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itsclydebitches · 1 year

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I'm not the same anon but I do think that keeley repeatedly saying "we're just friends" for an entire episode only for people to completely ignore her words the moment roy says he wants something more is... fucked up, to say the least

I wad afraid of speaking up because I thought I was the only one that saw it lol

I too looked at her expression, the way she says "roy...", how fast she lets go of his hand and how cheery she is towards jamie, how even roy notices and focuses on her letting go of his hand so fast (because viewers are meant to notice it as well!)

But people just went "omg she touched his hand! who cares that she spent an entire episode saying she wants him as a friend and looks almost panicked at that moment! she clearly wants to jump back in a romantic relationship with him!"

I felt crazy lol but now I feel validated

The show tried to show a strong and independent keeley... only for her to enter yet another relationship and end up needing rebecca's financial help again.

A huge issue I have with the show is that keeley's story in each season revolves around her romantic relationships. And people eat it up because "uwu ships!"

I think that in a show that gave us such badass female characters like rebecca, sassy, nora, sharon, etc., what they did to keeley in season 3 is a shame and a disservice to her character

Season 3 was perfect to show her as the strong, independent woman keeley proclaims herself to be in season 1

She could have brought some of that "Lasso effect" to her new office, become a badass boss and entrepreneur

Instead once again her story revolves around her romantic interests, she loses the firm, is betrayed by a close friend, and has fan fave roy pressure her to get back with him as soon as she's out of an abusive relationship

The only true moment of brilliance I saw from her was in 3x08 when her pics and videos were leaked and she refused to make a public apology and stood her ground (roy's behavior was quite abysmal right there btw)

It's true that this doesn't feel like a "last season of the series" storyline for keeley

It's looks like a really good setup for a spinoff, maybe?

I really hope she ends season 3 as a happy single woman focused of rebuilding her career

Woo feeling validated in fandom interpretations! I know that feeling oh so well lol

As said, I need to give the last episode a re-watch, especially since I personally haven’t come across anyone making light of Keeley’s apparent discomfort. Which isn’t to say that those posts don’t exist, just that they haven’t made their way to my pocket of the fandom and thus I’m not really in a position to comment on their validity (or lack thereof).

However, I do disagree with the take that Keeley being in relationships this season is a “disservice” to her character. Honestly, I think both you and the previous anon are coming from a rather narrow idea of what a “strong independent woman” looks like. It’s an incredibly understandable viewpoint given media history -- wherein woman are written primarily as sex objects and/or fridged lovers for man pain -- but in this case I think those expectations are blinding fans to Keeley’s canonical complexity.

As an important reminder to readers in general, Season 3 did not suddenly arrive with romance plotlines that derailed Keeley’s otherwise good writing. Romance and sexuality are baked into her core characterization, right from Episode One. So yes, if you're not at all a fan of that characterization then Keeley is never going to work well for you. Which implies then that the issue has less to do with tweaking Keeley's plot and more the desire for a totally different character. Because this is a woman who prioritizes sex and her romantic interests. She is introduced as being (sexually) intimidated by Rebecca, talking about how hot she is, how she’s totally thought about the two of them together, and praising her topless photos. Keeley consistently dresses in outfits that ping-pong between traditionally sexy and coy, schoolgirl looks. She’s dating Jamie at the show’s start, talks about how she wants more than to just keep dating hot footballers younger than her, and then finds that "more" by a) becoming Rebecca’s pseudo-protege and b) dating the older, mature Roy whose football career is coming to a close. But the point is that Keeley has always been sexual, has always been interested in romance, and has (nearly) always been after Roy in particular. Season One is peppered with that attraction, from her impressed “Holy shit” when he headbutts Colin, to making fun of him while he stands outside in the parking lot without his shirt.

Continuing this trend of Keeley being interested in sex/romance in Season Three is only a problem if we think it’s inherently bad for that to be a primary focus in her life... and I don’t think it is. Because otherwise the only issue would be if Ted Lasso wasn't capable of writing women except as arm candy for men... and the show quite obviously is. Keeley’s sexuality becomes a unique characteristic of her personality precisely because the other women are written as having their own, differing priorities and interests: Rebecca is the high-powered woman whose divorce is a symbol of freedom, Nora is still young and has other things on her mind, Sally likes casual sex but isn’t looking for a relationship (at least not with Ted), Sharon is a no-nonsense professional who has a split-second scene with a new boyfriend, Mae has no romantic prospects at all, etc. Personally, I find it to be a reductive reading to take a woman who has been shown as a romance-focused, sex-positive individual from day one, who has ALSO achieved so much outside of those interests, and then claim that because romance remains a priority in her life she’s not strong/independent. Really, how much does a woman have to achieve before she’s “allowed” to be written as putting relationships first? This is the Feminism 101 reminder that if you give women the means to be anything they want... a lot of them will want to be wives, mothers, hookers, secretaries, etc.

More to the point, Keeley does achieve a lot this season. You say that you wish Keeley had become a badass boss and entrepreneur... but she is. She was those things last season too. She runs a company and had a plot wherein she learned how to be a better boss after hiring her friend turned out to be a mistake (an arc that I think parallels Ted figuring out how to bench Roy). She's literally a boss and literally a badass, so what else does she need to do on screen to convey that? You say that Roy “pressured” her to get back with him, but he doesn’t. He intends to leave a letter while she’s away and Keeley surprises him. Keeley asks him to read it aloud. Keeley calls him back when Roy starts walking away. That’s all a moment of agency on her part and I don’t think we should deny her that just because we’re used to women being pressured into relationships in other stories/real life. That doesn’t mean that’s what’s happening here. Yes, Roy really stepped in it when he asked Keeley who the video was for, but that’s the entire point of the scene. He fucks up, immediately realizes he fucked up, and Keeley walks away knowing that she doesn’t owe him an answer. That’s a scene written for Keeley, not for Roy, and it’s not evidence that he’s inherently bad for her. It’s only evidence that people make mistakes and should be forgiven when they try to make amends -- Ted Lasso’s bread and butter.

You say you wished Keeley had brought the Lasso Way to her firm, but she does. Granted, it’s by no means as extensive as Ted’s achievement, but why would we expect it to be when Keeley isn’t the show’s main character? (Nor is she Ted.) What else is her relationship with Barbara though if not a miniature version of what Ted has done with the team? Here’s a standoffish, isolated individual who doesn’t feel like a part of the group. Now let’s humanize her with snow globes. Now let’s have her warming to Keeley over a series of small but significant interactions. Now let’s have the emotional conclusion where Keeley demonstrates that she’s paying attention to her interests (collecting), is willing to accommodate her quirks (I need to pay you), and the end result is Barbara returning because where else would she want to work after all that kindness? This is shown on an even smaller scale with the awkward guy in the office who explicitly tells Keeley that she’s the nicest boss he’s ever had. Again, there aren’t episodes worth of this development, but I think that speaks more to these being side-characters in a B-Plot than it does Keeley’s supposed failure.

Yes, she receives help from Rebecca at the end... but she was receiving help from Jack before. Keeley is not (yet) in a position to stand completely on her own with the firm and even if she was, why would she want to? That’s not Ted Lasso’s approach. The victory here is in having her best friend supporting her when, as Rebecca points out, that help amounts to chump-change for her (seriously, she was casually buying a horse last episode. She can afford this), rather than being beholden to a stranger/abusive-ex. And you say that Keeley’s only true moment of brilliance is when she stands her ground regarding the video... which is a plot-line that revolves around her sexuality. That just emphasizes that, as said, sex and romance has been a key part of Keeley’s story since the start and just because some shows navigate that in a demeaning, insulting way doesn’t mean that’s inherently the case. As demonstrated, having the woman make a sex vid that gets leaked can lead to a fantastic, empowering plot.

Idk I obviously have a lot of thoughts about this, but primarily I’m uncomfortable with this generalized takeaway that Story About Women Having Relationships = Them Being Weak/It's Bad Writing. Especially when Keeley’s romance this season was queer. That representation, to my mind, outweighs any potential harm of getting another romance-focused plotline for a woman. But I don’t see it as inherently harmful? This is all a core part of Keeley’s character, so if fans dislike it... they just dislike Keeley. There's nothing wrong with that, but this is the woman who loves masturbating to a video of her boyfriend crying and was dead-set on a super sexy Christmas until Phoebe needed her help. Sex and romance are key parts of who Keeley is, without those things solely defining her. Plus, notably, the rest of the cast has been focused on romance too. Ted is out there hiring private investigators over Michelle’s potential engagement. Rebecca has an (emotionally) hot night with the boat dude and is still coming to terms with everything surrounding Rupert. Sam is still clearly pining for her at least a little. Beard remains immersed in his own abusive relationship. Colin wants nothing more than to be able to kiss his fellow after a game. Even Trent, if read subtextually, has upended his entire LIFE out of a love of Ted.

And of course Roy, when not doing generic football things, has spent the whole season likewise thinking about Keeley: here’s the hilarious moment when everyone reacts to their breakup (a scene that heavily sells their Happily Ever After for the viewer. If the entire cast is reacting with this much horror and shock, you’re supposed to want them together). Here he is talking to Jamie about her dating someone else. Here he is putting his foot in it because of jealousy. Here’s the love letter. Roy’s characterization this season has revolved around Keeley just as much as Keeley’s has revolved around him and Jack. So even if Keeley didn’t have a unique history and characterization surrounding her romances, it doesn’t feel fair to say she’s somehow being done a disservice when the whole cast is grappling with various, romance-focused conflicts. Ted Lasso is a story about love in all its forms and I for one am pretty damn happy with how they’ve written Keeley's brand of love. The show said that you can be a boss ass bitch AND sexually active AND prioritizing finding the love of your life; you don’t have to choose. So I’m a little protective when fans frame it like Keeley does, in fact, have to choose. If she’s in romances than she’s no longer independent and strong and powerful... which simply isn’t true.

That narrow perspective is, I think, potentially more of a problem than fans who ship her with Roy when, clearly, the show wants you to ship her with Roy. That’s their B-Plot since day one. That’s what Ted faints over and Beards screams out a disbelieving “What?!” The characters ship it too. Are there structural problems in media where women are frequently denied agency and are reduced solely to a man’s love interest? Yeah, but we need to read the room a bit too. I think acting like fans are bad for prioritizing their relationship in a show that has consistently prioritized their relationship is a bit like walking into that Rom-Com and going, “Ugh, can you believe the woman is falling for another man? That’s all women do in stories anymore! She’s just pining after and flirting with and eventually marrying this guy, it's so sad." Like... it's a romance. Sure, we can unpack how this characterization feeds into other stories and even the prevalence of the genre itself, but that doesn't erase the fact that this is a romance and having a character fall in love is the entire point. Keeley is likewise a romance-focused character with a romantic subplot who also does a lot of other, cool, non-romance things throughout the show. That’s been Ted Lasso’s genre/vibe since the start, so wanting something different is an individual preference, not a failure of the story. No one has to like Keeley or what they're doing with her, obviously, but in this case the show has not promised something it didn't deliver on.

#Ted Lasso #Keeley Jones #mymetas

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lover-of-mine · 6 months

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yeah i hope she doesn’t move in but i have a feeling she’ll at least start to? or he’ll just ask her or something? even if it doesn’t actually happen in the end

i see people saying it’s on brand for eddie, like he goes all in with someone and maybe this will teach him to slow down and have fun instead of getting serious too quickly. but to me it would just feel more like the shitty eddie characterization we’ve seen/are seeing from the writers. i just know they might explain eddie having marisol around chris so much and/or asking her to live with them after only however many months (unlike what we’ve seen before from him with ana and even shannon) as just part of him ‘growing’ ‘learning about relationships’ 'being a better partner' and whatever else was said in interviews

honestly episode 4 and the leaks from episode 5 (if true) feel like such a world away from episode 1. they started so well, what is happening??

I really hope the leaks aren't real because I'm gonna legit be like ????? Because with the way Ryan was talking about having fun and figuring stuff and legit how he was giddy talking about Buck and Eddie to have Eddie be like "move in with me" to Marisol would be so weird. Because, yeah, Eddie does go all in, and he does overcorrect, but to have Eddie invite someone to move in, someone who still only exists as a love interest in flashbacks, who's only talked about in terms of babysitting Chris would be so out of the left field. It would be the most out of pocket thing they ever made Eddie do. And I would legit be worried about the future of his character if the writers are treating him like this. I hope the leaks are wrong. And if they aren't that she says no. Because, if not then what the fuck are they doing with Eddie? And why are we keeping the homophobe?

