#me when deathsongs

[thalassophiliac-nonsense]

everyone shut up this is a Deathsong appreciation post

I love them :((

[midoristeashop]

GAAAHHH IM GETTING HIJACK FEVER AFTER YEARS AND ITS STRONG

Could you recommend me some fics? (if you want --- doesn't matter how many, more than 1 if possible)

AAAA LOVE YOUR ART THO 🫶

YES HELLO!!!

Absolute top recommended hijack fic ever would be Of the Northmost Winds and Skies by xxiiyu on ao3

Ik everyone and their mama talks abt this fic but it’s for a GOOD reason, like it’s truly the fic that jump started the hijack brain fungus for me!!

Also there’s a otnwas “sequel” by alkaline_frog called The Golden Light if ur craving more (u will be craving more trust) ALSO a they made an Arthuriana au called The Lights of Avalon that is pretty banger

The severely underrated turkeyvultureinavest created Snow-Crested Shrines and sequel Deathsong Cries which have suchh amazing characterizations of literally everyone (a relatively short read but a GOOD read)

Translation by bignostalgias is a language barrier fic that’s in development but would def keep on eye on it!

Anything by Kae and secret always eat but I’ll link Endless Garden which is a Hanahaki au and one of my faves (u can count on good hic and Jack characterization from them!!)

ALSO BEFORE I FORGET Can't Smile Like You Mean It When You're Tongue Tied by oasis beloved wait till comeback with the link

[the-jason-todd-murder-weapon]

Warning: essay rant about the third httyd movie below

Okay so like, with the httyd live action dropping soon, I figured I should go back and rewatch the series and oh my god I forgot how poorly written the third movie was. first thing, hiccup is apparently overcrowding the island. the incredibly big island. does he have literally every dragon under the sun on that island or did the writers just forget how big the island is?? and before someone goes "oh they couldn't have expanded more because they would be too undefensive!" they have. dragons. that they can train. into being look outs. also they've already partially expanded past the main village, we see a grumpy old man that lives outside of the main village because nobody likes him in riders of berk. all they would have to do is start building houses over there and boom, more village, less overcrowding (or, at the very least they could make stables for the dragons over there, and the few houses over there could be for anyone who wants to take care of the dragons. anyway, moving on from the overcrowding thing, we meet the next villain who has dragon eating dragons (I am eternally sad they made a new dragon eating dragon instead of using the one we already have, but I suppose a death song wouldn't have fit in with his whole personality, considering he seems to be more of a tracker while deathsongs lure their prey) anyway, we learn he killed all the nightfuries expect for toothless and then immediately get introduced to the lightfury who he doesn't seem all that shocked to see, despite her only being a female of toothless's species and not an entirely new dragon species which...what?? we literally just got told he killed them all and then it immediately gets reconned by them implying he only killed the males and that makes zero sense?? the females would have been just as deadly to his village- if not more, considering they can GO INVISIBLE but no, he just kills the males, okay. also I'm pretty sure it's implied the lightfuries are a subspecies and not actually just sexual dimorphism (there is a baby lightfury and the nightlights look different from it so) but that still makes no sense? you're telling me a man hellbent on revenge for his village killed JUST the nightfuries, learned about one of the subspecies and...didn't hunt them down? because, remember: he isn't surprised to see the lightfury, he KNEW they existed, but okay, sure. I'm not even going to get into how bad the lightfuries design is, by the way, they can't handle the cold but she's fucking pure white and GLITTERY? the literal only place she could hide is in snow if she wasn't given the ability to go invisible, and then, once the main villain finds them they decide to flee instead of just. staying and fighting?? bro you overpopulated a big ass island with DRAGONS he has maybe twelve at most fight him?? like. all you would have to do is smash the vials on their heads but noo, he's obviously a horror unknown and we can't fight him despite winning against a dude with a fucking bewilder beast and a dragon army literally last movie- they push him up like he's scarier then drago but he just. isn't. like, he's a better hunter sure, but that wouldn't have even mattered if hiccup was actually smart about the situation. Also snotloud hitting on valka was weird as fuck and I do not know why they included it when snotloud has objectively better, more consistent personality traits you can make a joke out of (he and his dragon literally lovingly bully each other and you had to make him hit on hiccup's mom to make jokes??) also I feel like all of the personality was stripped from every dragon except toothless, and they just become fucking cars to tote them around until we get to the sad ending where they all have to leave :((( also the ending made no sense either, what do you mean ALL the dragons are leaving to the hidden world?? babes there are three different dragon eating dragons they literally cannot co-exist like that. also how are you explaining that to the several different villages who rely on their dragon(s) to live??

