#Oswald the Agreeable

[rosiethedragongeek]

Searching for Oswald ... and Chicken is such a wild episode. Like, the A plot is Dagur facing his guilt surrounding the fate of his father and his potential hand in it, finding the hope to reunite with and reconcile with his previously presumed dead father and ultimately learning that Oswald is, in fact, dead, and Dagur might have been able to save him when he first went missing if he'd just went looking for him

And then the B plot is the twins, Astrid, and Snotlout uncovering Tuffnut pet chicken's secret affair with an unknown rooster and her 8 illegitmate chicks that she has been actively hiding from Tuffnut for several weeks

[sarnai4]

Misunderstanding

This honestly isn't even so much of a headcanon as it is a small idea I might use one day in a fic. What if Oswald had histrionic personality disorder and Dagur has general personality disorder (he probably also has several other disorders, but let's focus on this one)? This could have caused so many issues in communication for them. Oswald is extra dramatic and loves being the center of attention, all the more helped by his agreeable image. Turns out that it's not just his journal which is hard to understand. He regularly speaks in the most impressionistic way possible. Claude Monet would be jealous of his impressionism. And then we have Dagur who naturally draws attention, so it's already putting him at odds with his dad who wants that for himself. With GPD, it would make his perception of people, events, etc. really affected. So, Oswald speaking vaguely isn't just frustrating, it's darn near impossible for him to know what his dad means. He's also got this version of himself that he perceives as really reasonable despite what everyone else says, so when Oswald gets annoyed, it just makes no sense to him. More and more, the two grow apart until the day Oswald can't take it anymore and leaves. No one even thinks twice about this, assuming the hothead must have been the one to kill him. Dagur finally interprets something correctly - that the other Berserkers fear him. It's between embracing that and risking them thinking he's just some weirdo. He goes for the former and doesn't look back for years.

[ask-viggo-and-dagur]

hey viggo can you tell us about your parents then dagur too🫤?

Dagur: Well, Viggo already talked about his parents a bit here. I don't think he wants to go into more detail.

And, well, I never really knew my mother. Fatalities during childbirth were very real back in my time, and she passed while birthing Heather. Which... I blamed Heather for taking her away, but that's another story.

My father... Oh, my father... i wish I'd appreciated him more. I wish I'd listened to him. He was a noble man. He was brave for wanting to make peace with others rather than war. War is easy. Peace? Not so much. I respect him now in his death, but I wish I could have respected him in life too.

[theroomfloor]

Dagur: Father, are you homophobic?

Oswald: Number 1 "You're GAY"

Oswald: Number 2 "I have a lesbian daughter"

Oswald: Number 3 "I watch RuPaul's DragRace

Oswald: How can I be homophobic?

Oswald: IDIOT!

*hysterical laughter in the background*

[galaxyregent]

Here we have Dagur's Family, his mother Iona and his sister Brenna as a child. As you can see Brenna and Dagur favor their mother. I imagine Oswald had red hair too, though faded from the years. All three of Oswald's children got his eyes. Heather got dark hair from her mother.

Iona was a fierce and well respected warrior of the tribe, coming for a prominent family. She came from a family where she had one brother (Harold/Herald) and two sisters.

When I picture Iona and Oswald's relationship, I dont picture one of deep love but practicality. Iona was a good match for the chief and she found fulfillment in bettering her tribe and assisting him in war. She was never the type to stand still. Even though they weren't in love, they respected each other deeply. There was never a whisper of infidelity on either party while Iona lived.

Iona loved her children fiercely, wanting only the best for them in the future. It was actually more from Iona than Oswald the children get their mental instability from. Iona was great at managing it, on the battlefield she always let loose. For those who don't know, Berserkers were a supposedly real type of warrior among vikings. They would drink some kind of medicine, likely a serious stimulant, and charge into the battle fields, destroying all in their wake. It was said in battle they couldn't even differentiate between friends and foes so even allies had to give them a wide berth.

Brenna and Dagur loved their mother in turn, but only Brenna remembers her with any clarity. Still, Dagur remembers the fierce-some warrior his mother was from stories and faint memories. In BB I always right Dagur having deep respect for women, which seems to be canon too. That was partly due to Brenna being a domineering presence when they were children. She forced him to do her chores a lot.

It's never been clear why Oswald became agreeable, but I have a theory in the BB universe. Brenna is older than Dagur, and when she was born, there were many talks about a potential spouse. Wars between the tribes make intermarriage difficult, so they were trying to think of a spouse on island. However it was difficult, the population of the Berserker tribe is pretty much all related, more or less, especially the more influential clans. Now, inbreeding was nowhere near as understood as it now, but people understand cause and effect. Blood being too close has long since a valid reason to dissolving marriages of aristocracy.

