprias pernas e se questionando o que deveria fazer. o coração estava tão acelerado quanto a respiração e, a partir dali, não conseguiu prestar atenção em mais nada. se lembra vagamente de ter desmaiado e acordado em uma das camas da central de contenção de crise, no dia seguinte.

lembrava-se da palavra "escolhida" escrita na palma quando acordou exasperada no meio da noite e, se não fosse pela dor forte no local, acreditaria mesmo que nada daquilo passou de um sonho. os olhos âmbar estavam fixos nas palmas, como quem tentava lê-las, buscando informações que sequer sabia se teria um dia. a noite tinha sido confusa, não conseguia entender o que era fantasia e realidade, mas sabia que havia acordado com a sensação de sangue nas mãos, ainda que não o visse.

(tw: menção à sequestro, morte e a assassinato) ao longo do dia, se recordava de alguns detalhes a mais sobre o sonho, mas toda a experiência era solitária demais pois àquela altura apenas investigações eram feitas, não recebiam qualquer explicação por parte da academia de magia. laís nunca antes havia se sentido tão amargurada, desamparada e vulnerável. conseguia se ver sentada e amarrada em um momento, assim como havia passado os últimos meses, mas logo em outro, se via largando uma faca ensanguentada com um corpo desfalecido à frente. sempre que pensava no sonho, no corpo de seu sequestrador jogado no chão, as mãos tremiam como se realmente o tivesse matado. como se realmente tivesse que esconder um crime e um corpo, como se realmente tivesse se vingado de alguém e feito justiça com as próprias mãos. não era assim, acreditava não ter um pingo de maldade em seu coração, então por que não se sentia culpada pelo que fez—sonhou?

#˛ ⠀ ⠀ ⋆ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 ⠀ ⠀ 、 ⠀ ⠀ point of view.#˛ ⠀ ⠀ ⋆ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 ⠀ ⠀ 、 ⠀ ⠀ development.#˛ ⠀ ⠀ ⋆ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 ⠀ ⠀ 、 ⠀ ⠀ welcome festival‚ plot drop.#eu: vou criar uma personagem raiozinho de sol #eu também: *escrevendo pov com 428943 avisos de gatilho*

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a-silent-symphony · 1 year

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We got Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen to rank every single album by the band from worst to best

We asked Nightwish founder Tuomas Holopainen to rank the band's albums from worst to best - and some of his choices surprised us

From fantastical realms to elaborate filmic sagas and love-letters to Darwinism, the Nightwish discography is rich in intrigue – and low on dullmoments. As its central creator, Tuomas Holopainen is inextricably bound to the sounds, feelings and memories that saturate each of these nine albums.

His life is in this music. But if it came to it, in a castaway situation, which albums would he most (and least) want to be stuck with? It’s a tough call. “They are my children,” he pleads, “how would they feel if they saw the ranking? Wishmaster would be so sad!” Still, he did manage to settle on an order, and here it is...

9. Wishmaster (Spinefarm, 2000)

“It went to No.1 in Finland, but to me Wishmaster is one of those albums that was kind of ‘in-between’. It doesn’t stand out to me on a personal level. There was nothing revolutionary about it after [1998’s] Oceanborn.

It was made in a really good spirit – everybody in the band was happy after the success of Oceanborn – so this was just a natural continuation of that. But it didn’t really introduce anything spectacularly new for me personally. I think that’s my problem with it. If Ihad to pick a favourite song, I think I’d pick Dead Boy’s Poem; lyrically, it’s very much in the essence of Nightwish.”

8. Angels Fall First (Spinefarm, 1997)

“Our debut sounds so innocent because it was done as a demo. It was never supposed to be released, but we sent it to the record label and they said, ‘Let’s put this out!’ It still has my parents’ home address on the booklet.

“When I founded Nightwish in July 1996, I just wanted to do moody acoustic music. Since me and Emppu [Vuorinen, guitars] had a strong metal background, it was a natural transition to do something heavier, but that original acoustic band idea can be heard strongly. We couldn’t find anybody to sing, so I kind of dug a hole and fell into it myself.

"We played Elvenpath years later on the Decades tour, and I can’t understand how Floor was able to keep a straight face singing those lyrics – to her credit, she did! I just remember the kid that I was back then, writing those songs, and I kind of miss that kid, because it was all about Donald Duck and fantasy books and snowmen and things fantastical.

"Nymphomaniac Fantasia? Not my proudest moment. But it was done because there was a young kid who had some, I don’t know… issues, ha ha ha! Love-life gone wrong or something. It was a different time.”

7. Century Child (Spinefarm, 2002)

“After Wishmaster, I seriously considered quitting the band, especially thanks to the departure of the [original] bass player [Sami Vänskä] and my slight burnout. Then I went on a hiking trip in Lapland with Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica, and he talked me over that.

"We needed a new bass player, and we needed management because until then it was me and Jukka [Nevalainen] the drummer taking care of the business side. So we got management, and we got Marko [Hietala, bassist/ singer until 2021], who was already a big name in Finnish metal – we were all big fans.

"There was a lot of bad stuff happening in the band as well – that’s reflected on the album. Slaying The Dreamer was a way to get rid of all that frustration. Artistically I found film music, Hans Zimmer above all, and that really can be heard on Century Child. But the album didn’t take us much on the next level. Artistically it did, but not commercially.”

6. Dark Passion Play (Nuclear Blast, 2007)

“It was a really easy album to write because all the emotions were there so strongly, after what happened with Tarja [Turunen, original vocalist who was dismissed from the band in 2005], and everything in my personal life. I was about to lose my mental health, and then doing the songs for this album saved it.

"I’m a very private person, but I write about some really personal things, and these people – Anette [Olzon], for this record – are singing it out for the whole world to hear. Ineeded to do a song like The Poet And The Pendulum, where I killed myself in the lyrics; I had to do it for my mental health, and it ended up being a wonderful piece of music.”

5. Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast, 2011)

“Again, this was a pretty easy album to write – we all had a good time with it. When it comes to songwriting, I’m a morning person. I’ll wake up about six when I’m at home, then a litre of coffee and I’m off. Usually I’m done by two or three o’clock. I write songs upstairs in my little home studio – just a keyboard and a lakeside view. In the studio with the band, the other members and the engineers are more night owls. Also in the tour bus it’s always me up first, making coffee downstairs.

“It was clear from the start that this would end up being a film. We thought, ‘What haven’t we done yet? Let’s do a music video for every song on the album, and then somehow combine them to become this really weird film.’ It’s a very optimistic album. It just puts a big smile on your face.”

4. Once (Nuclear Blast, 2004)

“One of the best times that this band has ever had was 2003- 2004, making the Once album, and the first part of the tour after that. In late 2003 we flew to London to record the orchestras. I rang the studio doorbell and Rick Wakeman opened the door. I think I said, ‘Errr… [makes incoherent starstruck noise] Thanks!’

"We went to the studio, started playing Ghost Love Score and my face melted. Like, ‘I’m next to Wembley, listening to the orchestra playing a song that I wrote, this is really life at its best.’

"Something happened with that album – all the stars were aligned. I remember looking at the album charts and seeing ‘Nightwish, Michael Jackson, Anastasia’ and going ‘Really?!’ I don’t think any of us were quite prepared. You get sucked into this massive world of big tours and worship from the fans, then the money starts to flow in, and it’s easy to lose your perspective. Impulse purchases? I did a round the-world trip on my own, it was wonderful. But money has very little meaning to me."

3. Oceanborn (Spinefarm, 1998)

“Our ambition went through the roof after Angels Fall First, because we all realised that this is actually really fun. I was studying biology, Tarja was studying singing, I think in Germany, Jukka was studying to be a computer engineer, Emppu was working in a carpet factory.

"Music was just a hobby. And then we realised, ‘There’s something going on here, so let’s put all the focus in Nightwish for maybe a few years, and see what happens.’ It was eight hours every day in the rehearsal room, playing the songs and just really feeling it. It was the watershed album for us, it took us to the next level.

"All the guys, we had just gotten out of the army so we all had short hair, we had no idea about the metal scene at all. We were complete countryside hickeys who just happened to like metal music, and we were given this chance to show what we could do with a three-album deal. It shouldn’t have worked on paper, but somehow it did.”

2. Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast, 2015)

“If Floor hadn’t come along, I think that would have been the end of the band. We got over an ugly divorce once [with Tarja], then again with Anette, then Floor comes along and everything shines bright again. She learned the setlist in 48 hours – when I called her, she was at her sister’s wedding. Even from the first show the fans embraced her. So we took a lot of that good feeling for Endless Forms Most Beautiful [named after a line from Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species].

"We went to Röskö campsite in Finland to record. It’s a four-hectare area by a lake in the middle of nowhere, belonging to the Boy Scouts. We stayed for three months. Every morning we’d rehearse for a few hours, have lunch, go back, rehearse and then spend the evening with each other by a campfire, barbecuing, playing acoustic guitar, singing, going to the sauna and talking about the songs all the time. The Greatest Show On Earth, that’s the Nightwish desert island song. I’m sure we’ll play that at the end of the setlist until forever.

"We recorded Richard Dawkins’ part in Oxford. He’s quite the character. I’m a huge fan, so I was really starstruck. He did his parts beautifully, it was over in about 30 minutes and then he gave us a ride back to central Oxford in his Tesla. And halfway back he asks us, ‘So are you musicians or something?’ Ha ha! So his head’s somewhere… all the time! But he’s a wonderful guy.”

1. Human. :II: Nature. (Nuclear Blast, 2020)

“I immediately knew after Endless Forms Most Beautiful that ‘OK, we have to do more songs about this.’ And so the idea of Human. :II: Nature. was first to have songs about humankind, and then you play the other CD and relax and go into nature. My memories of making the album are of happy times, no conflicts. We returned to Röskö to make it.

"When the pandemic hit, it was like, ‘Should we postpone the release?’ But it was all printed and the advertisements had gone out to the papers. So the record label said, ‘Let’s go with it. Maybe people will have more time to concentrate on it…’

"Noise was a big single, but there’s also something about Shoemaker [named after famed geologist/astronomer Eugene Shoemaker]. It’s on the artsy side, but not in a pretentious way.

"Realising what evolution is… it’s about realising our mortality, at least for me. And it’s made all the difference. When I kind of realised that this is very likely the only life we’re gonna have – it’s only after that that I started hugging my dad. I never hugged my dad before that. I’ve just felt much more liberated and in the light ever since.”

#Nightwish #Tuomas Holopainen #2023 interviews

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tecontos · 1 year

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Uma sexta feira nada despretensiosa

By; J.M.A

Em uma noite de sexta-feira após ir a uma exposição na cidade vizinha, as 4 da manhã já é hora de votar pra casa.

Uma hora e meia de viagem voltamos bem acompanhados de um casal de amigos no banco de trás … conversa vai , conversa vem e o silêncio só não se instala por conta da música ao fundo .

Como um bom amante de aventuras, puxo a mão da minha esposa e coloco sobre meu pau , que já latejava só de imaginar oque estava por vir…

Com um pouco de receio ela o tocava temente de que as nossas companhias vissem a nossa libertinagem sem hora com a minha mão esquerda abri o zíper enquanto sua suave mão deslizava e encontrava-o quente e latejando.

Em uma bombada escapuliu sua mão cheia para fora da calça e ela não parou

Uma rápida olha no retrovisor central , me deparo com olhar dele confuso e ela mordendo os lábios enquanto os olhos buscavam mais informações visuais daquela cena no absoluto escuro sendo quebrado apenas pela luz do toca CD e mau mau pelo farol dos carros passando na direção contrária…

Entre alisadas e latejos era fácil saber que logo começaria a lubricar e escorrer… como boa vadia que é minha esposa tratou logo de chupar todo secando-o… ou melhor , babando mais….

