#queen greatest pix

[ultra-francesca-mercury]

On 19 October 1981, the video collection 'Greatest Flix' was released, accompanied by the book 'Greatest Pix'. It was the first time in history that a group or artist published a collection of music videos.

[minecraftbookshelf]

How To Become King of Mezalea

@sleepingjasminetea has once again spoken as the external executive function so!

How succession works in Mezalea.

Also a general note relevant to the succession criteria of the majority of the empires. Remember this whole thing, where Pix kind of accidentally changed the formal definition of war in the empires? That had a lot of implications for how royalty functioned in the Empires. While they still absolutely have internal duties and responsibilities and privileges, ultimately their most important job is that they stand ready to defend their empire and its people at all times. Part of this is that they also function as international ambassadors in a way, while most empires also have official ambassadors, the relationships and interactions between the emperors themselves are a very important (sometimes volatile) facet of international relations. A country cannot be recognized internationally as an autonomous nation without an official Emperor/Head of State.

Mezalea is a mortal realm, with a mixed human and hybrid population.

Like Mythland, they have a single royal family. However the exact succession traditions vary significantly from Mythland.

To ascend to the Mezalean throne, rather than completing a designated quest, the heir to the throne must defeat the reigning monarch in single combat.

This duel is an annual event, held before the entire court and a not insignificant portion of the general populace, with a great deal of ritual attached to it.

Technically any member of the royal family can challenge, once they have passed through the Mother Tree (the Mezalean coming-of-age ritual, more on that another time) but historically it was only the acknowledged heir to the throne who actually did so. This was usually the oldest child of the reigning monarch, but not always, if that individual did not consider themselves capable or was otherwise deemed unsuitable for the role the next in line would hold the title of heir, and so forth.

While this is a ceremony and a ritual, it is also very much a genuine combat, in which both parties give their all. Once the reigning monarch has been defeated, the new king or queen is crowned and Sleeps Beneath the Mother Tree, bonding with the tree and the Mezalean people, and their rule begins, usually with their defeated parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle/relative remaining in an advisory capacity for at least a few years.

Now.

Joel.

Joel is a bit of an unusual situation that has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works.

Joel was not intended to be the king, with two older siblings who both had children, even before he got married off to the Ocean Queen. His mother had multiple heirs waiting in the wings.

And then about a century and a bit after he and Lizzie settled into their relationship, a plague hit Mezalea.

The majority of the royal family was completely wiped out, along with far too many of the people. There were survivors, but they were mostly non-combatant adults and children. No one suitable to take the throne. So Joel, who had gone back to Mezalea to help during the sickness, took the throne, proving himself against the greatest soldier left alive in the Mezalean army, since none of his own family remained for the challenge.

His niece had been queen, succeeding her father, his brother, who had succeeded Joel's mother. And her only child, a toddler, had survived, though the illness had left them with damaged health. And several of Joel's grand-nieces and nephews survived in varying levels of fighting fit, though none of them were more than fifteen years old.

So the idea was that Joel would be king for five or ten years, until one of his grand-niblings was able to defeat him. Several of them showed promise, so although they decided not to name an official heir at that time, everyone had high hopes.

And then...Joel just...never got defeated.

It's been a few hundred years now.

It's getting mildly awkward.

He's not physically aging, so he's still in the full strength of what appears to be his late twenties/early thirties, while just getting older and more skilled as time goes by.

He's done amazing things for Mezalean infrastructure and international relations though, so its clearly working out. And as much as he adores his wife and did enjoy parts of being a trophy husband (once it transitioned to that from war prize) it was genuinely pretty boring so it's nice having a full-time job again.

-

AU Masterpost

[debdarkpetal]

From the book 'Greatest Pix'

Via Queen Rare Archive on Facebook.

[natromanxoff]

RCD Magazine - 1992

(x)

Transcription and the rest of this interview is taken from brianmay.com:

It's been a traumatic year for Brian May. Freddie Mercury's illness and death, and the ensuing tabloid onslaught would have broken lesser mortals but May found refuge in his own work. the result is his solo album, Back to the Light. In an exclusive interview with Rock CD, Brian May tells Kirk Blows about life after Freddie.

COME WHAT MAY

The hair, as ever remains a trademark. Brian May's familiar curly black locks caress the side of his face as he pores over the photographs in a copy of Queen's Greatest Pix that detail the first decade of their career.

'It's funny, sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it seems like a hundred years ago," he muses, reflecting on the images that document Queen's ascent from an intriguing British rock act with an acknowledgement of glamour and elegance - mainly down to their vocalist, one Frederick Mercury - to a stadium-filling entity, via some dandy sophistication.

He's more than entitled to consider many changes of the band's career as a blur, but the guitarist merely comments that 'all this has definitely had an effect on me. I'm not normal'. An ironic statement considering that Brian May is considered probably one of the most 'normal' beings within the rock fraternity. As he talks up at the group's Notting Hill headquarters of the final days of Queen, the death of Freddie Mercury and his new solo project - Back to the Light being his first solo album proper following 1983's Star Fleet Project mini-LP) credited to Brian May and Friends) - May comes across as an intelligent and sensitive human being with a great respect for privacy and protocol.

He's more than happy to appease fans and sign autographs when recognised, as long as there's a polite request, though 'there have been times when I physically haven't been able to relate to what's said. It makes you feel almost sick because somebody comes up to you and tells you how wonderful you are, but inside you really honestly feel that you don't relate to that and that they're talking about someone else.'

'There's also a part of me that just cringes every time I see a camera lens,' he admits, relating a time when he fell victim to paparazzo king Richard Young. 'There are certain situations where I don't feel comfortable having him around. Richard was one of the people that the band did kind of trust, but when all this stuff came out about me and Anita (Dobson, May's actress girlfriend) there was a picture that got published which Richard took at Fred's private party of me standing with Anita, and that still hurts me that he would sell that picture for that purpose.'

It was when news broke of that relationship in the tabloids that 'the spotlight came squarely on us. And it was hell, it was miserable,' he says.

'The way they treat people's lives is just disgusting. I don't think that people have a right to know everbody's private life. I don't see how that benefits the world at all. I think this country wins as far as pointless smut. And there's nothing you can do. There's a point where if something looks like it's going to sell newspapers they can all come and camp on your doorstep. They can be looking in your window, taking pictures of you on the toilet, there is nothing you can do and I think it should be change.'

The death of Freddie Mercury last November gave the tabloids another opportunity to wreak havoc.

'I think it's all very predicatable,' May sighs. 'After his death even, they went both ways. There were some who wanted to bathe in the glory and some who still wanted to have their little digs, and, of course, now they had more freedom, because they're free of the laws of libel. So some of them really laid into him with complete lies. I was appalled... it made me so angry. Not just because they were slating Freddie, which is bad enough, but because it was dangerous for other people. They were saying things like "Fred got AIDS because he was promiscuous, the rest of us needn't worry". I think the Evening Standard was one of the worst offenders. And to print that stuff is gonna make a few kids think, I'm okay, and the next day they'll be HIV positive. I think the people that put out that kind of stuff are guilty of something very serious.'

