#httyd analysis

[uselessreptile]

You ever think about how Valka in HTTYD2 is basically what Hiccup would've become had Astrid not stopped him from running away?

Valka didn't return to Berk because she didn't believe people could change. She believed the people of Berk would always hate dragons, and that trying to persuade them otherwise would be futile.

Hiccup probably would've thought the same thing as his mother, had he not been able to bring Astrid around to his side. Astrid, the most devoted among her peers to her training to one day protect Berk by fighting the dragon menace, was able to change her mind about dragons. If Hiccup could change her mind, he could change his whole village's mind.

Valka never got a chance to change someone's mind about dragons, so she never got a chance to change her mind about people (that is, not until she saw what Hiccup had accomplished).

#httyd #httyd2 #how to train your dragon #how to train your dragon 2 #valka haddock #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #hiccstrid #httyd analysis

[saturnniidae]

Hi since it's aro-spec week I'd like to just highlight one of my absolute favorite things about httyd, from the viewpoint of an aromantic:

The importance it puts on platonic relationships.

The whole franchise is of course, centered around Hiccup and Toothless' bond. They're friendship is from the beginning built on unconditional trust. They care for each other so much. They are best friends, hey mean everything to each other and have a bond nothing else (even romantic relationships) could ever rival.

(I could say so much more about them honestly but it's all probably been said before by someone better at articulating their thoughts so whatever)

Another aspect I love is while there are romantic relationships and plots, they're not shoved in the audience's faces. Other than certain episodes dedicated to Hiccstrid's development, it's mostly just, there. Neither the story nor the characters' lives revolve around it and it's honestly a bit refreshing.

Hiccup and Astrid very clearly value they're friendship. In the episode they got together, what Hiccup said to her very clearly implied how important to him she is, and he'd be fine even if they weren't romantic partners, as long as they can still be with each other.

And that's so special to me.

Like, it is not something you often see in media. And even when they do start dating, they primarily put their friendship first—and not just with each other, like there's a whole rtte episode basically dedicated to why they need to value their friendships just as much as they value each other.

And of course, the friendship between the dragon riders as a whole. As much as they fight, and despite their actions towards Hiccup in the past, they all clearly care for each other immensely and unconditionally. It's so unfortunate that they're just side characters in the movies, I really wish they're friendships got more of a spotlight but at least we have Rob and Rtte.

(Imo it does a very good job making these characters relatable whether you feel romantic attraction or not.)

#how to train your dragon #httyd gang #ik its obvious bc one of thems a fucking dragon but ROMANTIC ATTRACTION ISNT NECESSARY TO LOVE SOMEONE #HICCUP AND TOOTHLESS' FRIENDSHIP IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THEIR ROMANTIC PARTNERS #one of the reasons I HATE thw #toothless immediately leaves his best friend of half a decade for some waspy white woman dragon hes known for a few days #bc that totally makes sense with this series and its core message of frienship and human and dragons coexisting yeah #amatonormativity I fucking hate you #httyd #aromantic #aromantic week #hiccup and toothless #httyd analysis #kind of?? #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #toothless #httyd rtte #rtte #rob/dob #asaw 2024 #sorry if this ramble ks like incoherent in any way its like 1:07 am and i randomly got the urge to write this down 💀 #moth.txt

[kingofthewilderwest]

i'm not sure if it was just for the holidays or what, but recently httyd was free to watch on youtube and i wanted it like seven times in the span of a week. it's such a special movie to me and i wanted to quickly give a shout out to... basically the entire film, but also the scene of hiccup realizing he'd lost his leg. the way his expression and body language tells what's going on in his head; his ragged breathing as he processes that he's lost a limb, toothless's clear empathy... all of it.

They knew how to make this scene hit. They knew how to make this scene hit.

I love that this scene - like other critical scenes - knew to pause, let words be few, and have expressions, reactions, and realities speak for themselves. As you said, this is a young boy, eyes wincing in hurt and disbelief, no words to speak, processing his leg's gone forever.

It's a moment to make the audience lose their breath when they realize what happened. How often do we see our heroes in family animated films permanently lose limbs, with the consequences clear, the emotions depicted true?

It's understated in some ways, but that's what makes it real and raw.

#httyd #How to Train Your Dragon #httyd analysis #analysis #your analysis #my analysis #awesome anonymous friend #anonymous #ask #ask me

[000marie198]

There is another artistically incredible thing I noticed abt the first Httyd movie.

The movie, it's from Hiccup's perspective. And it conveys his perspective throughout, in details both subtle and clear.

Like the Book of Dragons clip; Chilling and terrific with sound effects and feels induced exactly as Hiccup was imagining it. That scene alone gives me the shivers and the way it ends on Night Fury (I absolutely love the fear inducing Night Fury theme from the first movie). I've been noticing that every single piece of score fit the emotions and situation Hiccup was in, affirming his perspective, his experiences, conveyed through the movie as if they were the viewers' own. And that scene when Hiccup is listening to his father speak just before entering the arena to face Hookfang, the way the lighting and expressions and sound of Stoick's voice was set apart from everything and felt resonated, Hiccup's dread and anticipation and anxiety and worry and fear were palpable. He was planning to do the exact opposite of what his father, the one he's been trying to make proud his entire life, was hoping and oof that few seconds HURT!

And with how the background score and scenes were animated so splendidly, there's one very subtle but greatly well integrated detail I just have to mention

If we take a note of all the dragons throughout the movie, there's a gradual pattern. The movie starts and every dragon looks wild and dangerous and animalistic. Beastly and emotionless, except for displaying an urge to cause harm or look vicious.