"yeah sorry guys, we decided nobody can know they exist so you've gotta give them up, yes we know you rely on them but you have to" like genuinely, fucking hiccup from the original movie was smarter then this hiccup, his ass was dumb as a fucking rock. I do actually like the fact that he gave toothless the tail to let him fly without him, but not the context as to why it happened. or the whole "oh noo, what if he doesn't come back now that he doesn't need me :((" YOU'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR 10 FUCKING YEARS YOU SHOULD KNOW HE WONT. like they shot his character dead behind a denny's just so the plot of this movie actually worked. because like- babes you're dragon has nearly died for your ass fifty fucking times if that wasn't enough to prove he wouldn't leave you I genuinely do not know what would. I feel like they also killed toothlesses character just to make him a love sick puppy

[enquire]

A bunch of sketches and pen/marker doodles! Had a lot of fun drawing the inkling and octoling Yukis, which made me decide to post some of these other ones too. I don't usually post scraps and what not but I figured, hey why not do a big ol post for fun.

I actually really liked the results in attempting splatoon faces this time. One of my favorite worlds, very iconic art and music. If you haven't heard Splatoon music before, you're missing out.

Another older one. DRA1 Yuki sure looks like he's up to no good. I no longer remember any context that might have existed when I drew it lol

Haru and Yuki from even longer back, a moment captured when I was playing with a friend haha.

More doodles and au stuff below the cut

A sketch from a while back with the yukis again

Messy Yuki and Kinjo (you know I'm a pro artist with those eyes in the corner 😭)

On to some sketches and scraps!

Some httyd au sketches. In which Yuki raises a baby Deathsong. I can only imagine the others needed to be convinced on that one haha. Httyd species are kinda tricky to draw for me still, but dragons in general are a huge sp:in for me, have been pretty much forever, and httyd is close to my heart as well. If you are curious, in this AU, Kinjo has a razorwhip and mekaru's got a monstrous nightmare. Not sure about the rest, maybe someday I'll get into it more. I have considered writing/drawing for some of the other aus in my brain, because aus are very fun, but not until I wrap up some other things.

Speaking of aus, this one was after a Promare rewatch haha. I have a lot of little aus lying around in my brain I guess. If you're curious, Akane, Yuki, and Utsuro were all mad burnish members here, with them being in the same position as Lio, with Gueira and Meis. Meanwhile, Tsurugi's probably aligned with Freeze Force or Burning Rescue, but is actually also secretly a burnish too. Which I'm sure he handles in a very healthy and not self destructive way, ofc. /J

And finally, one last Yuki for the road. I wonder if I'll ever get tired of drawing DRA1 Yuki...? He's pretty much a sp:in now so hopefully not (and probably not). His hair used to be such a pain but at this point it's kinda relaxing, even if I sorta draw it 10 different ways lol.

Side note this is like the most non-pony art I've posted here in ages isn't it? I didn't expect for this to become a blog solely focused on my pony au but I won't lie I'm pretty invested in it at this point, art and story wise.

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

the treatment of the deathgrippers in httyd 3 honestly rubbed me the wrong way too ngl. especially the portrayal of them as "evil" and that toothless just kills them when a.) your point of it being contradictory to the theme there are no bad dragons, only bad humans, b.) the deathgrippers are just animals. they try to make them sound more threatening by saying they hunt other dragons but that's like saying a hawk is evil for hunting other birds, and c.) they were victims too that weren't even acting on their own will, grimmel literally enslaved them.

and honestly the whole mess of httyd 3 is just cemented by the homecoming holiday special where, in the absence of dragons, a new generation of berkians are growing up fearing and hating dragons and wanting to kill them, just like stoick's generation did, because they feared the unknown. gee, it's almost like it just drives home the point that separating the dragons and the vikings was the wrong choice all along, because rather than protect dragons from humans you just reignited hate and misunderstanding of them...

Yup, yup! If they really wanted to drive home the fact that all dragons are good and all men are evil, they should've helped the Deathgrippers. Instead of, like, killing them off and not wasting another thought on them.

Like, RttE literally had dragon eating dragons and dragon egg eating dragons who were treated with more love and respect than the Deathgrippers. The gang even tried to raise a dragon eating dragon when they hatched Garff until they realized that Garff had needs they just could not measure up to. (Signs of actual good parenting, btw!!! This will make sense later down the post, lol)

RttE!Hiccup still gets some flack for being "out of character," (which I still don't get) but he had such a respect for dragons and a respect for the fact that there were just some things humans shouldn't get involved in.

Like when the Catastrophic Quaken seemingly takes over Dark Deep and he wants to let it be. Or when he and Toothless trap the Deathsong so their dragons (and the two Thunderdrums) can escape, but it clearly wasn't trapped for very long if they knew they could go back to place Garff with him. They didn't kill the Cavern Crasher either and the only reason they're there to help is because the Fireworm Queen specifically asked them to. Even the Screaming Death in DoB, who sunk actual islands and displaced tons of dragons, got left alone when they discovered that all he wanted was his mom. And the Screaming Death grew even bigger by RttE.