When tribes are at war, blood becomes concentrated leading to sickly babes and deformities. Oswald found that every potential, suitable partner for Brenna was too close in blood. Then he had an idea. Even though he was at war with other tribes, he respected their leaders as warriors and men. What if there was a way to conquer tribes without bloodshed? What about marriage?

Slowly he begins his journey and establishing peace with other tribes. Brenna is promised to young heir of Hysteria tribes, one of his chief rivals. This bring peace and boost of commerce and fresh blood into both tribes, alliance also helps with dragon problem.

Peace with the Hooligan tribe is equally important, so he's thrilled when Stoick has a daughter while he has a son. Considering the difficulties with Hiccup's birth and the slew of failed pregnancies prior to her it's unlikely Stoick would have another child. This is confirmed when Valka is taken and Stoick refuses to take another wife.

It's an added bonus because law would support Hiccup's right to inherit the chief mantle. In the beginning it looked difficult because Stoick wanted his girl to stay close and resolve the succession crisis by marrying her to his nephew, his next closest relation. Eventually, Oswald convinces him to marry Hiccup to Dagur.

This plan actually kind of works because four of his six grandchildren are chiefs in their own right; his three grandsons through Dagur and his granddaughter Silvi through Brenna. Each chief ruling over a powerful tribe.

Iona means both Dove and Island

Brenna means burning or torch, again referencing her hair

[chaoticskyy]

Since we know thar Drago killed the whole bunch of chiefs and only Stoick survived. Do we think that Oswald the Agreeable was just absent or that he was next in line for the chiefdom of the Berserkers and then started his raids as Oswald the Antagonistic?

[farads]

Something that's been bothering me for a while is the Heather - Oswald disappearance timeline and how little it makes sense based on what characters have said and what was written in Oswald's letter to Dagur. But I think I've come up with something that kinda works?

For the timeline we have:

ROB episode: Twinsanity - the treaty signing with the Berserkers is annual, Stoick etc were confused that Dagur was now chief meaning that the most recently they've seen Oswald was one year before the events of ROB

this means that Heather is 13/14 when he goes missing as is the rest of the gang.

HOWEVER it is stated that Heather was set adrift as a child and early enough that she has almost no recollection of her life in the Berserker tribe. Her memories also show the hands of a child who is - at most - eight years old and very likely younger than that.

This leaves a >7 year gap between when Heather was set adrift and when Oswald disappeared.

If this had been addressed in searching for Oswald and chicken it would've worked out fine but in Oswald's letter to Dagur he mentions he hopes Dagur takes good care of her.

At this point heather has been missing for 7+ years and Oswald should know that so why does he imply otherwise? Especially with no mention of her going missing?

The only way I can think of this working logically is if Oswald had some kind of memory loss. There are several possibilities (early onset dementia, various forms of trauma induced amnesia, etc) personally I think dementia fits the best for reasons I'll explain below.

if we look at the cave drawings he does of Dagur and Heather, they both look really young. Especially for heather it's clear it's how they looked several years prior to ROB. Which would make sense, if he's forgotten some or all of the past few years, he would remember his kids looking younger (especially Dagur) and he wouldn't know Heather has been set adrift (especially if she was older (5-6) when she went missing) or that Dagur very clearly hasn't taken care of her.

Memory loss may also explain why his journal was so disjointed and hard to follow.

Afaik some memory loss conditions like dementia (especially the beginning stages) have both moments of lucidity (when he could write the letters but still 'living in the past' ie before Heather was lost) and confusion/ideas that no-one else can understand (when the nonsense/dangerous journal entries were written) it's also very likely that at some point he DID have specific questions he wanted to answer that eventually got clouded mentally and made his work incomprehensible.

As for how his journal somehow made its way into Dagur and Heather's hands instead of being shipwrecked with him. He may have seen the island from a distance and drawn the Bewilderbeast skull and then returned home (maybe was running late to something - like a treaty signing - and couldn't stop) and left his journal with the Berserkers, then at some time later, decided to go and explore the island without telling anyone (dementia patients are known to wander off) and shipwrecked. He very well could've tried to leave and the Sentinels stopped him (wrecked his ship) because he hadn't proven himself yet. Only then did he decide to make the most of it and help the sentinels fight off the grim gnashers.

