#bodkin spoiler

[zinjanthropusboisei]

Watching "Bodkin" on Netflix and it's good-not-great...except I really dig the plot momentum derived from endangered eel smuggling

[what-even-is-sleep]

Thinking about Bodkin bc like found family trope but you’re more like ough.. uh oh.. OH MY GOD… uhhh… AHH… AHHHHH… aghhh.. OH MY GOD NO

[wickedcriminal]

OooOOoh now Xar has a type of hidden forbidden magic just like Wish does 👀 Xar with Witch magic and Wish with magic that works on iron... and if either of them get discovered by their respective families/tribes they're going to get in big trouble

[verdantlyviolet]

Some Pet Dog Names from Ancient Greece

When the hound has caught the hare, or been otherwise victorious in the course, you should […] pat him with your hand and praise him, kissing his head, and stroking his ears, and speaking to him by name […] for, like men of generous spirit, they love to be praised; and the dog, if not quite tired out [from the hunt] will come up with joy to caress you. (Arrian, On Coursing, XVIII Pg 116 trans. William Dansey)

As many dogs were hunting hounds or guard dogs in Ancient Greece, it followed that the naming convention was dependant on psychology; to name the dog something strong or skilful was to boast of the animals’ superiority to others of its breed, just as it reflected on the owner. There are some well known dogs in Ancient Greek history that many are aware of, namely Cerberus, Odysseus’ faithful dog Argos, and Alexander the Great named a city after his dog Peritas. We are lucky to have two lists of excellent dog names from authors Xenophon and Ovid.

From Xenophon (~ 430 - 355 BC), in his treaties on Hunting, we have the below list:

Give the hounds short names, so as to be able to call to them easily. The following are the right sort: Psyche, Thymus, Porpax, Styrax, Lonchê (Lance), Lochus, Phrura, Phylax (Sentinel/Guardian), Taxis, Xiphon, Phonax, Phlegon, Alcê (Stout), Teuchon, Hyleus, Medas (Crafty), Porthon, Sperchon (Bustler/Hasty), Orgê, Bremon, Hybris, Thallon (Vigorous), Rhomê, Antheus (Blossom), Hebe, Getheus, Chara (Jolly/Ecstasy), Leusson, Augo (Bright), Polys, Bia, Stichon, Spudê, Bryas, Oenas (Blueskin), Sterrus, Craugê, Caenon, Tyrbas, Sthenon, Aether, Actis, Aechmê, Noes (Counsellor), Gnomê, Stibon, Hormê (Impetus). (Xenophon Kynegetikos On Hunting 7.5)

A kind person on Reddit suggested these names could also translate as:

Psyche = Psyche / Spirit

Thymus = Pluck

Porpax = Buckler

Styrax = Spigot

Lonche = Lance

Lochus = Lurcher

Phrura = Watch

Phylax = Keeper

Taxis = Brigade

Xiphon = Fencer

Phonax = Butcher

Phlegon = Blazer

Alce = Prowess

Teuchon = Craftsman

Hyleus = Foster

Medas = Counsellor

Porthon = Spoiler

Sperchon = Hurry

Orge = Fury

Bremon = Growler

Hybris = Riot / Insolence

Thallon = Bloomer

Rhome = Rome / Mighty

Antheus = Blossom

Hebe = Hebe / Youth (Young’n)

Getheus = Hilary / Happy

Chara = Jollity

Leusson = Glazer

Augo = Eyesbright

Polys = Much

Bia = Force

Stichon = Trooper

Spude = Bustle

Bryas = Bubbler

Oenas = Rockdove

Sterrus = Stubborn

Crauge = Yelp

Caenon = Killer

Tyrbas = Strongboy / Riot

Sthenon = Sky

Aether = Sunbeam

Actis = Bodkin

Aechme = Wistful

Noes = Gnome

And from Ovid (~ 43 BC - 17 AD), in his Metamorphosis, of the dogs that attacked their master Actaeon, we have:

First ‘Black-foot’, Melampus, and keen-scented Ichnobates, ‘Tracker’, signal him with baying, Ichnobates out of Crete, Melampus, Sparta. Then others rush at him swift as the wind, ‘Greedy’, Pamphagus, Dorceus, ‘Gazelle’, Oribasos, ‘Mountaineer’, all out of Arcadia: powerful ‘Deerslayer’, Nebrophonos, savage Theron, ‘Whirlwind’, and Laelape, ‘Hunter’. Then swift-footed Pterelas, ‘Wings’, and trail-scenting Agre, ‘Chaser’, fierce Hylaeus, ‘Woody’, lately gored by a boar, the wolf-born Nape, ‘Valley’, Poemenis, the trusty ‘Shepherd’, and Harpyia, ‘Snatcher’, with her two pups. There is thin-flanked Sicyonian Ladon, ‘Catcher’, Dromas, ‘Runner’, ‘Grinder’, Canache, Sticte ‘Spot’, Tigris ‘Tigress’, Alce, ‘Strong’, and white-haired Leucon, ‘Whitey’, and black-haired Asbolus, ‘Soot’. Lacon, ‘Spartan’, follows them, a dog well known for his strength, and strong-running Aëllo, ‘Storm’. Then Thoos, ‘Swift’, and speedy Lycisce, ‘Wolf’, with her brother Cyprius ‘Cyprian’. Next ‘Grasper’, Harpalos, with a distinguishing mark of white, in the centre of his black forehead, ‘Black’, Melaneus, and Lachne, ‘Shaggy’, with hairy pelt, Labros, ‘Fury’, and Argiodus, ‘White-tooth’, born of a Cretan sire and Spartan dam, keen-voiced Hylactor, ‘Barker’ […] First ‘Black-hair’, Melanchaetes, wounds his back, then ‘Killer’, Theridamas, and Oresitrophos, the ‘Climber’, clings to his shoulder. (Ovid Metamorphoses III 206-233 trans. A S Kline)

Theoi has Brookes More’s translation which offers a few English variations on the names.

A few fun ideas to keep in mind if looking to name a new pet in Ancient Greek style.

For I have myself bred up a hound whose eyes are the greyest of grey; a swift, hard-working, courageous, sound-footed dog[…]. He is most gentle, and kindly-affectioned […] as soon as he catches sight of me, showing symptoms of joy, and again trotting on before me. […] He is the constant companion of whichever may be sick; and if he has not seen either of us for only a short time, he jumps up repeatedly by way of salutation, and barks with joy as a greeting. (Arrian, On Coursing, V Pg 78-80 trans. William Dansey)

🐶 Sources

Xenophon Kynegetikos

Arrian On Coursing

Ovid Metamorphoses III

Dog shaped Rhyton by the Brygos Painter in Aleria

[denimbex1986]

'***** 5/5

It began with an historical bang and ended with a heartbreaking posthumous appearance. In between, Doctor Who (BBC One) delivered a blockbusting adventure. Writer Russell T Davies warned that Wild Blue Yonder was “weird”. Leading man David Tennant said it was “shocking… unlike any episode ever”. They weren’t wrong. This was a deeply creepy, dazzlingly creative hour of teatime TV.

A witty prologue saw the Tardis crash-land in an apple tree, circa 1666. A certain physicist happened to be sitting beneath it. The Doctor greeted him as “Sir Isaac Newton” before correcting himself and losing the honorific. The colour-blind casting of Nathaniel Curtis, the half-Indian actor best known for starring in Davies’s It’s a Sin, could rattle a few cages. The Doctor (Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) were far more concerned with the fact that the influential polymath was “hot”. They left him with the made-up word “mavity” as a parting gift. He’ll get there eventually.

The main meat of the story took place on a seemingly empty spaceship at the edge of the universe. Except this is sci-fi, where spaceships are rarely really empty. Lying in wait was “something so bad that the Tardis ran away”: two shape-shifting, war-mongering lifeforms which morphed into doppelgängers of the Doctor and Donna, planning to steal the Tardis and wreak intergalactic havoc. Like Newton said: “Odd bodkins! What the devil?”