No dragon is ever truly evil in the franchise, but there are some real asshole dragons (like the Titanwing Nightmare, who harrassed that female and her eggs that Hookfang was protecting) and dragons that just don't line up with the morals of the Dragon Riders. But those morals have never stood in Hiccup's way of just accepting and respecting the nature of those dragons.

The only truly evil dragon in the franchise is the Red Death, who symbolically sits on a mountain of corpses of humans and dragons alike.

It will never not be funny that Hiccup, who has always been an out of the box thinker (except for in Httyd 3, I guess) is surprised that his very own daughter is going against the status quo New Berk set of "dragons are our friends!" without a single ounce of proof of said dragons being "our friends" and it took meeting the actual Toothless for her to realize that her parents and all the other adults were liars.

It's almost like Homecoming itself proves that the presence of dragons is necessary for people to know that dragons aren't evil or something! (/s)

And Stoick's generation didn't even fear an "unknown threat," dragons were actively killing them, stealing their food (leading to famine = more deaths) and burning down their homes (exposure = even more deaths) for no other reason than just to be cruel. Or that was certainly their view on the dragons before they learned about the Red Death. (something that the franchise itself has forgotten since Httyd 1; the Vikings had *genuine and valid* reasons to hate dragons.)

Even Zephyr doesn't hate dragons for no reason because her entire short life she's been fed this believe that dragons are their friends with no proof at all. Until she one day finds the old Book of Dragons that says otherwise (no idea why Hiccup would even keep it around) and the only conclusion the poor girl can come to is that, yep! Her parents, the two rulers of her tribe, are liars and making the entire village fall for this farce. And she's, like, 8 in Homecoming. So she's going to think that her parents (or maybe specifically Hiccup as he's The Chief) are either not good people or just not very smart people.

Or maybe that's just my bias speaking, because I am of the opinion that Hiccstrid are not good parents in Homecoming. The Snoggletog Log paints them in a much better light than Homecoming does. Loving, for sure! But waaaayyyy too lenient. Especially towards Zephyr and wanton destruction that she seems to fulfill whenever she wants.

I mean, sure, Hiccup caused some harm in Httyd 1 with his inventions, but he wasn't actively trying to harm people and all he really did was accidentally fling a bola at someone's head. Neither is Zephyr, but she's not exactly concerned about not harming people (like her own father) either. Her traps in the movie are actually the most farfetched stuff I've seen in this (previously quite grounded) franchise about riding dragons. And I love RttE, a show in which the Riders frequently get hurt in some ways.

Httyd 3 is just... such a train wreck. And Homecoming somehow makes that even worse by being a Christmas special that turns its message of "honor your loved ones" into "honor your loves ones by shitting on others" because wow! was that pageant a kick in the balls for anyone who dares to love Httyd 1 by pretending like Hiccup was barely even a character in that story and giving all of his accomplishments to his father.

I will never understand how they could've gone so wrong with this franchise.

[phthalology]

The Fourth Inundation

For @swordlogiczine, with art by @synnthamonsugar Get the zine here.

And so Hashladûn, spawn of Crota, descended to the selective acid.

And Ir Yût, once beloved of Crota —

Ir Yût who now turned her back on Azavath’s attempt to rebuild the choir —

Descended with her.

By way of greeting Ir Yût sang necrosy into a slab of Hashladûn which was rotting, thus dulling the pain.

Hashladûn was impaled and bled in six places, and her worm raged. She desired power and the love of her father, and feared losing the parts of herself which remained after the first three inundations. The sight of a Hive of her lineage only partially comforted her.

“Thus is the power subservient to Oryx,” Ir Yût intoned, not singing. “How much greater must his power be?”

“Lost Deathsinger, why do you come to me? Crota sent me here to pare my excess alone.” Hashladûn spoke clearly, the acid not having eaten into her throat, but the scales around her mouth cracked as the words emerged.

“The inundations are a matter of addition, not subtraction,” said Ir Yût, and wrenched away one of the great ribbons of muscle near which Hashladûn’s arm was pierced. Hashladûn knew Ir Yût’s words to be a lie, but the inundations had confused her sense of what created pain and what created pleasure. Therefore, she was open to the Deathsinger’s assertion.

“This test proves you can overcome the barriers of the flesh,” said Ir Yût.

“My only barrier was the small size of my enemies, which could wriggle through my claws,” said Hashladûn. A slice of selective acid took a part of her, but because her worm screamed she did not have reason for the scream to emerge from her own mouth.

“Then you are ignorant of the love|hate between the courts,” said Ir Yût. She hooked a claw under another ribbon of muscle, and Hashladûn bled onto her hands. “I left the song to Azavath because Azavath wishes to conquer the Pit. She may succeed. But her ambitions are small. We sing princeling songs when we could cry a queen’s chorus. You have seen the melamu upon Him. What is Azavath to this?”

The words distracted Hashladûn from the selective acid reshaping her shoulders. She said, “You speak truth, but what is there to be done? I will not turn against Crota’s court unless he wills it.”

