#alvin the trustworthy

[noctusfury]

Who Became the New Inhabitants of Old Berk After the Berkians Left? (HTTYD 3)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another HTTYD article. Today will begin one of my few HTTYD 3 articles that I plan on doing. But this'll also tie into my Alvin-cum-Outcasts series.

So what happened to Old Berk after the Berkians left? Somebody would've had to have occupied it at some point. However, this is assuming that the Berkians haven't kept their claim on Old Berk and still have it as part of their territories.

Of course, perhaps the remains of the Northern Alliance had taken it over. But I highly doubt the other Viking Tribes would've tolerated their presence in their waters.

It's possible that the Berserkers or some other Tribe took it over after the Berkians left. Someone who's geographically close to Berk or had a close relationship with Berk.

Or it's possible Berk was abandoned for a time, and then maybe some future settlers came to live on it much later — assuming, of course, it wasn't abandoned indefinitely or even permanently.

If we follow the Books, the Berkians, of course, NEVER left Berk, even after the dragons left. Even if they did, I'm sure the Meatheads would've taken Berk over due to being just a skip across the pond.

However, I propose a plausible candidate who took over Berk after the Berkians' migration:

The Outcasts!

It is my headcanon, and theory, that it was the Outcasts who eventually inherited Old Berk from the Hooligans/Berkians. I mean, the Outcasts have to find some sort of land at some point.

I mean, LOOK AT THIS! Outcast Island is dreary, gloomy, barren, dry; full of rocks, crags, and dragons; and is volcanic in nature. You literally can't scrounge any sort of prosperity and survivability from this island.

It's only useful for one purpose: a military base-cum-outpost for raiding and pillaging passing ships and nearby islands.

There's the Loki tree which is common on the island and is often used as some form of caulking and chalking agent. It's also used for charcoal. It is malodorous in nature and is able to thrive in dry and barren places. It is possible that it smells terrible due to the volcanic environment it's in, having a sulfuric scent.

There's also the Ice Tail Pike, which only can be found on Outcast Island (which is strange when you think about it since there's no ice anywhere on the island). I highly doubt it's "rare" though — there's so much of them.

So the Outcasts basically have to get their food from the sea, any raids they conduct on other islands or any ships they plunder, and if they're lucky, trade from Johann (which is odd in and of itself). I haven't seen any livestock on there. And it's been mentioned and implied in several episodes that Outcasts also eat dragon eggs a lot, and maybe dragons themselves — proof of the desperate measures they must take to sustain themselves.

After they ally themselves with Berk to defeat Dagur in "Cast Out," however, things change, and Alvin and Stoick are able to resolve their past grievances and restore their lost friendship.

In RTTE, the second time we see them, they come to Berk's aid and protect Berk while the Dragon Riders fly to Vanaheim and Stoick is... recovering from his battle injuries. Honestly, if Alvin wasn't reformed, this would've been the best opportunity to take over Berk for himself with Stoick incapacitated and the Riders absent from Berkian skies. But c'est la vie. 🤷‍♂️😌

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if, during this time or some other situation or another, Stoick and Alvin came to an agreement that should anything happen to Stoick and Hiccup, or if the Berkians are forced to leave Berk, Alvin and the Outcasts could take Berk for themselves.

I mean, you say their island. They obviously need an island on which they can lead a more normal livelihood and also gain wives and sire the next generation (because I have no idea how they'll be able to keep their numbers up if they don't).

Of course, it may be that the Outcasts have grown so used to their life on Outcast Island that they don't have any inclination to move elsewhere. If so, then I could see them extensively trading with Berk and other traders for the goods that they need. 🤷‍♂️

But I can't see Alvin's desire for Berk dissipating just because he's reformed. I'm sure he still has ambitions for "something more." Berk would be a great additional island for them. Even if they just use Berk as a home for their families and various craftsmen and farmers, and place some defences and dragons to protect Berk, whilst remaining on Outcast Island, the ends are still achieved.

Yes, Alvin, it's good to be back on the shores of Berk! 😁

What do you guys think happened to Old Berk after the third film?

I hope you enjoyed this article. Thank you for reading. See you next time!

Long Live the Night!

— Noctus Fury

[lockandkeyhyena]

some more exploratory sketches. while the story itself focuses on the aftermath of the abuse, i wanted to get down my ideas for the dynamic that occurred during the abuse.

alvin is a very self-pitying character, he uses his low self esteem to manipulate others into doing things for him because they feel sorry for him. he genuinely believes he deserves to get whatever he wants because he had a sad childhood and has convinced himself of his own excuses. he believes what he’s saying in the final image, because to face the truth of his actions would be too much to bear. however he’s more scared of getting caught than at the concept that he’s hurting someone.

he would frequently guilt trip ethan into doing whatever he wanted, followed up by rewarding him with good grades and gifts. ethan really looked up to him and viewed him as one of the very few trustworthy adult figures in his life.

[companion-of-the-dragonmark]

Is Heather Based on a Book Character? (HTTYD)

Hello, my fellow Dragonmarkers! Today, we'll be talking about another character from the movie/TV franchise and the Books:

Could Heather be loosely based on a character from the books? 

(Warning: Spoiler Alert to those who haven't read the books at all, but consider this an opportunity to see if the books are worth reading, eh? ;-) )

Now, I might be 100% wrong on my theory, but I'm still going to present it, and leave to you, my audience, to determine whether or not this is plausible.

Unlike other characters in the movie/t.v. show whom many fans think are similar to certain book characters (cough, cough, Astrid, cough), Heather might possibly have more in common with her other half, Barbara the Barbarian: a minor character that we see only in the last book of the series, How to Fight a Dragon's Fury.

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My Theory | How Heather and Barbara Are Similar:

What makes me think that Heather and Barbara are connected, if somewhat loosely?

Well, let me give you a few reasons:

1) She's a daughter of a Chieftain. 

Both girls are daughters (or Princesses, as they're called in the books) of Chieftains — albeit Heather's the daughter of the late Chieftain of the Berserker Tribe, while Barbara is the daughter of the Chieftain of the Barbarian Tribe. They both have a level head on their shoulders and their equipment and even their dragons look somewhat similar, if loosely so.

They are also good leaders who lead their warriors well, and both of their fathers dote on them.

Both are superb fighters, being daughters of Chieftains. They are also intelligent, fierce, brave, kind, compassionate, and love their dragons dearly. 

2) Both seem to be brunettes (though Barbara's hair and eye color is never mentioned).

3) Barbara, like Heather, seems to not have a mother, though it's unclear whether the mother died or if she was just not mentioned. The HTTYD books only have a few mothers who are mentioned and shown: Bertha (Camicazi's mother), Valhallarama (Hiccup's mother), Termagant (Fishlegs' mother), Excellinor the Witch (Alvin the Treacherous's mother), and Chin-hilda (Hiccup the Second's mother). Oddly, women are sorely lacking in the books. Maybe it's just because of the Viking culture in her books. In Viking culture, women weren't often mentioned except in folklore and sagas.

4) Both are staunch supporters and allies of their respective Hiccup the Thirds. Heather is a trustworthy ally who's often shown alongside Hiccup and the Dragon Riders in Race to the Edge along with Dagur. 

