#our work is done by humans who are actually passionate and love what we do and everyone assumes its dirty disgusting evil computers

[jennilah]

my feeds for the last day for some reason: -filled with multiple cases of people just casually shitting on my industry and our hard work again like usual-

me: something save me

in my youtube sub box, like a beacon of light:

[galactic-rhea]

It's ranting hours sunday for me: Y' know, I think when people complain soooo much about Padmé getting with Anakin, they're failing to see a lot of things. BUT ESPECIALLY...That it was her choice, and if speaks a lot of her character and personality.

She was already done dirty by the movies by getting so many deleted scenes, but then if you try to take away the agency she had on marrying a human disaster or her choices, like her forgiveness/understanding, it's actually undermining and flattening her character.

The fact is that she's actually very similar to Anakin, she's stubborn, deeply traumatized, compromises a lot for the sake of others and loves beyond reasoning. We, the audience, know that Anakin will become Darth Vader and one of the most iconic villains of history; so everything he does can be seem as a red flag that really isn't there.

From Padmé's POV, Anakin has done terrible things, but it's capable of incredible acts of love and compassion. They're in circumstances that aren't normal at all, she was queen at 14, and he was born a slave and joined the space wizard monks and his normal is kill or be killed. Our modern and omniscient POV can't be applied onto them because there's no point of comparison in this sci-fi-shakespearen tragedy-soap-opera-fantasy.

Besides...she was actually right in the end, and I don't believe is "feminist" or progressive to take away a big part of her core personality, that actually had repercussions in the whole story, and make her out to be either unaware and naive of marrying a monster, or (the worst one, imo) being jedi-mind-tricked-brainwashed-abused by her husband.

The "right, correct, girlboss and queen" actitude does more damage than help, leave Padmé to be a person. A person who wanted to have a fairytale romance with some guy who would fight for her and makes her laugh.

Also, the hell why you wanna blame her for something Anakin does, come on. That's a whole other can of worms, though. My point is, that trying to avoid or re-work-or re-contextualize the fact that she chose Anakin despite him literally telling her about murdering a whole village, is actually changing a big chunk of her personality traits.

She was a child queen, then a politician at the edge of an inminent war, manipulated by the same guy that groomed Anakin into a massive murderer, saw her people being taken into camps, had assasination attempts weekly and had to rip off of her individualism by becoming a public figure, giving up her sense of being a person by having several almost identical decoys, she had to stop being just Padmé to be Queen and then Senator Amidala and she did all of that showing little to no emotion.

Then Anakin does all what she herself had to rip off of her in order to be a politician: Honest, passionate, and able to show emotions; like love or anger.

She has morals and she represents democracy and justice, in a way. But I fully believe that inside her she had the same passionate anger and love capable of burning the galaxy that we know Anakin had, which makes them different sides of the same coin, and I think she realized that. Anakin perhaps didn't , as he never stopped of seeing himself as a slave and therefore inferior, whereas he held Padmé very highly, but I think Padmé saw them both as equals. She didn't have a "I can fix him" mentality, she had a "We're the same, we're both lonely, confused, hurting and scared of losing everything. And if he's like me, then I know he can do the right thing for love."

In other words: She was as insane as her husband, she only seems normal because she wasn't put into the monk warrior order and groomed by the devil for over a decade. (And I don't mean insane as, 'she's crazy for loving a murderer' harley quinn style, I just meant it on a daring, hopeless romantic and tenacious way)

[togglesbloggle]

In Defense of Bad Things

'Bad' here meaning mostly 'amateur'; stuff made enthusiastically by people at an unprofessional level. Art with visible gaps between what the artist imagined and what they achieved, products of flawed craftsmanship. I suppose everybody can appreciate them to some extent, it's a rare parent that doesn't put up their kid's drawings on the fridge in one way or another. But it turns out to be a fully general skill you can cultivate, and the more I do, the more I'm glad I did.

Partly, it's the teacher thing; finding delight in amateur work is one of the ways to find delight in the process of learning. Cultivating a love of striving-qua-striving can help make you a force for good in the world, as people start to feel safe trying to do things when you're around, even when their efforts are wobbly. You get to participate a little more in the process of atoms spinning themselves into ideas, even when there aren't any illusions about whether you're helping cultivate some revolutionary genius in the field.

And partly it's a fabulous way to build community. By necessity, our professional-level skills tend to be at the service of other people, performed for economic benefit; that's kind of how you get professionally good at something in the first place. When we're acting for our own sake, and among friends, most of what we do with one another is amateurish. I only cook middling-okay, I can't hold a tune that well, I'll never be a speed runner for anything. If you can only enjoy singing from the hundred best singers in the whole world, manufactured and polished by major studios, then you and your friends will sit shoulder-to-shoulder and passively listen to music. But it's so much richer an experience to sit face-to-face, actually singing together, even badly; you expose yourself to so many new ways to appreciate and respect one another, building relationships on what you've accomplished and not just by witty criticism or liking the same things.

And partly it's because some of the most powerful and innovative artistic experiences are in high-churn environments with low expectations and low barriers to entry, if only because those catch the passionate and driven young people that have been otherwise overlooked by our systems. The golden age of webcomics meant that a ton of the actual art involved was pretty lousy, but it also produced work that people still talk about today. D&D began as a profoundly unpolished collection of handmade rulebooks sold at cons in a plastic baggie. By the time these products of enthusiastic amateurs filter themselves through various levels of popularity and absorb mainstream cash influx, they're often risk-averse and missing a lot of the bold spark that inspired their fans in the first place; others will simply never drift towards the mainstream at all. I'm not saying you should be the person who goes out to dig through the slush piles of the internet looking for overlooked art, unless you want to be-- but sometimes a work of actual staggering genius also happens to be a Supernatural fanfic by a first-time author who's a little hazy on commas, and if that's a dealbreaker, you're going to miss out on some profoundly valuable experiences.

And hiding behind all of these things is, like...

Our appreciation of beauty has an odd structure, right? When things are done very skillfully, by brilliant artists with years of training, we can usually appreciate those accomplishments. And when we're looking at nature without human influence, and especially when we think very deeply about natural processes and understand them in context, we often rediscover that sense of beauty. There's just this bizarre hole in the middle where we declare things 'ugly'; as if a little skill is worse than none at all.

I really don't trust that gap. It feels like a trick my brain is playing on me, you know? It has me suspicious that a lot of what I consider 'ugly' or 'bad' is not a very direct experience of the world at all, or an informed judgment. That it is, rather, a declaration of (self-, social-) identity; a desire to be seen as a person of good taste, or as somebody who does things well, or just more primitively as one of the monkeys who is in the good-stuff-tribe and not one of the monkeys who is in the bad-stuff-tribe.

[rahuratna]

🛑 The free pass for Rants and Musings has reached you 🛑

If there is anything you’d like to rant or talk about, but no one’s ever asked you about it, consider this the ask you need to yap about it as much as you want! Have fun ✨

Hmm, musings. I want to expand a little on why Nanami's character speaks to me on such a personal level.

It all comes down to this idea: You are not your job.

This is a concept I've struggled with for a long time. I've always wondered why it was so damnably difficult for me to maintain a work-life balance. I am not the kind of person who can detach from work when I come home. I will think of my day, of the things I could have done better. I will fixate on small issues and blow them out of proportion in my mind, issues that nobody else has even taken that seriously.

A lot of this has to do with the need for perfection. The need for acknowledgement. The need to know that what I've done is both academically and morally right.

And this is why I feel such tenderness for characters like Nanami, and they way they're portrayed in media. I want to write the undercurrents of their lives, the little comforts they have, the stimulus that brings out their true passion, the traits that make them so human to us as readers/viewers.

Nanami severely undervalued himself, especially in a personal capacity. He states that due to the nature of his work as a salaryman, nobody will miss him if he disappears. This single statement made him a very compelling character for me.

How many of us feel this way? How many of us actually define ourselves by what we can do for others? By our relationships? By our jobs?

The fact that Nanami was never able to manifest a domain expansion speaks volumes to me. The expansion of the innate domain seems to be an ultimate expression of self identity; the stronger the sorcerer's sense of self-awareness and acceptance, the more 'refined' the domain. Mahito's manifestation of a domain expansion for the first time is evidence enough of this.

Nanami does not, through various things he's mentioned and done, have this strong sense of self, or self preservation for that matter. He measures the value of his life in terms of how much he can help others. He defines himself within the confines of his work as a salaryman, then as a sorcerer.