It almost goes without saying that the closing annals of Queen's career were indeed painful, as May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor witnessed the gradual demise of their vocalist. Both Th Miracle (1989) and last year's Innuendo were recorded in the knowledge that they would probably be Freddie Mercury's last efforts.

'I think we all thought The Miracle was going to be last one because there were no guarantees how long Fred was gonna last at that time, and he'd been told by his doctor that he probably wouldn't last the duration of that album. So we just knew we had to press on and do what we could,' reflects Brian. 'In Freddie's mind it was totally clear to him, he just said "I want to go on working, business as usual, until I fucking drop. That's what I want, and I'd like you to support me in being able to do this and that's why I don't want any discussion about this".'

'I think we were all going through miserable, difficult times, and the studio becomes the only place where you have some sort of refuge. And I know for him it kept him alive, and even when he got to the point... he was already having problems doing The Miracle, but by the time Innuendo was there he could only just stand, and he could sing - by end of that album - just one or two days a week. It was tough psychologically having to sort of... keep it from everyone else, I suppose, because I never told my family or anything.'

When did the band actually discover that Freddie had AIDS?

'Well... various private moments, but I suppose... it was a gradual thing. There's a lot of unspoken stuff for a long time and then, yeah, there was a point where we sat down and talked about it, but I suppose that was only about... talking about it directly, only a few months before he went, nine months before or something.'

'You'll find things on The Miracle where we're already sort of... on The Miracle we actually managed to write stuff together, which is a miracle in itself, becaue we all used to be very pig-headed and very possessive about our songs. But we did, we wrote together, and there's certainly stuff in The Miracle where we're talking about what it's all gonna mean as we wind it up. You can see that now and it got very direct on Innuendo.'

Is listening to Innuendo a painful experience now?

''Mmmmmm... yes, it is. It is painful, especially on the radio when you're unprepared. Sometimes you just hear a snatch of his voice and you think, Christ, he's not around doing that no more.'

Rather than throwing May off course from his solo album - the genesis of which took place five years ago ('I've written a little explanation on the album, and what it says is I've been doing this for five years and during that time my life and my feelings changed, and so the music is a cross section of all that. I was in a pretty sort of low state five yars ago, I was very untogether and in much pain,' he states) - he sought refuge in the recording process.

'I made a conscious decision that I would work my way through it and I think it's helped,' he declares. 'I just plunged into recording almost every day. We all did get... I don't know if we're actually through it yet. There's a part of us that doesn't believe that he's not there yet. It takes a long time to really adjust and redraw your map, you know. I still expect him to come in the door really, particularly in the studio, there's still that feeling.'

'Some of it's quite nice, you know, sometimes when I'm doing something I sort of feel like he's... I'm not a heavily spiritual person but I would feel what Fred would've said. I can hear him saying "No, c'mon, you can do better than that". Part of me is beginning to feel sort of comfortable about it, and he's not suffering anymore, thank God.'

'You think you're prepared but you can't... we were totally destroyed. He was exceptional. I know I'm biased, you know, but I think he was a very unusual person, quite complex in a way, and yet inside, like the rest of us, quite small. You know, the feelings of insecurity and smallness that we all have propel us to do all sorts of things, don't they, you build up your compensation screen. You develop all these ways of dealing with life, but it's always... even if you lose touch with it, which some people do and I did at some point, it's always in there somewhere, this little person that's still basically a child, that's very vulnerable, and Fred was, definitley.'

'I think I'm stil trying to get my perspectives on what this all was. And I feel very proud of what we were, you know. I just consider that I was very fortunate to be part of all that, and we found a combination that was magical and worked. Freddie in particular is... sometimes his methods were very blunt with people, to stir up... sometimes he stirred up hatred in people, but he got a reaction from everyone.'

'It's almost a selfish thing to say, but you lose a part of yourself. I lost my dad not too long ago, and you grieve because he's not there, and then there's also something else going on, which is that you've lost a piece of yourself. And that's how I feel, I've been close to Freddie for 25 years, which is most of my adult life, and so there's a gaping hole. And it'll be a long time before it doesn't feel like that, I'm sure.'

How did Roger Taylor and John Deacon handle Freddie's death?

May takes a long pause. 'Er... .. I think we all got completely messed up in our diferent ways, you'd have to talk to them, you know. But it was a continuous process, of which the actual death was one part. I think we all got seriously messed up in the time leading up to it, because you're part of it and you feel so helpless. None of us could believe that it was happening before our eyes.'

'I think the last two or three years actually brought us together, as there was this feeling that the world outside can crumble but there is something in here which is worth doing. So I think we did get pretty close and I think we are still fairly close.'

Back To The Light - made with the assistance of bassist Neil Murray ('a favourite player of mine') and drummer Cozy Powell ('we actually developed a good way of working together, so hopefully there's the beginnings of something there') - may reflect a range of differing emotions but it's inevitable that Freddie Mercury's death permeates some of the record.

'There's quite a bit, I suppose, you'd have to fish it out quite carefully. Some of it's quite ambiguous; when I used to listen to Dylan and John Lennon I'd get a piece of life from them that meant something to me,' he says.

'Nothing But Blue happened because Cozy came in with a backing track and said play something on it. It was the night before Freddie went, but for the first time I had this complete conviction that it was imminent, and I felt that he was going at that point. I used that track and wrote the song about how I felt at that point.'

Rather less emotional was the experience of penning Drive By You, a version of which appears as the soundtrack for a Ford TV advert, after being approached by some advertising execs in LA: 'I said to them, "If you throw something at me I'll tell you whether it means anything to me or not." It was only after recognising the ambiguity of the phrase 'driven by you' that he decided to write the song.

'I approached it on two fronts, one was for the advert - which has different words, obviously - and the other was for me. And it was only because I could do it for me that I did it at all.'

'This album to me is a sort of divide, a crossroads. I wanted to make this record on my own, with nobody else to argue with, just to see what happened. My major driving force really is to do something worthwhile, so that when I do die I can say I'm proud of that. The worst thing you can do is stick out more wallpaper for the world. I would hate to put anything out that I thought was just repetition or superfluous or whatever. The only reason I've put this out is because I think I actually do have something to say, and it's worth saying. That's why it's taken five years, I suppose, I could have chucked out all sorts of stuff. I'm quite good at being a craftsman, I can make pop songs to a certain extent, I know I can. But I wanted this album to be... to be special to some people.'

The ultimate goal, though is to take it out live. Does he see himself as a frontman?

