#heimlich

[chokingcpr]

Thanks so much to everyone I’ve spoken to who have encouraged me to post my writing, especially @heimlich99, who insisted that there was an audience out there for this and was kind enough to read it over for me <3

The candles on either side of the table burn tall, freshly replaced by your servants before you’d ordered them to leave for the night. I sit, well-mannered and composed in my chair, fighting to tamp down my discomfort as I watch you gulp down your wine and place the cup back down on the table, turning your wrist with little tact so I can see the jewels gleaming on your oversized cufflinks.

“And personally, I don’t care for the new proposals that came through from their ambassador this week. Honestly, this whole recession is their fault. If they had only listened to me, they would have known better.” You explain, scoffing, as though you can barely tolerate the thought of their supposed ignorance. I blink at you, nodding my head politely. The less I say, the faster this horrible dinner will be over. Your fork scrapes your plate as it skewers another chunk of pheasant, before being held out in my direction, your eyelids lowering seductively. “Don’t you agree, my Lord?” you purr, swaying it softly up and down as you speak. To avoid having to answer you, I part my lips, stiffly taking the bite into my mouth and immediately closing it to chew. Unfortunately, you wait in silence for me to swallow and answer you.

“Yes, my Lord. Of course. But I truly must insist,” I say instead, after a beat, “that you look over my proposal. I’ve the papers with me here tonight, let me just-”

“Ah-ah, we’re in no rush, are we?” You purr again, smoothing a hand over your collar distractedly. I turn away from my satchel, sighing, resigned to another hour of listening to you brag about your home, your chef, and your policies, instead of allowing me to finalize the trade alliance we had begun to discuss.

“Truly, you’ve never tasted a bird so tender. When I caught it– all by myself, mind you– earlier today, I nearly–” your fork falls from your hand and clatters loudly on your plate as you begin to cough, your hand coming up to cover your mouth as your eyes widen in shock. Distracted by the opportunity to brag once more, you’d failed to notice the large wing bone you’d shovelled down your throat alongside your life-changingly tender pheasant. Relieved at the interruption, I politely look away, raising my wine to my lips to give you a moment to recover.

When several long moments go by with no change, I subtly drag my gaze up to you, unable to suppress my growing amusement. “Oh dear. Wrong pipe?”

At the lack of verbal response, I carefully lean over the table and pat delicately between your shoulder blades a couple of times, taking care to avoid dragging my clothes through the elaborate meal you’d had prepared for the two of us. Without waiting for you to recover, I sit back down, crossing my arms across my chest. Your wide eyes shoot up to meet mine as I watch you, calmly. Your coughing is beginning to turn into short, breathless hacking, the occasional wheeze making its way through your partially-obstructed throat as a deep red flush slowly crawls up your neck. I frown innocently, tilting my head slightly. “No? Still stuck? Hmmm…”

The legs of my chair drag across the hardwood planks as I push it away from the small table, making my way over to you, as unhurried as I can manage.

“My my… seems like quite the predicament you’re in, hm? Shall we blame the cook, or the bird?” I quip, grinning out of your line of sight as I pat your back again, harder than before. My teasing appears lost on you as you pound urgently on your chest with your fist, truly beginning to panic as the bone lodged diagonally in your throat refuses to budge, even as you continue to gag and croak. Your glass of wine makes it to your hands again and you try to guzzle it down in one gulp, but the deep red liquid pours back out of your mouth as soon as it enters it, staining your expensive shirt. “What a waste.” I mutter, thinking of the label you’d proudly waved in front of me before pouring the wine for us. Having exhausted all your options, you turn your head up to look at me and gesture frantically at your throat, clutching it with shaking hands as tears begin to well in your eyes at the strain of your repeated attempts to gasp for air.

A smile tugs at my lips, almost affectionate, in some cruel, karmic way. My hand trails down from your throat to your chest, settling at your waistband before I begin to carefully tug open the ivory buttons of your shirt, revealing a rich, soft frame. “Someone’s clearly never gone hungry before.” I tease, setting a warm hand flat on your stomach, patting it a couple times to emphasize my point.

With slow, drawn out movements, I begin to pump my hand in and out, coaxing weak groans from deep in your throat. Momentarily you seem relieved, before your mouth drops open and remains that way as you begin to desperately thrust yourself against my hand, trying to gather enough pressure to pop the bone from your throat. Instead of stopping you or pushing harder, I shift my hand subtly so that your thrusting is in just the wrong spot, depriving you of the leverage you so desperately need without drawing your attention. “What a pathetic little thing,” I drawl, looking down at you, watching as you grow purple in the face, wine and drool mingling to paint twin streaks down your chin. “Look at you, so desperate. I bet you’re wishing you hadn’t been so greedy, hm?”

You croak loudly as I push my hand into your belly sharply a couple times, despite its positioning remaining unproductive. “If I’d known it was this easy to get you helpless like this, I would have fed you a bone like that on purpose. I’m almost disappointed I didn’t think of it myself.” My voice grows lower as I tease you, heat pooling in my gut at the sight of you, purple and frantic, pumping your belly against my hand as you choke on a pheasant bone.

