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0aurelion-sol0 · 3 years

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"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. )

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Gnome #1: Johnny

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

Overall plot:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Gnome #2: Christine

"Two bright, beaming lights for eyes."

Overall plot:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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general-thinks · 3 years

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OOODAAAA WHY ARE WE ON HIATUS AGAIN AAAAAAAAHHHH

Ok, now that I took that one out the system, at least we have something Komi related for this week!

I would start talking about the recent @zer0cracy 's animation, but I want to talk about something else before that.

And I'm talking about the Komi-san Live Action adaptation.

Ok, listen, I... I don't like any type of anime live action adaptation. Like, at all.

I-I know there are people that enjoy it, and I can only respect the actors that are so passionate about the source material to do this , but... but I don't know ok? There is just something that I can't pintpoint that makes me so annoyed by them for just existing.

And so, when the news of a Komi san Live Action came, I... I honestly grimaced, and prepared myself for the worst. All I could do was hope they would find some actor similar to the cast, and be the most faithfull to the manga possible.

And so, when today on the subreddit r/Komi_san a 5 minutes teaser dropped, I was already expecting my death, unsure if ignoring it or actually acknowledging its existence.

...I sat down, taking a break every 10-30 seconds due to my visceral hate for Live Actions and my love for Komi san battling againts each other making me feel sick. I felt like Odysseus, roped to his ship to hear the siren's song, a victim to my curiosity, just to have some content to release today and now... *sigh* we need to talk.

Mind you: This is not a mindless bashing. I just want to talk about some decisions and my thought on cast members. And just something to talk about waiting for the next Komi-san chapter.

First off, let's talk about Tadano

...who is this guy? I said-

.............*sigh*...........

Ok, so, let's start with the obvious: WHERE IS THE WHITE TURF? Ok maybe this is a conscious choice, to make him even more average. I can... I can still accept it.

But... I'm sorry, I don't see Tadano at all watching him. I can see AT BEST Kometani. And another thing is that (as it can be in the actual trailer, sorry I can't share the link with you all) is... too much expressive. I know, it's a weird thing to say, but one of Tadano's charm is how easy going and calm he constantly is, despite the chaos happening around him. But this version, it's too... fidgy? He moves too much, it's like seeing a Tadano not out of his chunni fase yet. Like, as you can see here-

...ok never mind let's move on and ignore this.

...ehy, wait a minute but behind him there's... hm... maybe it's a coincidence...

In the end, I give this LiveAction!Tadano a 4/10, even below the average. I hope this one was an error in the production of the teaser and he's actually more Tadano-like in the show, but I fear this is not the case. It's not his fault, if it was, I don't know, Naruse, the characterisation would work perfectly, but... this is Tadano...

Also, as we can see here, Tadano crossing the street, I bet that there is going to be a live adaptation of Yamai's kidnapping too.

Live Action Yamai. Rejoice.

Next one is Komi, and... she kinda works?

Loyal enough to the original Komi, the haircut is almost the same, the only thing that miss and it shows is the murder gaze. I guess it's not that easy to do, or easy as I think, but maybe put a little more of spirit?

I don't know, she just looks depressed. And while that's gold for angsty fanfic writers, for an early Komi-san it's not the best. But hey, at least she is similar to Komi! So take this 7/10

Next one is Najimi, and... I don't know what to think of them.

While at first I was outraged for the missing lavander hair and antennas, watching some scenes with them there made this Live Action version grow on me. They bring a nice energy in the scenes, and it's quirky enough for Komi-san, but...

...It's not chaotic enough, and it's a really big problem for a character like Najimi! It's like a chilled Osana in this teaser, and I'm really, really conflicted about it.

So, in true Najimi's fashion, I'll give to this version a ???/10. I have high hopes for you, don't delude me.

Next one is Katai, and...

...I FUCKING LOVED HIM.

This is the only actor by far that I think nailed down the manga character perfectly, he's so over the top and failing at being a delinquent that actually makes me think "yeah, if Katai were a real guy, he would be like him." I would die for this guy. Also the homoerotic tension between him and Tadano are even stronger than the one in the manga so that's a plus too

Explain this, heteroes.

So yeah, LiveAction!Katai deserve the 9/10, get a little more buffer and you'll top the score easily.

And lastly, Naka- no? Ehm... then Yama- no again? But... who else could be here in the class-

........MANBAGI?????

Ok first thing, the actor works for her. She may be not excactly like our Manbagi, but she looks like a ray of sunshine and like Manbagi she seems like a good and lovable girl. I'm sorry that I couldn't add more photos, but trust me, even in the nurse office scene her vibes just worked. I'll give to LiveAction!Manbagi a 8/10.

But now, let's adress the elephant in the classroom.

THEY ADDED THE FIRST YEAR AND SECOND YEAR CLASSROOMS IN ONE SINGLE CLASSROOM AND CALLED IT A DAY.

This is massive!! Like... like I don't even have the wors to describe how much of a big deal this is, butchering the character arc of Komi and Manbagi, and cancelling icons such as SHINOBINO or NARUSE.

I'm still in shock. I don't understand the creative process behind this idea. "Yeah let's add Manbagi in the first year. Who cares if her struggles for being part of a new class is one of the most important step for Komi since she for the first reached out for someone else and Komi had an entire year of experience to actually talk to someone that wasn't her family or Tadano. I'm sure nothing bad can happen from this decision."

It just... baffles me. Who had the idea to do a Live Action NOW? The anime starts two month from now on, and it's not like Komi need something for build up the hype since we were waiting this anime for years, so much that it became a joke in the anime community. If they wanted to do a Live Action, make a live action of the ONE SHOT at this point! So the people get familiar with the characters and explore the strange world of the prototype Komi, not SPOILING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER OF THE MANGA, SINCE SHE APPEAR IN THE SECOND YEAR AND IT'S A TESTAMENT TO KOMI'S GROWTH.

I... I need to lay down for a moment... no, for a whole day. I planned to do the reaction to Zer0's animation but now I'm exausted from the rant. I'll probably do it tomorrow. I'm sorry guys, and until next time

#also whERE THE FUCK IS ONEMINE #komi-san wa komyushou desu #komi san wa komyushou desu #komi san can't communicate #komi san has a communication disorder #komi san is bad at communication #komi san komyushou desu #komi-san can't communicate #komi san #general ramblings

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pluviophile-bookworm · 4 years

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AWAE 3x1 rewatch: thoughts and reactions

So we’re finally here, up to the (unfortunately) final season of AWAE. I will be rewatching and reacting to the first half of the season only, since I’ve already posted my reactions to episodes 5-10 when they were coming out. Just thought I’d say that here.

For this rewatch, I will be adding onto the notes to myself I made when first watching the episode. Also, this is dedicated to Amybeth McNulty for her birthday today.

So, without further ado, I suggest we dive right in.

Can we talk about how Anne’s beautiful green ribbon gets untied and flies into the air while she is riding through the snow and she doesn’t even seem to care? I mean, she looks back and smiles at it, but doesn’t even think of trying to retrieve it… If I were her, I would have turned the horse around. Although it did seem like the ribbon was too high up in the air for her to reach. Also, her hair is beautiful flying loose in the wind… like we’ve never seen it before. [Present-day note: of course we’ll see it like that again, and from Gilbert’s point of view. That scene was magical. Truly magical]

So… Ruby still has it for Gilbert… and she has it going on strong… she’s supposed to be covering the hockey game for the school newspaper, but she’s dropped her notebook in the snow [Present-day note: again, my dislike of ruining material objects speaks here, but - I felt really bad for that notebook. It’s done nothing to deserve being ruined by the snow] because she only has eyes for one of the players… and so does Anne. I really hope the budding love between her and Gil doesn’t shatter poor little peach Ruby’s heart. [Present-day note: I’m so beyond happy she got over him before Anne realised that she was, as they would say on Friends, ‘under’ him.] She’s a dearie and deserves the best.

The hockey field (probably nothing more than a frozen lake, but this is the 19th century, so, you know) has apparently turned into a place of courtship, as Billy is giving his attentions to Josie and Moody to Diana… but her parents won’t allow it. “Too rich to be a minister’s wife?”, Josie teases. But then the attention shifts to Gilbert who stares at something undefined between Anne and Ruby, leaving it ambiguous which girl his affections are directed to. The whole thing is very awkward to watch, and with no Cole around to reassure Anne that Gilbert has a crush on her, and her only, she may as well think he’s finally returning Ruby’s sympathies. That scene is intense.

The natives appear – a man and a little girl, presumably his daughter, the girl that was mentioned in the articles promoting this season. It turns out the man is the one who makes the hockey sticks for the boys, and the difference in nature between Gilbert and Billy is once again emphasised by how they each treat him. Billy is superficially polite, saying “Thank you” when receiving his new stick, but he says it in a sort of patronising way, like the subtext here is “We whites are better than you”. Gilbert, on the other hand, is just as polite and respectful as he would be to any white man – or woman, for that matter. I mean, he lives with a black couple, so he can’t be racist at all. I mean, he’s an absolute cinnamon roll.

Anne is even better with the natives, as in, she doesn’t even notice anything about them that would make them superficially different than her and her peers. She asks if she could write an article about the man, but not about his lifestyle or different standards, but about the sticks he makes. She sees the quality work, not that the man doing it is non-white. And I bet she’ll be learning a lot about their life and culture later on, in a perfectly respectful and inclusive way. This is beautiful.