I like writing him as a character because I've learned, through hard experience, why it is so important to value yourself as a human being, above all else. How the thing you may perceive to be selfish is actually a healthy relationship with your own identity.

If all works of fiction can be interconnected through the people who enjoy and appreciate them, then I'd like to write little fictional accounts that breathe some extra dimensionality into these characters we know and love. I'd like to send a little whisper into the void, in my own way, letting anyone who feels the same know that it's fine to be kind to yourself. It's fine to be soft with yourself.

You are not your job. You are not defined by your value to others. You are a thinking, feeling human being and your existence does not need to be justified or measured by some arbitrary scale invented by someone else. To live is to be free. 

[calisources]

THE ONE WITH THE FACE OF AN ANGEL. all sentences and quotes were taken from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series. all lines are by Angel and his soulless self, Angelus, so be warned a few of these are explicit or allude to sexual acts or have double meaning. change names, pronouns and locations (and ages) as you see fit.

That Slayer...she's a pistol.

I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been such a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured someone, they didn't even have chainsaws.

Hey! Who's a guy gotta kill to get a drink around here?!

How sweet that virgin tasted, the fresh smell of a newborn's neck. My first nun - now that's a great story.

As for you, you luscious thing. I mean, you were going to let me out of that cage, so, let's see. I'll give you, what, a ten second start.

Don't be jealous, kitten. She's just the warm-up. I'll save the good stuff for you.

Angel,I love you,but I can't be with you...you ate babies...chicks.

The rumors are true. Angel has left the building, and I am back.

What won't I miss? The moralizing. Soul's already in the ether, boyo. I can smell it.

Tell you what. I'll torture ya for a few unbelievably long hours, and you can tell me if this is the lifestyle for you.

Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments.

If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank.

Kill you? Why would I kill you when I can live off you for a month?

I don't want to share my feelings.I don't want to open up. I want to find the guy who killed Tina and look him in the eye.

Are you mad at me for being around too much or not being around enough?

I don't need strength. I just need the sun to rise.

I hated the girls back then.especially the noble women...they were just incredibly dull.

They have no taste for the undead. Not that a sting would do me any damage, it's just... tonight's special.

There's a lot I don't understand. I do know it's important to keep fighting. I learned that from you.

My people, before I was changed, they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a claddagh ring.

Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody.

I'm sorry. I wanted to take you out somewhere fun. It's been a long time since I've been to the movies. They've changed.

How can we be together if the cost is your life, or the lives of others? I know. I couldn't tell you. I wasn't sure - if I could do it if I woke up with you one more morning.

Don't mistake me. I do love the ladies. It's just lately... I've been wondering... what it'd be like... to share the slaughter of innocents... with another man.

Don't... I don't think that makes me some kind of a deviant, hmm? Do you?

Sorry about the chains. It's not that I don't trust you, it's... Actually, it is that I don't trust you.

I can walk like a man but I'm not one.

I'm weak. I've never been anything else.

I wanted to lose myself in you. I know it will cost me my soul, and part of me didn't care. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy, it's the man.

For a hundred years I offered ugly death to everyone I met, and I did it with a song in my heart.

You're a wreck! She's stronger than any Slayer you've ever faced. Force won't get it done. You gotta work from the inside. To kill this girl... you have to love her.

Let me guess, you summoned back the true Angelus because you need a new boy toy.

Oh, my cure? No, thanks. Been there, done that, and deja vu just isn't what it used to be.

The elders conjured the most perfect punishment for me. They restored my soul.

When you become a vampire, the demon takes your body, but it doesn't get your soul; that's gone. No conscience, no remorse, it's an easy way to live.

You have no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done...and care. I haven't fed on a human being since that day.

See? Whenever we fight you always bring up the vampire thing.

Gave her the puppy dog "I'm all tortured" act. Keeps her off my back when I feed.

Listen, if we date, you and I both know one thing's going to lead to another.

This isn't some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after.

I did a lot of unconscionable things when I became a vampire. Drusilla was the worst. She was ... an obsession of mine. She was pure, sweet, and chaste.

Killed everybody she loved. Visited every mental torture on her I could devise. She eventually fled to a convent, and on the day she took her holy orders, I turned her into a demon.

She made me feel like a human being. That's not the kind of thing you just forgive.

Spike, boy you never did learn your history.

If I was blind, I would see you.

A demon isn't a man. I was a man once.

Because I wanted to! Because I want you so badly! I want to take comfort in you.

Am I a thing worth saving, huh?! Am I a righteous man? The world wants me gone!

I watched you, I saw you called, it was a bright afternoon out in front of your school. You walked down the steps and ... I loved you.

Because I could see your heart. You held it before you for everyone to see, and I was worried that it would get bruised or torn. And more than anything in my life, I wanted to keep it safe.

I can stay in town as long as you want me.

I never was much for preachers.

God, I missed watching this.

I’ll start working on the second front. Try not to use it.

Hm. You smell so good. So warm. I miss that.

You're wrong. You don't know what it is you're asking me to do.

Oh, what's the matter? Look a little nervous.

They always mistake me for the character I play. They never see the real me!

When you kill them. Some just stand there frozen while others.. . 

This was about saving somebody's soul. That's what I do here and you're not a part of it.

That's great, it's nice you moved on; I can't. You found someone new; I'm not allowed to, remember?

I see you again, it cuts me up inside, and the person I share that with is me.

You don't know me anymore, so don't come down here with your great new life and expect me to do things your way. Go home.

Buttering me up. Getting me all relaxed, hm? Not the most innovative interrogation technique, but... OK, I'll play.

Well, now that's a question. Not a great question. Not even an insightful question. 

So much for stand by your man. Then again, you probably like her on her knees.

The more you piss me off, the longer I'll keep you alive.

Oh, something tells me she's a screamer.

Hey, you remember that time you tried to get Angel to kill you because you felt all weepy over being such a bad little girl. Huh? Do you still feel that way? Do you still wanna die?

Well, it's not really the kind of message you tell. It sort of involves finding the bodies of all your friends.

I don't need to see movies to get worked up. Just being around you does that just fine. It feels nice, just to feel.

You still my girl?

I know what you're thinking. Maybe there's some good deep down inside of me that remembers and loves you, if only you could reach me.

You know what I just can't believe, all of our time together and we never tried chains.

Dream on, schoolgirl. Your boyfriend is dead and you're all gonna join him.

[ihopesocomic]

Sorry for the mini-essay but I think people massively underestimate how much hard work and dedication goes into a Passion Project. People think that creators who make free content, who do their work as a hobby and not as a job, must only get enjoyment out of it.

That’s not how it works. Doing it purely because you want to doesn’t automatically make the more challenging, frustrating, or (gasps) TIME CONSUMING parts of the project any less burdensome. If anything, it makes it worse because you aren’t being paid for all of that labor. You’re just doing it for the sake of doing it, and as rewarding as it can be, it can also be demanding.

Im finally publishing a fanfic for the first time and don’t get me wrong, it’s been great to get feedback on my work and interact with a community. I love that there are usernames and profile pictures I can actually identify because they’re regulars on my work.

But does that mean I don’t have to constantly redo work because I don’t like how it turned out? No. Does that mean I always update on time? No. Never get burnout? No. I still very much go through all of the things paid writers do, because the Creative Process is difficult and demanding no matter what they paycheck is or isn’t.

And all of that is just if you guys WERE missing updates, which you’re NOT. So like… these complaints are not only very entitled and ignorant, but also just confusing. People really just be mad for the sake of being mad, I guess?

Anyways yeah, free content creators are still content creators, and passion-driven hard work is still hard work. You two are cranking out absolutely STUNNING visuals, compelling characters and engaging worldbuilding every single week and that’s amazing. Thank you for your hard work and I’m sorry about the twerps that don’t appreciate it enough!

Ah the price we pay for being human and having a brain, amirite haha

It's to be expected, to a certain point, that people simply don't understand that things like comics and cartoons take time. General impatience is something that can be ignored. If people asking for updates bothered us, we wouldn't post anywhere ever haha You gotta have at least SOME backbone if you want to do a comic. Or anything really.

Comics are a TON of work, and I knew this going in cuz I've done shorter comics before. It is not to be treated as if its easy. (Well, its easier than animating a whole series by yourself LOL) There's a lot of pre-comic planning that people don't tell you about. And that's just the stuff you have to do before you even start drawing. Of course this only applies to long-form storytelling, there's different rules for different kinds of comics.