Aside from Hookfang. Every other dragon didn't look nearly as expressive and clear in intention as Hookfang did. And if you notice, he was the only dragon in the beginning of the movie whom Hiccup made a direct encounter with and sassed at. We saw Hookfang being angry and vicious and even worried and scared when he ran out of firepower and got captured, he seemed to display emotions more clearly than any other dragon. But he was also the only dragon so far Hiccup had a direct communicative encounter with. The movie is from Hiccup's perspective and we saw Hookfang from Hiccup's perspective.

But! It gets better. If you notice or think about it, try to remember the details in the movie with respect to the dragons, all the dragons earlier on looked wild and deadly and nothing else. Just wild and dangerous and vicious, the opinion every viking has on them, the opinion Hiccup during those earlier moments had on them.

But then he met Toothless. And it all began to change. Notice how the dragons seem to become more and more expressive and emotionally intelligent or humanly as Hiccup and Toothless' friendship proceeds to grow. How the snappy Terrible Terrors would gradually start to look like small little dragons who are mischievous and naughty and silly little guys, how the quick and swift Deadly Nadder started to look like a playful and curious friend, how the once sneaky and scary Zippleback who seemed to set it's target on everyone and everything became expressive and displayed worry and fear, how the powerful and dangerous Gronkle gradually started to look more kind and friendly and sleepy etc.

This happened with literally every single dragon during the movie. The more Hiccup began to understand them and got closer to Toothless and realized they are living beings who have individual personalities and feelings and are misunderstood, the more these mighty creatures felt more alive and expressive to the viewers. And this was done without the slightest change in the dragons' models or designs. They conveyed Hiccup's perspective splendidly throughout the movie.

Point in case;

Httyd 1 is a cinematic masterpiece

#httyd 1 #how to train your dragon #httyd hiccup #httyd toothless #hiccup horrendous haddock lll #hiccup haddock #toothless #httyd hookfang #hookfang #httyd stormfly #barf and belch #stormfly #httyd meatlug #meatlug #httyd analysis #analysis

[queenofthearchipelago]

It's so sad and fascinating how people talk about Spitelout's character now versus when the show was coming out.

When the seasons were still new and being released, we talked about Spitelout as a man who made many mistakes. He had a son whom he gave very bad advice to many times. He failed to see how much his son looked up to him and so he didn't see how he almost abused that loyalty. He had a bit of a thirst for power and taught it to his son, despite his son having something better than leverage, Snotlout had genuine friendship with the men who had power over him.

Spitelout failed in so many ways. He made so many mistakes. And they were all so incredibly understandable. Crazy, but understandable.

Because we knew that Spitelout grew up in a war torn world where he adopted philosophies for life that were harmful as a way to cope. And when that war torn world disappeared, he didn't know how to change his parenting style to better suit it. And so Snotlout had to deal with living in a better world, with peace with dragons and friends who love him and balance that with his father's Old World advice and healing from it. And we did watch and sympathize with Snotlout as he struggled to do that.

He struggled, but he loved his father. Snotlout, in the end, understood Spitelout in all these ways. That's why the end of Snotlout's arc with his father is literally just showing us that Snotlout can hear his father's bad advice, ignore it because he knows better, and just keep loving him as best he can.

But now? Now I'm seeing the fandom talk of Spitelout like he's Evil incarnate. Like he was just like that for No Reason. It takes such depth out of a good character. Not good as in a character who is a morally good example. But good as in extremely, consistently complex.

Spitelout is the character in this franchise who never truly healed. There was much he couldn't unlearn and yes it caused hurt. He struggled to change his philosophies. But you know what he did do?

He stopped killing the dragons.

Spitelout, for all his failings, was better than Mildew. Mildew who was forever bitter and hateful of the dragons. He was better than Alvin, who held a grudge for decades and was still willing to kill for them. Better than Dagur, who loves the power and the sport of it so much that he didn't care that there was a better world to live in. Better than Viggo, who wanted to corrupt the concept of training the dragons to build an empire built up on their deaths.

Spitelout failed so MUCH, and yet he was better. He loved his son as best as he could, as best as he knew how. And he saw Hiccup and Stoick structure Berk into a better world and he allowed it. He never stood in the way and he WANTED that better world. Fought for it side by side with his son.

And Snotlout knew all of this, understood it, and, in the unconditionally complex way that only a son can, loved his father.

#httyd #dragons #snotlout #spitelout #httyd analysis #dragons analysis #thoughtsfromthequeen

[winxrus]

I was rewatching how to train your dragon and I found myself getting extremely emotional again over the romantic flight scene, but this time only purely because of Astrid.

Here are some facial expressions of our viqueen in the film's first half.

Astrid is an ambitious and determined young girl. She carries this weight on her shoulders that is becoming a warrior and protecting her village.

"Our parents ‘war is about to become ours (...)"

Throughout the movie, she´s just so focused and hardworking. She has her mind set on accepting the responsibility that is to fight. She´s a perfectionist. She´s hard on herself, (sometimes making her feel frustrated) and on her performance. She’s practising continuously with her axe as if it was a vital part of her. I have wondered whether she thought she would live a short life considering their circumstances and the price of going into battle.

Her face is always wearing a frown. Her posture is stiff.

The first time we see Astrid smile is during romantic flight.

It´s like as soon as she took flight, opened her eyes and let herself emerge into the splendor of her surroundings, she let go of that pressure. Seeing her admiring the colors, the clouds, savoring the wind on her cheeks… GAH I just started to bawl my eyes out. You could see the weight being lifted off her shoulders. She became lighter, like the air around them. The way she was just touching the sky, spreading her arms and leaning back, feeling FREE!