Billy comes back and is all kinds of disrespectful, so the girl, Ka’kwet, shows her dislike of him very clearly, and her father warns her against “stir[ring] trouble with the white man”… the tension can’t be ignored anymore. It can practically be cut with a knife.

The man offers a great judgement of Billy – “The little man with the big ego” – in his own native language, so only Ka’kwet understands. But he couldn’t be more right.

Billy walks away, muttering “Savages” under his breath. Anne, however, isn’t shaken for a millisecond in her wish to visit and interview them later.

So, Billy won’t even be coming back to school, as he’s stepping into the family business. I’m hoping we won’t see much of him anymore. [Present-day note: Unfortunately, we will. And when I say unfortunately, I mean devastatingly. Before this season, I didn’t think this excuse of a guy could get any worse, but in the latter half he’s proven to be an absolute entitled monster. I loathe him, and I’m not even sorry for allowing myself to feel such negative emotions.]

Jane is “chaperoning” Josie and Billy as they walk back from the game? I mean, yes, she is his sister, but she’s younger than him, I think. But well, I’m not sure how chaperoning works in such a situation.

Anne arrives at the natives’… village? What is it, exactly? Anyway, her new budding friendship with Ka’kwet (which, the poor thing says, just means “starfish”; now she and Anne can bond over wishing they had a different name – although Anne isn’t as resentful of hers anymore, now that she’s signed the family bible as “Anne Cordelia Shirley- Cuthbert) is just so beautiful… this show is pure aesthetic. [Both visually and in terms of content.]

Marilla disapproves of Anne’s having fraternised with the natives… the tension builds up. I guess Anne won’t be stopped from seeing her new friends so easily, though.

At the Pye household, Josie’s mother is pressuring her to “get a hold” of Billy before someone else does. I mean, she’s a Pye – an unpleasant person as per the book, so she deserves him. Let her have him, as long as Gilbert is reserved for Anne and Anne alone. [Yeah, in retrospect, not even Josie deserves this imbecile. But I didn’t know back then just how bad he could be.]

So Anne’s words “seems to me I was destined to be the bride of adventure” from the teaser are part of her evening prayer – a change from the (apparently) usual plea to make her good-looking, which she now, on the brink of age 16, sees as a childish wish and not a real prayer. Anne has grown!

“Many suitors or even just one…” Come on, Anne, are you blind? You have one – The One at that. Take Notice of him… I mean, the Take Notice board will be returning as per a gif set I saw here on Tumblr, so I really hope Shirbert moves on a bit quicker than it has so far.

Bash and Mary have a baby! Since when? I don’t know, but I love it. Is Gilbert the godfather? Seeing as he is Bash’s best friend and honorary brother, he must be… oh dreams…. [Either way, he’s her Uncle Gilby]

Her name is Delphine? That’s beautiful. Also, Gilbert just kissed her forehead before going out to school… the dream has come true.

The unlikely duo of Rachel Lynde and Miss Stacy takes centre stage in the next scene where Miss Stacy says she doesn’t need a man as she has discovered self-sufficiency after her husband’s death. Mrs. Lynde, of course, wants to play matchmaker for her. As I said, this is an unlikely duo and I would very much like to know how this relationship turns out further.

Anne and Diana are dreading the nearing day of their separation as Di goes to finishing school in Paris and Anne goes to college in Queens. I really want to know how this separation will turn out. [Fortunately, I won’t have to find out, and neither will they.]

Another line of tension builds up with the resurrection of the Take Notice board, as the girls discuss the pressure to get married soon and Josie teases Anne about becoming an old maid, as seen in the trailer.

Poor Ruby takes the blow instead of Anne as she, who will apparently be going to Queens with Anne and Gilbert – only in order to remain close to him (poor unfortunate soul), is desperate to receive any advance from him. I really don’t want her to suffer, but here she is now, crying about him not noticing her. I almost want her to not end up going to Queens, as that will most probably be the place where Shirbert’s relationship will finally bloom, and I don’t want her to witness that. [AWAE Ruby would have loved to be Book!Ruby, as she gets much more attention from him there - but she doesn’t care as much. However, seeing as how Book!Ruby ends up, AWAE Ruby should be glad she’s not quite her.]

Anne “bet[s she] can help” Ruby’s Gilbert issue – but if she is the root of the problem and she doesn’t know it, how can she possibly be of any use to poor Ruby?

I’ve never seen Anne ignore someone so hard as she just did Moody – he greeted her and she barely turned her head in his direction, muttering a quick “Hi” before returning to her conversation with the girls… good thing he is not one of her suitors. Although she doesn’t pay much more attention to Gilbert, you know.

I see Moody has grown up a lot since last time he was seen, and he’s now a close second to Gilbert, at least the way I see it. That’s quite a glow up he’s had. But I kinda wanted Diana and Jerry to be a thing – and now I’m low-key shipping her with Moody “your dress is very… blue” Spurgeon. The poor guy has always been awkward around her; it’s obvious he likes her. [See, I told you I only ship couples that have explicit signs of potential to happen. Even though Diana and Moody didn’t happen even for a second, I’ve apparently seen something in her and Jerry stemming from that one single conversation they had. I mean, he did call her ‘the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen’, so that must have been what made me ship them - even before I had the slightest idea they were going to be a thing this season. I still can’t get over the fact that they were not endgame. In my mind, at least, they are - somewhere in that future we didn’t get to see.]

And now the super famous “take notice” scene between Anne and Gilbert is happening… oh the tension. [You know, this scene reminds me of Vanessa Hudgens’ Rather Be with You. If you haven’t heard that song, go listen to it and then try to tell me I’m wrong here.]

Anne was apparently talking about Ruby in this scene, and Gilbert was blabbing on about “the right person” and stuff… Shirbert is on!!

Well, that was a turn of events! The second Anne mentions Ruby you can actually see Gilbert’s emotions change. Kudos to Lucas for portraying that only with his eyes. How to those kids do that?

And poor Ruby has been observing him during the conversation, of course… she is so deluded, the unfortunate thing – she thinks his reluctance to post means he’s looking for a much more romantic advance to make… Poor thing. Shirbert will break her heart and might just ruin her friendship with Anne forever… and she dies young in canon. I just hope Moira finds a way to give her the happy ending she deserves… [And, as we know, Moira didn’t disappoint there. I’m so glad things turned out for Ruby the way they did]

Jerry can read long complicated texts now… he’s reading Frankenstein [Little did I know how important this book would be for his story arc this season], for goodness’ sake! I stan one (1) beautiful [inside and out] French farm boy!! And I ship him with Diana even more now. Although if her parents won’t allow her a future minister, how will they allow a farm boy?

Diana has actual royal ancestry… but that ancestry is “keeping [her] from Queens; from [Anne]”. Isn’t this a tragical Bro-mance right there? It is indeed.

Marilla is helping Mary with the baby… makes me wonder if she has been dreaming of one for so long but never got to have it and this is why she’s so attached to this one… this series is beautiful but dramatic… it really tugs on my heartstrings.

Diana stands up for herself and her own wishes in front of her parents… but she doesn’t achieve more than angering them that way… poor little rich girl, indeed.

Also, I just love how the Barrys express their anger. Diana sits at the piano and starts playing angrily, while her mother embroiders angrily and her father reads his newspaper angrily. [I had no idea two out of those three things could be done angrily. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which two.]

The Take Notice board has a note on it saying “Susan has her sight on Moody Spurgeon”. Who is this Susan and why is she eyeing Moody if he’s courting Diana?

Anne is super excited about turning 16… “Once upon a time this was the happiest day of my parents’ life”. I really want her to find out about her ancestry eventually. But I want her and Gilbert to finally get together more. [Of course, both of these will happen in this season. I sort of knew that even back then.]

Let’s sum up: Anne has beautiful hair, but, more importantly, dreams of finding out her family history; Ruby has it bad for Gilbert - but we already knew that; Ka’kwet and her father make their first appearance and create tension in the process; Billy is racist on top of everything - but we all expected that; courting is in full swing; Rachel Lynde plays matchmaker; lots of tension caused by the Take Notice board; eye (and eyebrow) acting; Jerry reads Frankenstein; Marilla is a really good mother, and not only to Anne; who’d have known embroidery and reading could be done angrily; who is Susan; Anne is nearing 16 and things are about to change forever.

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onlydarylnormanfic · 4 years

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You’ll Start Again [Teaser]

A/N: Alright. I am finishing up the next BDS piece and working on All of You Part 9. BUT this is one of my own that I have just started that I need to write right now for me. Hilltop. Yes. Healing for me. Yes. I am loving the feel of this so far. Personal piece teaser... Daryl x Reader. S.9/10

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You wiped your tears away as you nodded.

“Okay. It’s over,” you said, taking a deep breath as you tried to hold back more tears from falling from your eyes.

Jake looked back over at you and nodded in agreement.

“Alright. I just think it’s the best thing,” he said, looking over at you with hard resolve, not showing an ounce of emotion.

This man you had thought you had known so well. This man you had thought of as your best friend, even before the world went to hell. This man you had loved so damn much was ending it with you.

You gulped and nodded, not sure what else to say, so you stared vacantly ahead of you as a few tears fell from your eyes.

Jake nodded again with understanding and walked over to the entrance of your trailer.

“I’ll come by and pick my things up tomorrow while you’re on duty,” he said matter-of-factly.

He said it as if the past years together had meant little to nothing to him.

You rolled your eyes and nodded, avoiding his eyes for fear that you would breakdown, which was the very last thing you wanted to do in front of him right now.

