Call for Tenth Anniversary celebrations!

I haven't been active on this board in 7 (!!) years, but I rewatched TSOM recently and have a couple fic ideas circulating in my head now, so that's why I've been poking around here again lol. Anyway, hello to everyone!

I don't have any connection to the TSOM fandom on Twitter or Insta, but maybe it would be useful to crosspost work on Archive of our Own (AO3)? AO3 is steadily becoming a more popular fanfiction site than ff.net, though the TSOM catalogue on there is still fairly small. But for newer fic readers/writers who are probably more likely to check out AO3 first, it might help to post stories there and mention that they were inspired by the Proboards. Unlike ff.net, AO3 actually allows links to other websites, too!

From my personal experience, I still use ff.net, but I do prefer AO3 now because there are no ads and it's just generally easier to navigate. Plus, ff.net doesn't seem to be as well-maintained, so I think there are some concerns about its lifespan. That's part of why I decided to publish all my works on both websites. 

Here's information about how to make an account if anyone is interested : archiveofourown.org/faq/invitations 

Great story!! It is hard to get inside Georg's head, but you did it beautifully, touching on all of the emotional highlights of the film. The steps theme woven in was lovely. I especially liked that Maria was a high priestess on an altar as she looked down on him during The Apology. I also liked that she stitched his shattered heart back together - a good analogy for Maria who is such a talented seamstress. Agathe walking Maria down the aisle is brilliant! It allows for Agathe to be part of the celebration, and also allows Maria to not truly be alone. Well done!

Haha you read my mind utility_singer. That’s exactly what I had in mind, but then I got off track, kind of, by finding the discussions of whether E&G were ever intimate, and whether M&G waited until marriage, questions that I find fascinating (and that didn’t go on for 16 pages). But then I rethought it: those might be topics that upset an insta crowd. Maybe need something a little more unicorn and rainbow-y. If anyone has any suggestions about what questions might draw an audience without upsetting them, let me know!

I such a dinosaur tech wise, so I'm no help at all trying to get people over from other platforms. I've never been on most of them. Though, I have heard from people on this board and on ff.net that other platforms are not always as welcoming and nonjudgmental as I find this one to be. Maybe that is something to bring up? That people never try to out do each other here or never really have anything negative to say about anyone's comments or questions. I find when I am speaking to younger people phrase "safe space" often comes up. I find this forum to be a safe space to discuss TSOM. Maybe this is appealing?

Another gem, Indigo!

These are a few of my favorite things:
- I found the host's dry humor very entertaining. I liked that it started at a sing-a-long. Those are such fun!
- I'm glad Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich) is such an ambassador to the film. He always seems to say the right thing. I find him very likeable.
- It's surprising to me that Austrians have not come to embrace TSOM. Think of the tourism it has brought them - that alone should be enough to overlook the historical inaccuracies. I understand their desire to be viewed as never having been on the same side as the Nazis. Though, the film doesn't really show general public as being supportive does it? If anything, it shows a national hero as doing anything to oppose the Nazis, which I would think, everyone would love.
- It was interesting that in real life, Maria was actually the cold one, never having been loved, and Georg was the gentle one. They would have had to recast the film if they went at it this way. I can't see the loving CP coaxing the surly JA out of her shell. It was sweet to hear that hugs and kisses from the little ones meant so much to real life Maria who had never had any affection.
- Movie Georg makes a point of saying that his children don't sing in public. It is interesting that in real life, that is their career both in Europe and the US. Though, he himself was in the background, he clearly didn't oppose this idea, even before they needed the money. I wonder why they made movie Georg so against it. 
- Maria and Father Wasner wrote a love song together?!?
- I loved hearing from the surviving children! 97 year old Maria was so fabulous still playing her accordion! 
- All of the kids played instruments in real life. I like that. Though, claiming that 7 children could learn to sing and play instruments in a matter of weeks would have been overkill in the film. 
- There was a really interesting line in there about research killing the story. It does starts to cast a little shadow on the story when you learn the harsh truths about the family being forced by Maria to continue singing when they really didn't want to. Many of them didn't marry because Maria had them scared of boys. Being ultra religious, it is not surprising to me that Maria wanted them to go to the convent. That was normal in earlier generations of my family as well, but if after spending time at the convent, you decided that it was not your calling, you were supposed to get married and have many children. It is surprising to me that Maria did not raise her girls that same way. The kids seemed almost afraid of their mom, even though she has been gone for many years at this point, and they themselves are elderly people - no longer little kids that can be pushed around by their parent.
- Did Rosemarie have a menorah necklace on? They just showed it for a second. Maybe all of those years of daily mass and trips to the convent pushed her away from Catholicism all together? 
- I'm glad the play was so well received by the Austrian audience in the end. 

Also - I was just thinking that if you want someone on Instagram to advertise this forum, Instagram is such an image-based platform that the best way would be to make a graphic that the user can share. The graphic could just give a little overview of what the forum is all about, how to join, maybe some short member testimonials? If needed, it could be multiple slides. The important thing is that it's aesthetically pleasing because it'll be on Instagram lol. 

Canva is the go-to website for making social media graphics because it's free and pretty easy to use. It even has templates specifically sized to be used as Instagram Posts or Stories. Posts are what stay on a user's main feed and never go away unless the user decides to delete it. Stories, on the other hand, disappear after 24 hours. So it just depends on what whoever you're talking to, augiesannie, wants to do. It could even be reused on Twitter, since Tweets with an image will be more likely to catch the eye.

Not sure I'm the best person to make a graphic because I haven't been around at all for the better part of a decade haha, but I'd be happy to give help/advice!

I'M RUNNING OUT OF JUNE!!! why is time going by so fast suddenly?? I'm going to work on something. It might just be an update to an existing WIP (don't faint). It won't be great but it'll be... something. <3

...and if this has got you thinking about the wedding, here is a dreamy drone video of the cathedral and lake at Mondsee, where the wedding was filmed. I just wish they had used this clip in the film before the wedding, it would have added to the mood beautifully.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYd9Qc5Xolk

Love that they used the wedding march from the movie as the background for this clip. What amazing scenery! I wonder if they shied away from using aerial footage of this cathedral in the film because it would have made it more obvious that they weren't really at the abbey (and they had to be at the abbey in movie universe because we see Maria get ready and the sisters at the back of the church). Though most people (except micro analyzers like everyone on this forum) would have just been so entranced by the spectacular view of the cathedral and town that they wouldn't have noticed that it didn't match up with the shots of Salzburg from the beginning. 

Where are you finding all of these clips, Indigo? I have never seen any of them and I search for SOM stuff on YouTube often. Great finds!

Just to pick out one of many interesting thoughts here, it's a good question why they made Georg so opposed to his children singing in public? (Especially since he apparently was OK with their singing at the party). Maybe it's partly an aristocratic snob thing. Or maybe it's to make the last minute subterfuge with Zeller - "we're not escaping! We're going to sing at the festival!" - especially notable since it turns Georg's refusal on its head and becomes their redemption.

I loved this story. And wow, a 24 yo working in publishing full time, that is impressive! Always happy to see you here!

Just happy to say on the last day of our Tenth Anniversary month, that we have exceeded 30,000 posts! Congratulations SOM lovers!

Darn, thoughts-of-joy-dreams-of-love, and I tested that link! User name - augiesannie.

I'll keep an eye out for that!

I originally was going to play with Twitter too, but for various reasons that has proved more complicated for me. Even Instagram I am doing much more slowly than I wanted because life things are getting in the way. Haven't given up though!