#that actually enabled them to have it follow the novels very well

[threadmonster]

Look, I know shizaya is so many Durarara!! fans OTP and all but I once again say. Wow. Like my guy. Izaya really thought "okay, I'll take this fight to the death into this big crowd. Even if I lose and he kills me, I still win. He'll be a monster. He'll go to jail and be a monster."

Disclaimer: I also ship them. I just really find this funny. Izaya is my favorite, but oh my goodness is he depressing. I would really like to know Izaya's feelings after the first series. I don't know yet if he appears in SH. I do know there's at least one novel for a spin-off him after the fight and disappearing. I haven't found where to read a translation of that. I wish the spin-offs and extra material would be serialized in English...

[howlsmovinglibrary]

You mentioned in the tags of a recent post what you’d change about Funny Story to make it a different book. Would you mind elaborating on what you meant by that? I’m curious!

hey anon, thank you for being a massive enabler bc this has in fact been my special topic for the last 48hrs.

I want to state off the bat that I still gave this book 4.75 stars. I really, really enjoyed it. That being said, I'd literally rewrite the entire thing to get it to 5.

Answer under the cut to avoid spoilers! (also shout out to @eldritchcow bc these ideas are not formed alone but through a series of ranting voice notes lmfao)

The premise of Funny Story is that two exes move in with each other after their partners run away together - the main character, Daphne, has her wedding cancelled as a result, and Miles, the love interest, also gets a pretty crap deal bc his girlfriend literally breaks up with him via A NOTE ON THE KITCHEN COUNTERTOP, before running off on holiday with another man (after they hook up AT HIS BACHELOR PARTY. DAPHNE AND MILES DESERVED TO DO VIOLENCE). Miles and Daphne move in together, a series of circumstances means that Daphne tells her ex they are now dating, and that Miles will be her plus to the NEW WEDDING that they have been INVITED TO.

Personally, I think this - two exes move in, fake date, develop feelings - is such a juicy set up for a novel, that it could carry the whole plot. But at about the halfway mark, a bunch of other stuff - family drama, friendship drama - is bought in for the third act conflict. The exes and all their drama fades to the background, and its no longer about this Very Juicy Set Up, which I think is a shame. I think that the premise could've carried the entire plot and that there was no need to bring in additional conflict... except that Emily Henry is known for adding conflicts outside of romance to her novels (creating well-rounded, 'feminist' characters - I'm not being mean, that is just the perception of it and what she is known for) and that this is thus more brand appropriate. By the same logic, it is 'less feminist' of me to argue that the book should've been more about the romance.

But it should've been more about the romance.

If I rewrote/re-edited this book, I would do the following.

Make Daphne and Miles be messier people. These two characters behave like FUCKING SAINTS, while their exes are awfully and affably evil. I've had multiple friends say that Daphne should've hit Peter (her ex) with a car. I don't necessarily think that would've been the way, but I think she should've made much more spiteful decisions. I think Henry is very concerned in stressing that these are Two Very Goody and Utterly Blameless main characters, but I think they should've gotten a little spite as a treat, actually.

And the spite they should've gotten as a treat is - fucking each other.

As is the way with romance books, there are certain 'acceptable thresholds' for smut/romance scenes. So I get it, I really do. But Daphne and Miles only bang once it's a healthy decision... and I'll be honest, it would've been sexier if they had had sex in an unhealthy place. (for the people who've read the book: kiss at the drunk night out with Gil, sex at the truck or before the truck, then Sex With Real Feelings at the point where they actually have sex)

If they had had sex out of spite/petty revenge first, then the entire plot of the book could've been around 'catching feelings' and this would still have been a totally valid character arc. I would've liked to have seen more questionable decisions that are still somewhat about the exes - more of the 'are we doing this for them or for ourselves?' conflict which is microdosed at the midway point - and then feelings developing, and then making the 'no I actually really like you so we can't do this for the wrong reasons anymore' be the final sex scene before the third act conflict

Two things would be vastly improved by this change: 1. a weird scene where Miles sees Daphne in her former wedding dress, and they really should've fucked? but they don't? because that would be the tiniest bit weird??? (like, slightly weird and messy, in such the smallest way, but I think it was sanitised down for that reason) 2. the fact that their exes break up and call-off their wedding off screen. Have them break up at the rehearsal dinner that Miles/Daphne are attending, actually. Then you have your third act conflict.

The third act conflict of Funny Story is insane, convoluted, and unrelated to the story, IMO. Is it still well written? YES. Emily Henry, you will always be famous. But my favourite parts of it were 1. both Miles and Daphne get caught in their exes' orbit as they break up, and this causes them both to doubt their relationship (shout out to Miles having such low self esteem that he automatically thinks they're back together, I understand you king) 2. Daphne fucks up a promise she made to a friend (but bc she's not allowed to be a bad person - see the first point - it's for totally understandable reasons), leading her to wonder if she's just become part of another couple, where she's swapped one man and his house for another man, and his house. I personally think that these VERY MINOR FOOTNOTES in what is ACTUALLY the third act conflict... are a third act conflict in and of themselves. And... if we go back to what I said about Emily Henry being known for Feminism™, the second part of that is a totally valid trope/feminist critique to dig into in depth that would, if given time to breathe, be 'on brand'.

In this book, Miles drives 2hrs to try and get Daphne's shitty dad to come back to her. Where is this energy, for Peter? I think, Miles should've punched Peter, as a treat. And Petra should've had more scenes, so that she actually had a personality beyond 'being hot'.

I think we should've had a messy wedding scene. Daphne and Miles are each others plus ones, but they never get to attend bc the wedding is called off. But that wedding?!!! or that rehearsal dinner?!!! IS THAT NOT THE STUFF THAT THIRD AT CONFLICTS DREAM OF???

TLDR - I think Funny Story should've had more sex, and been more about the romance premise and the kind of fucked up, messy choices and weird feelings that premise engendered. I think the third act should've been connected to pre-existing conflicts, instead of creating new ones. I think Miles and Daphne could've had a little revenge, as a treat. They should've allowed to be sexy and weird about it.

[whumpster-fire]

I know I already ranted about Queen Coral but I'm rereading Arc 1 for the hell of it and jesus I forgot how much she is just straight up the villain of this book. Egotistical, paranoid, cruel, incredibly easy to manipulate because literally all Whirlpool and Blister have to do is flatter her. I think she's like 50% of the reason I called WOF A Series Of Unfortunate Events But With Dragons is her because man, throwing two dragons in a dungeon because her friend said them being the murderers fits all the mystery novel tropes and locking her daughter and her friends in said dungeon because said friend said so is Person-Who-Fosters-The-Baudelaire-Siblings levels of competence. Also she's an evil tyrant who tortures and murders other dragons, and she can't figure out "have three guard, in shifts, physically inside the hatchery at all times while an egg is incubating because someone is obviously getting inside somehow." Like unironically this isn't just "I don't like her," Coral is legitimately the primary antagonist of The Lost Heir IMO. Yeah Whirlpool and Blister are there but Whirlpool's mostly a problem because of Coral and at this point in the story so is Blister. Tsunami literally spends like half the book either trying to stop her mother from doing evil things or trying to deal with the consequences of her mother's bad decisions.

Other thoughts on The Lost Heir the second time around:

Tsunami may not ever be queen of the Seawings, but she'll always be Queen Of Spending Half Her POV Book Making Bad Decisions and Being Horribly Biased in my heart. Oh god Tsunami is such an arrogant little disaster in this book. I love her but she needs to learn to respect and trust her adoptive siblings so badly.

Rereading this after having read The Brightest Night is so painful. Sunny is so clearly ready to start biting everyone (justifiably). Actually it's very fitting that this is the Sea Kingdom book because the entire DoD is at maximum salt levels the entire time. Literally everybody except maybe Clay is so close to losing it. Sunny is sick of everyone infantilizing her, Starflight is trying to act like a "natural leader" like Morrowseer lectured him about but it's obvious his only role models for leadership are the Guardians and Tsunami so he's trying to emulate them (badly), and Glory is just pissed off at everyone. And then there's Tsunami trying to defend her murderous, abusive mother.

