#fairytale anthology

[adarkrainbow]

Fairytales - the dark season (4)

Today's title: Jim Henson's The Storyteller

Jim Henson's The Storyteller, also known as "The StoryTeller", is a 1987 British television series of nine episodes (I am not counting the spin-off about Greek myths and legends, even though it is an insanely cool series don't hesitate to go look at it). This show was created and produced by Jim Henson, and displays much of his talent and inventivity when it comes to puppetry. You know, Jim Henson, the man behind Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal (he also worked on Roald Dahl's The Witches movie).

Personal categorization: "Fairytales by autumn light"

This anthology show is a collecting of retelling/adaptations of traditional European fairytales. Most of the fairytales of this collection are inspired by German folktales (The True Bride, The Heartless Giant, Sapsorrow, The Three Ravens, Hans My Hedgehog, The Luck Child, Fearnot) - with a few additions from other culture, such as "The Soldier and Death" of Russian origins. The framing device is linked to the title of the show: each episode begins and ends with the titular StoryTeller sitting by his fireplace in a dark, empty castle, chatting with his talking dog, and their conversation always leading them to the telling of a story...

This is not a horror show, or an inherently dark show, as it makes an effort to retell the traditional fairytales in a pleasant and entertaining way, even the most bittersweet of them. But all will agree that this is a show more fit for the dark season than the bright one, as this anthology benefits from all that is wonderfully sinister and beautifully uncanny in Jim Henson's fantasy works.

The narration does not shy away from the shadows and gloom that lurks in fairytales, though it purposefully avoids the most gory or gruesome details to preserve the poetry of it all. The monsters and spirits presented in this world all play into an Arthur Rackham-style of fairytale visuals where the supernatural is tied to a form of grotesque and the fairy-world seems to be one of endless fog and autumn lights. And the very primary setting, the one of the framing device, has a sort of "warm Gothic" feel to it, as we find a pleasant storyteller and his loveable dog to tell us wonderful stories... but they stay slightly uncanny beings all alone in a large, empty and dark castle.

[sassinake]

Reading Time - Soulmates and Silence - Nix reads from her new book!

[reputayswift]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT + literary references (part 2)

(sources: loml, I hate it here, the albatross, so high school, thank you aimee, clara bow)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hi!

My best friend's short story collection just came out!! (It's here on Goodreads).

Ancient British myths reimagined According to stories, we share our world with a menagerie of mysterious creatures. What happens when those creatures appear in the modern world? Do fairies still like traditional offerings of herbs and spices? Do unicorns still live in forests? Do sea serpents still yearn to eat innocent maidens? This collection of stories brings myths from across the UK to a modern world with offices, cities and fast food restaurants. The consequences are often comedic, sometimes horrific and always surprising.

I haven't written my proper goodreads review for it yet (it's on the agenda) but as a huge queer fairytale fan I loved it!

The style is just delightfully cosy and funny compared to anything I could ever come up with. I also really like that at the end she talks about all of the original versions of the myths, so if you're interested in local folklore from the UK it's also great for that.

Give it a go if you fancy reading about Jack Frost falling in love with the Green Man, goblins running amok in the office printer, ghost dogs and more!

You can talk to her on Twitter or whatever it's called @ficcaholic.

[marlynnofmany]

Me: *working on cover art*

Me: "These green-glass edges look like asparagus."

Me: "That sounds like magic. What if--"

Me: "New story ideas later; finish art now!"

[perplexingly]

I actually can’t stop thinking about East of the Sun, West of the Moon… I’ve read that entire collection of Scandinavian fairytales, and there were some others that I liked a ton as well (I thought the one about the giant who didn’t have a heart was great too) but something about East of the Sun West of the Moon was just so good..

It is just Beauty and the Beast with extra steps, but I liked that their love was mutual before the enchantment was broken, I liked that it had the motif of a woman looking for her lost husband and subsequently rescuing him, also personified Winds are characters in like every tale in this collection but it was good to see them here too; idk I just think that this fairytale was really neat

[themalhambird]

Imagine if the third fairy's blessing was "skin as tough as iron, so any spindle point will just fucking break off before it pricks her".

