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WARNING: Personal politics ahead... So the petition against Trump making a state visit now has over 1.5m signatures. For context, the UK has a population of about 52m people who are over the age of fourteen. This evening, I was off out protesting in Sheffield. For such short notice there were a lot of people, so many we closed the main road in front of the town all. At one point I was out on the edges, when a woman asked me what it was about, since she had just finished work. I told her; so she joined in. Of all the slogans I heard chanted tonight, “Trump – better out than in!” is probably my favourite. Followed closely by the “Theresa the appeaser!” mentions from the speakers. Also memorable is the moment when a girl stood up in front of the microphone and declared: “I am a muslim woman! And an activist!” to rapturous applause. I’ve got to admit, I have (especially in my younger years) participated in many anti-racist and anti-fascist protests, marches and rallies, but this is the first where I felt protest and civic duty really merged together into one.

Well, the most recent update at least put everything together instead of separating them so… From the update that caused me to finally make a post in a forum to this one, things actually got more convenient. Either way I enjoy the site; I just felt the need to vent after updates repeatedly made things harder to browse. At least I now know there’s a reason for it (mobile users) as opposed to arbitrary changes. Thanks for the response.

I’ve been remiss in starting this here, but anyway… Review replies for The Lost and the Hidden City: From The_CL on October 14, 2016 Okay, finally got around to reviewing this. Sorry it took so long. I have to admit, I don't know these two elves but with the two of you writing, I have to say, I don't care! So far so good and I'm sure this is going to just get better and better. On to the next chapter. CL Hi, CL! It took me a while to reply, so… I’m glad you’re enjoying! It’s nicely fluffy, which is a change for Pip and me. But I think it will be fun, with enough drama to keep it from being cloying. From ANON - wanderingaddict on January 27, 2017 BW I was talking to shadowknight and then decided to look you up and HOLY COW how is there only ONE review for this nuggety, sweet-chocolatey treasure of goodness?? Hi other author, Pippy, I say the same thing to you as well. I've only just read the first chapter here but this sates a deep, thirsty need for the Tolkien world I always wanted but never actually had. Thank you both! Hi, waddict! I am so glad you did look me up, not that I’ve been hugely prolific online, but you know. It’s always something. But pip and I were talking about maybe writing a collab, and here we are. And it’s amazingly fun to write, so I’m really happy that you’re enjoying it (because to tell you the truth, I’d write it even if I was the only reader, but it’s nice to have readers). We wanted a pairing that wasn’t one of the usual match-ups, and there they were… Gildor Inglorion and Glorfindel. Just practically gift-wrapped for us… From ANON - wanderingaddict on January 27, 2017 alrighty, up through chapter 5: gotta say I'm terribly amused by the two of them just wiling away a few decades doing nothing but boinking each other. personally I was pretending a few weeks had gone past between each chapter and, since elves move so damn slowly, they were taking their sweeeeeeeeet long time just eating, sleeping, sexing, then doing it again. haha lulz I really can't underscore enough how much I like having gay elves in LotR. hopefully in a concrit term, I'd say that it'd have been nice to get a little bit more of an intro into Gildor before running with him. it wasn't until chapter 3 that I thought to look him up because I'd conflated him as Glorfindel in BOTH places in my memory and so had just assumed he was an OC! Glorfindel had some nice nods to his accomplishments and unique status btw if some more of that had been woven in for Gildor it'd have just let me get a better handle on who he was right at the start. doesn't distract from my enjoyment as-is however! I gotta say chapter 5 and I am iiiiiitchin' to see Gildor just straight up murder Glorfindel's ass with whatever he has to. Glorfindel is so dom, such a grabby tease - it gets to me! I gotta see the tables turned! Go for it Gildor I'm rooting for you! tear that big warrior-elf ass apart! I bet he could take A LOT. There isn’t a huge trove of canon about Gildor, honestly, so that was one of the reasons we went for him. Glorfindel is obviously much better known—slayer of balrogs, returned from the Halls of the Dead, and all that. So we wanted someone who we could play with and not trip over too much canon. Gildor was perfect—a Noldo, one of the Exiles who followed Fëanor out of Valinor to Middle Earth. He’d have been a contemporary of Glorfindel, before Glorfindel’s fall, and the plot bunnies went mad. And keep reading (I know you have!) because Gildor is not quite as passive as he seems at first. A little bedazzled by Glorfindel, to be sure, but certainly not to the point of becoming a cipher, to be sure! (And read lots of pip’s stuff. Some of it can be dark, but gods, she is an amazing writer!)

Chapter IV/V: Glad to have you back, Pippy :). And, as always, thanks for the review. I kind of had a lack of inspiration today, so going to re-read the previous, I was thrilled to see a new one, although the Muse is cursing you over the whip cracks. Ok, so the lovers have all be split up and gone their seperate ways, but I don't think that's the end of it by any means. One of them is going to crack, but who? And what will they say about the others? I'd never spoil an ending, but……… You'll have to keep reading to find out, lol. I will say that I hope things don't disappoint. So the first one we see is Hanna, and I am dreading what she will see... I am actually hoping we will be whisked away to follow one of the other characters in the next chapter. I've read enough to know what went on in those places, especially things that were regarded as "entertainment"... It's a form of mass hysteria Very dark and gripping. While writing this, I've been plagued with the moral quandaries of how far can I go, how much can I show? Not because I think people can't handle it (I have the contro tag, so that should, hopefully, prepare people…), but more out of respect for survivors of this terrible time. But I won't ruin what comes up. Btw, I like the oblique references to the Treaty of Versailles and the harsh terms within it. Any student of the history of Hitler's rise to power and the causes of the second world war can't ignore what that did to Germany. Thanks. I struggled with the references, to be honest. I definitely wanted them, since, as you said, they are a direct reason for Hitler's rise and Germany's consequent role in the Second World War. Yet, first draft was too blatant and sounded a lot like a cartoon cut out. Second draft had less, but didn't hold enough conviction to me. This is the final one and I was a little worried I had made it unrealistic in its presentation. I'm glad to see that you didn't think so. Sociology and economic theory occupy opposite ends of the same spectrum. Where they meet, deep hypocrisies are revealed, and the extremes begin to be expressed in the psychology and politics of the masses and of nations. I really believe we are in that same position today, or we are pretty damn close to it. Of that, I can only agree. Let’s just hope history doesn’t come full circle.

The new layout was done to accommodate mobile users, and the side menus, while admittedly more convenient from my perspective as a devoted desktop user and as someone who trawls through every archive while moderating, were not going to work. There’s always some give and take, and as much as we’d like to, we’re not going to please everyone. However, we’re hoping this makes it easier for the growing number of our members who want to do everything on their mobile devices. The rest of us will eventually get used to the extra steps (says the cranky old dragon who still uses a Galaxy IIIs phone on purpose).