And I won't even get into what it takes to making the comic itself, there's a lot of parts that need to be considered like formatting, time-management, what shortcuts you have to take to save on labor, and getting across as much information as you can in a short amount of time, while using mostly visuals. It's a skill, so it can be learned haha

A lot of doing comics is on-the-job training. Which I know can be frustrating for perfectionists, but from a reader's perspective, part of the joy of webcomics is seeing how far the art has come. And you can't exactly get out a webcomic if you keep redoing things over and over. You'll burn yourself out even faster. This is why it's important to have a plan lol it just makes it easier to adjust if you have to change things, than if you have no plan at all.

Even if RJ and I for whatever reason no longer felt passionate about this story, and wanted to move on to something else entirely, we wouldn't leave everyone hanging. We'd tell everyone what happens one way or another. Because too many people just abandon a story just to tell another one, and that's not fair to people who were here to read a story that appealed to them.

But the entitlement of people sucks, the constant heckling, the fact we can't moderate our own comment section, and more importantly Webtoons just sucks as a site anyway. - Cat

[f1llory]

i know this all started like 11 years ago but i'm still so mad at how the hunger games movies have removed practically every trace of the avoxes that they can. i know that movies can't include everything from the books, but the avoxes are so important to the story and it does a real disservice to the movies by removing them. also, it would have added maybe a couple minutes per movie to include them the way they were in the books.

there are mentions of them here and there, and we do see lavinia briefly, but the only avox who's there in any meaningful way is pollux. and they couldn't take him out of the movie! not only is he important to include with the camera crew, he has to be there because he's the one who leads the group through the tunnels. if it were possible to cut him out of mockingjay, i think they would have.

removing so many scenes with lavinia genuinely detracted from my enjoyment of the first movie. especially witnessing her capture & carrying the guilt about it. when there are avoxes waiting on her, katniss does treat them politely, but i think it would have been so important & impactful to see her truly recognizing lavinia and her humanity and trying to communicate with her like anyone else. fixing this probably wouldn't add more than like 5 minutes to the runtime, but it would be such an improvement.

and don't even get me started with darius being removed from the movies. maybe he shows us a little less about katniss's character than lavinia would, but the mentions of him in catching fire add so much to our imagination of the hob and illustrate just how different peacekeepers were in district 12. this is also the first time this has happened to someone katniss actually knows. i think this would take maybe a minute and a half to fix? at most. really all we would need to see is darius talking to katniss in the hob, then being one of the peacekeepers getting captured when thread takes over.

obviously they kept pollux in because they literally couldn't remove him from mockingjay. i don't really have any complaints about his portrayal in the movies, which is kind of surprising given how passionate i am about him. also, the movie actually portrayed castor's death better than the book! it wasn't really in the book, basically castor was there and then he wasn't. so the movie version has a lot more impact.

also, it sucks that we didn't get to hear what happened to lavinia and darius. i always have intense second-hand embarrassment at the fact that in the book, peeta realizes pollux is an avox then immediately starts trauma dumping about seeing lavinia and darius tortured to death. if it were done as written in the movie, i might have experienced literal physical pain. but at the same time, i think it's very important that katniss finds out what happened to them. also in the books, squad 451 hears all the avoxes in the tunnels screaming as the mutts kill them. i feel like that would have been really easy to add in.

anyways we are moving on before i write an entire dissertation on pollux.

it was even worse in tbosas! the movie cut the scene where snow sees dr. gaul experimenting on and torturing avoxes. it would have been absolutely horrifying to see that translated to the screen, but it's incredibly important to snow's character development and his transformation into someone who both allows and perpetuates that cruelty. also, justice for ma plinth! i think it would have been incredible to see more of her and the way she treats people. in the book, she is so kind and caring to the avoxes working in her house. they're able to communicate with her, and she cooks food that will be easy for them to eat. since treating the avoxes as remotely human is so unusual, treating them with such love and respect is a revolutionary act, and goes to show what kind of person sejanus was raised to be. i know that this would add quite a bit to the runtime, but it probably should have been two movies anyways.

i know that side/background characters are cut from movies all the time. it happens. but even without getting a lot of lines, the avoxes are incredibly important to the story. these are people who have been enslaved, tortured, and dehumanized more than basically anyone else in panem. once characters truly see the avoxes, they're forced to confront the true brutality of the capitol and what they'll do to keep people in line. i think the movies don't truly force audiences to confront the brutality of this punishment. any rebellion is punished by literally robbing people of their voices and cutting them off from everything they've known. even if there's someone left to buy their freedom, they're physically disfigured for life--even removal of part of the tongue can have catastrophic side effects.

also, characters' perceptions of avoxes can say a lot about the kind of person they are. avoxes are the lowest class in panem, and treated with about as much agency as a piece of furniture. people aren't supposed to treat them like people. they're only supposed to talk to avoxes when giving them an order. despite this, there are certain characters who choose to show them kindness and love.

anyways i'm gonna end this here before i write a post so long it crashes tumblr but pls ask me literally anything about pollux i am in love w him <3

[bi-widower-dads]

bi-widower-dads' February Fic Recs: Canon

Thank you to everyone who submitted recs for us! We've done some sorting and collating, and we've got two posts for you: AUs and Canon-'verse - and a whole load of excellent fic for you to get stuck into while we wait for Barduil Month in April! Without further ado, here are the canon fic recs, featuring tags, links, summaries, and all the reasons why the recommenders think you should give these fics a try!

Header image by mod @piyo-13!

(a note about tags and trigger warnings: tags are selected from those on AO3 as being those that best describe the story for the purposes of this event; trigger warnings are supplied by the recommenders and may not be comprehensive - your mileage may vary. We've tried our best to include Tumblr handles wherever we can, but if we've missed yours out and you want it included, just let us know!)

One-shots

Scenes From a Not-So-Clandestine Romance by MasterofAllImagination / @cutlerbeckettt | G | 3258 words | tags: 5+1 things, so much fluff it's sickening, seriously don't even read this

Summary: As the relationship between Bard and Thranduil grows beyond merely that of two allies, they become proportionately blind to how obvious their displays of affection are to their people. Pretty soon their feelings are an open secret shared among everyone in Mirkwood and Dale-- except the kings themselves. (or, five times someone caught Bard and Thranduil secretly kissing, and the one time they did it in public) What do you love about this fic? The author's completely correct that this is just So Much Fluff. It's great, it's cozy, it's a palate cleanser that makes you go "aww" and giggle a little at how oblivious they are.

We'll lay here for years or for hours by bispecimen | M | 5000 words | tags: canon divergence, different first meeting, animal death, hunting, could be considered canon compliant since it still works w future events, dilf vs dilf parenting techniques, canon-typical violence

Summary: "The leaves were rolling, green and healthy. Swirling around the legs of the Bowman as if they were about to bring some magical creature in his presence. But Bard didn’t feel like anything good was about to be brought in front of his eyes. The stillness of the air was suffused with something nocive. This part was forbidden for a reason. The deeper he went, the longer he stayed. He knew, he knew that." What do you love about this fic? Am possibly biased because I did the art for this, but lovely and lyrical!

but the sun is eclipsed by the moon by RC_McLachlan | G | 5288 words | tags: none

Summary: The Battle of the Five Armies threatened to unmake the world, but The Negotiations of the Three Kings might actually succeed. Or, a short lesson on the lifecycle of dandelions. What do you love about this fic? Great writer I've followed for a long time!

more than words can wield the matter by BiSquared / @scary-grace | M | 5422 words | tags: cultural differences, love letters, miscommunication, accidental marriage, getting together, laws and customs of the eldar are somewhat followed, POV Bard the Bowman, post-BotFA, as canon-compliant as barduil gets

Summary: It might be uncommon, but Bard knows it’s not unheard of for humans to share a single night of passion and part ways in the morning – or if not to part ways, then at least never to meet as lovers again. Apparently it’s unheard of among elves, because the first letter that arrives from Mirkwood, two weeks after the elves’ departure for their forest, is significantly less businesslike than expected. What do you love about this fic? The premise is funny enough that it could have come across as crack, but it creates actual narrative tension and a satisfactorily cathartic ending.

The Well-Worn Path of Words by Ias | T | 10,725 words | tags: letters, slow burn, pining, miscommunication, love confessions, epistolary

Summary: It wasn't so strange that Thranduil would call him a friend. And yet the word seemed to draw them closer like a length of string, binding them together, yet still so fragile. [In which Thranduil and Bard begin writing each other letters over the long winter after the battle.] What do you love about this fic? Fantastic epistolary fic from a great Barduil author!