The whites of your eyes slowly grow more and more prominent as they begin to roll back into your skull, your movements growing jerky and clumsy as you begin to lose the strength to continue. With a sigh, I pull my hand away and drag you around in your chair so that I can reach your back, and wrap my arms around your waist, beginning to thrust firmly and steadily into your stomach, in the correct spot this time. Your arms swing heavily at your sides with each thrust, jaw opening and closing as you gag, your lips beginning to turn blue. I take a moment to appreciate their colour before throwing your chest over my arm and pounding roughly between your shoulder blades, tilting my head to check if you can breathe before returning to thrusting into your soft stomach.

When several sharp rounds of this make no difference to your condition, I drag you out of your chair and throw you over my lap, beginning to wallop your upper back as hard as I can as you lie, helpless and unable to breathe over my knees. I refrain from taunting you, despite how badly I want to, simply because I know it will be wasted on you: you’re barely conscious, and certainly unable to understand me anymore. My hand connects with your back over and over again, slamming down between your shoulder blades, my rhythm calm and steady. I’m doing what needs to be done, but there’s no fear or panic: I’m almost reluctantly dutiful in my actions.

Eventually, after enough time has passed that most remnants of sound have ceased dragging themselves from your throat, a particularly hard blow to the back seems to cause the bone to shift in your windpipe, and I hear a sudden, choked wheeze as your body begins to try to suck oxygen down into your starving, convulsing lungs. I pause, listening to your pathetic attempts at breathing before I push you carelessly off of my lap and onto the hard floor, taking my time to kneel down on the plush rug beside you.

With another sigh, I wrench open your slack jaw and stick my fingers down your throat, feeling around for the bone you’d inattentively gulped down. I can feel it almost immediately, and crook my fingers to attempt to sweep it out, but it’s too far down for me to reach comfortably.

Withdrawing my fingers, I put my hands on my hips, tutting down at you disappointedly. “You’re truly going to make me do all the work?” I mutter, annoyed, but heave you over so you’re lying flat on your back, head tilted back, throat pointed up at the sky, begging to be cleared. I sit up straight and tug your shift further open, exposing your chest, and place my hands between your nipples, beginning to pump hard over your heart.

A few minutes go by, the only sound filling the room being my quiet panting as I pump your chest, and your strained, barely-audible wheezing, interrupted every few seconds by soft gags as your body unconsciously strains to clear its airway. A soft groan escapes my lips as I heave you over to lie on your side once again, and sweep my fingers down your throat. This time, they catch on the bone, having shifted enough from my chest thrusts to poke up through your windpipe and into the back of your mouth, and I easily tug it out, taking a moment to look at it. A wave of disgust washes over me at the reminder of your gluttony and greed, and it clatters somewhere as I toss it aside, wiping my hand clean on your fine, expensive sleeve.

Your airway cleared, I wait to hear you begin to breathe, and roll my eyes as I hear no such thing. Jerking your head to the side and opening your mouth, I hold your nose shut with my hand to avoid air escaping, and fit my mouth over your slack one, blowing air deep into your lungs. Blue lips spasm under mine as you suck in a breath of your own halfway through, and I pull away, giving you a moment to see if you’re recovering on your own. After a few silent seconds, I thump your back again with one hand, resting the other on your chest to support you as you lie on your side. “I don’t have all day. Take a breath.”

Bypassing holding your nose this time by simply sealing my lips over both your mouth and nose, I give you another slow, deep breath, feeling your lungs expand against my hand. As I pull away your chest shudders once, twice, and then you begin to gasp, loud and deep, finally breathing on your own.

Colour rapidly floods back to your face as properly oxygenated blood manages to flow through your body for the first time in several minutes, and I sit back on my knees, watching you, unimpressed. “If this was your attempt to impress me during this meeting, I can honestly say that you’ve let me down. You’re quite the joke, I’m afraid.”

When you open your eyes, bleary and unfocused, the candles have burnt down to their last few centimeters, and the food on the table is cold; the room empty. A signed and stamped contract lies beside you on the floor, outlining my final terms for our trade alliance.

[cprgiii]

cpr on a sex doll

[gefuehlsbestimmt]

ich lieb dich lieber heimlich, anstatt dich zu verlieren.

[chownkiies]

Shouldn't have watched bug's life

+ abl oc faust

[charseraph]

If he got to be a real butterfly

[kme-2020]

9 (Lauren’s Perspective, Victim)

(First of three parts, each with a different perspective in the same story. Each part to be released separately.)

I grinned as I sat down at the patio table. A beautiful fall day spent with friends, winding down with wine and snacks. Our partners were out golfing and we were back from our hike early. I sipped my wine and listened to Ava and Holly chatter away about Ava’s new job while I grabbed a handful of grapes. I was hungry and wanted something small before our BBQ tonight.