“You do not have to. Only remember that I appeared to you in your time of confusion, and Azavath did not.”

“Do you hate her so badly?”

“I love the deathsong so fondly. If Azavath clashes against Crota’s power, the knowledge of the song may be lost forever. Azavath builds a chorus in a crater and says the enemy will not bomb that place again. You, meanwhile, will love your place in Crota’s court until it hurts you badly enough that you impale yourself on your grief.” Ir Yût looked impassively over Hashladûn’s flayed back to her impaled limbs. “I stepped away from my pride of place in Oryx’s court in order to preserve what remained of my loyalty. If I had known more about what was happening, I would have left earlier.”

Hashladûn hoped she would never fall so low as to intentionally turn her eyes away from the courts, from the struggle. Still, Ir Yût had once been powerful. If she had thought it the best decision, maybe Hashladûn herself could use the same tactics. Another wave of acid swept over her. Parts of her were washed away. She nodded.

Ir Yût looked at her once more, defiant, seeing perhaps what the terrible consequences of pushing strong Hashladûn would be. She disappeared. Pain blinded Hashladûn and she could not see where the Deathsinger had gone.

And Hashladûn took the memory of Ir Yût’s words for herself, to gleefully hide from Azavath. But she also took the memory to forget, like a scrap of meat between teeth is forgotten until it crawls back out of the crevices of the mouth. Because the priorities of Hashladûn were of the melamu and the fist.

[saturnniidae]

The fanmade idea that Hiccup is some kind of all benevolent and understanding dragon whisperer in the series is odd to me bc like. He's so not. He trapped the skrill in a glacier then essentially did it again years later with that deathsong (yes both ended up being freed but still), isn't able to train certain dragons (despite it very likely being possible. Smh so stubborn except for when he's a fucking quitter) and he killed the red death and fully intended to kill toothless when he initially found him. like idk its funny I think

[eofdragons]

The wtdw x httyd au is really cute :D What dragons do the other people have?

sorry it took me so long to answer this question, I was thinking of the answer.

I don't have all the characters by I have some of the characters pet dragons. And none of the dragons have names yet so, can I have ideas please 😿

Wiatt has two deathsongs. they don't have names yet, but one of them is from his grandfather Carlos and the other one he found when it was an egg.

Sara has a baby deathgripper. it's a little sweet pea and loves to play with Wiatt's new baby death song.

Oliver has a hideous zippleback.

I know Damien would have a dragon help him with his detective work but I don't know if a stormcutter or a suikl would be a better suit for him. Maybe a hybrid.

🐲

[exhaling-dust]

How to Fix an Entrance: an Unhelpful Guide by Toland the Shattered and the Drifter

“If your Gambit is far more important than what a Hive God demands, She who has granted a benefit for your mere purpose, then you may as well turn around and exit this throne.” Toland starts pacing around Drifter in a full circle, entrapping him. Like peacocks would, perhaps. The pose is just the same. “However, if you are still the man I have known for slithering in spaces where you should not and profiting off it, then you may reconsider your stance. And your gun.” The rogue Lightbearer huffs, chuckles for a time. And as Toland’s lips narrow in annoyance, Drifter gives in. “Yeah, fine, I’ll reschedule it.”

drifter/toland, 7,226 words, rated E for old man smut. read it on AO3 or have a snippet of it:

The hidden curtains had burnt him five times before the necessary amount of tithes were given on Her behalf. 

Clenching his fingers, they part open by Her permission countering his annoyance. Drifter looks around at the inner decoration of the High Heresy: tones of green spread at the boundless walls and browns and reds solidify shelves after shelves and books after books. A library—heh. Just as Eris would’ve wanted to. Three eyes oversee in the empty space between columns, probably those of sustenance built upon countless worship, yet her voice doesn’t sound as Drifter expected. Her omnipresence is not so present at all, it seems.

Footsteps echo behind the rogue Lightbearer and this company makes itself no less friendly than it already is. 

Hand on Trust, Drifter spins on his heel; a simple man awaits him there.

“Wu Ming,” Toland calls, wringing a frown out of Drifter. “I am glad you found your path safely.” 

“That ain’t my name anymore, brother.” 

Toland tilts his head, as if bothered with his response. Past is the past. They aren’t this thing he’s expecting.

“It is good to see you again then.” Toland walks towards him. “Drifter.”

Drifter gives him a once-over, hand still on his gun. Dude’s been changed. There are horns between Toland’s curls, an armor of chitin assimilating him to the wizards Drifter himself had shot at, and blue robes as long as his height goes. Looks almost radiant, burden-free. The Deathsong must’ve done him nicely. 

“Good to see ya too,” he says, finally. “Where’s Eris?” 

“Not here.” 

“Yeah, I can see it. Where do I find her?”

“Leave your Trust and I may explain it to you.” Toland points to Drifter’s hold on his gun. “We do not need unpurposeful violence when She is experimenting with Her new gift of the Deep.” 