Multi-chapter (in progress)

Language of the Forest by BaccaratBlack | T | 1,095 words | tags: victorian flower language, sort of unrequited feelings, cultural differences, cultural misunderstandings, courtship, secret admirer

Summary: Bard is perplexed by elven courtship rituals. Thranduil is very determined and unaccustomed to not having his way. What do you love about this fic? Who doesn't like a fic with the themes of courtship, flowers and a "secret" admirer?

Multi-chapter (complete)

A Tale of Love and Longing (as told by Galion) by jotunblood | T | 39,288 words | tags: courtship, secret relationship, developing relationship, sexual tension, light angst, post-BotFA, slow burn, Galion POV, Galion is a good friend

Summary: Galion knew all the almost imperceptible ways joy, anguish, and hate could change his King’s face. He also knew-- Thranduil’s denial be damned-- exactly how he looked when he was pining. What do you love about this fic? We see Thranduil's and Bard's relationship develop through Galion's POV and he's the best BFF/Wing Man a King could ask for.

Blossoming Spring by SlytherinImpala | T | 56,210 words | tags: fluff, post-BotFA, snark, slow burn, healing, friends to lovers, scars, movie canon, first kiss, getting together

Summary: Bard and Thranduil meet again as winter gives way to spring following of the Battle of Five Armies. What do you love about this fic? I love the gentle snarkiness between the 2 characters and how they slowly learn to open up to one another. They feel very in character and when they fall in love it doesn't feel abrupt. Definitely worth a read if you love a gentle Barduil slowburn.

Series

The Kings of the North by Evandar | T | 14,240 words | tags: partial fix-it, interspecies romance, fluff, blind thranduil, self-esteem issues, communication

Summary: There is unease in the north, as old alliances must be rebuilt and leadership learned. Bard is confused, mostly by King Thranduil, and King Fili is determined to be the best king he can be. Sigrid, meanwhile, wishes things could go back to the way they were. What do you love about this fic? This was one of the first series I ever read for barduil and definitely played a huge role in getting me into the ship in the first place!

Boundaries 'Verse by Sir_Nemo | T | 30,967 words | tags: fluff, getting to know each other, getting together, family bonding

Summary: Bard has been working for the elves for years, never actually meeting one, until one day he notices an elf watching him work. The elf becomes a constant in his life, and the two of them slowly start warming up to each other. What do you love about this fic? Bard and Thranduil's personalities really shine through in their conversations, which I feel is a core component of the plot, and makes for a very stable relationship that the story can lean on.

[taradiddled]

I might end up spoiling this chapter with sneak-peeks, but I genuinely do love sharing snippets.

So, here is a snippet where Ada helps put things into perspective for Lucifer about how he's communicating with Charlie.

--

Heaving all her remaining frustration out in one big sigh, Adam reached out and pulled Lucifer half-way into her lap. Her belly made it a bit difficult to seat him, but Adam managed thanks to Lucifer’s smaller size.

“Okay, goony. No weeping. You didn’t do anything really wrong. You’re just…making some dumb choices." She sighed. "What parent hasn’t done that kind of shit?” She pulled his head towards hers and pressed her lips to the side of his head. Almost instantly, Lucifer’s misery seemed to freeze in place. He leaned into Adam, closing his eyes, soaking in Adam’s touch. Pulling her lips back, Adam took told of Lucifer's chin, turning his head to face hers. His eyes opened, and red eyes once against stared into gold eyes.

“I get that you want to be Charlie’s friend. It’s not a bad thing. But you need to work on being her father first. You can only go up one level at a time, and right now it looks like you’re trying to skip a level.”

Lucifer released a miserable sigh. "I just want us to be able to bond." He put his hands, shaking them. "When we had our Big Talk together months ago, she told me that she appreciates that I'm taking an interest in what she's passionate about. But I'm finding it hard to talk to her without seeing her as that cute little girl who just wanted to spend time with me." He clenched his hands into fists, the expression on his face entirely stuck in uncertainty. "So I thought that, maybe if I talk to her like other kids her age do, then talking with her would be easier."

Huh.

Adam had to admit, Lucifer's thinking (though erroneous) made sense. If Charlie was receptive of Lucifer communicating with her in that manner. Obviously, Charlie was not. Lucifer might have isolated himself for seven years, but his estrangement from Charlie had definitely started long before Lucifer and Lilith's separation. To Adam, Charlie and Lucifer were still in the process of reconnecting, and getting to know each other as they were now, as opposed to who they had been before their estrangement. They were different people. Well, Charlie definitely was a different person, and though Adam hadn't been there when Lucifer and Charlie first reconnected, she could deduce that Lucifer had tried far too hard to appeal to the person Charlie had become in their time apart.

Must have been an absolute shit-show, Adam mused. She could just picture Charlie's unease and uncertainty, and though Charlie and Adam weren't close, Adam had already witnessed how Charlie seemed to struggle-buggle her way through awkward situations. Adam had seen that strained smile, the tense shoulders, and the underlying hesitance and borderline reluctance. But where Adam would have said "fuck this" and bowled her way through if she were in Charlie's place, not caring how the other person in the situation felt, Charlie seemed to not want to cause any hurt feelings. Even if her own feelings were inevitably in forfeit.

Lucifer probably didn't see how his obvert, awkward attempts to connect with Charlie were actually making Charlie uncomfortable. Though it was obvious to Adam, Lucifer had never really been able to see take in the full scope of a situation, when he was setting his entire attention on something. He'd been like that since Eden, when his desire for Lilith had caused him to push Adam to the side, and even ignore Adam's own feelings. He'd been like that when he'd wanted Adam to join his and Lilith's campaign for Free Will, believing that everything would be all right in the end if he could just get Adam to see things how Lucifer saw them.

It was selfish thinking, but it was also...so human.

In Eden, Lilith had been encouraging Lucifer's behavior, so of course he hadn't seen how what he'd been doing was never going to be acceptable, even IF it could have produced the results Lucifer wanted. However, now, unlike Eden, Lucifer had Adam to give him a second point of view. To help Lucifer step back, take a second, third, fourth look, and see the things that Lucifer was missing.

Adam stretched her tail out to wrap about Lucifer's waist, giving him an affectionate squeeze. "She doesn't need you to change yourself, Lucifer. Just talk to her like you would anyone else. Don't baby her. Don't try to be a Cool Dad. Just be yourself. That's the person she is getting to know again, just like you're getting to know the person she is now."

She'd had to learn this her own way, when she'd first reunited with her children in Heaven. Things had changed so much since she'd last seen them on Earth, and they'd also grown even more after Adam had died. Adam had to relearn how to communicate with her family, and adjust how she interacted with them. Shared interests had changed, and Adam learned a thousand new, wonderful things about her family, and came to appreciate them all the same. It'd taken time and effort (as most things do) but it'd made Adam so happy to be able to be with her family and know them again.

Her heart ached as she remembered that they were still in Heaven, most likely still unaware of Adam's true fate.

It's for the better that they don't know, Adam told herself, sucking back her dour emotions of longing. If Michael suspected that they knew anything, he wouldn't hesitate to hold them against me. Or worse. Adam wouldn't put it past Michael to consider Adam's family as acceptable collateral if it ultimately helped him achieve the results he wanted.

Her worry must have been apparent, because she felt Lucifer wrap his own tail about her torso, and his hands gently holding her face. When she focused back on him, his eyes were looking into her own, filled with concern.

"Are you okay, Ada?" he asked, voice soft and gentle.

[bobabees]

hey i saw that your orders are open, and i want to order Frederick with a conductor reader

“I Just Wanna Be Part Of Your Symphony”

A/N: i unfortunately don’t know much about the profession, but i hope this is good enough! I kinda lost myself in a ramble writing this so skbdnsbdnnd ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌

Genre: Fluff

Frederick Kreiburg X Conductor Reader

Finally! Someone as passionate about music as he is!

He greatly admires your fervour for the art of music, the way you put your soul into your movements that seemed so fluid—he could watch you for hours, especially when you try and direct Antonio, Luca, Freddy, and Ganji for the next upcoming performance.

You always did seem to be excited for those, rambling on and on about ideas you had with the other survivors

It intrigued him greatly, so much so, that he wanted to join the quaint band.

But he was nervous.