As for his death there are plenty of possibilities because living isolated means that even is something minor goes wrong it can kill you. Disease, old age or injury could have caused it and even if they were usually minor, because nobody was able to care for him, whatever it was became fatal.

[detdeldragons]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Excerpt from the chapter “Dear Oswald.” Heather and Windshear find some shelter to get out of a storm, and Heather passes the time by reading a letter from a mysterious author.

“With each passing day I feel less in control of my own brain, more unhinged, more...deranged. There is a venom inside of me that wants to poison the world around me and deprive them of what I've been forced to live without. It is wrong, and I know its wrong, but I am the Chief and I need to be strong and how can you be strong without showing the world what you are willing to do in your own name? When dragons burn our homes and blizzards decimate our crops and other Vikings raid our shores what else is a leader to do other than be strong? And there is no one I can tell, no one I can speak my fears to, for if I speak my fears then someone might hear and use them against me and tear away the only thing of yours that I still possess - your chiefdom.”

This series of short stories features the various Vikings living in the Barbaric Archipelago. I have stories about Hiccup, Astrid, Heather, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the Twins, Stoick, Johann, and more. Hope you enjoy!

[misterrttegrimborn]

Eminem - Without Me

(my edit)

[headfullof-ideas]

Presenting two more characters and their redesigns in my HTTYD/The Deep story! One is more involved in the story, but the other makes PLOT, and neither really ever interact or connect to one another plot wise to my immediate knowledge in the overall story.

Introducing Savage and Eret!

Savage is not an Outcast and Alvins right hand man, but a true Berserker warrior, serving Oswald and his family for years. But when Oswald the Antagonistic becomes Oswald the Agreeable, Savage starts to grow restless. The Berserkers aren’t at war with the Berkians and surrounding tribes anymore, Oswald trying to maintain a semblance of peace in the dragon-war ridden Archipelago. Savage is a follower, not a natural born leader, but years of peace treaty after peace treaty, and babysitting Oswalds whelps has made him seek out other like-minded Berserkers, planning an uprising against the passive Chieftain. Oswald seemed to have caught on to what Savage was doing, escaping their attempted assassination, and now Savage is trying to commandeer the Berserker Tribe as a whole through sewing doubt amongst the tribe against Oswalds children, and trying to pit the siblings against one another in hopes they’ll simply get rid of the other for him. Savage isn’t good at thinking things through though, especially what the aftermath of his plans to stage a coup or civil war amongst the tribe to try and take leadership might be.

Eret son of Eret is a budding Dragon Trapper, partaking in his father’s business of trapping dragons and bringing them to Auction Markets run by the Grimborn brothers. Dragon Trapping was introduced to Erets family through his paternal Grandfather, with loans being taken from the wrong people, with no money to pay them back leading his Grandfather to Dragon Trapping. With similar habits being passed on to his son, Eret Sr, Eret has been taken on as crew for his fathers quest to pay off the debts his grandfather failed to pay, and his fathers own drunken mistakes. Eret isn’t sure how to feel about it all, his father pushing the looming mantle of Captain on to Eret as his eventual future, leaving whatever debts his father fails to pay before retirement for Eret to try and absolve, with old bedtime stories from his deceased mother and her side of the family speaking of dragons being more than wild animals. Eret’s been grappling with his internal struggles for a few years now, and a sudden interaction with some Archipelagon teenagers apparently riding dragons only rattles his inner beliefs even more.

I decided to go a bit of a different route with Savage in this story, making him a member of the Berserker tribe instead of the Outcasts. There are a lot of elements of his prior design still in this one, but he’s got a lead part in a lot of the early Berserker central arks and plots, especially in Heathers early story, and why she makes some of the decisions she does in Riders and Defenders of Berk, which has a sort of butterfly effect on the way she is in RTTE. He’s not a MAIN villain like the Grimborn brothers, Alvin, Heather, Drago, and a certain someone from the games, more of a small villain and a reoccurring nuisance. He gets his comeuppance however, as he’s not good at thinking things through, especially in the long run, and eventually gets revealed for all his nefarious schemes, and promptly exiled