Up here there is no war. Up here she can be who she wants to be. She was just smiling and feeling happy, seizing the moment and acting her age. AHHH ;-;

Look at all these beautiful facial expressions on the second half of the film I...

I just really love Astrid's development. She was the prime example of your ideal viking and she was the first to believe in Hiccup, to believe in change and she gained so much from that mutual trust that these teens developed. Sure, they achieved peace, but Astrid built such a beautiful and strong connection with Stormfly, she engages in her friendships, she makes jokes, she's more affectionate (at least with dragons and the love of her life), she laughs more, she's more expressive, she's just lighter...Like she's finally found that joie de vivre, which is also cleverly translated through her character design (hair, clothes...). Some people say she looks more feminine and thus less a baddie but I still see my warrior queen who's just happy with where she in life.

Seeing her throughout the franchise blossoming into the incredible powerful woman she is just makes my heart grow three sizes.

Bonus: RTTE Astrid <3 Bless her loud laughter in the series

#httyd #astrid hofferson #Wife #I'm just hella protective of baby Astrid even though she doesn't need anyone to protect her #Also I miss httyd like crazy #My posts #Httyd analysis

[sure-i-exist]

Reasons I think the dragon riders are autistic:

(This was written out of order over the course of several days)

Hiccup

• His interest in dragons. Multiple people literally say “his life is dragons”. I don’t think I need to expand on this point any more

• His deal with emotions - the way it seems to me is that unless he’s very happy or genuinely angry, he doesn’t really emote much? His voice isn’t necessarily monotone but he’s very same-y (in more than just tone - also body language and stuff) almost always aside from when incredibly gleeful (e.g. riding toothless) or very angry (literally any moment where he ends up yelling at the others)

• On a similar note, there’s several times (especially in rtte) where it looks like he’s about to scold someone and then he doesn’t (in a kinda emotions/expressions not lining up with his actual thoughts and stuff way). Now, this doesn’t sound much here but an example is in the dramillion episode near the end of the ep so that kinda gives you a better idea of what I mean yknow?

• Also his massive interest in inventing, another pretty damn important thing in his life that he’s very good at, to say the least. • Another thing with emotions - he’s pretty easy to manipulate. Which sounds so horrible to put but I mean it in like, his emotions specifically are kinda easy to manipulate and especially his empathy. They’re often used against him

• He notices details and you know how he constantly tells the twins they’re geniuses after something they say reminds him of a completely unrelated point? Yeah idk how to explain it but that’s autism, baby

Astrid

• Stubborn - it takes a lot to change her views of opinions

• Fully believes there are right and wrong ways of doing things (and usually believes those ways are the more traditional ways that she’s used to)

• Idk if there’s even proof of this but I am dead certain she sticks to her rules almost all times. She doesn’t care about other peoples rules but despite that often has very strict views on how to do things which I think is why I believe this. She also hates going off-plan and that doesn’t rlly mean anything here but that probably adds to why I’m so sure she likes rules

• Again no proof of this but she seems like the type to be very particular about her daily routine. If she decides to switch it up once she now gonna keep that for months. You can ignore this point but this is something I wholeheartedly believe.

• The vibes

Fishlegs

• He’s honestly the only character who might have actually been written as autistic (but also may not have been and instead be written as a nerd, but obviously that trope alone just makes him autistic by default)

• Same as hiccup, huge huge interest in dragons. No need to elaborate here

• Very empathetic, many autistic people experience either notably low empathy or high empathy. Fishlegs very clearly is on the high side

• Also can I just say I love how on berk he was a guide and he taught kids all about berks history and dragons and shit like that like hell yeah making your special interest your job, good for him honestly

• I just watched legend of the boneknapper and I just noticed fishlegs talks with his hands a lot and makes a bunch of gestures while talking which I am absolutely counting here cause i want to

Snotlout

• Hand gestures. Like all the time. And a lot of the same ones. And I’ve got no clue if that actually is prevalent in autism or whatever but personal experience (I.e. me and my friends) suggest so + I relate so I’m counting it

• Gonna sound dumb, but “shut up, [name]” and just common phrases he repeats. • On that note: he yells his own name frequently (typically while doing something cool or when annoyed or etc. emotional reasons) and I interpret that as kinda a stim, helping with emotions type deal yknow? • Again related to that, ‘Snotlout Snotlout oi oi oi’ (copied from spitelouts own version) is absolutely a vocal stim, and while I’m like 80% sure copying vocal patterns and phrases from the people around you is a thing everyone does, I’m still counting it anyway • Very big emotions/kinda dramatic. Idk how to phrase this but at any given point it is very clear what Snotlouts emotions are - and I know a lot of autistic folk (myself included) are generally quite monotone or struggle with expressing emotion outwardly, but this feels right so again counting it. + exaggerating emotions is a thing I do all the time to make things more obvious

• Hate to say this one but just the general way he treats people - he often doesn’t notice the way people react and he just continues with his (often pretty shit) treatment of them, can be seen in the unwanted advancements towards Astrid Heather etc and how certainly initially he didn’t rlly seem to get the message

• To put the last point more clearly: this boy has the absolute worst social skills and has no idea about that

• He doesn’t always get when people are making fun of him or being sarcastic

• I mention this with Tuffnut as well, but Snotlouts also pretty sarcastic even tho he doesn’t always get other peoples sarcasm

• He’s pretty blunt. Or he confuses himself with his own words. That’s pretty much the two sides of Snotlout’s speech patterns

• he’s my favourite character <3

Ruffnut

• Her whole deal with violence, particularly in rob/dob - I don’t know how to describe it but something about that

• Her and Tuffnut both get like random interests and they know loads about it or otherwise devote a lot of time to it - e.g. science when they were sick with eel pox, theatre in Total Nightmare, other examples I’m sure but I can’t remember rn. It just reminds me of myself and hyperfixations I get

• She doesn’t really care to change how she acts around different people; regardless of whether she’s been captured by enemies, is being scolded by Hiccup or is setting up a prank with tuffnut, she’s always the same.

