#april's happy with how her body is and doesn't care to change. for example.

[creaturefeaster]

Is Elliot trans?? I saw on a post that it said "pre transition elliot" and that got me curious to whether it was about gender or some magical thing I missed knowing

Technically both heehee.

Yeah he's a trans dude. Him being trans doesn't have anything to do with magic, but the way he physically chose to transition was via magic :3

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Please rank the Astrid Lindgren stories

I'll only do a top 10 because this woman has written so many stories and is the closest we have to a secluded religion over here. So if I don't mention some, now you know.

1. Madicken

Mischievous badass little girl? I know we got Pippi but Madicken's life is tbh more appealing to me. She comes from a wealthy home, but their closest neighbours are poor, the husband is drunk and the wife is ready to sell her body to science to get some money. Their son is 14 but he's so big and cool (until he dresses up as a ghost and scares the shit out of you). Madicken's dad also refuses to be a normal upper class man, inviting their maid to the ball for example. The local mean girl who Madicken has a beef with turns out is very poor, and when she gives Madicken lice, Madicken's mom invites the girl and her sister, and cleans ALL of their hairs. They're anti child spanking in a story set in a time when hitting and spanking children was common. THEY HAVE THIS SCENE OF MADICKEN'S FAMILY TRYING TO HAVE A PICNIC AND END UP RUNNING FROM BULLS AND HAVING TO CLIMB UP TREES AND IT ALWAYS MAKES ME LAUGH. Madicken jumps from a roof with an umbrella just to see if she can fly. She's completely unhinged, yet so loveable. I also love her and her sister's relationship so much. Lisabet is also really funny.

2. The Children of Noisy Village

Just a slice of life story about children living in the countryside in early 1900s Sweden. Honestly great for a lot of historical fiction, showing how they lived back then, but also it's so cozy?? Just the kids, going through their everyday life, and causing chaos. It's april 1st, THE ENTIRE CLASS comes to the school at 6 AM to change the time, then go wake up the teacher (who DOES live in the school because this is Sweden in the countryside), and prank her. The same day, one of the boys tricks the other to go give a salesman a bunch of rocks, creating the most memeable quote "Sa du sten?!" that sweblr uses as a meme tag now. One of the kids is afraid to loose his baby teeth, so his neighbours SNEAK INTO HIS ROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND DRAGS IT OUT WHILE HE SLEEPS. They have the coziest christmas where all the kids lie in a row on the floor and sleep. One of the kids accidentally fall into the water as they're ice skating, and it teaches kids what to do if this ever happens to someone! At one point everyone goes out in the forest to look for a mythical creature and one of the kids strips his clothes off and sits naked on a rock with a harmonica pretending to be him. The stuff these kids get up to, you wish you lived there with them! You wish you had the childhood they had!

Also the 1987 movie adaptation has every kid have a totally different accent and it's hilarious.

3. Pippi Longstocking

Was gonna put her lower but then I remembered how many times I watched "Pippi on the run" as a kid and changed my mind. But my sister was more obsessed with the actual show adaptation, I was more into the movies. Pippi is cool! However I remember sometimes getting second hand embarrassment when she didn't act the way you're supposed to in social situations. Especially when she got invited to the reception and dipped her head in the cake and kept messing everything up. Literally not the point about Pippi, like the point is that she breaks the rules and I am happy she's just herself and doesn't care for any norms, and yet I feel second hand embarrassment during those moments she's in other people's houses (or when she broke off a mannequin arm at the store). I don't know why! I do however appreciate that she's randomly magic, like making the most scary impressions (the dark man-voice in the tree still haunts me) and in the "on the run" movie she just goes biking without wheels and ends up FLYING ON A BROOMSTICK at the end (Pippi has been a witch all along!!!!!!!!!!)

4. Lotta on troublemaker street

Lotta is every single youngest sibling combined into one person. She's that one kid in the family that everyone has a story about. Although the thing I remember the most was when her brother decided to climb a cliff and ended up falling into the water. I was for some reason also obsessed with the fact that her sister's full name was Mia-Maria. Her dad is also one of the best dads in all of Astrid Lindgren tbh. Lotta I think is just how it feels being the youngest of the family and not really being allowed the same things as your siblings because you're too young, and it's not fair! And so you revolt, and runaway to the neighbour lady who is more than happy to play with you. You wanna ride a bike like your siblings so you STEAL AN ADULT BIKE and ride down the street. It feels like the whole world is against you, but you're also literally five years old. And because of your 5 year old willpower, you also manage to save christmas and get a christmas tree for your family.

5. Ronja the Robber's Daughter

I honestly didn't find this as appealing as a kid, I remember thinking the movie adaptation was WAY TOO LONG (and it was, it was over 2 hours), but I've grown to appreciate it way more. Especially since the new adaptation they released on Netflix. Also it has one of the catchiest themes, like I hum that robber's song every day. I love just seeing her play in the forest, I love her and Birk's banters... the creatures in the forest will forever scare me but goddamn those butt gnomes... everyone quotes them and we immediately know. Although tbh I've never been a fantasy kid, it could be why I wasn't as into this.

6. Seacrow island

Honestly?? I found it quite boring before Skrållan was born. Weird, huh? Thought it got better because they added a baby. It could however have to do with the final movie being one I watched a lot. I do appreciate the full series a lot more now than when I was a kid. I love the islands, I love the children's shenanigans. Still is so messed up how Westerman just gaslit Stina into thinking she sold Skrållan to him, when in reality he just made her get a cocoa ball as he returned Skrållan to her mom. I felt so bad for Stina??? SHE'S LIKE 7 YEARS OLD SHE JUST WANTED A COCOA BALL, AND SHE JUST WANTED TO BABYSIT THE ONLY BABY ON THE ISLAND SO SHE COULD FEEL BIG FOR ONCE. Also always got me so nervous when they snuck into Westerman's house to retrieve his gun so that he wouldn't shoot a fox. I also wish Teddy and Freddy were more developed, it felt like they just stopped caring about them, but they were interesting.

7. Karlsson on the roof

This is ONLY because of the cartoon version. I hated the live action version as a kid and I felt SO BAD for Svante because Karlsson kept messing his life up ALL THE TIME. And then everyone blamed him because no one believed Karlsson existed. But it was slightly better in the cartoon, I think. I also remember quite liking the books, and I remember distinctly how I watched a play in Stockholm where BENJAMIN INGROSSO played Svante. Yeah, I've seen Benjamin Ingrosso when he was a literal CHILD playing on stage and that's how I'll remember him.

8. Emil in Lönneberga

It's mostly for the songs from the adaptation? Because I could never enjoy anything properly due to being so scared of Emil's dad. But the songs are such bangers. Also I have appreciated it so much more now when I'm grown than when I was a kid.

9. Mio my Mio

I remember my parents insisting on reading this to me when I was a kid and I didn't want them to, so I pretended to dislike the story. But tbh, I was kinda into it. I hate his foster parents so much, though?? Like imagine adopting a kid and being like "yeah we dislike you because you're not a girl like we wanted to adopt". Also, the theme song for the adaptation slaps, even though the adaptation is kind of... meh.

10. Brother's Lionheart

I remember as a kid not getting why everyone loved this, because I was like "I don't get it, I find it boring idk" (kid me really didn't pay attention when I watched the movie adaptation), but as I'm older... woah. Astrid Lindgren said "the two main characters, both minors, DIE in the first chapter. You're welcome". I really understand why this book caused such a controversy, ESPECIALLY due to the way it ends????? Also it got the iconic quote "All makt åt Tengil vår befriare".