Eret is a little different to the swashbuckling Dragon Trapper that’s in HTTYD 2, but he’s also nearly five years younger, a little older than Dagur and around the age that the riders were in RTTE. So, eighteen-nineteen-nearly twenty. He’s not Captain of the ship yet, and dealing with a lot of inner family struggles and trying to come to terms with what his future may hold. Generational and pawned off debt is how I play off (Headcanon wise) how he came to be under Drago’s employment in the films, and I’m playing with the setting of the early stages of how that happened here. With his grandfather and father both taking loans they couldn’t keep or pay back, and turning to Dragon Trapping to try and pay them off. Afterall, dragon parts and living dragons sell for a LOT of money. The Dragon Riders throw a bit of a wrench in things though, and Eret ends up being one of their first allies beyond Dagur and someone else in the Archipelago. He’s also a little shorter and not nearly as beefy as he is five years from then, not having the experience to build up that kind of muscle yet. I did this partly because of his age, and partly because Nico Marlets early concept art for him (whose HTTYD art I love and want tattooed to my brain) had him being a little more scrawny, and so I thought that was a nice callback

More characters to come…eventually, as it takes time to draw these, especially with the designing process I go through

[countlessofvoids]

Or an Oswald the agreeable prequel if you will 🙏

[doofus-and-dragons]

As stated in my last post, I've been having sibling thoughts about Dagur, Heather, and Hiccup. My last post was about cannon. This one is about an au where everything is the same, but Hiccup grew up on Berserker Island as Dagur's baby brother (this is purely self-indulgent so please don't come at me).

The events of the first movie are largely the same (Dagur doesnt get a dragin because he wants a rare and ferocious one like his brother), with a few exceptions.

Instead of being bullied by his Berserker peers, Hiccup is largely ignored (this is due less to the fact that he's the chief's son, and more because Dagur is over protective of his little brother).

Hiccup is, however, bullied by the kids of Berk when his family goes to sign the treaty. Dagur is the heir, so he learns how to be diplomatic. During these times is when the others (mostly Snotlout and maybe the twins) strike.

If Dagur isn't with their Dad, the twins try to find a way to separate them so they can torment Hiccup.

After the first movie, their Dad goes missing and Dagur takes the title of chief. He tells people he killed his father, and begs Hoccup not to say anything. Hiccup agrees, but watches as chiefdom makes his brother,well, more deranged. He tries to stay and help his brother, but he also has things to do for dragons.

Hiccup goes to Berk (being their main allies, although shakey) and helps them learn to live at peace with the dragons as well. Stoick gives him the academy and Hiccup goes back and forth from Berk and Berserker Island.

When he's home, he spends as much time with his brother as he can. But his brother's deteriorating mental state is taking a toll on him as well.

When Dagur is locked up, Hiccup stays on Berk.

The events of rtte happen much the same as they do in cannon, with the addition of angst because Dagur was at one time Hiccup's hero. Now he's fighting against him.

When he finds out who Heather is, the reunion happens with a little more emotion.

Heather thought Hiccup was Stoick's son, so that also adds a layer.

"Stoick the Vast gave this horn to Oswald the agreeable when his newborn daughter was born. Heather, you were that daughter. Heather, you're our sister."

"W-what do you mean our?"

"Oh? Did you neglect to tell her that, brother?"

"...I'm not Stoick's son. Im Dagur's little brother. I was born after you were lost."

Dagur wants her to choose a brother.

For plot reasons (mainly to take down whatever operation Dagur is running with the Hunters), Heather joins Dagur. This hurts Hiccup, but he pushes it to the wayside (typical hiccup).

Pretty much the events of rtte happen the exact same way but with added layers.

Heather still joins the riders, but Hiccup has to spend a little more time earning her trust since he never told her he was related to Dagur.

The whole "Heather spends most of Dagur's redemption arch wanting to kill Dagur" still happens because I love Hiccup holding her back from committing murder.

Also, with Hiccup being the youngest in the family, he's free to pursue his intrest in dragons! He doesn't have the weight of chiefdom hanging over his head!

I'm not going to go through the whole show because that's 6 seasons of dagur-hiccup-heather content I have to sift through and I don't have the energy to do so. But you see where I'm coming from. I think it's a cute idea. I might do something with this later but for now I'm tired.

[sarnai4]

Appreciation

I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has been checking out "Son Swap!" Today, it just reached 100 kudos on AO3 and is my first story to ever hit that. Thanks so much for reading! 🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️!!

Below is a link to the latest chapter. One more to go after this!

[hermesserpent-stuff]

@lirabuswavi

oswald scene. spoilers for the future of Stolen Heir AU

Viggo smiles as Hiccup moves another piece and skillfully avoids his trap in the game. The sound of the Northern Market surrounds them and it is highly relaxing. He scans the board, leaning forward to rest his chin in the palm of his hand. Hiccup gives a sly confident smile, a silent dare to beat him. Viggo raises an eyebrow and rescans the board. Hiccup had a trap somewhere, he is sure. He is just unsure where it is. He ponders the board. Dagur leans over to drape over Hiccup and pokes his brother.