I leaned back in my chair and popped a grape into my mouth right before Ava made a joke about her new desk mate. I laughed and felt the grape slip to the back of my mouth. I sat up, surprised. I coughed weakly and tried to swallow, but couldn’t move the grape. I covered my mouth with my hands and closed my eyes, trying to swallow again. I felt my heart rate increasing and warmth growing in my face. The grape moved slightly as I inhaled sharply, but this was the wrong move. The grape slid entirely into my throat and settled into place. I couldn’t breathe in or out. I was choking.

My eyes flew open at this realization. I tried to cough but the grape wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t swallow either. I bowed my head and gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white, unable to think straight as panic crept over me. My attempts to swallow and cough were futile. I closed my eyes again and leaned forward, clutching my throat in desperation. What do I do??!?! I thought. I heard Ava and Holly’s conversation pause. I was embarrassed and about to stand up to head to the bathroom when suddenly a sharp blow between my shoulder blades brought me back to the present.

“Lauren!” I heard Holly’s voice shriek. I opened my eyes and saw her standing across the table from me, willing me to cough. Another blow to my back- Ava must be trying to help me I thought. Suddenly Ava’s arms wrapped tightly around my waist. A quick and sudden thrust into my abdomen sent pain shooting through my chest. I doubled over, catching myself on the table, unable to control my body’s reaction. I still couldn’t breathe, so I shook my head “no” to communicate I was still choking. Ava thrust her hands into me again, rocking me with each painful thrust. I watched as Holly hurried around the table to my side as she called out to me, concern in her voice, “Lauren!”

Ava released my waist and grabbed under my armpits. “Stand up” she demanded. I stumbled as she pulled me out of my chair and my feet found the ground. Holly appeared in front of me, grabbing my shoulders and steadying me. Ava wrapped an arm around my chest, and pushed me forward, pounding my back with her free hand. I searched Holly’s face and we locked eyes. Her brown eyes were concerned., “Come on Lauren, cough!” She willed me, “cough!”

Ava then pulled me straight up and pressed my back into her as she again circled her arms around my waist. She found my bellybutton and placed her first firmly against my stomach, then squeezed sharply in and up under my rib cage. I knew it was more effective with me standing up. The pain was unbearable as the pressure in my chest grew, the blockage in my throat resisting the artificial coughs from Ava’s abdominal thrusts. I stamped my foot, frightened, desperate to draw a breath. I felt dizzy and weak, and was struggling to focus. I’m going to pass out I thought as I noticed Ava was supporting most of my weight.

Ava delivered another powerful Heimlich into me, my breasts jiggling from the force. Another thrust in and I felt the grape fly from my mouth, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Sluggishly, I reached for Ava’s hands, still around my waist and supporting me. I tried inhaling, but couldn’t draw a breath. It was like my brain and my body were disconnected. My heart was pounding, a ringing filling my ears.

My vision grew dark and faded as I felt myself being lowered to the ground. I still couldn’t breathe in, no matter how hard I tried, even though I knew the blockage was cleared from my throat. I heard Holly and Ava calling out but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I wanted to tell them I couldn’t breathe. I felt funny, stuck between consciousness and unconsciousness, unable to move my body or take a single breath.

Someone gripped my shoulders tightly and shook me, then my head was tipped back and mouth opened. This helped but I still I couldn’t breathe well, producing a shallow inhale and grunting in the process. Suddenly, my cheeks puffed out as warmth filled my lungs and left just as quick as it came. I waited, and again my lungs inflated and deflated.

Everything felt distant and hazy, but I came aware of someone’s lips around my mouth, forcing their own breath into my body. “Lauren, stay with us!” I heard Ava call to me. I felt another breath fill my lungs. “Breathe Lauren, come on…” I heard Holly’s voice in my ear. I tried to focus on breathing, welcoming the air being provided to me with each respiration.

I heard a groan come from within me; I was coming around. The mouth-to-mouth stopped as I began breathing again. “She’s breathing” I heard Holly say. I tried to open my eyes and saw two foggy figures leaning over me. “Lauren, can you hear me?” Ava asked, her voice sounding distant. I focused on her face. I nodded.

Holly pressed two fingers to my neck, feeling my pulse. “I’m going to put you in the recovery position” Holly said, and I felt myself being rolled onto my side. “Focus on breathing” she said with a gentle voice, rubbing soothing circles on my back. I nodded weakly, feeling sick and lightheaded. “You’re okay now, you’re going to be fine. We’ve got you” she said…and I believed her.

[flowerfaeriesinthegarden]

physically i’m here mentally i’m at candy corn acres

[weepingwidar]

Stacy Leigh (American, 1971) - Thankfully, Juliet Knew the Heimlich (2021)

[welele]

[theowlgoesmoo]

Bless you, makers of Noesis. Managed to extract the Bug's Life 3d models from Magic Kingdoms using this fantastic tutorial here:

Still trying to organize them into a format that can actually be shared (especially the textures as they keep getting messed up. Seriously weird formatting for this game, let me tell you.) Also because I love you, have a TGA converter:

Man, it is SO good to see official 3d models of these little bugaboos again. I don't think there's been any since... what, the PS1/N64 game? And as far as I know, those models were never (publicly) extracted, so no luck there. (If you REALLY want what I have extracted so far, let me know, but I will tell you that what I've got is super messy and disorganized. Still, sharing is caring. If all goes well, I'll see if I can toss these up on Models Resource or Sketchfab.) Actually no, here's a link to what I have right now. Still super messy, but if you just HAVE to have them (I know I'VE been waiting for fricken ever to have some), then why make you wait?

