#beanas

[rayless-reblogs]

Goldstone Wood and the Oddness of Christian Fantasy

Princess Varvare in a kingdom of roses

I want to share some illustrations inspired by the Tales of Goldstone Wood series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. It's a Christian fantasy series that I really like. Give me a moment to talk about that – unless you absolutely love Christian fantasy, all Christian fantasies, in which case, maybe skip this.

I spent a chunk of the early 2000s defending fantasy as a genre to a variety of Christians I ran across – not the majority, but still a variety of them – both in my head and to their faces. The preacher who said, from the pulpit, that Harry Potter was Satanic. Writers explaining why JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis were (of course) okay, but all other fantasy novels were suspect. Websites that dissected the occult symbolism you never realized was buried in fantasy media. My friend who frowned at me in concern and said she wouldn't want to have to explain to God why she read “that kind of thing” when she met him after death.

This is Rosie (and her goat Beana, who talks.) I love Rosie utterly, she tries so hard and she feels things so much. The next image is a spoiler, showing her unveiled.

I think that's partially why I'm interested in the genre of Christian fantasy, this attempt to make these two things fit. For me, the fusion often doesn't work. Either writers mix theology and fantasy in a weird confusing way. (Wait, you just had your heroine marry an angel. Do you actually think that happens? Which parts of this actually reflect your belief system?) Or they play things extremely safe and traditional. (Oh boy, another story about a young farm boy who's going to go on a quest and fight the Satan figure and become a hero while his girlfriend does... something peaceful off-screen.) Or they try to be another Lewis in the belief that since Lewis and John Bunyan did it, allegory is an acceptable vehicle for fantasy, and let's be really obvious about the symbolism. (I bet this demon symbolizes evil.) I read Christian fantasy, but it's partially optimistic curiosity, it's partially pessimistic irony, and I haven't found many that I'd recommend.

Rosie unveiled.

But I do like Tales of Goldstone Wood, at least what I've read so far (still missing a few of the installments). I like it enough that I would recommend it to a Christian who wants to read fantasy, or a fantasy reader who doesn't mind Christian themes. Anne Elisabeth Stengl often approaches the Christian elements indirectly, from less obvious angles, so you don't have all the heavy-handed symbols you see in the Lewis and Tolkien knockoffs. She has many, many interesting female characters and a lot of humor. Her series also builds, adding complexity to the world and characters with each installment, many of the characters showing up in multiple books.

Varvare and the unicorn. This unnamed unicorn is one of my favorite elements of the third book – beautiful but dangerous and eldritch. Corrupted – but not exactly evil.

Stengl's also not afraid to get weird and fey with her fantasy elements, at times reminding me strongly of things like Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and no end of Celtic and European folklore. Her magical characters are unpredictable, merry, fearsome, and unabashedly over the top. Her heroes have depth, flaws to go with their heroism, and never become morally perfect even after their conversions – unlike in so much Christian fiction. Much of Christian fantasy bears the thumbprint of CS Lewis; in Stengl's case, though her writing shows clear nods to Lewis (and not just his Narnia books), she isn't trying to replicate him. These aren't books that Lewis would have written.

Daylily and Lionheart. If the series has a protagonist, it's probably Lionheart there on the right. He seems to be doomed to keep showing up in different story arcs, and he's always interesting.

I recommend you begin with the first one, Heartless. Though Heartless is the least ambitious/unique entry – it's straightforward and, of all of the books, the most directly allegorical. (I bet this guy's the Jesus figure. Yep, yep he is.) But it lays the foundation for the world and establishes many of the central characters, including my favorite Eanrin, the blind cat-shapeshifting bard-knight with the heroism of a knight, the selfishness of a cat, and endless flair. Stengl does explore Christian themes, but at the same time she clearly wants to create beautiful language, memorable characters, and engrossing stories. The stories and characters don't feel secondary to the message.

Eanrin, I like him a lot. He also shows up in almost every book, at least the main books, sometimes pre-injury, sometimes post-.

My favorite book is Starflower, the fourth, because of its courageous heroine (who grows into the librarian-knight Imraldera we see in other books), its twisted echoes of “Beauty and the Beast” and Till We Have Faces, and its focus on, who else, Eanrin in his younger years, before he's really gotten that whole hero thing worked out.

Imraldera. (She's looking at Eanrin.) The series is allegedly over, but I feel like there are still some narrative threads hanging, including with Imraldera here. My hope is that the author returns to the series someday.