I forget if this gets touched on in The Hidden Kingdom, but man, Glory must have felt so fucking alone and betrayed in this book. Tsunami is normally the dragon she can count on to share her anger at the guardians and never try to make excuses for their abusive behavior, and then she saw Tsunami's mother dragging small dragonets around on a leash, being a spineless enabler to Blister, locking them up in a dark cave and leaving them to die, and so on. A little bit of wasted potential to not have Glory calling Tsunami out on Coral managing to embody some of the worst aspects of Kestrel, Dune, and Webs but Tsunami suddenly being on the side of "Well, she's a complicated dragon" because she still didn't quite fully abandon the fantasy of a loving family she'd built up. Which isn't fully accurate because Tsunami did call Coral out plenty but I kind of want to see Glory go ballistic when Tsunami brings up some of the stuff she the other dragonets weren't there for, like torturing one of her guards to death for following an order Shark gave her, being ready to let wounded soldiers bleed to death for no reason, literally threatening Tsunami's life.

Reading this again I totally see where people are coming from on lots of Clay's complexity being abandoned after his book and him being reduced to "big dumb guy who only thinks about food." It also doesn't help that in the audiobooks the narrator changes to a very different voice for him after his book. However, I do have to wonder if he's doing this on purpose to try to defuse the other dragonets being at each other's throats because nothing else is working.

After going through Arc 2 every single scene with Anemone in it is heartbreaking. She's so scared of being driven insane by her powers and used as a weapon, and then Whirlpool more or less confirms her fear that she'd be forced to cast spell after spell until she lost her mind and was (presumably) killed because now she was dangerous. Then she accidentally killed him, had to keep it secret from everyone, and spent the next however many months with absolutely no support AND she got to find out that the last Animus in her family, Orca, was massacring her family. Yeah I can see how she internalized "I am already too far gone."

Wait a minute... why couldn't Glory go invisible and try to steal the key to Clay's chains from the guards when the cave started flooding? I guess I'll go with 'Glory was going to try it eventually but she and/or Starflight pointed out that wading through flooded tunnels and rain could result in someone noticing a suspiciously dragon shaped arrangement of water droplets mysteriously floating in midair, so that was the backup plan they hadn't gotten to yet.'

The entire institution of the Royal Challenge is irreparably fucked and every tribe in Pyrrhia that doesn't abolish it is doomed to have terrible queens forever because raising dragons from birth with the knowledge that they'll have to kill their mother, sister, or aunt to assume the throne, and they'll have to start treating their daughters like enemies once they get old enough, is ensuring that any dragon who gets on the throne absolutely does not have the temperament to be a good leader. The Rainwings, Nightwings, and Sandwings are probably okay because I think Glory and Thorn will figure out a peaceful transition of power, I don't know how it even works for Mudwings, and who knows maybe Ruby and Snowfall will manage to un-ruin their kingdoms' cultures, but the Seawing Tribe is kind of screwed and Anemone and Auklet deserve better than growing up with "Heir to the Throne" hanging over their heads.

[yuukei-yikes]

kind of a specific random question but do you think theres a possibility that shintaros the first one to try and stop being so attached to takane. like one day takane is all haha hey do you need me for anything then shin goes well uhhh- actually no its okay. takane goes what no you arent let me help you with something COME ON

ive drawn this before. so yes i do (from here)

YA i totally think it's like this AT FIRST. takane is totally shamelessly clinging to shintaro and shintaro's like GET. OFF. MEEEE!!!!! and takane's in his room like carpet she's a fucking parasite roach infestation of 1.

like immediate post str i picture this bitch just sleeping over every single day stealing all his clothes and shintaro's like COME ON. i love how in the novels shintaro dresses in front of ene and no one gives a shit in fact ene is like YOU LOOK SO HANDSOME UR SUCH A MAN'S MAN like. when takane has her body back shintaro's like at least get out WHILE I GET DRESSED!! and takane's totally unbothered like whaaaa im not even looking and u never seemed to care to dress in front of me as ene whatever dude. shintaro seething. he's like this sucks she's right ive been getting dressed in front of her the whole time. also takane changes his nasty bed sheets bc she also sleeps in his bed. literally existing symbiotically. srry they're so close and have no privacy i need u to understand.

shintaro acts incredibly grumpy about it and is actively kicking her out daily but takane never seems to get mad at all and if anything she's just pathetically begging him to stayyyy pleaseeeeee u must need me for SOMETHINGGGGGG and shintaro. while yes he is like NO GET OUT also come on. he's so weak if someone especially someone girl coded flutters their eyelashes at him he immediately just goes YEAH ALRIGHT...haruka ayano or takane can all just flutter their eyelashes and shintaro will do anything they say its hilarious.

we've seen ene do this and while shintaro manages to stay strong i think post str he's very weak to takane because he's so guilty over route xxx so sometimes he just gives her whatever she wants out of guilt. like retaining is shintaro's big demise if it wasn't for it maybe he would've been able to just set his foot down and force takane to grow out of her unhealthy attachment.

but noooo... he starts enabling/reciprocating her behavior LOL!!!! like it's indeed takane the one to start the dynamic. she's always been the most attached of the 2. but shintaro is so guilty over the bad route and realises she's always been here even in all other routes. by just saying ugh yes whatever at everything she says he is accidentally becoming part of the unhealthy attachment. i think at first while he WAS attached it wasn't to the point takane drives it. and since she was shameless and pathetic abt it like not hiding it at all that's why he's unconscious it goes both ways bc he's like well ive been acting all grumpy abt it obviously its not me its her!!! but he doesn't realise that as time went on he started liking the dynamic bc its comfy LOL and takane is good company and they love each other ok. hold me im gonna pass out.

this is so early on post str. while takane still struggles with stopping resorting to opening eyes whenever anything gets uncomfortable and while shintaro is still sort of processing all timelines and how he feels about them and stuff. u know me i love flipping dynamics thats why eventually its shintaro following takane while she's like ermmm erm ermmm bc she's been healing while shintaro's been going downhill.

ALSO i think shintaro's mom "knew" of ene. like SHE DOESNT but shintaro was constantly talking to himself in his room so she asks if he's calling with anyone?? shintaro's like ERM...ERMM... YEAH... ITS AN ONLINE FRIEND.... so shintaro's mom is like omg this is THAT friend who was with him while he was all depressed in his room!!! so ratio + shintaro's mom loves takane and since she's always staying over keeps asking if they're dating and is very confused that they say no and neither is EVER flustered they're just like no we aren't 😐 also if shinaya are dating and kisaragi mom knows she probably talks to shintaro like Hey isnt this weird u have a gf and u seem to spend most of ur time with someone else. and shintaro's like UGHHHHH STOPPP ANNOYING MEEE!!! and like momo, kisaragi mom is also sorta scared of approaching shintaro in fear of scaring him away now that he's out and about. so she's like erm okay (still watches from afar)

sorry for going crazy abt shintaro & takane again. they drive me so crazies. they love each other ur honor and its so fucked up

[cousticks]

Yo! I'm Cou, like in Acoustic! That's where the 'cousticks' comes from (mind blown, yet?) I'm a whole 21 years old, and would prefer they/it pronouns.

This account is my dumping ground for fandom posting, including analysis, aus (which you can find a list of here), writing, doodles, and more! You can find some of this writing on AO3, too.

I follow back from the url 'causticacoustic', as this is one sideblog of several. Please do not be alarmed by a purple Master Chief icon following you out of nowhere, or leaving asks, that's me!

Minors are welcome, but I'd prefer only my 18+ friends DM me. 18+ mutuals are welcome to my discord, too! Just send me a DM.

I encourage talking to me. Be it via asks (anon or not!), comments, reblogs, DMs, whatever, I love conversation, I'm just a little incapable of starting it, usually.

More blog info below!

Content

This is mostly a BSD blog. In the future it may also contain other media. Vanitas no Carte is probably going to make an appearance eventually, who knows what'll come after that.

Other media interests I doubt I'll post about here include:

the Halo universe

FLCL (only the og. we don't talk about the reboots.)

Portal games

Dishonored games

bad action movies in general

and more!

I also have other non-media interests, but I won't clog this up with them. You should totally ask me about them though.

I don't post or reblog anything NSFW. This is 90% because I don't want to forget to tag something, 5% because I'm ace and don't really need that here, and 5% because I don't want to make this blog a place minors can't go.

Tagging

Honestly, I'm not great at tagging upsetting content. If you need something specific tagged then leave me a DM or ask (anon or not) or something and I'll try my best to keep a running list of what needs tagged and how (I keep a Google Doc for myself for my tagging system and will happily add your needed tags to it). Chances are, you'd be seeing violence or blood. If you're in the BSD fanbase, I'm kind of making a blanket assumption that you're okay with that when you interact around here. If not? Good luck, I guess.