Pelo retrovisor já vi sua amiga se tocando de forma bem discreta com a mão direita enquanto a esquerda já alisava o pau do seu marido , enquanto ambos os rostos travados em espanto observavam o sobe e desce no banco da frente… Limpo a garganta e indago:

- "Se não começarem logo , só vão terminar quando já estivermos na cidade !!!"

Meio relutantes e bem vergonhosos começaram a se beijar , de forma lenta até esquentar, mãos embaixo das roupas começaram a passear , até uma rola no escuro pra fora saltar…

Em meio a aquele escuro solto um gemido grosso criado por uma certa boca quente e molhada engolir todos os meus XX centímetros todinhos…

Bendita hora que liguei a luz interna enquanto uma música eletrônica inicia…

Drogados estávamos de prazer , os gemidos e todo aquele clímax só aumentavam com as fortes batidas da música e toda sutileza daqueles lábios gulosos

Mais perverso que eu , somente a minha mente que sugeriu quem a poucos quilômetros havia um motel de beira de estrada… chegamos…

- " Uma suíte com hidro para 4 por favor"

Quanta tensão havia na hora de descobrir aquele espaço novo , experiência nova , corpos novos , adrenalina jamais antes vista pelos três claramente exposta por olhos tão assustados e posturas tímidas…

Como um bom anfitrião, tratei me logo de pegar uma Vodka pura e tratei de deixar todos bem relaxados afim de soltarem seus dogmas e libertarem suas fantasias…

Com uma puxada forte pela cintura roubei um beijo quente da minha mulher enquanto a despia e apertava todo aquele corpo cor da noite

Após um beijo quente e estarmos semi nus… nos deparamos com nossos amigos quase em tom de descontrole se despindo , se beijando e se chupando embebidos de Vodka e tesão… me diga o que tinha mais?!?!? Kkkkk

Tratei me logo de difundirem ambos os corpos sobre a cama , a minha lisa e cor da noite por baixo , a amiga branca como a lua reluzia na luz neon… branca , pouco mais de 1 metro e sessenta, algo menos de sessenta quilos , minha mente só fermentava o quanto eu brincaria aquela noite…

Virou um meia nove perfeito com oral bem sedento de ambas…

Após a minha rola sair pingando, não resisti e logo me debrucei sobre aquela buceta de chocolate que já brilhava de tão molhada que estava… escorria…como é gostoso chupar e beber todo seu néctar

Se retorciam é gemiam como nunca antes , era um misto de estralos dos chupões em suas bucetinhas encharcadas , e seus gemidos inexprimíveis…

Me levantei e quase não acreditava ao velas se retorcerem , deilirarem e ao fim se beijarem em meio a gemidos trêmulos e gozarem juntas se beijando…

Eu batia com minha rola naquela bucetinha toda babada e ela se encolhia de tanta sensibilidade, urrava e escorria outra vez…

Sua amiga já parecia querer fugir enquanto empurrava a cabeça do seu marido que insistia de forma voraz a continuar lhe chupando e bebendo todo gozo que ela lhe dava…

A amiga deitada por baixo , minha esposa de quatro por cima dela em 69 , um boquete trocado meu pareceu uma boa ideia…

Com a minha mão esquerda puchei a nuca da amiguinha… com a mão direita empurrei a cabeça da minha esposa e gritei…

- "Engulam tuuudo"

Vadias, nem engasgaram… riram , e começaram a mamar seus brinquedos novos

Eu adorava a empolgação e o tesão que elas exalavam, até que o amigo disse…

- "Chupa e baba ele todo , pq agora eu vou socar ele todinho na sua buceta sua puta safada"

O silêncio se instalou e ele me olhou meio assustado Eu indaguei

- "Fode ela todinha , e aproveita que ela adora que soca forte no cuzinho"

Puxei logo a amiguinha debaixo e a beijei , descendo pelo pescoço… chupei e lambi sem pressa seus seios pequenos, durinhos , excitados… mordisquei e desci beijando a sua barriga até chegar na virilha… fiz questão passar a pontinha da língua em toda a sua bucetinha que aquela altura já estava vermelhinha e inchadinha…

Corria a língua toda babada sem pressa por toda a sua virilha enquanto sentia todas as suas reações , não se segurou quando a minha língua entrou suavemente em sua bucetinha a lambendo e com os lábios suguei todinha pra dentro da minha boca a lambendo…

Se retorcia e apertava meus braços com força enquanto eu a segurava pela cintura… seu gemidinho ainda latejando na minha mente só foi interrompido quando a minha mulher disse:

- "Que delícia esse pau gostoso na minha buceta"

Ambos se encaravam como se estivessem à sós em uma noite exclusiva do prazer… o que era kkkkk

Ao voltar meus olhos me deparei com aquela bucetinha, pequena e delicada… e logo acima meu pau veiudo e já doendo de tantos latejos e chupões… como vou colocar isso tudo aí dentro ?!?!?

Esfreguei a cabecinha em sua bucetinha molhada até que por conta própria entrou sem menor esforço, sugou a minha rôla e eu podia sentir cada centímetro daquela bucetinha gulosa e apertada sugando todo meu pau pra dentro enquanto ele latejava com tesão a mil, eu meti com o máximo de força que conseguia e meu pau sumia todo dentro daquela xota em um "papai mamãe" quente , com muita força e embebido de tanto suor que exalava no quarto…

Transamos em várias posições, de quatro foi o clímax em senti-la tão apertadinha bombeando a minha rola enquanto gozava já quase rasgando o lençol e berrando com o rosto do enfiado no colchão, como eu queria aquele cuzinho naquela hora…

De quatro de frente uma para outra se beijavam e gemiam ganhado rola estralando… era claro o quanto se deleitavam naquela oportunidade… Perguntei se queriam leite quente e grosso

O amigo disse :

- Vamos dar leitinho pra essas putas…

Deitamos elas na cama lado a lado e fizemos chover porra naquelas caras perversas e já vermelhas de tantos tapas e enforcões…

Pelo visto aproveitaram mais gente a gente kkkkkk

Insatisfeitas deitaram se uma sobre a outra , se beijavam enquanto chupavam toda a porra sobre a outra , se esfregavam até que suas bucetas se tocaram… putz

Foi olhos nos olhos… buceta na buceta… boca com boca… se beijaram e se esfregaram até gozarem juntas de novo…

No olhamos os quatro e eu disse em tom de sussurro

ATÉ A PRÓXIMA…

Enviado ao Te Contos por J.M.A

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cainluvr69 · 11 months

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Fantasia of the Bookstore Following Footsteps into the Future Chapter 10

Previous Chapter

We got right on moving things around in the store for our tea party. While munching on some delicious sweets and drinking wonderful tea, Arthur cracked open the book. He took a deep breath and then opened the front cover with all the love and care one would give to undoing the ribbon tied around a long-awaited gift.