'Erm... interesting question,' he says, laughing. 'It's early days yet. I sung until I bled in the studio and it's for other people to judge whether I pulled it off or not, but I did some things I didn't think I could do in the beginning. But it's very different doing it on stage. I don't know if I have the expertise or the flair, or even the physical capabilites to deliver that stuff for two hours. I seem to suffer from colds half my life anyway, but there's only one day in three where I can sing that stuff on the album, so I'm still wrestling with that problem.'

There's still been no formal notification of Queen's split as yet.

'I don't know what splitting up means, really,' May says. 'I mean, we're not doing anything together at the moment except making sure that the all the old stuff is properly handled (the band have been overseeing the remasering of their catalogue for CD; And if you don't keep an eye on all that stuff it doesn't get done right. Half the original master of the first album is missing, nobody knows where it is. It's quite shocking,' he says). But we talk, and when we feel a bit more ready for it we'll go in and look at the material which Fred has sung and that we haven't released yet, because there is a bit left,'he declares, estimating that there's 'about half an album's worth.'

'We always said that if any of us disappeared that would be the end of it and I think that's right really, I don't have any inclination to try and be Queen without Freddie. That doesn't mean that I don't ever want to work with the other two again because I like working with them and I think we do have the ability to play together which the (Freddie Mercury tribute) gig showed. But how we do that in the future I've no idea. All I know is that at the moment, I don't want to do another thing like Wembley.. it's been suggested that we could do other things like that, but I don't want to make a career of it. That was for a purpose.'

'I think a lot of people thought that Queen was very calculating,' he opines, 'that we had this world domination plan, but in fact we didn't. The major thing for us was to keep ourselves in areas that we thought were worthwhile. And even though we didn't have a masterplan we always fought for control, and I think all the mistakes we made we made ourselves. But I don't feel like we have to make any apologies, if you have any spirit of adventure in you you do make mistakes.'

'It's funny, I went to a book launch the other day, and this guy came up to me and said "Hullo, pleased to meet you, I'm a socialist," or something like that, and he said, "I just want to tell you I really like some of your work. That was the first album, and after that you did crap and everything was commerical and everybody knows that". And I said, "I guess so, I guess that includes Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You and all that stuff", and he said "I still wanted to say, y'know, you did some good stuff". And that was the conversation really, and I thought, everybody has their own view. That's his view, and it wasn't worth arguing, because that's the way he sees it. There's some people who hated everything we did, you know. That's life.'

Kirk Blows

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert

'We had a lot of doubts. On the night that Freddie died we announced that when the time was right we'd send him off in the manner and style to which he was accustomed, so it was in our minds from the beginning. But we went through quite a while where we actually didn't want to do it. When we looked at it and thought we're gonna be on stage with someone else singing Freddie's lines, we weren't sure whether we did want to do it or not. I think Deacky in particular said that he didn't.'

'Then we got to the point where we said, okay, let's contact some people and see how they feel about it - some key people we thought it would be nice to work with and who we knew had special feelings about Freddie. And they were so enthusiastic, we sort of gained momentum from that point. I'm talking about George Michael and Elton, Guns N' Roses...'

'A lot of it happened in rehearsals, the moments where it would all get too much... the first time we met all those people and went through the songs, there were some incredibly emotional moments. And I think the three of us got through a lot of that before the actual gig, not all of it but a lot of it. I think we were aware that if we were in tears the whole time it would be a joke, it just wouldn't work. It had to be a up thing; Fred would've hated people mooning around and being maudlin over him. So we wanted it to be big and actually rejoicing about his life, 'cos that's what it was about.'

'I think most of it worked. We made some mistakes... but I think for what we took on most of it came off, as an event. As far as playing, it was a case of getting through, because there was so much to worry about in terms of the show.'

'But there were some great things, you know, seeing Axl and Elton... there were some amazing things and I was personally very proud of Liza Minnelli being there because I think Freddie would have wanted that. I think she's quite close to him in spirit, and almost everybody disagreed with me, but I don't think anybody else could have stepped into that spot at the end of the show (for We Are The Champions). I could've sung it, but I don't think it would've meant what it did done that way'.

[sparkpelt111]

Quest for Santa Perla

Soooooooo, I had to write a short story for one of my classes and my brain was like, what if you tell your own tale about that one statue in Pix's empire, then was like, hey, why don't you post it, and now we're here. Just to let you know, this has been edited from the original draft used for school and will probably have grammar/spelling mistakes. Yes, I know this isn't canon, or very accurate for that matter. I just wrote it. So, uh, enjoy?

...

They had all told me it was impossible, that She was only a legend. The Tomb of Santa Perla never existed. If only they could see me now.

I was studying my maps after a long day of trekking through the Northern Savannah, which history claims used to be a bountiful land of great fields of wheat. Rows of a multitude of crops used to thrive here, but something happened and all that has turned to dust. Legend says the land died with its grandest queen, who, after death, became a goddess of, well, everything it seems. Some say She’s the goddess of the crops, some say She’s the goddess of sunflowers, some that She’s the goddess of life itself. Yet others say She represents death, or the light after death. I've even heard someone claim She's the Goddess of Battle. No one can know for sure. 

I was out here trying to find Her tomb, which could hold the answers we’ve been looking for. My guide was named Sausage, a deeply devoted follower of Saint Perla, despite Her not being worshiped for hundreds of years. He knew the stories of Her better than everyone, and knew the Savannah better than anyone I knew. Using his information, with cross references from books, I had marked out a general location of where She could be, if She existed, that is. But a find like this would cement my name in history as one of the greatest archeologists ever recorded, so I had to keep going.

I had immersed myself in my books, trying to scavenge for a bit more information, when I came across a jewel of information I had not noticed before. It noted that Her tomb was placed under a grand statue of Her made from gold and clay.

“Sausage, can you come over here for a minute?” I called out from inside the tent.

The door flap opened and I saw the friendly face of my guide.

“What’s up Pix?”

“I need to know something. Do you know anything about a giant statue out here?”

He looked thoughtful for a minute, stroking his short beard.

“Some people claim to see a strange rock formation in about the same direction we’re headed. It might be the remains of a statue, but I’ve never seen it, so I can’t confirm.”

“Thank you for telling me. I found something that says it might be the marker of Her tomb.”

He nodded and said, “Okay, tomorrow we’ll keep going in that direction. Night”

“G’night.”

… 

As we crested the hill, a bright glimmer caught my eye. I pulled out my spy glass and peered through. It was a rock formation with a slightly green hue, with veins of what appeared to be gold. My heart leapt with joy as I handed it to Sausage. 

He gasped and said, “Santa Perla! We’ve found Her!”

We ran down to the remains of the statue. I held up a rough sketch I had found on a previous excavation for Santa Perla and compared it to the rubble. The green in the rocks, though faded, matched the hue of Her dress, remnants of what may have been a crown was laced with gold and faded patches of yellow clay that matched her crown of sunflowers.