She's always seen with the others around the Hearth giving suggestions and advice. Before she reconciled with Dagur, and when she lived with the Dragon Riders, she often flew with Hiccup and/or Astrid, and was usually the one to go with Hiccup and Astrid when he left to talk to someone — whether a villain or one of their allies.

She and Barbara have the utmost respect for their respective Hiccups and would gladly die for them if need be.

Barbara only nominated Alvin the Treacherous to be King of the Wilderwest, despite knowing the kind of person he was and having fought against him, and being Hiccup's follower, out of practical sense and battle fatigue, for the Vikings of the Wilderwest were close to extinction under the claws of the Dragons' Red-Rage Rebellion led by Furious, and she and everyone else had been fighting the dragons for two years at this point and were war-weary (even Vikings need a break from war once and a while). Only when evidence began to pop up that Hiccup is the Rightful Heir did she have hope again. 

She was also one of the Vikings who knelt before Hiccup to swear their swords for his service as their King. And when Hiccup was going to duel Furious, Barbara offered to lend him her cat to take into battle — whether as a weapon, a lucky charm, or both. 

And when Hiccup was in danger — and when Alvin incited the battle once again by breaking the Rules of Single Combat by entering the Ring when Hiccup and Furious were engaged so that he could steal the Dragon Jewel and kill Hiccup the Third for good — she flew on her dragon along with her comrades to enter the fray and showed great courage and bravery.

5) Both Heather and Barbara own battle horns.

Heather was given her horn as a gift from Hiccup's father Stoick when she was born. Perhaps Barbara did likewise, or her own father had given her it when she was older. As I've said, she's a minor character so not much is known about her at all; she's only shown in one book — the last one, and only in the middle of the last one. 

Heather uses her own to call Windshear to her if they ever get separated. It's also possible that she uses it to call to any allies that are close to her. Barbara seems to use her horn similarly.

In fact, in How to Fight a Dragon's Fury, it says in Page 241 that: "...She brought out her foghorn and blew on it several times, making such a loud noise that the cat's fur stood up like the quills on a sea urchin and she immediately bounced back onto Barbara's shoulder."

So she seems to use it for her pet cat (I believe it was mentioned that the Barbarian Tribe used cats into battle. No clue why, but they do).

Another reference in Page 450 — well after this point, close to the end of the story — when the Second Dragon-Human War was ended and the Vikings were celebrating the new peace and the return of the Kingdom of the Wilderwest. Unfortunately, being Vikings, their celebrating eventually moved into fighting and arguing, and Hiccup eventually asks Barbara for her horn in order to break it up.

Hiccup says: " 'In the meantime, I know what will stop them from arguing... Barbara," said Hiccup now, 'could I borrow your foghorn?' King Hiccup stood up on his Stone, and blew the foghorn as hard as he could. The thrilling sound of the foghorn, when blown at full blast, was so magnetically loud that it hit the ears like an electric shock..."

We actually see this when Heather blows her horn to call Windshear to her in Edge of Disaster Part 2 in Season 2 of RTTE. The sound is high-pitched and loud.

Yet another — and final — reference is in Page 455-456, where, as the Vikings are singing songs during the Feast, Hiccup asks Barbara if she'd like her horn back, to which she replied that "he'd better keep it, as she thought that he was going to need it." (Vikings being Vikings, after all). Heather doesn't do this, but I was basically showing where the horn came from.

Now, it could be that this is just a coincidence, and that this doesn't make Heather loosely based on Barbara the Barbarian. It could be that the horn is just a little reference from the books like the eyepiece (telescope) you see Hiccup and other characters use throughout the Dragons series.

6) Both girls are love interests of their respective Fishlegs characters.

That's right. I'm getting to the JUICY stuff now! lol 😎🍿

Now Fishlegs in the movie franchise is vastly (pun not intended) different from Fishlegs in the books. Fishlegs in the books is small and skinny like Hiccup and has asthma, eczema, a squint, a limp, and numerous allergies, including one to reptiles. He wears glasses. And has red hair. And his dragon is a Deadly Shadow, a dragon not unsimilar to the Snaptrapper dragon — much cooler than a Gronkle, as the Deadly Shadow is a faster flyer, deadlier, and is a Stealth Dragon.

Fishlegs in the movies is... beefier than Fishlegs in the books. He also doesn't really have any allergies aside from Gobber's earwax (which they only did for comedy effect and the episode actually referenced Fishlegs' allergy to reptiles in the books, though Fishlegs seems to have gotten over that allergy as the books wore on). He doesn't have glasses, having perfect vision. He doesn't limp, he's strong, and doesn't squint. And he doesn't have asthma. And it seems like he can swim just fine, whereas in the books Fishlegs was a terrible swimmer and was only able to swim when he saw that Hiccup was in danger. He also has blond hair, not red. And he's a nerd when it comes to dragons, whereas Fishlegs in the books is an up-and-coming poet and bard with only the general knowledge of dragons.

Basically, he's a WIMP.

Fishlegs in the books is also an orphan, unlike in the movie, and also, unlike Movie Fishlegs, Fishlegs in the books also turns out to be royalty, being the son of Termagant, daughter of a Murderous Chieftain, and Alvin the Treacherous, making him the third cousin (according to the HTTYD wiki) of Hiccup and Snotlout. In the movie, Alvin is of no relation to Stoick, Hiccup, Snotlout, and Fishlegs at all, and Fishlegs is of no relation, in turn, to Hiccup. In the books, Fishlegs is also part Berserker on his mother's side, whereas Fishlegs has no such lineage.

One last thing: Fishlegs in the books was love-struck whenever Barbara was around, and couldn't form a coherent sentence together nor could think straight, often fainting. Fishlegs in the films and series never show any of that when with Heather. However, Fishlegs's secret letters to Heather could actually be a reference from the books where Fishlegs writes a secret love letter to Barbara the Barbarian against Hiccup's wishes.

In other words, he's a SIMP. 😂

(Heathlegs by NightOwl374 on Tumblr — though the account isn't around anymore and you can only find these on Pinterest)

Now, there are those who hope that someday Fishlegs and Barbara get together (personally, I don't) like how Fishlegs and Heather do in RTTE. 

Another thing that the girls have in common is that both are older than their male counterparts — she is about a year or so (give or take a few months) older than Fishlegs, while Barbara is said, according to Camicazi, to be at least three years older than Fishlegs.

Two noticeable differences are, however, that 1) Fishlegs and Heather were a couple at one point, whereas with Fishlegs and Barbara, it was a one-sided attraction on Fishlegs' part and probably wouldn't be a thing regardless; and 2) both Barbara and Fishlegs were royalty, whereas only Heather is royalty and Fishlegs is just your average Joe (or IS HE? 😏).

But Fishlegs and Heather's relationship could've been a very loose reference to the possibility — and hope — of Fishlegs' infatuation with Barbara the Barbarian in the end of How to Fight a Dragon's Fury (come on, Cressida! Make us a sequel series!), and wanting Fishlegs to at least��GET THE GIRL for once! lol 😂

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Conclusion:

Anyway, this is all that I have for you concerning this. What do you guys think? Do you think that Heather could be loosely inspired by Barbara from the books? Or do you think that I'm making mountains out of ant-hills and that these are just a bunch of coincidences! Tell me what you guys think! 😏

Thank you everyone for reading this article! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! Until next time, my fellow Dragonmarkers! Have a great weekend!