• On that note, she’s often pretty blunt. Like unless she’s talkin fancy deliberately or trying to trick someone shes usually pretty clear and doesn’t usually change how she acts or speaks to make others feel better. • Yknow how her and Tuffnut were all like “woah maybe we did something… right? […] what’s this feeling is this accomplishment? I’ve never felt this before” and stuff that one time? I know it’s played off as a joke, but I’m diagnosing that with same <3

• Mirroring speech (see briefly in tuffnuts section)

Tuffnut

• Similar thing with violence

• Same as the hyperfixations thing I mentioned with Ruffnut, and just know there are plenty of things they say that I attribute to past hyperfixations

• Several occasions where he doesn’t get sarcasm

• He is pretty sarcastic tho despite that, same with Snotlout and that is something I feel is quite common - not really getting other peoples jokes or sarcasm but doing so yourself a lot

• His speech is very reminiscent of my own, he talks kinda overly fancy and deliberate most of the time (but there are also occasions where he’s almost overly casual? Which again is very relatable to me. I am now realising I may or may not have accidentally stolen tuffnuts speech patterns as a kid)

• (To the last point ignoring the part at the end) Ruffnut is also similar in this respect (as in the deliberate kinda overly wordy talk) but usually to a lesser extent - in fact, she normally only speaks like that when tuffnut is also there and speaking in such way, which to me absolutely seems like mirroring

• Similarly to the sarcasm thing, he doesn’t get rhetorical questions. Or at the very least doesn’t get them in that one episode in rtte and that’s enough for me to count it here

To be clear, at the end of the day, I see them all as autistic mostly cause I relate to and connect with the characters. And I do not know how to put that into words clearly so here’s this mess of a compilation.

@louthestarspeaker @tiggster27 @we-are-not-the-losechesters @drekialba @qualityhistorygamingwinner @maluron @scared-nightnurse @famderfries @purpleshutin @rubysparx @nonbinarynightmare77 @macabre-changeling @paradoxical-hermitcrab @bad-girl-coven

#I’m autistic so now they’re autistic too #httyd #snotlout #snotlout jorgenson #astrid hofferson #fishlegs #fishlegs ingerman #ruffnut #ruffnut thorston #tuffnut #tuffnut thorston #hiccup horrendous haddock iii #httyd rtte #race to the edge #how to train your dragon #riders of berk #defenders of berk #httyd analysis #autistic headcanon #rtte

[10blue10]

HTTYD continuity: Are there two Hiccups?

First of all, thank you for all the likes and reblogs on my ‘there are two Hiccups’ post. It’s seriously blowing my mind how popular it is. So, if you read it and thought “what? There are two Hiccups?”

Well, no… but actually yes. I wasn’t being literal (I know, on the reading comprehension website? Shame on me), but the thing is, I’m actually kind of right? Just look at these examples from the wiki:

The entire series is based on the six main Dragon Riders moving away from Berk for over a year. However, in commentary, Dean DeBlois has said that they all lived on Berk between the first two films. The second film’s Art Book elaborates on this saying that they all had responsibilities on Berk which prevented them from leaving.

In other words, as far as Dean is concerned, RTTE never happened.

The series also focuses on the six main Dragon Riders exploring lands outside the Archipelago together, while both Dean and the second film’s Art Book state that only Hiccup and Astrid ventured outside the Archipelago as they were the ones drawing up Hiccup's map. The other four stayed much closer to Berk.

Again, we have a direct contradiction between what Dean claims happened pre-HTTYD2 in his (head)canon, and what we see in RTTE.

Numerous other "dragon riders" are introduced throughout the series, when the second and third films themselves stress how Berk is the only community who rides dragons. Dean elaborated on this during a convention panel explaining that that’s why Eret and Drago were so alarmed when seeing Vikings riding on dragons, and why Eret assumed Valka was one of them.

In an interview with the series creators Art Brown and Douglas Sloan, it was mentioned that the show was originally meant to have 4 seasons, spread out over the span of a year and a half, leading up to the second film. Following the many clues and mentions regarding the passage of time within the story, the last 7 episodes of season 4 were supposed to have happened during the same summer as the film. However, when seasons 5 and 6 were ordered into production, the show writers had to carry on with the timeline they had set up, which inevitably lead to the series continuing into negative time; going past the second film.

In other words, the last two seasons of RTTE aren’t meant to take place before HTTYD2 - they take place after it. If there’s better proof that RTTE is on its own separate timeline, I don’t know what that is.

The majority of film characters are portrayed severely out-of-character in the series compared to the films and film-verse media; most arguably Hiccup and Astrid. Aside from having similar appearance and even voices, their personalities and behaviors in the series portray them as drastically different people than their film counterparts.

I would argue that they are more in character during RTTE, especially Snotlout, the twins and Fishlegs. Isn’t it amazing what being fleshed out characters instead of comic relief can do? But there you have it. RTTE!Hiccup is portrayed as drastically different to his film counterpart. When push comes to shove, there are two Hiccups.

Or, you know, three, if we count the one from the books 😂.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to lamenting the fact we live in the timeline where THW exists and not the timeline where the writers of RTTE were allowed to make a full length conclusion movie.