At that moment, a gentle breeze blew across the open pages. As if caught by the wind, shining white motes of light in the same shape as the flying books fluttered into the air around him.

Arthur: Wah…! Ahaha, it's like a pop-up book!

Shylock: I wonder if that isn't a spell deliberately written in by the wizard who left it here. Although its more aggressive form was a powerful one, this feels much more like it's trying to delight us.

Murr: C'mon, c'mon, turn the page!

Arthur: Okay!

Arthur excitedly turned the page. His blue eyes glittered with curiosity as they focused on the strings of characters, as if they were jumping and dancing with joy.

Arthur: …It seems this book was written by a Sage's wizard, recording things such as their favorite games and pastimes, numerous adventures, and details about humans and wizards they met during their life.

Oz: It seems much like a memoir.

Arthur: Yes. For instance, this page talks about how they ventured into a forest thick with flamewood trees…

Arthur read aloud from the book for Riquet and I, since we were still learning how to read this world's letters. The great adventure through the forest of flamewoods. How to play an odd little game called The Drumming Spiral. A diary entry talking about the longtime friend that taught it to them. This book traced every step of the life of the wizard who had written it.

Arthur: "Here's a game I came up with. All you need is your broom. You can play it anywhere, but somewhere spacious is ideal. It'd also be a good idea to avoid anywhere with a lot of buildings." "It's really simple to actually play. All you have to do is kick up some wind with your magic and ride it with your broom, and then just let yourself get blown wherever it ends up taking you. It's fun to do this in the Forest of Ice, because no matter what you smack into, the snow makes it soft and fluffy."

Riquet: Doesn't this game sound awfully similar to one that you taught us, Lord Arthur?

Cain: It sure does. Between that and how they're a Central wizard who grew up in the North, they sound quite a bit like Arthur.

Oz: …The parts about loving to go on adventures and relentless recklessness are decidedly similar.

Arthur: I was honestly thinking the same thing. I bet if we'd lived in the same era, we could've been wonderful friends.

Arthur ran his fingers over the pages. He smile was the bright and cheerful one of a little boy who'd just made a new friend.

Arthur: But even though we're separated by time, because they left this book behind, I can still read about them. I'm so happy I met this book. I'm so happy it chose me!

My heart felt as warm as Arthur's smile. One day, I would pass my Sage's Manual to someone else, too. I hope that the person who picks it up will smile that way as they read it, too.

Chloe: This is kinda making me want to start writing a book that'll end up in this store one day. Hey, what kinda things do all of you think you'd write?

Murr: Definitely about the moon, yeah?

Shylock: The only person who would ever want to write about that is you, dear. Surely there's only one crazy wizard who fell in love with the moon.

Murr: You think so? Love's a pretty vast thing, you know! So, Shylock, what would you write in your super secret book of secrets? Would it be all about me?

Shylock: Fufu… I'm sure I would write about all the things that catch my fancy.

Chloe: I think I'd want to leave behind my design sketches. I think it'd be nice if someone wanted to still make my clothes even when I'm gone.

Rustica: No matter how much time passes, your designs will always be able to move the hearts of those that see them. I am most certain that your book would become a world treasure.

Chloe: Ehehe… Thanks. What about you, Rustica? What would you want to leave behind?

Rustica: That's quite a difficult question. I'm not sure I'd be able to settle on a satisfactory answer very quickly. May I think on this while drinking tea? I'm sure I'll have an answer by moonrise.

Cain: Ahaha. I bet your book would end up equally refined and carefree. But I don't think I could come up with an answer to what I'd want to leave behind in the end that easily, either.

Riquet: That's very true. I am sure the me of the past would have written about the church. The proper way to be a wizard and the priest's words and such. But I'm sure that I'll have so, so, so many more things I'll want to write about in the future. I used to think I knew everything there was to the world… But now I've learned there's so much more to it than that. The more that I learn, the more I'll want to make sure is recorded for the future. I'm sure of it.

Arthur: I think…I'd want to leave behind everything I've written down in the journal Lord Oz gave me. Although I'd be just as happy simply writing a book on all of his cool points, too.

Oz: If you are writing something to leave behind, it should be about your own…

Cain: Oz's cool points! That's a good one! Since there's so much of him only you get to see, I bet it'd definitely be worth reading.

Arthur: Right?!

Riquet: What about you, Oz? Do you have anything you'd want to leave behind?

Oz: No… I have never put any thought into my turning to stone. Nor about what may happen afterwards.

Riquet: …Oz, I understand how you feel. When I think about how I will one day be no more, it frightens me. I feel very alone. But to reflect on one's passing means to reflect on one's way of life. I think you should put some thought into that too, Oz.

Oz: ……Am I being lectured on the nature of life right now? By a youth of only sixteen years…?

Murr: What about you, Master Sage? What would you write down in a book to be passed on to the next generation?

Akira: Me? Um~mm… Yeah, I definitely think it's gotta be what I've got written down in the Sage's Manual. I'd be happiest leaving behind a record of what I've learned about wizards and what I've experienced here.

Murr: A book about us! I'm super duper looking forward to reading a book all about us written by none other than you, Master Sage!