I give all characters their own individualized tags. I'm working on making them all short song lyrics. Please feel free to ask about any tags you see! Characters that haven't been given lyric tags yet are given the tag 'placeholder [character] tag.' If they're an au-specified character, such as from Beast, its specifically 'beast [Character] tag'. I have a handful of AU and/or concept emoji tags. If I ever see it relevant enough, I'll make a key for them.

Drawings are tagged #doodles. 'Personal' not really content posts are tagged #sticky note. More put-together posts I intend to actually circulate in the world are tagged with the fandom and relevant characters / novels, ex. #bsd dazai, #bsd fifteen, etc. People I interact with frequently might find themselves with their own tags as well! Mutuals, please don't think I suck for not giving you a tag or something pretty pretty please. My brain is very tired so I'm limiting it to those that appear often I promise I'm not slighting you personally on purpose.

Asks

I love getting asks. They can be actual questions on my thoughts, chain mail, insults, little gifts, whatever. I don't care. I love them and will treat them all with care. I have anon enabled and will always have it enabled. I'm also a big fan of ask games and have a ton of them tagged under #ask games. Those are all active all the time forever (though if its an older one you'd have to specify) I just like having things to talk about. Please talk to me.

This is very long and says absolutely nothing. Please direct all questions, comments, or complaints to the ask box.

[drift-hobo]

How To Use Tumblr

(A guide for the willing if slightly bemused; by request)

So, first, change your icon and your header to something - anything - other than the defaults. This tells people that you're a real person, not a bot, so they won't block you when you follow them.

It's good practice to put something in the bio/description field, too. Whatever you like.

Next, follow some people. You've presumably been shown some tumblr posts by someone, or found links to them on other media, so follow the people who posted those.

You should now have stuff on your dashboard. This is a good start. If you like some of these things, by all means hit "like" - the heart button. Better still, hit "reblog", the button with the two right-angle arrows. This puts that post on your Tumblr, which among other things means that when you want to all the stuff you really liked, you can come back and look at it in one place. It also demonstrates to the original poster that you appreciated it, and assuming that there are people following you - which there eventually will be - they get to see more cool stuff.

Finding more people to follow is the next stage. First, keep an eye out for the things people you are already following are reblogging. Follow the original posters of those posts, and see what they have reblogged as well. Try search, too - Tumblr's search is horrible if you're looking for something specific, but it's ok for discovery purposes. So put in the names of novels and films and charaters you like, or aesthetics, or just "trees" or whatever, and you'll find good stuff.

Find and follow Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, Neil Gaiman, Wil Wheaton and Lynda Carter. Much of the best stuff on the site passes through their feeds at some stage.

I always follow interesting new stuff. Sometimes I unfollow later, if the ongoing stuff isn't as interesting to me, or - more often - that person starts posting about a fandom I'm not into. It's your dashboard, you can follow and not follow what you like. When you follow someone, don't be shy about looking through their back catalogue and liking & reblogging stuff; this is an entirely ordinary and expected interaction.

In the options, under "Dashboard", turn on "Endless Scrolling" and "Shorten Long Posts". You can still click into the long posts to read the full thing, but if you don't, you can be scrolling for quite some time to get past some of the longer "heritage posts" which crop up again from time to time.

You might want to enable "stuff in your orbit" and "based On Your likes" in that screen too; they'll drop likely stuff that you're not following into your feed. I've turned them off by now; I have plenty of stuff to look at without extras, but they were useful starting out.

If you want to have specific collections of stuff, consider creating sideblogs. These look like entirely separate tumblrs to which you can post, but they're part of your single account. I have @arcanehobo , @commonplaceish, and @thaumic-hobo as well as this one. @arcanehobo is actually the main because I didn't know what I was doing when I was setting it up. You can then reblog or post original content to them as much as you want, and people who want that specific content can follow it. You can create them with the "+New" button tucked away under the Account button (the meeple in the top right on desktop).

Also in that menu, under "Blog Settings", you can control whether people can see the posts you like and blogs you follow. Many people like to turn these off, on the basis that they don't want people following their Very Serious Literary Analysis of Goncharov Tumblr to know that they also have a dedicated interest in Pikachu erotica, or whatever.

Use tags liberally with your posts and reblogs. There's often gold in the tags, so look at other people's.

That is, I think, basically it. Have fun.

[doorbloggr]

Nimona - Media Recommendations #48

Monday 31/7/23

Its been a long time since I've done one of these, but I promise you guys I like doing them. Thankfully I recently saw a movie that resonates very well with the core tumblr aesthetic, and now have an excuse to write on it.

Nimona (Movie)

The Pitch:

Nimona is an animated scifi/fantasy movie by Annapurna pictures based on a graphic novel of the same name. It is based in a very unique world that is at the same time cyber punk and feudal medieval; a civilization that has grown technologically and culturally around the values of chivalry to defend the people from unseen monsters beyond the city walls. A thousand years ago, a knight named Gloreth vanquished a horrifying demonic evil and instilled the virtues of protecting the good and pure into those who inherited the kingdom after her, and the Institute of Elite Knights, made up on descendents of the initial troop, control and protect the city today.

We follow the story of Ballister, the first commoner to be allowed to train to as a knight, and although he is scorned by many, his success would pave the way for more commoner born knights in the future. Due to conspirators that wish Ballister and what he represents to fail, he is embroiled in controversy and murder, making him enemy of the state. Ballister retreats into his lair and begins plotting how he could uncover the truth of his undoing, and put the spotlight on those actually responsible. There he is discovered by Nimona.

Nimona is a shapeshifting being, commonly appearing as a girl in her later teens, but she is comfortable in any form. As a shark, a rhinoceros, a wolf, a whale, and anything else her imagination can comprehend. Nimona knows how it feels to be hated as the world, labelled as a monster by society as a whole, and has embraced a villainous side, causing damage, mischief and fear wherever she goes. She wishes to work with Ballister as his sidekick and henchman, becoming the sword to deliver his strike of revenge.

Despite how Ballister has been treated, he wishes to get back at society still operating under a code of ethics and good, only endangering those who deserve it. No murder. But given how helpful and driven Nimona is, he agrees to work together to clear his name. What begins as a story of the mum friend trying to keep a gremlin on a leash, quickly changes into the tale of a bastard and their enabler. Their friendship blooms beautifully, and they become an unstoppable force. But will Ballister's history catch up with him? What is Nimona's deal, actually? I will not elaborate on the plot any further for fear of spoilers. Please watch for yourself.

As an Adaptation

Ok before I get into my ideas on the deeper meanings in Nimona, I wanna talk about the movie as an adaptation. The movie is based on a graphic novel that is a compilation of a webcomic by N.D. Stevenson, @gingerhaze on our very own Tumblr! And talking to a friend who has reread the novel recently, they agree that the story reads very differently as a long form story than what the movie presents.

While the movie keeps the characters, basic overview of setting, and the ultimate ending... it is a different type of story. As a webcomic, Nimona is a slow-burn slice of life at its conception. A lot of small cute moments that better work to build up the friendship between Ballister and Nimona. On a character level, it also leans more into scifi, as Ballister is introduced not only as a "villain", but also a mad scientist. When the plot is retroactively made deeper by backstories and greater focus on grander plothooks, this scientist vibe helps to build Ballister as an investigative genius to uncover how and why he was framed. Whole key plot points such as a secret government plot to hoard illicit substances are dropped altogether from the adaptation.

Enjoyers of the movie only will not have this same yearning for more of the original story, since the movie is such a good story in its own right, but for the those who enjoyed the webcomic, it is a long detective investigation plot that was turned into a heist movie. I don't want to complain, because its lucky we got the movie at all, but i feel it would've worked better as a 5-10 part episodic series. Nimona the movie takes the most core plot beats and character moments and turns them into an exhilarating story on a grand scale. It's a good story, just not the same.

My Thoughts: The Impact

Ok so, high fantasy sci-fi aside, Nimona is a story celebrating queer identity and those oppressed. At the heart of Ballister's turmoil is a gay romance with Ambrosius, the person who theoretically has the most to lose from his success. But Ambrosius is never turned completely against him, he more just wants to apprehend Ballister so he can understand what is happening. Ballister is also a outsider to the institute. An institute that for one reason or another wishes for him and the common folk he comes from to be kept down.