As their physical forms settled, they sprouted long arms, slack jaws and vampiric teeth. They ran on all fours, grew to outlandish size, got stuck in corridors and melted into puddles. Unsettling and strange, they referenced horror films from Invasion of The Body Snatchers to Jordan Peele’s Us.

The design team faced a challenge bringing to life what Davies had written on the page. They rose to it. The show’s new distribution deal with Disney brings a boosted budget, which was visible in the fully realised spacecraft and Hollywood-worthy visual effects. These were supplemented by fine physical acting by Tennant and Tate, playing their own doubles in eerie style.

When they finally returned to Earth, they were greeted by Wilfred Mott (the late Bernard Cribbins), now wheelchair-bound but still a doughty warrior. Cribbins filmed scenes last year before his death. The Doctor spoke for us all when he beamed: “Now nothing is wrong. Nothing in the whole wide world. Hello, my old soldier.”

For all the hype-building talk of shocking weirdness, this was Doctor Who boiled down to its essence. The Time Lord and his loyal companion, landing somewhere mysterious, finding themselves in trouble. No big cast nor political preaching. Just a rollicking yarn in a confined setting with scary monsters. A back-to-basics “base under siege” adventure with a whopping twist.

Tennant was funny and fizzingly charismatic, revelling in his chemistry with Tate. There was warm bickering, clever wordplay and dark hints of the Doctor being haunted by his origins. Their reunited double act feels nostalgic yet thrillingly new – perfect for marking the show’s 60th anniversary, before launching its new era.

We now await next Saturday’s climactic special The Giggle, which marks the return of classic villain The Toymaker (now played by Neil Patrick Harris) – and presumably ends with Tennant’s regeneration into the 15th Doctor (long-term replacement Ncuti Gatwa). In just two episodes, Davies has restored our faith in family-friendly sci-fi. This was a jaw-dropping, joyous injection of sheer Saturday night magic.'

[iamafule]

The Wizards of Once Twice magic spoiler warning

Reading the Wizards of Once and BODKIN LIKES WISH!!

[anotheruntitledsong]

i think its fucking hilarious that Xar becomes king Arthur w

[anhttydbookfan]

Never and Forever Spoilers

How apt for the Lancer to invent the Lance.

[yv-sketches]

I couldn’t help myself.

A bit spoiler-ish though.

(My other drawing is here. It’s waaay better, I promise.)

Unrelated: I was in a bookshop yesterday and I found a hardcover of The wizards of once among the English YA books. Which is weird, because in my country they only translated the first 4 httyd books and nobody has ever heard of Cressida Cowell.

[queenofthearchipelago]

Spoilers for the Wizards of Once series if you haven't read it and want to, but I really thought the narrator would be Squeezjoos.

Because look, the story directly said the narrator was a character in the first book. I thought Wish and Xar and Bodkin were too obvious. I assumed Cressida Cowell liked a good twist so I barely considered them. Caliburn is also too obvious. Other than that you have the sprites, snowcats, Crusher, etc. None of them had enough presence in the story, or personality, to emotionally impact me as the read if they were the narrator.

Except Squeezjoos.

Squeezjoos wasn't there for everything that happened but I could imagine him learning about things after the fact and writing down the story we read. He was also young, and we don't know the age limit of sprites, so it's possible that he would live long enough to be able to say the phrase "A British Isles so old it did not know it was the British Isles yet"

Also, with the narrative asking questions about the moral of the story, it makes sense for Squeezjoos to ask that question. He goes through so much, so much pain in these books, and so it makes sense that he didn't ask why at the time, and he's thinking about it now, as he writes.

It just, it would have made so much sense for that little hairy fairy to be the narrator, and it would have fulfilled the twist of who is the narrator, because I remember at the time everyone thought it would be Caliburn or Bodkin. Just, ugh. I'm gonna pretend the last chapter and epilogue didn't happen and Squeezjoos is the narrator and he makes an eloquent point about progress, and what is progress and what makes a better world. And maybe how he doesn't know what the moral of the story is, but he knows there is one, and he thinks this story should not be forgotten. So he writes it down, and hopes someone someday finds it.