He looked over at you for a few seconds longer before turning and exiting the trailer you two had shared since you had found the Hilltop a few years ago.

You looked over and watched the door swing shut, bouncing back and forth a few times before finally closing. You got up and walked over to it, looking out of the screen door with sadness as you watched the only man you had ever loved walk away from you.

You took a haggard breath and then looked down at the lock. You brought your hand over and watched your fingers click the lock shut, as if you were watching someone else’s motions. Right now, you felt like all you could feel was the heartache running through every part of you. And your mind was racing with questions about how it had all went so wrong. When? Where? How? Why?

You were an exhausted mess. The two of you had spent the last few hours yelling, crying, and arguing with each other over all the things you two had to say that you had pent up over the years. And then it happened. He told you what you had been dreading to hear him say for a while now.

He was in love with someone else.

Her name was Lena and she worked with him on security detail. She was everything you weren’t. She was tough and resilient. She could hold her own with any walker or human. And you were just you. You worked here as a school teacher for the children. And truth be told you didn’t think you could protect yourself or anyone else from any sort of threat.

You shut the other door and locked it, walking over to your bed and flopping exhaustedly onto it. You looked up at the ceiling as you thought about what a failure you really had become in this new world. Not that you had asked for the world to go to hell. But it had. And all you could do was teach the kids how to do their arithmetic and write.

You got lost in your own minds for hours, too sad to sleep, yet too tired to move. A few hours later, you heard a dog barking and the sound of a motorcycle revving into the town.

You forced yourself off of the bed and looked out of your window. You watched as Daryl sped over to the barn with Dog in tow. You watched the strong man stop the bike, put down the kickstand, and swing his body over and off of it with ease.

He shook the hair out of his eyes and looked dutifully around the place, looking like he was making sure the town as at peace as it should be. When he was sure things were good and quiet, he patted the side of his leg, beckoning Dog to follow him up into the barn’s hayloft for the night.

You smiled, breathing a sigh of relief now knowing that one of the best protectors of this community and the rest was sleeping here tonight. It set you at more ease.

You walked back over to your bed and slumped down onto it, running your hands through your hair as you tried to assure yourself that you would be alright. You forced yourself to blow out the candles by your nightstand and settle into your bed and under the covers. You laid your head down onto your pillow, looking sadly over at the spot next to you where Jake used to sleep, not that he had been sleeping there much lately anyway anymore.

This was your new normal. A life alone. You tossed and turned as you tried to fall asleep, thinking only of everything you two had been through and how horrible it had been for you two together lately. Maybe this was all for the best. Still, you didn’t know how you were going to survive this life alone.

Your mind then wandered back to Daryl. He had done it. For a long time now. Even after Rick.

If he could do it, maybe you could too.

You turned to your side and snuggled into your blankets looking up at the window next to your bed with determined wonder. Maybe he could show you how to do just that, survive without Jake. You forced your eyes shut, telling yourself you should get some sleep before tomorrow.

Tomorrow you planned to approach the protector Daryl and ask him to teach you how to survive on your own.

You finally fell asleep into the wee hours of the early morning and awoke a few hours later to the sounds of everyone in the town getting to work for the day.

You squinted your eyes and looked up at the sun shining through your window with distain. You stretched, trying to awaken your tired body.

You then heard a knock on the door.

“Ms. Y/N! Ms. Y/N!” you could hear a few of the children call, tapping on the metallic door as they beckoned you.

You Forced yourself out of bed and walked over to the door, trying to fix your hair and face before you opened it.

You took a deep breath and opened your door, forcing a happy smile to your lips.

It was three of the children from class, Johnny, Lacy, and Margret. They were looking up at you with excitement in their eyes and happy smiles now that you had opened your door.

“It’s time for class, Ms. Y/N!” Margret said with excitement as she gripped onto her notepad and pencil, bouncing slightly up and down on her heels.

You smiled down at her and the other kids who were so excited to start their day of learning.

“I’m sorry everyone. Ms. Y/N had a hard night’s sleep. I’ll meet you all in the library in 15 minutes,” you said nodding over to them with another smile, this time more genuine.

You loved how much the children loved to learn. It gave you so much hope for their future and their kids after them.

“Why don’t you all run along and tell the others to start reading the story we are working on together until then,” you kindly instructed.

The kids all nodded in agreement and then went sprinting off to the main building to do just that.

You smiled genuinely to yourself at the sight, for a second forgetting the pain that was deep in your heart from your heartbreak last night. But once they were gone you were reminded of it again. Still, you had a job to do and it wasn’t the kids’ fault that any of this had happened to you.

So, you took a deep breath and went about your morning. You quickly brushed your teeth and hair. Then you changed your clothes, throwing the ones you had been wearing on the floor and looking at them in disgust. You never wanted to see them again. You picked them up and brought them to the garbage. You looked at them for a few seconds before dropping them in the trash.

You took a deep breath and turned to walk out the door.

Your feet hit the grass beneath you and you made your way through the trailer park city that had been created. Everyone nodded and greeted you with a friendly hello was you made your way out of the park and into the open space beyond. You looked over at the big building you were headed to and then glanced to your left at the barn, up towards the hayloft.

You saw Daryl sitting at the edge of the hayloft, legs dangling on the side as he pet Dog’s head and looked over the place with a look of satisfaction on his face. His eyes came to yours and you nodded a polite hello, trying to ignore the spark it created in your heart to have him focused on you.

He looked back over at you with hard curiosity for a moment before nodding back at you, keeping his eyes glued on you.

You forced your attention and focus forward and walked to work…

#teaser #you'll start again

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thoushaltnottpass · 3 years

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War Takes Away Our Humanity

Teaser for Ch1 (basically a trailer.)

Excuse them if they had been a bit surprised at first. One and a half years of quiet had felt too good to be true, but after a few months of being tense and paranoid, people had begun to yearn for tranquility, slowly letting their guard down. Ol' Voldy and his merry band of Death Eaters had all disappeared underground after Harry had challenged their leader to a duel of skill, announcing that Riddle's Horcruxes had been all but demolished, so wizardkind had taken the opportunity to try and regain a semblance of the normality they had had before the war had started.

...

In just a month, Riddle had created utter chaos. His Death Eaters massacred muggleborn families left and right. They burned down the new St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, the Albus Dumbledore Home for War Orphans, and the Severus Snape Trauma Center all in one. They overtook the Ministry of Magic once more. Minister Shacklebolt was ruthlessly murdered, as was every Ministry official who stood with him. They were able to destroy the wards around almost half of Wizarding Britain's homes. Hell, the only wards they couldn't take down were ones equal to the ancient family homes, such as Longbottom Hall, Hogwarts, Malfoy Manor, or Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

...

George had broken. He had fallen to his knees in anguish, his tears and promises of revenge never-ending. A day later he had been discovered in his flat's bathroom, blood oozing out of his slit wrists, a moving photograph of him, Angelina, Fred, and some of their other friends at the Yule Ball of 1994 in his hands.

...

In another seven months, over a third of Britain had been demolished. The words You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were gone from everyone's vocabulary; everyone knew very well who. As well as The Dark Lord, fearful whispers on the streets referred to Riddle as the 'Cold One'. There were Death Eater revels almost every week, stated either in Diagon Alley, or various Muggle towns and cities.

...

Despite all of it, Voldemort had not appeared, not once. No-one, wizard or Muggle, had seen him in the flesh and lived to tell the tale. His inner circle members handled most of the revels, raids, and general killings, while he relished in the safety of his hideouts, torturing and/or killing wizards and the occasional muggle. What a way to live.

...

"No, Draco, just keep looking. There's at least another half of this library that we haven't seen. It's all Dark, we're bound to find something."

"Hermione, Harry, please. Just hear me-"

"No, Draco. There has to be another way."

...

"They found Ted Tonks. They're moving in on him, but it'll take them a minute to get through his wards. That's all the time you get before they kill him. Approximately seventy of them. He is there. They expect you to fight, bring as many as possible. High Street, Marlborough. Go, quickly." (A.N: That's a real place. I searched it up- it's in England)

...

Andromeda was the first to fall. She had broken when she had seen the house her husband had resided- and died in, apparently, as the house was now just a pile of ashes surrounded by a lovely fence. Her attention -and shield- wavered just for a second, but that was all that her opponents had needed to take her down. A quick flash of green light, and she had crumpled to the ground, an agonised expression forever on her face. After her, it had been Neville. The brave, yet foolish, man had been battling five Death Eaters by himself -and winning, it seemed- when someone had shot an emerald green jet of light to his back. Seeing him fall had been tragic for all around him, especially Augusta, who had sunk to the ground in despair, clutching her daughter-in-law. Those had been a sad few moments- before Augusta and Hannah had, too, sadly met their ends. Molly Weasley had launched herself into a duel with Bellatrix, and she fought like a vicious lioness. Even lionesses died, however, and that was what had happened to Molly. Percy and Bill, who were briefly distracted from their own duels when her body had tumbled to the floor, had all joined her in the afterlife after being hit by some very Dark curses. Percy had killed Dolohov and jumped in for his mother, grieving but level-headed, though he was no match for the serpent that was Bellatrix. Soon, the only remaining Weasley was Ron, not that he had had much time to register it, as he was battling three very dangerous Dark wix.

...

"My dear Death Eaters, would you look at this," Voldemort drawled in his snake's hiss, drawing out the 's' at the end. "The only members of the Light we have not yet defeated."

...