Then there's Nimona, a shapeshifter who expresses at several points in the story that transforming frees her, and that staying as a human girl pains her, almost like a suppression of her very life force. When asked, "What are you?", her most common answer is, "I'm Nimona". She is a being that shakes off all labels, and refuses to be categorised under any one idea. She's not just a girl, she's a shark, a rhinoceras, a dragon, and everything in between. I don't want to put my own labels on an intentionally labelless character, but this feels like an allegory for non-binary identity, or gender-fluid identity, or any identity where others struggle to understand you without static labels.

I want to acknowledge thar Nate Stevenson, the author, has come out as transmasc and bigender. So the importance of queer freedom is definitely a take away we should have here.

I feel Nimona is going to resonate well with queer audiences, because it tells a tale of struggle and oppression, and ultimately finding friendship and freedom. But even if you do not identify with any such identity, it is a beautiful, fun and quirky story of making the change you want to see in society, and finding your place in everything.

You NEED to watch, recommend and spread the love of Nimona, so we see more stories like it in the mainstream eye. Please reblog and pass this on, so others watch the movie. And give the webcomic some love while you're at it.

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

Serious Post For Once. MAJOR trigger warning for some fully-mask-off discussions of (mostly my own internal) racism, generally Actually Talking Abt Real Shit For Once.

ok, so..hm

I don't have the energy to try to write this academically rn so I'm just going to word-vomit it out.

I am really having....Feelings... about the characters of Grendel and Grendel's Mother, specifically re: race and BIPOC identities.

I personally am white as the driven snow (though Jewish, whatever that counts for in 2023. still 'wtf' abt all that personally).

I have been putting my heart and soul into a story centering modern/reincarnated versions of Grendel and Grendel's Mother for about three years now. they are some form of shapeshifter, usually take animalistic/monstrous/hybrid forms, often eat humans, and are canonically descended from Cain (kinda. its complicated but basically they are). they are also both EXTREMELY white.

I'd actually made this choice with an intentional eye on race, way back when this story started outgrowing its roots as a supernatural fanfiction (please dont ask). no longer limited to spn's Genuinely Concerningly White Actor Pool, I had to really look at these characters re: race and decide what I was doing going forward. At the time, I was already looking into Maria Dahvana Headley's "The Mere Wife", and its centering of race both intrigued and really repelled me. At first, the (lbr) graphic depictions of how this story's Grendel's nonwhiteness informs the violence against him shocked me in the way I think they were "supposed" to, and made me really take a step back and reconsider the entire narrative of Beowulf (though to b clear I was already pro-Grendel's side of things at this point) in terms of how closely it matched more modern treatments of BIPOC and specifically young men.

...and then I went "wait. isn't Maria Dahvana Headley white???"

after a LOT of research failed to provide any contradicting evidence, my self-reflection and serious though turned to genuine strong disgust. It felt, and still feels, VERY weird that a white woman with (afaik) white kids wrote a lot of the sentiments in this novel. if you've read it, you know the ones that I mean.

I attempted to research racial themes re: Grendel further and ended up in a rabbit hole about Cain, Ham, Mormons & Bigfoot (seriously.) and all of this, along with some other research, eventually led to the following conclusions:

narratives placing Grendel and His Mother as victims of racialized violence/heroic or sympathetic figures in a racially- and/or socially-conscious work are both amazing and necessary

not if they're written by white people. there's probably some exceptions but honestly that's just weird and makes my hair stand up(derogatory).

I am White People. I should not try to do this.

given the association (certain modern media almost bafflingly aside) between Cain/Ham and justifications for SLAVERY, I, a white author, should not only NOT make these characters BIPOC, but should lean pretty damn hard into their whiteness- it's not "reclaiming" exactly, it's like... "reclaiming"(derogatory)(ironic)

given the current political movements around Viking Shit, and SPECIFICALLY pseudopagan, christian-based anglo-saxon warrior male social orders, the figures of Grendel & His Mother can and maybe even SHOULD serve as symbols of active and violent resistance from within the communities (White As Shit) that the current alt-right claims to represent.

given ALL of that, the best way for me to write these characters is how I'm currently writing them- very white, very monstrous, would probably state their race as "fae" if asked and "white" and/or "european" if specified for human racial terms, explicitly monstrous, symbolic of both (my own) queer/disabled/neurodivergent rage, feeling of incompatibility with most/all friend groups or communities, as well as a larger theme of a "KILL ALL VIKINGS" fantasy enabled by them being Big Scary Creature Beasts.

However... its been a few years. I've been drowing myself in Anglo-Saxon Everything but fully ignoring racial and diversity issues, a huge part of this admittedly being irl stressors in my life that, shall we say, EXTREMELY reduced my capacity for basic empathy & Current Events Awareness to a degree that I'm only starting to repair. as part of this repair, I'm really questioning this. I've read some super fascinating stuff about Grendel & race recently, and yet.

...and yet

I can't shake the feeling that

as a white author, making this a race-centric narrative isn't just not my job/not my turft, its actually kinda pretty racist

however, refusing to write these characters for that reason then involves (at least internally) saying that "this kind of archetype" is ONLY "meant" to be written by BIPOC ppl, because "they're the only ones who really Get The Experience", and HOO BOY. THAT IS RACIST. that is me doing a great big racism right there.

...so what do I do? I really love my take on these characters. I've grown really attached to them. It seems like everything is actually pretty well in order for me in terms of why I made the choices I did- I've looked at the other things I could have done with these themes and they're Extremely Problematic At Best...

but I can't shake the feeling that I'm still missing something, fucking up somehow.

I'd genuinely welcome discussion on this, I'm not going to be offended or defensive about ANYTHING, legit if you want to tear this whole post apart via critique re: art or just my own biases, please do. I'm just trying to figure this shit out.

and possibly overthinking it. that is also definitely a possiblity.

*to be clear I don't hate or dislike Headley. I just don't GET her. I'm not sure WHAT to think.

[self-loving-vampire]

okay youve posted about tsukihime so often im getting interested. what exactly is tsukihime. what is up there

Tsukihime is a visual novel (basically a book with pictures and a bit of music) about a guy named Shiki Tohno, who has a near-fatal accident that somehow grants him the ability to see the lines of death.

When he traces these lines, most easily done with a knife and other such objects, he can cut and kill anything.

However, the incident also results in debilitating chronic anemia and headaches, and seeing the lines all the time also makes him extremely anxious and is gradually damaging his brain.

A chance encounter with a mage while he was in recovery grants him a pair of magical glasses that can hide the lines while he's wearing them, enabling him to live a relatively normal life despite his condition and the fact that his strict father disowned him after the incident and sent him off to live with a more distant relatives for the next 8 years.

Following the death of said father in the present, he is called back to the mansion from his youth, where his estranged younger sister and two maids live.

Not long after he moves back in, Shiki happens to meet a blonde woman with red eyes while walking in the city and is immediately overcome by a mysterious and rather sexual urge to kill her using his ability even though he doesn't even know who she is and made a promise not to use his power like that.

His problems are actually only getting started from that point on. There are vampires involved, and nearly everyone is lying to him about something.

You can download and read the original visual novel here. There is also an extremely high-quality and beautiful remake coming out now but only two of its routes have been released so far and I am not sure if those are fully translated yet.

Make sure to read the FAQ and be aware that the download also includes a useful flowchart pdf and a walkthrough text document if you need them. Sometimes you might want to get a bad ending on purpose to see what happens as well.

The novel is divided into two scenarios: The Near Side of the Moon (Arcueid and Ciel routes) and the Far Side (Akiha, Hisui, Kohaku). It is strongly recommended to read it in this order, but be aware that the Near Side routes are very different from the Far Side routes.

Personally, it was those last two routes involving the maids that made me go fully insane but you do need all the context from the previous routes to really appreciate what happens there.

Also be aware that pretty much every content warning under the sun applies here.

[razzieswritingspace]

1st version of a prologue of a novel idea I am putting together

Please let me know what you think! I am open to constructive critisicm.

October 10th, 2000

Celine Dubois. She was a detective from France, and Mama's friend; she was 26 at the time. When she came to our town to hear about the disappearances, it was a wake up call to this place that this wasn’t an ordinary situation.

“Tell me about your little sister, Henry” She asked me softly, in a thick French accent. “What happened the night she disappeared?”