Drifter thinks about it. Lasts only two seconds. “Nah, my hand is comfortable there. Now will ya speak? I’ve got a Gambit to run.” 

Toland stands wordlessly, his eyes—now three and white yet dry in comparison to Eris’—as indecipherable as ever whilst running over Drifter’s smaller frame. Analyzing, never amused with what Drifter is. Though the last two times they’d met the feeling was the same and Drifter hadn’t changed anything, just more scars for counting and eyebags wider, darker. Worn out of its existence.

“If your Gambit is far more important than what a Hive God demands, She who has granted a benefit for your mere purpose, then you may as well turn around and exit this throne.” Toland starts pacing around Drifter in a full circle, entrapping him. Like peacocks would, perhaps. The pose is just the same. “However, if you are still the man I have known for slithering in spaces where you should not and profiting off it, then you may reconsider your stance. And your gun.” 

The rogue Lightbearer huffs, chuckles for a time. And as Toland’s lips narrow in annoyance, Drifter gives in.

“Yeah, fine, I’ll reschedule it.”

“Worthy.” He walks to an invisible path that shapes itself once he approaches. “Follow me. I will show you where you may stay for the week… or more.” 

Drifter walks the same path yet not without question. “Over a week? Fuck we doing now?”

Toland looks over his shoulder with a gaze that is oddly accusing and oblivious. “Just follow me, Drifter.”

A week or more, he thinks to himself in a nice and comfortable nest-bed of wormsilk. A whole damn week plus more days. Shoes are off. The rest of his clothes need to be out too. An entire week that might not be just a week.

Pondering upon himself, Drifter’s only concern is about all the matches. All the pissed off Guardians coming at him after this time off and the glimmer he’s not getting in return. 

He unbuckles his belt.

Pondering for the others, there’s Sloane with the drinking nights they’ve agreed to for all the time she’s spent in the depths of Titan’s methane sea. There is Eido, who just wanted to learn his recipes and perhaps rant about the horrible, unbearable gap between her and her father. There is Saladin—or Valus Forge if Drifter fancies him—with their discussions to not schedule their matches at the same time and in the same location; and maybe go for a walk around the Eligos Lex V. Drifter also had this thing for Ikora—bring her a refashioned gun in one of the City’s warehouses, see her eyes having a little spark, and get a little more of her respect. And something else too if that’d be possible.

One week. Or more. That’s a lot of explaining to do. 

Drifter removes everything but keeps the pants. Scratches his nape. Great time to get busy, eh?

The High Heresy’s architecture is rather… funky, to say the least. Everything is about planes that do not exist and doors opening to absolutely different places, places of which only Toland seems to acknowledge by telling and not living. It makes Drifter wonder how close they’ve been to each other before and after the Great Disaster. 

Ah, it doesn't matter. 

Toland had invited him to a bath for an important reason, and Drifter had no difficulties in finding him. It’s a place briefly familiar to the Alluring Curtain of Savathûn’s throne-world, however less of a labyrinth and more of a communal shower; its water is fed from the lone river of the Sea of Screams and pours in generous quantities capable of cleansing even anyone’s soul. Toland’s description. In Drifter’s perspective, its temperature is fresh and the sound of a waterfall is serene, not a facsimile of another god but one’s own spot for respite.

Pants are pulled down. Feet meets white floor. Hair tied and nose up, Toland stays still underwater. It runs down his body in a cascade that Drifter finds incredibly amusing. 

They stand in a distance no longer than a whole meter. Drifter doesn’t think the lingering silence suits Toland’s blabbering righteousness and doesn’t think, too, he’d invite him only for a shower between old pals. Something lurks beneath this plan, and Drifter tugs at it whilst brushing off blood smear off his neck. “Listen,” he starts, “I don’t think I’ve understood this whole ‘acolyte’ thing going on between us.” 

He hears a long, exasperated sigh. “Eris has chosen you. Is that not simple enough?” 

Drifter turns to him. “It’d be simple if she had taken the deed and done everythin’ herself. Not—” He gestures vaguely whilst rubbing off his shoulders, “You, I guess, who keeps sayin’ and sayin’ and sayin’ nothing straight. If we gotta cooperate then ya should—”

“You should be quiet,” Toland says with eyes open and eerily shining between the waters. Drifter huffs; it’s a nice sight.

“Heh. I remember when we first met; ya were talking ‘bout questioning everything. I wonder, where’d that man go…” 

Toland’s sight narrows. Drifter runs a hand up his hair and doesn’t break the stare—instead he imagines what is beneath this foggy silhouette. Maybe still the same but with patches of chitin like Eris has in herself, maybe a little stronger. Meatier, for the lack of a better expression. Considering the story she has told him, he’d bet on scars that make Toland look like a doll. A reformed one, probably. 