We circled what was left of the pedestal, looking for maybe an entrance, or a sealed opening. We found a rusty plaque in some forgotten language probably explaining the statue, but I, unfortunately, couldn't translate it on the short timeline we had. That’s when Sausage had the brilliant idea of removing the plaque. We pried it off and found a musty tunnel. I lit one of my torches and we entered. 

We traveled for a bit before coming across a large cavern. Inside was a large mural of the goddess, painted with Her sunflowers, wheat, and, strangely, a large, wolf-like dog. I pulled out my sketchbook and quickly sketched it.

“Over here,” said Sausage in a reverent whisper.

I walked to him and saw a marble tomb, on the lid an engraving of the queen bearing Her sword and a bit of grain in Her arms. I gave the lid a strong push and moved it away. In it there was, nothing. Wait, there was something there. A book. I picked it up and was amazed to see there wasn’t even a flake of dust. Nothing had decomposed in this tomb, that I could tell. 

I opened the book and saw it was full of drawings and stories, from times past that Santa Perla herself had written involving all the other empires and their rulers during her time.

“The answers you seek are in there,” came a woman’s voice behind us.

John and I spun around, and I accidentally dropped the torch, but its light was not needed.

A tall, majestic woman stood before us, dressed in green and sunflowers. Light like the sun radiated from her, her hair flowing without a wind, a mighty sword at her side.

 John instantly dropped to his knees, whispering things I suspect were praises under his breath.

“Your, your Her? Aren’t you?” I asked, taking this being in as well as I could. After all, seeing a goddess is hard to comprehend.

The being nodded. “I am indeed Queen Pearl of Gilded Helianthia. I was burnt to death after the Rapture, where many of my fellow rulers also died or disappeared. Unlike most of them, I was allowed to ascend to godhood. After my death, my kingdom withered away, the ground losing its nutrients, the water disappearing, leaving the land you’ve seen. In that book, any answers you may need may be found.”

After this, She faded away, leaving Sausage and I in silence.

…

“Friends, enemies. Believers or not. I have indeed found the Tomb of Santa Perla. In it, I found a book written by Her own hand, detailing stories, legends, and history unknown to us for centuries. The goddess visited my friend and I, telling us all that we needed to know then. Now, you may be wanting me to tell you where She is, but a place as sacred as that should not be known to man. I, and my friend and guide, John, will take this knowledge to the grave. Call me a liar, a fool, whatever. A place like that should be kept hidden from mankind, for fear of disrupting the sacredness it holds.”

Welp, there you go. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave feedback in comments if you have any. Have a good rest of your day/night!

[patheticbatman]

(This was supposed to be posted in May but better late than never!)

The 49th Win A Commission story was The Two Princesses of Bamarre! If you’re like to read the first chapter in conjunction with my drawings,

The Two Princesses of Bamarre 4 pix

Out of a land laid waste

To a land untamed,

monster ridden,

the lad Drualt led

A ruined, ragtag band.

In his arms, tenderly,

He carried Bruce, the child king,

First ruler of Bamarre

So begins Drualt, the epic poem of Bamarre’s greatest hero, our Kingdom's ideal. Drualt fought Bamarre’s monsters - the ogres, gryphons, specters and dragons that still plague us - and he helped his sovereign found our kingdom.

Today Bamarre needed a hero more than ever. The monsters were slaughtering hundreds of Bamarrians every year and the Grey Death carried away even more.

I was no hero. The dearest wishes of my heart were for safety and tranquility. The world was a perilous place, wrong for the likes of me.

Once, when I was four years old and playing in the castle courtyard, a shadow passed over me. I shrieked, certain it was a gryphon or a dragon. My sister, Meryl, ran to me and held me, her arms barely long enough to go around me.

“It's gone, Addie,” she whispered. “It's far away by now.” And then she crooned a stanza from Drualt.

“Step follows step.

Hope follows courage.

Set your face towards danger.

Set your heart on victory.”

I quieted, soothed by Meryl's voice and her warm breath on my ear.

Meryl was my protector as necessary to me as air and food. Our mother, Queen Daria, had succumbed to the Grey Death when I was two and Meryl was three. Father rarely visited the nursery. Bella, our governess loved us in her way, but her way was to moralize and to scold.

Meryl understood me, although we were as different as could be. She was fair, and I was dark complexioned. She was small and compact, a concentration of focused energy. I was always tall for my age, and loose-limbed, and my energy was nervous and fluttery. Meryl was brave, and I was afraid of almost everything - from monsters to strangers to spiders.

As a child Meryl love to act out scenes from Drualt or scenes from a made-up drama in which she saved the kingdom. Our games would begin on the miniature carriage that was our nurseries best feature. I'd sit inside, and Meryl would climb up to the driver’s seat. We’d travel to the Eskern Mountains, where ogres and gryphons dwelled, or to the elf queen's castle on the shores of the Haun Ocean, or to the western desert, where the dragons had their lairs, or to Mulee Forest, where specters abounded.

She would rescue me from a flaming dragon or a hungry ogre. When I was supposed to, I would shriek in terror that was half real; but when I could, I'd stay still and watch Meryl perform - that was what I loved.

Her favorite game was the Grey Death adventure. Oddly enough this one didn't frighten me. The Grey Death wasn’t a monster or a spider I could see and shiver over. It was invisible. If I caught it, it would be somewhere within me, and while the outside world was full of danger, I knew my interior. I was certain I could oust an intruder there.

In the game I always portrayed the Grey Death’s victim. For the first stage of the disease, the weakness, I’d begin to walk toward the worn nursery couch, growing weaker as I went. After a few steps I'd fall to my knees and begin to crawl. I’d drag myself to the couch but lack the strength to climb up onto it.

I'd fall asleep there on the floor. A moment or two later I'd wake up and rise, consumed by fever. I’d rush to the fireplace and rub ashes into my cheeks, because the faces of the afflicted always turned grey near the end. I’d pretend to shiver and I’d try to make my teeth chatter.

Meanwhile Meryl would be busy battling monsters, consulting with sorcerers, climbing mountains, sailing stormy seas. While I shivered, I'd keep one eye on her, because I couldn't start to die until she was ready to rescue me. When she triumphed and found the cure, I’d slump to the floor.

She’d rushed to me, cradling the cure in both hands. Sometimes it was an elixir in a golden chalice. Sometimes it was the feather of a gryphon or the tooth of a dragon or even a plain black stone. Kneeling at my side, she'd whisper, “I have found it, maiden. You shall live.” She'd cure me and I’d jump up. Then we’d frolic about the nursery, skipping around the carriage, banging on the suit of armor, clasping hands and dancing around the small spinning wheel.

