#and i've been resoundingly successful with that.....

[i-did-not-mean-to]

FOTFICtember24 - Chapter 1

After a long absence, Kyra returns to the town of Lonely Mountain just in time for the autumn fair. Her "uncle" Bilbo is very secretive about it all, and she's excited to see what the night will bring.

My dears, you didn't think I'd skip the FOTFICS challenge, did you? As writing has been kind of hard lately, I've decided to indulge myself :D

Prompts: Library, festival, baking, tea, pie, autumn fair

Pairing: Ori x OC, OC & Bilbo, Kíli x Tauriel

Words: 1110

Warnings:Nothing

“I can smell that you’re baking,” Kyra laughed as she popped her head into the kitchen, making Bilbo nearly jump out of his skin.

“I thought you were gone already,” the one she called Uncle without being related to him in any discernible way huffed, trying to hide the glorious pie he’d just pulled out of the oven without much success. “The boys are already roaming about.”

Glancing at her watch, she made a face. Kyra, despite her best efforts, was notoriously scatterbrained and couldn’t, for the life of her, be on time.

“Do you have much work yet?” she asked, mindful not to encroach on Bilbo’s realm of flour and sugar.

“It’s manageable,” he replied diplomatically. “Once Thorin arrives, we’ll get more done!”

That assessment drew a more genuine grin from the young woman; it was common knowledge that, despite their exaggerated fights about minor details, Bilbo and Thorin loved spending time together.

Indeed, the younger generation had made long-standing bets on the exact moment the two curmudgeons would realise that they were actually in love with one another, but thus far, nobody had been able to claim the considerable pot.

“It’s been too long since I’ve gone to the fall fair,” Kyra sighed, fond memories of the golden autumns she’d once spent in her uncle’s care coming alive within her heart.

“You were busy,” Bilbo said soothingly. “That is not to say that we didn’t miss you—I’m sure we did, and your return to the fold is one of the reasons I’d politely beg you to remove yourself now. I have to get a move on—this festival has to be one of the best yet. In your honour.”

As if it had been convened thus, there was a resoundingly enthusiastic knock on the front door at that very moment.

“There they are—let’s hope they brought Thorin along,” Bilbo mumbled, wiping his hand on a towel he’d tucked into his belt. “No peeking, come away!” he added out of habit.

He knew Kyra so well that he didn’t have to look at her to know that she’d be sorely tempted to open every cupboard and drawer in search of the treats and surprises he’d been concocting in secret for the big finale of the fall fair.

“Oi, we were waiting for you,” Fíli exclaimed through the opening door. “What kept you so long?”

To Bilbo’s dismay, the boys’ tall, handsome uncle and shepherd was nowhere to be seen.

Grimacing in embarrassment, Kyra shrugged sheepishly. “I’m ready now,” she said hastily, pressed a quick kiss onto Bilbo’s heated cheek, and slipped out of the door.

“They’re just in a hurry because they want to corner Ori before he can slink home,” Tauriel informed her under her breath as they walked down the sleepy town’s beautifully decorated main street.

“Ori,” Kyra repeated pensively. She’d spent many a summer at Bilbo’s house, but then studies, first jobs, and unhappy relationships had kept her from visiting more than a few days here and there for entirely too long a time.

“Pretty ginger fellow,” Tauriel, who’d moved here to be closer to her boyfriend, confided with a wink. “He works at the library. As far as I can tell, he’s always been here, so I think you should know him.”

Vague recollections of a skinny boy with soft eyes came to Kyra’s mind, and—when her heartbeat accelerated—she reminded herself not to put the cart before the horse.

“Ah, I see you do remember,” Tauriel grinned.

Kyra blushed furiously—she was unused to having female friends who caught on to the minutest shifts in her demeanour and facial expressions. Men, she found, were much easier to deceive in those matters.

As they walked on in companionable silence, Kyra realised something else. “Are we abducting that man? If he wanted to come with us, wouldn’t he just join us of his own free will?”

Again, Tauriel merely smiled at her enigmatically. “He doesn’t know what’s good for him,” she said cheerily before adding in a whisper that she suspected that Ori was nervous because there would be another woman attending.

“Oh, but I don’t want to ruin his fun,” Kyra cried out, feeling wretched.

“Not at all,” Tauriel smiled. “In the name of friendship, I’m going to admit that we’re all hoping that he might come out of his shell a little bit…he does remember you, you know?”

Before Kyra could protest or flee, she was bodily shoved through the heavy double doors leading into the cool, calm interior of the deserted library.

Not a main attraction on the best of days, the building was entirely empty now as everybody was milling around outside to help or hinder the preparations for the main event, scheduled throughout the whole upcoming evening.

“Ori? Come on, mate! They have a rollercoaster on the square!” Kíli hollered, making his companions flinch as his voice echoed shockingly.

