#also astrid is stuck here now?

[bugblast]

ASTRONAUTICAL

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[inbarfink]

Okay, so here’s the thing….

We are still at a very early point in the narrative of ‘Fionna and Cake’ and therefore at a very early point in Simon’s character arc. It’s pretty clear that “I need to become Ice King again” is not the end point by any meaning of the word. But I am wondering where we’re going to go with this, cause… The series has yet to really tackle how miserable Ice King himself was a lot of the time. And how often he hurt people. 

Like, yes, I was an advent advocates for 'trying to bring back Simon Petrikov was a really really Bad Idea on Betty's part, it was more healthy to focus on making sure Ice King was as happy and healthy and harmless as he could be', but I am also fully aware that he started the show being both extremely lonely and extremely sad and also a serial kidnapper who was very much a danger to those around him. And as much progress as he made during the show, getting Ice King to that point was a very serious struggle with a lot of backslidings and problems.

'Friends Forever' is, for example, an episode that stuck with me for a long time as a really heart-wrenching demonstration how even in that late stage, when he has buddies and people trying to seriously take care of him - Ice King was still very capable of seriously sabotaging his own relationships and hurting others and himself.

And it does make sense narratively that, like, characters like Astrid and Fionna and Cake, all of whom lack the full context of what Ice King's life was like (Fionna and Cake really just saw Simon at his worst and only got snippets of clips of Ice King and since Astrid was born after Humans came to Ooo that means she was also born after the events of ‘Come Along With Me’) all see Simon as a downgrade. Because they really don’t understand how bad Ice King was beforehand. 

And thus is does make sense that with Simon's current mental state, and how he is surrounded lately with these kinda people who never really knew Ice King and don’t really understand how terrible and miserable he could be, and now hearing that his ‘sanity’ just took away magic and whimsy from some else’s whole universe, and how it feels like the actual gods of the multiverse are telling him that he should be Ice King, that he's supposed to be Ice King....

It makes sense that he might start kinda... romanticizing that time in his life again. 

You know, the big thing about the outlook that Betty should’ve accepted Ice King as who he is rather than basically destroy herself to bring Simon back wasn't about whatever Ice King or Simon Petrikov were better or 'cooler' than the other. It was about, like, embracing change. Not obsessing about a past where things were ‘Better’ but seeing what is the best you can do with things as they are. Moving forwards.

And we all know how Simon feels about moving forwards right now…

And obviously that's a pretty bad mindset, even if it's understandable how he got there...

And honestly, if we do explicitly acknowledge that, hey! Ice King’s life was often just as much of a depressive spiral as Simon's is right now! There might be an element of… resignation in Simon’s decision. 

Because Simon's downward spiral since getting cured is not a demonstration that he was better off under the Ice Crown's curse.... But, to him, more a demonstration that he doesn't need the Crown to screw up his own life anymore.

‘Cause as both as Ice King and as good ol’ ‘sane’ Simon Petrikov he is just as capable of being lonely and depressed.

And just as capable of losing his own identity.

And just as capable of pushing his loved ones away and ruining his own life.

And just as capable of becoming a weirdo obsessive.

And just as capable of making little girls cry.

He even started kidnapping people again! That’s the Ice King Classic!

So on some level, maybe Simon is resigned to the fact he’s always going to be SOME sort of screwed up lonely sadman who hurts others. And if that is his fate, he might as well be the screwed up lonely sadman who is mostly oblivious to how sad he really is and can shoot ice from his fingertips. And his arc is going to be about realizing that, whether he is Ice King or Simon Petrikov, healing and change ARE always possible for him.

But we’re gonna have to see where it goes…

[beetelbabes]

Lydia's Guilt

Hi hello so I made a post a little while back talking about how the ending to the wedding scene is Lydia's manifestation of her guilt and her coming to terms with what she's lost.

This is all my opinion and my wild theories so! LETS GO

Firstly, lets talk about the wedding scene. Coming into it Lydia says "Rory loves me, that's gotta be enough" Lydia doesn't truly love Rory, just like Rory doesn't love her - Rory is using her and Lydia is allowing it to happen because she is being manipulated and she feels like she isn't going to get anyone in her life who truly understands her so it has to be enough she knows it won't ever be what she is looking for in life but she's given up at this point on finding her own happiness and resigned for "just enough"

Secondly, Rory has no respect for Lydia. It's shown extremely clearly in this scene as he breaks his promise to her about a "small" wedding, he has no respect for her wishes, just her fame. He wants her fame, he wants the attention she gets.

Thirdly, and here's where my beetlebabes heart SOARS. Lydia knows that Beej won't hurt her. There are so many subtle hints towards this, after Rory admits the truth - her first instinct is to move CLOSER to Beej, he is a safety net that she finds herself drawn to. He showed her the truth because he wanted her to make her own choices.

He knows what she needs in the moment & He respects her. Lydia is used to having her own emotions brushed off by Rory, she's used to being ignored and to tuck it all away for the show - Betelgeuse allows her to feel. Instead of invalidating her anger, her gives her an outlet for it in his own way, something that works for them both, he gets to have fun - she gets to let her anger out.

To add to this: he respects her. He banishes everyone in the church, whether he knew that Lydia would want something small or not, he still manages to get her the quiet wedding she was talking about. They just understand each other in a way Lydia's never had before.

HE IS IN LOVE WITH HER. every time he looks at her it's with adoration and love. He loves her. and this is something that HE didn't expect, he didn't expect to fall in love with Lydia but he did and now he knows he can't let that go. He continues to wait and wait and wait for her, he never pushes himself onto her - he just waits for her and that's enough for him. He will wait for centuries for her and he knows this.

Which brings me on to my next point of...

Lydia realises he truly loves her during this scene. All the times before, she had assumed that it was all for show, just like her relationship with Rory - she assumes that no one could ACTUALLY love her but during this scene is when she realises. She realises he truly does actually love her but that she won't be able to have this, she knows that Delia and Astrid will not understand, she knows that by the end she will have to banish him. She argues with her own thoughts because in front of her in a man willing to give her the life she wants and she isn't allowed it.

Beej has a similar realisation. He isn't stupid, he knew bringing Lydia into the afterlife was a violation - you can't prove me wrong that he didn't know. HE DID. he did it because he knew Lydia wouldn't understand that he just wanted to help her with no strings attached, this was his way of doing it. But he did also want to marry Lydia because he does love her. His realisation was that he lost her again, that it was over and he was going to be alone again.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY FINAL POINT

Lydia feels guilty for banishing him. THIS expression stuck with me throughout all my rewatches of this film. She looks resigned, she knew it had to be this way. She knew she had to banish him even if she'd realised that he loved her for HER in a way no one else has before.

She holds this expression for a few seconds, its not a fleeting moment. She truly is resigned. She only smiles again once Delia touches her and brings her back to the present.

SHE STILL DREAMS OF HIM. We don't know how long this scene is after the wedding scene but she still thinks of him, she still feels guilty. The guilt clearly keeps her up at night and MAYBE she misses him, realising that no one else will understand why she thinks of him still. No one will understand, just like no one would've understood if she hadn't banished him.

ANYWAY thats my long ass post, I've wanted to analyse the small emotions in these scenes for so long, and as said above - its all my thoughts! I'm a silly shipper so maybe I'm looking too into it I just love them

[iamalasagnagirl]

Pls, pls, pls I need more WLW book recommendations!!!

Adults, YA, spicy, soft, I don’t care. I just need wlw books because I want to switch from fanfics only to actual books as well

Okay, here we are, enjoy :)

Bright Falls Series by Ashley Herring Blake: 1. Delilah Green Doesn't Care -> Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls - nothing is there for her except memories of a lonely childhood - but when Delilah's stepsister pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a large check, Delilah finds herself back in Bright Falls once more. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid's stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there's some fun (and a little retribution) to be had, after all. 2. Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail -> For Astrid Parker failure is unacceptable. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn's renovation, which will be featured on a hugely popular home makeover show, Astrid is thrilled. However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru's granddaughter and the lead carpenter for the renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Is she going to pursue the life that she's expected to lead or the one that she really wants? 3. Iris Kelly doesn't date -> Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love and she’s happy for all of them, truly. Iris doesn’t want any of that—dating, love, romance. She’ll stick to her commitment-free hookups. There’s only one problem—Iris is a romance author facing an imminent deadline for her second book, and she’s completely out of ideas. Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life. To get her mind off everything, Iris tries out for the lead role in a local play, a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, but comes face-to-face with Stefania, whose real name turns out to be Stevie. Desperate to save face in front of her friends, Stevie asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend. Iris is shocked, but when she realizes the arrangement might provide her with some much-needed romantic content for her book, she agrees. As the two women play the part of a happy couple, lines start to blur.

Falls from grace by Ruby Landers -> Savannah Grace and her band were huge stars in Nashville. Now enlists Noah Lyman - an indie musician - to help her break out of country music and make a name for herself for once and for all. They have to spend the winter in Savannah secluded vacation home in the woods of Vermont, and Noah brings along his best friend Brynn Marshall and pretend she’s his wife? After all, what could possibly go wrong?

The secret of you and me by Melissa Lenhardt -> Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she fled Texas to start a new life. Now she can live—and love—however she wants. The only problem is that she also left behind the one woman she can’t forget. Now tragedy calls her back home to confront her past—and reconcile her future.

Books by Haley Cass: - Those Who Wait and the follow-up Forever and A Day -> Spencer Sutton, the daughter of a congressman, and Charlotte Thompson, New York City’s youngest deputy mayor, meet on SapphicSpark, a women-seeking-women dating app. Sutton isn’t built for casual, and Charlotte needs to keep a low profile as the race heats up. In spite of that, a friendship blossoms as Charlotte helps Sutton navigate the dating world. - Down to A Science -> Ellie Beckett is a scientific genius finishing a Ph.D. at MIT, sitting on her stool at her favorite bar, putting the final touches on her thesis - her life is predictable and comfortable enough, until the night Mia Sharpe walks in to play pool with some friends and things are never the same again. and On the same Page -> Riley Beckett met Gianna Mäkinen their first year at Boston University, and it changed everything for the both of them. She knows Gianna doesn't do romance or relationships, and she knows nothing could ever come between them. But when a holiday party mix-up sets in motion a domino effect of changes, Riley has to question everything she thought she knew about their relationship. What, exactly, does Gianna mean to her after all? - In the Long Run -> Taylor Vandenberg is busy running a successful travel blog. Brooke Watson and Taylor’s younger brother have been best friends for the majority of their lives. It means that even if Taylor isn’t physically present, she’s always been a part of Brooke’s most monumental life experiences. When Taylor lands back in Faircombe for an extended stay, it leads to more run-ins than Brooke would like. And more feelings than either may want to admit. - When You Least Expect It & Better Than Expected (I haven't had a chance to read them yet, but I have seen them recommended a lot)

If tomorrow doesn't come by Jen St. Jude -> On the morning Avery Byrne plans to end her life, the world discovers there are only nine days left to live: an asteroid is headed for Earth, and no one can stop it. As time runs out and secrets slowly come to light, Avery fights her way home to save the girl she has been in love with her whole life. But can Avery also learn to save herself and find hope again in the tomorrows she has left?