#like seriously #whats happening #911 #i really need a tag for asks

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kyogre-blue · 4 months

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Arlecchino's banner is ending in a couple hours, and the second half is a skip for me, so here's the 4.6 rundown:

C6 Gorou from event (FINALLY)

C5 Amber and C6 Lisa from shop

C6 Xiangling (whatever) -> but it does mean C6 Amber in October will be the last constellation I can get from starglitter shop

Qiqi at 57 pulls (50/50 loss)

another 50 pulls on guarantee, with no result

Arlecchino's spear and Lyney's bow from weapon banner

C0 Chevreuse from weapon banner

The C0 Chevreuse is huge and worth the weapon banner, really. She's the only 4 star I wanted in Fontaine. My actual goal was Lyney's bow which I use on Childe. I think it actually looks pretty nice on him because of the colors, somewhat better than Polar Star, and since I mostly use him for overworld, the 10% movement speed with no conditions is nice.

I didn't get Arlecchino, in the end, but I'm basically guaranteed whoever I decide to get next. Really hoping that either Childe comes back soon or there's an early Natlan 5 star that I want. Otherwise, having the high pity might become a problem at some point.

To get that nice even roll number, I ended up doing acts 1 through 4 of Fontaine, though I'm not going to bother with act 5 for now. It's bound to be really long. This already unlocked the Fontaine commissions and reputation anyway, so that will get me some of the achievements I'm missing (currently at 1208 achievements), the updraft gadget, and the furnishing blueprints for Navia's and Arlecchino's teapot sets. So that's nice, I guess.

4.7 is looking like a full skip on main, and for alt... I do want to get Alhaitham before he goes to chronicled, but my alt has no savings, so I don't see it happening unless I am just obscenely, improbably lucky.

Speaking of 4.7, there's going to be a new permanent endgame mode, which looks like it was designed specifically to piss me off, since it has forced trial characters. Cool :) I hate it :) It'll replace one of the two Abyss resets per month, so I guess I can just log in once a month now, haha...

The Natlan leaks aren't really looking much better, though they're just subjective opinions about the exploration, which isn't very reliable. But if what they're saying is true, I'm not really excited for it. I didn't like Remuria exploration at all.

Additionally, the game has started to lag and freeze more. I know the issue is probably partly because of Youtube. I usually play some video in the background when grinding and doing dailies, and Youtube has been fucking around a lot, which probably causes problems for Genshin as well, but it doesn't really matter when the issue does exist. Given the the system requirements are supposedly going up for Natlan, I can only expect it to get worse.

It's going to be funny if what gets me to finally quit Genshin is that it becomes too unplayable lmao

#playing genshin

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system-of-a-feather · 2 years

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Hi! What is a substitute memory (if you don’t mind my asking)?

asdfalkaklj I actually haven't called upon my brain to define this in a bit so it might not be the "cleanest" definition, but what I'm assuming the bingo was referencing was substitute beliefs (broad term) and specifically when those beliefs are presented with "substitute memories"

Substitute beliefs are concepts / aspects / understandings of self and events that aren't exactly what is actually true / real / accurate but reflect it in a way that it is often easier to handle, accept, and bear for the person with the trauma.

Thats a mouthful, but a simple example would be say... someone's trauma was nearly drowning - they might then have an alter / develop a substitute belief that "I am a mermaid" or have the idea that being underwater like that was wanted because they are "spiritually a water creature" or that the drowning nearly happened BECAUSE they were confused and thought they were a mermaid rather than due to malice / neglect. In both cases the context of that memory might be reframed with a sort of substitute buffer to cover over the hard aspects of a shitty situation to make it more palatable

Those are more "extreme" examples because I can't really think of a more mundane example - but its a common defense mechanism people with DID and other people who were traumatized at a young age kind of do to sort of buffer the blow of being aware of the shit that's happened without necessarily having to deal with the entire reality of it.

I just got vague vibes from back there that it's fine to share, but the Riku subsystem was trained to be our sisters attack dog to a pretty extreme point of her manipulating dissociative barriers she knew of and as a result XIV has always really taken a lycantropic form, particularly when put in aggro mode and while he is aware he is not "actually a werewolf" it actively leaks into his day to day life and it is a really quick "blur" over topics that if dug more into could cause things to be uprooted that we aren't quite ready to.

Similarly, there are substitute memories that can happen where the memory of an event itself might be too hard to "digest" and as a result some people get similar but "slightly off" memories of things that didn't happen. I've seen this mostly talked about in terms of introjects and them developing memories related to trauma the body did experience but instead in the frame work of their source rather than the actual real lived body. Rather than remembering and processing feelings of neglect with your actual parents in reference, the part may still have the feelings that stem from a real trauma and experience the body had, but instead process it in the terms of "people who don't really exist" which makes it easier to operate and handle in an environment where it might be difficult to do that with the real people (often living there still and what not)

In substitute [anything] its really the brain just kinda blurring the details and shuffling around the lines to make it look like something easier and nicer to look at than the reality. It's usually similar to what ACTUALLY happened but often with a few details that are weird / wrong / obviously not real (ie, characters don't exist, werewolfs dont exist, mermaids don't exist, etc.)

It's been a while since I've seen it brought up so it might be a bit off of an explanation but hope that makes sense?

It's easier to process "I'm a werewolf" than process the implications of having been through mental abuse and directly trained as an attack dog for another's benefit.

It's easier to believe that the time you nearly drowned is because you were a "delusional kid and forgot you couldn't breathe underwater" than it is to address possible neglect or malice intent of someone who is supposed to be close to you.

It's easier to (not necessarily for the fictive themselves, but often for the rest of the system) see the struggle of their system member Sasuke processing the trauma of Itachi's betrayl than it is to see and process the betrayal of trust that the sibling you live with and have to see daily.

Substitute beliefs and memories are also often on a sliding scale of how seriously and literally the affected parts / people experience them and how real they actually feel, so theres a lot of variety.

-Riku

#alter: riku #ask #asks #substitute beliefs #substitute memories #actuallydid #dissociative identity disorder

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2oranges · 1 year

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Hi Friday. 👋 What did you think of the last genshin update?

HI DORIAN !! IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO GET TO THIS.. im puttingn this under a readmore because it is VERY. Very. very long ^.^

if u mean 4.0, then i think i'd say overall it was really fun. my favorite parts of genshin are exploring + doing puzzles + learning lore so i ate that update UP!!! the new puzzles are super satisfying and just the right amount of difficult.

as for the main story, i don't have a whole bunch to say other than there were times where the traveler made decisions that didn't really fit what we have learned from them in the past, esp with the whole part where they didn't trust lyney + his siblings for being fatui. i guess it's more of a trust thing / about them hiding it?? i also really wish they delved a bit more into Why furina puts up such a huge act, because that isnt explained in 4.0 Or 4.1's quests. maybe 4.2 will tell! i also really loved navia. i think she's one of my favorite characters despite my. near-constant show of love for neuvillette.. i like that she is still actively processing things because we can already start to see her perspectives shift as the quests progress.

as for any side quests, ann of narzissenkreuz made me feel sort of hollow-empty but i tend to feel that way with the several-part quests before they reach their true end. i was definitely invested in that one..

all of the merusea village quests made me emotional as well because i just love the melusines to bits+pieces. aside from mamere i think my favorite quest was where we helped the melusines make a little cake/pie of sorts.

lyney's story quest made me cry and it really cemented the though that he *is* me (/srs) because of. well. the everything. i'd rather you see his quest / read his character stories for yourself because it's a bit hard to explain when it hits so close to home.

um. as for 4.1. i think exploring is still so fun in fontaine. i love all the new enemies + again the puzzles are soo fun :3

however the archon quest seemed to really drag on for this patch.. i think that was intended but at times i definitely had to take breaks and do other stuff because it just seemed to carry on endlessly. also. i don't really like that the fortress of meropide essentially relies on the prison industrial complex that exists in real life- not because it's bad to include real life issues and events in video games, but because it. is not really frowned upon in any way / is encouraged at times?

i really liked the fontaine research institute quest but i. don't like the main characters. lmfao

neuvillette's story quest made me feel like i got hit by a bus + then tried to stand up but then i got ran over by a semi truck. before this update i was already very emotional over how much he seems to value his people + their feelings + beliefs despite having to uphold "justice" in its truest form, as well as. well. the melusines as a whole. i'm not going to get into it very much bc idk how much of the quests you've done, but i. also cried several times over this one. lol.

i'm hoping wriothesley's story quest will be just as good because his character story leaks have made me emotional because i can heavily relate to it, but. well. who knows.

i think overall these two updates have made me feel so so strongly for navia, neuvillette, and sigewinne. i don't exactly know what to expect from 4.3 + onwards!!!

#INBOX #DORIAN #GI

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denimbex1986 · 8 months

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youtube

"I wanted to tell a story about those things that we keep inside of us; that pain, I guess, that we can keep inside of us, often from childhood or, you know, early teen years or whatever it might be, and that, that - and whether that's grief. which in this story it's both grief, it's also like, I would say a trauma for this character - of growing up gay in the 80s - and all those things that so many of us keep within us and we try and ignore and we try and pretend it's not there anymore. But it always finds a way to leak and bleed to the surface."

"Adam is a character who's in a sort of purgatory-like place and, um, he can't love himself. And so he conjures up these people that he lost when he was a little boy in order for them to see him totally. And, it's hard for, for him to make them see him clearly and it's rough, but he gets there, in the hope that if they can see him as an adult for who he really is in its totality, then he might be able to - having been loved - learn how to, how to love himself and to love, um, this, now - and allow another person into his life. And I think that's a really, really beautiful and uh, kind of authentic message because that's, that's how, that's how love exists. If we don't get it, we don't get to love ourselves and it's very difficult for us to properly love someone else in the true, in the true meaning of the word."

"...if I'm trying to explore essentially the nature of love let's say, which is what I think I'm actually trying to, actually really dig into; familial love, romantic love, how they're inter-connected, all those kind of things - there is such a mystery to that, that I wanted the film to feel like that. Um, feel like a dream in some regards, and, and you know when you wake up from a dream you're like: 'What have I just watched? I know I'm being told something that I feel like is meaning something to me, but I can't necessarily piece together every single element of it.'"

"What was important, what Andrew Haigh wanted I think from the, all the performers in this movie, was an ability to love, outwardly, and openly - and that was so easy when you're working with Andrew Scott; it just is. Andrew is playing a character who is straddling adulthood and, and, and, and, and the infantilism that he still has, so a lot of that is he's somehow managed to physicalize in his performance. And that physicalization was so surprising to me because I'm obviously not thinking about what, what, what he's going through; when you're performing it, you're kind of, you're, you're reactionary, and that's what's so unique about working with talented - really talented - people is that they surprise you."

"Well what was so wonderful is that we - I got to spend the first part of our, our shoot with Jamie and Claire and we did all those scenes. So it was like having a childhood and kind of growing up with them and almost letting them go and they went off, um, and then I had - and that was a very difficult time; it was a very, um, vulnerable, it was upsetting and it was hard work. And so then to be able to go into that section with Paul where you're playing, for the most part, you know, the idea of falling in love and connecting with somebody and um, embracing that sort of uh, emotional and physical uh, ecstasy that he feels - that we all feel when we fall in love with somebody - um; that was pretty, pretty wonderful and um, Paul was just the most wonderful colleague in that sense. Um, we didn't have to talk too much about how they connected with each other because I think there's something that we both really understood about the, the, the screenplay and the characters within the screenplay. And I think when you've got a screenplay that really works, um, everybody wants to be there and it doesn't require too much talking - if you've got really great actors, you go; you just want to get on and do that."

"The film is about Adam re-examining his relationship to his sexuality and the fact that Harry represents a safe place to do that. Talk goes out the window, it becomes about tou - it becomes a physical; it about physical communication, and you learn a lot about the characters through that, um, in a subtle way. And like, what I like about it is that it kind of works at an audience kind of subconsciously. You see these people falling in love, first truly through sex, like it's a very kind of sex forward relationship that it begins with, and you kind of start there and it kind of falls into these long conversations that can only be - that you would only feel comfortable having - if you feel comfortable with the other human being. And that was; that, that relationship was built through sex for Adam and Harry."