[dragonsword]

My thoughts on the budding Bodkin-Wish-Xar love triangle

BOOK 2 SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Ok so I've been thinking about this bc as we all know, love triangles are risky. They're overdone, icky, and just generally unpleasant. Or at least, I've never seen a love triangle executed in a a way that was not gross, and I know a lot of people feel the same. And in this case, I lovelovelove Wish, Bodkin, and Xar as individuals and I LOVE their friendship.

HOWEVER

After reading the how to train your dragon series time and time again over the years, and after reading Wizards of Once and Twice Magic, I pretty much have learned to just trust that anything and everything Cressida Cowell hints at will turn out amazing. I also know that she has a way of insinuating something that ends up being completely different from what I imagined. Honestly I completely trust that she's not making a bad decision, and maybe this love triangle won't even be relevant later on (although it probably will; she likely wouldn't have brought it up at all if it was irrelevant, and the context in which it was mentioned makes it pretty clear that it'll play a significant role later on.) Regardless of how important this love triangle becomes to the plot, I firmly trust that Cressida Cowell will execute it wonderfully, exceeding all our expectations, just like she always does.

FURTHERMORE, (THESE NEXT THOUGHTS ARE MORE MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE, AND STRAY FROM THE LOVE TRIANGLE THING)

Although the WoO fandom is tiny right now, the accounts that I have seen are all against a Wish/Xar romance. Everyone says that their friendship is wonderful and a romance would ruin their platonic love for each other. Before reading the second book, I completely agreed, 100%. Also, a romance between them obviously wouldn't work if their parents ended up falling back in love and getting married, but that seems quite far-fetched, although we never know with Cressida Cowell lol. However, after reading Twice Magic, I was genuinely surprised that no one shipped Wish and Xar, regardless of how I felt about the pairing. I figured people would go CRAZY shipping them!!! And this is getting into my own bias now, but I honestly shipped them super hard after the second book. While I understand how precious and underrated good friendships are, I think Wish and Xar are adorable as friends AND as a couple, but NOT YET!!!!!!!! After all, these are 13-year-olds!!! Who've only known each other for a short amount of time!!!! While I would LOVE to see a Wish/Xar romance, I think that they need to first continue building up their friendship. But eventually if they did get together down the road, I think it would be adorable. They make each other feel happy, and they love being around each other. They're not afraid to argue or bicker because they're secure in their friendship, and when Xar and Wish are together, their belief in each other strengthens their belief in themselves. They both have self-esteem issues deriving from their perceived shortcomings (Xar's lack of Magic and Wish's inability to please her mother and conform to the "proper" Warrior personality), but when they team up they help each other see that they are enough. Wish helps Xar learn that he has behaviors he needs to work on but it's all part of who he is. She helps him see that his actions will have consequences but while he should try to do what's right, when he does make a mistake she'll be there (along with Caliburn, Bodkin and the other companions) to help him clean up whatever mess he makes. (Not to clean up his mess for him, but to help him learn accountability and to guide him when he needs help. He is still growing up and learning, after all.) Xar helps Wish see that she doesn't have to conform to who she's expected to be in order to be someone worth being proud of. For example, while at home she's belittled for her inability to spell*, when she's with Xar and his companions, she's immersed into this world of people who don't care about spelling. Xar also helps her see that she shouldn't have to conform because being true to herself is more important than meeting her mother's expectations for what she should be. (Insert that avengers quote about Thor being who he Is instead of who he's Meant To Be lol) Xar helps Wish see herself in a new light, and that new light highlights her "flaws" as the things that make her worth loving herself and worth being loved by others. Of course, there are other people in Xar's and Wish's respective lives that also have a positive impact. Xar has Caliburn, the sprites, snowcats, and others, who are always by his side when he needs them, despite the risk to themselves. They all go waaaay above and beyond for Xar. Wish has Spoon, who we all obviously love, and Bodkin, who started out as not that encouraging (in the first book when he told her she should try to be more normal) but now, as her close friend, is one of her biggest supporters. However, (and I'm not saying that these characters' support isn't worth as much, because it is) none of these companions impact Xar and Wish the way they impact one another. Something about the way Xar and Wish relate to each other so much despite coming from opposite worlds makes for an incredibly unique and special friendship.