Kiss her once for me by Alison Cochrun -> Ellie had a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. The next year, Andrew, the shop’s landlord where Ellie works, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will benefit both of them. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover is the mysterious woman she fell for over the year before.

6 times we almost kissed (and one time we did) by Tess Sharpe -> Penny and Tate keep almost kissing. It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.  They’ve never talked about it. They’ve always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they’re living across the hall from each other. And some things—like their kisses—can’t be almosts forever. 

Nottingham: the true story of Robin Hood by Anna Burke -> (A retelling of Robin Hood's story with a Female Robin and wlw couples) After a fateful hunting accident sends her on the run from the law, Robyn finds herself deep in the heart of Sherwood Forest. All she really wants to do is provide for her family and stay out of trouble, but when the Sheriff of Nottingham levies the largest tax in the history of England, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands. Relying on the help of her band of merry women and the Sheriff’s intriguing—and off limits—daughter, Marian, Robyn must find a way to pull off the biggest heist Sherwood has ever seen.

Forget me not by Alyson Derrick -> Stevie has a terrible fall. And when she comes to, she can remember nothing of the last two years—not California, not coming to terms with her sexuality, not even her girlfriend Nora. Suddenly, Stevie finds herself in a life she doesn’t quite understand. And Nora finds herself…forgotten.

It goes like this by Miel Moreland -> Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to play in world-famous queer pop band called Moonlight Overthrow. But after a sudden falling out leads to the dissolution of the teens' band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste's starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same. Until a storm devastates their hometown, bringing the four ex-best-friends back together. As they prepare for one last show, they'll discover whether growing up always means growing apart.

Dominion Series by J J Arias: 1. Losing Control  -> Talent agent Adriana Ortiz’s world is rocked when she’s thrust into the tumultuous orbit of Roxy, the raw, enigmatic pop rebel with a notorious edge and a guarded heart. Tasked with steering the wild Roxy on a whirlwind tour, Adriana boards Roxy’s opulent tour bus. The nights are filled with roaring crowds, but it’s the electric tension between Roxy and Adriana that sets the air on fire. A forbidden connection that threatens to consume them. Is the wild, unbridled Roxy worth the risk to Adriana’s career, or is she just another woman falling victim to Roxy’s charms? 2. Fighting for Control  -> Lola Barros is a rising talent agent burning with ambition. Carmen Vargas is a dedicated lawyer poised to conquer the legal field. Their shared high-rise is the only thing these two powerhouses have in common. After a trivial parking mishap snowballs onto a full-blown feud, Lola and Carmen are thrust into unconventional anger management sessions and their fiery rivalry gives way to smoldering desire. But yielding to desire isn't straightforward. Between the shadows of demanding careers and familial expectations, their love is tested. Can Lola and Carmen find a balance between ambition and affection? 3. Relinquishing Control  -> Natalia Flores rules her exclusive talent agency with an iron fist, brokering blockbuster deals while keeping everyone at arm’s length. But beneath the cold exterior lies a heart that yearns to be understood. Enter Professor Samantha Reyes—brilliant, fierce, and unwilling to let Natalia manipulate her way into the film rights to her book. Their encounters spark with tension and undeniable chemistry. In a world where control is everything, can two powerful women let go of their fears to find a love that’s worth the risk?

11:59 by Erica Lee -> TJ Edmonds has created a whole brand around not getting attached to other people. She has a best-selling novel and a popular phone app both dedicated to helping people stay detached from their significant others, so they don't get hurt. But the only reason she can move on so quickly now is because she still hasn't let go of someone from her past. It's easy to guard her heart when she no longer has it to give away. TJ texts Brooke everyday at 11:59 pm with no answers. What happens when, in a moment of weakness, this someone reaches out to TJ?

Price and Prejudice and the city by Rachel Lippincott -> Seventeen-year-old Audrey Cameron has lost her spark. After an embarrassing run-in with her ex-boyfriend, she’s told that she needs to get back out there and take risks. What she doesn't expect is to be transported to Regency England! Lucy Sinclair has her own problems when Audrey lands into her life, claiming to be from two hundred years in the future, it's a welcome distraction.

Never ever getting back together by Sophie Gonzales -> Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, to compete for their now famous ex-boyfriend's affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans.

The art of us by KL Hughes -> Charlee and Alex fell in love at nineteen and dated for four years. Theirs was an enviable love — evergreen and growing. Unbreakable…Until it broke. Alex’s job now brings her back to Boston, after five years. When, by chance, they meet again, Charlee and Alex are swept up in a whirlwind of heart-rending history, tossed between past and present, and lovers old and new. Will their lingering connection be enough to convince them that some loves are meant to last? Or should the past remain in the past?

That secret something by Emily Wright -> Rebecca Lawson is off-limits. Jess knows this, but Rebecca has captured her heart for as long as she can remember. She’s sporty, tall and confident—all the things Jess is not—but most of all…she’s her best friend Lily’s sister. But when Jess and Rebecca are forced to spend time together the forbidden feelings intensify and sparks begin to fly. Amidst the chaos of raging bridezillas and other wedding disasters, can Jess resist temptation for the sake of her friendship?

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid  -> Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way

That summer feeling by Bridget Morrissey -> Turns out you're never too old for a summer camp romance. Or a change of heart. When a divorced woman attends a sleepaway camp for adults only, she reconnects with a man from her past - only to catch feelings for his sister instead.

Some of these are my absolute favourites, I've lost count of how many times I've read them. I cannot get enough of "the bright falls series", "One the same page", "Those who wait", "The secret of you and me" and the last entry "Falls From Grace". No matter how many times I read them. And sometimes I wish I could read them again, as if for the first time, if that makes sense. Anyway, I have a lot more titles. Let me know if you want them or not. Enjoy the reading

[pastel0rchid]

A Gift from the Gods (5)

Hiccup x F!Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: None that I can think of

Previous Chapter .~.~. Next Chapter

“Can you stretch your left wing a bit more?”

The voice belonged to Hiccup, who stood behind you while drawing in a sketchbook. Following his directions silently, you lift your left wing as prompted while your gaze remains on the wall ahead of you. It had been four days since you’d been taken to Dragon’s Edge and decided to stay as long as the dragon riders would let you.

The first two days were rough in terms of getting accustomed to being around other people after years of being surrounded only by dragons. You mainly stuck by Hiccup’s side, finding his presence the most comforting of the dragon riders. It also helped that Toothless seemed to be growing fond of you.

The others were still curious about you and your existence, except for Astrid, who remained cautious since your arrival. She never talked to you besides a few words here and there, sticking to watching you from the sidelines as if expecting an attack from you at any second.

You understood where her feelings were coming from. This group was her pack. You’ve seen dragons kill others to protect their pack when they felt it was being threatened.

Snotlout and the twins were still an enigma to you, especially the twins. Snotlout was loud and crass, saying words that made your stomach churn uncomfortably and your heckles rise. The twins were a mystery, always showing up when you least expected them and causing your fight or flight to kick in. You’ve accidentally hit Tuffnut with your wings a few times out of shock. He seemed to weirdly like the pain.

Besides Hiccup, Fishlegs was one that you were slowly growing accustomed to. While touring the island, he realized you didn’t know the names of dragon species when he heard you call a wild monstrous nightmare a ‘Flame.’ He decided then and there that he would teach you these things from something called “The Book of Dragons.” His teachings started a day ago.

Now, here you stood outside Hiccup’s hut, wings spread and standing still as Hiccup drew you in his sketchbook with surprising accuracy. Toothless lay off to the side, beginning to doze off as he watched the movements of his rider.

He circles around you, getting a viewpoint of your wings from all angles, soon stopping behind you. While keeping your gaze on the wall, the silence of the room is occasionally interrupted by Hiccup’s muttering or the sound of charcoal against the paper.

Your heart thunders in your chest as you can feel Hiccup’s presence behind you, his eyes observing every detail of your wings as if he didn’t want to miss a single one. Your body tenses when Hiccup suddenly steps closer to you from behind, mumbling even more to himself as if he didn’t realize what he had done.

The skin on the back of your neck raises in goosebumps as you feel his breath dance across it.

“Incredible.” Hiccup mutters to himself as he observes your wings, and your stomach can’t help but flutter with pride at his words. He thought your wings were incredible. Hiccup sketches silently for a few more minutes, focused so intently on getting every detail right that he didn’t notice how he was leaning ever so closer.

An unknown feeling blooms in your chest as you can feel him get closer, but your gaze stays directed to the wall, afraid that even moving an inch would pop the atmospheric bubble you had found yourself in.

You were always told to protect yourself from people who weren’t in your clan. You were told they saw your people as monsters, demons that needed to be slain. This was proved by the slaughtering of your family. So much bloodshed and loss because of the wings bestowed upon them by the Gods themselves.

You knew the dangers of people. That’s why you lived in a secluded forest surrounded only by dragons for years upon years.

Hiccup shattered that belief in only a few days… and you let him.

Your muddled thoughts were sharply interrupted by the feeling of fingers grazing softly over your wings. The touch is so featherlight that you wouldn’t have felt it without the years of learning to hone in on your senses during your time in the forest. Your body reacts before you can even think, turning quickly to face Hiccup and barely managing to fold your wings back so they wouldn’t smack him.

The pink welt on his cheek that you gave him was just starting to heal. It would’ve been a shame to give him another one.

Toothless perks his head up, torn out of his dazed state into an alert one at how swiftly you had moved.

Hiccup’s green eyes were wide with shock as he stared down at you, his hand still slightly outstretched to where your wing previously was. Your eyes stare back, torn between a harsh glare for suddenly touching you and a silent plea for more. That last part scared you more than anything. Your senses were becoming overwhelmed too quickly once again, and you wanted nothing more than to flee.

Noticing this, Hiccup scrambles to find a way to fix his mistake and hopefully calm your nerves.

“Flight!”

His sudden shout causes your body to flinch, but you do freeze, his loud voice stunning you into place. Hiccup quickly clears his throat, having not expected his voice to come out that loud in his desperate search for a way to shift the tension. His hand gestures to Toothless, who stares at Hiccup with a confused look from his shouting.

“Let’s… Let’s go for a flight.”