"Ronald Weasley," Ron looked repulsed at hearing the bald snake say his name. "You could have been great, my dear boy. You could have brought the Prewetts and Weasleys back to their former glory, but you chose not to. You are a disgrace to the pureblood name.”

If anything, Ron looked proud at that.

"Draco Malfoy," he announced, his eyes straying to the blond man. "You are a traitor to our cause, Draco. You didn't think I knew about that measly code, that spelled parchment, those private little Charms lessons? Your mother died as soon as I made her send that Patronus, boy. Your father must be rolling in his grave. Filthy blood-traitor," Draco's mask flickered for a second at the news of his mother's death, but he determinedly put it back into place, strengthening his shields.

The Death Eaters gleefully snickered at the mention of the deceased woman. Bellatrix outright cackled madly. A look from her beloved Lord quietened her immediately.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione looked ready to spit in his face and stomp on his non-nose. "You are the brightest witch of your age. A Mudblood, yes, but bright nonetheless. I would gladly excuse your unfortunate heritage. Join me, my dear, and bask in the praise and glory Lord Voldemort will give you. Join me, and be rewarded greatly," he purred. "Hermione."

"Rot in hell, Riddle," Hermione spat, seeming beyond revolted.

"Very well. And Harry Potter," Riddle sneered. "The Chosen One. The Boy-Who-Lived. The Saviour of the World. Where have you been as the world needed you, Mr Potter? You once took everything from me, Harry. And now," Voldemort smiled a sickening smile, and Hermione's shield faltered. "I shall take all from you." He raised his wand, and a jet of green light rushed toward Harry's best and only female friend.

Hermione didn't panic. Her life didn't flash before her eyes. She just felt numb. She dropped her arm and closed her eyes, ready to meet her fate. But apparently, fate had other ideas. Because she didn't see the black abyss she had thought would absorb her, she didn't feel the spell she thought would hit her, and she didn't die. No, instead, she heard a shout of her name, and as she opened her eyes, she saw a mop of bright, orange hair, followed by a thump on the ground in front of her.

"No!" she cried in sorrow.

...

Ron... Ginny... Molly... Andy...

...

“We have no other choice.”

“Draco-”

“No, Hermione, please listen to me,” Draco pleaded. “If we had another option, I would gladly choose it, but there isn’t another option. Please know that I would never ask you to do this unless it was the only way. But, don’t you see? This isn’t Dark magic, because I’m willing.”

...

“O cara mors vetus noster animos habere pudicos, et nostri bonis magicae. Rogamus te ut nos back: reversusque est in tempore. Obsecro mi mors sanguis nostras quaesumus ut nos salvos et mundo. Mortem, et dabo te in sanguinem et vitam draco malfoy, et in reditu ad nos a vobis et nobis bonum passagium praeterita, ita non potest prohibere mala et beatitudo omnibus!”

...

Tears streaming down their cheeks, they both thrust their knives into his gut. Draco cried out at the unimaginable pain. He slumped to the floor, writhing in agony.

They repeated the words once more as he bled out in front of them.

...

Hermione turned to Harry, and saw that his face was also twisted in pain, as though he could feel what Draco was feeling.

“We're monsters.” she said numbly. “We killed someone pure.”

“This is what war does, Mione,” he muttered numbly. “It takes everything from you until the only thing you have left is your humanity. Then it takes that, too.”

Draco gave one last twitch, one last whimper, before he became still, his pain still on his face. At that very moment, Hermione and Harry stumbled feeling a pull in their stomachs not unlike what one felt mid-Apparition. The wind around them spun quickly in a circle, and the two friends let go of each other's hands.

...

That had been her last thought before she had stopped flying and landed on her two feet; the world went dark, and she slumped to the shining floor of the abyss. And for the first time in a long time, Hermione Granger rested, no bad dreams or dark memories plaguing her. Little did she know, she would have quite the same fright when she woke up.

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haus-of-wu · 3 years

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Chung Ha - Querencia: Album Reaction

This was a jam-packed album full of ChungHa’s versatility. Querencia truly is an exquisite product of ChungHa’s many months mulling over this album in its entirety.

Normally, I wouldn’t put a “Keep Reading” on these, but this album is LONG and I don’t want to clog up the dash.

SIDE A {NOBLE}

Nice mysterious instrumental that would be fitting of a teaser trailer. ChungHa’s voiceovers of “authentic self”, “where my desires are protected”, “my own oasis”, and ultimately ending on “querencia” set the tone for the album’s concept.

Bicycle

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The trap percussion pattern and the instrumental is super catchy. However, this is not my favorite ChungHa title track.

What is interesting about it for me is that this is one of the first times that I get to hear her rap (and in English). The Ariana Grande Side to Side references in the imagery are very intentional. If anything, this feels more like something Blackpink would do, which is why it’s throwing me off so much.

It’s a bit confusing that we’re talking about a bicycle, but we have motorcycle broom/vroom adlibs. I think the verses are fire, but the chorus is ultimately disappointing compared to the rest of the song.

Masquerade

The Latin vibes on this one though !! The horn line and percussion are very characteristic of Latin pop. The chorus does a really good job of weaving the melody of the horn line with ChungHa’s voice.

Introducing some acoustic guitar in the second verse is a nice change-up. Throw “Masquerade” immediately into the good vibes playlist, bc it’s a innocuous fun beat.

Flying on Faith

The plucky electric guitar - a Touch!

One of Chungha’s all-English tracks in the album, and one that really Feels like it could be on Top 40 Radio here in the US. The beginning of this reminds me of some punk pop from the mid-2000s, and the rest reminds me of something Aly and AJ-esque.

I love how the chorus adds in several more layers to the instrumental, which help continuously drive the song forward.

(Also beginning with guitar but ending with piano? N i c e !)

Luce Sicut Stellae

There’s Latin percussion rhythms in this one, with a nice mellow tempo.

“Shine for, shine for me tonight” - the chorus is immediately happiness inducing for absolutely NO reason. :)

It’s good music to study or work to. The instrumental is simple, and you just get to enjoy ChungHa’s vocals.

SIDE B {SAVAGE}

Very nightclub vogue beats for this instrumental. Fitting, since it’s basically taking us into the next quarter of the album which focuses on dance music.

Stay Tonight

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“Stay Tonight” has such a great groove to it; it was an instant addition to my playlist the moment I first heard it. A very solid ChungHa dance track, paired with some really great visuals (I was a sucker for the blue extensions).

The instrumental introduction really just builds your interest all the way up to the verse. And the chorus? It drops, and the bassline gets grungy while ChungHa’s voice sails above the whole orchestration. STAAAAAAAAAY~

Dream of You - with R3HAB

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When ChungHa dropped this all-English dream of a song, I immediately latched onto it. It’s confident and honestly a bit of a tease.

“I can’t stand that you might be in someone’s bed, with some ____ all over you” - like OKAY we’re HERE

The build up to the chorus is suave - the backing instrumental that reverbs every time ChungHa sings the chorus just adds ante to it.

But also, favorite lyrics of the album: “I got whiskey, I got gin, and lingerie”

Bother Me

The “distant audio” effect at the beginning just makes the verse come in even HARDER - this is a Groove.

The spoken drawling verses that launch into quick rolling lines are such a nice contrast. The booming bass and funk make this a club hit.

Chill

Chill gives a cruising down the street in the summer with the roof down vibes.

It embodies its title - it’s Chill.

There’s a huge contrast between how much instrumentation the verses have compared to the choruses. The verses are pretty clean, with only percussive elements and one bass instrument, so ChungHa’s voice shines easily. On the other hand, the chorus of Chill has layers of backing vocalizations, much more instruments providing bass harmonies, which enables ChungHa’s clear timbre to give this song a burst of color.

SIDE C {UNKNOWN}

This instrumental is just the whacky percussive elements thrown together. It sounds like a mix of EDM and sci-fi video game music and sound effects.

Play - feat. Changmo

youtube

Summertime tropical beach beats - the metal drums really lend themselves to creating that vibe.

Changmo’s rap feature here is Legit and he gets a solid amount of air time - definitely a solid collab.

I think what I appreciate most about Play is how the chorus and adlibs allow ChungHa’s vocals to really shine.

Demente - feat Guaynaa

ChungHa in ESPAÑOL?? With a collab?? YES !!

It’s wonderful to hear how much she worked on her pronunciation to be able to put together a song with several verses and a chorus in Spanish.

The foghorn noises though - very on brand for the genre I suppose.

Guaynaa’s bars were wonderful, but I especially LOVE when the two of them sing the chorus together. Good harmonies folks, we love that

Lemon - feat Colde

This song immediately gives off swanky retro lounge vibes. The “Lemon, Lemon” chorus moves from ear to ear.

Overall, a soothing rhythmic tune to listen to when getting stuff done.

Honestly, I think one of the best things about this album is that Chungha’s collabs allow Byulharangs to find new artists - Colde definitely is up my alley for chill rap.

BYULHARANG (160504 + 170607)

The acoustic guitar chords immediately jerk me back into mid-2000s TSwift country pop. It’s comforting, a song directly for the fans, and it feels like a warm throw blanket.

SIDE D {PLEASURES}

Synth noises? Also a candidate for sleek mysterious teaser music

youtube

Soulful, sultry, with good vocals - X has It.

It has a lilting, wistful vibe, one that reminisces on what could’ve been, but ultimately did not happen. The instruments gradually layer on in a neat manner as we approach the chorus, and continue building as we hit the last chorus.