“You've got him on the ropes.”

Hiccup snorts.

“Hardly. He has a good three pieces more than me.”

Hiccup’s words are true but that sly smile is still right there and Viggo knows there is something else going on with the board. Ryker hums.

“That's true, but numbers are not always anything. Or at least that’s what Viggo says.”

Viggo hums, flicking his eyes to Ryker, and gives a teasing smile.

“Oh, dear brother, please do not give our enemies my trade secrets.”

Hiccup laughs loud and clear, and Viggo likes the noise. It came more and more often and Viggo likes the smile that signals that Hiccup is happy and safe. Hiccup then speaks with a toothy grin

“As if I couldn't figure out your secrets on my own. I see you of-”

Then Dagur and Hiccup duck down, hunching their shoulders and eyes going wider than rabbits stuck in a trap. Dagur takes his ax off of his back and his knuckles white as he clenches it. Hiccup is pressed into Dagur’s side, a low whimper slipping out. Ryker is immediately on alert and Viggo’s eyes snap around. But nothing has changed around them. Nothing obvious to the Grimborns. Hiccup and Dagur flinch as one and duck ever lower, now under the table out of view. Viggo leans down as his brother falls into a battle-ready position.

“Where is the threat?”

He asks the two boys. Hiccup’s mouth moves, but no sound comes out. His emerald green eyes swell with tears and he hides his face against Dagur. Dagur growls low but words slip out in a whisper.

“There is a man… here. He can't see Hiccup or me.” 

Viggo slowly nods. Someone from their past. Someone who had hurt them. The way these two boys acted left much to be desired when trying to figure out their background. Flinching away from people, covering up cries for help or of pain, and hyper-defensiveness. 

“Alright. Can you give me a description? We will help. We are your allies.”

Dagur’s eyes flick out to look at the crowd. There is terror there. Unbridled terror that has Viggo wanting to snarl long and low. He keeps the noise to himself, feeling that it would not help Hiccup who is shaking like a leaf. Hiccup’s voice whispers out softly.

“You won't… you wont let us be taken will you?”

Hiccup peaks out with desperation that makes Viggo feel a sudden urge to wrap up the two in furs and tuck them away from the harsh evil of the world. 

“Of course not, my dear. Let us help.”

Hiccup presses up into Dagur, whispering softly. Dagur takes a deep breath. 

“Only cause you're our allies. And you've helped before.” Dagur squeezes Hiccup as he begins to give a description. “Hes a bit shorter than Ryker, but just a bulky. His hair and beard are long and red. He goes by the name Oswald the Agreeable. But don't let that fool you. He- he…”

Dagur’s eyes are wet. But the boy continues as he shakes, whisper slipping out.

“He's a Berserker. And a chief.”

 How had these boys gotten such a negative relationship with a chief? Unless… ah. Runaway heirs? Perhaps. 

Viggo had vaguely heard of the Berserkers. A tribe from the Barbaric archipelago, a geologic region to the south that he had little reason to journey to given the distance and that wall of near-constant storms. He frowns deeply mulling over the information for a moment before standing and speaking to his brother, giving a description of the man and a name. Ryker looks ready to hunt the man through the crowd, but Viggo grabs his brother’s arm.

“First we get the boys to safety. Then we get him banned from the market. Without being banned ourselves.”

He warns his brother Ryker shrugs off his hand and snarls. But then settles. 

“Fine. I'll grab some cloaks and they can come to our ship. So we can watch them.”

He snarls stomping off, clearly wanting a fight. Viggo wants a fight too. But unprovoked would mean that Rune might ban or financially penalize them or their tribe given that they are the leaders. 

Viggo keeps an eye out as his brother goes, hearing the two boys shift slightly under the table. Ryker comes back with cloaks and Viggo has half a plan formed within his mind. 

[violet-moonstone]

Thinking of that one scene in shameless where mickey comes out in front of his dad and they get into a fight and after they get separated mickeys all bloody, pinned up against a car by a cop and still screaming at his dad (who's told him to get out of his house)

"Fuck you, dont worry about it! Ive been staying at ian's since youve been in the can, bitch! Guess what weve been doing daddy? We've been fucking!" (Humps car violently) "and i take it! He gives it to me good and hard and i fucking like it!" (Spits out blood) "I suck his dick and i fucking love it! Fuck you!"