[chokingcpr]

I’ve been thrilled to see the support on my first post, it really means the world to me and I’m so happy that people seem to like my writing. Here’s another, enjoy!

She’s faintly aware that her dinner must be growing lukewarm by now as she sits, watching the intruder in her kitchen, her gaze sharp and narrowed in the way that few can manage unless they are truly, honestly annoyed.

“There’s no way that this is all you have. Where’s the rest of it?!”

The man roars at her, spittle landing on the counter in front of him. Her nose wrinkles in disgust at the sight of it: he’s not going to be the one to wipe that later.

“You took it all. What are you gonna do, start carving the floorboards up next? Maybe the previous owners left their diamonds there for safekeeping. Fuck off!” She spits, crossing her arms defensively. Honestly, the nerve to not only break into her home at this late hour, but to insult it as well? “If you don’t like what I have, go somewhere else!”

He squints at her, suspicious and searching, the rubber grip of his knife squeaking as his hand tightens around it.

“Lady, are you dumb? I have a knife. Give me all your shit!”

Incredible. If she’d known that this was who the universe would send to her tonight, she never would’ve hoped for company. Raising an eyebrow, she slides over her rapidly cooling plate of steak.

“This is just about all you haven’t ransacked yet. Unless my cooking is also too subpar for your tastes.”

The intruder grins crookedly, reaching over and grabbing a slice of thick meat off the offered dish, a gleam in his eye as the juices drip off of it and run down his fingers. “We’ll just have to see, then, won’t we? I’ll keep looking after I’ve had a taste.” Down his throat it goes, polished off with a loud slurp as he sucks the liquid off his hand.

A beat. Two. She tilts her head, watching him in silence. His throat bobs as he swallows hard, then again, then again. Slowly, his eyes begin to bug out of his skull, veins gradually growing more and more prominent in his neck as the muscles there strain in protest. Choking, then.

Her hands come up to gesture at the rest of her kitchen. “Well? Get on with it. I thought this was a robbery?” She snipes, amused, making no move to get up from her seat at the table. Red creeps quickly up his neck, his cheeks and lips beginning to flush a deep, dark shade of it as his hands come up to gesture frantically at his throat. Tears cling to his eyelashes as they begin to pool on his waterline.

Realizing that she isn’t planning on getting up, the intruder balls his hands up against his stomach and thrusts as hard as he can, his pathetic attempt proving no more useful than just standing there gaping at her had been. Silence fills the room for another long moment, before he breaks, and begins stumbling around the kitchen, clumsy and frantic, like a headless chicken.

She rests her head on her hand as she watches him throw himself over every surface he can find, desperately pumping his belly against anything and everything. The spittle covered counter first, sweeping up some of the mess inadvertently with his sleeve, then the oven, an inch or two lower than her countertop. The back of her kitchen chair creaks in distress as he tries to heimlich himself over it next, all the while growing more and more wild, drool beginning to spill over his purpling lips and down his chin. No doubt to spite her, as the counter was no longer much of an issue.

The show is a fascinating one, sure, and she feels her gut stir in delight at the sight of him, ramming against her dining set, but it doesn’t take long for her to grow bored of the pattern. The intruder seems to agree as he raises his head to look at her again, providing her with a lovely view of his panicked, bloodshot eyes, and gestures to his back with one hand as he continues to pump his gut against her chairs.

“You need to get your back patted?” She drawls, a grin tugging hungrily at her lips as she watches him nod immediately, raising both hands back up to clutch at his throat, his fingertips paling at the sheer force of his distressed grip. Unhurriedly, she rises from her chair and makes her way over to the wall, humming in thought.

The intruder blinks at her in the middle of his panic, staring down at the wooden cheese board she holds out in his direction. Her eyebrow climbs high up on her forehead, fixing him an expectant look.

“Well? I thought you were desperate to get your little back patted. I’m waiting.”

Shaking fingers reach out to grasp at the handle like a paddle, another quick glance up at her to confirm that she was serious. Hesitantly at first, then quickly growing frantic as the panic catches back up with his starving lungs, the intruder reaches over his shoulder with the cheeseboard and begins to slam it against his back, sloppily and clumsily, putting every sheer ounce of effort left in his trembling arms into trying to knock the hunk of steak out of his throat. His stomach pumps in and out involuntarily as his ribs begin to flare, his body doing everything in its power to breathe around the slice of steak lodged in his windpipe.