As with any recommendation, this isn't a blanket recommendation; you may find things in here you don't like. I don't sign off on every element as perfect. But Christian fantasy is a small genre, it's a weird genre, in my opinion it's often a clumsy genre. Goldstone Wood is proof that it can produce interesting, original material – stuff not merely “good for a Christian fantasy”, but just a good series, period.

[ladyblueberrymuffin]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LENA BEANA!

And Happy Deathday, Ethan, I guess...

[inquisitor-julia]

The cat I named after my Hawke (Serafina) likes to sit and stare unblinking at me while I make my coffee

[maplecornia]

TAG GAMEZ

tagged by @soobisms tysm for the tag 'thena! it feels like it's been years since I've been active on here but glad to see my moots still lurking >:)

currently reading :: a whole bunch of webtoons plus a recent markhyuck smau on twitter from @/tinymahaes (like it literally DOES NOT have a name 😭)

fav color :: purple and RAINBOW but also green has started to grow on me ngl

last movie :: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 💔 I'm doing the marathon again

last song :: lotto by exo...there's something so immaculate about this song that just makes you want to BUST IT DOWN

tagging :: @hyuckworld @hoonbear @soobmint @enhafika + plus anyone else who wants to do it ^^

[little-nutmeg]

Puppy snuggle evening 🥰

[comikissu]

Hi hi!!

1. have you ever wished on a shooting star?

2. name a movie that makes you genuinely laugh

5. whats your favorite season?

10. do you like rain?

Have a great night sweet friend! 💜💚

♡♡ (also yay fellow Scorpio! :3)

1. I think I've only seen a shooting star maybe once in my life, but absolutely, yes I did wish on it.

2. hmm. there's not one movie that I find super funny or anything (at least not one that comes to mind). But the scene in LOTR when Bilbo is giving Frodo his mithril shirt and sees the ring on his neck and his face distorts, i have to watch that scene at least 3 times every time I watch LOTR because it sends me into the most ridiculous fit of giggles and has ever since I first saw it. I even get like pre-giggles cause I know when the scene is coming up and it's what I like to call an-tee-hee-cipation.

5. favorite season is autumn, even though I don't experience true seasonal changes like some places do. But like 60-70° weather, leaves changing colors, also Halloween time, it just makes me feel rejuvinated- especially since it comes after Summer, which I do not enjoy at all lol

10. I wish it rained 4-5 days out of the week. Whenever I wake up to a rainy day, I feel so excited, like my chest gets all fluttery and it puts me in a fantastic mood. It's especially nice when I don't have any other obligations when it rains and Ican just lay in bed, listening to it or even go for a little walk in it and breathe in the rain-smell. Very refreshing.

[greatwesternrailway]

oh and my song for lena is lollipop as “beana cat beana cat oh beana beana beana beana cat!”

i’ve seen maybe two or three episodes of new girl in my life, but i somehow know the theme tune which is good because i like to sing it to the puppy as “who’s that pup? who’s that pup? it’s bess!”

my song for beau is i’ve got a boy by girls generation as “i’ve got a beau”

[lovely-ari]

Not to be controversial but fat feedee doms

Pros:

Large and in charge

Will smother you their gut and tease you

"Look just how big you're making me. God you're doing such a good job blowing me up. Almost like you want me to crush you with all this extra blubber"

Will demand more food than they can handle, then will call you a good girl when you're rubbing and soothing their over-stuffed belly.

Cons:

I don't have one and that makes me sad

Otherwise none.

I like controversy...let them cook.

Feedee doms are super cool!!...I just only let one person dom me and that's my pookie bookie wookie hubby hubby greena bo beana

The rest of these whores are getting bitched by me💞

[brokendarkfairyempressforever]

INTRO POST (guys I finally did it)

Assalamualaikum(peace be upon you), hi, hiya, hiiii!

My name is Sabreen(no this is not my real name, please don't ask) I'm a Desi Bangladeshi Muslim who lives in the heck country of the U.S. I love books, cartoons, movies, cats, and other stuff(probably)

This blog supports Palestine🇵🇸🍉, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Congo, and anyone who is under oppression. I will stand with you in social justice issues. Everyone deserves empathy, respect, understanding, and kindness.

DNI if you're zionist, Islamophobic, racist, sexist, a nazi, a colorist, anyone who hates or belittles anyone. If you hate anyone who is a different social economic status than you get out, if you hate anyone based on their skin color, their race, their religion, their gender, their home situation, their family situation, their homeland then get out. I don't tolerate haters.