Speaking of Bodkin, some people ship him and Wish or him and Xar. I don't really see him and Xar together or him and Wish together because they're just too different (I know "opposites attract" but there's a line, and they would cross it.) I think that while Xar's and Wish's never-sit-still attitude and stubborn tenacity would at first seem endearing to Bodkin, eventually Bodkin would just get worn down from the anxiety of it all. After all, we know that Bodkin's true passion is not actually bodyguarding but storytelling. While he would absolutely accompany Wish and Xar on any and all ridiculous adventures, I think a relationship with him and either Wish or Xar, realistically, just wouldn't make as much sense, and I say this with their futures in mind: as adults, would Bodkin tire of this stressful lifestyle? While his crush on Wish is adorable and I want him to have all the happiness in the world, I PERSONALLY just favor Wish/Xar over Wish/Bodkin or Bodkin/Xar.

With all of this being said, I trust that whatever path Cressida Cowell takes, it will turn out beautiful. If she chooses to have a Xar/Wish romance, a Xar/Bodkin romance, a Bodkin/Wish romance, a different romance, or no romance at all, I will be happy. I'm not against anything despite the preferences I've discussed.

Tl;dr I know we all think this love triangle is a bad idea but Cressida Cowell has never done us wrong so I trust her completely to flesh this out in a good way.

*Love love love the dyslexia rep! i am not dyslexic but i know that having this rep is an amazing thing and i'm so happy Cressida Cowell did this!!! i could make a whole other post about this but someone else (whos actually dyslexic!) already did lol. I forget their url (so sorry!!) but it's a great post

[anotheruntitledsong]

floffy hair boi, what will he do?

why did I look at this and know exactly who you were talking about i

Xar

Why I like them

he's a fun and cool character and i like his arc, plus his design is cool and he's a giant meme

Why I don’t

he be dumbass

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

The one\ones where he and Bodkin swap bodies or the scene where he first met Wish OR the part where he basically just cheerfully brushes off the fact that Sychorax doesn't know her daughter comes back to life and starts happily announcing that she blew up

Favorite season/movie

i liked him in book 3 and book 4 but he was great in all of them

Favorite line

I don't know he has a lot of really good lines

Favorite outfit

I am once again skipping this one lmao

OTP

That's for me to know and Isa to aggressively spam me with asks about (i've got nothing to lose it's time she got a taste of her own medicine) (also spoiler alert I have yet to decide if i have an otp here) (but that is not an option)

Brotp

him and Wish

Head Canon

He will always be the shortest one in the group

Unpopular opinion

I once again don't know the fandoms so small that everyone agrees on basically everything

A wish

another wish about hair but Xar I wish you would tell me what you are doing to it and why

An oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen

Xar\Wish romance in the movies cause that would be weird with the Sychorax\Encanzo plot

5 words to best describe them

mildly angsty ball of energy

My nickname for them

Car he is Car he will forever be known as Car my autocorrect refers to him as Car i-

[yv-sketches]

Why I did not like Never and Forever’s ending

I was the first person on tumblr to get it and I’m afraid I’ve scared multiple people by saying something happens at the end. I’m very sorry for that, so I’ll do my best to explain why.

First off, I don’t dislike this book, and I didn’t write this to convince people to dislike its ending. In fact, I’m incredibly happy for every singe person who liked the ending better than I did.

Secondly, I know it is me. I am too old for this. I really ought to quit drawing characters from a middle grade book and do more important things with my life.

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE READ MORE. Please do not click here if you haven’t read the book. I mean it, don’t click.

In my last year of high school (yes I am that old, I feel old too), I followed program for people who might want to study English at university. There was a fancy professor with fancy books and everything. The subject was Arthurian legend, and almost all of the the medieval stories were incredibly depressing and/or disturbing, so I’m stuck with a lot of cursed knowledge about king Arthur I would rather forget.