She crosses her legs, repositioning herself as she sits back down at the table, the heat pooling low in her gut growing harder and harder to ignore at the sight of his animalistic floundering, the pathetic little show put on for her piquing her interest more than anything else possibly could have this evening. “Harder. You want to breathe again, don’t you?”

Even her taunts have no effect, and it’s not much longer before the paddle slips through his weak, shaky fingers and clatters to the floor; she hisses quietly at the thought of her poor tiles. Fully blue in the face, mouth hanging open, veins throbbing in his neck and forehead, the intruder stumbles over to her and collapses over her lap. A short, rasping “HRRK!” rips its way out of his throat as the force of her knees connecting with his heaving gut forces air from his lungs: the first sound he’s managed in several minutes now.

It doesn’t stop there. Every heave for air is accompanied by a disgusting croak or squeak, the stale air in his lungs practically tearing him apart in its effort to escape. His flailing only seems to worsen at this, his body teasing him with the barest hint at the chance to breathe again. A laugh bubbles up in her throat as she feels his stomach pumping in and out against her thighs, the accompanying gurgles and weak retches only adding to the experience.

“What a pathetic, miserable little thing. You’re hopeless. You can’t even swallow a little piece of steak without all of this drama,” she scolds, beginning to thump his back, enjoying the reverberation through his ribcage she can feel against her lap. “Absolutely worthless. And now you’re making me save you. You can’t rob a house, you can’t swallow. You can’t even cough on your own. Tell me, what can you do, hm?”

His legs kick frantically as he hangs over her lap, thrusting his belly against her knees like a miserable little worm, trying to heimlich himself against them as she finally pounds on his back. More likely than not he’s not ignoring her taunting, rather simply too far gone to care about it. His eyes roll back in his skull and his tongue stretches out of his mouth almost comically, each slam of her hand between his shoulder blades coaxing lovely little sounds from his lungs, gradually growing louder and louder as the hunk of meat inches higher and higher up his windpipe, fighting him at every turn.

Finally, a heavy, solid SLAM between his shoulder blades causes the bite of steak to shoot out like a cork from a bottle. Heaving lungs immediately fill with air, hysterical wheezes audible from every corner of the kitchen as the intruder hacks and sucks down as much air as possible, hyperventilating and gasping as he dangles limply over her lap, blue lips regaining more of their original colour with each desperate inhale.

She pats his back a couple times, condescendingly light, and removes her hand from his back, using it to pick up her fork and turning back to her forgotten plate. The steak may have gone fully lukewarm by now, but the salad is still good. Far more interesting than the man lying helpless and weak over her lap, in any case, now that he’s breathing on his own. Her other hand empties his pockets with ease, tossing her cash and jewellery back on the table in front of her.

The intruder focuses on dragging oxygen into his body, limbs tingling as his heart rate begins to steady. What will come later, when he will have to figure out how the hell he’s going to leave again, is a different matter altogether.

[capturingdisney]

[thingsasbarcodes]

A Bug's Life (1998)

[daikenkki]

X

[avaford2009]

So I rewrote A Bug's Life...

We are introduced to Princess and Grand Duchess Alicia, who was reading the history of Ant Island to her friend and ant colony worker, Flik. Several books are surrounding her at home, one of which Flik is trying to work. Through talking to the small goat the audience learns more about Alicia, while intelligent and hard working, she is shy and a workaholic, always studying and offering tours to visitors. Today is the day she applies to be the apprentice to Hopper, like the rest of Ant Island she idolizes him and believes following in his footsteps will give her a sense of self. She will look at a picture of her late grandfather who raised her, promising that she will help make wishes come true in honor of his that was never granted.

She goes to guide the newest tour (Welcome to Ant Island, with an added on segment talking about the love the king and queen share) where we learn of how Hopper and Zing benevolently rule the island. When citizens turn 15 they offer their wishes to Hopper who will protect the wish until it is time for it to be granted.

After the tour Alicia goes to the royal kitchens were her best and only friend Slim is a royal baker. They talk about Alicia’s application. Slim reassures Alicia that she will get the job, and admits she hopes it’ll give her a boost of confidence to maybe make some new friends. Alicia says she already has Slim and doesn’t need anyone else. It is then Zing arrives to escort Alicia to the king.

Alicia is then left in a study where she notices a peculiar door, but Hopper arrives before she could examine it. He is a charming man, his presence seeming to fill the room as he carries a staff with an emerald tip. Alicia is clearly intimidated but he’s polite as he introduces himself, even offer his condolences for her grandfather’s passing-knowing she’s an orphan. Trying not to trip over herself Alicia praises the king for his hard work and shows off her knowledge of magic and Ant Island. Hopper is impressed. And after Alicia passionately tells him how her ‘wish’ is to help protect Ant Island, it’s people and wishes, Hopper decides she’s worthy to be his apprentice and they’d have the announcement that night.