I looked at the grass, every memory, down to the scents of the fresh cut grass and the baseball field, came rushing back. “I was waiting my turn to pitch in the game,” I started, twiddling my fingers together. “I watched her playing near the woods. I took my eyes off her for one second… and she was gone. She wasn’t by Mama. Then I heard Mama scream Sally's name. Everyone stopped, and we all… just knew. Sally was taken into the woods.”

Celine gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m sure that is hard for you. You’re so young. How are you feeling?”

She was right. I was only 10 years old at the time. At the thought that Sally was missing, hurt or dead, made the tears from yesterday come back in an instant. I couldn’t hold them back.

Celine gave me a hug, and I only cried harder. I could feel her expensive French jacket absorb all the tears I let out. Soon enough I maintained the tears and sat upright again, adjusting my glasses. “I understand,” was all Celine said.

August 27th, 2006

School was awkward for the next 2 years. I was stared at by everyone as I walked down the hall. They treated me like I was Grandma’s vase, like if you poke me the wrong way, I’ll shatter. By the time I was 12, it was gonna make me break more than Sally’s disappearance at this point.

I had no friends until mid-high school, when finally Sally’s disappearance was declared a cold case. My sophomore year, I met Mudvirce. He was actually the daughter of Celine, but he was born and raised here in America. I learned that his name is actually Michael, but he went by Mudvirce because he hated his name; his hair was long, black, and silky, down to his lower back. He was a fellow outcast, along with his sister, Michelle. She had black wavy hair down to her shoulders, and dark brown eyes, just like her brother. She and Mudvirce played in a local metal band; they played in a few basements every weekend. Mudvirce was on bass, Michelle was on drums. I was the opposite of them. I was the art kid, the writer kid, the nerd. I liked to stay home and write and draw at my desk. My room and my clothes looked vintage-esque. But that didn’t stop me, Mudvirce and Michelle from being friends. “Weirdos of any kind need to stick together. We’re all what we really have,” was what Mudvirce told me.

I met Marcus that year as well. He was a very eccentric character: his hair was dyed bright pink and down to his shoulders; and all his shirts were explosions of neon colors on black; he was loud, but not obnoxious; he loved video games and music. He and I, despite not liking the genre, always go to Mudvirce and Michelle’s gigs.

With friends comes enemies as well. Stacienna McRowell was some girl Michelle secretly dated back in 8th grade. They broke up last year, and Stacienna swore to make Michelle’s life a living hell. She made enemies with my friend, she made enemies with me.

Staciella’s boyfriend, Jaxon, is a piece of work, too. He’s like a puppy dog, following Staciella around and doing everything she says. He never knew of his girlfriend’s and Michelle’s relationship, but she doesn’t like her, so neither does he. He’s a clear enabler of her actions and shows no sign of stopping.

This junior year will be the first year in 6 years that I start with new friends, fun experiences, and a secure sense of happiness, and there is nothing now that can take that away from me. Right?

[plan-d-to-i]

So concerning your post about people reacting to WWX raising the dead. I’m not a sinologist so I can’t tell how Chinese people treat their dead except for what I saw in medias. But in most cultures dead are reverted and should not be disturbed. Any necromancer would be feared and hated for breaking the sacred taboo of using the dead and disturbing their peace. And I’m not talking about all of mo dao, only the raising the dead part. So I thought that while sect leaders could be disgusted by his actions they still encouraged him to do it for the war efforts. It’s very hypocritical of them to turn on him for doing what they enabled.

You don't have to be anything special, just read the novel. This is a work of fiction. It's not a historical text that needs to be evaluated on its accurate portrayal of a specific time period or a thesis on culture. MXTX is Chinese. Do you think the author/novel wants you to judge and hate the mc for being a necromancer? Does the novel frame it as something that WWX needs to leave in his past completely because it was evil and terrible? Does the scene where he raises Madam Mo & Co. from the dead and unleash them on NMJ's arm to protect the juniors and buy them more time read as anything other than boss af? WWX's practice during the war was extreme and not something he would have done on a regular basis but something he felt he needed to do in order to beat back the Wens. Individual moments after the war show WWX being more respectful and empathetic of the dead than most. Meanwhile the Wen remnants were thrown in the blood pool in an act of pure vengeance by the so called righteous cultivators. There's no need to bring in what twitter user Lotusfucker69 wrote in a twitter thread trying to explain how WWX is actually the bad guy in mdzs and jc was the righteous one. As you said the same Clan Leaders who vocally oppose WWX's use of resentful energy and fierce corpses had no problem when he was using it in their service, they have no problem with him using it when it serves them again in his second life. They're hypocrites. Do you feel like the novel wants you to side with them?

Even the living are close to being dead, so why should we care about those corpses?”

Another person agreed, “Yes, we’re in harsh times, right? Sect Leader Jiang is right. In terms of evil or not, who’s more evil than the Wen-dogs? He’s on our side anyways. I say it’s fine as long as he’s killing the Wen-dogs.”

Wei WuXian thought, Well, that wasn’t what you guys said when you brought the siege on me." (Chapter 51)

Look who was such a staunch supporter of it when it served him! Well well well if it's not:"Sect Leader Jiang"! Then in WWX's second life:

Amid the hall full of cheers, Wei WuXian thought, Right before today, he was still the LianFang-Zun whom everyone praises. Just a day, and everyone wants to beat him up.

Suddenly, someone turned around, “Mr. Wei, Jin GuangYao has got the Tiger Seal in his hands. We’ll entrust this matter to you.”

Wei WuXian, “Huh?” He didn’t think that someone would come talk to him out of their own will, and even in such an enthusiastic way, calling him ‘Mr. Wei’ instead of derogatories like ‘Wei-dog’. He hesitated for a second.

Immediately, another sect leader followed, “That’s right! Nobody ranks higher than the YiLing Patriarch in this path of cultivation!”

“Now things are looking bad for Jin GuangYao, hahahaha…”

Wei WuXian immediately felt a bit speechless. The last time others praised him like this was during the Sunshot Campaign more than ten years ago. Although somebody finally inherited his position as being the enemy of the entire cultivation world, Wei WuXian didn’t feel happiness at such an end, much less any warmth from finally being accepted by everyone. (Chapter 86)

WWX recognizes the hypocrisy in all of it, as we the reader are meant to as well. It's not an insurmountable taboo if it serves them. It's a big deal when it can be used to suppress the uppity son of servant who doesn't know "his place" once he's no longer needed.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Let's do the obvious one: Taishiro :P

Oh my God, you just want me to gush over my boys for the millionth time, I swear. I will try my best to keep it as short as possible this time...

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not:

Well... Duh. Despite them being considered more of a rarepair in fandom (despite it being basically the second most popular Koushirou ship out there besides Koumi), they are actually one of the most developed, most elaborated relationships in the entirety of the Digimon Adventure canon, regardless of which version you want to take a look at: 01, 02, (especially) Our War Game, the novels, the PSP game, the stageplay, the reboot and, to some lesser degree but still palpable, Tri and Kizuna. They're set up as "brawns and brains", the brave hands-on protagonist who always asks his knowledgable strategist for advice, relies on and trusts in him without a shred of doubt, whereas said strategist would also follow him to hell and back, despite sometimes having to shout at him for being too reckless. Without Taichi, Koushirou wouldn't have gone to Summer Camp - and without Koushirou, Taichi would never have figured out a way for them to get back to the real world. They complement each other in their strengths and weaknesses, they may butt heads occasionally, but they're there for each other as good friends and comrades. So that is a very clear YES.