He didn’t know why he was, in all his years of playing the piano, not once had he ever felt nervous about playing in front of so many people—and even if he had, he was strong enough to push past it

But this? It was different. You were different. He couldn’t quite place it—was it your seemingly bursting passion? Was it because of the fact you had a hunter in the group? Was it because he was afraid to disappoint everyone should he ever play in front of them? To disappoint you? You, who seems to view music as something more than what it is—to see it as something so ethereal?

Despite his reluctance to join your band, the moment you heard of what he used to do before the manor, the moment you found out that he played the piano, that he was a composer—you went off to find him.

And now, here he was, sitting in the practice room, with you telling him more and more about your group.

“I’m honestly finding it hard to believe that such a place would even be allowing such entertainment,” you laughed at his words, it was such a beautiful and charming sound, like a song he could never get out of his head, no matter how hard he tried.

“Oh, it took a while for us to convince Mr DeRoss to grant permission, but it worked!” Your words were filled with pure joy as you retold the story of the arduous challenges you and the others faced as you desperately tried to tell him how much entertainment was absolutely necessary for the sanity of both hunters and survivors, “Music, I believe, is a vital part of our lives. At least, for me it is. It’s a way for us to express emotions that we could never have done with just words, and for us to connect with people we never thought we would—I mean, I was terrified of Antonio when I first met him, he is a hunter, after all.” A nervous giggle escaped your lips, “and it was hard to look past the kind of—eerie grin he had or all the times he chased after me in matches…“ a shiver ran down your spine as you tried to suppress the memories of Antonio practically dragging you to the chair, or the times you couldn’t escape the notes he flung towards you.

“But the moment I heard him humming such a lovely tune—the moment I had the opportunity to actually listen to the music he played outside the matches—beneath such a terrifying exterior, was an artist—“ you whispered at the last word, stars glimmering in your eyes as you looked towards the small group of musicians before you. “We all are—and I want people to be able to express that parts of themselves instead of living in fear constantly, sure, we may have willingly come here and maybe knew what we were getting into—but we’re human. We need to express ourselves. This is just one of those ways. I mean—Look how happy they are.”

Frederick slowly followed your gaze, his eyes taking in every inch of the view before him; Luca’s eyes were furrowed as he focused on the melody that was being played from Freddy’s trombone, his fingers twitching above the keys as he tried to figure out a euphony that fitted it. Ganji playing his bansuri, the typically irate and vigorous batter was calm as he played the instrument from his culture, his shoulders sagged as he leaned against the cushions of the couch, his eyes half-lidded, and he swore he could see the corner of his lips tilted up in a smile. And there stood Antonio, a much gentler smile on his face as he—or well, his hair, played the violin, a low hum accompanying the tunes that echoed through the room.

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”

He turned to you, his heart nearly stopping at the way you smiled, “Music unifies us all, one way, or another, it’s one of the most beautiful creations man has ever made. It flourished far beyond our expectations, with different genres, subgenres, with using instruments from all around the world—even using things that weren’t meant to be instruments!” You laughed once again, and he couldn’t help but lean closer as if wanting to hear more of it. “It’s such a powerful thing that can bring us emotions that even we couldn’t hope to understand, it can bring memories of the past—or perhaps even an image of the future. This is what I told Mr DeRoss, and he seemed convinced enough after that since he permitted us to perform at least once a month. We’ve come a long way since then.”

He pursed his lips, holding onto his tuning fork tightly as he looked back at the small group of people—people he never thought could play such melodies. “And you dragged me here because…?”

“Because I figured that you wanted a chance to play your music. I thought offering you a space to express yourself would make you feel more at ease here.” You explained, placing your hand on his and giving him a reassuring smile. “So, what do you say? Do you want to join us?”

Frederick’s mouth gaped slightly, the words hanging on the tip of his tongue as he questioned himself for a moment. A soft sigh left his lips, “As much as I would love to,” he began “I’m afraid I am not as good as I was before, I do not want to dampen any of your performances-“

He heard a light scoff, pulling your hand away—he was sure you were going to leave the moment he rejected your offer. But instead, you gently nudged your elbow against his arm, “Nonsense, I’m sure you’re great—and besides, that’s why we practice, right?” You grinned “You don’t have to be the best of the best, that’s not what this is about. It’s about expressing yourself, playing to your heart's content, playing your music the way you want to.” You seemed so sure of your words, it contrasted so greatly with the people in his life who slowly abandoned him over time as his skills declined. His knuckles began to grow a bright red as he gripped the tuning fork tightly, “So?”

“I—“ His voice fell slightly, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment before looking into your eyes. Those eyes seemed to radiate with a fire that burned for your love for music and the arts, and the certainty that he was good enough. “I’d be honoured to join this group of yours—“

“That‘s great!” You clasped their hands together, excitement bubbling in your voice as you slipped off your seat, the weight next to him lightening as you offered a hand for him to take, “Now, come! We must introduce you before we practice!—“

“Wait—we’re practising now?!”

“Of course! What better time than now?”

It was like he had strapped himself to a rollercoaster, with no idea where it was going, when it was going to stop, and how long it was going to go for. But he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

He adored the way your group bickered at times, the way they all seemed to have such different ways to play and yet played so beautifully the moment you came in to try and organise everything.

He cherished the way you and the others applauded him and smiled when he helped with composing the music you would play, and how he would practice with Luca in playing the piano, even creating what he would consider was one of the best pieces he has played. He never knew how amazing it would feel to play with someone else.

There were some mistakes here and there, and you always seemed to be able to calm yourself and make a light joke of it as you encouraged the others it was alright.

It was he, who made most of the mistakes the moment he joined the group, but he wasn’t entirely to blame. You should take some of it—he was constantly distracted by the fluidity of your movements, the way you swayed with each note that played, the smile that graced your face when you conducted with your baton.

Even in matches, when you two would decode together, he would find himself so mesmerised with the way you still spoke about music.

Oh, when you spoke of music. You were so passionate, it was like a fire he couldn’t control, the moment the topic was mentioned, you would go on a ramble about it. The history of it all, the beauty of it all.

And how you quelled his fears the moment he first stepped on that stage with the others, you stood before him with that encouraging smile and began to conduct—and maybe it was simply because you faced away from the crowd and was in front of him, but it felt like it was just you and him in the stage. Like it was another one of those practice sessions you all would have.

By the heavens above, did he love those moments.

The times you two would laugh at the small mistakes you both would make, how you playfully sang as he played, how he would teasingly mock you by swinging your baton around whilst you scolded him and tried to snatch it back as Luca and Antonio laughed from afar.

For the first time, in a long time, he felt excited to play the piano. And not just for the validation of those who came to watch him play—but because he truly enjoyed it.

[lifesupreme-if]

Dude, the Ai anon is going around If's asking people the same thing and telling them that eventually Ai will become better than actual writers' writing and to adapt and stop being closed-minded 😭

hiya. i'm not entirely out of the loop: i've done a little bit of searching to read asks they've sent others. unfortunately, my roommate's boyfriend is an NFT/AI bro, so i'm just used to listening to the rhetoric of people who fall into that sphere of interests.

while the anon holds the beliefs they do regarding AI, i don't believe that the initial ask they are sending is being sent in bad faith, and assuming an intent to insult or offend is unnecessary. initial reactions may perceive the message as a slight against the style of authors receiving it, though to me it reads more as they think AI is really cool and believe it would speed the process of projects they might enjoy being released, or simply that they are providing a resource that they place their trust in and would like to see others open up to. there are people in the world who hold similar beliefs to anon's, and they will continue the act they consider "making" with the grifted materials AI provides.

adapt or perish is not an uncommon mindset, and as anon seems to believe that AI is a way to the future, it makes sense that they would see refusal to believe in or use it as modern pushback from those who fear the passage of time.

i cannot change their opinion, and they cannot change mine. anon offered a suggestion, a piece of advice, and as with all advice we are given in life, the only thing that we can do is wade through and choose what works for us or does not.

art is a human labor. a human labor of love, grief, passion, and emotion. i wholeheartedly believe that one of the wonderful things about writing and Interactive Fiction is its long history of humans sitting down and pouring their own hard work into it, untangling sentences and plot holes and putting their brains to work. in doing so we strengthen our voices, connect with others, and often just bask in the mental stimulation we need to thrive. i believe that artists, writers, creators should all do what we can to protect our own and others' intellectual properties from being fed into the AI machine. there are those who willingly submit their work to AI, but it should be left a choice.

anon also seems to feel passionately, but about AI itself. this world does not work without all different kinds of people, and while they might not find their like-minded peers in this circle of the internet, there are those that would happily explore their suggestion.

the extent of my interaction with anon was receiving the initial ask, posting a response image to it, and editing the post to add tags to give an actual response. learning more about their beliefs beyond that was only accessible due to the internet and being able to see things they've sent to others, but to be entirely honest, i read their suggestion and turned it down. at the time of posting this, my only interaction with them has been entirely at face-value: learning more about them is not my business.