There is no historical Arthur, or a definitive version of the myths including him. If anything it’s more like a bunch of fanfics about original characters that got lost over time. BBC had their interpretation, Guillermo Del Toro has his, Disney has theirs and now Cressida wrote one.

Unless you know that medieval depressing stuff, which the target audience probably doesn’t, twoo’s ending is actually pretty sweet. The witches are gone, the fules kissed and no one is confirmed dead. Not even Sychorax’s suitors.

~

My problem is not with the reveal itself, but the way it was done.

Httyd 1 started with the prologue that foreshadowed the ending that would follow 12 books later. The first httyd book is riddled with clues and messages that connect to the final story. The two dragons biting each others tail on Stoick’s shield, the injury on Toothless’s chest. Small things that have a major impact once you know what they mean.

Twoo does not have anything like that. In the first three books, there were no hints, no clues, no red herrings to conceal the twist at the end. Not once was there a joke about ‘Once and Future Magic’, or a mention of the city Camelot.

(The warrior capital could have been called Camelot in a random sentence no one would pay attention to, or Xar could joke about how the person of destiny was the once and future monarch of the entire Wildwoods.) All I found was a magic sword and a bird named Caliburn. Caliburn was already a character, so I did not expect the sword to be Excalibur/Caliburn too.

When Wish put the sword in the stone, I did expect a link to the Arthurian myths. A promise that the sword would get out of the stone once there was a peaceful kingdom of Wizards and Warriors together maybe? Like httyd, it would be a hopeful ending that one day there would be a king/queen to rule over a kingdom without slaves mining iron or droods with scary prisons. I did not expect the characters themselves to end up in the Arthurian myths.

~

The Arthurian ending would make some great character arcs if they’d been written in from the start. Xar never gets magic, but he becomes a wise king, with a round table with werewolves and hobs as equals. It’d be a perfect ending for him. Morgana used to be a benevolent magician watching over Arthur, and that sounds exactly like Wish. Yes, she is the person of destiny, but she stays Arthurs magic protector and best friend. Also perfect.

Bodkin gets over his fainting thing and becomes a honourable knight? Hmm... He spent three books disliking violence and wanting to be a storyteller. He might have overcome his fear and beat the Nuckalavee, but being good at something does not equal liking it. There’s also the ableist implication that you have to get over a condition to be a worthy hero, and that doesn’t feel right at all. However, he is the epitome of chivalry, and he’s a Fishlegs-like hopeless romantic whose crush might unintentionally start a war.

This all makes sense, and it would have been an amazing conclusion. I think I would have loved the ending if there were pages in book 1-3 showing that Cressida’s Camelot was far less creepy. The tales of arcadia and BBC versions each have a kid friendly version for their story. If the series was set in an entirely different Camelot, one Cressida specifically created for her story, it would be amazing to see Xar become a great king and Wish the most powerful Wizard. Instead, Camelot did not seem to exist until halfway into book 4, so the only Camelot I thought of was of the disturbing medieval variety.

~

The last pages just leave us with the names. This was an original world with original characters, no reason to assume they would grow up to be Arthur, Morgana and Lancelot until the last 15 pages. Then the entire series ends.

The httyd characters got an ending that leaves them right where they are. Three children on their way to a brighter future, happy to be alive and happy to be together, and perhaps dragons will return when the world is a better place.

From How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury:

So that is where we will leave them, Hiccup and his friends: forever young, forever hopeful, singing their hearts out on the island of Tomorrow. BECAUSE... If it doesn’t end well, then it isn’t THE END

This is not possible with the twoo trio. Cressida told me exactly which adults they will grow up to be, and with all the terrible things that medieval people wrote about their characters, I also know there is no reason to be hopeful. I feel bad closing the book if that is how their lives will continue.

It does NOT end well, and it IS the end.

These characters deserved better than the fates assigned to them in the last few pages.

[anhttydbookfan]

Never and Forever Spoilers

oooooh! Bodkin standing up for his bro!

Didn’t last as long as I’d hoped.

If there’s one thing TWoO needs as a series, it’s more Bodkin moments.