Long Live the Wilderwest!

— Companion of the Dragonmark

[the-hunter-himself]

Bio of Hunter Robbertson

Name: Hunter Robbertson 

Age: 44 

Gender: Male (GNC)

Height: 185 cm

Birthday : 7 June, 1915

Occupation: Prime Asset

Favorite Flower : White Lily

Favorite Color : Gold

Animal Symbol : Ram

Personality: Confident, Sly, Natural Leader, Narcissistic, Generous, Caring

Short Backstory: A former Poacher and Hitman who fall under the experiment of Murkoff, Hunter lived a miserable life as a Reagent. After proving he deserved his freedom, Murkoff monitored his outside life and found that he was a suitable candidate for additional Prime Asset. Gaining his high life again, Hunter taught those Reagents the power of freedom Murkoff had promised.

Relationships:

Leland Coyle (Complicated, Romantic)

He had a complicated thing with the cop, mixed with anger, lust, conflict, and romance. Most of the time he took the dominating role against Coyle, toying around until he lost his temper and fought back to Hunter. But sometimes, they enjoy the soft romance they had with each other. Coyle loved the way Hunter kissed him (even though he hates him doing it in public), while Hunter enjoys Coyle’s Sweet Nothing. 

Mother Gooseberry (Close Friend)

A nice lady that was treated with respect by Hunter. They often had tea time together, and duet sang for her children. She loved how elegant his look and how good he is with art. They both also shared the same hobby; Taxidermy. Overall, they are fond of each other’s companion

Franco Barbi (Close Acquaintance)

While Franco liked Hunter’s dogs and his outfits, Hunter himself was not quite sure how to feel around him. While he still respected him, he avoided his anger and had disgust towards Franco’s milk obsession. This got worse after he knew what he did to the female big grunts, making him protective of Alvin and not letting her meet the bambino often.

Dr. Easterman (Unknown)

No one was really sure what things they had, but rumor said they had slept with each other more than once. Some said it was due to reasons of sexual frustration and confusion, priviledge, and of course, lust.

Danny The Big Grunt (Close Acquaintance, Friend’s Lover)

Overall Hunter didn’t mind Danny in his place. However, he did wish Danny would tidy up his appearance even just a little bit and clean up the blood on his body especially whenever he came to pick up Apin on a date. If anything happened to Hunter’s little big grunt, Danny would be the one he could trust the most.

Arlivin Wijayakusuma (Close Friend, Most Trustworthy)

Fellow reagents that turned into expop, they had known each other since the earliest they were in Sinyala. They had the opposite personality, yet completed each other. Hunter provided most of Apin’s necessity, including extra food and clothes. She lived under his care and in return, she guarded his place.

Trap and Bullet (Pets, Loyal Guards) 

Hunter’s hunting dogs. They were once his hunting mate after he was released. Failed protecting Hunter from a bear attack, which resulting on half of his face being mauled with several scars on his body, Hunter decide to punish them and taught them how to be a proper guard. Murkoff found about this and they were more than interested.

[meikyuunolovers]

Happy (belated) 78th Birthday, Andy Pyle!

(15/07/1946-)

Happy birthday to another forgotten Kink! He was with the band from 1976 until 1977, lasting around a year before leaving alongside John Gosling. I don't have the specific quotes and citations with me right now, but I remember really feeling empathetic towards him after reading Ray Davies: A Complicated Life. I'm not going to elaborate further, since I don't want to twist any words.

He was with Blodwyn Pig (Mick Abrahams' band following Jethro Tull) in the late 60s-early 70s. He also did session bass for Rod Stewart on his "Every Picture Tells a Story" album, and played with artists such as Alvin Lee, Gary Moore...

He also has a solo album, which was not only apparently released in Germany only(???), but is also technically lost media as its songs are unavailable anywhere on the net... (it looks like the album usually goes for 4~15€ on Discogs, although I'm not sure on whether Discogs is trustworthy)

(This morning, I woke up with the sensation I forgot something.... turns out I forgot about Andy Pyle's birthday post. At least it gave me the opportunity to give some last-minute touches. Not really proud of this one in certain aspects, but I think this one has the best lineart to date...)

[stainedglassthreads]

..Okay in retrospect maybe Asriel is the type of sibling to mess with Kris somewhat but like. He tried confessing his sins of ‘dropping Yoshi in a pit to see what would happen’ to Father Alvin. He tries to confesses KRIS’ ‘video game sins’ to Father Alvin. Their religion doesn’t even have a concept of confession. 

If the fate of the world were at stake I feel like he’d be a teensy weensy widdle bit more. Straightforwards. About it all. Instead of making up a lengthy backstory about ‘yes. I have TOTALLY been completely alone in this town for an indefinite period of time. I really was created by a Dark Fountain and AM NOT your brother.’ I feel like admitting that he is Asriel and somehow created or happened across this world would only add to his credibility, and unless there’s some massive, massive twist being hidden from us... coming up with a whole fake backstory strikes me as somewhat confusing? 

If it was established that someone is specifically HUNTING DOWN Asriel in the Dark World, or that Ralsei is afraid of the Roaring Knight or of Gaster or something, then that may make some sense. But while Ralsei sometimes hides his identity, he doesn’t seem FRIGHTENED of anyone finding out his identity. Once he reveals his face to Susie and Kris at the end of chapter 1, as I mentioned previously, he’s pretty comfortable going through all of Cyber City hatless, and spending time around Card Kingdom’s denizens hatless. Even around King, who is probably the Darkner most willing to betray him to the Knight if the opportunity arose. Even around Spamton, who being the embodiment of a spam email would probably sell his identity to Satan for one corn chip. 

So I just? Maybe a reason will become apparent later but I can’t see a single joking or serious reason for Ralsei to be Asriel hiding his identity from everyone else? 

I could see him being a shapeshifter borrowing Asriel’s identity to make himself appear more trustworthy. I could see him being Kris’ headband. I could see him being someone’s idealized version of Asriel. I could see him being the reflection of a much younger Asriel, before he became so popular in Hometown. But I really, really, really do not think he’s the current young adult Asriel presently in college. 

[whiteeevee996]

Wrote a short little drabble for after the Snowgrave route. Tw for discussions of murder and a panic attack.

Rumors spread fast in a small town. Just about everyone in Hometown knew each other by name. Most of the people there were ones Noelle had known since she was a little kid. They’d been through it all. One or two of them had visited her in the hospital as a baby. They’d seen spelling bees and storms. 

Only one or two of them didn’t feel a spike of pity for the Holidays when December rolled around. For those that didn’t, it was ignorance, not malice. 

The news of a missing bluebird- and the subsequent discovery mere hours later, spread quicker than Noelle remembered the last disappearance had. They had a body this time. They had suspects. 

Or, more accurately, they had a suspect. Cause of death and motives and all that seemingly mattered a lot less. 