[thefandomboysblog]

some thoughts after a day since the news;

(it's long, but important, imo)

y'know what's the worst thing of this whole mess? i don't know if anyone's said yet, but I'll say it. i am sure that with varying degrees both in the team at large and steven, shane and ryan, all of them were very excited and hoped for the best and that all of them hoped that the audience they've grown, that i assume they love deeply, for what we've done for their careers at large for all the content they make and they are passionate about, supported them in this like we've done, for so long. they said it on the video but i assume they also think that personally, and it isn't a white lie because none of them strike me personally like i've stated before as fake online creators.

...they've done this; they have put this out into the world and turns out we don't support that, at all. i mean we do, or at least I hope most of us do since the reasons are very understandable and yet most won't be able to do it monetarily which is precisely what they hoped for apart of the chance to create better and bigger content and i can't imagine how that must feel. scratch that. i do.

I have got Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), as an autistic person, and for example right now I don't have money because I'm unemployed, and I have to work so everytime i search for jobs it feels like a chore, like I'm giving up some freedom, and I'm losing control of my own life, because any job at all is not what I want to do, and I don't want my actual passion and I want to do as career, which is writing, to become a hobby. Trust me that feeling, it's awful. I am sure it doesn't feel like what it does to me but I can't imagine it feels good. However in this economy, i must.

they want to do something and it's so big, and like everything in this godforsaken capitalistic world it costs money. they want to be able to do it but for now in YouTube it seems imposible, even if it isn't, because that is why we're saying it's a bad choice; in their perspective, or because they haven't been adviced better, it's what they see.

so they come up with this, and their only support, their fanbase, they say that it's not good. Not only that and I don't want to name names here (people who hate Steven or in general just want an excuse to be mean), they say they hate them for it, that it is a dumb move from them. so they are absolutely bashing them, everywhere.

As individuals, as human beings, because some of us forget they are people and not characters, that must genuinely be heart breaking, perhaps even, i don't know, it feels like we've betrayed their hopes and their trust.

Which is exactly what they've done to us. And this is where our problem appears... They've lost touch with their fanbase and we, because, sadly, we lack context and that's their fault as well, aren't able to fully understand their perspective and their needs and what they actually can give us in exchange so it is, for both parties, worth it.

My point is, just be humane about this. Just try to understand all of them as people, although it feels like they've bretayed our trust, whatever happens, wether they backtrack or keep going; people can and will make mistakes and well sometimes those people have to learn the hard way. Lift them back up, if and when they fall. These are, still, the same people, some of us, have followed for many years, however long you've been a part of their journey, I am sure you have a special place for them, in your hearts.

[jinmindeulle]

if we love again | byun baekhyun (epilogue)

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 byun baekhyun x fem!reader x park chanyeol

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 0.8 k

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆 angst | inspired on the song 'if we love again' (chen, chanyeol)

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 major character death

part 1 | part 2 | epilogue

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚

“I didn’t want to write you a letter this time. It just feels different. It’s the first time I don’t need to write a letter, actually. I think it feels more real to just talk to you, despite the fact that I haven't been able to have a real conversation with you for more than fifteen years. I still miss you, I still long for you, and I still love you. But as you used to tell me, moving on is part of the human race. I’d like to think that I finally did. 

I didn’t bring Chanyeol today because he’s staying home with Jihoon. We… we had a baby, Baek. And he’s the most precious thing. He’s just like his father and I love that so much about him. He keeps us awake most of the nights and you cannot even imagine the dark circles we both sport to work every day. But I would never change it for anything else. 

I know Chanyeol has been worrying about me more than usual. He’s seen me crying when I cradle our baby to sleep, and I am aware of the fact that he knows why I do it. There’s only been one instance in our five years together that he has questioned whether I will ever love him as much as I love you. From my end, I was waiting for it to happen. From his end, he hoped he had never said those words to me, because he knew. And that’s why I had let him in in the first place. 

It feels different with him. It’s passionate, heartwarming and intense like ours. He’s romantic, thoughtful and funny, just like you were. But I’m not as lively. I cannot watch romantic movies anymore. I will never go to study rooms ever again. 

Still, I don’t want to be the same as I was with you. Because Chanyeol is not you, and I never wanted him to be you. I want him because he’s my husband, and because he makes me feel like he can take care of my fragile heart for the rest of my days.

I came here to finally say goodbye. Or at least that’s what I want for now on. You may see me back next month, in ten years, or never again. Who knows. 

I need to say goodbye to you in a way that allows me to live for my son and my husband. So that I can cry out of happiness for I have a healthy and bubbly child and not out of grief because I will never know what kind of baby we would have made together.

I hope I have made it clear throughout the years together and apart that you will always be my forever love. That you gave me a new perspective, a reason to wake up every morning. But when you no longer could do that, someone else did. And that someone deserves to have the wife I want me to be. 

He respects you, and as he has already told you, he thanks you for everything you’ve done for me… for us. Chanyeol was the one who said that you were our cupid, and now he also thinks you brought Jihoon to our lives. Though it’s kind of cute, I had to laugh. We both know how babies are brought to the world.

With that laugh, I also wanted to let him know that you’re not always the reason for our happiness. We are the ones who make it work. The ones who wake up every morning and feed, bathe and love our son. The ones who love each other through anguish, uncertainty, and inexperience. 

I have to visit my friends more often than I visit you. I have to tell my parents I love them more often than I tell you. You will always be here, but they won’t. And if we have to meet again, I hope it’s up there and not around grown grass and muddy graves. I know you’re with me every step of the way so I’m not worried about this decision. I’m hopeful it’s the right one for my family and I.

I am happy. I am fulfilled.  I want my husband to feel the same way. I need my baby to grow up with a strong mother, and I know you will understand that. Oh, and I will tell Jihoon about you. Chanyeol is fine with it. He says you’re also part of our story, and that your prayers worked. The love between him and I exists without pain. The grief that has accompanied me throughout the years was never successful in tearing us apart. 

Anyways, I don’t want to rumble any more. I love you, Byun Baekhyun. I will always keep you in my heart. I would be lying if I told you I won’t. Keep resting in peace. We’ll see each other when my time comes. For now… I want to live the life I have created here."

[geodetojoy]

ALRIGHTY i am no longer busy so heres my full thoughts on Newsies :DDD

tagging @royallygray and @mysteriouswolf if yall wanna read :D

ok this shit got LONG so the rest is under the cut

GOD where do I even start its beautiful its wonderful its emotional i love it so much

Ill try not to copy my intermission thoughts too much (if you havent seen those here they are)

Ok lets talk about the history of it. A quick google search says its based on a strike in 1899, and Roosevelt ran for presidency in 1901, so we'll just say the musical takes place in 1899 too (correct me if theres a different confirmed time).

During this time, work conditions are absolute shit, monopolies and trusts are on the rise, and the concept of a union has recently emerged. I really didnt need to say much of this bc its apparent in the musical, but i love historically accurate stuff so deal with it /lh

And in the musical we see the beginnings of Roosevelt's trust-busting and ideas of social equality that he acts on during his presidency (it also kinda ties into his environmentalism stuff a bit too!)

And after reading up a bit on the strike the musical was based on, a lot of the effects of the strike in the musical were historically accurate too! the newsboys could sell back papers they werent able to sell on the streets, but the price was unfortunately not yet lowered. (also, the names of the publishers in the show are historically accurate as well!!! makes my little history brain happy :DDD )

SO whats the point of all of my rambling here?

people make historical art all of the time. we see it in musicals like Annie, Hamilton, and so so many more. obviously this goes beyond musicals here, but since newsies is a musical ill try to stay with that topic.

anyway, we learn about history to learn from it. we see these past issues that our previous generations struggled with, in these art forms as to be easily digestible, and we discover their solutions. we get to see the humanity behind the issues and the conflicts they faced to overcome them. and ofc its not the only reason, but one reason these stories are told with art is to bring attention to them. people are way more likely to listen to music than study a historical textbook. so, they make it entertaining. they make relatable and lovable characters. they make people care about the show and subsequently the issue itself. all of this is to explain how and why things that happened in history are bad as to never repeat them again.