Like, that's WAY more practical. It doesn't even need to be her whole body. The fairy's curse specifically said finger, just give the kid magic invulnerable hands and she'll be fine.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Everything Under the Moon

Anthology of queer reimaginings of fairytales by mostly Australian authors

various genres, from contemporary to fantasy and sci-fi, mostly about older teens

mlm, sapphic, trans, nonbinary, demi, bi ace, and aromantic characters, some stories focusing on romance but many on familial relationships and siblings

[curlsincriminology]

it’s so weird having the urge and need to have a baby

like ew, what do you mean I’m crying whenever I see a baby hold something in its chubby little hand or when they do that little pouty face before they cry or when they clap their hands together or when they blow little raspberries or when they giggle at new noises or when they

[akindoftragic]

Taylor Swift songs that end the same way they begin

[dark-dreams-anthology]

❧ Appreciation.

We would like to thank to all participants of this event for their hard work and/or speedrun abilities. This wouldn't be possible if weren't for you all! We hope that you have enjoyed this adventure and you want to accompany us in the next one!

Thank you so much for participating: @yuriko-mukami @solarstellarstar @mermaid--bride @bluebird-dolly-bride @blood--king @afra-blueraz @iricathel @lucidesunderstander @hanakohanabe @kindan-no-kanojo @sumire-bride

❧ Prologue

There was a time in which child eyes dreamed a world full of magic, in which, chevaliers with shiny armors will run their adventures to find out the princess pained for a curse. A world full of dreams to accomplish and there nightmares to impede it. In which everyone was the chosen one in their own story, which would be good or bad, in which a heart, beating by desires, bloomed in roses when they finally accomplished their dream and thorned in pain when they found trapped in a nightmare.

Children still dream, good or bad, even if their form is not from a child anymore. Dreams and Nightmares are not exactly like a shiny chevalier and a cursed princess. Although, we are here, those who write and draw new stories over old ones, which we loved there and we love still.

❧ Index

❝The Curse of the Blue Moon❞ (Red Riding Hood).

❝Swan Lake❞

❝Maria and the seven vampires❞ (Snow White and the seven dwarfs).

❝Thumbelina❞

❝The King Frog❞

❝Cursed Soul❞ (Maleficent).

❝The Beauty and the Beast❞

❝Cinderella❞

❝Lies of Hanocchio❞ (Pinocchio).

❝Corrupted Diamonds❞ (Aladdin and the marvellous lamp).

❝The sleeping beauty n' the awaken princess❞ (The sleeping beauty).

❧ Epilogue

Which the knowledge acquired by the moral of the fable, we are slowly demanding a final point. But, another question to be uttered is: if we brought to life again dusted stories from the past, is there really an end for dreams and nightmares?

↪Date of the event: July 25th, 2023.

↪Directed by: @dryams03 & @sauthorgod

[bletherwood]

Tales from Bletherwood

By Virginia Didelphidae

Sometimes when you wander enough, you become disoriented. And in fairytales that's the best way to end up somewhere mythical.

Witch's Butter

In the depths of Bletherwood, there's a little house. In the house lives an old woman. She has long gray hair in a thick braid and round glasses perched on her nose. Her dress is brown with lace collars. No one knows her name so they just call her “The Old Woman”. She lives with a pooka named Pudgy and a magpie named Piedmont who rarely says things appropriate to be written down.

One day the old woman was taking stock of her pantry, checking her supplies for winter. “We have the jams and pickles we made around the equinox. They're still very good. We have the persimmons I dried last month, they'll be joined by the other fruit I have drying now. Flour, rice, sugar, beans- oh dear. My witch's butter is all gone.” She sighed, she couldn't go out to gather some right now, she was making broth and Piedmont liked to take the bones for himself. She then noticed Pudgy returning a jar of snail shells for his collection. “Pudge dear, do you have any more plans today?”

“No ma'am. I'm gonna nap until dinner then sleep some more.” The lazy fairy declared, grinning.

“Do you mind helping me?” She asked, fetching her small basket. “I need some witch's butter but I have to keep an eye on the cauldron.”

Pudgy didn't know what witch's butter was but he was eager to help the old woman. “I can do that. I can do that before dinner.” He chirped, wagging his tail as he took the basket and ran off before he was told where to go. The old woman sighed. Hoping he knew what he was doing.

Pudgy ran along through the woods. He personally didn't know any witches, let alone ones who make butter. He saw some crows and got an idea. He knew a young woman named Ara who lived in a tree with crows, she had a spell to see anything, surely she was close enough. The young fairy turned into a lark to follow the crows home.

When he landed upon Ara's porch he shapeshifted back to his human-like form and knocked on her door.