And so the party got merrier, just like that. Hugo's smile reached all the way to his ears while he listened to the wizards' very…individual ideas when it came to their books.

Arthur: It's so fun listening to everyone's ideas for what kind of book they'd want to write! And it's all thanks to this book for choosing me!

Rustica: <Amores Viesse>

Chloe: Wah, a violin! Rustica, what are you going to play?

Rustica: Something to celebrate Lord Arthur's fated encounter with this book. If you do not mind, sir?

Arthur: Of course not! Hugo, do you mind if he performs here?

Hugo: No, not at all…! Oh, but to imagine that one day I'd get to hear a performance by the one and only Eccentric Musician, Rustica with my own ears!

Cain: In that case, maybe I'll sing along. A party should be good 'n lively, right?

Riquet: I'd like to sing for Lord Arthur too! What about you, Master Sage?

Akira: I'll do my very best!

Rustica began playing a bright and buoyant melody, a song that contained the feelings we all shared for Arthur and his brand-new book. The Western wizards produced their own bells to play alongside him in rhythmical accompaniment, and Hugo rang his own as well. Oz didn't participate in our song. But as he watched Arthur with a warm look in his eyes, I could still tell he was participating in our celebration in his own, placid way.

Arthur: Everyone, thank you so much. Once again, I'd like to state just how happy I am to have received this book. Now I've got even more to write down in my own journal!

I'd have to write about today's little adventure in the Sage's Manual, too. I know that one day, I'll forget all about the people I've met here…but I know that someone else will read what I've left behind. The proof that they and I walked this path together is etched indelibly into these pages.

#.mhyktl #.eventtl #.central fantasia

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thecottageofafairy · 3 months

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‘Iris’ (1886) by John Atkinson Grimshaw

‘Now Iris, being chief messenger unto Juno, was sent on her Autumn errand to wither ye flowers and leaves. On coming alte ye Water Lily, being enamoured by ye beauty thereof, she did hesitate… and was changed into a rainbow for her disobedience.’

This quotation from an ‘Old book’ was written on the back of the painting by the artist, John Atkinson Grimshaw, himself. A lot of people love to believe that the magical creature depicted in the painting is a fairy. But the painting the painting is a serious classical subject rather than a frivolous fairy story.

‘Iris’ is a showpiece for Grimshaw’s skills, in its glowing kaleidoscopic colour effects and rich autumnal tones, as well as the mystery and grace of the central figure. Haloed in brilliant gold, the figure curves as if in a rainbow arc, revealed through the sheerest drapery, yet modestly shielded by her arms. The model was probably Grimshaw’s young assistant, Agnes Leefe, who was to die of tuberculosis just four years after this painting. The picture captures the autumn mood, a favourite of Grimshaw’s: golden light, bare trees, soft mists, glimmering reflections, all providing mystery and scope for the imagination.

By Eveleigh Bradford, local historian in Leeds, UK

Source: https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/collections/iris-1886-by-john-atkinson-grimshaw/

In greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and the messenger to the Olympian gods. Her father Thaumas was a marine god and her mother Elektra a cloud nymph. For the coastal-dwelling Greeks, the rainbow’s arc was most often seen spanning the distance between clouds and the sea, so the goddess was believed to replenish the rain clouds with water from the sea. She had no mythology of her own, but was only seen as the errand-running messenger unto other gods. Some poets, including Homer, describe Iris as the rainbow itself rather than the goddess of the rainbow, but Servius the Grammarian states that the rainbow is only the road, on which Iris travels, appearing and vanishing at her command.

The etymology of the name “Iris” is a bit complex. The ancient Greek word “Iρις” means both the rainbow and the halo on the moon, but it is also believed to be derived (in accordance with the functions of Iris) from erô or eirô, meaning “the speaker or messenger”.

Also, unrelated, but this painting reminds me of a fantasia of Georg Philipp Telemann played by Jiří Stivín, which I also added. Enjoy :)

#artwork #art #art history #history #painting #paintings #artistic nude #magical art #fairy #fairy tales #fantasy #fantasy art #greek mythology #mythology #rainbow #john atkinson grimshaw #Spotify

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sosofarp · 5 months

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sosoawayrpg é um rp de fantasia com uma mistura do filme shrek 2 , os contos da disney e the wolf among us! venham embarcar nessa longa viagem de loucuras e muitas reviravoltas!

skeletons dos contos de fadas.

CENTRAL.

#krp br #krp brasil #rp br #rp brasil #rpg brasil #rpg br #rpbr

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sosoawayrpg · 9 months

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sosoawayrpg é um rp de fantasia com uma mistura do filme shrek 2 , os contos da disney e the wolf among us! venham embarcar nessa longa viagem de loucuras e muitas reviravoltas!

skeletons dos contos de fadas.

CENTRAL.

#rp br #rpg br #rp brasil #rpg brasil

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 4 months

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The Weird History of Western Animated Movie Sequels

This is a rewrite of sorts of a history post I did on theatrical animated movie sequels in the West (largely the U.S.) a few years ago, and how weird it is... How we went from a handful of sequels over the course of three decades to an *explosion* in them... I'll collect all this fun stuff in a timeline of sorts.

(This list will mainly focus on traditional sequels, not so much films sharing similar themes and FANTASIA being planned as an ever-updating anthology w/ every re-release had it done well initially. And also, theatrical sequels. With the exception of movies re-routed to streaming because of COVID-19. That sorta thing, ya know?)

Late 1930s-Mid 1940s: Walt Disney and his studio entertain the idea of sequels to SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS and BAMBI, titled SNOW WHITE RETURNS and BAMBI'S CHILDREN. Nothing comes of them. If FANTASIA is to be successful, Walt's plan for the film is to update it every couple of years, taking some segments out and replacing them with new ones. And repeating that once more. FANTASIA bombs at the box office upon general wide release in early 1942, so the plans fall through. A feature film BONGO is developed at the beginning of the decade, and at one point it is suggested to be set in the same universe as DUMBO and would feature characters from that film. BONGO eventually became a much pared-down segment of the package film FUN & FANCY FREE in 1947.

