My Not-Really-Love-Letter to TAR
Before anything else can be written, any heartfelt phrase coined, any true love made known, it must be made absolutely clear that I am not, and I repeat not, addicted to TAR. Though I often jokingly raise my hand in the Addicts Anonymous circle and gladly, nay, proudly claim whole-hearted dependence on a fictional world comprised of loving keystrokes, a myriad of animations, and bounteous imagination, it is not truly what I am addicted to.
Were I to take my seat in the well-loved theater chairs to face the stage in anticipation and wonderment, it would not be the painted masks nor the gilded costumes my heart would be given to. It is the performers with their effervescence and vibrant warmth filling and flowing from the garbs of ethereal characters that I would truly adore.
Puppets of the finest wood, dressed in the silks and satins of royalty, fluent in the arts of still life, can neither entrance nor enchant an audience without a mastermind of entertainment plucking at their strings with time-tempered skill and dexterity. Lines written by the greatest writers of legend are nothing more than words upon a page if never read or spoken.
A young yet powerful witch with a heart greater than a lion’s, a well-intentioned, blooming shifter, a broken but beautiful lycanthrope, a woman born from the ice itself, a pureblood of pure heart, an old yet young demi-goddess, an ever hyper zombie, an awkward embodiment, all these and more, my constant companions amongst these hallowed halls. Yet through their adventures and misfortunes, triumphs and downfalls, it is not the characters, the children beget by inspiration and imagination that I am truly enjoying. I am enjoying the brilliant players who breathe life into the animated puppets.
For you see, when all the masks are stripped away, the ballet shoes left in the studio, the garments cast aside, a puppet is nothing more than a wooden toy with no heart, soul, or mind. But when the characters are stripped away, carefully set aside for another day, the players are left as they are, for the world to see. That is what I have fallen in love with. For underneath the intricate layers, pasts, and personalities of the actors prancing about the stage lies a certain class of human I have found to be a cut - or even four - above the rest.
The ever-present camaraderie and sense of connection, through fights and trials, drama and stillness, always warms my heart. Something perhaps not always seen by those who look at them from afar, but from my perspective, this wonderful world we’ve created around ourselves, this haven, this sanctuary is filled with extraordinary people, the kind I rarely see in the world.
I am truly honored to call those a part of this wonderful group, this fantastic fantasy, this mystic realm of adventure and family, my companions, my friends, my loves. I can proudly say that if not for the men and woman behind the glitter, sequins, and stardust, I would not be who I am today.
So you see, it is not the gilded halls, painted puppets, nor the storylines I am addicted to. It is the people behind them that have captured my heart.