"When you're a kid, you sort of feel like your parents should be grown up, and then you realise, sometimes when you look back, you're like: 'God, my parents were 30 when they were going through this, 35 - I was a mess when I was 35; it's amazing that anybody can get through that. Um, so I think I wanted to be both kind of - I wanted to be compassionate to all people within this story, to both the parents and the child and the lovers and all of those things, and, and sort of just say a little bit like it's pretty tricky for everybody in this story, and you sort of have to do the best you can."

"...You know that this is an Andrew Haigh film because he has a complete authority of emotion."

"It feels like it's coming from a place within him that only he could make...and I think, not that that's not an important thing, but I think it could potentially reduce the film if we were talking about it just as a personal exercise because it's not that - it's many, many things..."

"It's really, really interesting, you know, to think about the word emotional', and I think we associate, when we feel emotional, that it's sad necessarily all the time, but there are so many things within the film and I think that's why it's so special, is that there's so much hope in there. I think it's a very redemptive story for, for Adam; I think he learns something, and I think his future is altered because of what he, of the pain that he goes through. It's about falling in love, it's about that deep connection, about that physical, um, joy that he eventually receives and the connection that he has with his parents. So that's what I think is at the centre of the film is that, you know, we all go through terrible times, it's a finite amount of time that we have on the planet, and so confronting those things, as hard as it is, it's worth it."

"It's kind of incredible when I go to screenings and I can see that it is like affecting people, and affecting them in different ways, and they can come out of that cinema and feel like they can be open with me actually about their lives. Um, and I don't take that lightly. I watch films to connect, with people essentially, and you want your film to connect with people so yeah it's - it feels special."

#Andrew Scott #Andrew Haigh #Jamie Bell #Paul Mescal #All of Us Strangers

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cornus27florida · 10 months

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Chapter 11 Review - RaS - the CPC fanfic

"My Curse" as referring to the CPC character - "and Tales that Related to it" will gives references correlation of Fictional 'Fairy' Tales

oh, also dark topic about handling the toxic abusive relationship VS forgiveness that born from the love

Phew! The hardest chapter so far that I write, 6k words!

I initially didn't want to go that long, but this make another example of odd chapter to be ridiculously long while the even chapter is relatively shorter. Welp. Happens. Moving on

The first part is basically the CPC adults learning that Fred's curse is indeed similar with Nell's. Medic!Syrah btw

The second part is the hardest to write but I am satisfied with how it become. In RaS I am kinda role-swapping Gwen and Frederick, as here Fred is the protagonist instead. This make interesting possibility that the one getting confused with romantic feeling is Gwen - instead canon where she's sure about the love but preventing her own feelings because she thoughts Fred didn't wants her. In RaS, the one that sure is Fred because the whole experience at the afterlife (espc ch 2) - but I'm hinting that Fred repressing his own feelings because he didn't deserves Gwen as mainly cuz his existence just dragging Gwen anyway- this also fits with canon (we have Prince Frederick, who starts to worry if he even deserves Gwen. ). Also not Abbi bashing but I write her in extreme antagonizing to Fred that might sounds OOC to her personality-I'm deeply apologize

The third part is interesting canon divergence of "Abbi's wish" episodes mixed with "Prez' lecture". I hope the joke about Lecture VS exam test could be delivered :3

"Ahem, but you are all still need paper and pen thou in this test" - many groaning with the notion. C'mon, not a lecture day - but a sudden test? This is highly unfair, and worse.

The fourth part is the shortest, but actually some of the wishes are planned to be Checkov's gun in the future

The fifth part had so many things going on, I am not sure which part to be talk about - you guys need to read my fanfic hahaha! But without spoiling, I like to extending HC about Blaine used to be anorexic, it's mental issue that often inflicted models that make them didn't want to eat in fear their body not their desired one. Also I mentioning Isolde again, and I like the idea that even thou canonically she looks so distant, in RaS we got mention that she's fighting for the sake of her son (Blaine) to stops anorexic

The sixth part and the last, is my weird attempt to putting the title of the chapter while dumping my OCs of CPC members (basically those that appearing but never named)

well, even thou YES curses related to fairy tales, BUT not every curse - there's many curse that not related to established tales at all, or a curse that actually related to multiple tales at once (the latter, should be obvious who refers to - it's part of the mystery to know the true curse)

In fanfic we could make anything, and I really want Syrah moment teasing Gwen (which in here is jealous, and she has every right to be!) about Fred. I really like that interaction

"Girl, your jealousy is leaking~ You should shoot yours soon, makes Frederick remembers that he's your fiance... Because he didn't realizes how popular and charming he could be, and at this rate the other CPC members will try to steals him from you" laughs Syrah at Gwen, while patting Gwen's shoulder.

We know that Gwen is oblivious as even without trying, she gets 3 males interested to her romantically. But I find it's interesting to make Frederick also "the oblivious". It's already hinted in ch 8 as declaring him as the cutest Plaid Prince. This obliviousness will become big later on in the RaS

If fredrick was real I'd do anything he fucking asked of me. (a simp comment, and I nearly too if isn't be GwenDerick/FredDolyn hardcore shipper hahaha)

Adios, on my way of writing ch 12 about Princel retelling !!!

#cursed princess club #cpc #cpc fanfiction #cpc fanfic #personal author review

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tolkiens-middleearth · 3 years

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Some thoughts on Amazon's LOTR series...

When the show was first announced, I was both excited and worried.

Excited, because Tolkien's Middle-earth is one of the fictional creations that is most dear to me.

Worried, because Tolkien's Middle-earth is one of the fictional creations that is most dear to me.

Any fan would be intrigued by the idea of seeing such a work on screen, be it on TV or in the cinema. But of course there is also always the risk of a show or series not matching one's own imagination.

It's not a bad thing if what's on screen does not match your own imagination. But it can be frustrating. Wanting to like something but not being able to is very, very frustrating.

So far not much is known about Amazon's LOTR series, it's too early to give a final verdict before the show has even aired. However, based on the recent Vanity Fair article and some leaks, I can at least say for sure that I don't have any hopes left for this show. There is of course the possibility of a miracle, I could actually end up liking the show against all odds.

But as it stands, it's quite unlikely, and so I want to analyse my disappointment and frustrations with all the news I've seen and read so far, starting with the confirmed information.

The Vanity Fair Article

For a long time, there was barely any information about this show available. The Vanity Fair article is now our first official source of information for this show.

Timline

In the novels, the aforementioned things take place over thousands of years, but Payne and McKay have compressed events into a single point in time. It is their biggest deviation from the text, and they know it’s a big swing. “We talked with the Tolkien estate,” says Payne. “If you are true to the exact letter of the law, you are going to be telling a story in which your human characters are dying off every season because you’re jumping 200 years in time, and then you’re not meeting really big, important canon characters until season four. Look, there might be some fans who want us to do a documentary of Middle-earth, but we’re going to tell one story that unites all these things." – Vanity Fair

The Second Age is a very long age. It is more than 3000 years long and contains various different events. The foundation of Númenor is at its beginning. The creation of the Rings of Power is in its middle. The downfall of Númenor is at its end.

The Vanity Fair article keeps pointing out that Elrond is young – but born at the end of the First Age, Elrond is only really young at the beginning of the Second Age. At the time of the creation of the Rings he would be already 1500 years old, and at the end of the Second Age over 3000 years. Considering that a young Elrond is around in the show at the same time when Isildur and Ar-Pharazôn are around means that the whole Second Age has been reduced to a very short timeline. Galadriel hunting down "the last remnants of [Morgoth's and Sauron's] collaborators" is another indicator that all these three major events are coming together.

Compressing these things into the short period of a human lifetime is a huge problem:

Númenor as it exists in Tolkien's Middle-earth cannot exist in Amazons LOTR series: the long history is missing, both the rise to the impressive kingdom that it came to be and its slow decline.

If Númenor actually has exitsted prior to the Second Age, it has a different history. It is no longer Andor, the Land of Gift, nor can its special characteristics come from the Valar.

The Elves barely had time to leave for Valinor, and a large part of their history will be lost: Elrond was over a thousand years old when he lead Gil-galad's troups into battle against Sauron. Gil-galad and Celebrimbor had time to found cities and realms in Lindon and Eregion. Elrond's brother Elros was King of Númenor for 500 years, is there now any room left for him?

Having the Fall of Númenor so close after the creation of the Rings of Power also means that there is no real threat coming from Sauron. There is no Dark Lord here, ruling the East and South of Middle-earth for half an age, there is just a couple of years left for Sauron between creating the One Ring and losing it in the War against the Last Alliance. It all happens in the lifetime of one man (that man being Isildur).

There is more to this of course, but these are the first major points to make here. The epic stories that Tolkien wrote were built on the centuries of history of that world. You can't cheat your way out of it.

Ridiculing fans by claiming that they want them "to do a documentary of Middle-earth" is unfair, because time matters in any story. Unfortunately series and film makers alike don't understand this anymore these days, and the stories shown on TV and in the cinema suffer because of it.

Middle-earth

“One of the very specific things the texts say is that hobbits never did anything historic or noteworthy before the Third Age,” says McKay. “But really, does it feel like Middle-earth if you don’t have hobbits or something like hobbits in it?”

– Vanity Fair

Here is a showrunner saying "I know this is not what Tolkien wrote but I'm going to ignore it" word for word. There are indeed no Hobbits during the Second Age in Tolkien's Middle-earth, nor any proto-Hobbits. Middle-earth was Middle-earth long before Tolkien invented Bilbo. Together with the quote that this material is "sometimes scary—and sometimes very intense, sometimes quite political, sometimes quite sophisticated—but it’s also heartwarming and life-affirming and optimistic" it makes me wonder if the showrunners understand the difference between the stories told in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings and the stories told in the Quenta Silmarillion or the Akallabêth. The Quenta Silmarillion as published in 1977 ends with the following sentence:

"If it has passed from the high and the beautiful to darkness and ruin, that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if any change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos." – J.R.R. Tolkien. The Silmarillion.

That sounds like a very different tone to me – and the Akallabêth is the same. Galadriel spoke about fighting "the long defeat". Tolkien wrote that there is "little fun or earthiness but mostly grief and disaster".

The conflict of the high and the beautiful with the darkness and ruin was a central element of these stories. The optimistic part was based on hope and faith in Eru – and I have serious doubts that the series will even allude to that.

And then there are changes that have no foundation in Tolkien's lore at all. Some will be mentioned further down in the text, and here I just want to ask: what is this supposed to be and why do these people carry moose antlers on their backs?

And if it's not a weird look like this, it feels like a cheap look, at least going by the pictures. It's hard to imagine that Amazon has spent so much money on this production.

The Characters

I can't go as deep into the character and peoples analysis as I would like to, simply because it costs a lot of time and noone will read it. I want to discuss a few issues nontheless.

The Elves

Tolkien had described the Elves as the "fairest of all earthly creatures". Elves weren't just humans with pointy ears, but in a way the personification of human dreams and desires – completely unreachable. People so much like us but also so much unlike us.

Now it's impossible for any production to make us humans more beautiful than we actually are. But wouldn't it be possible to make them seem a bit more than they actually are? To make them appear a bit different, a bit other, a bit more?

Amazon's LOTR series certainly doesn't think so – instead it makes the Elves look as mundane as the friendly neighbore next door doing cosplay.

The first look on Elrond was disappointing for me, and probably the most frustrating part of that whole reveal. While Robert Aramayo certainly isn't ugly for human standards, for me there is no trace of Elvishness in his face. The fact that Elrond and Arondir (the only other male Elf with a picture) both have short hair makes them both look even more normal and human. They have pointy ears, that's it. Cover up the ears and you won't know the difference between Elves and Men. It's a very modern look for a story that is supposed to take place at least about 9000 years in the past.

Individually these characters come with their own problems in their designs and descriptions, too. I have mentioned Elrond's age and I'll do it again: he was an Half-Elf, aging slower than Men, but not as slow as Elves. When he was born, his father – a Half-Elf as well – was barely 30. And Elrond's brother Elros was old enough to become King of Númenor at the beginning of the Second Age. In addition, he is described as an "architect and politician" – and there is not really any trace of that in Tolkien's writings. Elrond was a healer, and Imladris was founded as a refuge, not as an architecture project. Elrond wasn't really a politican either, he was a subject of Gil-galad while he was alive, and and advisor later on.

Galadriel's character doesn't seem to fit Tolkien's idea of her either. While it is true that Galadriel was physically fit and did fight in her early years, her role in Middle-earth was a different one. As Melian's student she became calmer and wiser. In the show it seems she takes over the role of Elrond as "commander of the Northern Armies" (since there are no other armies in the north but Gil-galad's). There is also the little bit of her hunting down those who had killed her brother... more on that later.