They weren’t so direct, of course. Not one of them had looked her in the eyes and made the accusation, but it was clear enough. The Holiday girl was the last one who’d seen Berdly alive. The Holiday girl walked around in a daze, barely capable of answering police questions. The Holiday girl knew something.

Of course, murder wasn’t the only explanation given. 

“She saw something,” Her father had ground out through gritted teeth. “She sure as hell didn’t kill him, I know that.” 

His answer when asked how he knew that was as predictable and trustworthy as always, but useless as a result. “I know Noelle,” Wasn’t a phrase that worked for the police. Officer Undyne knew Noelle. Not well, but they’d exchanged friendly greetings more than a couple times. 

A simple ‘hello’ or “Good Morning, Officer Undyne!” as she raced to school was never something too meaningful, but Noelle thought that she ought to feel just a bit betrayed. 

She didn’t, though. 

A small crowd stood outside the library. It was morning, which meant there wasn’t a member of Hometown that didn’t already know about the small form found unmoving there. Whispers swirled around her like snow. She was caught in a blizzard, just letting the hail and sleet pelt her as she stood there. Her mother was raising hell to police. “I know Noelle” was as useless on her as it was on her Dad, though. 

“Do you know they just found him there?” A hushed voice speaks up. Noelle can just barely catch the two rabbit ears through the crowd. 

“I heard he was shoved in the closet,” Comes another voice. 

A group of kids- The Ice Caps, Rainy, and the bunny kid whose name is a world away- chat amongst themselves. Monster Kid comes by and Noelle can’t tell if they’re trying to stop the gossip or are joining in. 

It’s most likely the latter. 

Most of the crowd had spotted her at some point and quieted for a few seconds in some mockery of respect, but the opportunity for gossip was too tempting and whispers started up again. 

Father Alvin was trying vainly to quell rumors. “Please, let us not burden these families further or twist half-truths. We welcome all to our service…” 

His voice faded out as Noelle heard the later half of a murmur, “Not the first time that Holiday girl’s been…” 

The rest of it is indistinguishable, but it doesn’t matter now. The rest is clear enough, even if the speaker isn’t. 

It’s not the first time, they all know. 

Officer Undyne comes and screams for everyone to quiet and leave, but Noelle is long gone by then. 

She ran as far as her legs could carry her in one go. She was a track star, but her hooves caught on every stray pebble on the ground. She gasped for air, even though she’d barely been running for a minute. 

Even as voices call for her, her legs carry her into the forest. 

It’s not truly by necessity when she stops. A bump on the ground is finally her downfall, sending her tumbling hard onto the ground. Her ankle throbs, but she gets to her hooves and limps a few steps forward. She knew there was a bunker here, but the sight is unexpected somehow as she collapses against the doors. Her chest heaves for air she just can’t get enough of. She feels like she’s ran a mile in a minute, and her lungs seemingly think so as they demand she take in as much oxygen as she can. 

It’s barely fall and warm, but she’s ice cold. 

She wants to deny it. There couldn’t be any possible way she could have…

“R-remember, Noelle…” She whispers, half to herself. “You- you couldn’t have- Dess isn’t…!” 

There came a point when someone was missing for so long that it was accepted they must be dead. 

It’s rarely something said out loud, but nobody could deny, truly, that they expected December Holiday was long gone. 

Noelle had always prided herself a bit on never getting to that point. “December Holiday” she’d typed on library computers.

“December Holiday,” She’d tapped into her phone. 

“December Holiday,” She’d typed into the laptop. 

On good days, Noelle didn’t type those words at all. On bad days, she scoured old forums and news articles. She read missing posters she could practically recite by heart by now. There was never anything new, but she went over it all the same. 

“I c-couldn’t have…I- I would’ve remembered…!” She gasps out between breaths. 

“Do you remember killing him?” A voice asks her. It’s not Kris’s, but Kris stands in front of her regardless. She can catch the light reflecting off of the sliver watch on their wrist. 

“I- I didn’t…!” Noelle’s fighting back hysteria. Kris is her friend, Kris is the person she’s known since she was a kid, Kris was the person who always pranked her but it was harmless and she missed when it had been-

Their head tilts to the side. They don’t need to say anything in response to that. “Do you remember?” They kneel down to her level. A smile looks like it would fit on their face given their tone, but Kris isn’t smiling. The voice is almost childlike and teasing; it would be something Kris would say years ago, maybe in reference to a prank. They’d say it with a smirk and a little chuckle. 

“Th-there was- s-so much-” She can barely speak to get the words out, and a sigh comes from Kris’s mouth. 

Kris’s body is shaking as they say it- their chest is heaving with too-heavy breaths too- but they tell her, “Breathe, doe.” 

Ironically, the phrase would’ve done less if her dad had said it to her. The idea of breathing felt impossible, but she listens regardless, her breaths slowly evening out. They apparently don’t feel it necessary to speak again, but a response is expected regardless.

“...I don’t.” She whispers, and then she’s alone again.

[solradguy]

Alvin anon (dear god) and no we never got caught, mostly because I was a goody two shoes (in front of the teachers) so therefore I was “trustworthy” and wouldn’t do anything as “immature” as that. (I was the most immature middle schooler to exist)

God that's still so funny though lmfao Congrats on never getting caught

[muhleleira]

My Journey in Studying Entrepreneurial Mind: Building a Marketplace for Sustainable Reading

I want to share my journey into the world of entrepreneurship, especially as it relates to developing our future website. I want to emphasize the priceless insights we have gained through conducting customer surveys, testing hypotheses, and making strategic decisions.

Understanding Our Customers

During the validation phase, we surveyed a varied range of potential clients to learn more about their needs and preferences. Here are the narratives of some of our responses.

1. The Aspiring Seller: Orland, a dedicated college student, is looking for an easy-to-use platform to sell his gently used books. He appreciates visibility and seeks out solutions that offer data and customization choices.

2. The Savvy Buyer: Alvin, a buddy and internet shopper, values trust and security while making purchases. He prefers a streamlined experience with clear product information and trustworthy vendor reviews. Our research found that shoppers like Alvin are more likely to select platforms that prioritize user security and community feedback.

Testing Our Hypotheses

Firstly, users prefer a user-friendly interface to complex features. The majority of responders agreed, underlining the value of intuitive design. Secondly, buyers place a high value on trust and security when making purchasing decisions. Almost all respondents said they would select a platform that prioritizes security measures. Hence, these insights influenced our decision-making and determined our platform's path.

From Concept to Platform

Based on the initial validation results, we decided to develop a website as our major platform, as discussed in our previous blog. This decision was based on our desire to develop a strong web presence and properly collect user input before perhaps extending to a mobile app in the future. We realized that creating a website initially would allow us to accurately evaluate consumer interest and get feedback.

Our ongoing goal has been to address the major question: "What will convince our customers that we are their best option?"

Exploring Our Options

As we strategized, we considered various options for our platform's development:

- Building an App Now: This would require significant investment and may complicate initial user engagement. We realized that without a solid user base and platform stability, an app might not succeed.

- Testing the Market with a Website: This option allows us to create a visible presence, collect user feedback, and continuously enhance our platform. Ultimately, we chose this path to build a strong foundation before potentially venturing into app development.