I LOVE THAT SCENE

And i think it would be great inspiration for an eretlout fic or a dagcup modern au in which oswald is still alive but not so agreeable

Im very much considering doing something similar to this in my httyd 3 rewrite (between snotlout and spitelout)

[sunilification]

Michael Corleone as Ubermensch?

Another one overdue, settling all old scores--

An entire century was a single seed of thought for Nietzsche. Sigmund Freud , Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, Oswald Spengler, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Rainer Maria Rilke, André Gide, Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, George Bernhard Shaw, WB Yeats, one cursory glance through the streets of 20th century intellect and the influence of Nietzsche is undeniable. Some men indeed are born posthumously.

With all due respect for his gifted ability for original and innate insights, it would be unjust to credit Nietzsche alone for such remarkably widespread influence. For, he had the privilege and the premise to take his aim standing on the shoulders of giants: From Plato to Dostoevsky, he had systematically drawn from and dissected all schools and thoughts before him. What he came up with the confluence of such a comprehension was an abstract and fragmented ideology that would go on to define the direction of the 20th century starting from Freud in the early part to the deconstructive post-modern movement during its later quarter.

Anyone who is acquainted with the works of Nietzsche would know that there is no single defining principle in his thought unlike most of the schools that preceded him. In Nietzsche, one encounters abstract planks which are hard to be understood and thereby are only open to interpretations. Yet they are recognised as a salient signposts in the journey of human thought. One such major plank is that of Ubermensch.

Nietzsche alludes to the Ubermensch in the opening segment of Thus spake zarathustra and only vaguely without much elaboration . This unfortunately has lead to the often misconceived notion that Ubermensch is an ideal man superior to any other average human. A mistake even balanced thinkers like Santayana couldn’t escape. I think an easier, although agreeably a tedious attempt to understand Nietzsche’s Ubermensch is to follow his thought process through his complete works beginning from The birth of Tragedy to Ecce Homo as one single entity. But alas! Even then, just like life, all one gets is to make only an interpretation. I have, since being introduced to Ubermensch tried to peel layer after abstract layer to understand this concept at different times and from different perspectives. I saw that such efforts led me to form a core of a concept often wrapped by other changing satellite-ideas. Naturally the next step was to find the match for the concept amongst famous people known. I found weirder and obscure matches but a popular and a compelling one would come from a fiction. And the more I ponder I about him(character) and his life the more I’m convinced he has come to be the valueless nihilistic icon that Nietzsche had written nearly hundred years back. He is Michael Corleone , conceived by Mario Puzo but imprinted in our memories by the genius of Coppola in the form of the talented Al Pacino. Yes, very few men in the history of humanity for what it is now and what is to be written, would supersede Michael Corleone as an example for Ubermensch.

I initially had thought of writing this post by alternatively comparing Nietzsche’s writings with the character of Michael corleone and sketch out the similarities/differences. But it made me realise that it is too intricate and also perhaps quite demanding on the reader if s/he is not well acquainted with either or both. Hence to avoid the risk of that free floatingness I have decided in favour of just presenting a summary of Michael Corleone’s character. Hopefully this would encourage the readers to find out more on Nietzsche ‘s idea of Ubermensch and make their own judgement.I have restricted only to film and not the charecter in the book on which it was based. Again, such a task being a product of individual taste and perception naturally it precludes any logical consistency and objectivity. Therefore dear reader, proceed with utmost prejudice.

Michael is almost like any man, brought up in a protected culture, loving and loved by his family, starry eyed at the ideals , proud of his nation and privileged to make his conscientious choices. He aspires to lead himself and his wife to be into a civil domestic life. One, that promises respect and comfort that any man seeks. Yet Michael appears like a man who hasn’t made his peace. Underneath all , there is a mild air of chastened sadness around him that is presumably imagined to have come from an underlying conflict. On one hand, as an intelligent being he feels strongly for his values that define him, on the other he understands that the family he loves so much and is a part of is not legitimate and is contrary to the very values he cherishes. In this sense of understanding he departs from any average hero. He is not a Christ, Gandhi or Spartacus who symbolise a moral struggle in a value conflict with the extant inimical premises. On the contrary, Michael, born into a paradox, is in conflict with himself. He starts out as the militant attacking himself under peaceful conditions. His yearning to pull himself away from the family shall always be overcome by the fact that he is born into it. As perhaps you would expect Michael to have done all his growing years- the more he reflects about himself and the family, the more he is wants to pull away. Yet is convinced that a respite eludes him , a sad realisation which perhaps renders him so cold, mean and calculative. Unlike a few other protagonists known, it must be noted that Michael chooses to be dedicated to the family out of his own volition. He is not prodded into it. Or there is no personal identification with the pathos that he chooses to lead. Nothing he does is impetuous or precedent. Doesn’t a man hurt worst when punished for his virtues?

