Goblincore

Even though I had already stayed up pretty late, I decided to at least crack open Goblin Mode: How to Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection, and Thrive in the Muck  by McKayla Coyle.

My misconception was that it was something else along the lines of KC Davis’s How to Keep House While Drowning. There is certainly room for healthy overlap between the philosophies of both books, I think, but Goblin Mode has some quirks all its own.

Goblincore, baby!

As I’ve said, I only just started it, but I already have a few thoughts.

There was a delightful bit about goblins in popular culture, and either seeing your traits reflected in them, or looking up to them as goblin icons to inspire you.

My FAVORITE of all of these was her description of Jareth, The Goblin King, from Labyrinth, as played by the late, great David Bowie.

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“You’ve got an undeniable charm, and even the people who don’t want to like you still find themselves drawn to you. Like other goblins, you’re a rebel and a troublemaker, but unlike other goblins, you’ve got the allure of a Romantic hero. You are also, most importantly, the most dramatic person to ever live. Many goblins have a flair for drama, but nobody matches you when it comes to sheer spectacle.”

——From Chapter One, “Our Goblins, Ourselves”

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I definitely relate to the idea of drama carried out to the Nth degree.

That character trait is probably why I was completely undone by the following series of events: things nearly falling out of my purse at a sudden yellow light last night, heading home… reaching over, once stopped, to put them back, accidentally snagging the USB cord connecting my phone to the car, thereby interrupting Warrant’s Cherry Pie, resulting in FM radio coming on, and the song playing not being one I enjoyed.

I was in a perfectly good mood RIGHT up until then. But afterward, I found myself internally grousing over every lousy thing that had occurred that day, and over the past couple days.

Yes. Highly dramatic.

Any time I see a dating profile from someone saying “not looking for drama,” I pass them on by. Definitely NOT a good fit. Then again, I have heard those types often create more drama than they claim.

I also love the sparklies and the bits and baubles, and dress myself with as much day-to-day glitz as I can, which likewise strikes me as very Jareth. Yes, some days, I just dress for comfort, but I literally wore out the insides of my sparkly work shoes, because I wore them so often and did so much walking in them. Got a lot of compliments on them, too!

I think it’s safe to say Jareth may be my chosen goblin icon, especially since Bowie remained so important to the LGBTQIA+ community, even after coming out as a “closet heterosexual.” His gender expression over the years, through elaborate on-stage costuming, and makeup, and hair looks, created space for many others to follow in his legendary footsteps.

I’m curious if I’ll manage to embrace the idea of thrifted/found/homemade decor, though, since I am VERY apt to just buy stuff online. I love Society6 and the like. But thrifting/finding/making would be a whole lot cheaper.

I have recently thrifted jewelry. Ooooh sparkly!

And I’ve tried my hand at jewelry-making, but my vampire bite choker didn’t withstand the test of wear. I’ll have to try again, maybe. It looked cool, at least!

I’m also curious about the larger Goblincore community. Will have to look into that, as I get further into the book, and explore its concepts in greater detail. But I am loving its insights about meaningful clutter. Displaying your hobby treasures rather than hiding them in storage, so they are out and visible, where they can give you joy.