Whether I think why and how they’d work:

Since they're my absolute Digimon OTP, I do believe that they work out very well - not only have I already outlined why they're basically best friends in canon and thus work out nicely in a platonic friendship, but there's also a lot of aspects about them that make me adore them romantically as well. You just take the jock/nerd trope and flip them completely over the head - so you get a very kind football dork, who loves to take care of youngsters and immediately grows attached to the computer nerd who came into his club and is not very good at social interaction - yet. What happens? They become super good, if not best friends, the nerd is getting enabled to become just as much of a hands-on person as the jock, opens up more and more through the course of them spending time in a foreign world together and with the other kids as well, they solve puzzles and riddles together as partners in crime while displaying a sense of unshattered loyalty towards each other. There may be instances, as mentioned, where they butt heads because they're not able to talk about feelings well with each other, but they're still there to support and sacrifice themselves for one another, saving several worlds several times in the face of death and it's just... It gets to me. Tri probably realized that, after Our War Game, these two would probably be unstoppable if they really worked together, which is likely the reason why they didn't let them interact THAT much during their teenager years - however, the connections never really faded. Koushirou watched Taichi throughout all these years, he’s the only one who really knows about his childhood trauma, would always have his back and sacrifice himself for his sake - the boy who once reached out a hand to him at football club. And Taichi, no matter how much he'd isolate himself from everyone emotionally, will always trust in Koushirou in return - the boy who had been by his side through thick and thin, the person who saw him cry his heart out. To me, it's just a wonderful concept to have these two fall for each other romantically as well, as they just seem to be endlessly loyal - ending up working together one day, because their careers just seem DESTINED to be linked with each other (and the Digital World, which will always bring them together).

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:

As pointed out above, I actually do enjoy both variants - in a universe in which these two end up falling in love with each other and overcoming all their oblivious nut-ness, realizing that that make each other better AND happy once they FINALLY open up to each other, I would cry tears of happiness. However, if I ended up getting a universe in which they'll always remain close friends until they're old and grey, working together while being married to other people (like Taichi being married to Sora or maybe even Yamato for that matter - and Koushirou being married to Hikari or Mimi), I would be perfectly happy as well.

[autolenaphilia]

Clive Barker's Undying

Clive Barker’s Undying is a 2001 horror first person shooter game developed by Electronic Arts (back when they made good single-player games). As the title suggests, the game's story is written by author and film director Clive Barker.

The main character is Irish WWI veteran Patrick Galloway who after an occult experience during the war investigates the supernatural. He gets asked by his old friend Jeremiah Covenant to investigate the strange goings on at Covenant’s coastal Irish estate. And the game follows that investigation.

The game’s story and themes are archetypical gothic horror. The Covenant family meddled with the occult, and as a consequence called up an ancient evil lying beneath the grounds of their estate. The evil corrupted them, perverting their desires and eventually destroyed them, now the Covenant siblings are malevolent spirits and monsters.

Yet despite the well-worn nature of the genre, it is very well-told, having the game’s story be written by an actual novelist helps a lot. A lot of the story is found in these journals you can find lying around if you explore carefully and they actually reward the player by being well-written prose. The undead Covenant siblings are the game’s bosses, but they are also actual distinct characters, and the game has you exploring who they were before you fight them.

The game’s art design is excellent and helps with the atmosphere a lot, despite the 2001 graphics. The level design is also very well made. It’s definitely inspired by Half-Life in how it tries to convey a convincing depiction of its setting, yet progression is still linear. Except Undying’s Covenant Estate is more complex than Black Msesa. It genuinely does feel like sprawling and maze-like gothic mansion. Sometimes too maze-like, it can be hard to figure out where to go at times. There is no map or directional arrows, and only a terse and sparse objective list. The only thing that leads you in the right direction is that the game is programmed to lock doors you don’t need and unlock doors you do need, in a way the player has no control over. But the lack of almost all explicit hand-holding for where to go and what to do actually helps with the gothic atmosphere. There being literally no proper map of the place, doors mysteriously lock and unlock themselves and you can easily get slightly lost does convey the experience of being in the decaying manor house of a gothic novel.

I have heard Undying described as “survival horror” but that’s not really true. It’s really a first person shooter/action game. It’s still a horror game, because the gothic atmosphere is so convincing and there are genuine scares and lots of gore. But you don’t need to run away from enemies to conserve ammunition, you can just take them on. Bullets are not that common by FPS standards and you actually only get four guns, with a second type of bullets for each of the two conventional ones, the revolver and the shotgun. But you’ll never run out of offensive means, because you have magic (and also a magical gun with infinite ammo), with mana that recharges over time. Yes, you have magic in this game, our hero Patrick is a wizard. He literally fires a gun with one hand and throws magic spells with the other. Other FPS protagonists wish they were this cool.

And there is an interesting variety of magic. There are offensive spells such as throwing lightning or ectoplasma or explosive skulls (yes, really). You also get a shield spell for increased defense. There is a spell that can reanimate the dead to fight for you, so you get to be a necromancer (it also destroys otherwise invulnerable skeletons).

The starting spell “scry” is not very useful in combat, but interesting in itself. It’s useful as a kind of flashlight, to enable you to see in the game’s many dark areas. But most importantly it enables Galloway to see the other hidden side of things. A mysterious diesmbodied voice tells Galloway and the player when to use it. Scrying reveals hidden things like ghostly visions of long-dead monks in a ruined monastery. A most effective use is on a portrait of the Covenant siblings. They look like normal humans viewed normally, but looking at the portrait with scrying reveals their monstrous forms. It sometimes gives hints about what to do, but mostly it’s there to reveal something to creep you out and reveal more of the game’s story. It’s an effective combination of gameplay tool and storytelling device.

The addition of magic adds such strategical complexity to the action of the game. And the gunplay is good in itself. Both the revolver and shotgun feel satisfying to use, and their extra ammo types being rare adds another strategical layer. It’s a satisfying action FPS on top of being a good horror game.

I’ve praised this game so far, but I have to admit it’s not entirely successful and is a bit uneven. The final parts of the game are probably the game at its worst. Most of it is spent in a magical realm called “Eternal Autumn”, it has a jungle-theme, complete with a kind of primitive crossbow/speargun wielding savage cavemen. It goes for too long and feels entirely out of place with the European gothic themes of the rest of the game. There is an earlier magical realm, Oneiros, but it’s actually a successful diversion into an imaginatively designed surreal realm that seems to fit thematically with the rest of the game.

Eternal Autumn is followed by the final boss and he isn’t that well-designed. The boss battles in this game sometimes has the problem of not giving enough hints on how to defeat them, and the final boss is like the ultimate example of that. There is not enough information on where to hit them to actually do damage, and there is a specific sequence you have to follow. I had to look up a walkthrough. In fact I had to look up two walkthroughs, because the first one I found was flat out wrong. The game’s ends with a cutscene that is obviously set-up to sequel games, but they were never made so it falls flat.

But the final section being weak doesn’t take away from how good Undying is. It’s one of the most compelling horror games I’ve played in terms of atmosphere and story. The fps gameplay is solid, with the addition of magic making it feel unique and fun. And the art and level design help create this immersive gothic horror atmosphere.

[0aurelion-sol0]

"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.

_____________________________

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.)

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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.

[asleepinawell]

Book Recs

I was gonna do one of these at the end of the year, but I’ve somehow managed to read 26 books this year already (12 novellas, 14 novels), almost all featuring queer authors and/or characters so this is already a long list.

Note: There’s a few on here I was kind of meh about, but in most of those cases it was a ‘book might be good but it’s not for me so i’ll mention it to put it on people’s radar anyway’ type of thing. Insert the usual necessary tumblr disclaimer about all of this being only my opinion and your opinions are valid too etc etc.

In order of when I read them:

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir - Fantasy novella from the author of gideon the ninth that’s a twist on the classic princess trapped in a tower waiting for a prince story. Quite fun. (novella)

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht - Dark fantasy about revenge and magic. m/m couple but like I said it’s pretty dark and twisted all around so definitely not a happy queer romantic story. My opinion was interesting premise that could have been executed better and probably should have been a full novel to embellish on the world building potential. (novella)

A Memory Called Empire & A Desolation Called Peace - Arkady Martine - Probably tied with murderbot as the best things I read this year. Scifi, f/f couple, wonderfully done exploration of what it means to fall in love with a culture that is destroying your own. More of the many queer anti-imperialist books that have come out recently and certainly some of the best. The second one is a direct continuation of the first. (2 novels)

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson - This is the third in the Baru Cormorant series (The Masquerade) and was my favorite so far. The second and third book were originally one book that got split I believe and the second book didn’t stand alone as well (though was still great), but the third book really made up for that. Dark fantasy world starring a queer woc whose country and culture is destroyed by the imperial forces of that world colonizing and assimilating them. She vows revenge and decides to work her way up within her enemy’s ranks to enact it from within and bring an empire to ruins. Really really fascinating study of so many different aspects of our own world and the systems which enable and allow bigotry and how bigoted and violent narratives are used to control minorities. This is definitely a darker series and I was particularly impressed with some of the commentary on the racism prevalent in non-intersectional feminism as depicted through a fantasy world. Can’t wait for the last one to come out! (3 novels, 1 forthcoming)

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells - There’s six of them--5 novella and a novel--and the first is All Systems Red. Told from the point of view of a self-aware droid/android that is rented out by a corporation to provide protection in a dystopian capitalist hellhole future that isn’t that unlike our current capitalist dystopia but is in space. Muderbot hacked the chip that controlled it and instead of going rogue just wants to be left alone to watch its favorite tv shows. Murderbot is painfully relatable and the books are both funny and poignant. Highly recommended. (5 novellas and a novel).