And even after all that happened, he fashions a chin-high posture. Toland might’ve finally learned how to escape from that old fear. 

Though he is still that pretty silverfox Drifter has met at the End of the World. 

How curious. Is nostalgia part of the mission package?

[amyrafierceblade]

I persuaded my history teacher(same one who was playing Hamilton in class week before last) to put on Race to the Edge in class since we didn't have anything better to do and it was that or watch Monsters Inc. again(he was desperate, and this is high school)

We watched the first three episodes of season 1, and let me tell you, it was funny when my classmates of the block jumped in surprise at every cuss word, but it was even funnier to watch their reactions to

Dagur's jailbreak (three students excluding me were actually watching, one actually said "Damn, bros angry as hell!")

Meatlug getting called girl by Fishlegs(like seriously, i understand most of them never watched it but like someone actually saying "That thing is a girl?!" was kinda just fucking facepalm material)

Eels (about a third of the class was glancing up every now and then, looking surprised at the giant eels)

Dagur calling himself "Daddy"(it was funny as hell, half the class looked up like "ayo wtf?", I probably didn't help at all when someone piped up "Wait is this How to Train Your Dragon??? What is this???" and I was like "This is the show they made of Httyd" and someone had the audacity to say "But I thought this was a kid's show???")

The entirety of Gothi's screentime (there were kids cheering for her when she started beating the shit out of the snow wraith)

The entire Deathsong and Thunderdrum ordeals(People really laughed when the gang was having a hard time hearing Hiccup so he had to yell, and ofc there were some who were startled to see the Deathsong being readily implied to be about to eat the Dragon Riders and their dragons [again, not all of them watched HTTYD and those who were only vaguely familiar were Like "I thought this was a kids show!!"])

Had to share, because yeah, I think I may have actually interested like half a class with a "kid's" show

[queermentaldisaster]

Random HTTYD!au information (INFODUMPING!!!!)

So, because Skrills eat electric eels, and DeathSongs literally couldn't care less about them, DeathSong!Soap often brings back electric eels for Skrill!Ghost.

Laurel and Misty have a special way of communicating, and that is tail gestures. For example, when Laurel flicks his tail frill four times, that means he wants cuddles.

Rider!Roach has special signs. For example, a ‘y’ sign, using his thumb and pinkie, when he flaps it, means fly.

Rider!Gaz will often go out and sunbathe with Laurel (it's an excuse for both of them to nap for a while on stressful days too)

Misty, Laurel, Smokey, and Tater all know how to write and read Viking (English)

Rider!Price will randomly get bursts of energy and destroy all the training dummies. Roach scolds the shit out of him.

Death Song!Soap has the world's BEST puppy dog eyes. And yes, he abuses this power to get Ghost to do whatever he wants. :3

Tater is an enigma. Even to his own rider. No one knows where he came from, why he looks the way he does, he just kinda...showed up one day with a mouth full of potatoes and never really left?

Laurel has been with Gaz since he was small. They're both 25. Gaz doesn't even remember why Laurel is called Laurel.

Misty stumbled out of the mist one day, after she got into a fight with other dragons. It's where she lost her left tail. She collapsed in front of Roach, who took her in, treated her wounds, and made sure she was safe.

Smokey got his name for two reasons. One, he was constantly chasing after smoke when he was little. (Still does, it's a whole ass problem.) Two, you cannot look at that behemoth and tell me he doesn't like muscular smoke.

And yeah, that's it! :3

(Taglist: @im-here-and-im-confused @the-starry-raven @thegreyjoyed @forestshadow-wolf @myriadblvck)

[superior-witness]

HTTYD as PJO Demigods

Just the How To Train Your Dragon characters and who their Greek God parents could be.

I am going to start with the most obvious and go from there because I know some of it needs justification.

Hiccup is a Hephaestus child. Through and through. It would be FUNNY if he wasn't, and he showed amazing skill in the forge anyways, but there's just too much. His wing suit, his shield, the welding goggles made from the Deathsong's flattened amber- there's so much that just makes him a child of the Forge to me.

The Twins are, with no doubt in my mind, Hermes Children. Ignoring for a moment the trickster aspect of it, Ruffnut is a thief and it's wonderful. In the show when she steals the key off the guard, stealing the Dragon Eye, it works so well. The trickster aspect is certainly another part of it but still.

alternatively for the twins, Athena children. They aren't super obvious as Athena children and everyone is so thoroughly confused, until their random pranks and ideas are used in a game of capture the flag. Their knowledge kicks in at the weirdest moments. They definitely inherited the Goddess of Craft aspect more than they did the Wisdom, however. Everyone is constantly baffled by the twins and the fact that they are a child of Athena.

Astrid is an Ares child. I really did want to chuck her at Athena, as she is a Goddess of War, but honestly she tends to not think as much in the heat of the moment compared to some other characters. There are definitely times where she does- (when it's just her and Tuffnut on Dragon's Edge and they must defend it alone), her plan is definitely sound. However, when she's in a middle of a fight- especially when angered, she opts more for damage than strategy.