“You should’ve loved me at my worst, now you just watch me on your TV screen”

All Night Long

The way the instruments wiggle between your ears is trippy - but this has a nice minimal setup for the verse.

In this chorus, ChungHa just croons, and it’s breathtaking.

Everybody Has

An almost drama-esque piano intro - it’s a calming conclusion to the amazing novel of work ChungHa has given us with this album.

The mixing on this track with the variety of acoustic instruments...very tasteful.

Comes N Goes

A clappy feel good pop anthem - it also has the elements of a happy-inducing girl group track. The airy pre-chorus, clear carefree chorus.

Querencia (Epilogue)

Hypnotic chord progressions with a snappy snare. Fin !

#kylie rates kpop #chung ha #chungha #kpop #am i seriously starting to become a kpop thoughts blog? who knows #chungha !!#r3hab #changmo #guaynaa #colde

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week In BL

May 2021 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 12 fin - that was a long arse final ep, but solid performances. I liked that we focused on the fallout amongst the side characters. (Very clever of them to depict Chap with Tae, his Y-Destiny pairing. Especially as both actors are slated for new BL roles with different partners again, The Tuxedo and You’re My Sky.) The camera certainly enjoyed wallowing in Sib & Gene’s separation, but that’s an Asian drama for you. They like to DWELL. (Frankly, I like a bit of wallowing myself.) I thought the inclusion of the “actual” writer at the very end thoroughly unnecessary. I don’t think they had to beat us over the head with the 4th wall meta quite that much. Still, this is probably one of the best BLs we’re getting from non-GMMtV Thailand this year. RECOMMENDED

Y-Destiny Ep 8 - (Thurs) I found the first half uninteresting but once Casper the Friendly Gay showed up it was fine. The ghost reminded me a bit of Fuse from MIR.

Close Friend Ep 4: (Just One Life) - is it just me or is Talay insanely charismatic? Anygay, the director got ahold of a drone for this one and would like us to KNOW ABOUT THAT FACT. Look, I just don’t think YoonLay have great chemistry but this was alright, cute enough.

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 6 - This was a better installment than we’ve had in a while. I like the obsession vs love explanation from Mork, insightful if creepy. Meen & Duean are okay, I guess. A bit annoying. Everyone in this show is a bit annoying. But the wipe toothpaste then wipe eye crud got to me. Toothpaste in the eye, yech! And then I was all, oh that’s basically this show: toothpaste in the eye. It just reviewed itself. (Also why do they keep switching aspect ratio between the two pairs? It’s like they were filming with two completely different camera types... oh. ah. Weird, GMMTV usually doesn’t make mistakes like that.)

Call it What You Want Ep 6 fin - I skipped to the last ep on this, I told you I do that sometimes to find out what happened. So CIWYW ends happy for the main couple, but trigger warnings on: eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, depression, mental abuse, and a few other things. If you don’t mind your BL dark, gritty, self aware, and honest then you should be okay with this show. But if your preference is for fluff, then there are other fish in the sky. Speaking of...

Nitiman Ep 2 - Giving me My Engineer vibes. This is OLD school Thai uni BL. I kinda feel like it was meant to come out in 2018, the gap year that was, but I am SO GRATEFUL we’re getting it now. Pay TF attention FUTS this is how you redeem a tsundere uke. Also I love that Bboom is just a terrible flirt and the football match twist was great. I love this show.

Top Secret Together Ep 1 - it’s out there but no eng subs. It’s an office set romance with multiple couples all tangential to one building. A bit stilted and low production values but I’m intrigued. I hope we get subs... eventually.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 9 - gets the safe sex gold star for lube + condoms AND a verse discussion? Not to mention asking for sex advice from queer fam? Is this a first in BL? Might be. (I still think it’s weird that product placement hasn’t jumped on the lube bandwagon, too slippery perhaps?) I like the embezzlement drama. I always enjoy good outside conflict playing to setting, and this is the kind to be easily resolved in next week’s finale. What a roller coster this series has been.

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan) Ep 5 - I LOVE THIS SHOW. A heartbeat after i thought, “they better address what he’s doing to the girls he’s dating,” they did it. Clever scripting that. The messaging is gorgeous, the idea that pride and media coverage and knowing about a changing world can broaden minds and lead to acceptance was basically Taiwan making a case for itself paving the way for marriage equality in Asia. Genius.

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 1 (AKA 4) - dropped with subs and improved production values, someone is learning (or got more dough). The younger brother’s drama is a bit confusing, but I am here for cute boyfriends being cute boyfriends together. And I love that they took the seme’s previous pair (from Nation’s Brother) to be the faen fatale, very crafty of them. Even though it’s not a trope I like, there’s great chemistry all around.

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 6 - I weirdly love this show, okay? I’m just hoping Long has known Minh’s secret all along and is playing a reverse long con cat & mouse game, waiting for Minh to tell him the truth. Because that would be THE BEST. I could do without the faen fatale but ya can’t have everything. (I’m so glad it’s not the standard 6 ep arc, MOAR!!!)

Gossip

Rumor is GMMTV Thailand started shooting Baker Boys (here’s the teaser trailer). This is a remake of Antique (AKA Antique Bakery) a 2008 Korean movie (you can watch it on Viki) which is a remake of Antique (a 2001 Japanese series) with is an adaptation of wildly popular manga Antique Bakery. Knowing the plot I’m not sure this will qualify as BL. I’m still predicting Lee gets his first gay kiss in this series from Singto. More details about this series here.

Breaking News

Love Area release pushed out, reportedly due to C19. (source DramaCool)

Be Love In House: I Do (Taiwan, of course, with that title) got a new softer trailer (no subs). It drops next week, May 19, 2021 on Viki. All the information I have is here.

Tangential to BL

Two BL-adjacent shows, both from Taiwan.

I’m watching Love is Science? on Viki which has a het foundation, but it’s a good one. There’s a BL side couple who are on an enemies to lovers slow burn trajectory; featuring a disaster bi slut meets elegant bad ass super gay. So there’s THAT. The mains are an older career woman and the sweet boy from her distant past who has pined for her for years. (He is the softest sweetest service sub you ever saw.) Props to Taiwan for a seriously underused het dynamic. As usual in Asian rom coms the straight boy love interest is a Perfect Cinnamon Role (yes I’m looking at you True Beauty & Love O2O) but I find Taiwan’s version more palatable than Korea’s or Mainland China’s. It’s not finished yet but... RECOMMENDED.

Starting this week is Love Outlet a 50 (?!) episode show about a mall that sells relationships. It is supposed to have a main gay romance, but it might be a side dish. Very little else known about it. Coming to Line TV.

Honestly, I’m at the point where if Taiwan makes it, I’ll probably watch it.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Starting:

Be Loved In House: I Do (Taiwan)

Golden Blood (Thailand) we think, like Love Area this may be delayed due to surging C19 cases

Love Outlet (Taiwan) we think

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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filmpertutti51 · 4 years

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Movie Streaming the Future?

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#The movie industry is one of the very booming industries worldwide. The reason being movies seem to be certainly one of typically the most p

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eagles-translated · 4 years

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Eagles S2 Teaser Trailer breakdown

Thought I’d do a quick breakdown of the teaser trailer that just dropped because we’ve been starved for content for so long lmao

This post got a little long so I added a keep reading button for those of you who are interested in checking it out. Enjoy and feel free to reblog this post with your own ideas and impressions of the trailer! 🥅🏒

The song playing in the background of the trailer is Say We’re Sorry by Loving Caliber, which is about a broken relationship between two people that are both hurting from each other’s actions:

🎵 We hurt each other’s feelings on and on 🎵

The chorus is about how the people in this relationship should apologize to each other:

🎵 I guess that we should say we're sorry 🎵

It’s pretty safe to assume that the song is hinting at Felicia and Ludde’s relationship, which fell apart at the end of season 1 when it was revealed that Ludde had (unknowingly) hooked up with Felicia’s best friend Amie at a party a few weeks prior to Ludde getting back together with Felicia.

They’d also had problems in their relationship before (this is where the “on and on” part of the lyric fits in), such as when Ludde let his friends talk about how Felicia was in bed or the argument they had after Ludde got into a fight with Elias.

Felicia’s feelings were obviously hurt by this and while I can’t exactly name any situations where Felicia hurt Ludde (maybe because they don’t exist lmao) we know that he himself was hurt when he was apart from her after they’d fought. In episode 6 during the Halloween party, Ludde is pretty depressed because of what had happened with Felicia before.

The song lyrics that are actually featured in the trailer, however, are these four lines which are the intro to the song:

🎵 It's silent now, we don't say a word We're just looking at each other Tears in our eyes from the words we said Yeah, it kinda broke my heart 🎵

They fit very well with what is going on in the trailer - there are no spoken lines as all the characters are silent and only exchanging looks. We see Ludde looking around a classroom and Amie looking behind her, most likely at Ludde:

There’s also a scene where we see Ludde chasing after Felicia (?) in the hallways and her turning around to look at him in anger.

The following lyric “tears in our eyes from the words we said” is emphasized when we see Ludde on the verge of tears after this hallway shot, where he probably regrets how he treated Felicia and the things he said to her back in season 1. He might also be sad because he tried to apologize to Felicia for what he did, but got rejected. In that scenario he could be crying over the words he said in the hallway that weren’t enough and made Felicia angry instead.