Winter’s Orbit - Everina Maxwell - This was a m/m romance novel with a scifi backdrop of royal intrigue. Generally I’m more into scifi with a queer relationship in the background than vice versa, so it wasn’t my favorite, BUT I think it was still well written and someone looking for more of the romance angle would enjoy it. Has all your favorite romance tropes in it, especially the yearning. (novel)

The Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett - Three book series. I’m very conflicted about this one. Set in a fantasy world where an enslaved nation overthrew the country enslaving them and now rules over them. It’s a story of what happens after the triumphant victory and within that it’s also a murder mystery tied into the dying magic of the conquered nation. It also has a six foot something naked oily viking man fist fight a cthulhu in a frozen river. The second book was by far my favorite, mostly due to the main character being brilliant. My conflict comes from the fact I don’t feel like the story treated its women and queer characters well. Like it had really great characters but it didn’t do great by them overall. That and the third book didn’t live up to the first two. But still definitely worth a read, can’t stress enough how cool some of the world building was. (3 novels)

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant - This might be the only one on here I disliked. It’s got a doomed boat voyage and creepy underwater terror and monsters and a super diverse cast of characters, but I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. While having a diverse cast is great, there were a lot of moments where it felt like characters were pausing to explain things about themselves that felt like a tumblr post rather than a normal conversation you might have while actively being hunted by monsters. I also bounced off all the characters. But a lot of people seem to have liked it so if you’re into horror and want a book with a f/f main couple then maybe you’ll enjoy it. (novel)

Dead Djinn Universe - P. Djèlí Clark - Around the early 1900′s, a man in Egypt discovers a way to access another world and bring Djinn and mysterious clockwork beings called Angels through. As a result, Egypt tells the British to get fucked and Cairo becomes one of the most powerful cities in the world. So Egypt, magic, djinn, a steampunk-ish vibe, oh and the main character is a butch queer woman who enjoys wearing dapper suits and looking fabulous while she investigates supernatural events. Her girlfriend is also mysterious and badass. And she has a cat. There’s three novella (one of which technically might be considered a short story) and then the first novel. You should absolutely read the novellas first (A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, The Haunting of Tram Car 015). Super fun and imaginative series. (3 novellas and a novel, more forthcoming)

River of Teeth & Taste of Marrow - Sarah Gailey - From the book description

“In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan.”

Queer hippo riders!!!! Very much a western but with hippos. Main couple included a non-binary character. Loved the first one. The second one I was more meh about due to one of the characters I was supposed to like having obnoxious man pain that a woman had to take the brunt of the whole time. Also there were less hippos. But queer hippo riders! Definitely read the first one, and they’re both novellas so no reason not to read the second as well. (2 novellas)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers - I may be the only person who hasn’t read the long way to a small angry planet at this point, but I did grab her new novella and I loved it. It made me want to go sit out in the woods and feel peaceful. The world it’s set in feels like a peaceful post-apocalypse...or diverted apocalypse maybe. Humans built robots and robots gained sentience, but instead of rebelling they just up and left and went into the wilderness with a promise that the humans wouldn’t follow them.The remaining human society reshaped itself into something new and peaceful. It’s the story of a monk who leaves their habitual monking duties to go be a tea monk and then later wanders into the wilderness and becomes the first human in ages to meet a robot. Very sad there’s no fan art yet. (novella, more forthcoming)

The March North - Graydon Saunders - This was such a weird book that I’m not sure how to explain it. The prose style is hard to get used to and I suspect a lot of people will bounce off it in the first chapter. There’s no third person pronouns used at all and important events get mentioned once in passing and if you blink you’ll miss them. Set on a world where magic is extremely common to the point that rivers sometimes run with blood or fire and the local weeds are something out of a horror movie and most of the world is run by powerful sorcerer dictators, one country banded together (with the help of a few powerful sorcerers who were tired of all the bullshit) to form a free country where powerful sorcerers wouldn’t rule and the small magics of every day folks could be combined to work together. The story revolves around a Captain of the military force on the border who one day has three very powerful sorcerers sent to them by the main government with the hint that just maybe there’s about to be a big invasion (there is) with the implication of take these guys and go deal with this. The world building is extremely complex and very cool...when you can actually understand what the fuck is going on. There is also a murder sheep named Eustace who breathes fire and eats just about everything and is a Very Good Boy and belongs to the most terrifying sorcerer in the world who appears as a little old grandma with knitting. It had one of the most epic badass and wonderfully grotesque battles I’ve ever read. But yeah, it is not what I would call easy reading. Opinions may vary wildly. I did also read the second one (A Succession of Bad Days) in the series which was easier to follow and had a lot more details about the world, but overall I was more meh about it despite some cool aspects. The chapters and chapters of the extreme details of building a house that made up half the novel just weren’t my thing. (novels).

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson - In this world parallels universes exist and we’ve discovered how to travel between them, but the catch is you can only go to worlds where the ‘you’ there is already dead. This turns into an uncomfortable look at who would be the people most likely to have died on many worlds and how things like class and race would fit into that and what we would actually use this ability for (if you guessed stealing resources and the stock market you’d be correct). The main character is a queer woc who travels between worlds with the assistance of her handler (another queer woc) who she has the hots for. She accidentally stumbles on a whole lot of mess and conspiracy and gets swept up in that. Really enjoyed it. (novel)

Witchmark - C.L. Polk - Fantasy world reminiscent of Victorian England (I think?) where a young man with magical gifts runs away from his powerful family to avoid being exploited by them. He joins the army and fights in a war and comes home to try and live a quiet life as a doctor, but a murder pulls him into a larger mystery that upturns his life. Also he’s extremely gay and there’s a prevalent m/m romance. This one was a fun-but-not-mind-blowing one for me. (novel, 2 more in the series I haven’t read)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon - This was one of those that everyone loved but I couldn’t get into for some reason. I tried twice and only got about halfway through the second time. It’s got dragons and queer ladies and fantasy world and all the things I like, but I wasn’t that invested in the main story (which included the f/f couple) and was more interested in the smaller story about a woman trying to become a dragon rider. There are few things that beat out a lady and her dragon friend story for me and that was the storyline that felt neglected and took a different turn right when we got to the part I’d been waiting for. But, I know a lot of people whose reading opinions I respect who loved it, and if you like epic fantasy with dragons and queens and treachery and pirates and queer characters then I’d say you should definitely give it a try. (novel)

Bonus: I didn’t read these series this year, but if you haven’t read them yet, you should.

Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice) - Ann Leckie - Spaceship AI stuck in a human body out for revenge for their former captain, but that summary does not come close to doing it justice. Another one examining imperialism and also gender and race.(3 novels)

Kushiel's Legacy Series - Jacqueline Carey - This is two series, six books total, and starts with Kushiel's Dart. Alternate universe Renaissance-y Europe in a fantastical world where sex isn't shameful and sex workers are respected and prized. Lots of political intrigue and mystery. A lot of BDSM and kinky stuff too (the main character is a sexual masochist, oh and also bi!). I first read this series when I was fifteen or sixteen and it definitely made a big impression on me. Same author also wrote the Santa Olivia series which I’d also recommend. (6 novels)

The Locked Tomb (Gideon the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir - I mean, if you follow me, you know. If you don’t follow me you still probably know. I’d have felt remiss to have left them off though. Lesbian Necormancers in Space. Memes! Skeletons! Biceps! Go read them. (2 novels, 2 forthcoming, 1 short story)

Books On My To Read List:

Fireheart Tiger - Aliette de Bodard

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water - Zen Cho

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

This Is How You Lose the TIme War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Ninefox Gambit - Yoon Ha Lee

Also, if anyone has any recs for scifi/fantasy books starring queer men (not necessarily having to do with a queer relationship) and written by queer men I’d love them. There’s a lot written by women, and some of them are great, but I’d love to read a story about queer men from their own perspective.