The words come out quickly but are in a softer tone than the one before. You gaze between Hiccup and Toothless, the dragon just as confused as you were, but his words do calm your nerves. Even just a little bit.

It had been a while since you’d been flying, sticking mainly to the ground while taking in your new surroundings. Looking back at Hiccup, you give him a slight nod in response to his suggestion. It was about time you spread your wings anyway.

—

The wind surrounds your body as you soar through the sky, your wings spread behind you and occasionally flapping to keep you upright. To your left, Toothless does the same with Hiccup perched upon his back.

The flight was silent between the two of you. Your gaze mainly focused ahead, and you managed to miss Hiccup stealing glances your way. Your eyes slowly close at the feeling of the wind on your face, a relaxed look overcoming your features as you fly beside Toothless.

This was where you belonged. High above the clouds without a care in the world.

Hiccup watches you as you fly with your eyes closed, observing how tranquil you look. A sudden smack from Toothless’ ear fin brings the teen back to his senses, glaring down silently towards the dragon, who looks back at him with a smug look.

“Not a word.” He mumbles to Toothless before looking back toward you, freezing when you are nowhere in sight. His head whips around, his eyes looking over the tops of the clouds as he tries to find where you have gone. A shout of excitement cuts through the air, causing him to look up towards the source of the sound, and a small smile invades his lips at what he finds.

You had flown a bit higher before outstretching your arms and letting your body freefall. Your body whizzes past Toothless, who watches you curiously as you soon disappear back under the clouds.

Without much thinking, Hiccup gently pats the side of Toothless’ neck, the dragon giving a confused sound at his action, which quickly turns into a roar when Hiccup jumps off of Toothless’ back towards you.

Your eyes had barely fluttered open before they widened in shock at Hiccup freefalling beside you. Fear courses through your veins at the sight, but Hiccup gives you an ever-widening grin. Before you can process it, Hiccup shoves his hands into something attached to his legs and spreads his arms.

A laugh of shock leaves your lips at the sight as you spread your wings to slow your falling into a glide. Hiccup had some type of fabric attached from his wrists to his legs, and his own body had lurched to a glide beside your own. Remaining with your back to the ground, Hiccup maneuvered his body to glide above you, his eyes sparkling in excitement as your smile slowly began to match his own.

With seconds feeling like hours, your eyes remain locked as you both glide together below the clouds.

Taglist: @spiderlily-w1tch-blog @millie--billie @persipeoni

[rtfics]

Seeing BJ2 the 3rd time.

LONG & FILLED WITH SPOILERS

SO much to think about, and my memory is shit.

I rapidly scribbled notes during the film. But when I got home and tried to read them:

So here's an overview. I'll post other details if I ever translate my notes.

First, the casting was perfection. I'd never seen Jenny Ortega, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci before, so for me they were the characters.

It was interesting that the film opens with the Warner Brothers Studio lot in black & white. Why B&W? It sort of sets the tone.

Donna Summer singing lines from "MacArthur's Park" was a foreshadowing. This film was made by a guy who was a teen in the 70s, and it's for others his age (he's only 2 years older than me). BJ2 is packed with 70s nostalgia that only those who were alive then would get.

This sequel was also made for die-hard fans of the original Beetlejuice. Burton took special care to give us the Winter River we love, but updated it to show the story and its characters aren't stuck in the past. The covered bridge is there, the church, cemetery, Miss Shannon's, and fire station are there, and so is the Maitland's building, but it's a coffee shop now.

Seeing Lydia as shell-shocked and pill-popping threw me, but the plot gave it sense (I'll go into detail in a separate post).

Rory, OMFG, I've known Rory. Anyone who's had anything to do with the entertainment/media biz, even peripherally, knows Rory. His "enabler" bullshit was so spot-on; faking that he's going to get Lydia off her dependency on drugs while keeping her hooked by making it seem that he's doing it because she's begging him. Classic user methodology. You just know he's the one who got her on "coping" pills in the first place; all the better to manipulate her. I loathed him immediately.

I adore what they did with Delia. It completely fucking made sense, and followed what's happened in the modern NYC Arts scene. I love how she and Lydia now get along, I mean, shit, Lydia's in her 50s and Delia's in her 70s, they're both middle-aged women, and, bless their hearts, the screenwriters and Burton made them act like grown women.

Astrid seemed older than 16 to me, but hey, I'm not around teenagers these days. I appreciated that she wasn't a brat. Her resentment and having her back up were appropriate for her family situation; a beloved father whose body was never found (I think); a mom always working or promoting because of Rory, doped on pills and famous for being a ghost-seeing nutjob, who can't see Astrid's father. That's a lot to deal with.

The way they handled Charles was perfect, especially his claymation demise. His afterlife body was comically gross, and an ingenious way of including Charles in the film without having to recast another actor, except for his voice. Charles being in the Netherworld provides a great thread to Delia's later death. His headstone being the shape of a shark's fin was a humorously grim touch.

The Sylvia Young Theatre School Choir sang at Charles' funeral, and their voices were beautiful.

Arthur Conti was fantastic as Jeremy (70s teens remember his grandfather, Scottish actor Tom Conti). His American accent was flawless. He was the perfect balance of cute and mature, and his niceness made his being evil all the worse; while Astrid says the incantation you can see him slightly out of focus behind her, smiling in a chilling way. I love that there isn't the slightest hint that he's a multiple murderer, and of his own parents! When he's about to get his passport stamped he shows absolutely no remorse toward Astrid, which makes his damnation all the sweeter.

Beetlejuice . . . . What can I say? Michael Keaton created Beetlejuice as we know him, and he fit right back in character as easily as drawing breath. His body language, his weird way of walking, his expressions, everything is just as you'd expect Beej to be. But then we get to see more! I can't express how happy I was to see Beej's origin story, which turned the throw-away line about having a pretty good time during the Black Death into something more substantial. Seeing Keaton as human Beej was a delight.

An important detail was that, even though Beej says his heart had long since withered, he fell for Delores. He says he was "bewitched." Perhaps not love, but lust certainly. It's quite clear that Delores was much higher in social station than Beetlejuice, so he must have thought he'd won the lottery with her choosing him. My god, his ego had no problem with his drunken ass being hauled to bed by his new wife, and his enthusiasm was huge. I love that they gave him the gut in his human form (Keaton doesn't have one).

Richard was the nice guy I hoped he would be. But it was telling that, when he says goodbye to Lydia at the ladder in the mausoleum, they don't hug. They don't even shake hands. It shows the truth of Lydia's previous statement to Astrid that she and Richard's relationship had ended long before his death.

Wolf is every 70s crime drama/movie distilled. Hammy, over the top, constantly spouting his Catch Phrase.

Why are there so many shrunken head guys? And why did Beej hire people who can't talk to answer his phones? It's loony and fits the Netherworld random logic. They're Beej's Minions.

I've seen a lot of people on tumblr, as well as professional movie critics, say there were "too many villains" and that the plot was "too hard to follow."

For those who agree with this, I recommend you never attempt to read anything by Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe's detective stories, or Agatha Christie. Because your brains would fry.

Look, there are two villains. Just two.

Delores poisoned Beetlejuice, he killed her with an axe in revenge, in the Afterlife she reassembles and hunts him down, killing others in her wake, which sets Wolf Jackson and the Ghoul Squad after her, until she's defeated with a sandworm.

Rory has been manipulating Lydia, keeping her doped, gas-lighting her, until under the Truth Serum injected by Beej he spills the beans and Lydia rejects him, until he's eaten at the same time as Delores by the sandworm.

As for "Delores and Rory weren't given enough story," what more do you want? How Delores joined a soul-sucking cult? How Rory became a user, seeking out vulnerable, grieving women to exploit? We learn as much as we need to. Anything more would have stuffed the film with unnecessary crap.

The only shit I didn't care for was the baby.

The whole Counseling scene was a big gross-out, and I'm sure Tim Burton intended it that way. The original couldn't have been more gross than it was or it would have earned an R Rating, keeping out everyone under the age of 18 (21 in some states; this was the 80s). But now, Burton could be a lot more graphic. I was stunned that he had Lydia go through the "pregnancy," but it obviously didn't hurt her. For me Babyjuice has no point. It doesn't advance the plot, and its reappearance only drives home the weirdness of the ending.

What the ever fuck was the ending??

Especially Astrid giving birth to the Beetlebaby. It would suggest Beetlejuice is its father, which means he and Astrid had sex. Which we can be pretty sure they didn't . . ? In the counseling scene Beej refers to the baby as his "inner child." So its not his literal child? Even so, why would Astrid give birth to it the same way her mother did?

I've read all the theories about the ending, and at this point one's as good as the other. Perhaps that's the point: To keep us all guessing. Because I'm sure, all along, there's been a plan for Beetlejuice 3, IF this movie was a hit. If it wasn't, if it bombed (since 2010 all of Burton's films have bombed), the ending would lead to speculation forever, to people writing fucking dissertations about its symbology and metaphors, etc.

But if it was a hit, which it is, the seeds are there for a third and final film. But so fucking murky no one can guess what it'll be like.

The only part of the ending I liked was Beej shaking awake and saying, as he glances at Lydia, "I just had the weirdest dream." And Lydia looking over. Not terrified. Not screaming or leaping out of bed. Not seeing the indentation in the pillow and yelling in protest. Just staring.

Do I want a third film?

I love Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I love it more every time I watch it. I accept everything in it as canon, even the baby, resentfully.

But Burton might fuck up the last one. He might do things I never wanted to be canon. When a sequel is made of a hit film, the creators sometimes become self-conscious. BJ2 wasn't, because it'd been 36 years since the original. They had no idea whether this version would fly. Since it has, massively, I'm afraid the screenwriters and Burton may become too aware of the audience and try to cater to it. OR they'll go the opposite direction and try to come up with a plot they think fans would never imagine.

So I'm pretty much stuck in the same place I was before I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Wary, skeptical, and cynical.

[nonwal]

each half blind without a mirror

(AKA, the time travel shadowgast fic that I'm not going to finish writing. So here's the beginning and the plot outline. Be warned, it’s not technically an unhappy ending but it’s certainly bittersweet, with a lot of alternate timeline MCD.)

Bren Aldric Ermendrud does not like Vergesson Sanatorium because deep down, he knows that he belongs there. He's been a little mad for a long time, but he's never told anyone about it. It has yet to interfere with work, and that is what matters. If his dreams are filled with smoke and blood and vague prophecies in his own voice, that is his own business. If he is occasionally convinced that he is being watched--well, who is to say that he isn't? Trent has eyes everywhere. But it does mean that he answers the summons to the sanatorium with more trepidation than strictly necessary.