As for how Felicia is feeling about it, she seems to instead be hiding her sadness and either masking it with anger (like with Ludde) or with a stone-cold expression, like the case is when we see her walking through the halls and her classmates are watching her. There are a lot of eyes on Felicia since the whole school probably knows both her best friend and boyfriend betrayed her, but (again) nobody is saying anything.

The trailer finishes with the lyric “yeah, it kinda broke my heart” which is how both of them are feeling, except Felicia seems to be done with having her heart broken over and over again. We can see that in how she won’t take Ludde back and the look in her eyes on the photo above - she seems way more confident and independent than she did back in the first season.

Right before Felicia is walking through the hallway there’s a brief shot of her (?) talking to Jack, the new character that seems to be a potential love interest for Felicia and a new obstacle between her and Ludde. I’m not 100% sure if he’s gonna be a love interest, but I’d say it’s likely due to 1) the way he looks at her here and 2) it makes sense that a new guy would be introduced right after Felicia and Ludde are broken up.

Jack does seem way older than Ludde and I doubt that his character is supposed to be a teenager - he looks a lot more mature from what we’ve seen.

This could be intentional, since Felicia might be done with Ludde’s childishness throughout season 1 in which he would always end up hurting her feelings. That, or she’s looking to rebel against her father even more? Mats was against Felicia dating Ludde and he might be even more against her dating someone much older.

The other shots I haven’t mentioned are a few hockey scenes (since duh, the show is all about hockey):

It’s a little hard to see who this is (in the words of Amie, tHeY aLL LoOk tHe sAMe!!) but I’m assuming it’s Elias. After the shot of Ludde running after Felicia, the next two shots are of Elias (probably?) and the screenshot above says NKT Arena Karlskrona in the background which is a multi-purpose sporting arena in Karlskrona.

Elias had decided to change to the Karlskrona team in the season 1 finale but we were unsure if he actually went through with it due to what happened to Felicia. The gear is different than the red Eagles hockey shirts, so I’d say it’s either Elias playing for the Karlskrona team or just a Karlskrona teammate. However - this next shot makes me doubt that a little.

Elias is in a gym (I’m guessing) and right before the shot changes,he lunges forward. It looks like he’s hitting a punching bag. Which makes a lot of sense - he does get angry easily and might be using it as some sort of aggression release or it’s simply just part of his workout routine.

The part that stood out to me though was the giant Eagle behind him - the symbol for the Oskarshamn hockey team. If he did leave team Eagles for Karlskrona, why is he in a gym with their eagle icon on the wall?

My best guess is that he is in the Karlskrona team, but perhaps had a match against Eagles in Oskarshamn. There was a similar storyline in season 1 where Eagles had a “derby” (definition: a sports match between two rival teams from the same area) against the Tingsryd hockey team.

It’s also possible that Elias came back to Eagles to be closer to his sister - we also need his character at the same place as everybody else since he sort of was a part of the whole Amie/Ludde drama.

Elias and Amie did have a chemistry that seemed to be leading somewhere before the season 1 cliffhanger. Fans of the show also really want them to get together. There wasn’t a single shot of them together in this teaser trailer but I believe that could be the Eagles team trying to keep it secret and make the audience unsure if it ever will happen. We might see more when the full trailer drops.

This seems to be Elias fighting with someone else (?) at a party. I’m not sure since this shot was really sudden and dark, but it wouldn’t be a complete shot in the dark to say it’s Elias. He has anger issues and got into fights with Ludde last season, even losing his temper one time during hockey practice and flying at Ludde.

Now as for the other guy... I don’t know why Tobias keeps popping into my head. Maybe it’s the shirt. Tobias appeared in season 1, episode 2 and was introduced as Ludde’s friend who was in the school band with Ludde’s older brother Andreas.

I don’t know, I might be completely wrong about this one so I’d love to hear what you guys think.

There’s one last shot I haven’t mentioned yet, of Klara nervously looking around a room with a glass (of alcohol?) in her hand.

She seems to be at a party but unlike her party girl persona in season 1, she is now unsure and alone. She’s mostly covered up which goes against how she used to dress for parties (her mother even commented on how her shirt showed too much skin before the dinner party with Mats and Leila).

Klara’s actress mentioned in an interview that we might change our perception of Klara’s character in season 2, so I assume we’ll feel bad for her now that she’s lost her friends and that she’ll get some kind of “mini” redemption arc.

I’ve watched this trailer so many times now that I’m out of things to say, but please send me asks/messages if you’d like to discuss more! I’m sure there are tons of things I’ve missed or haven’t thought of.

#eagles svt #svt eagles #ludvig johansson #felicia kroon #felicia x ludvig #amie samuelsson #elias kroon #klara ceder #did anybody notice that they used the SKAM colors for the Eagles logo? not sure if it was intentional but cool nonetheless #maybe it was a nod to all the SKAM fans that started watching the show

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straykidsupdate · 5 years

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Stray Kids Detail Their ‘Darker’, Special ‘Yellow Wood’ Album & How They Travel the ‘Road Not Taken’

“The fact that we have a lot of people that are willing to join us on this journey, that itself is a really big honor.”

Following their biggest sales yet in America with Clé 1: Miroh and first U.S. tour, Stray Kids are growing up and thriving but they know there may be bumps on their journey.

In their latest album Clé 2: Yellow Wood, packaged as a “special album” with three new songs, the band is navigating growing pains with the aggression of the angriest bucking bull in a rodeo. Members Bang Chan and Seungmin open new single “Side Effects” track wondering, “I threw myself with trust in me/ But why am I just being hurt?” before the full group yell on the refrain, “My head hurts” while recounting the changes they’re experiencing, both externally and internally, as they mature.

The disorienting song structure, the psychedelic genre they’ve tapped into, plus a brilliant sample of what sounds like a monotone, prescription-medicine ad listing-off “common side effects,” all blend together to create the type of messy portrait of a young person coming into their own in 2019. But instead of try to polish the mess away, the guys embrace such a chaotic nature like some of the best young artists are today. There might some fights, but Stray Kids say sticking together on their path is what keeps things going.

Speaking to Billboard just hours before Clé 2: Yellow Wood was released, members Bang Chan, Changbin and Felix open up about the themes of the new Stray Kids album, how it furthers their story, and what they hope this next chapter can represent for not only the ninesome but anyone following along on their journey.

Billboard: How’s everyone feeling ahead of the new album dropping?Changbin: Nervous, but we are looking forward to [our fans] Stays’ reaction. Felix: We can’t wait and we hope this performance will surprise Stays by showing a darker vibe.

So, it’s darker? Can you explain this darker chapter in the larger Clé story?

Bang Chan: “Darker” says a lot. After Clé 1, in the “Miroh” music video, we’re in this new dimension, right? But in the trailer and teasers [for Clé 2], we go from the rooftop on “Miroh,” take the elevator to go down, but then we push a button called “YW,” which stands for our new album Yellow Wood. It’s meant to show that we decided towards taking a road that is less taken by anyone else. We’re entering this new road that only we chose to take and I think that’s what we’re about.

Can you explain the Clé 2: Yellow Wood album title a bit more too?

Bang Chan: Clé 1 and Miroh, refer to a place we made. Same for Clé 2, it is a series and just like Miroh, the Yellow Wood is a new place that Stray Kids are experiencing. What’s different, and what’s a bit more special, is that now it’s something we’ve chosen to go into.

Looking at your careers at large, how will Stray Kids continue along a road not taken?

Changbin: Well, I can’t really predict the future – I’d love to! – but in this road that Stray Kids have taken, there may be some ups, some downs, there may be some side effects that can occur. But as long we’re together, because we chose to go into this road, we need to be responsible on it. This road that we’ve chosen, we’re giving Stays and a lot of people a lot of good energy. As long as we keep going, I feel like we can get really far on this road.

I heard you name drop the new single “Side Effects.” Can you share more about it?

Changbin: Many young people get confused when pursuing their goals. There are times when the resources they need don’t come right away, so they get worried if they’re going the right way or not. There needs to be a special reason why someone chooses a specific path and we want to spread the specific message to never give up. There are many people – including Stray Kids – going through the same phases. So, we want to give some kind of comfort to them. So, if there are people out there going through those tough times, we hope our song helps them relieve some stress.

During your time in America, Bang Chan actually mentioned how members like Felix and Changbin have gone through “a lot.” Can you share a bit more about what you were referencing then?

Bang Chan: Everyone in Stray Kids goes through hardships and everyone has their own personal story. Each story is just connected with each other through choices and, I guess, when we make a choice, we don’t know if there will be side effects or not. What I really wanted to say was that, yes, Felix and Changbin have gone through a lot, pretty personally, but so has everyone in Stray Kids. And it’s not just us, all the Stays as well. Jeff, I’m sure you’ve gone through some hardships yourself. I guess Stray Kids just want to say, we go through it as well. Felix: As Bang Chan mentioned, [our group] went through that same hardship back in our trainee days. It wasn’t easy at first, but now that we’re a group of nine members, we wish to share all of our past hardships to Stays in the future. And through that, we believe we can help each other.

“Side Effects” and the new tracks see you playing with some new dance-music sounds. What genres did you play with on this album?

Bang Chan: Stray Kids always try new music. It’s fun, it’s something we can experiment with, and it really expands our spectrum and knowledge of music. Changbin: The genre we were trying for was psychedelic trance. Bang Chan: It is EDM-based music, once again, and I guess you could connect that with “Miroh” which is like an EDM banger.

I was looking at the comments and fans were saying the sound and teaser videos reminded them of Billie Eilish a bit.