Lessons Learned

Throughout our adventure, we've learned a few important lessons:

1. Listen to Your Customers: Engaging with potential consumers via surveys and comments is critical for knowing their wants and preferences. Customer feedback guides our development process.

2. Iterate and adapt: Flexibility is crucial. As we gather more feedback, we must be prepared to change our plans and features accordingly.

3. Focus on Differentiation: Understanding how we differ from competitors is critical to promoting ourselves as the preferred alternative for users. We must always question oneself what distinctive value we can offer.

4. Establishing a trustworthy foundation from the start is critical. Ensuring security measures and open processes are critical to our success.

Conclusion

My experience studying Entrepreneurial Mind has been revolutionary, helping to shape our vision for a distinct marketplace. By regularly engaging with customers and emphasizing their needs, we are on our way to creating a platform that genuinely stands apart. I'm happy to be sharing our progress as we move forward with this venture!

[circusclownsam]

how to train your dragon OC

general information

first name; min-ya

last name; choi

nicknames; minnie, prefers that name only

species; human

gender; female

born; 3 / 9

age; 18-20s

race; asian

ethnicity; korean / australian

voice/accent; mid pitch, noticeable australian accent, slight raspiness

tribe; hairy hooligans

occupation; dragon rider

scent; a soft, vanilla smell

physical appearance

height; 5’2 [158cm]

weight; light

skin tone; warm tan

eye colour; dark blue with specks of light blue around her pupils

hair colour; chocolate brown

hair length; roughly hip length

hair texture; 2c

body shape; hourglass, small waist, d cup, average thickness (idk how to describe bodies)

face claim; https://pin.it/4H7atqRle

scars; inner thighs, arms and back. prefers hiding them.

other features; freckled cheeks, nose and shoulders. dimpled smile

attire

main attire;

; https://pin.it/6oki1i93M

; https://pin.it/6beRu6f0W

; https://pin.it/5ymcAHdQf

; https://pin.it/IlDKMotwV

; https://pin.it/qFlhXkKAB

; https://pin.it/2xBbTnpqI [both wrists]

; https://pin.it/4RX6YtAnX

; https://pin.it/6VOB7ErOh

personality

described as by others; kept to herself, quiet

positive traits; caring, selfless, humorous, trustworthy, kind, protective, supportive, intelligent

negative traits; introverted, blunt, cold, sarcastic, judgmental [to an extent]

neutral traits; flirtatious, honest, playful

interests; mapping with hiccup, training with astrid, her dragon, reading in her alone time, defeating dragon hunters, her personal space [mood], speed stingers, sharpening her axe, gardening with fishlegs, spending time with the twins and snotlout, fortifying her hut, protecting the edge and berk, visiting heather and dagur on berserker island, sewing in her spare time

disinterests; dragon hunters, sudden physical contact, when things are messy, her parents, liars, being forced into things, when her things go missing, thunderstorms, getting lost, slimey textured food, alvin the treacherous, the cold [more to come, probably]

fears; deep water [to an extent], whispering deaths

habits; neatening things, scratching at her scars

hobbies; sewing, reading and drawing in her notebook

insecurities; her scars, mostly

stats [1-10]

physical strength; 8/10

mental strength; 6/10

confidence; 5/10

speed; 8/10

agility; 7/10

cooking; 9/10

balance; 8/10

sewing; 7/10

drawing; 9/10

intelligence; 8/10

offence; 8/10

defence; 7/10

hygiene; 10/10

dental care; 10/10

eyesight; 10/10

relations

father; robert choi, deceased, strained relationship due to abuse.

mother; lin choi, alive, strained relationship due to neglect.

sister; only child, though sees heather and astrid as her “sisters”

friends; astrid, hiccup, fishlegs, snotlout, ruffnut & tuffnut, heather, dagur, valka, eret, stoick

closer to; hiccup, astrid, heather

allies; mala and defenders of the wing tribe, atali and the wingmaidens

enemies; dragon hunters, mostly. drago bludvist, grimmel the grisly

pets; a three-legged terrible terror named smokey

dragon[s] she’s close to; her dragon, toothless

love interest[s]; hiccup haddock

dragon information [species, name etc][non-canon dragon][very long, sorry!]

dragon name; echo

dragon appearance; https://pin.it/2AUk8ueLF [cred to artist, ofc]

species; deadly nightmare

species description; a distant relative of the deadly nadder and monstrous nightmare

height; 11’6 [3.52m]

weight; 1,776 lbs [805.6 kg], far lighter than its relative; the deadly nadder

wingspan; 53 feet 11 inches (16.44 meters)

rarity; not very rare, though numbers are slimming due to poaching

diet; boar, fish, chicken, depending on nesting grounds

habitats; forests, volcanoes, caves and sandy beaches

abilities; spine shot [single and multiple], coat themselves in fire, enhanced speed and smell, mimic the roars of its relative species (think; indominus rex)

fire blast; similar to its relative, the monstrous nightmare

dragon class; tracker and sharp class

personality traits; skittish, insanely loyal, protective of their rider

colouration; depends on their habitats, lush green [forest], an ashy grey and deep red [volcano], deep blue and black [cave] and a nice, yellow hue with white specks [beaches]

camouflage; depending on colouration, deadly nightmares are able to easily blend in with their habitats

trainable?; yes

success rate; 50 - 50

equipment

primary weapon; double-headed axe

located; a holster strapped to the back of her armour

appearance; https://pin.it/4gmzlxWpP

secondary weapon; a dagger

appearance; https://pin.it/2ifTfTeTd

located; a holster on the left side of her skirt waistband

notebook; https://pin.it/5X8IqM3KW

located in; a side-pouch on the right side of her skirt waistband

dragon saddle; https://pin.it/5MJjlvtY3

[occupyhades]

God's Whistleblower

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3 (ESV)

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD." Jeremiah 17:5 (NIV)

What are worthless and wicked people like? They are constant liars. Proverbs 6:12 (NLT) 

A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. Proverbs 17:4 (NIV) 

So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? Luke 16:11 (NIV) 

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3:9 (NIV)

“And now, you priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me." Malachi 2:1-2 (NIV) 

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. Apocalypse 20:12 (BSB)

[noctusfury]

Who Replaced Savage as Alvin's Chief Subordinate? (Defenders of Berk/RTTE)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another HTTYD article! Today, we'll be going into another Alvin/Outcast topic!

Anyone wonder who replaced Savage as Alvin's subordinate after Dagur's defeat at the Defenders of Berk finale? Savage fled after Dagur's capture, and Alvin was left sans a right-hand man. So who took over his position?

I can think of a few people. Though, it could always be somebody that we don't even know. But, for argument's sake, let's start with four likely candidates. With one additional fanon option, which I'll add at the end of this.

The first candidate I'd like to present you as a likely option is this guy in the Riders of Berk episode "Alvin and the Outcasts," where he runs to Alvin, who's in Stoick's place, and reports of having been given reports by Scouts about Bucket and Mulch with a bunch of others heading to Thor's Beach, along with Stoick and a group heading into the forest.

We also see in later on, when he's stranded on Dragon Island with Alvin, Savage, and others.

