#poppet and widget

[the-angry-acrobat]

poppet, with bootes or pavo 🐈

[peppermintfeather]

11:54 p.m. October 13: Happy birthday, Widget

Six minutes before midnight, Winston Aidan Murray is born.

-"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

[behindlenses]

Guys can we please please talk about The Night Circus? A beautifully constructed storyline, amazing world building, interesting characters, developed magic system. The story is also interesting, deep, funny (in the right amount) and needed.

It is my favorite book of all time and I have not seen many people talking about this masterpiece of a book. It is also hard to find in stores (at least in Brazil). I need to talk about this book.

PS: Widget is my boyfriend

[anonsally]

Widget and Poppet

photos posted for @destinationtoast

[do-you-know-these-multiples]

[olive-man]

i hate whenever i read an amazing book there’s no fandom to ever talk about/draw stuff for. it’s like looking at a desert wasteland trying to find a tinge of human civilization

[harumwahsa]

Reading Invisible Kitties by Yu Yoyo, and it reminds me of Widget and Poppet. I think they would love this book. 🥹🥹

[courfaeriedust]

Alexander H— and the Merlin Story

So almost anyone who has talked to me about The Night Circus has been treated to my pet theory that Alexander is Merlin, which I’ve never really explained. I’ve changed this slightly based on my latest reread, and I figured it was time to finally write it down. My theory is no longer that Alexander is Merlin. It’s that Merlin is Alexander.

So, first off: the story of Merlin in the Night Circus is usually there as a metaphor for being trapped. Widget tells the story to Poppet, and they have a conversation about whether it’s such a bad thing to be trapped somewhere (which is heartbreaking because they’re 8 at the time of this scene, but that’s another post.) It also comes up later, when (spoiler) Tsukiko intends to imprison Marco in the Bonfire.

Tsukiko doesn’t call it the Merlin story, though. She calls it the story of the Wizard in the Tree. And Kiko always, always knows more than she is saying. Now that could just be that — it could just be about entrapment and confinement. But the ground is soft and I’m here to dig.

Here are some facts about Alexander:

He doesn’t have a shadow

He doesn’t interact with the world as others do (as a child Marco never manages to be as silent as him in museums; at the party to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the Night Circus Alexander doesn’t stir up the rose petals littering the floor as everyone else does)

He is very, very old (though not immortal)

He is always grey. He’s introduced as the Grey Man, and he’s never associated with colour (aside from maybe the black cradle he sends for the twins, and the black rose at Tara’s funeral. However, when it’s just him everything associated with him is grey.)

Alexander has seen the decline of magic in the world. This is inferred, I grant, but he’s very dismissive when Widget says that there’s still some magic about, as if to him it is nothing. And although we never actually see him do much magic (he binds Celia, manipulates Tara, and teaches Marco, but that’s all I believe we see directly), his power feels present.

Following from that, very few people remember his name. Is this the manipulation Marco picked up? It could be. It could also be that he’s not fully there. Furthermore, his name isn’t really Alexander.

He is, at heart, a kind man. (This isn’t relevant to the theory, I was just surprised by how often it showed up. Anyway.)

I have always taken these things to mean he attempted what Hector did, but much more successfully. He disdains what Hector tried to do, though — he’s uninterested in immortality, and unimpressed that Hector attempted that. And so, I posit: what if Alexander did this to himself not as a choice, but because the other option was being a tree? What if the tree is his touchstone, just as Celia and Marco’s is the Circus, just as Hector doesn’t have one and is therefore diluted? A smaller area, and presumably stronger magic (assuming this is long ago when magic was more than it is today), would make him more able to interact with the world than any of the other three. This explains his lack of shadow, and his minimal interaction with the world.

It’s unclear how old Alexander is; the only real clue we get is Widget at the end saying that “if I calculated the ages of everyone I have behind this proposition, the total might trump your own age.” That doesn’t actually help that much, because we don’t know how many the Circus number, and theoretically Rêveurs could count amongst that number. So he’s very old, but human. I have just now realised that Hector is one of his first students, which means he can’t be that much younger, so what I’m about to say won’t hold up with this revelation but hey, we got here already so I’ll keep going. Trees can live a lot longer than a regular human. Trees can lose branches in the way that some parts of Alexander’s history are lost to Widget. Tree growth is non-linear, much like the circles and overlaps Widge sees in his history too.