#HTTYD analysis #RTTE #thw salt #hiccup haddock #dean deblois #httyd wiki

[tenebrius-excellium]

Guys so I visited a medieval smithy the other day (ca. 1300s) and it reminded me a lot of Gobber's workshop... it was easy to imagine that I had just literally stepped into Berk's smithy with my own two feet... and to be honest, seeing this stuff in real life made the whole deal of Hiccup apprenticing in one of these infinitely funnier and Stoick's decision to put him there weirdly...understandable???

Let me elaborate: So you're in approx. 900 AD, you live on a tiny island under rough conditions, EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE WITHOUT A SINGLE EXCEPTION is a craftsman of some kind who has to work manually, and you've got a noodle of a son.

Also you're the Chief, no less than that. Let me tell you that this makes the whole thing just so much worse.

Looking at all those solid iron tools - mighty bellows operated by a beam larger than me, forging tongs that would have been half of Hiccup's size and exactly as heavy as this shot implies,

...swords with hilts longer than a cucumber and crude, brutal design, plus all the firewood that constantly needed to be chopped and carried around... even if Hiccup had turned out to be completely untalented at smithwork, that would have built him some muscles.

You don't understand. Hiccup having no muscles was a death sentence. The environment that he was surrounded by, which I was reminded of in that irl smithy, could - at that time! - only be overcome by hard manual labor, aided by the most basic mechanics. Even if he had become a breadmaker, that still would've built him some muscles. All the kneading, the weightlifting of flour and wood and water, the carrying, would have done the same job. Forget Snotlout bragging about working out in his parents' basement. EVERYONE on Berk was burly not because 'they were vikings' training for war or whatever for funsies every day, but because it literally was a requirement of everyday life to be able to carry something heavy from A to B, and be it only a single sack of grain.

So it's really funny to me how Stoick intentionally put this skinny rat of a son of his into the most merciless and dangerous job that probably existed on the island, just to put him to some use. Poor Hiccup. He's like a wet kitten under the command of a bloodhound. But at the same time, it makes so much sense?? Stoick didn't just put him into a job to gain some weight, he put him into a job that would teach him all about tools and weapons, how to defend himself and about the irreversible price of violence. I imagine a blacksmith would have to know how to use a sword to know what makes a good one, so Hiccup would've naturally learned swordfighting on the side. It was an important skill not just against dragons. We see the gang fight all kinds of human enemies in later years as well.

So what Stoick was basically doing was to prepare him for life. The need for abs back then is comparable to today's education about taxes and insurances. Hiccup needed some brawns to survive Berkian conditions, and not just for fighting dragons. Even though Hiccup had the brilliance to invent mechanical devices that could make life on the island easier, he didn't have electricity and he couldn't just press a button anytime he wanted the laundry done or needed some newly tanned leather. He had to work with his own two hands anyway. No dragon, once tamed, could assist the villagers in ways that an ox or buffalo hadn't done before. Despite his marvelous innovations, there's no changing that Hiccup would remain a craftsman and a warrior throughout his life.

So now there's the fact that Hiccup was a noodle. Having established that with Berk's living conditions in mind, you would basically have to avoid working any daily task ON PURPOSE to NOT develop muscles from early childhood, there are exactly two interpretations as to how Hiccup remained this scrawny for so long: a) he was disabled in some way that prevented him from doing chores, or b) he was spoiled and lazy beyond common sense.

Stoick spoiling someone is unthinkable, and Hiccup doesn't appear disabled. He could be struggling with anything from a muscle-degenerative disease to a fast metabolism to mental issues. But it's not implied in the movies. So how did Hiccup avoid manual labor And what kind of message did that send to the rest of the villagers???

Look, if they thought that he was lazy, or perhaps not quite right in the head, they were probably absolutely right. It would have been maniacal for the Chief to spoil his son to the point where he couldn't fend for himself and expected Berk to serve him and supply him with food. Stoick wanted his son to be Chief, so he would have to school him in some trade that enabled him for economics and warfare. As neither was the case though, it didn't put Stoick in a great light to have a son as Hiccup. How could this have happened - a noodle on Berk? It would have made both father and son the laughingstock.

The only reason that I can think of is neglect. Stoick may have been so grief-stricken about Valka's death that he went easy on Hiccup for a while, and then, when he got possessed by running dragon nest campaigns, he may have simply forgotten that he still had a child at home. And then, once Hiccup became old enough to get into trouble, Stoick may have remembered him because he got complaints from his villagers, and so he hurriedly stuck him with Gobber. Lol.

So that's how a skinny noodle rat with no survival skills whatsoever ended up in the weapon forge of Berk. Gobber has a point being sarcastic about it: "Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor-sharp blades, lots of time to himself - what could possibly go wrong?"

And wrong it goes. I love it. WHAT WERE THEY EXPECTING?? XD

#httyd #hiccup #stoick #stoick the vast #gobber #gobber the belch #analysis #httyd analysis #wherethekiteflies #I HIGHLY recommend visiting any places of craftsmanship they're so inspiring #and they remind you of what's really important in life. gosh #I wouldn't say that manual labor should be this hard but it sure looks rewarding #we need more of it in our western societies again #!!!!

[ellephantseals]

A word on the Lightfury

Since the release of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World in 2019, the Lightfury has not been very popular amongst older fans of the series.

People say she’s “toxically feminine” or “oversexualised” Which, why are you getting down bad for a dragon? She’s supposed to be appealing to an audience, not sexual or anything like that.

I do find this design appealing, i like the animation and i like how she flies, it’s very smooth compared to Toothless, also her scales are alot smoother and nice looking.