The only other Elf we see is Arondir, and he is a made up Silvan Elf. As it was clear that Amazon would go for a more diverse cast, the most irritating thing about his design is the very short hair that I have already mentioned, and the fact that there is a bearded guy on his armour. Does that mean Elves get beards now, too? Another thing that made me role my eyes is the "forbidden love" between him and what appears to be a mortal woman. I guess I have to be content that it's at least not a romance plot between an Elf and a Dwarf, right? Right??

Dwarves

Speaking of beards: someone who should have a beard and doesn't is the dwarf princess Disa.

Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings clearly states that the dwarf-women "are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other peoples cannot tell them apart".

Disa does not look at all like the male dwarf example that we were given (nor does the male dwarf look like her). Neither her face nor her clothes feel particulary dwarvish to me. The beard is missing, the gold jewerly looks cheap, and the clothes are... overall very undefined. Not the clothes I would imagine a princess living under the mountains to wear. Without the jewelery it would look more like the dress of an Elven maid on a warm summer day, and with the jewelery it looks more like someone living in the warm south, like a queen of Harad. Dwarvish it is not.

The Rings of Power

Funnily enough, one of the things that irritate me most is in the title of the series. The articles says about the Rings of Power in the series:

All this will center, eventually, around the incident that gives the trilogy its name. “The forging of the rings,” says McKay. “Rings for the elves, rings for dwarves, rings for men, and then the one ring Sauron used to deceive them all. It’s the story of the creation of all those powers, where they came from, and what they did to each of those races.” – Vanity Fair

Interestingly enough, the story of the Rings of Power is split between the Second and the Third Age. For the Elves, the Rings of Power were the cause of Sauron's invasion in Eriador, but aside from that the Rings didn't do anything to the Elves in the Second Age, because the Elves did not use them. They knew they could not use them while Sauron had the One Ring. So the story about the Three Rings of the Elves is, according to Tolkien's writings, not very exciting during the Second Age, once Celebrimbor is dead.

The Rings of the Dwarves are vague enough that more could be said about them in the show, and we pretty much know what happened to the Nine: they slowly but surely turned nine kings of Men into wraiths. Only that there is barely time for it in this condensed timeline now – prolonging their life would only come into effect if the story would take longer than a human lifetime, and it's basically confirmed that there is no time for that. It is doubtful if the nine kings of Men even come into play in this story – maybe in the end it won't really even be about the effects of the rings, and more of the threat that Sauron poses because of his desire for the rings?

Leaks

However, the Vanity Fair article is not our only source of information on Amazon's LOTR show. There have been quite a few leaks posted and collected by https://fellowshipoffans.com, and many have been proven right so far.

And in these leaks there are a couple of story points (not yet confirmed!) that I feel contradict Tolkien's writings heavily:

The are reports of an Orc leader, who is not an Orc, called "Adar" (Sindarin for father) – he is played by Joseph Mawle. There are also rumours that this Adar could indeed be one of Galadriel's brothers (but not Finrod). → If this is the case it means that either Angrod or Aegnor becomes corrupted and ends up as a leader of a group of Orcs, probably in the service of Sauron. Given that one of Galadriel's plotlines seems to be the hunt of those "who claimed the life of her brother" (fun Tolkien's lore fact: actually all her brothers are dead), it doesn't take much imagination to predict that the drama will come from realising that her brother is alive but corrupted.

There are reports on Galadriel coming to Númenor, most likely to ask for aid in the fight against Sauron. → With the condensed timeline, it becomes obvious that there is no space for the growing hositlity of Númenoreans towards Elves that would result in Elves no longer coming to Númenor. Galadriel's changed character also comes into play here, because Galadriel in Tolkien's writings wouldn't have had lots of reason to go to Númenor. Gil-galad and especially Elrond would have had better connections with the Númenoreans.

Speaking of Elves... Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor is all but officially confirmed. → Judging by the looks of the other Elves, make-up won't be of much help for this 52 old guy, so he will most likely look even less Elvish than Elrond or Arondir.

There are reports on a character arriving in Middle-earth as a meteor. And the leaks also say that this "meteor man", as he has been nicknamed by Fellowship of Fans, first appears nice but later on it will be revealed that this guy is in fact not nice. In addition, he apparently comes in contact with the Hobbits. There also have been rumours that Sauron has been seen at the Hobbit set. Furthermore, this character is associated with the poster of the guy holding an apple. → Everything points to this character indeed being Sauron, especially since it's unlikely that either Elf, Men or Dwarf would appear as a meteor. There is absolutely no reason for Sauron to be in the form of a meteor, or to come in contact with Hobbits prior to the business in the Third Age with Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo. This is a huge departure from Tolkien's writings.

There is probably more that I just can't remember right now. Vaguely I remember that Elves-being-turned-into-Orcs came up as a topic, Queen Miriel was mentioned, the actors of Isildur, Elendil and Ar-Pharazôn are known... as far as worrying leaks go, I think I've mentioned the main points.

Imagination

And then there is, of course, the now well know promotion picture of the series that shows Valinor and the Two Trees (the figure is rumoured to be Finrod):

Given all that I know about this show now, I hope we won't see too much of the First Age in this show (although it may seem like we get two whole episodes about it...). Series and movies have a way of overriding your own imagination of places and characters. Without a doubt images of this series will appear all over the internet, you'll see it whether you want to watch the show or not, especially if you discuss Middle-earth online in general. It's not like people know how to tag properly. So I'd rather keep most of the First Age to my own imagination.

I know that I'll try my best to not let these characters override my own imagination of the Tolkien's characters that I have loved for so long. And for me as someone who usually gets easily and quickly attached to characters this is the worst basis for any show to have.

The Vanity Fair article writes:

The driving question behind the production, he adds, was this: “Can we come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote and do it as the mega-event series that could only happen now?”

Unfortunately, everything I've heard about this show so far says that you can't. When they talk about "realizing [Tolkien's] vision of places and characters" it is now quite clear that they either have no idea what Tolkien's visions for these places and characters were, or they simply do not care.

It is no crime not to want to tell Tolkien's stories. But why would you then still try to pretend that you're telling Tolkien's stories? Be honest and do something else!

#LOTR on prime #lotronprime #lotr: the rings of power #lotr:rop #LOTR ROP #the rings of power #rings of power #LOTr #Amazon LOTR #my posts

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twh-news · 3 years

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We spoke to Tom Hiddleston about Loki, PowerPoint presentations and the nature of free will

Despite a decade of playing Loki in several Marvel movies and now a TV show, Tom Hiddleston isn’t tired of the role. “There is always something new to be found,” he says The edge.

This week is the premiere of Loki on Disney Plus, a six-episode series that marks the character’s first lead role. It is a story of time travel and branched timelines as Loki is captured by an organization called the Time Variance Authority (TVA). It combines action, humor and some old-fashioned detective work, while tackling serious topics such as the nature of free will. There are also some new faces on board as Hiddleston is joined by Marvel newcomers Owen Wilson, who plays a TVA agent named Mobius, and director Kate Herron, best known for her work on the first season of Sex education.

Prior to the show’s premiere, I had the chance to talk to Hiddleston about his time as a character, a presentation that made him feel like an “amateur academic giving a thesis on Loki,” working with Wilson and Herron, and whether our lives are predetermined. Typical Marvel stuff.

The following interview has been edited and abbreviated for clarity.

We are now at a decade where you play Loki. How have your feelings about the character changed or grown over that time?

I’m honestly just thankful that I’m still here. I find that I am always surprised and happy that I get another chance in it. Long before I was cast, Loki was just the most fascinating and complex character with such depth and range, and he’s been in Marvel comics in several iterations for 60 years, and he’s been in our thoughts, in stories we tell as humans, for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I find that even though it has been 10 years, every time I come back, there is always more to discover. There is always more to dig because these impostors are kind of mercurial and shape-shifting. So there is always something new to be found.

"“Loki is out of control. He’s a man on the run.”"

Now that you’ve focused this six-episode series on Loki, what were you looking forward to exploring with this? What were you hoping to dive into?

I think he’s really opening up and bringing out his many different identities and facets. In my preparation to play the character, I’ve always seen him have so many different and seemingly contradictory characteristics. You think, “How can all these characteristics exist in one person, in one being?” And yet they do.

Loki has always been a character in all MCU movies that seems to be very controlled. He seems to know what cards he has in his hand and how he is going to play them. And Loki, in the TVA – this organization that rules time – has gotten out of hand. He’s a man on the run. And he is motivated by a desire to understand. Suddenly he discovers that there is all this information that he does not have, and he has to get his hands on it. And that actually gives the series great momentum. Loki is on the back foot, everyone knows more than him, and seeing how he adapts, seeing how he improvises after that – if improvisation is possible in the TVA. That’s a question we’re trying to raise, whether you have free will.

I read about the Loki school you led to prepare the team for the character’s history. How did you prepare for that? Did you actually know it all, or did you have to do a lot of research?

I wish it wouldn’t be 10 hours long. I knew I had to summarize what I found useful to tell the crew. It came about thanks to Kate Herron, our director who has done an extraordinary job on this whole series, and he thought maybe it would be a good idea to get everyone together because there were so many department heads, different crew members – production design, costume design, cinematography, camera, sound, stunts – and wanting to make sure everyone had the same information about Loki, and it might be helpful to listen to my experience. I was trying to explain how we constructed Loki’s arc across the six movies he’s in the MCU and figure out what was useful in that arc and what we could leave behind.

I suddenly felt extremely nervous, as if I were an amateur academic writing a thesis on Loki. You’ll have to ask the others if it was helpful at all. But at least we synchronized the watches and we started from the same place.

"“If I were tall enough to use PowerPoint, I could retire and become a full-time professor.”"

So is there a PowerPoint file out there somewhere that will leak out one day?

If I was highly skilled enough to use PowerPoint, I could retire and become a full-time professor.

I did have a few clips. I thought there were some clips from the movies that could be helpful. It was interesting, even though it was about how the costume had changed over the years and why. And when does Loki wear the horns? Are the horns a casual thing? Are they a ceremonial thing like a crown? Is it an extension of an inner intention? Do the horns come out if he’s particularly evil? Why is her hair different? Sometimes he wears a cape, sometimes not. Sometimes he uses magic, sometimes he uses his own body to fight in combat. All questions that people were curious about.

I know this was meant for the rest of the crew, but was it helpful for you to go through this again as you prepared to jump back into the role?

Oh yes, absolutely, just to refresh myself about certain decisions we had made and why certain things were changed… sometimes you try to bring very elaborate and beautifully illustrated comic book panels into a physical reality on a movie set and figure out how to merge these two worlds. It was interesting. I got some great questions about how he moves the way he does and where certain things showed up in stunts, especially hair, makeup and wardrobe, how the clothes changed and why we made those choices.

It was interesting to refresh myself on the extraordinary input, because I carry the inspiration of great people with me. [Thor director] Kenneth Branagh and Alexandra Byrne, our costume designer; Bo Welch who designed the first Thor movie; Charlie Wood who was production designer on The dark world; the whole crew of Ragnarok; Mayes Rubeo, the costume designer of Ragnarok; and people like Douglas Noe, who has been doing makeup on Loki for a long time. So there was a lot to unpack.

Both Kate Herron and Owen Wilson are newcomers to the Marvel machine. Is it helpful to have such an external perspective?

Absolutely. Both Kate and Owen came in with so many questions because they hadn’t lived in Loki’s head for 10 years. They have a fresh take on it. Kate was so well prepared and so well researched; she even brought in new Marvel Publishing material that I’d never seen before, about Loki’s inner world. Owen came in and asked me a lot of questions about my experience. I remember him saying, “Tom, why should I?” you do you like to play Loki?” And I found myself saying, “Well, he’s just got this whole range. He can play the light keys, but he can also play the heavy keys in the bass clef. And somehow the character has both.” And he loved that way of thinking about it, he said, “I think I could say that on the show.” And so it was really his very intelligent question that took us elsewhere in the story.

Given the themes of the first two episodes, I have to ask: do you believe in free will?

I hope so. Free will is such an interesting, eternal question. I think people have asked to what extent we have the power of self-determination, self-realization, choice about our actions and whether we can control the course of our lives. It goes back to evolutionary or psychological arguments about nature and nurture and why we are who we are. Maybe it’s the journey of a lifetime to find out, to really take the wheel of your own life. Because we are set on a path in childhood, I think, often by accident – the misfortune of birth, where we were born and when – and we are propelled in many ways by the unconscious.