The people crowd before the castle that night, Alicia hurries to tell Princess Atta the good news. But Francis overhears her announcement and makes a snide remark about her overworking and ‘sucking up’ to the king and queen. He is quickly shushed by Manny who looks almost afraid of Alicia now that she has such a high status. But she returns to the stage to witness Zing whisper in Hopper’s ear. He then announces the person to have their wish granted that month; a woman who wants to be a professional dress maker. After using the staff to grant the wish he makes a joking comment that she can now make his wife hundreds of beautiful dresses.

He then summons Alicia forward to announce her as his new apprentice. Alicia happily exclaims how excited she is to help the people, but she is given a frosty reception, murmuring about how they find her weird, are resentful for failing their own applications, and don’t know how this shy girl who never engages with the locals outside tour duty, could become someone as great as their king.

Alicia takes the doubt but once she can she leaves the stage, tripping in the process and embarrassing herself further. She runs off with Flik into the forest (This Wish (More For Us)) and ends up noticing one of the brighter stars. She remembers hearing how once upon a time, wishes came from stars. Not seeing any harm to it she wishes to become a wonderful magic user and become as great, if not greater, than Hopper himself.

The star suddenly seems to glow brighter and get bigger, Alicia realizes too late it’s because it’s getting closer. She is knocked into by a human sized ball of light, rolling across the grass before kicking it away from her. It’s to her great shock that the ball of light was…a boy. A handsome boy he glows faintly, his hair a pure golden color that flows like he is underwater, he dusts himself off as he hovers off the ground.

They have an awkward but cute introduction, the Star not understanding personal boundaries and getting right up into Alicia’s face, giving her a too enthusiastic hand shake when offered and floating around as if there’s no gravity.

Alicia quickly deduces he’s a star that came down when she summoned him. Alicia asks Star to give her the same dust so her wish will be granted, but Star shakes his head.

He is mute and tries to explain using sign language, but that’s one book Alicia hasn’t read yet. She decides to call him Star before leading him back to the city, he can stay at her house until she figures out what to do with him. On the way he fonds over the animals, hitting them with a few clouds of golden dust.

The next morning Alicia brings Princess Atta over and shows her Star. Atta is at first concerned her friend has a man hidden away, but after Alicia explains they agree to take him to Hopper to see what he has to say. However they want Star to stay under the radar and not get noticed by the townspeople. This is when Star reveals he’s a shapeshifter, transforming into a copy of Flik, the only different is his eyes are still gold.

The four arrive into town and while things go to plan at first, Star’s natural curiosity has him running off to explore the town, Alicia and friends trying not to lose him. He comes across Dim who looks cool and awesome at an outside table. Empathetic, Star discreetly puts some star dust in his cup of tea. When he drinks it he’s suddenly energized and is flabbergasted. He turns around just as Alicia appears and picks up Star, he asks her if she’s already learned magic from Hopper, even stating he had just been wishing he could take something that would make him less tired.

Alicia is awkwardly silent, not wanting to take credit but also not wanting to reveal what Star is. But Dim pays no mind and drags her to his friends so he can show them he’s no longer tired. There is then a montage of the circus bugs showing off their problems and Star uses his abilities to grant these small unspoken wishes. Throughout this scene we see Alicia opening up a bit more to the characters, starting to form friendships.

While in Gypsy’s new hideout they talk of having a little party with dancing and treats and in his excitement Star accidentally drops his disguise and reveals his true form. The group is shocked and Alicia is forced to explain who he is, though when Francis tries to accuse Alicia of tricking them Star immediately puts himself in front of her, defending her from the accusation. The other characters also come to Alicia and Star’s defense and Francis relents, though snarkily asks if they should tell Hopper there’s a wish granting, shapeshifting guy from space in Ant Island. Alicia will go alone to ask, leaving Star with the others.

She arrives at the castle, Hopper and Zing are surprised to see her so soon as he hadn’t summoned her but lets her in. Alicia, feeling uncomfortable to just out and say what had happened, asks Hopper what he knows about stars.

The king looks momentarily surprised but quickly shrugs it off, he tells Alicia that many years ago stars would grant peoples’ wishes, but only so they could have the human indebted to them. They were malicious creatures pretending benevolence so they could control the masses, one of the worst things was granting evil wishes and having people turn on the ones who wouldn’t make wishes. Zing retells her how her parents were oppressed by stars after merely asking for food and a roof.

Eventually it was decided that the newer generations would never wish on another star, and Hopper dedicated himself to learning magic so he could help good people have their wishes granted without having to pay him back. And, unlike stars, he has a moral compass, so he would not grant any wishes that would harm people. He then looms over Alicia and asks her if there’s something she needs to tell him. Alicia looks visibly torn, her respect and admiration for Hopper clashing with what he told her. Star is not at all like he had just told her, and Alicia ends up reassuring him that no, she has nothing to tell him.

She returns to the hide out feeling like a traitor, wanting to talk to Star alone. But the group is already starting their party, dancing and making music. Star, spotting Alicia, immediately pulls her onto the dance floor. The group cheers her on as they dance around, and Alicia’s anxieties melt away as she’s swept up into the dancing. A spark is lit.