“Potentially, she could be very unpopular with our audience, who want to see Hiccup and Toothless together. So we made a big effort to make her charming but not in a way sinister or culpable.”

- Dean Deblois, The art of HTTYD The hidden world

Now, he was right that the Lightfury would be unpopular, but just not exactly in that way. They did however, make a big effort into her being charming for the audience, which is probably where people get the “over-feminisation” from.

Personally, the “she’s overfeminised” or “toxically-feminine” argument doesn’t work for me. How is it toxic for a female character to be… feminine? I don’t know if we watched the same movie, because i didn’t see the Lightfury acting like a Tradwife or a middle aged suburban white lady?

Sure she’s feminine, but is that inherently a bad thing? Another point is that we’ve SEEN other Lightfuries and the only difference i could spot in the movie between male and females are that the males have slightly more jagged wings. Which i don’t exactly get that change either but atleast it’s subtle.

I could be wrong about something here, maybe the people that make these claims have a completely valid point, and i’m just too blinded by admiration and love for this franchise to see it. It’s just hard to agree with these people, when they make no argument over “girl dragon feminine, grrr”

A complaint i’ve also seen is that she “doesn’t have a personality” which is fair, she’s not as well thought out as the other dragon characters… but that’s because she was in a singular movie (and a short special) and is also a wild dragon. She’s not supposed to be near the vikings, the only reason we know Toothless’ or Stormfly’s personalities is because they’re major characters, that are with us throughout the entire franchise, and grow up around humans. (I say “growup” both because this series is set over quite a few years, and also Toothless is said to be as old as hiccup, meaning they were about 15 in the first movie, so i’m assuming the other dragons are also younger)

If you over-analyse everything like me, i’d say she does have a personality, eapecially in “homecoming”

She’s strict and powerful, she’s a bit no-nonsense (towards her kids), she hates humans and being around them, and she has a strong love for her home (the hidden world) and Toothless. She’ll do whatever she wants to get her way (eg; Her throwing Hiccup off of Toothless (could just be her trying to protect the Alpha, but then why didn’t other dragons try this?))

Dean Deblois said “she just knows who she is” she knows what she wants, and that is to go home, and also to bring Toothless with her.

I am not going to deny that the creators intended for her to be purposefully feminine, infact they said this multiple times throughout the art book, but is that so wrong for a female character? Would you not look at Toothless and say “that’s a boy dragon”. were all the female nightfury oc’s people made in 2013 not also slim and smooth and graceful like the Lightfury?

Lightfdragon on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lightfdragon/?hl=en)

“We wanted to explore how the Lightfury would walk and how to make her feel like a female, so we referenced lionesses and big cats. For Toothless we looked at panthers, dogs, and bats for flying. He has a lizard in him, so his stance is wider and he walks like a reptile. Compared to Toothless, the Lightfury’s legs are closer together and she walks more elegantly. She is always graceful and controlled.”

- Thomas Grummt, The art of The Hidden World

They’re very clearly not trying to hide this fact at all, so why make it a big deal?

The first thing i think of when people bring up this topic, is that people just don’t like femininity. I would talk about how feminine characters are generally less well-recieved (especially to men), but this post is getting a bit too long.

As i will say with all of these posts, i am open to criticism. And i am not trying to be disrespectful towards people that think this. Nobody is wrong for thinking this, but i just haven’t seen a proper argument as to why the Lightfury is so widely hated by the fandom.

#httyd fandom #httyd #how to train your dragon #how to train you dragon: the hidden world #httyd the hidden world #httyd analysis #light fury #night fury #toothless #media analysis #dreamworks

[sorrywat]

I don't abide by The Hidden World narrative but I thought it'd be fun to apply my own explanation to several things that bothered me from the movie.

(I'm disregarding some things DeBlois said bc reasons)

So first off: Toothless being smooth "black" and not having his absolutely gorgeous markings that he had in the first movie.

So in the first movie and Gift of the Night Fury Toothless is pretty much spotted. A lot like a panther if you think about it:

But then in THW he becomes a smooth boi.

I'm pretty sure he already lost most markings by the second movie but the difference with the third is the most substantial:

For a long time this has reminded of something.

Lion cubs.

I can't quite remember if there is a specific reason for the spots being there. But I do remember that cubs absolutely disappear in the high grass. The reason? They're defenseless and need the best camouflage possible. So, spots.

Look at these cute little fluffballs

And now look at this smooth lady:

Gorgeous. Outstanding. 10/10 would pet and loose my arm.

Now adults don't have these spots (or they're not as noticeable). Maybe it's random or maybe it's because they don't need the camouflage as much. They are big scary kittens that can defend themselves.

Maybe that is the same concept that could be applied here. When he is younger Toothless is spotted because he is still young, so he needs better camouflage. Since he probably won't be spending all his time flying he needs to emulate shadows in a forest a bit better.

But once he is an adult he can go without the spots because theoretically his main domain is the night sky (which is, you know, black) and he can defend himself better in the case he is attacked on land.

#I know this isn't perfect but hey #I also have a full theory on why the Light Fury is not a Light Fury but a female night fury and Grimmel is just an idiot #Oh Look I Did A Thing #httyd #How to train your dragon #httyd toothless #toothless #httyd thw #httyd analysis #analysis #I guess #the hidden world #science #biology

[uselessreptile]

Hiccup gave Toothless more than just his wings back

I feel like the fandom talks a lot about how much Toothless gave Hiccup, but a lot of people seem to reduce what Hiccup did for Toothless to "letting him fly again," when it's really so much more than that, so I wanted to put this out there.