That’s a complicated answer. It’s a complex question. So I hope so. I hope true free will is possible. But for all of us, I think it can be a long journey of self-discovery.

#tom hiddleston #loki #loki series #interview #article #whatsnew2day

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freedfromthegalactichivemind · 2 years

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Horde Clone Headcanons #4 Horde Prime Doesn’t See All

A part of my headcanons series for Horde-clones, what shows up in my fanfictions. Horde Prime Doesn’t See All and the Clones Know It While they’ll be hard-pressed to admit it, or will not admit it at all (on pain of baptismal, exile or culling), the clones all somehow know that there are things that escape their Emperor’s grasp. After all “Brothers! You are correct! We do not talk about Krytis!” _ Wrong Hordak. While it does not seem like Wrongie / Kadroh / Whateveryouwanttonamehim really “knows” in forefront about Krytis and what went on there, as getting the full story from the old computer records shattered his worldview and inspired him to rebel, it was obvious that some part of him knew that there was “something about Krytis” that was forbidden to be discussed or thought about among the clones. He weirdly, out of the blue VOLUNTEERED that information as soon as he heard the words “Horde Prime’s weakness” when the Etherians he was with were trying to find a weakness. This smacks of a hive mind-wide conspiracy to “not speak of certain things” that apparently leaked there in some form that they are “not supposed to know” but all do. Most clones likely do not know the details, if any living clones do (I’d imagine that Prime would have purged all who knew the true story of Krytis from his ranks), but it would seem that some vague sense of “weakness” or “something wrong” breached into the hive mind, anyway. And they know “not to discuss it,” because, obviously, if any of them are caught acknowledging the existence of Krytis, something bad will happen to them. Therefore, it must happen sometimes. A flock of clones or a pair of clones slips. Some brother sends a mind-shock into another brother to “SHUT THE HELL UP!” and everyone shuts up and goes about their day, hoping that Prime was not “nearby’ enough to overhear. It is one of those ill-kept, everybody knows it secrets. “Krytis” - although vague. “Don’t think about it again. Krytis does not exist. If Prime catches you asking about it, you will die. Let us hope that he does not know that we were just thinking about it.” Also notice how Prime literally does have to possess certain bodies to see certain things. He is also not aware of Despondos or the whereabouts of his “little brother” (Hordak) whom he thought had perished. He is not aware of the whereabouts of She-Ra until a “strange ship” is detected on radar. Horde Prime claims that he “sees all” and “knows all,” but it is plainly evident that he is not omniscient. And Wrong Hordak’s behavior in blurting out “Krytis” tells us that the clones, for all of their programmed worship, know this to some degree. This shows up in my fanwork. One of my main clone-original characters is a nice young clone named Jerome in the post-Prime era. He wears eyeglasses, prescribed by Etherian doctors due to his eyes not being able to be fixed via clone-hardware measures. He is mildly nearsighted and will have worsening vision throughout his life (much like myself and many other humans). His backstory, all the way from my early writings of the Robin and Jerome stories when I’d decided he wore glasses (something I conceived when playing with the Horde Clone Picrew that used to be around) was that he did not gain his visual defect on Etheria, but had it as a pre-existing condition upon coming out of his vitrine. Now, his visual defect was mild - hardly affected anything. He was probably going to be canon-fodder anyway, and nothing serious would progress beyond a likely “natural death” (for a clone) on the battlefield. He could be a good soldier, and so he was not culled when born. However, other clones could read his mind when he was around them - as they all kind of swam in each other’s minds in close proximity - and elder clones noticed the mild defect that he did not. They also knew that Prime would order him culled if it was found out, mild as it was. This was why the clone who would later take the name Jerome was shuffled in his on-ship work on the Velvet Glove toward the ship’s bowels for work and generally did “undignified” work, mainly waste-disposal. My poor little Jerome was a garbageman, which is honorable work, but like in most societies, in the Galactic Horde, it was overlooked and seen as “dirty and dishonored.” It was a job where he would never be close to the Glory of Prime. Only in the post-Prime era did he realize that he was shuffled off to lower-decks work not for something shameful or sinful, but because his brothers were protecting him. They were protecting him from the off-chance of being seen by Prime or possessed by Prime and found out. Prime was too high and mighty to check on the trash-sector of his ship. As for Robin, my other main OC, in the ship, he worked robotics, on the field, he was a Force Captain. While the clones did all have interchangeable jobs, some emerged on the field as being particularly good at certain things, like field-leadership and Robin was just such a clone. To keep him from being a threat to Prime, I do think he went to the Pool many times. Well, in one of my stories, I mentioned that in war camps, other clones liked to fight him for sport as a weird thing among clones to test their strength. Force Captains tended to need to assert their dominance when challenged by other clones in Flocks when planetside. This was not a Prime-approved activity and so this tended to be done when they were sure that “Prime was not around,” typically just after the Force Captain had been used as a vessel to assess battlefield conditions. (If one camp’s position was assessed, the Flock knew that Prime would be busy for a while checking the other Flocks). Time for a boxing-match! It is by far “my own idea,” nor owned by any other person in the fandom. I’ve seen other writers do “Prime’s not watching, let’s have sexytime” stories, for those of you who are into clone x clone shipping. From what I’ve seen, “Prime’s little slips” seems to have shown up everywhere, because it has ample basis in canon.

#spop #horde prime #wrong hordak #hordak #horde clones #spacebats #spacebat headcanons series

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sixteenthshen · 4 years

Text

post-finale stuff

Possible spoilers. Beware

Last night, I happened to check the scriptwriter's Weibo and saw that she had liked this fan's post. It's the only non-work related Weibo post that she had liked, so of course, I went to read it.

The fact that this is the only fan post she's given her approval to must mean that it is on point and she agrees with the characterisation. I thought it's pretty good, so I've gone ahead to translate it here. I own 0 rights to this. I just thought it's a good perspective that may help others like me who struggled with the ending.

I think I've mostly made my peace with it now, and to sum it up:

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all that they are.

A-Xu never once blamed Lao Wen for how things turned out because he understood that. And he’s clearly a better person than I am (lol).

Let me be clear about my stand - the real victim of how the drama unfolded in the last six episodes is WKX. When we feel our hearts ache for ZZS, it's because the show let down WKX (the character). If your heart is only hurting for WKX during episodes 33-34, you should try to ship WKX with someone else, ok? If you think the last six episodes were great and that WKX was very romantic (and only romantic), then I honestly don't know what to say.

I ship wenzhou. That means I like both Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu. I want them to love each other, be good to each other and live happily ever after. And I want them not to be OOC.

The rest behind the cut. Spoilers for the whole drama.

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First, the source. Here is a link to that Weibo post, by 爱吐槽的栗小姐. I will delete this if requested by the OP - because this is really in a grey area imo. But I think the intention of a public post is for it to be shared? (especially something like this, which argues a point)

Secondly, the poster does try to be fair in her post, but as the problem here is WKX's ruined characterisation, ZZS's character is analysed primarily concerning this issue only. There's quite a bit left to ZZS's character and backstory that isn't relevant. I believe that's why the post doesn't elaborate on it, or so I hope.

-------

Ever since WKX faked his death, I received three to four waves of fellow sister fans' mournful wails: "Lao Wen actually faked his death; does he have a heart?" "They were supposed to be of the same heart and treat each other with honesty. How did they regress?" "What happened to their innate soulmate-ness?" "Why does A-Xu always say to face things together, yet Lao Wen always keeps his plans from him?" "A-Xu loves Lao Wen, yet Lao Wen only loves himself"…….

Wait. What have you guys misunderstood about the meaning of soulmates?

Soulmates are about values, but a person's behaviour… that's methodology FFS!

(Do they no longer teach this in political affairs class in high school anymore?)

Wenzhou, these soulmates, are incomparably compatible and mesh well in terms of values. According to the scriptwriter, the entire jianghu wants and tries to get the pieces of Glazed Armour, save the two of them. Not only do they not care for the peerless martial arts, immense power, nor the massive wealth that the Glazed Armour represents, they don't even care for the power they hold in their hands –Ghost Valley and the Window of Heaven. Both of them willing to give it up without a second thought.

Before they met each other, they were so tired of (ZZS) and so angry at (WKX) this earthly world that they didn't even want to live on anymore.

After they met each other, they gradually began to feel the warmth in this world again. How nice it would be if they could live in seclusion, hand in hand and just bask in the sun.

In this world, where everyone else is fighting for power or wealth, they are true soulmates. To intelligent people like them, whether or not they're honest about their identities or secrets is merely a matter of formality. They had already determined their attraction to the other's soul early on and have never doubted it.

There may be some here who would criticise loudly at this point, "Then can't you be more considerate for your soulmate (the actual phrased used is "spiritual companion")? A-Xu has said many times, let's face everything together, I'll bet that you will be honest with me. If you really love him, then why can't you care for his feelings?"

----- You guys, you've never been married.

If two souls meeting can naturally resolve all behavioural conflicts and disagreements, then the theory of "breaking in" * would not exist.

Let us take a look at what kind of a person WKX and ZZS each are.

Wen Kexing, he's a lone wolf.

After his parents' death and his entering the Ghost Valley, his smooth sailing life suddenly fell off a cliff. Ever since then, the only person he could rely on was himself. That deep-seated hatred is carved into his bones, yet he can't speak of it to anyone else. He isn't the same type of person as the rest of the ghosts in the Ghost Valley; he isn't the same type of person as A-Xiang, who he raised. If we talk about the world and everyone who lives in it, he doesn't have any fetters or feels any (positive) emotions.

His supposed craziness is a form of indifference. He's indifferent to others' lives, nor his own, because he just doesn't care. (T/N: I think he does care for his own life, but only for revenge, after that, he's indifferent. Indifferent isn't suicidal. I don't know why some fans seem to be confusing the two. Although he didn't plan to, if he somehow manages to stay alive after getting his revenge, WKX will continue to live on, even if it's only to keep A-Xiang happy because he is indifferent.)

Growing up like this, being solitary became his style. He's used to doing everything alone, used to making his own decisions, used to digesting all his emotions himself.

Every time he argues with A-Xu, he digests his emotions himself. The next day, he faces A-Xu with a smile again.

This is how he loves, to take it upon himself to face danger, difficulty and pain alone. It's how he had supported A-Xiang all these years in the Ghost Valley and what he's used to.

While Zhou Zishu, he's a lead horse (of a herd). **

Since a very young age, he's taught to take responsibility. He's used to bearing everything on his shoulders, be it the responsibility of his family or the responsibility for the Four Seasons Manor, even the responsibility for saving commoners from disasters.

Unlike the lone wolf, the lead horse is ultimately a social animal.

Regardless of his identity as the Manor Lord of the Four Seasons Manor or the Leader of the Window of Heaven, he's always the one to lead the herd and rarely fights alone. So, A-Xu not only has leadership ability but more than that, he also knows how to be tolerant and accepting of the differences of his team members. You can see the various ways he managed to influence Lao Wen along the road; he's firm when he needs to be and soft the other times. It's absolutely textbook in managing your lover workplace management.

Zhou Zishu believes in communication whenever there's a problem, that they should be open and honest. So, teamwork is what he's used to.

Does it mean that when a horse and lone wolf fall in love, that there won't be a breaking in period?

Obviously not.

I guess this is where some may say again, "isn't this part of a character's arc/development? The two of them quarrel time and time again. Did WKX not grow at all from it?"

Of course, after meeting each other, they both grew and saved each other.

When he first left Window of Heaven, A-Xu was lonely with regret. Unlike the lone wolf who's used to doing everything alone, a lead horse without the last of his herd has no way to bear the bone-deep loneliness and merciless self-recrimination.

ZZS wandered around this world aimlessly until Lao Wen started pestering him, until he picked up Zhang Chengling, right up until he felt he hadn't singlehandedly destroyed the Four Seasons Manor. This lead horse finally regained a goal in life. He gained a partner and a lover. Lao Wen sticks to him, Chengling relies on him, and the abandoned Four Seasons Manor became like-new in his hands. He finally reconciles with himself.

When he first came out of the valley, Lao Wen carried a rage strong enough to burn the world down. But when he met A-Xu, he also met the beauty of the world.

When the Four Sages of Anji died, WKX understood how he caused innocent suffering. When Gao Chong walked to his death knowingly, he understood that although some may desire power, they could still be righteous and upstanding people. When he learned of everything Long Que sacrificed to protect his family***, he finally relaxed his guard.