"Sorry," Astrid says when he arrives just outside the gate. "I didn't know how to explain the situation over Sending." "It's fine," he says mildly. "You can apologize by explaining now." She hesitates. "I don't know how to explain now. We captured Thelyss. He tried to kill Master Ikithon. And as far as we can tell, he's gone mad." That is…a lot to take in. Bren quashes something that might be hope or might be simmering fury. "You need me to verify that it's him," he guesses after a moment. "He was your contact, and our master is very interested in learning why he is here and not in a grave in Ghor Dranas," she says dryly. "Ah." Bren connects the dots now, recognizes what she isn't saying. Essek Thelyss had been Bren's charge, at least until he’d been executed after his plans to steal the beacons were revealed by an unknown party. It was an inconvenience that Bren has…already paid dearly for. But if he’s faked his death, if he has made an attempt on Ikithon’s life--that reeks of a conspiracy. Bren is in danger. But isn't he always? "You said that he's mad?" he asks as Astrid guides him inside. "We thought he was faking it at first. But even under a Zone of Truth, he speaks contradictory nonsense." "Such as?" "He is convinced that Vess died due to a disagreement with a cultist over a city made out of meat, that I am the Archmage of Civil Influence, that he is friends with a cleric whose powers come from a talking weasel, that he successfully stole the beacons but they were given back, that he was born in 715 PD and he is one hundred thirty-seven years old--" "He doesn't know what year it is?" "He's aware that it's 832. He insists his math is right anyhow. We've already tried removing any curses he may be under, healing, a Greater Restoration--anything we can think of. He isn't a shapeshifter, he isn't under any magical effects. He claims that it was him who got executed, and the execution did kill him, but also that he's never died before." She lets out a frustrated breath. "He also insists that he is perfectly sane, but what madman doesn't?" "Interesting," says the madman walking next to her. "Do you have any theories?" She sighs. "I was hoping that you would," Astrid admits. “He’s your responsibility.” "I watched him die. I verified that it was him. This could be a clone? Or some other attempt at transferring his consciousness." "Did he mention dabbling in necromancy?" "That really isn't the sort of thing he would have admitted to me." Their conversations were always more…complicated.

(and then the outline below)

Bren gets summoned because the Assembly has caught Essek Thelyss during an assassination attempt on Trent. The same Essek who definitely got caught and executed by the Dynasty before he could steal the beacons. The same Essek that Bren had been working very closely with

Bren talks to the captured drow. It is Essek. It is not the Essek that he knew

he eventually determines that this Essek is a time traveler who has been stuck in the past and has subsequently altered this timeline, and that this Essek knew him in the future timeline

he asks Essek if the future Bren came with him to the past. Essek admits that yes, the original spell was supposed to bring them both back to the past for a short period of time and then back to the present, but for some reason Essek got left behind and the timeline didn’t loop smoothly the way they had intended

he asks Essek if the future Bren came with him to save his parents. Essek asks how he knew that

Bren knew that because for the past seventeen years, he has been working under the assumption that he was delusional. When he killed his parents, he wandered behind the house for a minute and “hallucinated” seeing them escape through an unblocked window and disappear with a stranger, and thus he never broke

Essek is relieved to know why timeline didn’t loop correctly. I think I know why you got left behind, too, but you won’t like it, Bren adds

Essek demands to know anyway. Bren refuses to tell him until he explains what happened to his Essek. Essek explains that in the timeline he’s from, the theft of the beacons led to a war. He tried to convince his current self not to steal them, and failed—so he planted the right evidence to prevent the plot a different way, leading to his own death

“I’m not surprised that you couldn’t convince him. You are very different.” “In a good way.” “No, not in a good way. I think I loved him. I do not think I would love you.” “…I’m sorry.” “No, don’t be. I assume you loved that other version of me, ja? I killed him, too. So we’re even. Fair play.”

it turns out this Essek was not left behind. The spell failed because after Essek teleported his parents to safety, Bren saw Caleb inside the house, panicked, and killed him. The spell failed because one of the people who cast it died

Essek is. A little despondent over this, understandably. He isn’t stuck in a shitty AU past where everything is going wrong, futilely hoping that Caleb will come back again and rescue him—he’s stuck in the only remaining timeline, and Caleb no longer exists at all

Essek proposes a pact: in his timeline, he helped defeat Trent Ikithon. If Bren frees him, he can help do the same in this one

Bren agrees. They flee together, and go into hiding, begin plotting for the years ahead. They are both mourning a version of the other that no longer exists. They have both murdered each other’s lover. They are both wearing the face of each other’s lover. It is not easy company

Essek knows how to track down most of the Nein, still a year before they all meet. He doesn’t know exactly how Bren could play the part of Caleb—but Caleb did leave behind letters

Bren goes to visit his parents. It’s weird. He’s missed them, and an insane part of him has never really believed that they were gone—but they have the letters from a version of him that never came to be. Much like Essek, they were hoping he would be someone else. (They try to be happy for him regardless. But he can tell they thought he would be a better man.)

the Mighty Nein still meet in roughly the same fashion, except Veth and “Caleb” just…have a strange tension between them. Things start to deviate at Alfield. The ruse gets harder to maintain. Beau is paranoid that someone is following them, watching at a distance. In Zadash, Bren manages to keep his mouth shut during the Zone of Truth but has a panic attack prior to the Victory Pit and has to tap out because he knows that Trent would be watching

the beacons were never stolen, though. So there is no broken tower, no declaration of war, no push to get out of town as quickly as possible. Bren convinces the group to head north, but—they get as far as Bowlgate, and things properly escape his control. Essek has to intervene. They explain the ruse, the time travel

people are, to put it lightly, kind of fucking pissed

they do still go to Hupperdook, now with Essek. It’s a little bit tenser than the original timeline, between the Nein being extra wary of Bren and Essek, and Bren and Essek still being wary of each other

no one gets kidnapped. Molly doesn’t die. They take out the Iron Shepherds and recruit Caduceus. And then it’s…boat time? Caleb didn’t leave great notes about that and Essek doesn’t exactly know what went down, but they do end up becoming pirates

they get the Happy Fun Ball and the Mighty Nein have to restrain Essek from immediately returning to explore it. He tries to explain that the key to taking out Ikithon was found there, but Bren would rather bide his time than risk the Archmage’s Bane with a less-seasoned adventuring group, and takes the Nein’s side. They finally begin to bond with him after the incident. Essek tries (fails) not to be jealous

they discuss next steps as they sail back to Nicodranas. There is no war, no stolen beacons, no burned Felderwin and kidnapped husband to bring them over to Xhorhas. They decide to still tackle the Angel of Irons cult, this time keeping Yasha safe

they arrive at Nicodranas. To news of a war and a burned Felderwin.

Essek holds it together for long enough to verify that Veth’s entire family made it out okay (having never begun working for the Assembly) and then he fucking falls apart. The Nein have never really bonded with the weird time traveler who keeps trying to manipulate them into following a specific path, simultaneously following his own agenda and wishing they were future versions of themselves—but they try to comfort him as best they can

Later, when everyone else has gone to bed, he says to Bren, “It was all for nothing. I didn’t stop it.” “The way I see it, this means the war—the one you remember—wasn’t your fault. It would have happened without you. Silver lining?” Essek is quiet, a very unconvinced sort of quiet. Finally, he says, “I got myself killed. For this. And it wasn’t enough. He died for nothing—I was him, once upon a time, I was almost exactly him except that I never knew you—“ This is the first time that Essek has ever expressed proper regret for killing the Essek that Bren has always privately thought of as his. Softly, he says, “You didn’t know. It’s okay.” “I killed him for nothing. It is not okay.” “Ja, well, sometimes you kill your mirror self and you entire life goes to shit. I wish I hadn’t killed your Caleb, either, but it’s a little too late for that.”

they reach a new understanding of each other after that. Not exactly romantically—they have sex, a few weeks later, and both agree that it doesn’t feel the same—but at least they become tentative friends with occasional and probably inadvisable benefits

the war did not happen over stolen beacons, and there is no beacon to return in order to end it. They stay far away from the Dynasty, struggle their way through the Happy Fun Ball with Yasha’s help, manage to kill the heart first and take down Obann when the ritual to free the Laughing Hand fails as a result

there is no peace treaty. There is no way to end the war. They go out of order and tackle the hag next, turn Nott back to Veth. They get the residuum for the Blooming Grove, Fjord becomes a paladin, Travelercon is still a clusterfuck

the war gets worse. They discuss the possibility of stealing the Pride’s Call beacon as leverage, and head back to Zadash to begin investigating—and then Yasha disappears

the first thought is more Angel of Irons shit, but when they scry on her they see her traveling with Cree. Turns out Lucien didn’t need Molly to be dead to come back

there’s a race to the north, trying to stop them, trying to unpossess Yasha. They don’t read the book, don’t get any eyes—but this is so far off the original timeline that Essek doesn’t know what to expect. They go through Aeor, they take down the Tombtakers, they reach Cognouza, they fight Lucien-as-Yasha…

but unlike Molly’s body, Yasha doesn’t die

things go bad. Very bad. Molly goes down first, and then Caduceus when he tries to reach the body. Then Veth, then Fjord. When Jester goes down, with Bren on his last legs, Essek manages to get within range for a plane shift—but Beau refuses to leave Yasha behind

Essek Thelyss and Bren Aldric Ermendrud return to the Material Plane and prepare for the end. But nothing happens, no hungry flesh city arrives to wreak havoc. The war is getting worse, far bloodier than the one Essek remembered—but nothing beyond that

eventually, they return to Aeor, find their way back to Cognouza and the remains of their friends. Turns out, after Lucien killed Beau, there was nothing left to keep Yasha standing. Very tidy, how that one played out

They return to Aeor. The ice is preferable to flesh. Bren asks, “Did any of it go like this, in yours?” He already knows the answer, but he wants to hear it again, just in case Essek has a different one this time. “No.” Essek sits on the ground, not bothering to float. “If we could raise one of the clerics, maybe—“ “Caleb was a transmuter.” Ah. And Bren is not. “We could find a powerful cleric—“ “With the war the way it is?” Essek’s voice is brittle. On the verge of tears or on the verge of an angry outburst, he can’t tell. “And the chances of getting everyone back—“ His voice breaks. Tears, then. “My apologies. It seems the plan to kill Ikithon has fallen through.” This is such a stupid apology that Bren has to laugh at it. “Do you really think this is still about killing him, for me?” A quiet sigh. “I’m sorry, Bren.” “Ja. Well. It could be worse?” Essek glares up at him. “How, exactly?” Bren doesn’t actually know. “We’re both still alive? And Veth’s family is safe, and Jester’s. And mine.” Even if he is a stranger to them, and a bit of a disappointment compared to who he could have been— Bren wonders if it was worth the trade. The war, the Mighty Nein, the miserable elf curled up on the ground. He sighs. “No. You’re right. This is—yours was better.” And, “The chamber that we stumbled across. That was how you two…?” “Yes. But your—“ “Maybe we should go back one last time. Tell our better selves to leave things as they were. Untie the knot you made trying to form a clean loop.”

they do go back, just a few moments before Caleb and Essek arrive. Essek immediately launches himself into a hug around Caleb, explains that he got left in the past because Caleb died—and already, the other Essek is convinced

Caleb asks Bren if he was happy. If his parents were still alive. Yes to the latter, not really to the former. They read your letters, you know. They were so proud of you. But—a little less proud of me. I didn’t—it’s a long story. I never broke. My name is Bren.