We learn that the reason the dragons raid Berk is to feed the Red Death, who will eat them if they don't satisfy her hunger. But one of the first things we learn about Toothless is that the Night Fury never steals food, which means that he does not feed the Red Death, yet he still attacks Berk. Why? Notice how he specifically targets Berk's major dragon-fighting weaponry, the catapults. Toothless is protecting his fellow dragons, because he cares about them.

This is why Toothless brings Hiccup and Astrid to the dragons' nest. He needs them to understand the truth about why the dragons attack Berk. If they see the tyrannical behemoth that the dragons live in fear of, maybe they will be able to do something about it.

Neither dragons nor humans alone could defeat the Red Death. Dragons, despite their immense strength, high intelligence, and power of flight, lack the power of spoken language, so they cannot organize a revolt against the Red Death. And when all of Berk's most seasoned Viking warriors reach Dragon Island, they find themselves utterly powerless against the titanic dragon.

It is only when Hiccup and his former dragon-fighting classmates show up on the backs of dragons that the tides of battle turn against the Red Death. Teamwork between these two former enemy groups is what brings the queen down and ends three centuries of war, something that never could've happened had Hiccup and Toothless never defied what was expected of themselves and formed their forbidden friendship.

So yes, just as Toothless gave Hiccup the courage to stand up for what was right and bring peace to the Vikings of Berk, Hiccup gave Toothless the freedom for his kind to live in peace, without fear of being devoured by an insatiable tyrant or being felled by the blades of Viking warriors.

#httyd #how to train your dragon #toothless #hiccup haddock #hicctooth #httyd1 #night fury #httyd analysis

[saturnniidae]

I love Astrid in gotnf so fucking much it's insane.

Like, fueled by some kind of manic behavior caused by Stormfly's absence, she fixated on making 'new holiday traditions' to distract herself from the fact her best friend is gone help the village, and basically got the pre-httyd1 Hiccup treatment.

She just wanted to help, and instead accidentally set the village on fire and blew up houses, got mocked by Snotlout and the twins, and was (probably for one of the first times ever in her life) looked at with nothing but disappointment from the adults.

(Only difference is she was actually trusted to clean up the mess she made whereas Hiccup was not due to fear of him accidentally breaking something even more)

While she was fixing the roofs she was probably thinking to herself 'I just wanted to help, but all I did was make things worse.' And I wonder if she realized this must be exactly how Hiccup felt for years.

#idk if its just me but it felt like a parallel of some kind #also can we talk about how astrid was on the verge of some kind of manic episode and also seems prone to them??? (the longest day) #shes just like me fr #httyd #gotnf #astrid hofferson #httyd analysis #i think? idk i feel like this counts #stormfly #hiccup haddock #gift of the night fury #moth.txt

[kingofthewilderwest]

Do you think Hiccup could have physically overpowered Viggo?

I do not! Assuming we're looking at a straightforward physical one-on-one, Viggo would win. At least 9 times out of 10.

While Hiccup has the advantage of:

Blacksmith

Constantly physically active in ways that'd strengthen you

Stronk Proof Via Snotlout Punch

and Viggo has the disadvantage of:

Leader who sends other brawn out

Chess Maces and Talons nerd

we've still seen Viggo in action. Viggo is a man of war. An adult man of war. Viggo is older, bigger, more matured and developed, and by logical accounts stronger than a still-growing beanpole teen (even a very active and honed beanpole).

And I think that's good. While villain variety is good (not all should be Sir Brawny Brawn the Muscle Man), Hiccup is the hiccup, the unlikely pipsqueak who's made it within a war-heavy Viking realm by showing how to be different. Hiccup is active enough to hold his own, utilize his intelligence, and work with dragons to overcome any skirmish. But I like that Hiccup remains the beanpole in this world, highlighting that, no mind he's grown tall and handsome, he's still a unique product like the archipelago's never seen.

#httyd analysis #analysis #DreamWorks Dragons #rtte #Race to the Edge #Viggo Grimborn #Hiccup #ask #ask me #awesome anonymous friend #anonymous #httyd #How to Train Your Dragon

[queer-cosette]

How Hiccup and the five human villains are parallels of each other

Hiccup, Alvin, Dagur, Viggo, Drago and Grimmel are all different sides of one six-sided dice. I’m not including Johann or Krogan here, because they do not parallel Hiccup (although I will mention them at the end).

There are parallels between Hiccup, Alvin, and Drago, in that they all desire knowledge about dragons in order to gain the power that comes with it, but...

Hiccup gives up on that desire early on in favour of genuine curiosity.

Drago never gives up on it, and it is what destroys him eventually.

Alvin, meanwhile, represents the halfway mark. He himself is nearly destroyed by his desire for power, but because Hiccup managed to spark that curiosity in him, however unintentional - remember, Alvin was able to train dragons because he learned Hiccup’s method, while Drago never learned that - Alvin is able to bring himself back and learn compassion and true leadership.

Hiccup, Dagur, and Grimmel are a similar triangle this way, but for another reason.

They are all outsiders with heavy expectations placed upon them - Dagur and Hiccup as sons of chiefs, and Hiccup and Grimmel as members of dragon-killing societies.

They all eventually gain power through certain circumstances - Hiccup chooses not to kill a dragon, Dagur chooses to let people believe he killed his father, and Grimmel chooses the opposite path Hiccup chose and kills a dragon.

Grimmel and Dagur both represent who Hiccup might have become, but in two different aspects.

Grimmel is obvious - he chooses to kill a Night Fury as a young boy, and the glory he receives twists him into a murderous maniac bent on the destruction of all dragons, based on what gained him that glory in the first place.