Alicia, Star, and Flik return to her house and this time the two go to her living room where he admires all her books and notices the picture of her grandfather. She tells him how much she loved the man, how he had taken care of her after her parents died, how much she missed how, how she wished his wish could’ve been granted. Star comforts her in her grief and she feels safe enough to tell him about what Hopper said.

Star reassures her the king is lying and Alicia finds herself believing him, and yet the King is a great man who has done so much for Ant Island-why would he lie to her? It is Flik who suggests they go do some snooping (not him though, he’s going to eat a cook book as soon as the two leave).

Star carries Alicia into the sky, unable to resist showing off to her first. Alicia let’s herself enjoy the feeling of being in the air, feeling like she could reach out and touch the star or hold the moon. They slip inside via the highest balcony, Star transforming into a mouse and riding on her shoulder as Alicia sneaks through the castle.

Said study is empty and at first Alicia thinks to skim through the books for answers but Star notices the door. Transforming into a flea he slips under the door and opens it from the other side. It leads down a dark stair case with a golden light at the bottom. The two share a glance before starting to go down-only for green light to envelope them both and drag them back up the stairs into the study.

The King and Queen are standing there, clearly the one who had warned them of the intruders. Hopper tells Alicia she didn’t have to sneak in to deliver them a star, the young girl immediately puts herself between her friend and the king. She tries to tell them he’s not like they think, he’s a good kind person who helped people grant wishes without asking for anything in return. But with his staff Hopper wraps the green energy around Star like chains and Zing drags Alicia away from him. They call Alicia a fool if she thinks they’d let one little star ruin the years of work they’ve put into maintaining their kingdom. That they picked what wishes are to be granted. That the people worshiped them. Alicia is forced to realize the kind rulers she wanted to be like-are a lie. Hopper comments to his wife that Star’s power could be very useful to them.

In an act of desperation Alicia kicks out, knocking the staff out of the king’s hand. Zing, not expecting Alicia to lash out, looses her grip on her. Once the staff hits the ground the green chains evaporate and Star transforms into a giant golden bird, grabs Alicia and flies out of one of the study’s high windows.

Hopper is furious that they got away but Zing calms him down, reminding him that the people of Ant Island would not believe those two over their loving rulers. She remarks that maybe it’s time to grant her wish. Hopper agrees and his magic mutates the cat into a tyrant robber that runs out of the room to go hunt down Alicia and Star. The king and queen reprise the segment of Welcome to Ant Island dedicated to them, now in a minor key with new context.

Alicia and Star escape into the forest, where they first met. Alicia is crying, heartbroken and scared over what will happen next. Her whole goal in life was built around a lie. How will they stop people as powerful as the royal couple?

The two share a romantic scene, flying in the sky, dancing among the clouds and coming this close to sharing a kiss.

Star transforms into a giant cat as well, putting himself between Alicia. But before the wild cat can attack them, Princess Atta and the others suddenly appear via carriage and accidentally knock the giant cat into the lake. Wild cat splutters out of the water and runs back to Island.

The gang tells the two they saw Star flying away and then the king and queen made an announcement that Alicia is a traitor and trying to usurp them and ruin Ant Island. The news not sitting right with the group they decided to follow, worried for the two. Alicia is grateful for their help and touched when they point out its what friends are for. But now they must go hide because the whole town will be looking for them.

On the way back Alicia tells them what had happened. Like her they are shocked the king and queen could be villains, but they also don’t think Alicia and Star are liars. So they have to make a plan to figure out what the two are hiding and, if necessary, defeat them. (Knowing What I Know Now, which adds in a segment for the king and queen ‘lamenting’ that their people don’t know what’s best for them). There is a short moment during this song where it’s revealed Flik knows sign language, having learned to read from Alicia reading to him-and making a point to read books before he eats them. Alicia tells him there’s a saying she’d like to learn but the scene cuts before we learn what it is.

The plan is that Star will dash the group with some dust to make them glow and they’d run through the town and forest ‘pretending’ to be Star. This would serve to distract the king and queen long enough for Alicia and Star to go back to the study and go through the door. Star also gives Alicia a stick and blesses it with his magic for her use. The plan is going off without a hitch, Alicia while trying to find information in the study comes across a small journal. She reads it aloud as they open the secret door and go down the stairs: Years ago, Hopper wished for magic. A star came down to grant his wish, admiring his ambitions. However Hopper turned on the star and trapped her, now absorbing her power to grant peoples’ wishes. They reach the bottom of the stairs to see an older woman chained to the ground; the star from the journal. Alicia and Star are horrified by this revelation, but before they could free her Hopper appears having expected them to come back.

Alicia accuses him of lying about the stars being malicious, and the king instead says the stars were too scared to risk coming down to grant a human’s wishes. “Except that one, it seems.” He glares at Star and tells him that he would be his new battery and help lead Ant Island to even more triumphs. In fact, why stop at Ant Island? He could grant wishes of people all over the world, they’d be so grateful they’d do whatever he asked.