There were so many types of good people and things that he saw along this journey that he hadn't seen in the Ghost Valley. When A-Xu told him he was a good person as they basked in the sun, he genuinely wanted to return to the human (vs ghost) realm and be a good man.

Along their journey, A-Xu made up for the morals and values that WKX lost in the Ghost Valley and showed him a new world outlook. He appeased Lao Wen's anger, tempered his extremism. The process wasn't easy, but not that difficult either, because, in the end, Lao Wen is kind at heart.

But in the end, being a lone wolf is how he survived and succeeded in a place like the Ghost Valley. When A-Xu was so heavily injured and needed a lot of rest (for Wu Xi) to save his life, Lao Wen suddenly recalled his enemies and how such an excellent opportunity to take revenge just fell into his lap. Everything was in place, and all he needed to do was hide it from A-Xu; he could leave for a short while and have it settled quickly. Upon returning, he could then live happily ever after with his wife. To a crazy lone wolf, why would he not take a gamble?

What he couldn't predict was the news would've been leaked (to A-Xu), and he didn't know that by doing so, he would've forever lost his love.

Both of them were using their own methods to love the other person. Zhou Zishu is more forgiving and accepting because being forgiving is in his blood. While what WKX learned in his years in the Ghost Valley is -- love needs to be protected, like how he has A-Xiang, who he considers a sister, call himself master (to protect her).

Only when faced with painful consequences can a person's deep-rooted habits and approach to things change. So I don't think faking his death ruined the characterisation of Wen Kexing, but I regret that the last two episodes did not have a scene to show us Lao Wen's heartbreak when he learns the truth.

Until I know what it feels like to have lost you, I will only love you in my own way.

T/N:

*I can't think of the correct phrase for this as I don't read all that much about relationships >< please let me know if you know of it. Here, I'm referring to the process of wearing something new (like shoes) that will hurt at the start until it becomes soft and comfortable.

** I did some side-reading, and omg, A-Xu is TOTALLY the lead mare. Although he's not the stallion and weak/dying for most of the show, he's the head of their little family, and he expects "to be obeyed", aka, I'm not going to learn how to cook. Call me for dinner. Kthxbye.

From Rutgers' website: A herd of wild horses consists of one or two stallions, a group of mares, and their foals. The leader of the herd is usually an older mare (the "alpha mare"), even though one stallion owns the herd. She maintains her dominant role even though she may be physically weaker than the others. The older mare has had more experiences, more close encounters, and survived more threats than any other horse in the herd. The requirement of the lead horse is not strength or size; if this were so, then humans could never dominate a horse. Dominance is established not only through aggression but also through attitudes that let the other horses know she expects to be obeyed.

***I think this is important here because WKX wasn't crying for his loss. I think a big part of him was realising not everyone in the world was callous and turned their backs on his parents, that he could've gone his whole life without ever discovering what sacrifices some people have made. Good people suffer quietly and in silence. It's a big moment to realise he was wrong about many things that he had let hatred blind himself to the world. Because although he was sad about the Four Sages and somewhat shocked by Gao Chong's death, he hadn't truly faced up to his actions until now.

(screenshot of the scriptwriter liking the above post)

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To add:

I'm not sure how many of you read my "opinion" posts, but I've been struggling to find a way to accept the last six episodes of Word of Honor. I first tried looking at open forum postings, comments, and Tumblr posts. None of it worked because it was just arguing and emotions and no one made points good enough for me to accept things.

So I gave up and went back to reading Chinese sites. I found many posts discussing the plot. Some I liked, some I didn't, but none satisfied my need for a reasonable explanation. I felt they had biases (both ways), or else it lacked logic. After a time, I realised that I should be looking for WKX-stans (or pro-WKX fans) because they would be more motivated to explain his side, but also because well-written posts by wenzhou-fans & ZZS-stans made me super sad.

I'm sorry, but those who keep trying to explain why the ending was good completely missed that episodes 32-34 are the real problem to those who don't like it and only focused on 36. I can understand if people don't think those episodes are a problem, but no one could provide an articulate and sensible reason. There are just too few well-reasoned plot-focused posts in English (sorry). I've seen too many examples of WKX-fans arguing with people who are upset about the ending, backed by nothing more than "look how much WKX suffers, woe is him. And how romantic is this????" *dies*

Lastly, if you spot anything inaccurate, let me know & I will correct it.

#word of honor #word of honor meta #wenzhou #opinion #i think this counts as meta #if you think the drama did WKX justice #and that he can do no wrong #in the last 6 episodes #....#......#srsly #you can't claim to ship wenzhou #& think the last 6 eps are perfect

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0aurelion-sol0 · 3 years

Text

"There's no place like gnome."

Stranger Things 3: The Game.

Gnomes 1-10. 🧙‍♂️

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

It's no secret that the Duffers take a lot of inspirations from Pop Culture. From the most well known movies to the more obscure comics, they are always able to sneak a reference somewhere everytime. And they are also able to make it connected to the story.

I've bragged about how the Stranger Things expanded universe in media is one of the best out there compared to many others. I think that the Duffers, the writers or people in the highest places of the marketing are really paying attention to what comes out of the ST franchise because there is no way to have such content with so many details without someone looking into them.

And ST3: The Game is a very good example of that.

So let's start! The first 10 Gnomes out of 50 that you have to find in the game.

BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW!

"There's elements that could please those who makes metas/analyzes or theories. Especially things related to possible future plot points, easter eggs, references in previous seasons mainly season 3 like unsolved mysteries or unanswered questions and for future seasons such as season 4 like foreshadowing or teasers, trailers or as of lately the sneak peek."

If you have anything you'd like to add, might think I have missed or think it might be referencing something else don't hesitate to share it by commenting or reblogging.

(Say thanks to @hawkinsschoolcounselor for having helped me with some of them. )

_____________________________

Gnome #1: Johnny

"He's here... with an axe."

Overall plot:

"The film's central character is Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the isolated historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Wintering over with Jack are his wife, Wendy Torrance, and young son, Danny Torrance. Danny is gifted with "the shining", psychic abilities that enable him to see into the hotel's horrific past. The hotel cook, Dick Hallorann, also has this ability and is able to communicate with Danny telepathically. The hotel had a previous winter caretaker who went insane and killed his family and himself. After a winter storm leaves the Torrances snowbound, Jack's sanity deteriorates due to the influence of the supernatural forces that inhabit the hotel, placing his wife and son in danger."

So I assume a lot of you know The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. A movie which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Stephen King in 1977.

There's a lot of things that could have served as an inspiration for ST.

A boy/child who has psychic abilities = Eleven has psychic abilities such as telekinesis. Will has his True Sight which consist in seeing what the MF was seeing and feeling.

Now there's also the theme of family and parenthood that is also a big theme in Stranger Things. Especially abusive parenthood such as Brenner, Lonnie and even Hopper to a smaller degree.

In Shining, Jack tries to kill his family with an axe due to supernatural forces that are in the hotel but there's a difference between King and Kubrick. While King specifically said that Jack was heavily influenced by the Hotel, Kubrick shows that Jack always had that sinister violence in him even before they arrived at the hotel.

It's interesting to draw a parallel to Billy and Will, both characters called William who tried to kill their families and other people while being possessed. But Billy compared to Will was shown to have been abusive even before that. Dacre Montgomery also said that he was inspired by Jack Nicholson's performance in the Shining for his character Billy.

Joyce and Jonathan were shown to get ready to fight the monsters by taking an axe.

It's also interesting to note that Jack dies in the snow while a blizzard is happening outside the hotel. Much like the storm of the Mindflayer who is in the Upside Down, the same Mindflayer who "likes it cold". While in the book, the Overlook explodes and burn.

(Cold vs Fire much like everything Upside Down related not liking Fire.)

Also "Johnny" = "Jonathan", it's kind of similar and Jonathan did wield an axe before. Maybe this is teasing parts of Jonathan storyline next seasons ?

The gnome was also found in Mike's basement, Mike who wants to be a writer when he's older just like Jack.

Let's just hope that Jonathan and Mike don't get the same fate as Jack.

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Gnome #2: Christine

"Two bright, beaming lights for eyes."

Overall plot:

"Written by Bill Phillips and based on Stephen King's 1983 novel of the same title, the movie follows the changes in the lives of Arnie Cunningham, an awkward and unpopular teenager, his friends, his family, and his teenage enemies in Rockbridge, California after Arnie buys a classic red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine, licence number CQB 241, a car that seems to have a jealous, possessive personality – and a mind of its own, which has a bad influence on Arnie. After working on a car in a junkyard owned by Will Darnell, Arnie drops his glasses, starts dressing like a 1950's greaser and develops an arrogant and paranoid personality. He than decides to invite and date the most beautiful girl in highschool, Leigh, who will soon become the next victim of Christine."

I was actually quite surprised by how this story parallels Stranger Things a lot.

First off, Christine is very much like The Mindflayer, a dangerous supernatural being set out to destroy anyone who is in her way, the people who tries to take the things that she thinks belongs to her or threatens her. This is very much relevant to The Mindflayer who after being hurt by the Fire created by the Hawkins Lab was upset and attacked everyone he could. Or as Will putted "Not me, everyone else."

This is very much like Christine who tried to kill Leigh because she was taking her place in the life of Arnie. Christine also tried to kill the bullies of Arnie who after a conflit with him, tried to destroy the car which angered Christine heavily.

The Mindflayer has been described someone who views himself as superior to other species and wants to conquer them, even if it's not his real "goal", the description fits anyone who is possessive and paranoid.

Both the MF and Christine are associated with the color red. Red storm = red color of the car.

Arnie ressembles Will and Billy alot. Will is an awkward and unpopular teenager who after being possessed by the Mindflayer became very different and more violent. Billy was shown to be paranoid, jealous, violent and his look even ressembles the one Arnie takes after repairing Christine.

Both of these boys have the same name as Will Darnell, the owner of a junkyard. Just like the boys in Season 1 who takes shelter in a junkyard, or in season 2 where they fight the Demodogs.

Billy dies, killed by the Mindflayer just like Arnie who was completely possessed by Christine who tried to kill Leigh and Dennis, his best friend after they tried to destroy the car when they realised the supernatural nature of it.

Billy's car ressembles a lot Christine with those lights on. Especially with shots like in the Void or at Starcourt during the night.

Chrissy, a new character that will be in season 4, the most popular girl in Hawkins High like Leigh, has a name that is the diminutive of Christine. It is said that under the perfect surface lies a dark secret. Much like the car Christine, while a beauty is actually a dangerous supernatural being. We'll see if the both of them actually connects in the show.

Also it is set in California where Billy and Max come from and has been rumored by many people due to set leaks (The Surfer Boy Pizza Van.) that it is where the Byers went. I won't get into it in this post but this could be a tease or hint of that IF the set leaks ARE true and not fake to mess with people and the fandom.

Arnie also dies in a car crash having been completely possessed by the evil powers of Christine which is something we see in the sneak peek of ST4. It also reminds of Carrie who has a bully named Chris who she kills in a car crash with her boyfriend Billy aka William.

So will someone die from that car crash ? Who is it ? Chrissy, Joyce, Lonnie ? We can only speculate.

The gnome is also found outside the Wheeler's house where Karen lives near the community pool where Billy works and where the car of Billy is located during the first few chapters of the game. Again, a "bad boy" hitting on the beautiful girl in town. (with a lot of creepy subtext all over it.)

_____________________________

Gnome #3: Doc

"Always mumbling something about being late."

Overall plot:

"Set in 1985, in the town of Hill Valley, California, the story follows Marty McFly, a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Doctor Emmett "Doc" Brown. Trapped in the past, Marty inadvertently prevents his future parents' meeting—threatening his very existence—and is forced to reconcile the pair and somehow get back to the future."

So I don't think I need to explain why this is here given how much it has been shown and mentioned in season 3. But few things are interesting here, the fact that California is mentioned is a big deal for me again. I know you are aware of the set leaks just as I am aware, if we can trust them than this could be a hint of that location.

Next, we have the theme of Time. Now ever since ST4 was announced, clocks and times have been a key feature in the promotion. Who know what this might mean but again, we're not going to develop that in the post.

There is also the whole funny scenes of Robin realising that indeed Marty's mother had tried to "bang" her own son. Now given the nature of the shown, certain images in the show during certain events and certain stories, you know to what it connects and to which theories it connects. Won't develop further on it but it can be used as an element that can go into those theories.