“No screaming in the library,” came a calm but determined reprimand from a dark corridor, and—a moment later—a vision of copper and gold stepped out of the shadows, holding a dainty porcelain teacup in his pale, long-fingered hands. “I brewed a new pot—care to join me?”

“No,” Kíli expostulated. “Blast your tea! Didn’t you hear what I said? There’s a rollercoaster, and Uncle made us promise that we’d come to the forest as soon as possible. He and Bilbo have apparently outdone themselves!”

Visibly undecided, Ori shifted from one foot to the other.

“Oh, yes, I remember,” Kyra whispered tenderly as she took in the nigh-ephemeral apparition before her—years ago, Ori had been her favourite among the ever-changing throng of the “friends of friends” she’d met during her stays at Bilbo’s.

Sweet-natured and soft-spoken, he’d promised to grow into a great beauty, and Kyra was delighted to learn that her instinctive assessment had been absolutely correct.

Now a man grown, Ori was gorgeous, and she willed her heart to quieten and her mind to keep working lest she say something silly.

“Kyra is back, and we want to show her a good time, so she won’t desert us for so long ever again,” Fíli added insidiously, apparently knowing exactly how to pressure his friend into complying with their wishes.

“Why would…I’m not sure that I make things better,” Ori muttered softly.

“Do you want her to go on the rollercoaster alone? Where’s your chivalry, man?” Kíli exclaimed, clutching his chest in mock disbelief.

With a shivering sigh, Ori set down his teacup on the counter of the library and nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll lock up and get ready. I’ll meet you by the food stalls.”

↳ Masterlist

@fellowshipofthefics here's the first chapter of my fic for September!

Lots of love from me! <3

-> Chapter 2

[andypartridges]

But To Me, It's Very Very Beautiful: a zine celebrating 40 years of English Settlement [TRANSCRIPTION]

this is part 2 of the transcription - read the first half here :-)

transcription under the cut !! again, apologies for piss poor grammar or clunky writing - the zine is 100% a brain dump of my thoughts

running low on soul coal By the time XTC made English Settlement, the band - especially Andy, who had begun sinking lower and lower into a state of mental deterioration - had been exhausted by constant touring. And so, with this album, the band broke their long-standing rule that all songs needed to be fully replicated live. Songs like 'Yacht Dance' were given the freedom to boast more intricate arrangements and experiment with more eclectic instrumentations. Yet, this context for the band's history also reveals more about the music they were making. Within songs like 'Jason and the Argonauts' runs a clear thread of exhaustion, a desire for escapism - "I've seen acts of every shade of terrible crime from man-like creatures". Even the album's opener, 'Runaways', sets the tone of English Settlement from the beginning. It's a cry - most clearly from Andy - to get out. But when your label ignores you, an album is the only way to express feelings.

This Is Pop? How English Settlement gave XTC a UK top ten single XTC had previously tasted commercial success with the top 20 hits 'Making Plans For Nigel' and 'Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me)'. But it wasn't until the lead single from English Settlement, 'Senses Working Overtime', that XTC would crack the UK top ten for the first - and last - time. After Virgin Records had started showing more interest in Colin - the 'good looking one' - following his success with Nigel and the pressure to write the ever elusive 'hit', Andy Partridge drew upon Manfredd Mann's '5, 4, 3, 2, 1', reversing the numbers and adding an element of five senses, hence the song's chorus and title. Combined with the medieval/old English guitar sound, it was a huge chart success. Both the single and the album it came from would be XTC's commercial peaks, as English Settlement reached no. 5 in the album charts.

Looking Forwards Even though English Settlement was released in 1982, its value and its message still feels resoundingly loud today. England has always clung to the glory of its past, even if that glory is a façade, founded on injustices. Now, more than ever, Great Britain must ask itself if it truly deserves that descriptor in front of its name when the country still faces the same issues it has faced for years. Even now, the impacts of Thatcher can be felt. XTC's interrogation of societal injustices - racism, class, unemployment - and its expectation of love are still deeply relevant forty years on. For me, I keep coming back to one lyric from All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late), one of my favourite XTC songs - "love's not a product you can hoard, or pack a suitcase with / it's more a way you have to give." I think it's something we can all keep in mind.

about the creator Mia is a journalism student with a fondness for making zines, listening to what can be referred to as 'dad music', and talking about herself in the third person. When not making zines, they can be found reading, hanging out in record shops, or worrying. Besides music, Mia is also passionate about the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, Star Trek, as well as cheese on toast.

Back cover transcript: "Why don't we make an album we don't have to reproduce on stage? We can use acoustic instruments, we can overdub keyboards, we can use pianos... the first of the multi-coloured records."

[nortling]

changed my icon for the first time in forever. maybe even since i started on this blog.