Dagur, on the other hand, is who Hiccup might have become if there had been no Night Fury at all. We learn from Dagur’s backstory that he was pushed around himself as a kid and treated as an unfit heir to his father’s throne, and as so many unhappy people do, he coped by exercising power over others when he could - setting his own toddler sister adrift, bullying Hiccup, and eventually seizing power when his father disappeared.

But, like Hiccup and unlike Grimmel, the reason he is able to redeem himself is because he learns compassion when he sees himself in someone else - his sister Heather. Someone who made the best of a powerless situation. The only Berserker to actively question him and not let him push her around. The family he might have had if he’d been able to choose compassion the way Hiccup did. That is the reason Dagur is able to bring himself back, and Grimmel is destroyed because he was never able to bring himself back. Grimmel was never able to see himself in someone else, not even in Hiccup.

Viggo and Hiccup are sort of a mix of both.

We don’t know much of Viggo’s backstory, of how he and Ryker came to be dragon hunters. What we do know is that he is the only antagonist who ever came close to truly defeating Hiccup.

He and Hiccup are equals in a lot of ways. They are equally intelligent. They are equally good strategists. They can keep up with each other in a swordfight, and even moreso in a battle of wits.

What makes them so interesting as enemies is that they are equals in so many ways - but it is the parts they choose to focus on that make them different.

We know Hiccup has always been cunning. Our introduction to him has him build a weapon that takes down the dragon everyone thought was impossible to catch. He uses what he learns about Toothless to protect the arena dragons while appearing to defeat them: their fear of eels, their curiosity, their reaction to garlic grass, the pressure point in their necks. He figures out what angers them and what makes them feel respected.

And then it is revealed that Viggo knows as much as Hiccup does about dragons and their weaknesses! The difference is, while Hiccup uses his knowledge to protect dragons, Viggo uses it to hunt them.

And now I’m going to say something controversial: Viggo always had the same capacity for compassion as Hiccup did. He would not have completely changed his view of dragons when the Monstrous Nightmare saved him, if he hadn’t always been capable of compassion.

The difference between Viggo and Hiccup is that, while they are cunning and compassionate in equal measures, Hiccup chose to nurture his compassion, and became a leader who is kind, who is understanding, and who will always do his best to save as many innocents as possible.

Viggo, on the other hand, chose to nurture his cunning, and became a leader who takes pleasure in cruelty, who chooses profit over life every time, and who is as ruthless to his supporters as he is to his enemies.

Being equally capable of cunning and compassion is what makes Viggo and Hiccup so able to keep pace with each other.

Johann and Krogan are also interesting antagonists, and they do parallel certain characters - but they do not parallel Hiccup. They respectively parallel Viggo and Eret, and represent who they would have become if they had not been able to learn from Hiccup and the Dragon Riders.

Johann and Viggo are both cunning and ruthless businessmen, but Viggo is able to learn respect for dragons while Johann is not, because Viggo had the capability for kindness that Johann never did.

The same is true for Krogan and Eret - but it is not compassion that saves Eret; it is the ability to think for himself. Krogan never strays from Drago’s instructions, and follows them to the point where it kills him, but Eret, however self-serving his motivations are, betrays Drago’s instructions to save his own neck - and in doing so, sees an existence for himself where he is free from every obligation but one: respecting life. This is what makes him a parallel to the other Dragon Riders rather than to Hiccup, because it is not compassion or seeing himself in someone else that saves him, but rather the potential of a new, happier, safer, more fulfilling life, which is how Hiccup saved them all the way back in the first film.

In conclusion, I will never be over the amazing use of parallels and mirror imagery in this series.

#how to train your dragon #dragons: riders of berk #dragons: defenders of berk #dragons: race to the edge #how to train your dragon 2 #how to train your dragon 3 #hiccup horrendous haddock iii #toothless the night fury #alvin the treacherous #dagur the deranged #viggo grimborn #krogan #trader johann #eret son of eret #drago bludvist #grimmel the grisly #httyd analysis

[winxrus]

Astrid´s feelings towards Hiccup (before canon)

I've been meaning to write my take on Astrid's view of Hiccup prior to them becoming a couple, mainly because some fanfics put me off when they characterise Astrid as a bully who considers Hiccup useless or a loser (which is OOC in my opinion).

I headcanon that Astrid has always been intrigued by Hiccup. He´s smart, creative and inventive (maybe even atypically attractive for Viking standards) in her eyes. His qualities definitely awoke something in her.

Astrid showing interest in Hiccup´s inventions

However, at the same time, his lack of responsibility combined with his misused talents; not taking the war seriously and being “never where he should be” are incompatible with her priorities. She is focused, he´s distracted. She´s grounded, his head is (ironically) stuck in the clouds. Her world revolves around the battlefield, he´s just out there.

She doesn’t trust him.   

But after flying together, Hiccup widened her horizons, showed her a new world- a dragon world- and the way he sees it, which permitted her to truly know him, his restless soul and kind heart, and to understand him, obliterating feelings of frustration and thoughts that he didn´t care enough about his village. This was critical since Astrid is incredibly protective of her people and Berk. In fact, she was protective of Hiccup too (which makes me believe that she cared for him despite himself):

Now, she can trust him and with the latter she allows herself to open to those underdeveloped feelings, which just come to the surface at full force, straight to her heart.  This trust fuels her belief in him, which becomes steady and constant throughout the years, and lets her drop her shields. So she falls for him, but flies with him, young hearts soaring together and discovering the beautiful possibilities of love.

#httyd #hiccstrid #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #httyd analysis #imma sap and a romantic im sorry #my posts