Personally, I like this guy. He looks like he's got a good head on his shoulders, and he's got a pretty nice voice. Sadly, he doesn't have a name despite having a speaking part since he doesn't have one in the credits. 😔🙏🏻

So let's just call him Hugin, after one of Odin's ravens who reports to him all he finds. 🤷‍♂️

It's hard to tell if we see him in other episodes after this, since it's been awhile since I've watched ROB, and we also have to deal with the multiple Outcast minion clones that resemble him. 😵‍💫

The Second Candidate for the position of Alvin's chief subordinate is this guy, found in RTTE Season 6 episode "Return of Thor Bonecrusher", who talks to the Gang and informs them about the situation, as well as the pike:

Let's call him Cheeky, due to his cheekguards. (I honestly don't know what to say about that helmet. It's not even covering his cheeks but his nose area instead. 💀 Is his beard THAT bushy? 😅)

Now, this could be pure coincidence — again, given the clones DreamWorks Dragons LOVES to duplicate — but we also see him in "Alvin and the Outcasts", along with, I assume, the first candidate I've just mentioned earlier, convening with Alvin in their Great Hall, listening to Alvin's plan about capturing the "Dragon Conqueror".

Judging from this picture above, I'm assuming that he's one of Alvin's subordinates, since usually the only ones allowed to be in-the-know about a chieftain's plans or schemes are those under their retinue: the commanders who lead the men and keep things somewhat civilized and orderly.

Of course, the men in these two pics look different: One looks rather friendly while the other one just above us looks rather stern and focused, as a subordinate ought to be. So this could just be two completely different people. Though that could be that he only gets "that way" — friendly and talkative — when talking about Ice Pike. (That, actually could be very interesting. 😮 A literal ice-breaker, that. 🤭)

So in case I'm wrong, let me clarify: the second candidate is the one we see in "Alvin and the Outcasts," just like this fella here just down below, wearing a... full-faced spangenhelm — the Third Candidate:

Let's call him Helmface.

We also see him in "Return of Thor Bonecrusher," and, if memory serves, he was with Cheeky when he explained the pike, and then threw up when Fishlegs, as Thor, ate one of them raw. 💀

In ROB's "Alvin and the Outcasts," we also see him — or who we assume is him — among those stranded with Alvin.

However, keep in mind that full-helmed goons for Outcasts, Berserkers and Hunters are usually just your run-of-the-mill common soldier. So I may be fully wrong and am just assuming that since the other two subordinates are there that he is also a subordinate.

And now we get to the Fourth and Final Candidate: Mildew.

That's right. Mildew.

As you know, in the ROB finale, as well as Defenders of Berk, Mildew has become an Outcast and serves Alvin. And after learning how to train dragons thanks to Hiccup impromptu dragon training lesson, he uses this knowledge to teach the Outcasts how to train dragons — namely Whispering Deaths and even Changewings.

(I'll be honest, I was rather disappointed that they passed on the opportunity to have a bunch of Outcast Dragon Riders. That would've been much more entertaining. And that would've been an extra nod to the books. That really should've been added. 😢😔)

He's also shown to be really intelligent, not only in being competent in handling the dragons, but also came up with several ideas to deal with the dragons: In ROB's "Dragon Flower," he bought Blue Oleanders which was basically poison for the dragons and thus weakened them considerably (honestly, it would've been great to utilize blue oleander to keep dragons away from certain places or as a type of defensive measure, etc — another lost opportunity); In "Dragons We Trust," Mildew successfully used his dragon tools to frame the dragons and get them banished from Berk, thus leaving Berk open to an Outcast raid (you can read here). In DOB's "Live and Let Fly," "The Iron Gronkle," "Tunnel Vision," and "Worst in Show," Mildew set a plan to destroy Berk from within by using Whispering Death eggs. And, unintentionally, it brought forth the Screaming Death, which gave a much greater challenge to Berk; and he also then suggested using those tunnels made by the Whispering Deaths to sneak into Berk and do whatever they wanted, and was able to capture Meatlug as a result.

And finally, at the end in the DOB finale episode "Cast Out," he was the inside man which helped Alvin and Hiccup to sneak onto Outcast Island and free Stoick and defeat Dagur. I don't know how he got caught, since I'm sure Savage or the other Outcasts should've told Dagur about him, the Whispering Deaths, and the caves. But they either don't know, or, in Savage's case, perhaps he didn't like Mildew's increasing importance within the Outcast Tribe and didn't want him doing the same thing as a Berserker subordinate. Who knows. But that would actually be interesting. 🤔🤷‍♂️ But all we know is that Mildew was one of the few Outcasts who knew about Alvin's return and helped him defeat Dagur.

In conclusion, Mildew is a resourceful and intelligent individual, despite his acrimonious and recalcitrant complaints. He obviously keeps all that to himself while on Outcast Island, since he could lose his head. Or maybe he just genuinely enjoys not being on Berk. Who knows. 🤷‍♂️

According to School of Dragons game lore — and you guys know how much I avoid game and comic lore to the hilt! — Mildew apparently can't stand that there are too many dragons both on Outcast Island and on Berk, and thus travels to a less-populated island called Icestorm Island. This would, of course, disprove this theory that Mildew became Alvin's chief subordinate, if this is true.

So this is up to you guys on whether you wish to incorporate this part of the game lore into it or not. Personally, I don't. So I'll be ignoring this. That being said, though, it WOULD be like Mildew to try to get away from dragons. But in the show, Mildew looked like he was having a soft spot for the Whispering Deaths and all that, so... I don't know. Make out of that what you will. 🤷‍♂️

And thus, my final candidate is a fanon one of my own concoction:

Fishlegs Ingerman.

I had just posted some posts concerning this (see here and here), but Fishlegs after the "The Return of Thor Bonecrusher" would've been the perfect candidate for Alvin. He saved his (Alvin's) life and is very intelligent and strong as an individual. If Fishlegs decided that Berk wasn't the place for him and yearned to do something more or to continue doing something adventurous, joining the Incasts-nee-Outcasts as Alvin's chief subordinate — even heir — and gaining fame and achievements and honor for himself. Personally, I'm really liking this headcanon-cum-theory. 😁

Of heck, it could even be some random character who we aren't aware of. Or even a child or young man that washed up on shore who Alvin had taken under his wing. The sky's the limit!

So in conclusion, there are several candidates who have the potential of being Alvin's chief subordinate. As to who, I'll leave that up to you. Let me know what you guys think. I'd love to see your thoughts on this.

After this post, there will probably be another 3 or so Alvin or Outcasts-related articles before I dive into the Berserkers or other topics! I'll also try to make sure to post the links on my blog so that they'll be readily available.

Thank you very much for reading! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Long Live the Night!

— Noctus Fury

[chipmunkweirdo]

CHARACTER INFO FOR MY AU JEANETTE

Full Name: Jeanette Iris Miller

Nicknames: Netta (given by Alvin and only Alvin)

Personality type: INFP

Positive Traits: Trustworthy, Imaginative, Idealistic, Caring, Compassionate, Gentle, Encouraging, Sensitive, Cooperative, Soft Spoken, Easy going, Joyful, Whimsical, Open minded, Patient, Pacifistic, Genuine, Humble, and Quirky

Negative traits: Blatantly honest (all the time), absent minded, a bit socially inept, clumsy, anxious, awkward, disorganized, and easily distracted.