1942-1944: Disney and their distributor RKO Radio Pictures release two anthology "package" features, SALUDOS AMIGOS and THE THREE CABALLEROS. During World War II, Nazi influence began to take shape in Central and South America. American filmmakers, including Walt Disney and a select team of his artists, traveled south in part of a larger government strategy to strengthen goodwill between the U.S. and Central/South America. SALUDOS and CABALLEROS are thus "goodwill" pictures, formed up of multiple segments themed around those territories. Both of them feature Donald Duck and Jose Carioca. Because of this, CABALLEROS could be viewed as a "sequel" of sorts to SALUDOS.

April 1946: Disney and their distributor RKO premiere MAKE MINE MUSIC, an anthology of musical segments not dissimilar to FANTASIA. The picture goes into general release in August.

May 1948: Disney and RKO release MELODY TIME, another musical anthology film. The film notably features both Donald Duck and Jose Carioca in a segment called 'Blame It On the Samba', reprising their roles from SALUDOS AMIGOS and THE THREE CABALLEROS. The Aracuan Bird from CABALLEROS also appears during this segment. Like MAKE MINE MUSIC, these two films can be seen as an extension of the FANTASIA concept, and MELODY TIME could be seen as a sequel of sorts of MAKE MINE MUSIC. The Disney company never considered any of these films to be "sequels", at least in a more traditional sense.

We have a long gap here because Walt Disney Productions was the only animation studio in America that was making feature films, and there were plenty of times where they could've ceased doing just that. Couple that with Walt's general hesitance to make sequels, and thus there weren't any animated feature sequels made from the 1950s to the end of the 1960s... Other animation studios in America had attempted to make features, but never got past a small number of them. The Fleischer studio made both GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN in 1939 and 1941 respectively, and their studio was shuttered shortly after BUG's quiet and brief general release rollout in early 1942. The UPA tried their hand at animated features, but only got around to making two, 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS and GAY PURR-EE.

By the 1960s, more animation studios were making feature-length productions, such as Hanna-Barbera and Rankin/Bass. By 1970, there was at least one new movie from an American house every two-or-so years. A good chunk of them were also based on hit TV shows or well-known properties. Hanna-Barbera did features based on THE YOGI BEAR SHOW and THE FLINTSTONES, there was also a PEANUTS-based movie called A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN. Ralph Bakshi shook up the animation world with his adult independent feature FRITZ THE CAT in early 1972.

A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN and FRITZ THE CAT would be the first American animated movie sequels to get theatrical sequels...

August 1972: PEANUTS movie SNOOPY COME HOME!, a follow-up to A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN involving much of the same key crew (such as director Bill Melendez and producer Lee Mendelson), is released by National General Pictures to poor box office.

June 1974: THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT, a sequel to Ralph Bakshi's FRITZ THE CAT that didn't involve Bakshi, is released by American International Pictures and doesn't repeat the success of the first movie.

August 1977: RACE FOR YOUR LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN is released by Paramount, and doesn't make much of a mark at the box office.

Late 1970s: Despite the success of Ralph Bakshi's rotoscoped THE LORD OF THE RINGS in the fall of 1978, a follow-up is considered but does not materialize due to funding issues.

May 1980: BON VOYAGE, CHARLIE BROWN (AND DON'T COME BACK!!) is released by Paramount to weak box office.

1984-86: After much turmoil, the Disney enterprise sees a major corporate shakeup. Outsider executives Michael Eisner and Frank Wells become CEO and President of the newly-christened The Walt Disney Company, respectively. Upending the old tradition of not making feature sequels, Michael Eisner and the new executives ask the staff of the animation studio what their highest grossing feature was to date. When revealed that it was THE RESCUERS, a sequel to the film is greenlit.

March 1986: A fast-tracked sequel to 1985's THE CARE BEARS MOVIE is released, and only makes a fraction of what the first film - a minor hit in its own right - took in.

August 1987: A third Care Bears movie, THE CARE BEARS ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, is released to equally unremarkable box office.

1988-89: Following the record-breaking, game-changing success of ex-Disney animator Don Bluth's Steven Spielberg-produced AN AMERICAN TAIL in 1986, a sequel is put in development, with Bluth initially tapped to helm. Bluth later broke ties with Spielberg over creative differences, and following the runaway success of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, Steven Spielberg would set up a new animation studio called Amblimation. They took over the film.

November 1990: THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER is released to mixed critical reception and weak box office. Within weeks of release, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg has all the marketing for the film pulled.

May 1991: Computer animation studio Pixar enters a feature film deal with The Walt Disney Company. This three-picture deal, which would later be expanded, stipulates that NO sequels be pitched. Every film pitched by Pixar for this contract is to be an ORIGINAL film, for the sole purpose of introducing new worlds/characters for the company's theme parks and consumer products divisions.

November 1991: Universal releases AN AMERICAN TAIL: FIEVEL GOES WEST, the same weekend as Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The film flops at the box office.

Mid 1991-Early 1992: Walt Disney Home Video initially refuses, at Roy E. Disney's behest, to release FANTASIA on video formats following its 1990 theatrical re-release. Michael Eisner makes a deal with Roy: Release FANTASIA on video, and a follow-up to FANTASIA will be greenlit. FANTASIA is released in November and pulled by January 1992, selling a record-breaking 14 million units. FANTASIA CONTINUED is greenlit.

Mid 1994: Following the success of THE RETURN OF JAFAR, which was essentially an hour-long direct-to-video pilot for the ALADDIN TV series, Disney Feature Animation does not pursue making sequels to their animated features. The only exception being FANTASIA CONTINUED, which is Roy E. Disney's pet project. All other sequels are to be outsourced productions, and are produced exclusively for the home video market.

March 1996: A sequel to Don Bluth's ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN, which didn't involve Bluth much like FIEVEL GOES WEST didn't, is released to poor box office.