Bang Chan: Aw yeah! We’re real fans of Billie’s music. Actually, we think our stage performance will also give off that vibe as well… Felix: It’s a special album and so we wanted to prepare a special performance for “Side Effects.” So, instead of focusing the strong points of the choreography on just dance moves, [we thought], “Why not focus on strong points on formations as a team?” Through that, we expressed our feelings and emotions to match this new level of choreography. Bang Chan: We tried something different performance-wise. It still has that really strong energy that Stray Kids give out, but it is like a different style of energy. It sounds silly saying it from our mouths, but it has a different color to it. Felix: It’s more about the way we deliver it.

What else do fans need to know as you make this next step?

Bang Chan: You know how you mentioned Stray Kids going and climbing the next step? Well, it really doesn’t matter if we go up those steps or not – of course, it’d be great if we could go up! – but the fact that we have a lot of people that are willing to join us on this journey, that itself is a really big honor. Even it’s just one person, a group of people, even it’s just you on this adventure we’re going through, we’re just really glad that there are people willing to go with us. I want to say thank you to Stays, all around the world, in Korea, and we’re going to Europe later this year, we’re really excited to see our Stays there. Changbin: Stay, this album is for you! Felix: 2019 isn’t over yet, we’re still going and we still have a lot show to you guys… Bang Chan: … of course, it’s not over yet. It’s June right now! [Laughs] Felix: [Laughs] I know it’s not over! I just want to say thank you and to please keep looking forward.

(source)

#stray kids #190624 #lee felix #felix #seo changbin #changbin #bang chan #chan #era: clé 2 yellow wood #t: article #billboard

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chimbu617 · 4 years

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A HTTYD Micro Memoir of the Past Ten Years

It was 2010. I was 8. I just moved to a new town and as someone who was bad at trying to talk to people, I spent all my free time in my imagination and/or with my brother. He was my best friend and we did everything together. My parents weren't big on going to theaters especially with an 8 and 12-year-old. So whenever we watched the newest, latest movie it was always through Red Box, they somehow always got for free. They rented two movies. I don't remember how they picked them out, if it was their or mine and my brother's choice. One night, after dinner, they popped in a disc and played the movie for us. I vividly remember how I felt sitting in our faux leather couch, cuddled up with a blanket in a dark room, focused on the movie. The camera swoops in over a vast ocean in the dead of night. Pillers of stone carvings extruded out of the water with fire burning inside the mouths. In the distance, a beautiful island inhabited with wooden shacks. Small specs of fire can be seen in the village. Over this is a voice-over by the lead character, "This is Berk." A line that will follow me throughout the next 10 years of my life. I spent the rest of that year dreaming of owning a terrible terror and have a friend to explore my world with. Of course, that was virtually impossible. Jump to 2012. I was 11. The first episode of Dragons: Riders of Berk aired. My brother and I begged our parents to record the series and we watched it religiously. We jumped into my bed turned on my tv and grew immensely excited for this world we both developed a love for. I remember how I watched Heather first be introduced and immediately hating her character from the moment she was on screen. I created a self insert character where "I" washed up onto berk after a shipwreck with amnesia. I always thought that Heather stole my premise and then ruined it by betraying the main characters. I now enjoy her character and look back on my childish foolishness. I guess my mom at some point stopped recording the show after my brother moved out and I grew out of the show, but not the fandom. 2013, I was 12 and just started 7th grade. The teaser trailer of the second movie came out and I watched it with awe. I was conflicted by the redesign of Hiccup yet I probably watched that trailer more times than I could count. I met my best friend and we both spent our time in science class drawing. She convinced me to start drawing actually. I spent that time drawing and watching crack compilations for Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons. I never stopped my love for the world despite not having a lot of content to fill in the void in my heart. I ended up teaching myself Viking/Celtic runes, so I could read the text in the movie and show. It was 2014 when I taught one of my friends in my 8th grade English class the runes so we could pass notes in class. We wrote notes that absolutely made no sense but had so much fun knowing that we were the only ones who understood it. Our teacher caught us passing the note and took it from us. The look on her face was priceless. She looked frustrated and confused. She gave us a baffled look and continued on with class without a word. I wasn't able to watch the second movie in the theater either. I ended up pirating it off some streaming site. I laughed and cried. At his death, my parents came in to ask if I was ok. Several weeks after my 14th birthday in 2015, Race to the Edge's first season was released onto Netflix. I ended up binging all of Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berks in a few nights. I cried when I saw Stoick alive again and revived my undying love for this franchise. January of 2016, my brother called me and asked if I had seen the new season of Race to the Edge. I ended up watching only a few episodes before falling out of interest in the series. In December of 2017, I decided to catch up with the show. I would wake up, go to school, go home, did homework, binge as many episodes as I could and repeat. Soon after I finished it was 2018 and the new and last season was released. I had my friend come over to spend the night and I straight up said "Sorry, but I want to watch this" and she had to sit there and watch the show without any context of prior seasons. For Halloween that year that same friend and I ended up dressing up as Hiccup and Jack Frost. My mom gave me a stuffed toothless she was holding for Christmas for my costume. Some older lady told me she liked my plush cat. When I found out about The Hidden World coming out my friend group and I decided to go see it in theaters. I accidentally overslept that day and rushed to the theaters where my friends were waiting. One of them ended up buying a ticket for me, refusing to accept my money when I offered to pay him back. There aren't words to describe my emotions in those few seconds the Dreamworks logo played. I was excited at being able to finally see one of the movies in the franchise in theaters. Although I started to feel my heart being pulled apart by tiny strings attached to the muscle. I then realized in that small amount of time that, this was it. This was the end. No more. That everything I watched, learned, waited for was for this moment. The dragon classes and types I learned, the runes I used, the music I would close my eyes to and imagine I was in a different world, and the reality in front of me ever since I was a child that I could never live in this world. It was all in front of me. The movie played, and sure I laughed at Tuff, watched in awe at the beautiful plant and sand animation, cried at their parting, and rejoiced at their reunion. As I left the theaters though I couldn't help but think, "It was better than expected but not as good as I hoped". Whenever someone asked me my thoughts of the movie I would tell them those exact words. Looking back now, I don't know what I hoped for it to be. A happier ending? No, I came into this expecting the loss of dragons. A more interesting villain? I can't think of any better villain for the context of the scenario. I left it as such. I hoped for better yet knew not of what I hoped for. It was winter break in 2019 and I left my dorm to go home and visit my family. The first night I was back my mom said she recorded something for me. I sat in the recliner as my cat snuggled into my lap and my mom started up Homecoming. I appreciated the fact that my parents haven't seen the second or third movie, yet sat through Homecoming with no context for me. This last Thursday, the 19th of March, I was working on my theater assignment mid-quarantine and randomly had the desire to watch Ratatouille. As I finished the film it reminded me of How to Train Your Dragon. With the whole human and animal bond that overcomes the differences between the two species to work together. I ended up wanting to watch the film again. As I watched it, I thought to myself, just the first movie, right? As I started The Hidden World, I thought to myself, just the movies, right? As I started Riders of Berk, I thought to myself, just the pre-time skip series, right? As I started Race to the Edge, I thought to myself, I need to drop my Biology course since I'm gonna fail. When I rewatched the third movie all my original doubts on the film vanished. At the end when Hiccup decided to let Toothless go, I didn't cry. But, when Hiccup tells us, the viewer, that dragons were waiting for us to get along, I sobbed, more than I did any other time watching the entire series in the last 10 years. I realized two completely separate things. We as humans will never earn the right to have dragons, as we will never get our crap together. We are filled with corrupted morals and mindsets and will ruin everything and anything we get ahold of. The second thing was something I experienced earlier. Though I was afraid of the end I was so used to things claiming to be over and then the creators ending up making more for a cash grab. In that moment of watching 30-year-old Hiccup throw his son into the air, I realized that this was it. This was the end. The end of the movie, the end of the story, and the end of a large part of my childhood. When I graduated high school I cried in my car after our practice run. I was growing up and I would have to be leaving everything I had known until then behind. It was Troll Hunters a series I started before I moved into my dorm that helped me calm down and move into a new place. It helped me understand that I can't just change and leave what I love behind. I can take it with me beyond this line I drew myself. The past few days changed that though. I couldn't take my beloved world across the line with me. It will forever be chained into my past as something I can look back on yet have no expectations for any future with it. I cried because there was nothing in my hands that I could do to keep what I loved with me. But, with Stoick's words "With love comes loss, that's part of the deal. Sometimes it hurts, but in the end, it's all worth it." Thank you How to Train Your Dragon. You have given me so much. More than I could say. More than I know. We have grown up together, but now it's time for both of us to move on. Time for me to let you go.

Whoever stuck around until the end, thank you. I felt I had to write this as my fingers were itching for it. This is just a first draft but I doubt I’m ever coming back to this. I wanted to do something for the anniversary but like I said I didnt start getting back into httyd until the last 2 weeks and I just found out. I wrote this in like 2-3 hours, and I’m suprised at myself for powering through it. I’m still working on writing personal memoir pieces so excuse my skills. Anyways thank you again and Happy Ten Year Anniversary HTTYD!