Caleb asks if they’re here to stop him. If he should let it be. They say yes, and also Essek had to kill his past self to stop the beacons from being stolen but eventually there was a war for other reasons and because the Nein didn’t have any beacon there was no political leverage to stop it and it’s still getting worse and now every member of the Nein is dead—

look I just think there should be a lot of wizards hugging their traumatized alternate universe selves here

eventually Bren—seventeen years old, about to make the worst decision of his entire life—arrives in the distance. The older Bren asks if they should stay close or not. He’s only seen it as an illusion. Caleb tells him that he doesn’t need to watch the real thing. The pain won’t fix anything

they move into the woods, so far away that they can’t hear anything. Eventually there is a faint light at the distant horizon from the blaze, but nothing more. Bren and Essek—the Essek who got left behind—begin to fade into a pair of dark voids. Echoes. Just alternate timelines, shadows of something that never happened

Caleb and Essek return, a little haunted by the versions of themselves that they could have been. They go destroy the T-dock. It takes them years to tell the Mighty Nein what happened

for the rest of their lives, whenever they cast Resonant Echo, the echoes are always the same ones

[kh2prologue]

oc-tober day 18: swap

booed off the stage for posting comically symmetrical sibling designs. here's the messiest sketches alive of sol and astrid in a role swap where they both take sinclair's place as "the royal heir." though this certainly looks and is ridiculous i do have things to say about it, and also i haven't thought about roleswap in a while. SO

first off! as a general introduction, these designs were drawn for my general WB roleswap in which the main three all switch origins with one another. i won't go into it here, but that means that the book 2 characters switch places as well. instead of having them rotate, I combined the twins and had them both switch with sinclair.

sol and astrid become the prince and princess, and sinclair is the royal accountant or some such nonsense... a trusted advisor to princess astrid, and also the twins' personal spy.

it didn't make that much sense for one of the twins to become royalty while the other wouldn't. and while, in retrospect, i could have gone like, servant of evil style laugh out loud oliverism, it didn't really suit the tone. so instead, i had them both switch with sinclair, who is now stuck filling the role of both "untrustworthy ally" and "unassuming palace employee". the way this would probably shake out is that sinclair would have been sending anonymous tips to the main trio throughout the book 2 equivalent, while also making regular appearances in person. when their identity is revealed, it would be a whole question whether they actually were helping the trio (going against the twins' plans) or drawing them into a trap... and honestly, they wouldn't be clear on it themself. they'd keep plausible deniability, wanting power for their own but also unwilling to give up the relative security they have. trying to play both sides to this extent would doom them in the end, and in the endgame they'd probably get cast aside by astrid... sad!

ANYWAY, regarding the designs - i played up their symmetry on purpose. the symmetry in their original designs was meant to be subtle, slight matching elements that connected them despite their being introduced separately. i've mentioned this before, but sol and astrid being siblings is something of a "twist" in my story... the two are met individually, and their connection only becomes clear later on. but in this story, they are meant to be seen as a pair. they WOULD be seen as a pair, by everyone they met. so, i went full sillymode on their symmetrical elements, gave them the same color scheme, etc.

the premise of the roleswap part 2 would be that sol and astrid are ostensibly in a succession battle for the throne. the two are twins, both qualified in their own ways - sol being more outgoing, ambitious, and magically talented; astrid being better at social networking and having an implacable demeanor. the two are encouraged and expected to outdo one another, and told only one of them can take the throne.

but, in actuality, the two don't actually care about all that. they find it all ridiculous, and they play along for appearance's sake while deciding they only really have loyalty for each other, and are content to rule together. which means, coincidentally, they might just have to find a way to take it for themselves, rather than playing by the rules. sol has an draw to orion here that mimics sinclair's interest in eve - he becomes a part of things, probably.

in their original designs, sol's earring is the same stone that astrid wears around her neck - under her dress, where it's hidden, because she doesn't really wear jewelry that would make her stand out, and the gem is bright. in the same way, i had sol's loyalty to astrid be rather obvious - the moon brooch on his shirt. astrid's is more hidden - her hairpiece, if it was taken out, would be shaped like a sun. (if you've only now realized they're sun/moon coded in my mind... i'm sorry. astrid's first drafted name was luna.)

final bits i feel like i must address. "so is green not sol's natural hair color?" okay, if i was completely honest with myself - no, i don't think there would be green hair in his universe. sorry. why wouldn't sol magic-dye his hair in this world? well, for starters, he sort of makes his outfit and appearance flashy in canon to suit being on stage - his eyes are actually colored in duller in this picture, closer to how it'd look if he didn't deliberately let the light shine a certain way through his glasses. it suits the sort of magic he does, and it suits how he gets to act. but he'd be more toned down by necessity here - he and astrid know that, to some extent, their actions reflect on one another.

alright anyway if you made it this far here's other doodles i did for this roleswap before <3 bye

[gozine-translate]

Terminally-ill Genius Dark Knight - 155

155. Dragon Heart

-----------------------------------

[Basic Information] Name: Astrid von Kaliud Gender: Female Age: ??? Race: Dragonkin Main Element: Flame Achievements: [The Four Sages] / [Descendant of Dragons] / [Survivor of the Canyon] / [Demon Slayer]

[Traits] Positive: [Genius of Mana Sensitivity] / [Master of Elemental Magic] / [Keen Insight] / [Fast Learner] / [Excellent Teacher] / [Tender Feelings] Neutral: [Meritocrat] Negative: [Sadistic] / [Lazy]

[Stats] Physical Strength: 21 Mana: 28 Luck: 7 Willpower: 26 Charm: 21

[Skills] Passive Skills: [Mana Affinity] / [Blessing of the Salamander] / [Dragon’s Scales]… Active Skills: [Prominence] / [Flames of Sin] / [Hellfire] / [Fire Enchant] / [Lie Detection]

-----------------------------------

Astrid von Kaliud One of the Four Sages and one of the strongest in the world. There are many titles to describe her.

For example, due to her specialty in flame magic, she's called [The Flame Mage] or [Master of Flame], etc. No one can rival her in manipulating mana, earning her the title of [Astrid the Magic God]. Of course, this title isn’t used negatively, you can say it confirms her talents and reputation.

I've met her several times already. To be honest, I’ve lost count of how many times I made her my master.

I feel there will be misunderstandings if I explain it like this, in the end, it was all just inside the game. Astrid, [The Flame Mage], is both a genius and an outstanding teacher. Unlike Noah von Trinity, who says vague things like, 'It just worked out for me?!', Astrid is a dedicated character who gives her best to ensure her students become the best.

Noah also teaches the player sincerely, but she’s on a different track from Astrid. Astrid is a character designed by the developers to be the perfect teacher.

'Of course, she might be a bit too obsessed with geniuses'

That's why I’ve been waiting for her to show up. I didn’t expect to meet Astrid this early, though. Noah had decided to help me to bloom my talent, so she brought her.

'She must’ve thought teaching me by herself was too difficult and uncertain how to make me stronger, so she called Astrid here'

In fact, before Noah, Astrid was once offered the position of dean at Eldain Academy. But she didn’t want to meddle with political battles. In the end, she became a character that help by occasionally giving lessons to talented individuals, just like now.

By the way, Professor Lars was trying to leave because he sensed the tense atmosphere, but he ended up stuck between me and the two of them. Professor Lars's mustache quivered slightly as he looked like he was about to cry.

'Serve you right.'

It’s a bit mean to say this since he is my instructor, but thinking about all the things he has put me through, such feelings have gone far away. Lars, You will understand too after experiencing a troublesome situation. So don't harass me anymore!

While I was standing, lost in thought, Astrid spoke to me.

"How did you know about me?"

"I figured it out myself."

"I see."

"Yes."

As if couldn’t grasp the situation, Lars kept looking back and forth between me and Astrid. Clearly not understand how a mere student like me could know her. He’ll definitely ask me about this later. Not that I’d give him an answer, anyway.

Then at that moment. Astrid’s faintly orange hair floated in the air, and her eyes glowed a brilliant color. One of Astrid's exclusive skills, [Lie Detection].

'A cheat skill that absolutely impossible to dodge… a different skill from the other four sages or three sword emperors. You can't even avoid it with acting skills'

That’s why I told the truth even in the situation where lying is fine. I really did figure out everything about Astrid on my own.

Anyway. Thanks to this skill, Astrid had wandered the continent, unable to find a disciple. Who could approach one of the Four Sages, reveal everything about themselves, and purely seek to learn magic? That’s almost close to an illusion.

By now, there may be people who have guessed what I'm getting at. Right. The first condition to learn magic from Astrid von Kaliud. You must earn her trust. No lies, and face her head-on. That’s the beginning and the end of it.

Astrid nodded, seemingly knowing that I wasn’t lying. That's fortunate for me. After all, I'm in a position where I need to become her disciple.

Well, nothing wrong with making a good impression

"I don’t want to talk too much, so just take it off."

I obediently took off my coat, just as she told me to. My body had trained nicely now, with lean muscles in the right places. Unfortunately, just as my strength has a limit, my muscle growth is limited too, so it's difficult to grow it to be bulky

'Still, I’ve worked hard to get this far, so I’m pretty satisfied.'

"Is this good enough?"

"Don’t ask when you already know. It’s annoying."

Astrid spoke with a yawn, full of tiresomeness. Then she lightly placed her hand on my chest, and blue mana began to form. Lars, seeing this, freaked out.

"Ah, Astrid-nim! Um, what exactly are you planning to do to student Nox? If I may ask for your intentions…?"

That guy… His voice was trembling slightly. It seemed like he was worried that I might die. Sometimes, he can be a nice guy.

Standing in front of two of the Four Sages and daring to ask about their intentions… that’s no small feat. Although, he probably just doesn’t want to lose his top student, who researched a thesis with him.

"To learn my magic, this is necessary. Move."