We see these topics of worker mistreatment, corrupt businesses, child labor, gender/sex inequality, and the class separation all brought to the spotlight in this show, and it does a damn good job of showing the pain and suffering they cause. the story of this show is incredible and so very important to learn about.

OK now onto the actual musical itself im done nerding out

ive done a lot of charater analysis already in that intermission post bUT WHO SAYS I CANT DO MORE HAHA

im saving jack for last bc theres so much to unpack there

KATHERINE MY LOVE <3333

Everything about her being a girlboss absolutely remains the same shes INCREDIBLE

and holy shit PULITZER'S HER DAD???? i love her even more. she directly ran away from an easy life to follow her own dreams and pursue her own passion from scratch. incredible. inspiring. mwah

i also just love her personality. shes so bubbly and happy and passionate and bright and optomistic shes the best <3

oh god crutchie. hes absolutely my favorite btw im sorry everyone else i adore him <33333

GOD his prison song actually killed me. im fully dead. deceased.

THE NEWSIES ARE SUCH A FAMILY GAHHH THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH RAHHHH

the sheer ecstasy i felt when he came back and hit Snyder with his cane i could not stop stimming MY BOYYYY

the absolute definition of sunshine character. he sees everything as glass half full and wants just the brightest future he deserves the absolute world

and ik i talked about it earlier but i adore how they take such a neutral opinion about his leg. people give him shit for it, and his brother beat them to a pulp. its just a part of him and they love his whole being, so why would they not love that about him too?

Les only got better as the show went on. i thought he was a smartass before LMAOO

AND THE DATE BIT??? WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM???? AND IT JUST NEVER GETS BROUGHT UP AGAIN LMAO WHAT

i think the biggest change i felt towards a character was Davey

he grew on me soooooo much his character growth is everything to me

he went from trying to stay out of their business to teaching them what a union was to helping them start it to running it himself when jack ran off to convincing jack to come back when times got tough he is sooo important to the story

and to me. hes important to me <3

OH AND RACE

i saw people mention the name before but i didnt know which he was until they addressed him directly I LOVE THAT GUYYY

especially in king of new york hes got such a big personality what a silly guy

OK now for the guy the silly the mc jack

At the beginning he is entirely driven by both his love for his family and ofc his dream of living in Santa Fe, but atm hes just trying to get by so hes more focused on the newsies. but a boy can dream

then he gets all caught up in the strike business and only focuses on that for a while bc he wants to protect his boys

then shit goes south. they get essentially jumped, and crutchie gets hurt and arrested.

and he thinks, what was it all for? if he couldnt protect his brother (never living that down btw), whats the point of even trying to strike anymore

so he changes his focus back to santa fe. the one thing hes still got going for him.

and he gets confronted by katherine, les, and davey, and they knock some sense into him. stopping the strike isnt going to take away any of the harm done. the danger is expected, theres no way any of this could go down without some form of a casualty. so why not try to do something about it. the only way to make this situation better is to get back in the game and keep pushing for change.

and ofc the thing with katherine which ill talk abt a bit more later

in all of this, something in him changes. he dreamed of santa fe, a simpler life, one where he didnt have to worry about having to afford food and clothing for the next day.

but what he never considered was the loneliness. sure, he offered to bring crutchie and katherine with him, but hed be leaving behind so many more. and thats when he realized he never needed to get out, he just needed things to change a bit. and they did! because of the strike, living became so much more affordable. no it wasnt perfect, but it was enough to be safe and secure, just like he wanted. and he had his family beside him the whole time.

ill admit that before i sat and thought about it for a while, this ending was really unsatisfactory to me. i mean we got how many santa fe reprises? all for naught?

but in reality, santa fe would never be enough for him. hes just so used to this life surrounded by the people he cares most about and doing everything in his power to protect him, hed just be so bored, so understimulated, and hed just continue to yearn for more. that path of wanting would never come to a conclusion and hed live his life never truly being happy. so i really do thing he made the right choice in staying, because new york became his santa fe. he didnt need to seek it out, it came to him.

Ok now with him and katherine

ill start by saying i do really adore them. i feel like a lot of what im about to say might seem like i think otherwise, but i truly do think theyre very sweet

ok so every interaction of theirs in act one was. very uncomfortable to say the least. he honestly seemed really predatory at times and it just really felt like an old-timey romance where the girl doesnt know her worth so she flocks to any guy that shows interest in hr bc she thinks its her only purpose

now obviously that is NOT the truth, those were just my first impressions. Katherine is extremely capable of taking care of herself and deciding what is and isnt right for her, she likes jack purely because she can and does. she knows her worth and just likes him bc she likes him, no strings attached

i will say the first kiss kinda caught me off guard lmao. like i knew they were gonna be a thing but that is NOT how i expected that to go down. its likely just bc of my aroace-ness but i saw no sign of them actually getting together prior to that, aside from them being the main man and leading lady in the show so ofc they have to be together. i mean ig her reaction to him drawing her was a bit of a hint but still. ok maybe its just bc im demi. hadnt thought abt that until now. damn. is this a normal thing? maybe it is. maybe im being too harsh. idk lmao

anyway ill admit the kiss was successful in getting his attention and getting him to listen to her so ill give it that lmaoo but tbh i did tune a bit of their song out bc it started to make me a bit uncomfy but i did liste back to it later on. they really seem to have a healthy relationship where they both care about the other and know the other is strong enough on their own, they just both want to be a part of the other's life. its really sweet! theyre so supportive of each other!!! green flags all around!!!

the bit with him learning shes pulitzers daughter was really interesting to me. at first she tries to talk to him but he kinda brushes her off, but from then on he just kinda has full faith in her? i mean yeah he gets upset about it bc he thinks she lied to him, but i dont think he thought she had any ill intentions. that was a complicated sentence lmaoo damn. i think he really understood that she wanted to help, he was just caught up in a lot of Feelings and was afraid that she wasnt trustworthy despite him still trusting her. and then he let her explain and from then on they fully support the other and trust each other immensely

so yeah first impressions were a bit iffy but i think theyre very sweet <333

OK GOD CAN I GUSH ABOUT THE STAGE DESIGN FOR A BIT???? GAHHH

i mean the moving stairs and scaffolding arent new. i know this. but just the way they frame scenes with the scaffolding is stunning. the chase scenes??? dude. enthralling. the bits where theyre in the city and they have people just up their acting like civilians? SO cool. makes it incredibly more realistic and believable. and the way they projected images onto the curtain-like things they pulled down was extremely creative!!! like in theory its such a simple design. it was literally nothing more than the scaffolding and stairs, and a few tables and wagons and such in certain areas. but they did SO much with it it was hard to believe it took place on a stage. ofc the filming helps with that but still. the start felt like it was on the roof of the building bc of a combination of the lighting and the use of just one of the scaffolding pieces. and when theyre in buildings, the wall of scaffolding works really well as a backdrop!!! and i already talked about the city street scenes, it fits perfectly. god its so inspiring id love to be behind something like that one day

OK AND THE CHOREO??? the sheer ENDURANCE of these people HOLY I COULD NEVER. THE FLEXIBILITY? THEYRE ALL LITERAL GYMNASTS WTF ARE THESE FLIPS AND HANDSTANDS IM SORRY???? holy shit its all SOSOSO impressive

oh my god i havent even talked about the MUSIC yet

if i had to choose a favorite song, a, i would punch whoever told me that in the face, and b, i would simply combust bc i cant choose just one

my top three tho would have to be between king of new york, carrying the banner, and crutchies prison song (idk the name its not on spotify :'((((( ) in no particular order

i havent had them on repeat enough to have any memorized, but i did remember santa fe, carrying the banner, and the world will know from the last time i watched it and i belted along to all the parts i knew this music is so good at hyping me up I WANNA START A UNION

and oh my god katherines voice???? stunning. her song is sooooo good. her part in king of new york is incredible. i love her <3

jesus christ this post got out of control. im still not done lmaooo

ok one thing that really has nothing to do with the musical itself is just the fact that it reminded me of so many other musicals ive seen at specific parts, even some of the songs sound like others i know.