We knew a cure would be found one day. A specter had prophesied it, and the prophecies of specters always came true. The cure would be found when cowards found courage and rain fell over all of Bamarre. That was all we knew. No one knew when the cure would be found, by whom, or what form it would take.

Once, at the end of our game, I asked Meryl if she really planned to quest for the cure. I was nine at the time and Meryl was ten.

“I'll leave as soon as I'm strong enough to ride a charger.”

She’d never come back! A monster would kill her.

She took a heroic stance, legs apart, brandishing an imaginary sword. “I'll find a cure and knights will flock to me. We’ll destroy the monsters and save Bamarre. Then I'll return home.”

She wouldn't. She’d be dead. But I knew better than to say so. Instead I asked, “What will I do while you're away?”

She lowered her pretend sword and smiled. “Why, you'll be the wife of a handsome prince and the mother of a little princess who is learning to embroider as beautifully as you do.”

I didn't smile back. “What if the prince hasn't come yet, or he didn't like me and left?”

“Then you'll come with me.”

“No, I won't. I'd be too afraid. You know I would.”

She sighed, exasperated. “Oh, Addie! Suppose I say I won't go anywhere until you are wed and happy. Does that suit you?”

“Promise?”

She dropped to one knee. “I swear I shall remain at the Bamarre castle until the princess Adelina is wed to her true love. May my sword turn against me if I break this pledge.”

“Thank you.΅ I collapsed on the nursery floor, feeling vast relief. Marriage was years and years away.

She threw herself down next to me. We lay quietly for a moment, looking up to the wooden ceiling.

“If I ever really caught the Grey Death,” I said “even if you hadn't found the cure yet, I wouldn't die.”

Meryl rolled over. “Why not?”

“Because I wouldn't give in to it. When the disease made me feel tired, I wouldn't act tired. When it made me want to sleep, I’d stay awake. If the fever still came, I'd run up and down to keep myself warm. By refusing to do the Grey Death’s bidding, I’d chase the illness away.”

Meryl leaped up. “I do something hard - climb a mountain, catch an ogre.”

I rose and sat on the couch. “I don't know why they die.”

She sat too. “I don't know why anybody dies, except when they're burnt to a crisp by a dragon or skewered by a valiant knight.” She thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I will find the cure you know.”

I nodded “But if I become ill before then, I won't fall prey to death.”

Bamarre Explanation

So that was the first chapter of The Two Princesses of Bamarre! It was one of the favorite books of both my friend MW and I, back when our Kai ability was still impressive for our age, lol.

Now, we both knew that ‘fair’ in terms of looks meant someone like me - blonde and pale. Meryl was fair, and she looked like me. But when Addie, the main character, was described as ‘dark complexioned’, we were mistaken. We knew complexion was a fancy word for skin color, so we thought dark complexion indicated that Addie was Black, like Kai. We didn’t know that it really just meant that Addie was more tan and had dark brown or black hair.

Context: we had the hardcover copy, but it was missing the dust jacket, the paper that usually has the cover picture on it, folded around the hardcover. It was a used copy.

Kai and I were basically sisters, and here was a fantasy story that had sisters just like us! In our understanding, anyway. How could we not love it?

Additionally, both of us had little siblings who looked different from us. Makiah’s sister was lighter, probably from some throwback genes, though they looked almost exactly alike otherwise. And my brother and I have different dads, so I’m very pale while he’s definitely tan. From those aspects, we felt connected to the book and further to each other.

But we became adults. Kai and I grew apart, and I found out ‘Bamarre’ was in fact part of a series and about a completely white family. But The Two Princesses of Bamarre do not require you to know that much about the previous books, and in my head, Addie still looked like MW. So that lead to my artistic choices!

I decided to draw Meryl and Addie as Black, in honor of my old friend Kai, and to make them similar to the dynamics of ourselves with our respective younger siblings. Meryl would be lighter, with more European features and 2c (wavy) hair, and Addie the darker, with more African features and 4c (tightly curled) hair.

The title was inspired by my research into stain glass window creations, way back when I illustrated the first part of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis (See Oliver’s second volume). Triangles are very strong in terms of structure, so they’re favored for projects like that. So when I drew the title, I tried to make a font where everything was more triangular, and where a letter did not make a triangle, a smaller one accompanied it as decoration.

For the second picture, I considered doing the scene where Addie gets terrified by the shadow. But I’ve tried doing shadows with just line art before, and I wasn’t satisfied. So I decided to establish their characters by showing the sisters doing things they enjoy. Addie is embroidering a sea monster on the old, ripped Bamarre map-tapestry. I imagine those are the ones she’d been allowed to practice upon first. And Meryl is fighting the ogres, specters and dragons that attack the land.

I based the landmass on the in-book illustration. Meryl is fighting in a Zulu-ish style, with a spear and a long shield that she could hide the majority of her body behind, if she so wished. She has a beaded hairnet on, to keep it away from her face, and a generic tunic-like outfit. Addie is in a dress with the sleeves rolled up - while she considers herself frail and cowardly in the book, she isn’t afraid to put in some elbow grease when it comes to a task she set upon. Her hair is in an Afro behind a headband, because the hairstyle is cute.

The third picture has the girls up closer. Here, you can see Addie, hair in twists, lying on the ground in classic maiden’s pose. She wears a dress that is similar the outfits of an old classmate, back when she first moved to the US from Kenya. Meryl stands as a protector, with a more detailed shield, an outfit vaguely inspired by the outfits I saw while researching Nana Miriam.

The next picture was actually a redraw. I had lost one of the pictures due to a phone-backing up issue (before putting them into documents or tumblr posts, I keep the photos on my phone). So I had to redraw it. I basically just wanted to show the sisters hanging out and being sweet with each other. This time around though, I decided to put them in hair bonnets. A lot of Black blogs I follow say they don’t see enough of Black characters in relaxed outfits. So here, I drew them in nightgowns, cuddling and happy, while their hair took a break while being in bonnets! When you have curly hair, letting it get too dry or exposing it to the wrong type of material can lead to breakage. So many people with curly hair keep theirs in bonnets while sleeping! The third picture also made Meryl accidentally look much older, while the sisters’ age gap is just a year, but I decided to keep with that in this picture. So Meryl is old enough and big enough to hold Addie in her lap.

Of course, just a few months after drawing the replacement, I found the original - which I decided to include. Here, we see Meryl, with even less curly hair, and Addie, in cornrows, just hanging out on the floor and being best friends. Here, Meryl looks much younger. But I think they look so cute! So I decided ‘Por Que no los Dos?’ (Why not both?) and kept both the original and the replacement.

I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter! The book gets much more exciting and action filled from this point. Timid Addie will have to save her sister and find the cure - do you think she’ll make it?