Astrid’s eyes, filled with indifference, stared down at Lars, who had somehow stepped in front of me. Unless Lars was truly terrified, he would not back down from this, and he’d definitely hold his ground…

"Ah! Yes, I understand. This is Astrid-nim's magic, one of the Four Sages, there's no way it could be dangerous! Haha!"

"No, He could actually die"

Astrid said that in a completely indifferent tone. Lars looked a bit worried but laughed it off.

"Haha, what a joke! While some knights might think mages are crazy, it’s not like anyone but dark mages would go out of their way to kill someone! Nox-kun, this is a great opportunity, so make the most of the dean’s kindness!"

…Coward. Lars quickly backed off, accepted it just like that. It seems his brain has made a compromise. This guy… I’m going to skip two of our research meetings later.

While I was plotting my small revenge, Astrid’s blue mana was slowly seeping into my body. Since Astrid was too lazy to explain, I pondered what I knew about Inner Lunatic’s magic, especially Dragon Magic which related to the Dragon language. What she’s doing now is the process of creating a Dragon Heart, the pinnacle of magic, the heart to use the highest skills in Inner Lunatic.

"Haa….."

A rough breath escaped me, and I unknowingly furrowed my brow. Even after I’ve adapted to this world, the feeling of mana squeezing my heart was unfamiliar. It’s not like there’s anything I can do about it, but still… I can't help but wonder can’t she be a bit gentler?

"Endure it. It’s annoying, so I’ll finish quickly."

"…Yes."

As expected, it seems all teachers in fiction are insane. I let out a sigh as I suddenly realized this truth again. A short, sharp sigh. Naturally, Astrid didn’t care at all.

-----------------------------------

Meanwhile, At the same time, Astrid herself was slightly surprised. It was because of Nox’s magical talent.

'He has way too much mana. This is going to take a long time to create the Dragon Heart…'

Annoying. It’s so annoying that I feel like I might die. But even so, why is it? Astrid had a fleeting thought that maybe, she might become a little interested in Nox if he managed to survive this ordeal. The reason was simple.

She thought to herself, with the amount of mana she was pouring into him? The chances of a mere 15-year-old, barely adult Nox surviving were less than 2%.

'If he really does survive, things might get interesting.'

Even with that thought, she just spoke in a flat tone.

"Endure it."

Dragons. They are the beginning and end of magic.

In normal fantasy novels, comics, or games, they are often described like this.

Inner Lunatic is somewhat similar. While dragons aren’t the originators of magic, they are still counted as one of the leading races in magic study.

'Furthermore, because they use a specialized language system called Dragon language, they handle magic with far more words than humans can express, making the magic stability high. That’s why in the later half of the game, using Dragon magic becomes a must.'

Basically, Dragon magic is unparalleled and inherently awe-inspiring.

Those who have transcended may occasionally wield magic comparable to that realm, but most mages can’t even come close, which proves just how extraordinary it is.

Also, there are several reasons why dragon magic is so powerful. but the biggest one is the Dragon Heart. In other words, the difference lies in the power engine that circulates mana within their bodies. Later, when you max out a mage build and grow your character close to the limit, you really start to feel it, but acquiring a Dragon Heart is a challenge that’s almost beyond imagination. But right now, it’s what I need most.

'Magic and Sword. The fact that I have genius traits for both is an overwhelming advantage over the others. If I can properly use magic while learning Luna’s Moonlight Sword…'

Naturally, I’ll be able to survive even when the first part of the game ends. If so, getting closer to the truth will be much easier.

That’s right. In the end, everything is about finding the answer.

My origin. Where is the truth hidden? Also, What is this strange possession leading me to, who am I…? For this, I have no choice but to grow stronger.

'…But heart isn't consumable goods, and there's no way you can just swap out it easily. In other words…'

"Argh!"

I felt a sharp pain shoot through my heart, and this time, I glared at Astrid, determined to quibble over this. Still, even if it's me, I'm not used to continuously enduring this level of pain. Just when I was about to speak.

An even greater wave of pain started constricting me.

If a moment ago, the mana flowing into me was just squeezing my heart, now it felt like a searing hot iron was carved something onto it. The shocking pain that I felt surged through my most vulnerable spot, sweeping me just like a tidal wave.

'At this rate… I think I will die…!'

Of course, I’ve never actually died after saying something like that. But I can't help but be frightened.

It feels almost like the time I collapsed while playing the game. The agony, spreading slowly like a deadly poison, reminded me of the pain I felt when I first got possessed in the game.

Haa… I took a few breaths, but even my breathing was shaking right now. Maybe it was too early to entrust my body to Astrid?

When a strong regret began to wash over me.

[The Dragon’s Inscription on player’s heart is beginning!]

Kohok--- Just as I coughed up blood and my vision started to blur. Though I couldn't quite hear the system message clearly, later, I’d realize why Astrid is considered the best teacher unit in Inner Lunatic.

The regret that had been tormenting me until then disappeared completely.

[The integrated item 'Dragon Heart' is being engraved to the player!] [Your ability to manage mana is greatly enhanced!] [Your Mana stat has permanently increased by 1!] [Your Physical Strength stat has permanently increased by 1!] [Your Willpower stat has permanently increased by 1!]

All stats increased by 1?

'This really is on another level.'

I realized it once again. … When it comes to magic, then from dragons.

As I reflected on that, I closed my eyes. I glanced over at Astrid for a moment, who was yawning, and watched Noah's cheerful expression and Lars's horrified face. Lars, I won’t let you off easy…!

Soon after, a deep sleep overcame me. I smiled faintly.

When I wake up, I’ll probably be quite different, no, very different from who I was before.

"Noah, it seems you picked up something useful."

I closed my eyes as I listened to Astrid's last words.

[vidavbooks]

The Dark Circle - Euronymous x Reader

Warning: This is based solely off of Rory Culkins version of him. Mentions of self harm and death.

Story Masterlist

Last part, Next part

————————————————————

It was 9:30 PM and here I was, worrying over how I look for some guy. This day last year I swore off men and fell into a deep depression. Celia knocks on my door and tells me the cabs here. “It’s so early though?” “You promised to bring drinks!”

I curse to myself as I quickly grab my bag and money to stop by the store on our way there. I tell our cab driver to stop next to the store and I run in quickly and grab 3 cases of whatever alcohol seemed dark and what could get me drunk.

I payed and walked out of there running back to the car. “Astrid what did you even get?” “I don’t know Celia! I don’t go to parties and you know that can we just go now.” She chuckled at my frustration and the car started moving.

——————————————

On our way there we picked up all of Celia’s friends and we all got out of the car once we arrived. I got out but had to take a breath before going in. “Astrid? You good?” Celia spoke up to say. “No..Ceils I haven’t seen this guy in months! I made out with him and kinda went ghost.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Here just put on some lipgloss and get in there! I want to see boys too.” I nodded and took a breath and following behind Celia trying to act cool. I walk in holding the drinks and I follow the other girls downstairs into what looked like a cave.

I made eye contact with some man with brown long hair and he motioned over to some table to put the alcohol on. He came up to me and I couldn’t spot Euronymous. “Well hi pretty lady, my names Varg.” I gave him a quick smile.

“Um hi, have you seen Euronymous?” He rolled his eyes at me. “God who even cares about him right now.” I smiled again but more awkwardly as a tension grew when more and more people came to the table to grab drinks. “Well he invited me so-”

I hear the steps behind me and I turn around and am greeted with the only other face I knew that wasn’t Celia. It was him and god did he look 10x better than I remembered. I turned away from Varg and walked to him. “Hey, long time no see.”

I nodded as I smiled at him gently. “Yeah no kidding..how have you been? A record store must be a lot…” He nods as I follow him to one of the many couches. “I’ve been alright, and it is a lot to work with but with my music label theres some cash flow to work with.” We sit on the couch somewhat distanced.

“You have a music label? That must be nice.” He smiled a bit and nodded as he held that eye contact. He always hold that eye contact, reminds me of what he said when we met. Look at me when you talk. “Yeah it’s working pretty well. That guy you spoke to, Varg, is one of the people who is signed. His work is pretty good.”

As the night went on more and more people went home, Celia left with some guy. All of her friends also left with other guys, I think I saw Varg leave with 4 girls. The only people left were me and Euronymous. One of his band members, Faust, lived in the record store with him but he went up to their beds already.

We kind of sat there in silence as the music played on the record player in the back. “I’m sorry about Pelle again…” He shook his head no as he took a sip of the vodka bottle then handed it to me. “It’s fine, we all saw it coming really.” I took a sip and kind of got closer to him and leaned my head on his shoulder.

“Yeah but it still hurts, for me I was stuck in a deep depression and I still kind of fall back into it. But yet I’m too much of a pussy to do anything.” I kind of chuckle to myself as he does to and nods. “Yeah no he would blatantly cut himself on stage and in-front of us. We kind of got used to it and blood just on the floor.”

My eyes kind of widened in shock. “That…that’s something. Well if you ever want to talk to someone you know I’m-” I was cut off by a hand to my face and him pulling my head up to kiss him. I set the bottle to the side and moved to sit on his lap. He continued to kiss me and grab my waist as I hold onto his face.

We continue like this for 30 seconds and then I pull away to catch my breath. I sort of chuckle as he smiles when our foreheads press together. “I was kind of pissed for Celia showing up here and talking about me but it did end well.” He nodded as he pecked my lips again.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

————————————————————

Authors Note: HEYYY! guys so i’ve been linking so much stuff and making master lists and this story has its own masterlist so you guys can find everything you need! my requests are always open and i will write for so many more people from different shows and movies, love you all thank you for the support!

[avaferin]

Ooc Post:

Hey pookies, Astrid here, I just wanted to hop on and say that I'm not sure how active this account is gonna be from now on. I love role-playing Ava especially in the hypothetical that she's alive and in some pretty cool like network of spies gathering intel to fix the world she low-key kinda fucked up. But I just don't feel really in the loop and I'm kinda stuck on how to proceed.

Basically I'm just a little burned out and not sure how to expand on the story here without some grand event but I'm also really anxious. So talking to people both in and out of character is really hard, especially when a lot of the blogs around me have their own thing going on that seems more involved in their story than what I'm doing here. And that's ok! I wanna make that abundantly clear. I know that Ava is sorta an odd ball to throw into the realm of RP for JRWI, and I enjoy it. I love telling stories, but I don't think she fits anywhere.

Autism makes it hard for me to really engage with things that I don't quite understand or know of. And catching up is hard when I work throughout the week, on top of that, it's again, an anxiety thing. Reaching out into asks to get involved makes me feel anxious because I'm scared of interrupting people's stories and the plots they got set up, I don't wanna get in the middle of people's plans by accident. So I'm kinda just, here, as Ava. Which is chill for the most part.