Santa Fe really reminds me of Maybe from Annie, both music-wise and lyric wise. i mean theyre both "i want" songs so it makes sense but i feel like they sound kinda similar too. honestly a lot of the music sounds like Annie, but maybe its just the types of instruments used and thats just how musicals sounded when they were made. i think they were made about the same time. *checks spotify* ok well the newsies i listen to was produced like 40 years after Annie so maybe that just a stylistic choice-

idk why but the beginning of watch what happens sounds like the intro to reginas speaking part in meet the plastics lmao-

oh and brooklyn's here has the same beat as the military from Seussical but thats just bc its a marching song lmao. its also the same beat as the spanish alphabet song my spanish teacher used to use!

ok and this one really doesnt make sense but something to believe in reminds me of the power in me from Twisted lmao- kinda similar message ig? and sound vaguely similar? but idk it really doesnt make too much sense

i should. i should sum it up. this is getting out of hand.

okay i love this musical sm. clearly. do you see how long this post is. i was missing out when i refused to listen to it previously. oh my god.

and for some reason it really makes me wanna go watch my favorite musical so im ending this here TO YOUTUBE I GOOOOO TY FOR READING IF YOU DID AND TY TO ROYAL FOR UNINTENTIONALLY PUSHING ME TO WATCH THIS HAVE A GREAT DAYYYY

[faeriecinna]

WIP Questionnaire (2.0)

I was tagged a second time by @finchwrites, so I'll do this for my second WIP too.

Project.Ink

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

As I mentioned in this post, as someone from an Irish family, I wanted to write a novel that paid homage to our folklore, so I decided to mess with the general concept of a 'changeling'. Rowan came to be when I tried to think up a character that was a faerie who, for some reason, believed they were a human - and the rest followed.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Not so much a theme song, but Rowan and Killeen's song is definitely Dying Star by Ashnikko and Ethel Cain. I'd probably have it playing in the background when Killeen realises who Rowan actually is to her.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

Rowan was the first character I created for this story so I do have a soft spot for her in my heart, but because I knew I wanted this to be a queer story, when I created Killeen I basically just turned my ideal woman into a lesbian fae warrior so??? of course I would die for her?? Plus being The Inquisitor for The Sidhe Court is kind of a slay, no?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

Never read it, but from what I've heard I can only assume ACOTAR peeps would be into it. If anyone has ever watched Zone Blanche/The Black Spot (spooky french supernatural murder drama), that is EXACTLY the vibe I'm going for - just Irish (and if you haven't watched it you should).

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

There are two parallel storylines in the story - Rowan's storyline when she is taken into the Fae realm, and the second storyline that follows the aftermath in her small town when her parents report her missing. I struggle a fair bit with actually writing the aforementioned second storyline because I get so caught up with all the lesbian dumbassery that I forget there is in fact a second layer to my plot.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Crows, ravens and other corvids are ALWAYS a motif in my stories. The Sidhe also have a strong supernatural connection to the flora and fauna so not only are there several different kinds of forest dwelling animals in the story, but most of the characters can communicate with them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Honestly for a fantasy book my setting/map is rather small so most of the travel is done by foot. I guess there'll probably be a few police cars involved and maybe some kind of sailboat at some point lmao

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

In the earlier stages of the first draft atm. I started this as a passion project only about 6 months ago even though I had the plot idea for a couple of years.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

Queer fae. Need I say more? Also I'm hoping the fact that there are a lot more spooky/horror elements to this story, as opposed to a lot of faerie narratives, will interest people. It's all going to be set in Ireland as well so that's another demographic that I hope will enjoy it!

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

It's a queer story where the characters are just... queer.... and in love... there's no homophobia, no "I'm gay and that's okay and normal!", no having to come out - it just is right from the get go, a gay story about gay girls being gay without that being the focal point of the narrative - so I hope that if it ever gets published, it'll be a book that queer people can go to when they need a spooky gay fantasy without any of the trauma and alienation that we feel as queer people irl. I hope people connect to the story and take some comfort in the darkness.

And I'm gonna tag @sleepywriter00 @akiwitch and @eccaiia

(blank under the cut)

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

[finrays]

Horizon Tag Game?

Stole this one from @foibles-fables

1.ride or die ship (your otp): It may be abnormal, but I don’t really ship things except in like… an offhanded “Oh that might be cute” kind of way. Just not what comes into my head when I consume media. I’ve never been ride or die for a ship in my life.

2. most annoying ship: The Odyssey, because it brought the Zeniths back

3. second favourite ship: The one that rammed the Horus off of San Francisco

4. favourite platonic relationship: NOW we’re speaking my language; these games are SO GOOD about friendships, it’s hard to pick just one. I could talk about ALL of them for DAYS.

But I’ll focus in on one; I absolutely LOVE the Erend-Varl dynamic. They have such a feeling of “We’re both smart, capable men but when we’re together, we just discard all our brain cells and do stupid shit for fun,” and they both SORELY need it, I love it so much. And! They also have good talks about their feelings; Erend specifically mentions sitting down with Varl and having a beer and a good talk, and I love the shit out of it.

5. underrated ship: That’s all the ships I know of in this game… maybe there will be others in H3? The Skiff from Burning Shores is pretty fun, even if there ARE Waterwings that outclass it.

6. overrated ship: The ones that foundered on the way from the Quen homeland, probably, I bet they hyped those fuckers up and then they SANK the minute they hit a typhoon. Shameful.

7. one thing i would change in canon: So fucking much. I’ve written numerous posts about this before. And the cheap answer would be my ecology rants, lol. But…

I think I’m with Foibs on this one; Zeniths as the ultimate antagonists of H3. Imagine spending the entire time in FW learning about the Claw-Back. About how the world was reeled back from the brink of ecological collapse. And imagine, sprinkled throughout, we have the voices of the people who are currently returning on the Odyssey; Gerard, standing in the way of a coastal restoration project, because he could make money off of beachfront condos. Erik, being called in to break up a protest with vicious efficiency. Walter, being nonchalant about the radiation his rockets produce. All these people, putting selfishness and profit above people and planet. We get a chance to really dig our teeth into hating them for a reason. There are bits and pieces of this in the Canon As is of FW, but you have to HUNT them down. Imagine these people being front and center.

And then imagine we finally see the Zeniths at the end of the game. And we realize with a start…

…we’ve heard their voices before.

Thematically, the 1% coming back to take the planet after the hard work of restoring it is done, and Aloy and Co putting down their feet and going “NO” is much more satisfying a narrative to me than “Oh noooo, there’s a Big Bad AI coming” but I’m not in charge of the writing, I’m counting fish halfway across the world. So.

8. something canon did right: I’m literally spitting down HFW’s throat for this. I’m slamming its face into a bench covered in wet paint. I make NO apologies whatsoever for this brand of criticism because it’s one of my Pet Soapbox Issues. The ecology stuff is just for fun. This is Serious Times.

But the first game NAILED their scientist characters. All of them felt so much like people I’ve met in the field. Which is to say, HUMAN people, driven by passion, hope, fear, EMOTION. They really, really did well with it.

And then totally threw it out the window in the second game, but that’s another rant entirely.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: Here’s my AO3 if you want it.

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): I… don’t have one, actually. Even the characters I love dearly were, I think, mishandled in many ways that I don’t agree with. I think Alva comes closest. But even she, I have some notes for, as far as gameplay/story separation goes… they could have done a better job with everyone.

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Elisabet. 100%. She’s my favorite for a reason. When I was 16, I decided on my career trajectory for similar reasons to hers; I wanted to help. I wanted to make the world a better place. To see that actually represented in a character focused in the sciences is… shockingly rare. Additionally? Our personalities ended up being fairly similar as well. High anxiety, very strongly introverted, cares deeply but has weird/nonstandard ways of showing it, trouble connecting with people… I really feel like this is the closest I’ve seen to seeing myself represented onscreen, and it’s in a positive light this time! Mostly! I love it and I love her so much.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: I don’t think I outright hate any characters in this series outside the narrative sense? There are ones I don’t understand the appeal of. There are ones I’m puzzled by. But it’s not really personal. It’s not hatred. Like, even Ted, who’s SUPER fun to hate on, is well-fitted to his role. And that’s pretty cool.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: They will make it so much worse than you could have ever imagined (both affectionate and derogatory.)

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I don’t browse AO3! I take fic recs from friends, mostly.

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Crossing the Bar for Elisabet. It’s such a melancholy song that captures that moment where she left GAIA Prime so perfectly… I can’t listen to it without thinking about her, asking her friends not to say goodbye and to take care of each other. Knowing what was coming. Gives me the sads, man.

tagging: I feel that since I stole it, I should just tell you to steal it too.