Special Abilities: She can communicate with animals and plants and feel their emotions. (Think Dr. Doolittle style!)

Fashion Style: Unique or Hippie vibes. Wears mismatched socks, clashing colors, plaid and stripes, things Brittany calls tacky. Her favorite casual outfit is a tye dye T shirt with a peace sign, a purple jacket, and light blue to lavender leggings. Her shoes are purple moccasins.

Favorite Color: All of them, with a preference for shades of purple and blue. Violet is a big fave! As is grape purple!

Favorite Accessories: Amethyst butterfly pendant that she believes gives her positive vibes and spreads positive vibes to others. (It’s a comfort item, much like Alvin’s cap)

Biggest Worries and Fears: The pollution of the planet, animals getting hurt, saying the wrong thing in a conversation and coming across as ruder than she means to, being reduced to a “girl Simon” in the eyes of her fanbase, and not finishing her projects.

Favorite Symbols: Butterflies, flowers, peace signs, recycling signs, cat faces, and moons

Mental health differences: On the Autism Spectrum (has done research and suspects she is, but isn’t diagnosed officially yet)

CHARACTER INFO FOR MY AU ALVIN

Name: Alvin Michael-Murphy Seville (2.0)

Personality type: ENFP/ENTP (thinking and feeling were literally 50/50 on the online test)

Positive Traits: Ambitious, Adventurous, Persistent, Adaptable, Enthusiastic, Opportunistic, Curious, Imaginative, Innovative, Loyal, Confident, Courageous, Protective, Resilient, Generous, Charismatic, Resourceful, Friendly, Heroic, Academic, Quirky, Flamboyant, Funny, and Responsible (most of the time)

Negative traits: Moody, impulsive, self absorbed, ultra-dramatic, reckless, forgetful, messy, loud, annoying, obnoxious, whiny, clingy, hyperactive, rambunctious, absent minded, manipulative, argumentative, blatantly honest at inappropriate times, jumps to conclusions, easily bored, neurotic, paranoid, impatient, and indecisive

Special Abilities: Dreamwalking, Dreambombing and Dreamsnatching

Extra power: Crazy math and science visions. “I can see physics!”

Fashion Style: Unique and Flamboyant: Graphic T shirts with science and space themes, rainbow sneakers, the letter A somewhere on his clothes, must have cap on at most times. Glitter, sparkles, paint splatters. Crop tops and leggings.

Favorite Color: crimson, gold, cyan, sky blue, tangerine, electric lime, fuschia, and bright violet

Favorite Accessories: Red baseball cap with a green brim, a wrist watch so he can’t forget the time! Special double music note pendant with one red and one cyan gem. Alien head pin.

Biggest Worries and Fears: Being a failure, being left all alone, QUITTING LITERALLY ANYTHING, losing his identity, being hated because the real him isn’t “cool” enough, making a mistake so terrible he can never repair the damage it did, being perceived as stupid because of his struggles to focus, and being used and manipulated by higher powers.

Favorite Symbols: The letter A, music notes, atoms, light bulbs, lightning bolts, alien heads, rainbows, and stars.

Mental health differences: Has been diagnosed with combined Hyperactive and Inattentive ADHD. Was relieved because it explained so much of his behavior and struggles.

[simplyfx]

So, is the spin off of Z nation about the black summer really happening?

[overfedvenison]

So there’s this joke in The Simpsons where Bart finds a record called “Melvin and the Squirrels” and Comic Book Guy is like “Ah yes, party of the Rodent Invasion of the late 60s”

It gets played and the joke is that it’s like this transparent knockoff of Alvin and the Chipmunks But it turns out there actually were a bunch of Chipmunks knockoffs. AND I AM GOING DOWN A RABBIT HOLE, BECAUSE RODENT INVASION REAL Now, take everything here with a gigantic grain of salt because I only just learned about some of these. Like, these are my immediate takes on trying to decipher this, not someone who knows what they are talking about. But these records do exist, at least. The most famous (And probably the most artistically interesting) is The Nutty Squirrels:

Who are fairly well documented, and had a related cartoon. They were offering something more than a mere Chipmunk Knockoff, in that they were doing original “Scat” music. The combination is actually pretty unique sounding, and would have been especially appealing to a novelty-song loving public of the 1960s. They were created by Don Elliott and Alexander "Sascha" Burland; a pair of Jazz Musicians. They are remembered, when at all, for their early albums which were mostly original stuff. One of these even ended up with a derivative song performed by a -human- musician, Stand Kenton: Eager Beaver. Their later albums had them cover pop songs, becoming just a Chipmunks knockoff  

The Nutty Squirrels led emerged in 1960, but were allegedly “Revived” in 1975 by one Bob Milsap. But like... Okay, this is weird? Like, first I can’t actually find references to this being a continuation of Nutty Squirrels that I would consider from a “trustworthy source.” And going by their creator, that’s... Not someone involved in Nutty Squirrels, and doesn’t share the name or characters. And there were apparently some legal difficulties with calling these guys “Squirrels” due to The Nutty Squirrels. And they don’t do jazz, they do convoy/trucker music. ....So I think the idea that these were a revival is just a fake rumor going around. Melvin and Squirrley both are sometimes portrayed with looks and outfits similar to The Nutty Squirrels, so maybe that’s it, but I feel like it’s ripping off multiple sources Regardless, I think it’s really funny that they would have a “Live” album. They were a REALLY blatant knockoff really fast, with the twist of being primarily country-aligned to Alvin’s pop song. But they outright added this squirrel in a M-jacket named “Melvin” which means this might legitimately be what that Simpsons Gag is specifically making fun of To give them some credit, it seems like a running theme of these bands is that they have like, one minor breakout hit that distinguishes them slightly; Alvin and the Chipmunks had the novelty pop songs The Christmas Song and the earlier Witch Doctor, Nutty Squirrels had the Scat-focused Uh Oh, and these guys had the Convoy song Hey Shirly, This Is Squirrly. Looking into this, I saw someone note essentially “There are no covers on this christmas album that Alvin and the Chipmunks did not do better earlier” which is a SCATHING critique if I’ve ever heard one. But, like, in the... Narrow field of chipmunk covers of songs? I mean, they’re serviceable I suppose ...

To go increasingly obscure, Peter Pan Records “The Grasshoppers” What... What is this. I can’t find any information on them, and even in a field of Chipmunks Clones, this is like, especially a chipmunk clone - To the point that it appears their most known song is a cover of the chipmunk song What is going on? Was this produced, or did it just like, spawn? So, near as I can tell, Peter Pan Records was a long-standing children’s record specialty company. So, with all these bands covering more... Questionable songs, I guess I could see a market for an absolutely kid-friendly alternative. But that’s speculation ... Anyways, I’m sure there are more. Heck, even the Chipettes would qualify. But like ...Iunno, it just baffles me this could have even been something you might consider a trend

[cabiba]

The political economy of the Digital Age remains virtually terra incognita. In Techno-Feudalism, published three months ago in France (no English translation yet), Cedric Durand, an economist at the Sorbonne, provides a crucial, global public service as he sifts through the new Matrix that controls all our lives.

