What You Need To Understand Is That Young Ford Pines Is Joyous And Whimsical And Also Fueled By Spite

“Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated—with one another; with the rainy, sleety weather; with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional. A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here.

But as the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom. “Folks,” he said, “I know you’ve had a rough day and you’re frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here’s what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight—just leave ‘em with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I’ll open the window and throw your troubles in the water. Sound good?”

It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who’d been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other’s existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious?

Oh, he was serious.

At the next stop—just as promised—the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up—but everyone did it. The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.

We live in a hard world, my friends. Sometimes it’s extra difficult to be a human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle and fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, faith, and love. You witness horrible events unfolding in the news, and you become fearful and withdrawn. There are times when everything seems cloaked in darkness. You long for the light but don’t know where to find it.

But what if you are the light? What if you’re the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?

That’s what this bus driver taught me—that anyone can be the light, at any moment. This guy wasn’t some big power player. He wasn’t a spiritual leader. He wasn’t some media-savvy “influencer.” He was a bus driver—one of society’s most invisible workers. But he possessed real power, and he used it beautifully for our benefit.

When life feels especially grim, or when I feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, I think of this man and ask myself, What can I do, right now, to be the light? Of course, I can’t personally end all wars, or solve global warming, or transform vexing people into entirely different creatures. I definitely can’t control traffic. But I do have some influence on everyone I brush up against, even if we never speak or learn each other’s name. How we behave matters because within human society everything is contagious—sadness and anger, yes, but also patience and generosity. Which means we all have more influence than we realize.

No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated—one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river.“

–Elizabeth Gilbert

HIIII ITS ME CYRUS FROM WILDSAGECYRUS🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ i am now in your tumblr ask box.. crazy stuff…

you’re lying! i can see you’re called “anonymous”, and cyrus has never used that name!

okay jokes aside i’m following you now and here, have an ET that was in a counselor’s office

someone I follow on the bird app just announced they're starting a very exclusive private fic server because they and a bunch of other people want to talk about how much they love the fics they're reading, and as an author can I just say that a really great place to talk about a fic you love is in the comments for that fic

I understand that people are trying to create safe spaces, but as the number of comments that I get on my fics dwindles with each passing year, knowing these spaces exist where my fics are being discussed, places that I am excluded from, makes me want to write fic LESS

I mean I guess who cares, right, because if I stop writing, there's 10,000 other people that will continue...but if you participate in a fic "book club" server and you say nice things there about a fic you loved, maybe copy and paste that into a comment on AO3?

the only thing fanfic writers are asking for in return for hours of hard work is attention. please don't rob us of the one thing that we hope for when we hit "post"

that’s what i’ve been screaming

Like me personally I think we should allow Nuru to be fragile every once in a while because she’s literally just a girl. Not in the barely-disguised-misogyny way but in the was that she’s LITERALLY just a girl, she’s like sixteen, she’s a child, and she already spent her entire life cosplaying Atlas and having to be strong for her people, allowing her her emotions is not a terrible awful crime and it does not make her any less capable. If Varian and Hugo can be allowed their emotional complexities and hundreds of thousands of breakdowns and still be capable and ass-kicking then guess what, so does Nuru

rapunzel. rapunzel, i feel you. i understand that you’re lashing out because of demon magic and stress.

however.

you are talking to the man who chose to die for you.

i think he understands what a tough choice is.

me a while ago, seeing fanart of POC varian: that’s a neat concept!

me, getting back into this fandom: …HOLY SHIT WAIT that would add so much to s1. the persecution he faces from the king and his village. the way he’s vilified. even the s3 stuff, like how he has a fawn response around the mains and how hard he has to work for them in order to be treated like he belongs, though he’s apparently only paid for his efforts when he becomes the royal engineer-instead-of-alchemist… people who depict POC varian, you geniuses.

fanartists, i’m curious. did you factor in everything that canonically happens when you reimagined varian in that way, or did you make the drawings first?

(warning for a small essay in the tags)

just for clarification:

disliking parts of the way rapunzel’s character was handled in the show =/= disliking her.

movie!rapunzel means a lot to me personally, and i absolutely adore some aspects of her character in the show. i think she’s loving, creative, funny, intelligent, and she tries her best to help the people around her.

if i have a critique with her in the show, it’s because i believe that isn’t how she’d behave as someone who went through the events of the movie. or maybe i look at how she acts for one episode of the show, compare it to the foundation they’ve established in an earlier episode, and find that they contrast one another. my criticisms are for the inconsistent or out-of-character writing, not for rapunzel herself. i understand she has flaws; i just wish they were addressed properly and that she didn’t always have to be in the right.

you’re welcome to reblog this if you feel the same way.

disliking parts of the way rapunzel’s character was handled in the show =/= disliking rapunzel.

so weird when your brain just switches hyperfixations for a second. one moment you look at blorbo and are incandescent with joy. then you pick up other blorbo and the first doesn’t look so shiny. and then you are a monster.

i just wanted to be a regular fan i didn’t choose this

love when theres a character whose entire existence is spoiler tagged by default. go behind the curtain boy