(Also yes it took me nearly two years to get to this explanation despite only having to draw pictures for this one. Shush ^_^)

[sam-writes]

More photos from the book I bought! There’s many more and I’ll be sure to try and take good photos of them! A few of them span over two pages so there will be a fold in the middle.

[tuney-dreemur]

Just some more animation ideas

The Key/ reprise from Centaurworld: The deity of death telling Mythic about the portals containing the “items” that he loves that would help him leave the spirit realm.Once Mythic brings all the Bubbles back, Death opens up the way back into the living world once he assembles the Council of Bubbles

I Knew You Once by Dodie: All of the empires having small flashbacks of their past lives.

Queen by Stephen Jerzak: Everyone plotting to kill the current emperor, and showing the demise of the past ones, for the crown.

Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn: Scott and Xornoth when they were both younger with Xornoth getting more corrupted as the song goes on.

Monster from Frozen: Scott, just Scott.

Hey Brother by Avicii: Jimmy and Lizzie’s lives from when they were living in the ocean together and now

7 Years Old by Lukas Graham: Scott reflecting on his life while in isolation 

Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots: All of the rulers longing to go back to more peaceful and less deadly times

On the mountain tall by The Oh Hellos: Rivendell's history. Focusing on it being built and the influence of the stag brothers (mostly Aeor)

History has its eyes on You: Pix talking to Scott during his self imposed exile, as he can relate to doing the same.(I already said this one before however.) 

Inutil In The Heights: Scott right before his self imposed exile, lamenting about how he wants the best for his kingdom but him being there is hurting his citizens.

I Was So Sure by Former Vandal: Scott after accidentally freezing Gem and leaving.

Everything Stays: Scott and Xornoth, Jimmy and Lizzie, Fwip and Gem, Pearl and Mythic, Shubble and Joey

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives: Shubble bitterly reflecting on the fact that she’s only in empires because of Xornoth, and how she resents him for forcing her to leave her home.

Good Kid The Lightning Thief Musical: Mythic reflecting on how people close to him somehow always get hurt and he ends up being the one blamed despite the fact that he tries his best to be a good boy.

The Last Day of Summer The Lightning Thief Musical: Mythic a few days after being uncorrupted. Joey, still being under Xornoth’s influence, takes the place of Luke.

My Grand Plan The Lightning Thief Musical: Gem, this just feels like a good song for her.

Heralds, Harpers, and Havoc; Healer’s Dilemma by Mercedes Lackey: Healer/Prophet!Mythic’s entire journey through empires told from the perspective of the Shepherd.

Never Enough from The Greatest Showman: Joey talking about how he’ll never be satisfied with what he has

Little Lion Man by Mumford And Sons: Joey reflecting on how he hurt others by blindly devoted himself to following Xornoth for power

[ladywhitetower]

Damien is a monster and I will NOT be convinced otherwise

But I WILL convince you

I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE I’M CRAZY BUT I SWEAR I AM NOT

You call all thank @chadarum for indulging my nonsense which I now set upon you

@podcastlimbo this is my main theory, @jakkubrat, @shorter-than-her-tbr-pile, @a-green-bean and @onesmoothassendoplasmicretilum, you all showed interest in this post, so now y’all get tagged. @cryptidie, this is the theory in full!

Long post because this is a hell of a ride.

Alright so basically:

Part 1- Damien has a sensitivity to the Other (divine/monstrous)

Part 2- The saints are all monsters, actually

Part 3- Damien himself is part monster

Part 4- Damien is connected/descended from SD himself

(Could I make several posts instead of the one? Yes. Will I? No. @chadarum, you have given me Too Much power.)

Now, let’s begin:

PART 1:

ABSOLUTELY NO ONE TALKS ABOUT HOW DAMIEN TALKED TO A LITERAL SAINT

AND PERFORMED A GODDAMN MIRACLE

BUT HE DID

AND THIS IS! IMPORTANT

Battle at World’s End Part 4 is The pinnacle of Damien’s conflicted dilemma, but the thing is. He talked to Saint Damien. Actually talked!!! SD was answering him!!!

We hear Rilla admitting to Sir Caroline that he thinks all the saints talk is nonsense, but it’s important to Damien so she doesn’t mind it in The Spiral Sage, Part 2, after being told by the Judge that there’s no rules in his court.

Sir Caroline thinks it’s all stupid bullshit in the same conversation

And no one else seems to really believe in them? The Queen makes a few “saints help us” comments but, for a city built on the principle of three saints building their citadel, why is Damien the only one who really seems to believe in them? He is the only one who actually prays

Battle at World’s End Part 4, from Damien’s monologue: In days when you spoke to me, in days when you didn’t leave me to linger, lonely at your heel.

He says “days”. Plural. P L U R A L. And we KNOW SD spoke to him that day at the river (SD ACTUALLY HELPED HIM) plus we Just heard them talking!!!

Damien also makes a big deal about SD forsaking him, and about losing his tranquility. Why, in Lady of the Lake he thinks SD just might drown him in the poisoned water.

Actually, let’s count the times Damien asks his saint for help and is delivered:

Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp, part 2: In part 1 we hear Damien saying the tranquility bit before striking Arum, but in part 2… while being chased by the rat monster, he asks SD for help, and the rat’s growls shift into the sound of waves!!!!!

Lady of the Lake: While drunk, Damien says he asked SD for guidance once he was about to drown, and the waves around him Stilled, lulling him to sleep

Battle at World’s End, part 4: THE PRAYER! HE PRAYS AND SD, IN HIS FIRST INTERFERENCE IN A WHILE, OPENS A WHOLE PORTAL TO THE KEEP, PRETTY FAR AWAY PLACE, INSIDE FORT TERMINUS. WHICH WAS SUPPOSEDLY IMPOSSIBLE

AND the conversation. SD helping him regain his tranquility at last.

May I bring up, “But isn’t that your way? No true wisdom can be told, only learned.” Damien has had several talks with SD, we all know and agree right? He knows well enough to know he won’t receive an answer. But the fact that he did not show ANY shock at hearing SD‘s voice, rather about hearing it in monster territory, means it has happened before

I am ALSO going to bring up “there’s something Human in his eyes” because while it is a very nice turn of phrase and all, isn’t it curious how he is the only one to say anything of the sort? Damien immediately notices this from bantering with Arum ONCE, and like. Arum hot. But Damien saw this and was Right. He is Perceptive!

So, Damien talks to SD several times and receives help, plus sees things in monsters that no one else does and is strangely sensitive to them (only one to hear the howling in LOTL, anyone? Only one to see it at first?)

PART 2:

THE SAINTS ARE ALL MONSTERS

LET US DISCUSS THIS

Let’s talk about how Damien’s explanation about monsters vs saints is shaky at best

Taken from his exchange with Talfryn in The Spiral Sage, part 2

Talfryn: But don’t monsters have that kind of power?