The gnome is also found outside of Starcourt Mall where Robin and Steve talk about "Back to the Future". It is also where Billy has his "Back to te Future" moment with his car going extremely fast just like the DeLorean.

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Gnome #4: Indiana

"Master of Adventure."

Overall plot:

"After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by desperate villagers to find a mystical stone and rescue their children from a Thuggee cult practicing child slavery, black magic, and ritualistic human sacrifice in honor of the goddess, Kali."

Fun fact, on Twitter for ST3 promo, a parody poster of this same movie has been posted here of the official ST account.

Jim is obviously Indiana Jones, the look speaks for itself and when he is in the Tunnels in season 2, there's a lot of Indiana Jones imagery.

And of course Kali as 008, a Hindu goddess but as we will see here, it parallels more the Mindflayer.

In 1935, Indiana Jones survives a murder attempt by Lao Che, a crime boss in Shanghai who has hired him to retrieve the remains of Emperor Nurhaci. With his young orphaned Chinese sidekick, Short Round, and the nightclub singer, Willie Scott, in tow, Indy flees Shanghai on a cargo aircraft. While the three of them are asleep, the pilots (employed by Lao Che) dump the fuel and escape via parachute, leaving the plane to crash over the Himalayas. The three narrowly manage to survive by jumping out of the plane on an inflatable raft.

(I wonder if this could be something we see in season 4 with Hopper where he tries to escape on a plane and ends up crashing somewhere or is betrayed by someone who he asked the help of. Now it's a trio and in season 3, Jim, Joyce, Alexei and Murray are the main group that fits this trio. Jim for all the fighting and crazy shit, Joyce and Alexei are kind of like Short Round, they are the sidekicks of Hopper. Murray the role of Willie Scott since she speaks Chinese and him Russian and that Jim just like Indy finds annoying sometimes. Alexei is also kind of like Willie since he kinda goes along with them.

But if we also look at season 2, El is alot like Short Round since she is kind of an orphan too and has a father figure later on. It could also be Will since Hopper is with him a lot of times through season 2. Also Willie did felt out of her element like Alexei because of course he is Russian. Willie in itself doesn't have a lot in common with Joyce but still it's another connection to Will since she has a name close to the one of her sons. Something that does fit a bit more is Jim and Hopper both escaping death, of course Hopper at the end of season 3 but also during season 3 at the farm where he's being shot at by Gregori and than the car doesn't work and explodes and they have to make their way through the forest.

Willie Scott could also be referenced when El disguise herself as this pretty blonde girl in season 1.

Now however, Scoop Troops does fit certain parts of these trio. All the fighting with Steve like Indiana Jones but Robin got his brain because she cracked the code. Dustin and Erica are kinda like short round (especially Dustin who has kind of the same hat as short round.) and are referenced with all the others as children by Robin. Steve doesn't feel in his element like Willie with the three of them who are nerds just like Erica who also doesn't want to accept it. And Robin just like Willie speaks some languages.)

They ride down the mountain slopes and fall into a raging river, eventually arriving at the village of Mayapore in northern India. The villagers plead for their aid in retrieving the sacred stone (shivalinga) stolen from their shrine, along with their missing children, by evil forces in the nearby Pankot Palace. Indy agrees to do so, hypothesizing that the stone is one of the five Sankara stones given by the gods to help humanity fight evil. (It's kinda like Alexei who turns his back on the Russians, for his life of course and agrees to help Hopper close the gate to save Hawkins and their kids before monsters start to appear or may attack one of their kids. Now the stone could be something similar to the promethium or the two keys who opens the gate and is a highly valuable ressource. It also may be the Flayed who are needed to create the monster for the Mindflayer.)

The trio receive a warm welcome at Pankot Palace and are allowed to stay for the night as guests, attending a lavish, but revolting, banquet hosted by the young Maharajah. The officials rebuff Indy's theory that the Thuggee cult is responsible for their troubles. Later that night, Indy is attacked by an assassin. After Indy kills him, he discovers a series of tunnels hidden behind a statue and sets out to explore them, overcoming a number of booby-traps.

(This could be like when Hopper, Joyce and Murray disguised themselves as Russian soldiers but was than discovered by Grigori who attacks them.

The tunnels could be both groups discovering that there is a secret russian base underground and a gate which explains why there are monsters again in Hawkins but it also be the Source, Brimborn Steel Works, where the Mindflayer is lurking underground where he has cult-like followers who makes sacrifices for him to grow bigger and bigger.

It's also like the Tunnels in season 2 who explains why the soil of Hawkins seemed to literally rot. )

The trio reach an underground temple where the Thuggees worship Kali with human sacrifice. They discover that the Thuggees now possess three of the Sankara stones and have enslaved the children to search for the last two, hidden in the palace catacombs. As Indy tries to retrieve the stones, he, Willie, and Shorty are captured. Thuggee high priest Mola Ram forces Indy to drink a potion that puts him into a trance-like state in which he mindlessly serves the cult. (It's very much like Robin and Steve who after discovering the gate are catched by the Russians and than drugged to answer their questions. But also like the Flayed who drinks the chemicals and serves the Mindflayer like a mindless cult.)

Willie is prepared for sacrifice, while Shorty is put to work in the mines with the other children. Shorty escapes and returns to the temple, where he first frees Indy and, later, the Maharajah from the effects of the potion. Indy saves Willie and retrieves the stones. After freeing the children, Indy fights a hulking overseer and leaves him to be killed by a rock crusher. (Basically Dustin saves Steve and Robin. Willie being prepared for sacrifice is kind of like El prepared for sacrifice by Billy in 3x08 but also frees Billy from the effects of the Mindflayer by making him remember his mother, a pretty blonde woman like Willie and sacrifices himself. And Hopper fights Gregori, a "hulking overseer" and kills him.)

The trio escape from the temple, pursued by Thuggees, and barely escape Mola Ram's attempt to flood them out. They are again ambushed by Mola Ram and his henchmen on a rope bridge above a crocodile-infested river. Indy cuts the bridge, causing several of the henchmen to fall to the crocodiles and leaving the survivors to hang on for their lives. As Mola Ram and Indy struggle, Indy invokes the name of Shiva, causing the stones to glow red-hot and burn through Indy's satchel. Two of them fall out; Mola Ram tries to catch the third, but burns his hand and falls from the bridge and into the river, where he, too, is eaten by the crocodiles. (This can be connected to all the kids fighting in Hawkins with the Spider Monster. But the bridge could also fit for the key in the secret base where Hopper and Gregori fights. The gruesome death of Mola Ram is similar to the gruesome death that Gregori has.)

Indy catches the stone safely and climbs up just as a company of British Indian Army riflemen, sent by the Maharajah, arrive and open fire against the Thuggees to drive them away; the surviving Thuggees are soon cornered and arrested by more soldiers. Indy, Willie, and Shorty return safely to Mayapore with the stone and the missing children. (While it may end well in the movie, we know Billy and multiple people die, the Thuggees unlike the Russians have been captured while the Russians where all able to flee before the US Army arrives and Hopper is presumed dead. Only the children in both stories are alive but are probably traumatized for life.)

All in all we can see that this movie might have had a big influence on the plot of season 3 through many characters and more. It may have some hints about possible events for Hopper in season 4 or even beyond but that's about it for. It's a nice package of comparaisons and references though.

The gnome is found in the Hawkins Community Pool where Billy is. The same Billy who obeys mindlessly the Mindflayer and sacrifices people to it. Just like the Thuggees with Kali.

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Gnome #5: Chunk

"Posed in some odd dance maneuver."

Overall plot:

"In the film, a band of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves."

So first, let's get this out of the way, Sean Astin who play Bob Newby, our beloved who plays a character named Mikey.

The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.

I wonder if this might hint at some Season 4 plot right here. The Hawkins gang faces the threat of Hawkins becoming a literal ghost down and might need to find something to save it. Also Willy like William, again Will is still there.

The Goonies include optimist lead Goonie Mikey Walsh, his older brother Brandon, the inventive Data, the talkative Mouth, and the overweight klutz Chunk.

Rummaging through the Walshes' attic, they come across a 1632 doubloon and an old treasure map purporting to lead to the treasure of legendary pirate "One-Eyed Willy", believed to be located somewhere nearby. Mikey considers One-Eyed Willy to be the original Goonie. (It kinda reminds me of Mike who got mad at Max in season 2 and told her they didn't need another party member. And he mentionned Will first right after him.)

The kids overpower and bind Brandon and make their way to an abandoned restaurant on the coast that coincides with the map; Brandon soon follows alongside Andy, a cheerleader with a crush on him ( there has been cheerleaders that have been reported in season 4 such as Chrissy.); and Stef, Andy's friend. The group quickly discovers the derelict restaurant is a hideout of the Fratelli crime family: Francis, Jake, and their mother. (Maybe it is both a reference to the Russians in season 3 who have a hideout under the mall who have many restaurants. Or the Lab who OBVIOUSLY does a lot of illegal activities. )

The Goonies find a tunnel in the basement and follow it (like the tunnels made by the Mindflayer in season 2), but when Chunk flags down a motorist to go to the sheriff’s station, he gets abducted by the assailants and imprisoned with their hulking, deformed, younger brother Sloth. (This is obviously like Dustin who befriends Dart in season 2, a literal Demogorgon in the making.)

The Fratellis interrogate Chunk until he reveals where the Goonies have gone, and begin pursuit. Chunk is left behind with Sloth, but befriends him. After Sloth frees both of them, Chunk calls the sheriff, and both follow the trail of the Fratellis. (This is very reminiscent of Hopper in season 1 who gets interrogated by Lab agents or Steve and Robin by the Russians.)

The Goonies evade several deadly booby traps along the tunnels, while staying ahead of the Fratellis. Finally, they reach the grotto where Willy's pirate ship, the Inferno, is anchored. (Will also has a ship, the rainbow ship he drew for Joyce, also Inferno literally means Hell just like what Hawkins has been called.)

The group discovers the ship is filled with treasure, and they start filling their pockets, but Mikey warns them not to take any on a set of scales in front of Willy, considering that to be their tribute to him. As they leave the ship, the assailants appear and strip them of their loot. They start to bind the Goonies and make them walk the plank, until Chunk arrives with Sloth and distracts the assailants long enough for the Goonies to jump overboard and swim to safety. (It's the opposite of the season 2 finale, where Dustin has to distract Dart so that the other could pass through the tunnels.)

The Fratellis proceed to grab all the treasure they can, including those on Willy's scales; this triggers another booby trap that causes the grotto to cave in. With Sloth's help, the Goonies and Fratellis barely escape.

The two groups emerge on Astoria's beach, where they reunite with the Goonies' families and the police. The Fratellis are arrested, but Chunk prevents Sloth from also being taken; he invites Sloth to live with him, which Sloth accepts. ("Unfortunately", Dart compared to Sloth probably died.)

As the kids describe their adventure to their parents, the Walshes' housekeeper, Rosalita, discovers that Mikey's marble bag is filled with gems he took from the ship and had not been seized by the Fratellis. Mikey's father triumphantly rips up the foreclosure papers, declaring they have enough money to negate the foreclosure. As the Goonies celebrate, they see the Inferno, having broken free of the grotto, sailing off on its own in the distance. (Could it be hinting at a possible happy ending for Stranger Things ?)

So Fratellis, is similar to fratello which means "brother, fellow, neighbor" which perhaps could be a reference to the Mindflayer who is kind of our neighbor since he is basically in the same places but in the Upside Down. The Mindflayer also has been paralleled to Billy and other abusive father figures. Billy who is the brother of Max. He has also been paralleled to Kali through his anger and him attacking people who hurted him or might hurt him. Could in itself The Mindflayer should be taken or seen as some sort of family figure ? Maybe him being always associated with Will The Wise especially in 2x04 or someone who has the name Will like Billy is a connection. The same Billy who also parallels Russians who just like the Fratellis have secret hideouts.

Though the Fratellis are more motivated by greed which fits Brenner, Lonnie (who tried to use his son's death to gain money.) or Russians most.

Now Willy, Willy is a captain. Maybe it could be hinting at the fact that Will has more importance to the story than we think. There's also Inferno, "Hell" which is Hawkins but also the name of the ship. And Will has a rainbow ship... Could Hawkins be the ship of Will where his adventures are taking place ?

As for the dance... well as you've seen upper in the post: it's the "Truffle Shuffle Dance". It's something that Chunk has to do before entering Mikey's house. It's similar to what Dustin do at the beginning of season 1 to the bullies when he makes his bones crack due to his medical condition, cleidocranial dysplasia.