Naraini (Myna) calls me Habibti @hijabi-flavored-nerd

Beana (Bea) calls me Sabreena @book-girl4evaaa

Riya (Riyana) calls me Sabreeni zucchini @im-on-crack-send-help

I will do a list of my moots eventually

Likes:

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS(I probably read at least some of the same books as you

Mystery

Fantasy

Adventure

Sci Fi

CATS

Writing poems

Random story ideas

MOON AND STARS

Uhhhh I don't know what else to add(I'm not good at stuff like this I'm sorry)

Oh yeah I'm a chaotic arsonist and I'm the leader of the chaotic arson gang

I have a cat named zayne

I have a lot of mental health issues (adhd, anxiety(general and social), bpd, cptsd, depression, DID, and ptsd)(I might be autistic but no one wants to get that checked out sooo yeah) So this blog is very friendly with fellow messed up minds

I've faced racism, colorism, sexism, abuse, homelessness, bad grades, islamophobes, and bullying. I also have a speech impediment

So I'm just trying to say I will never hate you and I will care about you until my last breath. You deserve the world and so much more. If you need/want a safe place, I'm here

So I'm still discovering/rediscovering myself. You're gonna see a lot of random reblogs and posts😅

I'm not always mentally okay and I'm sorry I'm advance.

Anyway yeah

I might update or change some stuff later

Here's some lore about my username

I accept any asks unless they're too invasive or I'm just not comfortable. I don't usually do chains but I appreciate the love.

Um I think that's it ? I don't know guys I literally don't know myself but welcome to my home i guess!

Catch ya on the flip side 🌒✨🌘✨❣️🫠✌🏼🐾😺

*update: life really sucks so I won’t be online as much plus there’s this thing called school apparently

[brokendarkfairyempressforever]

beana you have officially joined the tam cam war

What if Bea was tam cam?

She is British….. (I think)

@book-girl4evaaa

[crownedpatriot11]

I have a master plan but it won’t work if I’m not the beana doing it

[disruptxrr]

got tagged by @fvckinnefor, @lena-beana-42069 & @elusivegrrl thank youuuu ily <33

last song: off white - strangehuman

favorite color: blue

last show/movie: i'm rewatching "betty, la fea" with my parents

sweet/savory/spicy: sweet + sour

relationship status: me n the grim reaper are dating

last thing i googled: darwin, australia

current obsession: uh the stupid dead guys from mayhem

last book: i dont remember anymore

looking forward to: going to sleep as soon as i post this thing (its 4:44 am)

tagging; @fuckmaggot, @primarytatp, @rotgirlmelancholy n i don't know who else because i think all my friends were tagged already ★

[stars-of-the-heart]

MY FAVORITE(S) TAG:

Saw this trend not so long ago on Tiktok and thought it would be fun to do it here so here’s a collage of a few of my favourite things! 😊🥰

If any of you wants to do it, I would love to see yours as well! 😊💖

Tagging: @dickytwister @oftheblue @pajamalam @damnfeds @lena--beana @quickhacked @la-malqueridaa @legitimately @fireworksgalaxy

[amanitabean]

hhhh I am having an inescapable fixation on something really gross, like I can't pull my mind away from it, please send rat 👉👈

[wintereira]

Przygotowania do studniówki Mi idą pełną parą, komitet studniówkowy (including moi) robi bokami, a rodzice niezrzeszeni mają wszystko w dupie jak zawsze.

Jedna z mamusiek, Pani Artystka, miesiąc temu zaproponowała, że skoro ona się zna i umie, to zrobi ogromny napis STUDNIÓWKA 2024 i będzie ładnie, tudzież bezkosztowo, co nas niezmiernie ucieszyło, gdyż budżet na studniówkę z gumy nie jest, a kolejne wydatki jawią nam się niczym zgony Seana Beana w kolejnych produkcjach- niby spodziewane, ale nadal przerażające.

Noale.

Pani Artystce przypomniało się wczoraj, że ojeju, ojeju, zostało półtora tygodnia i może ona by ten napis zrobiła. I ona, rozumiecie, pyta nas, co to w ogóle ma być za napis.

Pan Bór jeden wie ile mnie kosztowało, żeby nie odpowiedzieć, że no kurwa OPOLE 1978.

[book-girl4evaaa]

Hiii beana

What time is it for you? Because it's 2 am here and I can't sleep

I'm bored but I also feel really high rn

How's it going?

7:30 for me!

Actually really good im just lying in bed listening to heathers lmao