Early-Mid 1996: Following the success of Pixar's debut feature, TOY STORY, Disney immediately commissions a direct-to-video sequel that is to be made by "B-team" of sorts at a satellite studio, while work on A BUG'S LIFE takes place at Pixar's main building in Point Richmond. (This was before they moved to Emeryville.)

July 1997: Legacy Releasing released a sequel to THE SWAN PRINCESS, titled THE SWAN PRINCESS: ESCAPE FROM CASTLE MOUNTAIN, to virtually nonexistent box office grosses.

February 1998: TOY STORY 2 is changed from direct-to-video project to theatrical feature film, though it will not count as part of Pixar's then extended film deal with The Walt Disney Company. That very contract mandated that all of Pixar's productions be original features, or else they wll NOT count as part of the deal. Pixar and the Disney company also enter a gentleman's agreement, in that Disney will not push sequels to Pixar films *without* Pixar's permission.

Early 1999: TOY STORY 2 is taken over by the staff at the main Pixar building due to concerns over the quality of the story. The film is significantly revised, with the release date mere months away.

November 1999: TOY STORY 2 is released, and becomes the first animated movie sequel to outgross its predecessor at the box office. Despite the film's success, and despite the considerable stress the production was, Michael Eisner refuses to count it as part of the deal. Pixar owner Steve Jobs strongly feels that TOY STORY 2 should count.

January 2000: On New Year's Day of the new millennium, Roy E. Disney's FANTASIA follow-up FANTASIA 2000 goes into IMAX-exclusive release after a world premiere the previous month.

February 2000: Disney makes the unorthodox decision to release THE TIGGER MOVIE in theaters, a production made by the satellite units that otherwise would've gone straight to video. The film is a financial success.

June 2000: FANTASIA 2000 goes into general release. The film does not recoup its costs at the box office, and is generally a dud with audiences.

Around Early-To-Mid 2000: Despite the contractual agita over TOY STORY 2, Pixar is keen to do a TOY STORY 3. However, it is not greenlit by Disney.

November 2000: Paramount releases a sequel to their Nickelodeon-based hit from 1998, THE RUGRATS MOVIE. While RUGRATS IN PARIS does not make as much money as the first movie, it is still a financial success.

Early-To-Mid 2001: DreamWorks, who are about to release SHREK, are already at work on a sequel. When SHREK defies its pre-release odds and becomes a box office smash upon its May release, the sequel goes full-steam ahead. Unlike Disney Animation, whose sequels are farmed-out straight-to-video endeavors, and unlike Pixar who can't make another sequel per their contract with Disney, DreamWorks has none of this baggage and goes right ahead with a SHREK sequel.

February 2002: Disney releases another satellite production, PETER PAN sequel RETURN TO NEVER LAND, theatrically. The film is a box office success.

June 2002: Following the success of the Blue Sky production ICE AGE, released by 20th Century Fox, work is already underway on a sequel. Much like DreamWorks, they too don't have the baggage Disney Animation and Pixar have concerning sequels.

February 2003: Disney releases satellite production THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 theatrically, another financial success.

March 2003: Disney releases satellite production PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE to theaters. Costing double that of RETURN TO NEVER LAND and JUNGLE BOOK 2, the film is a box office flop.

July 2003: RUGRATS GO WILD, the third RUGRATS movie and something of a sequel to THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE, is released by Paramount to poor box office.

Early-To-Mid 2004: Friction develops between The Walt Disney Company and Pixar, making a split between the two seem likely. Per the contract, Disney has first rights to the studio's animated movies that made up the extended film deal. (Everything from TOY STORY to a then-forthcoming THE INCREDIBLES and CARS) If Pixar were to break off from the Disney company, Disney could feasibly make sequels to their films without them involved... And Michael Eisner took full advantage, going back on the gentleman's agreement between the two parties. Disney launches Circle 7 Animation, a CG studio meant to make these Pixar-less sequels. Work commences on TOY STORY 3, MONSTERS, INC. 2: LOST IN SCARADISE, and FINDING NEMO 2. It's largely a hardball tactic to get Pixar to renegotiate and extend their film deal.

May 2004: DreamWorks releases SHREK 2 to record-breaking box office... This is where the game is truly changed... DreamWorks has three more SHREK movies lined up (the first of which aiming for a summer 2006 release), in addition to a direct-to-video prequel about the film's breakout character Puss In Boots.

February 2005: Disney releases one last satellite production to theaters, POOH'S HEFFALUMP MOVIE. Costing half of what PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE cost, it does alright at the box office.

Mid-To-Late 2005: DreamWorks sees another box office success in MADAGASCAR, and greenlights a sequel. This makes it the second ever DreamWorks movie to get a theatrical sequel. (Oddly, SHARK TALE from the year before, despite being a box office success and Oscar nominee, doesn't get a sequel.)

September 2005: After a campaign ran from the outside by Roy E. Disney, Michael Eisner resigns as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. His successor, Bob Iger, seeks to renegotiate fairly with Pixar. Pixar's final film for the original contract, CARS, is less than a year away from release.

January 2006: In a historic move, The Walt Disney Company announces a $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar.

March 2006: 20th Century Fox releases ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN to great box office. Another film is on the way.

Early-To-Mid 2006: Following the announcement of Disney's purchase of Pixar, Pixar regains control of sequel production. Circle 7 Animation is shut down, and Pixar immediately begins work on *their* TOY STORY 3 for a 2009 release. Since a MONSTERS, INC. sequel and a FINDING NEMO sequel got to the script stage, Pixar eventually has to make their sequels to override those. A MONSTERS, INC. follow-up quietly begins development around this time as well. In addition to all of this, Pixar head John Lasseter takes over Disneytoon Studios and shuts down all traditionally-animated direct-to-video Disney sequels. This indicates that a future Walt Disney Feature Animation production, now named Walt Disney Animation Studios, will get a theatrical sequel if it's a box office success.

November 2006: HAPPY FEET, released by Warner Bros., is the biggest of the non-Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks/Blue Sky movies of the year and up until that point. Makes a big splash. Sequel likely.