Okay, back to things I won’t immediately poke holes in myself: Alexander lived through the downfall of magic. And what if that’s because it happened to him? I do think this makes Hector the beautiful student he told all his secrets too, which is again another post for another time, but the tale it has become doesn’t have to be the tale of how it started. Hector is, frankly, awful. He’s a horrible man. Can you see him imprisoning his teacher to get more power for himself? Easily. Now Alexander isn’t much better, but he claims he was a romantic “in his youth”, and also, when he gets the chance to be he is so often kind. He tells Celia she’s an Angel. He takes Marco out of an orphanage for his own ends, yes, but also to give Marco a better life. He does care, deeply, about Marco. He tries to save Herr Thiessen. He has many many moments of small kindnesses throughout the book. Can you not imagine him trying his best to share his knowledge of magic? Can you not imagine him settling for more knowledge by way of a challenge, instead of enacting revenge?

(Hey look at that, Alexander’s kindness did turn out to be relevant!)

There’s also something about young Celia pointing out that Alexander is to him as Prospero is to Hector. I don’t know what to make of that — perhaps Alexander’s true name is just old, and would draw too much attention. When Marco summons him, he inscribes symbols in the shape of an A, though. The Night Circus feels like it takes place in a world where true names have power.

In conclusion: I think Alexander is the basis of the Merlin story, and textually there is little that denies that. I hope you’ve enjoyed this freshly ploughed ground; feel free to plant seeds in it should you wish.

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

Book Siblings

Round 1

[the-angry-acrobat]

my poppet and widget murray headcanons:

poppet murray: 

— she loves sweets, like candies and fruit 

— she’s outgoing and spirited 

— she sees the beauty in everything 

— she finds herself in stories because she has grown up with them, and widget comes up with so many for her 

— she loves dancing 

— she’s so unique and beautiful, she’s like a moon during the day

— she always finds bailey’s jokes funny (because she loves him lol)

— she loves storms 

— she and widget are never seen without a kitten (this is canon lol)

— she visits chandresh when the circus is nearby la maison lefevré to see how he is, ask about how the construction on his house is going, and to teach the kitten Ara new tricks 

widget murray: 

— he loves reading about mythical creatures 

— he often randomly starts talking about stories and philosophies and phenomenons and anything else under the sun. he has no idea that poppet and bailey love hearing him talk and listen intently every time 

— he’s good at comforting people

— he loves cake (wait this is canon)

— he comes up with stories specially for his favourite people, such as obviously his sister, and now bailey too

[peppermintfeather]

12:07 a.m. October 14: Happy birthday, Poppet

Seven minutes after midnight, his sister, Penelope Aislin Murray, follows.

-"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

[anonsally]

Recent photos

One of my adaptor cables seems to be broken, so I couldn't transfer photos from the camera to the computer for a while there.

Top row: Poppet and Widget napping in parallel on top of the fence (photo taken through kitchen window, so not very sharp)

Row 2: A neighbor cat; a branch with green blossoms

Row 3: Chubby squirrel having a snack

Row 4: song sparrow

[fluentmoviequoter]

Didn't get much progress this weekend bc I have a migraine (if my coworker got me sick I will burn down the building istg) but here are some thoughts on what little I did manage to read!

I love how even the narrator can't say his name but Celia says it so casually

"I'm in love with her" "sorry to hear that" is objectively the funniest part of this book yet, grey mystery dad is savage fr

This is gonna end in heartbreak huh. This is why we can't have nice things

I feel so bad for Isobel, her bf forgot about her then cheated on her and is now ignoring her ouch

And I love when someone randomly notices mystery dad is mysterious. But he better not TOUCH these twins like he did the other twins.

This was so many thoughts for reading like one tiny short chapter lol but yeah

Hope you feel better soon (and completely support your decision if someone got you sick)!! Thank you so much for the update!🥰

Celia is the best! She knows he likes being so mysterious and does not care at all. Just drops his full name without hesitation or remorse!🤣

“I am sorry to hear that” is by far one of his best lines. He’s such a terrible person but that’s still funny.

I honestly didn’t really sympathize with Isobel but the way she was treated was unfair. Her character is really important to Marco’s development so I think it’s really interesting that despite her role, she ends up separated from him!!