Durand places the Digital Age in the larger context of the historical evolution of capitalism to show how the Washington consensus ended up metastasized into the Silicon Valley consensus. In a delightful twist, he brands the new grove as the “Californian ideology”.

We’re far away from Jefferson Airplane and the Beach Boys; it’s more like Schumpeter’s “creative destruction” on steroids, complete with IMF-style “structural reforms” emphasizing “flexibilization” of work and outright marketization/financialization of everyday life.

The Digital Age was crucially associated with right-wing ideology from the very start. The incubation was provided by the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), active from 1993 to 2010 and conveniently funded, among others, by Microsoft, At&T, Disney, Sony, Oracle, Google and Yahoo.

In 1994, PFF held a ground-breaking conference in Atlanta that eventually led to a seminal Magna Carta: literally, Cyberspace and the American Dream: a Magna Carta for the Knowledge Era, published in 1996, during the first Clinton term.

Not by accident the magazine Wired was founded, just like PFF, in 1993, instantly becoming the house organ of the “Californian ideology”.

Among the authors of the Magna Carta we find futurist Alvin “Future Shock” Toffler and Reagan’s former scientific counselor George Keyworth. Before anyone else, they were already conceptualizing how “cyberspace is a bioelectronic environment which is literally universal”. Their Magna Carta was the privileged road map to explore the new frontier.

Those Randian heroes

Also not by accident the intellectual guru of the new frontier was Ayn Rand and her quite primitive dichotomy between “pioneers” and the mob. Rand declared that egotism is good, altruism is evil, and empathy is irrational.

When it comes to the new property rights of the new Eldorado, all power should be exercised by the Silicon Valley “pioneers”, a Narcissus bunch in love with their mirror image as superior Randian heroes. In the name of innovation they should be allowed to destroy any established rules, in a Schumpeterian “creative destruction” rampage.

That has led to our current environment, where Google, Facebook, Uber and co. can overstep any legal framework, imposing their innovations like a fait accompli.

Durand goes to the heart of the matter when it comes to the true nature of “digital domination”: US leadership was never achieved because of spontaneous market forces.

On the contrary. The history of Silicon Valley is absolutely dependent on state intervention – especially via the industrial-military complex and the aero-spatial complex. The Ames Research Center, one of NASA’s top labs, is in Mountain View. Stanford was always awarded juicy military research contracts. During WWII, Hewlett Packard, for instance, was flourishing thanks to their electronics being used to manufacture radars. Throughout the 1960s, the US military bought the bulk of the still infant semiconductor production.

The Rise of Data Capital, a 2016 MIT Technological Review report produced “in partnership” with Oracle, showed how digital networks open access to a new, virgin underground brimming with resources: “Those that arrive first and take control obtain the resources they’re seeking” – in the form of data.

So everything from video-surveillance images and electronic banking to DNA samples and supermarket tickets implies some form of territorial appropriation. Here we see in all its glory the extractivist logic inbuilt in the development of Big Data.

Durand gives us the example of Android to illustrate the extractivist logic in action. Google made Android free for all smartphones so it would acquire a strategic market position, beating the Apple ecosystem and thus becoming the default internet entry point for virtually the whole planet. That’s how a de facto, immensely valuable, online real estate empire is built.

The key point is that whatever the original business – Google, Amazon, Uber – strategies of conquering cyberspace all point to the same target: take control of “spaces of observation and capture” of data.

About the Chinese credit system…

Durand offers a finely balanced analysis of the Chinese credit system – a public/private hybrid system launched in 2013 during the 3rd plenum of the 18thCongress of the CCP, under the motto “to value sincerity and punish insincerity”.

For the State Council, the supreme government authority in China, what really mattered was to encourage behavior deemed responsible in the financial, economic and socio-political spheres, and sanction what is not. It’s all about trust. Beijing defines it as “a method of perfecting the socialist market economy system that improves social governance”.

The Chinese term – shehui xinyong – is totally lost in translation in the West. Way more complex than “social credit”, it’s more about “trustworthiness”, in the sense of integrity. Instead of the pedestrian Western accusations of being an Orwellian system, priorities include the fight against fraud and corruption at the national, regional and local levels, violations of environmental rules, disrespect of food security norms.

Cybernetic management of social life is being seriously discussed in China since the 1980s. In fact, since the 1940s, as we see in Mao’s Little Red Book. It could be seen as inspired by the Maoist principle of “mass lines”, as in “start with the masses to come back to the masses: to amass the ideas of the masses (which are dispersed, non-systematic), concentrate them (in general ideas and systematic), then come back to the masses to diffuse and explain them, make sure the masses assimilate them and translate them into action, and verify in the action of the masses the pertinence of these ideas”.

Durand’s analysis goes one step beyond Soshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism when he finally reaches the core of his thesis, showing how digital platforms become “fiefdoms”: they live out of, and profit from, their vast “digital territory” peopled with data even as they lock in power over their services, which are deemed indispensable.

And just as in feudalism, fiefdoms dominate territory by attaching serfs. Masters made their living profiting from the social power derived from the exploitation of their domain, and that implied unlimited power over the serfs.

It all spells out total concentration. Silicon Valley stalwart Peter Thiel has always stressed the target of the digital entrepreneur is exactly to bypass competition. As quoted in Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World, Thiel declared, “Capitalism and competition are antagonistic. Competition is for losers.”

So now we are facing not a mere clash between Silicon Valley capitalism and finance capital, but actually a new mode of production:

a turbo-capitalist survival as rentier capitalism, where Silicon giants take the place of estates, and also the State. That is the “techno-feudal” option, as defined by Durand.

Blake meets Burroughs

Durand’s book is extremely relevant to show how the theoretical and political critique of the Digital Age is still rarified. There is no precise cartography of all those dodgy circuits of revenue extraction. No analysis of how do they profit from the financial casino – especially mega investment funds that facilitate hyper-concentration. Or how do they profit from the hardcore exploitation of workers in the gig economy.

The total concentration of the digital glebe is leading to a scenario, as Durand recalls, already dreamed up by Stuart Mill, where every land in a country belonged to a single master. Our generalized dependency on the digital masters seems to be “the cannibal future of liberalism in the age of algorithms”.

Is there a possible way out? The temptation is to go radical – a Blake/Burroughs crossover. We have to expand our scope of comprehension – and stop confusing the map (as shown in the Magna Carta) with the territory (our perception).

William Blake, in his proto-psychedelic visions, was all about liberation and subordination – depicting an authoritarian deity imposing conformity via a sort of source code of mass influence. Looks like a proto-analysis of the Digital Age.

William Burroughs conceptualized Control – an array of manipulations including mass media (he would be horrified by social media). To break down Control, we must be able to hack into and disrupt its core programs. Burroughs showed how all forms of Control must be rejected – and defeated: “Authority figures are seen for what they are: dead empty masks manipulated by computers”.

Here’s our future: hackers or slaves.

(Republished from

Asia Times

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