May 2007: SHREK THE THIRD opens and is another blockbuster for DreamWorks.

January 2008: A rather unorthodox development, Big Idea makes a theatrical sequel to JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE, with THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING. Universal distributes. It flops upon release.

April 2008: Two years into The Walt Disney Company's ownership of Pixar, a massive movie slate with Disney Animation, Pixar, and Disneytoon productions is unveiled. The game plan is the first announcement of a CARS sequel. This makes CARS the second-ever Pixar film to get a sequel. At the time, this movie is penciled in for a summer 2012 debut. TOY STORY 3 has also moved back a year, to 2010.

Mid-To-Late 2008: DreamWorks sees a new breakout hit with KUNG FU PANDA in the summer, and a sequel success with MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA.

July 2009: ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS is released by 20th Century Fox, and scores excellently at the box office.

September 2009: Three features in, relative newcomer Sony Pictures Animation scores a good-sized hit with CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. A sequel is planned thereafter...

So now... We see where it all waxes... With that, we'll just look at things year by year...

2010: TOY STORY 3 is released and becomes the highest grossing animated feature of all-time. Earlier in the year, Pixar confirms that they are in production of a MONSTERS, INC. follow-up. DreamWorks sees another breakout hit with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, a sequel is also imminent. Newcomer Illumination scores big with DESPICABLE ME, a sequel is also inevitable. DreamWorks scores another hit with SHREK FOREVER AFTER.

2011: It's a sequel/franchise film explosion, kinda unprecedented in feature animation up until this point... KUNG FU PANDA 2, CARS 2, and PUSS IN BOOTS all come out this year and make big money. Disney Animation makes a 2D animated WINNIE THE POOH, but it is sadly a box office bomb. HAPPY FEET TWO, from Warner Bros., also bombs. HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL is belatedly released this year, it is also a money-loser. New films make a splash and are to get sequels.

2012: Two sequels this year, the highly successful MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED and ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT. Disney Animation, after years of misses and mulligans (TANGLED didn't really make much of a profit theatrically, but was a very popular film), notably scores a profitable hit with WRECK-IT RALPH, a sequel slowly begins development.

2013: Plenty of follow-ups here, with MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, DESPICABLE ME 2, THE SMURFS 2, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2, and CARS spin-off PLANES (produced at Disneytoon and not Pixar). The majority of them do pretty good at the box office, some of them *very* good. DESPICABLE ME 2 is named by Universal as their most profitable film ever released, to date.

2014: This year saw the releases of RIO 2, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 and PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE. MADAGASCAR spin-off PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR is deemed a disappointment by DreamWorks, leading to company-wide ramifications.

2015: DESPICABLE ME spin-off MINIONS debuts and is a rare animated feature to cross a billion worldwide, with only TOY STORY 3 and FROZEN having previously done that. Elsewhere, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 and THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER - a belated sequel to THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE from 2004 - are released and also do well. Notably, Disney Animation announces FROZEN II this year. The first of the post-Eisner animated features to get a follow-up announced, though the WRECK-IT RALPH sequel - announced a year later - opened before it.

2016: KUNG FU PANDA 3, FINDING DORY, and ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE are released this year. The fifth ICE AGE movie does fine, but not well enough to lead to a sixth film. A CG remake of Disney's 1967 THE JUNGLE BOOK - with a single real-life actor - is released this year to massive box office.

2017: THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, spin-off of 2014's THE LEGO MOVIE, debuts this year and does well. The other LEGO spin-off, THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE, doesn't. Elsewhere, CARS 3 does okay at the box office, DESPICABLE ME 3 breaks the billion, and Sony reboots the Smurfs movies with an all-animated film SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE. They deem the film a box office disappointment. THE NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE, a sequel to the 2014 ToonBox-produced movie, debuts to muted numbers.

2018: Big year for sequels: Billion-dollar smash INCREDIBLES 2, big hits HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 and RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, and... Belated flop sequel to 2011's GNOMEO & JULIET, SHERLOCK GNOMES.

2019: Two Disney smashes in TOY STORY 4, the 99.99% CGI LION KING remake, and FROZEN II, though Universal's THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 doesn't make half of what the breakout 2016 original made. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD does fine, while THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 and THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART underperform.

2020: COVID-19 impacts the theatrical market, re-routing many films to streaming. TROLLS WORLD TOUR and THE CROODS: A NEW AGE debut this year, ditto a U.S. release of Aardman's first-ever movie sequel, FARMAGEDDON: A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE. A third SPONGEBOB movie, SPONGE ON THE RUN, rolls out internationally before a quiet U.S. debut in the next year.

2021: The theatrical market slowly crawls back upon the unrolling of COVID-19 vaccines. Sequels this year include THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2, SING 2, and the unusual SPIRIT: UNTAMED: A follow-up to a TV series that was a follow-up to a flop DreamWorks movie.

2022: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA, TOY STORY spin-off LIGHTYEAR, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, and PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH make up this year, as we all know.

Last year: SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER, and - notably - straight-to-streaming Aardman sequel CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET that still was theatrical-caliber.

This year: KUNG FU PANDA 4, INSIDE OUT 2, DESPICABLE ME 4, MOANA 2, and MUFASA: THE LION KING incoming...

On the horizon: SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE, A new WALLACE & GROMIT feature, ZOOTOPIA 2, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: THE SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, TOY STORY 5, FROZEN III, THE BOSS BABY 3, SHREK 5, a third LEGO MOVIE, THE SEA BEAST 2, SECRET LIFE OF PETS 3, SING 3, a PEANUTS MOVIE sequel, a MUTANT MAYHEM sequel, and probably many more I'm forgetting at the moment...

Basically, the major cracks in the dam were TOY STORY 2, SHREK 2, and ICE AGE 2... Making sequels to animated movies was for a long time not ideal, getting an animated feature out period was at one point a gamble. (Still is, but not like it was many decades ago.) But yeah, a lot was at play for a while and then after it all blew up... Yeah, that's why there are so many of them.

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