Soon, this split devotion to his family is moulded and given form leading him to make desperate choices and share the repercussions of the sins he isn’t personally responsible for but the ones he fully understands and vows his allegiance to. He lets go of his cherished values just like how Ulysses departed from Nausicaa, blessing it rather than loving it. As he says, it is all business. Nothing personal!! So all of this is done with disturbing ease. Thereby, he ensures the personal suffering ensuing from the change in his value system is smooth and well concealed. From his individual aspirations to his family and love, he renews himself in newer values every time he fails himself. And since each of the value is further apart from his real wish he copes by making himself emotionally inaccessible to others and more harrowingly to himself. His anger is the smoke arising off the cold ice. He never grieves in spite of one bereavement after another befalling upon him. As a being, he erases himself. One can only speculate what were his own thoughts about deserting his girl friend and marrying another woman elsewhere, losing her and then after return resuming the old relationship blithely. And in this whole process of alienation that is coupled with personal expectation to fulfil his responsibilities, he departs further away. And away.[1] From everything. Slowly he loses personal desire, value, identity. He will because he ought to. His life is slowly ushered into decadence.

But it must be noted this is only in principle but not in phenomenon. He successfully manages to evade any affective identification towards him and also he is totally in control of his acts and hence is prepared to be accountable for the consequences.

An illustration would help- in the last scene, when Kay questions Michael if he really killed Carlo (Brother in law)? He lividly raises his voice warning her not to question him about his business. This scene evokes two type of principal responses from the audience-- 1.To worship Michael as a symbol of power(and dominance) 2. To sympathise with Kay. But, mostly it is forgotten that he was the same young man dressed in an Marines? uniform who had sat and conversed softly with her at the marriage in the first scene.

Far more importantly, no one would hate him or feel for him. Although it is known that he himself who has consciously willed his destiny (or decadence) he successfully evades hatred and sympathy. That is the elegance of the whole mechanism. Within Michael, a man dies and other is born every time. With this being sustained as a means of preserving himself , his worth as a value(self) ceases and a process begins[1].

If the first part was alienation and initiation of the process, second would be the inevitable direction it had to take. Of power, will and its callousness. He has now learnt very well that the greatest juncture of life is when we gain courage to rebaptise our badness as the best in us. There is no such thing as a moral phenomenon. There is only desire and will. And the rest lies in the great ocean of contempt to be concealed in the heart. In this duties that he has reached out for himself, we see that his fears are validated again - that even a slightest carelessness on his part would mean doom to his successful efforts so far. Similar to the making of Plato’s philosopher king, he battles against everything in the world. Against unidentified enemies, against the state, against his wife (who seems be growing distant), disloyal friends, family, and most notably against himself.

This is symbolised in what I regard as one of the greatest scenes ever captured for the motion picture[2]. I think it runs for about a full minute and a half or two at the beginning of the second DVD. Michael in the heart of the senate enquiry with a failed attempt on his life behind him returns in a car to his Brooklyn mansion. It is winter in New York and one can notice the sullen skies and the overnight snow trodden all around. His car is let in and a solemn looking Michael dressed in a dark suit, a long overcoat and a bowler hat carrying a briefcase gets down and walks slowly towards the door dragging himself in heavy steps. He pauses to look at a small toy car of his child. He comes into the house moving about the study and the dining room, glancing intently at the belongings before he rests his suitcase and takes off the hat. Finally he stands before one of the rooms and finds Kay absorbed in tailoring. The background music is aptly kept minimal. Not a single word is uttered.

It is the pain and the possibilities that adds depth to the character of this scene. Bound to his family, he realises the ultimate of all the truths that in spite of everything, he is alone and doomed to be prepossessed in fundamental doubts. The ones he cant share with others or make peace within himself. At this juncture, he supersedes his desires as responsibility/duty into an abstract attribute, beyond good and evil that takes control and care of him passively into the future. It all comes naturally now, with no emotion or thought underneath. There is no family now, it is him and a world that wants to be without him. And the consequences.