All this to say, if the blog becomes less active, it's less to do with a dying fixation and more to do with the above. I've had lots of fun and I'm really grateful and happy for the people who participated in the blog and the antics. And who knows, maybe in a few days I'll come back with some Ava plot and this post will be irrelevant. Maybe I just need to step back. But all in all, I wanted to let y'all know what was going on.

Thank you for reading

Astrid

[spacenintendogs]

glad you're feeling better !!! for drawing requests i'd love to see some of your au stuff – i know this isnt very specific but maybe a scene/event you like to think about a lot? i just rly love ur au :D

what do you do when the backbones of your friend group nearly end their friendship?

tuffnut and fishlegs were friends before anyone else in the gang. as kids they lived a few doors down from each other & often ran into each other at a local playground. tuff's outgoing & curious nature helped fishlegs feel more confident in exploring & they could discover things together. fishlegs' sensitive & skittish nature drew tuffnut in & got tuff to slow down every so often. they have more opposite approaches when it comes to learning & as little kids, they just LOVE learning. fishlegs being quiet also helped tuff find someone to confide in, while tuff being louder helped fishlegs find someone who can teach him how to stand up for himself.

as they become friends with the rest of the gang (tuff already has ruff obv but!!) they find they have less in common than they thought & while they still care & hang out, it's no where near the same as when they were little. esp once they're teenagers.

by the time they're 14 they've basically become friends but wouldn't rlly hang out with each other alone or confide in the other.

tuff & ruff obv aren't the types to hold back in their comments towards the others & in the shows even make fun of fishlegs for his weight/tend to go off on side tangents that seem irrelevant to the topic at hand. this hurts & annoys fishlegs. fishlegs (as well as the others in the group) tend to get snippy & make snide comments abt the twins being stupid & brushing them off when they try to contribute. this hurts & annoys tuffnut, esp bc as they grow older, fishlegs gives off a "know-it-all" attitude.

they're both internally bitter & don't understand what changed between them from when they were kids. why they seen to have disdain towards each other. it reaches its breaking point when they're in college. it's not fishlegs who snaps, it's tuffnut.

fishlegs rolls his eyes at a comment tuffnut makes & it's the final straw. tuffnut just asks "do we have a problem?" and it opens a whole can of worms, esp bc it was in front of the entire gang & ends with tuffnut & fishlegs storming off (ruffnut hesitantly going with tuffnut out of pure shock of what just happened).

& now every time the gang hangs out or goes to work at the sanctuary & tuff & fishlegs are there, it's just tension. they give the silent treatment towards each other. the rest of the gang feel stuck bc they feel like they are being forced to pick sides & try their best in hanging out with everyone but maybe not having tuff or fishlegs there with each other & it's a hassle. hiccup & astrid try to get them to stop being stubborn & talk it out. snotlout is completely lost & can't help but make it abt how it's affecting him bc he doesn't know what else to do. ruffnut is supportive towards tuffnut, having heard him talk abt his frustrations with fishlegs for years at this point, but does try to push tuffnut to talk it out with fishlegs, too, albeit, not as hard as hiccup & astrid.

reconciliation only comes when tuffnut & fishlegs are scheduled to close the sanctuary together alone (not on purpose, it's just how everyone's schedules lined up & the rest of the gang dreaded that it could be the true final straw).

while closing, tuff sees barf and belch haven't moved since the afternoon when he arrived (& even since the morning when astrid & hiccup opened the sanctuary). he checks & sees the dragons haven't eaten or drank any water all day either. he panicks and gets the first person he can think of, which is fishlegs.

they both work together in discovering a few of the zipplebacks, including barf and belch, have come down with vorpentitis, due to a venomous vorpent getting into the pen. they quickly gather potatoes (the cure is known & had here, unlike book 4 of the httyd books... sorry for spoilers there lol). it's during this that they both feel regret & after everything has calmed that they apologize to each other, more calmly explain their sides of the story, and hug each other for the first time since they were kids.

they'll never go truly back to where they were as kids, they've crossed too many thresholds. too much has changed. but they can work on what they have now & it'll be equally as strong.

[empress-of-snark]

more detailed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice thoughts!

I was going to wait to make this post until I've had the chance to see the movie again, but right now the plan is to go with my best friend when she visits at the end of the month (I was the one who introduced her to the first Beetlejuice movie back in high school), so I decided to go ahead and write a longer post now!

(spoilers under the cut)

CHARACTERS

Absolutely no complaints here! I think Lydia's transition from edgy goth teen to somewhat lost adult struggling with single motherhood is realistic. We get one line referencing that her mom is still alive (distinguishing the movie from the musical a little bit), but it doesn't seem like they're close, and obviously her relationship with Delia has been a struggle through the years. It makes sense that she'd have difficulty connecting with her own daughter, especially with the circumstances surrounding Astrid's father.

While at times Astrid feels like Wednesday Addams in a different font, I liked her a lot! Jenna Ortega fits into the Burtonverse very well, and she and Winona Ryder have great mother-daughter chemistry, both onscreen and off. I do wish that she'd gotten the chance to interact more with Beetlejuice, because as far as I remember, they only exchange one or two lines of dialogue. This feels like a missed opportunity, as I could see him making a lot of jokes about being her future stepdad lol.

As mentioned in my initial review, Catherine O'Hara was a crowd favorite at my theater and earned a lot of the biggest laughs. I really loved Delia in this movie, especially since she and Lydia have clearly grown a lot fonder of each other in the years since the first. I'm also obviously very glad that Jeffrey Jones wasn't invited back to the party, and I think the way they used claymation to show his death was a clever workaround to avoid hiring him again lol.

I adored Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson. Was he necessary to the plot? No. Do I give a shit? Also no. He was hilarious and completely ineffectual and I love him.

Rory is a good minor antagonist, and he's fun to root against. I've seen people seemingly frustrated at his relationship with Lydia, and how easily he manipulates her, but I don't find it out of character on her part. In the first movie especially, she's shown to be very lonely and mentally unwell, contemplating suicide on more than one occasion. She latches onto the love that the Maitlands give her as their surrogate daughter, but imagine how hard it must've been for her when they were finally able to move on, and she was stuck with a father who didn't understand her and a stepmother who barely tolerated her? When she meets Rory, Richard has recently died and Astrid resents her. To me, it makes sense that she'd latch on to anyone showing her affection. She doesn't really love Rory, but she thinks that he loves her, and that's enough. It isn't until Beetlejuice helps her see Rory's true colors that she's able to recognize how unhealthy the relationship is.

Speaking of Beetlejuice, I'm so so glad that they followed the trend of the first movie and kept his screen time to a minimum! He's only onscreen for 17 minutes (about three minutes longer than the original), but the way that he eats up every scene he's in makes it feel like more. Michael Keaton was clearly having so much fun revisiting the role! I think that the less we know about Beetlejuice and his backstory the better, so I actually wasn't thrilled when I heard that there was a flashback to his death in this one, but the way they shot the scene with the Italian dub was hilarious, so I'm giving it a pass.

THE STORY

Allegedly, the original runtime of the movie was around 2h15m, which means that a whole thirty minutes ended up getting cut, and I really wish they'd kept it in. Not just because I want more content (though I do), but because the plot does feel a bit cluttered and rushed at times. Between Astrid's fleeting romance with Jeremy, Beetlejuice being hunted down by Delores, and Lydia fending off Rory's proposal/wedding plans, there's not a lot of room to breathe, and the Delores plot definitely suffers a bit. She's made out to be such a huge threat, but gets so little fleshing out that Monica Belluci almost feels wasted. I'll be very interested to see if the DVD has deleted scenes or better yet, a director's cut!

But I've been having fun trying to figure out Beetlejuice's actual motivations, because the differences between the first movie's wedding and this one are very telling. Rather than speed things along like he did the first time, this Beetlejuice takes his time to give Lydia a proper, romantic ceremony. "MacArthur Park" is not a short song, and I'm pretty sure they didn't cut any of it.

It's an interesting song choice, to say the least. The lyrics are about a couple breaking up, and the man vowing to the woman that even though things have ended, he'll always love her. This, coupled with the fact that Beetlejuice gets defeated on a flimsy loophole when you'd expect him to have an ironclad contract, and when Lydia finally banishes him, he doesn't resist at all (again, think about how much he had to fight to shut up the Maitlands when they tried to stop the wedding in the first movie), makes me wonder if he ever actually intended to go through with the marriage. As @simplyshelbs16xoxo theorized in an earlier post, I think this was all just an excuse to see Lydia again and show her how much he loves her (in his own twisted way). Maybe he'd even sort of accepted that Delores was going to find him and kill him (again) any minute, because after all, why would his getting remarried even stop her from doing so?

Who knows? The fun thing about Beetlejuice as a character is that he never fully shows his hand, and there's no way of knowing exactly where his motivations lie.

The Beetlebaby was… something lol. I still haven’t quite decided how I feel about it, but I liked the design, and the fact that it was a clear reference to Chucky. I also like trying to figure out how much of the movie was Lydia’s dream. Just the last scene? Or maybe the whole thing? Does Astrid even exist, or is Lydia really a spinster in the attic, as Winona Ryder says?

THE VISUALS

Tim Burton thrives with practical effects. I'm a fan of most of his work, and my least favorites tend to be the ones that rely too much on CGI (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Miss Peregrine, etc). Not to say that any of those are bad movies, but I'm glad he's returned to his roots with this one.

One of the things the original Beetlejuice movie is known for is its campy visuals. Part of that is due to the fact that their budget was so small, since Burton was still establishing himself as a director, but it works with the cheesy horror/comedy vibe. And words cannot express how delighted and relieved I was when the sandworms in the sequel were still made with claymation!

Obviously the movie wasn't completely devoid of CGI, but most of it was subtle, and only enhanced the practical effects. The makeup was great as well--I especially liked Willem Dafoe's partially-exposed brain. The original movie actually won an Oscar for Hair/Makeup Design, and I think this one has a good chance for a nomination at least!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The original Beetlejuice has been one of my favorite movies since I first watched it at around thirteen/fourteen. It's a Halloween staple, and I was extremely nervous about the prospect of a sequel after so many years (let's all breathe a collective sigh of relief that that old rumor about a reboot starring Johnny Depp wasn't true because it truly had me scared). While the trailers gave me hope, I still went into the theater with enormous reservations and was fully ready to be disappointed.

And in the end, I definitely wasn't! While the sequel's not perfect and could never come close to surpassing the original, I enjoyed it immensely. It was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to my second viewing! I think it's safe to say that this is Burton's comeback!