#how to train your dragon #httyd #happy anniversary #micro memoir #first draft #draft

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zeldauniverse · 5 years

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Fitness games have had an interesting journey through the annals of video game history. From the Power Pad on the NES to Dance Dance Revolution’s dance mat, they have seen a lot of ups and downs. It wasn’t until the launch of the Wii and Wii Fit when fitness games became a huge deal. Why just play video games or just go to the gym when you can do both at the same time?! That proved successful as Wii Fit (and its enhanced version Wii Fit Plus) sold a combined 43.8 million units, making it one of the best-selling games of all time, even beating out games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Since then, everyone has tried their version of a fitness game, but nowadays fitness games are becoming less common. Once people started getting tired of that type of game, most companies and developers changed course and began work on other things. Not only that, most fitness games present themselves as exactly what they are. “Oh you’re called ‘Fitness Boxing’? So you box to the beat and do fitness? Cool.” They stay in their lane and don’t try to be anything else.

This is where Ring Fit Adventure, the latest game from Nintendo EPD, tries to break the wheel. From the initial teaser in early September to the announcement trailer, we saw people having fun with a ring and a strap, and then we found out it was an RPG. It feels like someone went, “Final Fantasy, but Wii Fit?!”

It’s not exactly a combination you’d think were synonymous with each other. However, Ring Fit Adventure manages to blend them well enough to harbor an enjoyable experience while also making you sweat.

Full Disclosure Nintendo of America graciously provided us with a review copy of Ring Fit Adventure for the Switch. This review is based on version 1.1.1. As such, the new additions will be accounted for.

Meet the newest Switch accessory

What’s interesting about Ring Fit Adventure is that it markets itself as an adventure game. You fight monsters, explore fictional lands, and collect items on your quest. It just so happens to be an adventure game that you control with your body.

Ring Fit Adventure’s centerpiece is the unique pair of controllers you use: the Ring-Con and the Leg Strap. The Ring-Con is a heavily modified Pilates ring. The main difference is that Pilates rings normally have two hard plastic handles with concave sides with padding so it can be comfortable when doing thigh workouts. The Ring-Con replaces those handles with some small padding for your hands. As someone used to a normal Pilates ring, it feels a little strange, but it’s something you get used to. Then there’s the Ring-Con attachment itself, where you put the right Joy-Con. The Joy-Con’s accelerometer and gyroscope detect the Ring-Con’s position, whether you’re pushing in on the sides or pulling them away from each other. The IR sensor also tracks your heart rate by placing your right thumb over the sensor. It seemed to be fairly accurate, as it was within a 1 or 2 bpm difference when compared to my Apple Watch.

The Leg Strap is far less high tech — it’s literally a thing that you strap to the center of your left thigh and put the left Joy-Con in. That’s it. The Joy-Con itself does the work of making sure your leg is in the right position for the exercises thanks to its gyro and accelerometer.

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Admittedly, the story doesn’t try too hard to immerse you, but it still tries.

At the end of the day, however, the technology is nonetheless impressive.

One thing I do appreciate about the game is that Nintendo tries to make this game a circular experience. When you load into your file, the game asks if you want to warm up with some dynamic stretches before you jump in so you can get your body ready and avoid straining or injuring yourself. During the game itself, it’ll ask you after a while if you want to keep going or cool down. When you decide you’re done for the day, the game asks if you want to do some static stretching as a means to cool down. This structure gives a nice arc that, as someone with a movement background, I appreciate.

I’m going on an Adventure!

The story is fairly standard. You control an athlete who meets a sentient ring, and together you explore the world and fight a bodybuilding dragon named Dragaux (yes, you read that correctly). You explore many worlds, help people along the way, and gain new abilities by constantly butting heads with Dragaux.

The plot is cookie cutter, but it also doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t. The basic story line works here. It’s moderately self-aware in parts, and it’s mostly enjoyable. It’s a tad basic at times, and Ring (the only character who is fully voiced) tends to repeat lines a bit, but it’s not enough to ruin the experience.

Expecting too much from the story would be a mistake, but it will help you pretend it’s not just exercise.

The game itself is very straight forward. Levels consist of two different modes — exploration and combat. The exploration is on rails, which makes sense because you move in one of two ways, either jogging or running in place or by doing small bends (what Nintendo calls “silent mode”). Silent mode is supposed to be a way to play the game without disturbing people by running in place. It was also the mode I used more because I dislike running.

As you traverse the levels, you can pull and push the Ring-Con to release gusts of air to hit boxes and suck up coins. Additionally, you can use the Ring-Con in other positions for specific actions, like pointing it down in order to jump, twisting it from side to side to row across a river, or pushing inward with your abs to destroy rocks blocking your way. You’ll gain experience as you continue, making you more formiddable in combat.

Speaking of combat, it plays out like a traditional turn-based RPG. You attack by doing various exercises from one of four different groups: Arms (upper body), Stomach (core), Legs (lower body), and Yoga (dynamic poses). The game telegraphs how long you hold the pose and then the release of it triggers the attack. Some of the exercises make you hold position for a while (the squats are rough), while others have you move to the beat. Certain enemies are affected more by specific moves; for example, red enemies are susceptible to exercises focusing on upper body. You get to decide what exercise to use, or you can shuffle the exercises, so there is a variety. The game also aids you in combat with lots of outfits and smoothies, Ring Fit’s equivalent to potions. Outfits have a set attack and defense stat like any armor in a typical RPG. There are also smoothies to consume, which have various effects ranging from from healing damage to boosting attacks of a specific type.

You face Dragaux multiple times through your adventure, and he does have some variety in his attacks. He’ll occasionally throw boxes at you that you have to shoot with the Ring-Con, in addition to just flat out attacking you. The game also doesn’t penalize you should you die in boss battles either — it will let you just skip right to the boss fight if you want to. That choice is nice.

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Ring Fit Adventure sticks fairly well to many traditional RPG elements.

That includes the nemesis that monologues and swears this meeting will be the last.

It’s not as complex as franchises like Final Fantasy or Pokémon, but it does enough to be enjoyable. And with 20 worlds to explore, there is enough content here to last you at least 20-30 hours of just adventuring alone. Additionally, during your quest, you’ll come across certain minigames. These minigames, like trying to get points by tilting your body side to side, add an extra bit of variety to the overall gameplay.

Ironically, where Ring Fit Adventure drops the ball a bit is in its overall design and music. When I think of an adventure game or an RPG, I expect a vast array of beautiful trees, vistas and dungeons. Ring Fit sets its levels in one of three locations — a trail through nature, where you explore vistas and go through caves; a wooden obstacle course built in a dojo-looking area complete with treadmills, hoops, and more; and a ruins area for the boss fights. It got to a point where I noticed how often the areas cycle between each level. After a while, it does start to feel stale.

Ring Fit Adventure’s music is pulsing, upbeat, and modern to pump you up, but most of it is also forgettable.

Music is vital to how RPGs and adventure games create the mood you should experience in combat and cutscenes. Ring Fit’s music is pulsing, upbeat, and modern to pump you up for the exercises you perform. This is great for a fitness-centric game; however, most of the music is a bit forgettable. The music often gets drowned out by the sound effects and Ring’s lines, and, when you do hear it, it doesn’t really feel like I’m a hero exploring the world and fighting monsters. I feel like I’m in a fitness studio. For a game that’s marketed to be an adventure game first, it feels like they came too short.

Additional fun to be had

Of course, the adventure is only one part of Ring Fit Adventure. The game also provides some additional modes if you don’t have time to spend on the main campaign. The Quick Play mode has a fairly robust set of minigames and exercises you can do, separated into three categories: simple challenges (where the goal is to get the highest reps possible); minigames (more specific exercise with concrete goals, like making pottery while squatting to raise and lower the hands); and sets (consisting of pre-selected exercises from upper arms to glutes or from aerobics to flexibility). You can adjust the strength setting to make things easier or more challenging depending on your ability, and these modes are a very good way to quickly target a small set of muscles.

Your scores for these are also put online to see how well you stack up against other players. At this point, the rankings are all that online is really utilized for. It’s sort of disappointing that Nintendo didn’t add a way to play the adventure mode with online co-op, but maybe that’s just me.

There’s also Custom Mode, where you can make your own workouts using all sorts of different exercises. They have some preset options, or you can pick and choose from the standard Upper Body, Core, Lower body, and Yoga menus.

At least the devs acknowledge you’ll be binging Netflix at some point. “Multitasking,” indeed.

Lastly, there’s Multitask Mode, where you can work out using only the Ring-Con while you’re not playing the game. Basically it records the number of presses and pulls you do with the Ring-Con while the Switch is in sleep mode or turned off. Once it’s enabled with the right stick, you can continue doing other activities, like watching The Mandalorian on Disney+ (at least that’s what I’m doing) and exercise while you do it. The next time you boot up the game, you’ll get a bonus in the Adventure Mode according to how many presses you did. It does limit you to 500 reps, which seems low to me, but considering that most people are going to just sit and watch a movie or a TV show for more than two hours while exercising, I understand.

A nice way to gamify exercise

Despite the story falling a bit short, Ring Fit Adventure is still a very enjoyable experience with a lot of replay value. It has several different modes to play, a terrific variety of exercises, and is great if you want to get some workouts in when you don’t feel like leaving the house because of bad weather. If you’re a fan of the hardcore mechanics of RPGs like The Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy or Pokémon, Ring Fit may be basic, but that’s not what it places its emphasis on. The mechanics are accessible so that anyone can pick it up and enjoy it, and maybe It’ll get people into traditional RPGs. The only thing holding it back is not doubling down on the adventure/RPG genre in terms of scenarios and music.

Score 7.5/10

Review: Ring Fit Adventure may be basic, but it nevertheless makes exercise fun Fitness games have had an interesting journey through the annals of video game history. From the Power Pad on the NES to…

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