Damien: Monsters And Saints, my friend! It’s actually quite simple. Monsters break the divine rules that govern all things. Saints ask for permission from the powers above to bend those rules. And with that permission granted, they know their acts are good!

Talfryn: But… how are you supposed to tell the difference?

Damien: Faith, my friend.

But… there’s a few problems with this theory

The monsters have a court. They have their “anyone can do anything they want rule” and apparently things like censorship are taboo. And we Know “Judge Helicoid” was absolute bullshit but we Also know everyone took his word and genuinely thought he Was asking the universe for verdicts, and everyone followed and respected them.

This communication and dealings with the universe lead us to believe that…. actually, the monsters are more connected to the universe than the humans are

In their explanations, Quanyii and Arum BOTH say that magic is unpredictable and depends entirely on the universe. Rilla even calls Arum out on Not Knowing how the universe works exactly, and he disdains her desire to understand things completely.

Exchange from The Moonlit Hermit, part 2, after attempting to use it to heal Arum’s Keep:

Arum: ... that is how magic operates. When you reach for the cosmos, there are no guarantees. What didn’t work then may work now. We will not know unless we try.

Rilla: So magic is inconsistent.

Arum: Exactly.

The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, part 1, after Quanyii saves Sir Caroline:

Quanyii: And that, sweets, is how you make magic work for you. Magical spells, commands, etceteras and so-ons only feels like answering them.

Therefore, if monsters could Just break the rules of the universe… wouldn’t their magic be more reliable?

By Damien’s explanation, Arum and quite possibly Quanyii could be saints. The only difference is that they don’t care about their acts being good. Arum reaches for the impossible. Quanyii just… likes the power.

Because of this, we can dismiss his explanation being 100% accurate.

His tale of the Three, the one the whole citadel apparently tells, has them display abilities that make them either witches or monsters

But I’m gonna say monsters because of a few things:

The Spiral Sage debacle. Is he human? Is he monster? Is he… both?

Quanyii saying “No. No matter how hard I try” when asked by Rilla whether she is a monster after revealing she can change forma, implying there Could be a way for a human to become a monster, and possibly viceversa. (More on this later)

These two quotes:

Head of the Janus Beast, Talfryn to Marc: “SIR CAROLINE IS A JANUS BEAST?”

Lady of the Lake, Sir Damien to Sir Angelo: “Sir Angelo! She could be a monster herself!”

Those lines, plus the fact that BOTH the nymphs and the fungi monster could take human forms, both So accurate that everyone thought they were real at first (NO ONE realized the nymphs WEREN’T human until THEY said so!), outright make it evident that some monsters, at least, are capable of taking human forms. The Nymphs are the most relevant, obviously, because they didn’t take the forms as illusions or separate entities, they Wore those shapes and were comfortable with them.

Finally, the tapestries Damien sees in The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, part 2, of monsters and humans “living together… lying together!” (Pix and David, anyone?)

(Actually Pix, David and the tapestries, including Spiral Sage’s, make it clear there was a time before the first citadel being destroyed where monsters and humans not only mingled, but lived peacefully… at least in some places) (On that note… I don’t think Fort Terminus really belonged to these monsters… I think they broke in, too.)

Also, from LOTL, “Knights… slay monsters, don’t they? Seems convenient. And there’s a witch right in front of you.” PLUS Rilla’s backstory, The Moonlit Hermit, part 1, with her parents being exiled and Quanyii’s presence in the court means that witches and monsters often associate or are lumped together.

SD PERFORMED A MIRACLE IN OLD MONSTER TERRITORY. HE IS A POWERFUL MONSTER. MAY HAVE KNOWN THE KEEP, BECAUSE HEY THAT WAS THE KEEP’S DIRT

I know I sound like a crazy person, but the saints are CLEARLY either monsters who took human form or monster/human descendants

But pray tell, Ria, why would they fight for the humans?

WELL MY DEAR, CAPTIVE READER: while we have Heard that the destruction of the first citadel was the only time the monsters unified, it isn’t difficult to believe that some, like Arum, were rather indifferent/on the outskirts of the conflict. I suspect some, also like Arum, may have forged connections with humans. Or perhaps they were horrified by how much destruction and death they caused. If they were monster descendants, the root might have been love.

PART 3:

(We’re almost near the end I promise)

Damien is a monster

Because I say so

Okay actual evidence:

SD’s constant interference

May I direct you to this exchange in The Caves of Discord, when Damien is late to the meeting (thank you, Sir Caroline)

Sir Angelo: Sir Damien? You’ve called Both of your greatest knights for one little monster?

Queen Mira: I never said there was a monster. Now, sit.

Sir Angelo: A monster that is not a monster? Intriguing.

FORESHADOWING, ANYONE?

Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp, part 1, Arum, upon being told by Damien there’s something human in his eyes: You’d never considered they might be something… monstrous in yours?

He isn’t saying it because he Sees anything, he’s saying it bc he’s cornered, but… Damien takes it pretty seriously.

Also from Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp part 2, Damien to Angelo upon giving him his last poem for Rilla: After all, it’s easier, is it not? To mourn a man who was a monster all along.

If Damien is sensitive to the divine, and the divine is monstrous, then Damien is sensitive to the monstrous. I’m gonna say he is a monster, too. His arc is Way too full of that theme for there to be any other choice.

Damien was also the most sensitive to the Monster from the cocoon, and yes, we can attribute that solely to his anxiety and already rippling fear but… after Part 4, he stops being that sensitive. Rilla Screams and nearly dies from its impact, but Damien is…. strangely fine? He is sensitive but overcomes it anyway, and was at never point physically affected. Could just be tranquility… could also be… monster.

PART 4:

But Ria, you ask, How are SD and Damien connected? Well.

Did you notice NO ONE knew about the Spiral Sage?

Absolutely no one.

NO ONE

NOR DID THEY KNOW ABOUT THE WORLDS’ ENDS.

Literally the only reason Rilla knew was Because of Damien.

Everyone else was completely unfamiliar with these myths, br Sir Caroline who mentioned the South World’s End but had never seen the North, including the existence of Fort Terminus, and while we know Damien comes from a scholar family, at least from his father’s side…. couldn’t it be possible that his family is made of scholars Precisely because of that link to SD?

I mean Damien knew the Whole BAWE poem which was… so long.

They could have very well have kept these three thousand year old myths if they were SD descendants. Because it Has been about a long time? At least “centuries passed” (KotC, part 1) between the First Citadel and the Second Citadel as we know it. And in THHOH Part 1, Rilla confirms three thousand years have passed. How do they have access to such well preserved myths??

Even Sage Helicoid could be explained away as the family protecting themselves but still wanting to keep those myths.

Maybe Damien’s mother was a monster? I lean more on far descendants tho.

Plus, Quanyii, in the same episode, says the one time the monster attack was completely unified, it was “so bad it wiped out most of recorded history before that.” So… how does Damien know?