[fritoley]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts 6x04 - The Starscraper

Previous Episode // Masterlist // Next Episode

Join the Taglist

Spoilers under the cut

“Are those Draconic words?”

Honey I know you did not just read out loud unfamiliar words when you KNOW Draconic words are usually spell incantations and would almost definitely do something—

CLAUDIA YOU BETTER NOT KILL THAT KITTEN FOR PARTS

NU-UH—

“I’m so messed up, Terry. I’ve been stuck just staring, for over an hour now.”

I mean at least she’s self-aware that’s a good first step

She seriously needs therapy tho

Shit everyone in this show does lmao—

“Drop.”

LMAO that was cold

He ain’t taking no shit today

STELLA CAN’T YOU TELEPORT OR SOMETHING C’MON NOW

“I think…I need to see my dad again.”

Oh wow. I thought with Viren leaving that Claudia was going to go over the edge and just go all in. Freeing Aaravos, supporting his plans and whatnot, and honestly I thought she was going to be so gone in her grief and stuff that terry was going to join team zym to try and get her back. Seeing her take a step back and try to find the right path is surprising, but it’s good.

“How do you feel about spiders?”

Okay I seriously love Astrid she’s frickin amazing

I hope we see a lot of her in later seasons

Also KOSMO IS SP PRETTY ugh I’ve always loved vitiligo it’s absolutely beautiful—

“The Elder is the only living Celestial Elf who has ever removed his blindfold and let in the starlight.”

Wait so do Skywing elves have super long life spans or something? Do all elves live super long like that? I’ll have to look it up I forgot—

OOF THOSE LOOK LIKE VIREN’S STAFF

BUT ONE IS MISSING HAHA—

Wait didn’t the staff originally belong to Ziard? AND DIDN’T ZIARD GET IT FROM AARAVOS??? So much BACKSTORY

“I’m afraid the Novablade was given to a brave human girl hundreds of years ago.”

THE ORPHAN QUEEN IT’S GOTTA BE

CLAUDIA REALLY WAS ABOUT TO GET MAULED OMG

SHE WASN’T GONNA DO IT

“He’s back, Soren. Your father, he’s here.”

Soren’s really gonna have a rough time this season I already know it.

It’s gonna be baaaaaaddd

I MEAN LOOK AT HIS FACE

He’s already distressed poor babyyyy 😭

OKAY it’s really picking up now. I didn’t say anything about the “Chosen Two” stuff Callum and Rayla are dealing with cuz i didn’t really have any commentary on that part but I am excited to see what happens there. Claudia really surprised me with her internal conflict and stuff and I’m glad she’s thinking rationally now i hope it stays that way. I think it’s safe to say that from here on out this season is going to get extremely tense, so buckle up :'D

[deepdeanvsweston]

Margaret Dolliswood Headcanons? (Thanks for doing the elizabeth one)

That's perfectly ok anon!!! Thankyou for sending it in!!!

Also I know this looks like just. a massive essay but I SWEAR it all relates and is relevant and the hcs are at the bottom!!!

Ok so her motive to kill Elizabeth was that she was a lesbian in love with Astrid Frith and Elizabeth knew this. Which I think is very interesting, considering the the stigma around lesbianism at the time, and also as seen explicitly in the books where Clementine says something along the lines of "something goes wrong in their brains" (I can't quite remember the line) when Margaret's secret comes out.

We of course don't know what was canonically happening between the Five and Elizabeth, if she was abusing them about their secrets, or simply holding them as leverage, but I do often wonder why in Margaret's case, Elizabeth wasn't afraid or disgusted of her, on page at least, because she was a lesbian - as again Clementine says "it's all the same to them" referencing how being hit or being affectionately touched is the same to a lesbian. Obviously they're all so close knit because if 1 secret gets out they all do, but I think a throwaway line in JFP like "none of the Five went near Margaret much" would have cemented the stigma.

BUT. There isn't a line like that!!! And I personally think it would have been fairly easy for the most of the Five to just ostracise Margaret, without fear of their secrets coming out as any credibility she might have had in revealing other people's secrets would have been lost completely because she was a lesbian AND THE fact that most of the Five's secrets don't much have real life consequences, if that makes sense? For example, if Florence's secret got out (which it did, but I'm referring to before E.H was killed) it would have been devastating for her and her family but not put perhaps their lives at risk. HOWEVER note I say most of the Five, because of course Una Dichmann was trying to get her Jewish grandparents out from nazi Germany which very much is a real life consequence that could put lives at risk. So imo Una and Margaret would have bonded out of sheer necessity because if Margaret was ostracised (as previously mentioned I think she'd be the most easy to) and revealed everyone's secrets, then Una's would be the one with actual danger of harm. So Una goes out of her way to cement a friendship or at the very least an alliance with Margaret to avoid this liklihood.

Ok so onto ACTUAL hcs now sorry anon

- I can't find a description of her on the wiki and I don't have my book on me so I think she has pin straight auburn hair with freckles that she hates (Astrid ADORES them tho)

- she used to be the prankster of her year, always pulling tricks on the teachers and during assemblies and creating mischief on exeat weekends

- she is always trying to put the attention away from her with all her tricks, but also desperately wants the attention

- she is the Eldest Daughter, with 3 sisters aged 3, 4, and 5 so there is an age gap

- her parents aren't cruel, not in any way, and do love her to bits, but with 4 other children they have grown a bit fatigued of parenting and so it lands on her a lot to be like 'oh I love your drawing!' 'i can take you to the loo! 'come here, your ribbon is all messed up'

- and of course as Eldest Daughter, she is expected to pave the way for her sisters, securing herself a decent husband etc etc.

- and she's actually happy with this!!! She's stuck in comphet but she thinks she's happy! Of course ALL girls stare at each other's legs in their gym kits!!!

- but then. She meets Astrid, a new student from Denmark who arrives in the last term of fourth form, and everything turns on its head

- Margaret honest to god genuinely thinks she's allergic to Astrid, or at least her perfume or detergent or something

- why does she keep having hot flushes? And butterflies in her stomach? And why does she lean forward every time Astrid goes to say something?

- Margaret realises she's a lesbian after several dreams about her and Astrid

- and her whole prankster thing changes. She becomes a model student, perfectly presentable, hw handed perfectly because she doesn't want the attention anymore. Attention means people look closer.

- one step out of line and she fears everything she has will fall to pieces because of Astrid

- they are friends at this point and through several tense moments during the summer hols before sixth form, they end up together

- and then the events of Jolly Foul Play happen and her secret comes out

- and that happens in like Sept - Nov so she still has a whole year of ridicule to go

- her parents are essentially embarrassed and ashamed of her but don't pull her out of school as they feel it's the one thing that could change her back to 'normal', and really push her into school work. And anyway

- Astrid's parents immediately pull her back to Denmark and ban any contact

- and that's almost that.

- 17 years later they find each other and buy a house by the sea. It's only ever been them for each other, anyway.

- as for the war, I'd imagine Margaret joins the WRNS (Woman's Royal Naval Service) and Astrid does something in communications (???)

- Margaret and Una, after everything, become actually close friends, and they'd both give their lives for each other given the need. I like to think their friendship becomes DaisyandHazel-esque in nature

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 13

Not much of a lead-in for this chapter, huh? I'm just plopped right into my pre-chapter preparations. But then again, since in previous cases that was always accompanied by a change in location, and we're still very much on a boat, I suppose that makes sense. Let's start with Jill!

"Why are you still here?" - Blunt, Ike. Blunt. And calling soldiers stupid, too! Reminds me of that one post that's like "everyone who died for their country is a clown". It does make me wonder why exactly Jill really is still with us, though. The basic interesting is obvious, but where does it come from, and why is it enough?

Conversation with Daniel, about the best means to defend on a ship map. Very subtle, game. And they're playing an in-universe war game? Fire Emblem-ception?

Aimee continues to simp for Ike. The game really does make a running gag out of him not caring for women romantically or sexually, huh?

Sibling interactions between Oscar, Boyd and Rolf!! Those are always fun. Judging by the fact that it was a three star one, I thought that it would actually lead to something, but I haven't noticed anything yet. Do they get their own triangle attack now, or. . .?

Right, time to start the actual chapter. And we get more worldbuilding! Begnion's got an empress, Crimea and Daein used to be part of it, and we seriously gotta wonder why they want to see Elincia in the first place

Tanith. . . woag. . .

Hmm, we got a high priestess? The only context in which I've heard of priestesses in the context of PoR/RD is with Micaiah's classes, but I really don't think that she's going to make an actual appearance here yet

Heyy, Gatrie's back! And he got himself a new job. Have to wonder about that other character, though. . . her name in the German version is Stella, but I don't think that's gonna be the same in English. And after looking that up, her English name is Astrid. . . okay? Seems to be another instance of the German version carrying over the Japanese name.

Ohoho, defend map! And one with a lot of chests, too. Gimme gimme gimme!

Ah, there's Nasaela. Based on these early vibes, I can already somewhat understand my friend's obsession. I am curious though why the king of an entire nation is out here making deals with rather lowly soldiers for money like this. Is his country not doing well financially speaking?

Ergh, as I'm playing through this map, I'm beginning to realize that I really don't have the turns to actually get all the items with just Sothe. I think I'll need to restart and hand everyone chest keys. . . lovely.

Well, that second attempt went a lot better in general. I got all the enemies on the upper ship, including the boss, by just turn five! Let's see what else is gonna happen on this map.

Ah, so that other character flying near Nasaela is. . . well, a character. Kinda funny to see an old winged man like that. And pfft, he Nasaela doesn't like being called. . . what would it be in English? Hatchling?

Tibarn and Janaff. I would say these two have the look of playable characters to them.

Hold on, Tibarn's a king as well? Do the bird Laguz have multiple kingdoms? So far, I was under the impression that they only got the one. . .

This lot really was just there to show that they're there, huh?

. . .And I left the defend point unguarded on accident. I thought the enemy ravens would make a beeline for the treasure, NOT that point. Guess that's my first game over!

Jesus fucking christ, my luck on this second attempt was terrible. Astrid missed a ~90% to hit twice, Rolf also missed one, I took longer to beat the boss. . . but at least I managed to still turn things around in the end. Still just absolutely stucks about Astrid though, because she did get a lot more kills, and by proxy, exp, the first time around.

Sigrun! I heard the name before, but I don't have any associations. With Sanaki however, there are some half-remembered tidbits there. I think she's related to Micaiah somehow?

Ah. So the high priestess is the empress as well. Then why even make a distinction in introducing her?

Ike and Soren having a little heart-to-heart! That's nice.

Sanaki's found, and Ike really can be rather thick at times. . . let's see where that leads him

It gets him invited to court, is what it does. Fair enough.