[dwellordream]

“A theoretical abstract of what I call “the plot of female amity,” by which I mean the interdependence of female friendship and the marriage plot, would run as follows. The plot begins by contrasting female friendship to the courtship relationship between a man and a woman. Lovers when first meeting often have false first impressions and only declare their love hesitantly, after overcoming many misunderstandings and obstacles. The bond between female friends, in contrast, is either established before the novel begins or coalesces almost instantaneously, intensifies almost effortlessly, and can be expressed clearly and openly. The relative stability of friendship makes it the motor rather than the subject of plot; it generates enormous energy without itself moving much or melting down. 

The tendency of female friendship to remain constant over the course of a plot is a sign both of its narrative weakness (not much happens to the friendship) and of its narrative strength (because of its stability, friendship makes things happen). In the middle phases of the plot of female amity, one friend expresses love for the other by helping her to realize her marriage plot. This can take the form of mediating a suitor’s courtship, giving a husband to the friend or the friend to a husband, or helping to remove an obstacle to the friend’s marriage. This phase can also take the form of one friend assuaging the other’s wounds and bolstering her subjectivity to make her more marriageable. 

The plot of female amity does not substitute for the conventional marriage plot, since the friend usually does not seek to replace a husband; when she does, the plot of female amity is displaced by the female marriage plot (see chapter 6). In the plot of female amity, marriage and friendship are inseparable, and the woman who promotes a friend’s marriage to a man is a forceful agent of the closure achieved once friendship and marriage have become parallel states and the future husband and wife have attained the harmony that already prevailed between female friends. The plot of female amity is the Victorian novel’s purloined letter, hiding in plain sight in the genre’s every permutation. The remainder of this chapter makes that point through sustained readings of a few major works, but to give an idea of the plot’s range, let me first rapidly survey a sensation novel, a silver-fork novel, a political roman a clef, and a novel of provincial life. 

Sensation novels, which characteristically emphasize occult powers and deceptive social ties, make female friendship an equally baroque narrative force. In Wilkie Collins’s Man and Wife (1870), for instance, the attachment between two female friends, Blanche and Anne, is all that can disentangle a marriage plot mired in complex wills, obscure legal loopholes, and vindictive relatives. One friend’s “resolution to reunite herself” with the other ultimately enables each woman to be united with a loving husband. Blanche makes her refusal to “give . . . up” Anne a condition of marriage when she tells her suitor: “There’s time to say No, Arnold—if you think I ought to have no room in my heart for anybody but you.”

Anne marries a man she hates in order to secure the legality of Blanche’s marriage to the man she loves: “She kissed her— looked at her—kissed her again—and placed her in her husband’s arms” (525). As so often happens in the plot of female amity, marriage makes female friends kin when Anne is freed of her villainous first husband and marries Blanche’s uncle, who learns to love Anne through the loyalty she arouses in his niece: “‘The woman must have some noble qualities,’ he thought, ‘who can inspire such devotion as this’” (246). 

In Frances Trollope’s silver-fork novel The Widow Barnaby (1839), which combines sentimental fiction with a portrait of high life, a generic preoccupation with virtue and good taste inflects the plot of female amity: the narrative defines the heroine’s innate gentility by showing that she can captivate virtuous, well-born women as well as men. One young woman’s “enthusiasm” for Agnes, the heroine—whom she finds so attractive “it is with difficulty that I keep my eyes away from her”—shows her good taste, which in turn reflects Agnes’s true worth (117). Agnes’s responses to other women similarly display her good judgment and capacity to feel desire. 

The Victorian marriage plot required heroines to be chaste, yet sufficiently ardent and aware of their desires to marry for love. The plot of female amity circumvents the paralyzing effect that this paradoxical demand might have on the marriage plot by using female friendship as a vehicle for depicting a heroine’s erotic excitability while skirting, so to speak, the strictures on female heterosexual assertion. When Agnes first meets the “tall, elegant-looking woman” whom she does not yet know is her male beloved’s sister, her “whole attention seemed captivated” (228). 

Once she identifies the woman as the sister of the man she loves, Agnes goes into a paroxysm, “trembling from head to foot with her eyes timidly fixed on the beautiful countenance of Colonel Hubert’s sister. . . . [T]here was timidity certainly in the pleasure with which she listened to the voice and gazed at the features of Colonel Hubert’s sister; but still it was pleasure, and very nearly the most lively she had ever experienced” (249–50). Within pages, she and Hubert’s sister have exchanged the embraces and kisses that are the novelistic sign a happy marriage will soon help their budding friendship bloom, and Hubert’s sister approves her brother’s choice, exclaiming, “I too am very much in love with Agnes” (342). 

Trollope can so graphically represent the erotic delight women take and inspire in each other for the obvious reason that the “lively . . . pleasure” of female homoeroticism poses no phallic threat to virginal virtue. But she can also depict their attraction so floridly because a woman’s susceptibility to another woman defined rather than defied femininity— because even the most erotic bond between women could sustain opposite-sex desire. As a final pair, consider George Meredith’s Diana of the Crossways (1885) and Harriet Martineau’s Deerbrook (1839). Although both novels explore community, vocation, and rumor, nothing could be further from Martineau’s expository, prosaic didacticism than Meredith’s elliptical, quicksilver sophistication. 

Yet both novels conclude with scenes that demonstrate the inseparability of marriage and female friendship. In Meredith’s novel, the eponymous heroine, nicknamed Tony, marries only when her best friend, Emma, proposes on a suitor’s behalf. The novel’s last sentences describe Emma’s “exaltation” as she “held her beloved in her arms under the dusk of the withdrawing redness.” That “beloved” is the female friend who has just returned from her honeymoon, and the novel’s last lines focus on the women’s reunion: “They sat embraced, with hands locked, in the unlighted room, and Tony spoke of the splendid sky. ‘You watched it knowing I was on my way to you?’ ‘Praying, dear... [t]hat I might live long enough to be a godmother.’ There was no reply: there was an involuntary little twitch of Tony’s fingers.”

The stock scene in which a wife obliquely confesses to her husband that she is pregnant takes place here between female friends: the “involuntary little twitch” of Tony’s fingers is a telegraphic signal that Emma’s wish is already reality, a displaced sign of the fetus’s movement within her, and a response whose involuntary corporeality underscores that a clearly consummated marriage has not dimmed the romance between female friends. Deerbrook also ends at dusk, an erotic threshold that blurs light and darkness, public visibility and shaded privacy, in which day tremulously balances night and finality seems momentarily suspended. 

The plot of female amity is aptly timed to conclude at evening, for it achieves closure by evenly distributing narrative attention and the heroine’s affections across friendship and marriage, rather than forcing a choice between them. Deerbrook thus ends not only at twilight, but also “on the eve” of Margaret Ibbotson’s happy, long-deferred marriage to Philip Enderby, which she chooses to spend with her friend Maria. Margaret and Maria have both loved Philip, but as the plot of female amity dictates, their shared love has brought them closer instead of driving them apart. In the novel’s final scene, they sit together in Maria’s house until they hear Philip’s horse, and Maria gives her friend away by telling her to “go and give Mr. Enderby the walk in the shrubbery that he galloped home for” (523). 

The novel’s final sentence displays the conjugal couple in the light of female friendship: “Margaret kept Philip waiting while she lighted her friend’s lamp; and its gleam shone from the window of the summer-house for long, while, talking of Maria, the lovers paced the shrubbery, and let the twilight go” (523). The reader infers that Margaret leaves Maria’s side, but the narrator does not describe her actual departure; instead, she leaps paratactically from a first clause that places the two women in the same room to a second clause that depicts Margaret walking with Philip. 

That second clause bends over backwards to give the participial phrase “talking of Maria” priority over the clause’s grammatical subject, “the lovers,” but what the sentence loses in fluency it gains in meaning, since that reversal embodies how Maria presides over Margaret’s union with Philip. The passage’s articulation of space and vision makes the moment between friends persist in the lovers’ walk, for Margaret and Philip are illuminated by Maria’s lamp, which Margaret has lit. The novel’s final tableau allegorizes the social links that the plot of female amity forges between marriage and female friendship, which appear as closely connected as adjacent moments, cottage and shrubbery, or a light source and the object it illuminates.”

- Sharon Marcus, “Just Reading: Female Friendship and the Marriage Plot.” in Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England