Plus, why Else would SD interfere so many times in Damien’s behalf? There’s no other instance of any character receiving saintly help, but several where Damien does.

Remember Damien’s prayer?

Damien: Saint Damien, we beg that you lend us your spear to pierce the veil that keeps this beast from home. If it be your will, if it be your will… as it is mine.

And that last line? THAT is when the portal stabilizes!!!

They are connected FIGHT ME.

Damien says SD had forsaken him and was looking for a reason, but SD kept interfering for him in minor ways when he was in serious peril, however stops talking to him entirely UNTIL Damien is questioning his purpose after opening the portal.

Damien also says, in LOTL, “It is our sworn duty to kill monsters. To cleanse the monsters’ blight upon this land.”

Could it be that SD, a monster, stopped outright talking to SD once his focus shifter from helping people into just. assuming he had changed enough and mindlessly killing monsters to the point where he saw it as a competition with Angelo? Then, he performed a miracle once Damien not only wanted to help someone else, but wanted to help a monster (that he loved, for his beloved Rilla). And finally, once he saw Damien could still be saved because he was doubting, talked to him and guided him back to tranquility?

AND ONE FINAL PIECE OF WHAT I AM CALLING EVIDENCE, from The Spiral Sage part 2

The Spiral Sage, Part 2, Quanyii introducing herself: [My name] is always Quanyii, no matter how much of my physical form I change, so pease don’t get confused. Oh, I know that sounds boring, sweets, but even when you’re trying to keep things fresh something has to stay the same or you might lose yourself entirely.

Notice how Damien is the only character to have a Saint as a namesake?

I’m not saying Damien is a reincarnation of Saint Damien or anything, but I Am writing fic about it and this tidbit is a Blessing to have.

But as to my is Damien a monster question?

I say Yes. Damien is a monster and connected to Saint Damien.

[ultra-francesca-mercury]

On October 19, 1981, the video collection "Greatest Flix" was released, accompanied by the book "Greatest Pix". It is the first time in history that a group or an artist publishes a collection of music videos.

[queenforeverblog]

Dall'amico @luca.ferrari1967 le sue quattro copie del Greatest Pix dei #Queen https://www.instagram.com/p/BvWh8dih5dz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qm7vobvnsy6a

[natromanxoff]

70 CREW MEMBERS

Queen Global Tour Most Ambitious Yet

By Paul GREIN

LOS ANGELES - While economic and business conditions have forced many groups to err on the side of caution in planning world tours, Queen is in the midst of one of its most ambitious treks yet. The group’s current five-month jaunt through Europe, the U.S. and Cnada employs a crew of 70.

“The show’s gotten bigger,” says Paul Prenter, Queen’s personal manager. “We can’t reduce the size of our entourage because of technical difficulties (with sound and lights). We’re not an organization that wants to get smaller. I don’t think Queen would stay in the business if it felt it had to get smaller. 

“We did the ‘Crazy’ tour of Europe and played small venues because we wanted to generate a different type of excitement. But if it came to scaling down shows it would have to be for artistic reasons, not economic reasons. The band wants to continuously grow, both musically and in terms of extravaganza.”

The smallest venue the band is playing on this tour is London’s 5.500-seat Albert Hall, which has played host to few rock bands in recent years.

“It’s going to be a difficult hall to play,” says Prenter. “We’re going to have to build a ground support system for lights and sound. We won’t make any money playing it, but we wanted to play somewhere in London and the Greater London Council wouldn’t give us a license to play in the Arsenal Football Grounds.

“We were refused permission because of local residents’ objections. They thought 60.000 Queen fans might create some sort of problem, which is kind of weird when you consider that the Arsenal Football Team probably draws 45.000 people every week anyway. Now we’re going to play Milton Keynes, an open air amphitheatre 40 miles outside of London.”

The tour has also marked Queen’s first appearance ever in Norway and its first visit to Sweden in several years. Domestically the band will make requisite stops at the Forum here and at Madison Square Garden in New York, but also expects to do shows at the new Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre outside L.A. and Meadowlands in New Jersey.

Ticket prices were not set at press-time. “We want the show to be accessible to as many people as possible,” says Prenter, “but obviously we don’t want to lose too much money. It’s up to the accountants now. But our goal is not to make money on the road.”

This tour marks the first time the four-man group has been augmented by an auxiliary player - keyboardist Morgan Fisher, formerly with Mott the Hoople. The move was designed to add extra keyboards to the sound and to give lead singer Freddie Mercury greater freedom of movement on stage.

Billy Squier will be the opening act on the U.S. portion of the tour, with Bow Wow Wow, Teardrop Explodes, Heart, Fan Boy Three, Bananarama and Madness filling that slot on the European shows.

Squier also sings backup vocals on “Cool Cat,” a song from Queen’s “Hot Space” album, due domestically May 7. Backup vocals on the track were originally cut by David Bowie at the time he and the group recoded “Under Pressure.” But Bowie reportedly didn’t like the mix of “Cool Cat” and Queen, not having time to remix it, substituted Squier’s voice.

“Under Pressure” is one of the cuts on “Hot Space,” which means it has now been featured on two successive Queen albums in the territories where Elektra has the group’s record rights (the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan). “Under Pressure” was also on the band’s “Greatest Hits” album in those territories, though, ironically, not in the EMI territories where the song was much bigger hit.

Queen recently re-signed with EMI for the rest of the world, but has not yet re-signed with Elektra (the prior deal, Prenter says, isn’t up yet). Prenter declines to comment on whether it will re-sign, but says Queen’s recent run-ins with Warner Books and Warner Home Video “certainly have no bearing on our relationship with Elektra.”

(Warner Books declined to issue “Queen’s Greatest Pix” in the U.S.; Warner Home Video refused to make “Queen’s Greatest Flix” available commercially. “Pix” is finally being released in the U.S. this month through Quartet Books; “Flix” has been for sale worldwide through EMI Music for the past six months.)

Working with director Mark Hodges, who directed “Flash Gordon,” Queen recently made two videos of its new single, “Body Language.” Says Prenter: “Some tv programmers thought the first one was slightly risque, so we now have two - one for the clubs and one for tv programmers of a nervous disposition.”

[sam-writes]

Hiya! Do you have the exact name of the book or a picture of the front page? I really want to buy it 😭❤️

Hey there!

The book is called “Queen’s Greatest Pix” and it’s by Jacques Lowe, published by Quartet books!

The cover (minus the two stickers on the photo that I haven’t yet taken off):

Just to fill you in, I did find it at a second hand book store. It is not new. As the sticker states it is rare (but idk how reliable that is). I got it for $40 and it is totally worth it!

I hope this is of any help what so ever! I hope you can get your hands on your own copy! But if not I will be posting more of the photos sometime soon!

Thanks!