Fishlegs I can see as a child of Athena- his knowledge on dragons and his thirst for knowledge is all I need to put him there. He was even wiling to trap a Seashocker in order to study it more. It was something he was eager to learn about at almost any cost. You could also throw him to the Apollo Cabin- because honestly he is the team's healer to some degree, but even as an Athena child he could have read up on some medical things and filed it away for later, essentiallu.

Snotlout has two options to me, honestly. My favourite for him is Dionysus. God of Revelry. Just the "Snotlout, Snotlout! Oy oy oy!" It makes sense to me. It's Dionysus or Hermes. Hermes is a God of Commerce, I believe, and Snotlout constantly finds opportunities to have others pay him for things. The Changewing eggs is a start, but when him and the Twins used the Monstrous Nightmare Gel and had to replace it, Snotlout practically made them pay to use Hookfang's. He's also the God of Athletic competition, and there's two episodes where you see Snotlout being incredibly competitive.

Don't you dare think I forgot about Dagur and Heather.

Dagur is an Ares child. No notes. No alternatives, and practically no explanation.

This also makes Heather an Ares child- BUT I would also like to throw tis into the ring: She's also a huntress of Artemis. Possibly, at some point, betrayed by Dagur and offered a spot with the Huntresses. One she accepted.

I know that if these characters were within the Riordan Universe they would fall under the Norse books (the Magnus Chase series that I have not read yet), this is just for fun.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

"That would be perfect, thanks!" Russet smiled. He would hardly mind a trip to Berk, somewhere actually inhabited for once? By people no less?

It took around an hour before they were flying lower, approaching a decently sized island, flying straight for a flat plain, preparing to land.

Smooth landing aside, Russet eagerly hopped off Symphony's back, stretching out, letting the deathsong shake herself out after the flight.

"Ah, home sweet home."

Surrounding them, past the landing area, were plenty of individual stables, a small farm land, a wooden hut, and a chicken coop. Plenty more seemed to be around, just not within distance to see yet.

"So! We'll keep the rescued dragons for one night, just to observe them for any injuries that may be dulled by the adrenaline in their systems for now. If they're all good by the morning, then we let them go. If not, we look after them until they're prepared to leave."

He glanced around at the flock, "Want to help me with feeding them? I can introduce you to some of the more permanent residents as we go along. Plus, you and Toothless must be starving."

Hiccup and Toothless were the last to land, softly touching the grass as they did.

Dismounting, the chief looked around at their surroundings, impressed. "You built all of this?"

Placing his hands on his hips, he nodded once Russet explained the plan. "Makes sense, and thorough, too..."

At the mention of food, Toothless smacked his lips, and Hiccup's stomach growled. Rubbing the back of his neck, the chief replied, "Heh, yeah...those, those hunters didn't give us more than scraps... We'd love to help longer, but we should be getting back to Berk once the dragons are fed."

"I didn't expect to be captured, and Astrid didn't know I was going to fight hunters. She's recovering from an injury, and if she knew, she would have insisted on coming along, which could have been dangerous for her... All that being said, I'd be more than happy to come back in a day or two to get a better look at what you have going here, and to see how I can help."

Stepping forward, he held his hand out, "If you hadn't shown up when you did, I may not have gotten out of there. Toothless and I may never have gotten the chance to see our families again. Not only am I grateful, but to learn that you have all of this?" He gestured to the dragons and the island, "You have always had an ally in Berk, but now, even more so than before. Anything you need, just let me know."

His eyes spoke volumes. A mix of gratitude, pride, and hope showed in his face. He meant every word.

"I can help feed the dragons, but we should probably head home afterwards. When I come back in a couple of days, I'll bring some materials and we can build some prosthetics once we get the measurements needed."

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Honestly, I'd even argue against the Red Death being evil, because while it does control the other dragons to wreak havoc its only goal is ultimately just to feed itself. Sure, a cuckoo bird taking over another bird's nest and forcing the mother to raise a chick that isn't hers that will throw her own chicks out the nest sounds unsavory to a human, but is it enough to call a cuckoo bird evil? It was of course necessary for the Red Death to be killed for there to be peace between dragons and Vikings, but it's less of defeating an evil overlord or executing a mass murderer, and more of like putting down a bear that had grown too comfortable around humans and began to see them as prey. It was just acting on its nature, but it had become a threat to human lives.

Ah yes..... The Red Death... the dragon who... eats other dragons as punishment for not bringing her enough food, like that one Gronckle who brought her only one fish. Who could just get up and get food herself, like the Bewilderbeast, but hasn't left that chamber in the volcano for so long that she needed to destroy it in order to break herself out when Berk finally found the Nest.

Who has the other dragons fleeing in fear of her when she's displeased, but also happens to be in an area in which the dragons keep their eggs safe. Or that is certainly what the tons of egg-shaped rocks attached to pillars tells me.