Poppet and Widget!!! They’re amazing and I love them. I especially appreciate that scene for the fact that he notices mystery dad has no shadow but then just leaves. He says something so revealing and disappears. Almost… as if mystery dad doesn’t matter to Widget👀 (that’s not a spoiler I promise, just appreciation for where the twins’ focus is!).

“You are bound to this. To her.” The lead up to the ending is so mysterious and suspenseful; I love it!! I’m not going to comment on anything about the ending but your annotation about it made me laugh!🤭

[lcstpaths]

IF HE HAD PRETENDED NOT TO KNOW HER ,  she supposes that would have been fair .  the thing about having so many gaps in her memories is that it breeds a lot of time and need for reflection .  and more often than she’d like to think ,  her thoughts trail back to him .  clipped words and harsh scoffs .  dismissing laughs and cutting comments .  there’s no mistaking the way his cuts to one of the performers ,  the shared glance ,  the slight tug .  he likes her .  her little brother has a crush ,  or a girlfriend ,  or an infatuation --- and she doesn’t even know the girl’s name .  bailey leads her down a few paths ,  past a few tents ,  and when they finally come to a stop ,  it’s quieter .   ❝ something happened and i don’t know how to explain it , ❞  it’s probably the best place to start .  she won’t do him the disservice of assuming that he’ll care to catch up on small talk and pleasantries .  blue eyes flit over him ,  teeth pulling at the inside of her lower lip as she assesses .  he hasn’t aged a day .  and to be fair ,  neither has she .  not in so many years .   ❝ you were always better at these things than i am .  the... mysterious things . ❞

IT'S ALMOST SURREAL, having her stand in front of him. And the idea of Caroline - the one who never for a moment seemed to need him around, much less need his opinion on things? He wasn't sure what to make of it, really. But that doesn't stop him from feeling like he needs to figure out a way to help her. She might not realize why he's such a good person to ask, but he is, and he has an entire circus full of people who might be able to help him figure out what's going on if he can't do it by himself. "Start with telling me what you know," he says, voice soft as he leans himself against one of the tents. It's only canvas, he knows, but as his body weight leans against it, he can feel the magic of the circus turning it into something solid behind him, and he knows that somewhere, Celia and Marco know exactly what's happening. Poppet probably does, too. She probably knew about it before Caroline even came. "You don't need to explain it. Just what you know. And we can go from there." And what she didn't quite remember - well, maybe Widget could help with that.

@seesgood continued from here.

[bellandora]

Okay, I’ll bite. Thanks to @medusapelagia for the tag.

My brain worm is an AU of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern with Nancy as Celia as Robin as Marco. Trained as magicians since childhood to compete in a deadly battle of wits and magic, Robin and Nancy get recruited to a magical circus and fall in love. Imagine if you will, Nancy being a master illusionist, wearing gorgeous outfits of her own creation, and Robin as an assistant to the circus’s producer. Everyone assumes that Robin is engaged to Steve, one of the performers, but the two of them quickly discover that they’re better off as friends. El and Will are Widget and Poppet of course with either Dustin or Max as Bailey.

Wiggly Wednesday 🧠🪱

The super sweet @just-my-latest-hyperfixation tagged me last week..... but I forgot! And thank you to @slippy-slip who tagged me today!

So today's brain worm is short and easy: Winter Soldier Steve and Captain America Eddie.

I have a very vague plot in the back of my mind!

Steve, who somehow gets trapped in the Upside Down after the tunnels and is “rescued” by the Russian who experiments on him transforming him into a cold-blood assassin, and Eddie who, after being attacked by the demobats, develops super powers and becomes the government number one weapon against the Upside Down monsters.

There's something about golden-boy and incredible babysitter Steve who becomes a monster and the local drug dealer Eddie who becomes a loved superhero that I find super intriguing!!!

My tags this week are @sidekick-hero, @danadaria, @cuips-not-cute, @bellandora, @soaringornithopter and everyone else who would like to join!

[min-unicorn]

MY FAVOURITE TWINS#5

(Poppet and Widget Murray from The Night Circus )

Winston Aidan Murray is born six minutes before midnight on the 13th, and Penelope Aislin Murray is born at 12:07 on the 14th.