Not everyone, I just want to wipe off my enemies, that is all. Even if the enemy is supposedly his own brother he is pushed aside, mercilessly. A demonstration of exercise of will naked without any form of draped morality. Or even pretension of. He survives. His family survives. But in his efforts to survive he has created a world of its own new values, successful and productive to many lives but built on personal losses, including his own -- his children and family as his wife separates from him. Now,expectedly, The apollonian is slowly parted with to make way of growing Dionysian.

The criminally underrated third part is completion of the harmony[3] . With age and failing health Michael has grown soft. The powers are distributed and fragmented throughout in return for much sought legitamacy. He is shown to be socially humorous, something he wasn’t before( I was listening to Tony Bennett songs). It is all about reminiscing and a Dionysian accounting himself for the past within. He understands his acts- the inevitability and responsibility of it all. (remember the Pope’s words it is only just for him to suffer) But still he is neck deep in the consequences of his own making. He continues in another conflict to complete the promise he made to his father and also unable to restrain his own need for security and power. As he remorses (not repent) for his deeds, he tries to-- cut off his children from his business , mend his relationship with his wife and for the last time he takes one final half hearted plunge at more power -all small steps to pave way for his descent as he himself understands very well.(The more I want to get out, the more they pull me in) And consequently, he ends up paying a heavy ransom for his life, the one he never owned in a full sense anytime. He fails to protect his daughter and his son does not share the lineage of his dreams.

Understandably, for Michael life has come full circle. It is here one might start identifying with his futility and take him for a version of a tragic hero.I think casting him into the mould of tragic hero would be imposing a self presumptous role on his life, a life that has not been open to us in the first place.Although his life has been tragic in a sense there are huge issues that separates him from a conventional tragic hero.

One could easily as well imagine Michael to be taking his son to a baseball game on a Saturday noon or retiring as a senator too dignified to use a walking stick in public. But then, knowing Michael, he would have known well at the bottom that he had more to offer and effect world better. And still, the irony of it all is that if given the choice he still would have been compelled himself to choose the life he did.

Again and again. Eternally. because that is what makes his pain, glory, legacy, himself.

The concluding shot is a deserving tribute-a frail, dust-beaten image of the old Michael Corleone stooped in a chair, open to the sun, slowly falls unto the earth lifeless; him a moral idealist, son, brother, lover, father, and above all Don corleone, breathes his last - lonely and alone, resigned and trodden like a common man. He has lost his father, brothers, wives, friends, mother , daughter and the grand empire he constructed, in fact everything that he ever valued. He has no more to offer, accept, refuse or bargain. His entire life has amounted to neither individual glory nor personal love that could be cherished. He is not a successful hero , not even a failed martyr. Yet he has changed the world around him irrevocably as such and given every possible chance he would continue to do the same. And In that-- he has transcended himself, history, and humanity thus transforming himself into an idea, into an abstraction , into Ubermensch.

At the end, despite everything , what he represents beside a caution is hope and power of will and a constant attempt to be better eternally against everything, however futile that such a venture is in itself, that being the nature and the inclination of us all as humans , in different shades of desires and varying resources at disposal he becomes the essence and embodiment of humanity.

That is the tragedy and the beauty of it all.

Where you see ideal things, I see what is --

human, alas, all-too-human. I know man better.

~Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo

[1] It is this process that Coppola has beautifully captured on the film. Notice the lack of subtitles in the restaurant shooting scene for Italian but when Michael is in Italy subtitles are used while he speaks to Apollonia’s father . It is this smooth flow in transformation in values that Nietzsche alluded to so abstractly.

[2]That scene is unbearably haunting. The first time I watched it I was too occupied with the story and missed it under my nose, but the second time around I was almost choked. Every drop of ink spilled from Freud , Mann, Sartre, to Camus, et al has been so gracefully captured in one cinematic moment. Beside its conceptual bearings it not only shows how coppola has understood the character of Michael but also is a stamp on Al Pacino’s talent. In my view only two actors could have pulled it off as convincingly Al Pacino did- Herr Humphrey Bogart and that cute Cossack named Sean Penn. The latter perhaps would have needed a tighter director. The scene also is an excellent reference for film techniques, for e.g. lighting and sound , music. Et al. Pure mad genius.

Trivia -Coppola suffers from Bipolar affective disorder which my friend considers as a role of living a playful god and pained human in one life.

[3] Although not widely agreed, I’ve never felt the series would have been complete without part 3. The scenes in the third part are in a unique way mirrored with the first-The function, hospital scene, the conversations(with Kay, Mancini, his son Anthony with his own in part1 ) the assassinations. Etc.

PS- Having not said all and with the length of the post, I am not quite happy but the Glasgow London train doesn’t run indefinitely.