Furious Alicia lunges at him but Hopper stops them with his staff and drags them back upstairs to where Zing is waiting. He offers Alicia to his queen, not needing her. Zing then reminds the young girl of the history of Ant Island, how there was a monster that terroized the people…Alicia watches in horror as Zing transforms into a large wasp-esque creature. She is able to escape the study and Alicia chases after her. Star, furious and terrified transforms into his own version of a golden dragon-esque creature and manages to escape Hopper’s grasp.

Alicia is chased outside, nearly killed by Zing before Star arrives and knocks her away. While the two giants fight Alicia hurries back inside to deal with Hopper.

We cut to a scene of Princess Atta and co being surrounded by the villagers, but the townsfolk are starting to waver having seen how much happier the group is thanks to Star granting their wishes. Disillusioned the townsfolk follow Princess Atta, Flik, and co back into town to witness the rest of the battle.

Alicia, still brandishing the wand Star gave her, witnesses Hopper dragging the star out of her cell and absorbing so much of her magic that the woman loses the rest of her glow and falls to the ground. Alicia tries to attack him but the king teleports the two of them to the roof, ready to throw Alicia off and strike Star with his magic. Alicia is able to use her wand to keep him from hurting her or Star, but eventually he is able to snatch the wand from her and break it. Desperate, Alicia tries to physically wrestle the staff away from him.

Suddenly there’s a scream, Zing having bit down on Star’s neck. Hopper moves to fire at Star to finish him off, but Alicia with her own hands still on the staff is able to redirect it and the blast hits Zing instead. She is evaporated and Hopper cries out in horror and rage. However the damage is done for Star, transforming back into human form he floats up to Alicia slowly losing his golden glow. He holds her cheek for one moment before falling on the roof, completely gray and presumed dead. Alicia cries and hugs him, unable to believe this is how the story ends. But then Hopper grabs her with his magic and drags her away, Alicia desperately trying to fight against it, only able to hold onto Star’s hand. The king summons storm clouds to completely cover the sky, vowing revenge against the entirety of Ant Island, against the entirety of the world for killing Zing.

All seems lost, yet Alicia starts to softly sing (This Wish (More For Us) (Reprise)), and after a few moments her friends and everyone below start singing along, wishing for Star to be revived. We have a short scene of the star woman waking up and hearing the singing from outside. But everyone's sincerity in the wish allows Star to be revived, glowing brighter than ever. Alicia, relieved and full of hope, gets up to face against Hopper. He tries to shoot her with magic but Star’s glow serves as a wall of protection for her, and as she slowly walks toward the man he gets more frantic and desperate, unable to see because of Star’s bright light. He continues to step back until he reaches the edge, loses his balance and starts to fall, Alicia grabs his staff as the grasshopper vanishes into the roiling ocean below. She then shatters the staff on the roof. The magic shoots out into the sky, wishes given to Hopper returned to its owners and the star woman brought back to her full strength.

Star is flying around the sky, ecstatic. Alicia calls his attention and we see her sign/say the words: “I love you.” (having learned them from Flik). It is like a firework goes off as Star happily picks her up and twirls through the sky with her, Alicia laughing gleefully before finally kissing him.

When the two return to the ground they receive a group hug from their friends. They find the broken stick Hopper had tossed and Alicia apologizes to Star for breaking it, but he simply puts it back together. Princess Atta comments that her magic use was pretty impressive considering she had had no real experience. Flik smugly saying she was greater than the former king. It’s then Alicia realizes that Star had helped grant her wish-she just needed to meet him halfway. He winks at her when she makes this realization.

The star woman then appears, stepping out of the castle, looking poised and formidable. Alicia tells everyone what Hopper and Zing had done to her and the people are filled with shame that she had suffered right under their noses. Alicia gives her a formal apology and after a moment the star woman nods and smiles kindly, having been impressed by the goodness in these humans. She had thought they would all be vile like the king and queen.

She starts to float, planning on going back to the sky. She looks expectantly at Star, expecting him to come with. Alicia is stricken at the thought but reassures him she wouldn’t be like Hopper and force him to stay. In response Star holds Alicia’s hand and gives the star woman a resolute look. She blinks, looking a bit surprised, but then nods and even gives them a small curtsy as if they were royalty. She then shoots upward to become the brightest star in the sky.

At the epilogue Alicia, Flik and Star are learning all they can on how to lead Ant Island, the town wanting them to be their new king and queen. She is getting better at her magic and signs fluidly. They have Princess Atta and co be a sort of council for them. With Star’s encouragement people are doing their part to make their wishes come true. Flik is in charge of The Queen Ant who is going through a program to be nicer, it’s a work in progress.

The final shot is Alicia and Star standing at the balcony, sharing a true love's kiss as the scene pans up to show the night sky. The stars look brighter than ever.

Featuring six songs written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the music score by Randy Newman, and the aspect ratio 2.39:1 is used same as A Bug's Life.

See those sneak peeks: https://www.tumblr.com/avaford2009/766075869745872896