As for where this gnome is located, it's in Weathertop where Cerebro is located which is fitting since Dustin has a lot of Goonies as inspiration for his character.

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Gnome #6: Elvis

"He's not dead!"

"Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy." - Wikipedia.

It is a lot known that people in the 80's thought that Elvis Presley was still alive due to his status and the aura he had as a celebrity. However, no matter how appealing this myth may be, he died of an excessive usage of prescription drugs which reminds me of Nancy who said she thought Tom was on drugs when he fired her and Jonathan while he an the Flayed were drinking chemicals. He also died in 1977, the same year "Heroes" by David Bowie came out which is a song that was used two times when we thought a character died when he was actually alive which are Will and Hopper. Will and Hopper both have a lot of rock in their Spotify playlist.

Also, I personally think that Steve has kind of an Elvis Presley aura to him especially in season 1. After all, Steve has a nickname "King Steve" and Elvis Presley is often nicknamed "The King" and both were popular with girls.

Fun fact: Dacre Montgomery who plays Billy who literally becomes the new "King" of Hawkins will play in the biographical music drama "Elvis" about Elvis Presley where he will play a character called "Steve Binder".

Also actor David Harbour also got married with singer Lily Allen by Elvis in Las Vegas.

It's also found hidden behind bushes near the Public Library. Maybe indicating that Elvis is still out there in the world and hiding.

Which also may be a reference to Brenner who has a similar haircut but also about the novel "Suspicious Minds", a prequel of ST taking place in the Lab when Brenner was doing his sinister experiments which is the same title as one of the songs of Elvis. Like Elvis, Brenner is still out there, hiding in Hawkins.

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Gnome #7: Jack

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull gnome."

Again another reference to Shining. So what you are seeing here is a proverb, it means: "It means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring."

In Shining, it represents Jack's slow descent into madness. But it could be a reference to Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy who all work their asses off and don't take a lot of time for themselves and so don't have the time to explore anything else than work which also cause for them not to be there when Will got kidnapped. It may also represent Jonathan's words to Nancy in season 1 where he "called out" the boring life she will have and that she will live like her parents so in this case the proverb becomes about societal norms.

Mike just like Jack is an aspiring writer, Mike just like other members of his family falls into these societal norms that are expected like work and overworking in this instance which makes them boring in the eyes of people like Jonathan. "No play" may also reference D&D which Mike started to ignore in season 3 and worried more pointless and superficial things.

Again, hope it doesn't foreshadow anything for these two characters.

This gnome is found in the Library which is fitting considering Jack wants to be a writer.

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Gnome #8: Flynn (Flynn Rider from "Tangled" (2010))

"Looks like he rides well."

Overall plot of Tangled (2010):

"The film tells the story of Rapunzel, a lost, young princess with magical long blonde hair who yearns to leave her secluded tower. Against her abusive foster mother's wishes who kidnappee her when she was young, she accepts the aid of an intruder to take her out into the world which she has never seen."

This story is literally what the boys was arguing about at the end of season 1.

1)The lost knight...

Flynn Rider is actually the son of a king and queen that were from a kingdom that got destroyed by a powerful opal. He was evacuated and placed in an orphanage. He made his reputation as thief.

So Mike and El both parallels this guy, well Mike is a palladin in D&D and he is the son of a wealthy family so he is basically a night. El however also lost her parents like him and has more attributes of a knight in season 1 than Mike.

Flynn is arrogant, which Mike can be a bit sometimes but the both of them can be extremely courageous and care a lot about the people they care about though they are not very strong, nor athletic. Maybe Flynn a bit more.

Also fun coincidence Flynn = Finn, the name of the actor who plays Mike. (almost the same name).

Both him and El run into each other in the woods. Just like Flynn who discover Rapunzel while trying to enter Rapunzel's tower but is knocked out by her who is none other than the...

2)The proud princess...

Well first Rapunzel = Eleven. Both of these girls have magical powers and are used by an abusive and evil parental figure who needs them for their own interest, Mother Gothel used the powers of Rapunzel to stay young forever (like an addiction, a drug) and Martin Brenner aka "Papa". They are both locked away somewhere. El in the lab and Rapunzel in the tower which they both seeked to escape out of. Both believed that these parental figures loved them while it was not true. El also has long blond hair in season 1 like Rapunzel. And both quickly form a relationship with a boy they just met. Both don't know who their real parents are and wants to find them. While Rapunzel has long blonde hair, El had a shaved head.

Also in season 2, El is locked in a cabin in the woods because of Hopper because he believe it is not safe out there which is exactly what Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel. Just like her El disobeys and seeks to discover who her true parents are.

Rapunzel seeks to know what are those floating lights that always appear on her birthday, it is actually her parents who are the king and queen of a kingdom not so far away that do that every year hoping one day she will come back to her. She is a "lost princess". It is very similar to Terry Ives who was communicating through the lights to El.

Rapunzel's power comes out of something that is also connected to something famous in ST.

3) Weird flowers in the cave...

Rapunzel's power come from a flower called "Sundrop flower". = Sunflower which is said by Terry Ives.

This flower can pretty much heal anything including mortal wounds. The Queen got pregnant with Rapunzel but was also terribly sick so she took this flower to heal herself and while doing so, Rapunzel got this ability.

This is very reminiscent of Terry Ives who was pregnant with El and took part in the MKUltra experiences that gave her these powers including certain drugs. She is also "ill" in a way as she is now stuck in a loop. At least from what we saw.

But Rapunzel also parallels another character.

Will Byers. Will could communicate through lights to his mother, just like the parents of Rapunzel and Terry Ives.

The weird flowers could be referencing the sort of vines that entered inside of him in the Upside Down which gave him his "now-memories".

Both had abusive parental figure that would lock them somewhere for whatever reason. (Lonnie with Will in his trunk.)

(Also Hopper may have tried to separate Mike and El but he wasn't like what a Lonnie or Brenner would have been. This is why yes, the situation in season 2 parallels but Hopper truly wished good for El while Brenner and Mother Gothel didn't care for any of these two.)

Same is for Lonnie, he doesn't care about Will.

Since Will is a cleric, both him and Rapunzel have the same time of power. Powers that El doesn't have:

To heal the sick and injured

To revive the dead

To work as a shield

Given this story, it may hint at the fact that Brenner and Lonnie may try to take El and Will for their own greed and purposes.

Since Rapunzel parallels both Will and El, you know what that means for Flynn who parallels Mike.

Flynn in the movie is stabbed by Mother Gothel and dies before cutting the hair of Rapunzel killing Mother Gothel in the process. Rapunzel mourns him and one of his tears heal him.

If Flynn parallels Mike, than something bad could happen to him. If Will does have powers and has feelings for Mike, a supposed death may reveal his powers.

And if he has the same powers as his cleric role, than he could heal those who get hurt or even bring the dead back to life.

If Lonnie sees Mike around Will, given he is homophobic. He may try to hurt him so that he doesn't go near Will again which could lead to him being in grave danger.

Of course all of that is just speculation.

This gnome was found on the parking lot of Starcourt where El decided to break up with Mike and we saw Will smiling in the background.

Also I don't know but... "Looks like he rides well", I mean there's certain undertones to that which are... I don't know how to process that but from what you've just read, Mike apparently rides well. I mean I have nothing against gay sex jokes but still...

Even if it's unintentional, it's how it'll sound on the internet.

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Gnome #9: David

"At 399, he's the oldest gnome around."

So this gnome was already in the first ST official mobile game. And this reminds me a lot of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit but also and of course; Dungeons & Dragons.

The World of David the Gnome, originally titled David, el Gnomo (also known as David, the Gnome), is a Spanish animated television series based on the children's book The Secret Book of Gnomes, by the Dutch author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet. The series was originally created in Spain by BRB Internacional (who were also responsible for the Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds franchise (Like Dart in season 2 and Mike, Lucas and Dustin where very much like the Three Musketeers in season 1.) and other cartoons such as Bobobobs and Around the World with Willy Fog)

The series presents the gnomes as a kind species, of 15 centimetres (6 inches) of height, and between 250 and 300 grams (8 and 10 ounces) of weight depending on gnome body mass. According to their habitat, different types of gnomes are distinguished: the ones of the forest, the ones of the garden, the ones of the farm, the ones of the house, the ones of the dunes, those of Siberia (David = David Harbour = Hopper = Hopper is in Russia), and nomadic "gypsy" gnomes (commonly looked down upon by other gnomes). A gnome's lifespan is usually 400 years, though there is one example of a couple in the Balkans living 550 years.

Gnomes such as the main characters live in pairs in comfortable caves or holes under trees [kinda like Hobbits] (in their case in the company of a pair of mice and a cricket). Their diet is mostly vegetarian. They are helped by the animals of the forest (kinda like Radagast who is the password to Castle Byers who is located in the woods) when travelling long distances or when they need to arrive quickly at a specific location. Gnomes work in various ways to repair the damage inevitably caused by humans. They also have the power of telepathy and mind control. (kinda like El or the Mindflayer, or even Galadriel in The Lord Of The Rings.)

Their main enemies are the trolls, malevolent and clumsy creatures who always make trouble for the other inhabitants of the forest, as well as gnome poachers. They have supernatural powers that are really strong but they have a weakness, if the sunlight gets on them, they turn to stone.(could be referencing all the Upside Down creatures who don't like sunlight and everything hot.) [Also very much like the Hobbit.] Also one of the trolls was voiced by someone who had the name Henderson, like Dustin Henderson. I also think it references a comic where some bullies attack Will and Mike calls them trolls.

Here are the most important characters:

David is a gnome of the forest. David is 399 years old, making him the oldest gnome around (since gnomes live no more than 400 years exactly, except Franklin, the gnome from the west, who lived 550 years), although he possesses exceptional constitution. David is a doctor, and he uses his knowledge of many fields, such as hypnosis and acupuncture, to heal his patients, usually animals, such as his faithful friend Swift the fox, or other gnomes. David also befriends a bird that, when he whistles, immediately arrives to quickly transport him to wherever necessary. For longer trips, he sometimes travels in a basket attached to the neck of the bird. (It may be a reference to clerics who are known to heal their allies and travelling with birds reminds me of Gandald who sometimes has the help of Eagles in some stories.)

Paul is David's twin brother. Not only does Paul have a normal moustache in contrast to David's handlebar moustache but his jumper is a darker shade of blue, he has a bigger nose, his gnome hat is dark blue whereas David's is red, and his trousers and boots are an inverse of David's: David's trousers are brown and his boots are beige, while Paul wears beige trousers and dark boots. (Of course this is a reference to Will and El who have been compared a lot of times throughout the show and who a lot of people in the fandom consider them siblings and twins, Will has a lot of Red in his wardrobe while El has a lot of blue.)

This gnome was found in a secret Russian base underground in Weathertop where Dustin discovers the Russian transmission coming from their main base located under the mall like a cave (like where gnome lives.). There are also gnomes in Siberia and having the name David, the name of Hopper's actor creates a connection since right now Hopper is in Russia. It may also be a nod to the group of kids who are all little gnomes running around the forest with their magical powers.

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Gnome #10: Baskin

"Robin's favorite gnome."

Now this is a funny one.

This is a reference to the famous Baskin-Robbins which is a chain of ice cream restaurants that did special ice creams for Season 3 because of Scoops Ahoy. It is Robin's favorite gnome because they literally share the same name.

Baskin could also be a reference to the film of the same name where Five police officers, Remzi, Arda, Yavuz, Apo, and Seyfi, are dining at a restaurant, during which they have a discussion. Their meal is interrupted when they receive a distress call from Inceagac, a town known for being the focus of strange rumors. During the trip Seyfi has a terrifying vision of a bloody figure and accidentally drives their van into the water. Stranded, the officers eventually make their way to Inceagac, where they find themselves in an abandoned building (back in the Ottoman days, this used to be a police station), captured by cult members and are subjected to a number of increasingly bizarre and surreal scenarios. In the end, they realize they have all inadvertently wandered into Hell.

It has alot of similiraties with stories like Silent Hills or Hellraiser, two stories that inspired Stranger Things especially Hellraiser for Stranger Things 4. And it fully embraces the satanic imagery and themes which is something we are going to see with the satanic panic and also has the theme of time, dreams and visions.

We'll see how much season 4 decides to use those sort of elements in the show.

Well this gnome is easy to find. It's in the Scoops Ahoy parlor next to Robin. USS Butterscotch seems to be very popular there

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Gnomes 11 - 20 coming soon.

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