“Who is here?” Ara called, opening the door to see the pooka waiting. “Oh? Pudgewhick? What brings you my way?” She pushes her blonde bangs out of her steel gray eyes. Though her features could be seen as intimidating, her fanged smile could melt any cold heart.

“Hi Ara? Do you have any butter?”

“Butter? No, I haven't had any since last week. I much prefer jam on my toast.” She let a crow land on her scratched up hand. “Why? Are you hungry?”

“No- well yes, but no. The Old Woman needs some butter.”

“Why would she send you to me?”

“It's witch's butter she needs.”

“I'm not a-” she then pauses and begins to laugh a merry squawk.

“What?” Pudgy was confused, what was so funny?

“Head hahaha to the hahaha old dwarve’s haha haha mill haha.” she wheezed. Pudgy gave her a confused stare before turning into a lark to fly there quickly. Or at least as fast as he could with a basket in his claws.

When he landed, there wasn't anyone really here. The mill had been abandoned since the dwarf left to care for his sick cousin. Now the building was old and covered in moss and mushrooms, especially strange orange ones. He sighed sitting down. That's when he heard it.

“Mehhhhhh”

He looked up, and saw a goat. She had floppy ears and small horns.

“Oh hello ma'am…are you lost?”

“Mehh” she snorted. She walked past with a snuff. The goat looked at him with yellow eyes, approaching him to chew on the mushroom behind him.

“Oh dear, you really don't wanna pay much attention to me huh.” He joked, patting her on the back. He then remembered goats make milk and milk makes butter. “Do YOU have witch's butter?”

The goat looked at him, knocking some of the orange gooey fungus into his basket. “Mehhh” she began to walk away.

“Hey wait, your legs are longer then mine!” He chases after her hoping she'd take him to where the butter was. The goat moved a bit faster everytime he got close. How rude, she was making him run! He hated exercise.

After an hour of running after a goat he wound back up at the mill, he had lost her. “Goat? I'm sorry if I'm being annoying. I really need this butter though! The Old Woman will probably pay you! I can't really pay as I'm broke- ack!” He yelped as more of the orange stuff fell off the building. He looked up to see the goat, head out the top window, throwing them at him! “OH! You are a very rude goat!”

“Meh!” She snorted, tossing her head and stamping her hoof.

“Now come down and bring me to your butter!” He demanded as the goat snorted and bounced on the plank, raining more of the jelly like mushroom on him. “Stop being mean! I'll pay you! I lied about being broke!” He called, lying about his financial state.

The goat blinked and went back inside the mill. “PLEASE!” He begged

“Pudge?”

The pooka looked over his shoulder to see the old woman hobbling over, walking stick in hand and Piedmont perched on her. He felt embarrassed as he was on his knees, arms stretched high as he pleaded with the uncaring god that the goat had become to him over the past hour. He sheepishly scampered over to her.

She goes over to him and looks at his basket.

“I will have the butter soon ma'am! The stupid goat won't lead me to the butter and she wont stop dropping these mushrooms on me. I think she may be sadistic in her intent so stay back, I think she has a knife.”

“Pudge. Those are the Witch's Butter.”

“What?”

“Witch's Butter is an edible fungus with medicinal properties.” She smiles as Piedmont caws and cackles. “You ran off so fast I thought you knew already.”

“I thought so too.” Pudgy admitted shyly. Piedmont fell off the Old Woman's shoulder cackling. The young fae's spikes raise as he growls at the magpie.

The Old Woman sighs, picking both up. “Let's head home, and I'll teach you how to candy them after dinner.” With that, she took her charges home.

[reputayswift]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT + literary references (part 1)

(sources: cassandra, who's afraid of little old me, peter, the prophecy)

[alliwanttodoiscollectpoetry]

The Song of Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yeats

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

[thebaebushka]

Did you ever think about how post-romantic era vampire stories are modern fairy tales in the sense that they are the ghost of an archetypal concept within the human psyche of watching The merchant class marrying into the aristocracy and transform into colonialist empires?

How somehow vampires are both human and all powerful and the primary angst of most of the stories is the struggle between their humanity and the inhumanity that wealth and immortality can bring you, or how it's merged with Mary Shelley's questions about the struggling between whether you are preserver of of the humane & the collective or a destructor consumer of the humane & collective?

Vampires out here chilling just being hot and mortals who are actually the collective unconscious having some pretty big time angst about post industrial life and the place of things like manifest destiny within it.