Who seems to have some kind of control over dragons which, while not as strong as a Bewilderbeast's, clearly makes it impossible for a dragon not to fly straight towards her. As shown by Toothless, who heard her while having Hiccup and Astrid on his back and flew them straight to the nest despite it. And who led the Berkian fleet straight to her.

Who, when she tried to eat Toothless, who is also terrified of her, accidentally eats a Zippleback instead. And rather than let it go, she just dragged it down and ate it instead!

That... That Red Death? Because having a digestive system or way of hunting catered specifically towards eating other dragons, like Deathgrippers and Deathsongs, is very different from being able to eat any kind of meat she wants and choosing to stay in a singular place to be fed nightly/weekly by dragons and then prey on them when they fall short.

She's not a bird with a parasitic way of procreation. In the Red Death's case, nature has nothing to do with it. If she's capable of eating anything from fish to animals and from humans to dragons, big enough that barely anything is an actual threat to her, smart enough to sink the entire Berkian fleet to keep the humans from escaping, you can bet that she's smart enough to take care of herself. Instead, she's choosing to stay there, freeload off the other dragons and be a threat to the entire Archipelago.

[saberwitch]

Norn and Family

more Norn cultural headcanons!

(my own personal thoughts, though where possible I have tried to support them with game lore, or at least tried to make them not incompatible. That said, if any of my ideas speak to you, please feel free to use them or adapt/expand upon them! Just tag me if you do so I can see)

The idea of a "nuclear family unit" is foreign to the Norn. As they are culturally focused on building their own personal legends, they tend to be solitary (as per lore), so less weight is put on 'family' as a societal ideal. Family can be blood to the Norn, but it can also be those who one has fought beside in battle, or those who have aided the growth of one's personal legend.

So while the societal ideal of becoming legend tends to paint the Norn as solitary, most Norn do in fact have a pack, and for a Norn, the pack is family.

Monogamy is also a foreign concept to most Norn. Marriage exists, and there are some who see it as a melding of legends, combining with each others' personal glory to strengthen and elevate both (or all). For many, however, marriage is largely an excuse to have a party, and marriage bonds are not necessarily legally binding or enforced.

As with most things they do, Norn love fiercely and aggressively. This often translates to brief relationships and short flings, but it is not entirely uncommon for them to form lasting, lifetime bonds. Lines of friendship and romantic interest are often blurred or non-existent, and a long-term Norn relationship can go through multiple phases and forms of connection.

With all that said, aromantic individuals are also common and are not seen as any different or less valid than anyone else.

Norn do not have the same kind of parent-child bonds as many other peoples. For some Norn, a parent's duty to their child is to set them up for success, giving them the tools and skills they need to forge their legend. For others, parental duty extends only to providing necessary food and shelter, in an attempt to foster independence. Neither of these options is seen as better or worse than the other.

Large families are not common; most Norn are 'only' children. The concept of inheritance is not really a thing, and anything passed down from parent to child must be earned in some fashion. Parent/child bonds are generally given the same weight as friendship. Sibling bonds, while rarer, tend to be seen as stronger.

For personal examples: Saskia and Ruenar have a very strong sibling bond, and this extends to Talyn when they meet her and realize they had the same mother. Despite the fact that Veerle did the bare minimum of parenting and left all three of her girls to fend for themselves while she chased her own legend, she would not (by Norn mores) be seen as a 'bad mother', regardless of how the girls might feel about it.

Saskia and Ruenar have a strong sibling bond. With the addition of Talyn, they also have a pack bond. The sibling bond between Talyn and the Deathsong sisters will come later after they've all gotten to know each other better.

(I have not yet fully considered the ramifications of how all of these headcanons might affect poor Captain Elliss, but the thoughts are there ngl)

[phthalology]

Destiny 2: Play Sparring

Prompt from @synnthamonsugar: "Eris and Toland play fighting/sparring, either as lightbearers or, post-hellmouth, with hive magic?"

The practice was done, the drills over, the rewards earned. It was 23 days until Eriana’s Soulbreakers would storm the Moon alone. Eris Morn asked Toland the Shattered to fight her not because she was unpracticed but because she wanted to. She wanted to see the runes painted on his armor in the green their fireteam was named for. She wanted to follow the rhythm of his steps. 

They found a garden that climbed up the side of the wall near the Tower, the new shoots and old soil in defiance of the alien wilds. Eris cut Toland’s shoulder open with a hooked Hunter knife. He slit her hamstring almost faster than Brya could dull the pain, and stood above her, and reached a hand down.

“A planet out of orbit,” Toland said. “What will astrologers read in it?” 

Eris grasped his forearm. When she stood, her shoulder collided with his wounded one. Guren hadn’t touched the cut. Eris took what body heat she could. She faked a slap that would have taken advantage of his wound. He slid outside her guard, fast and thin. 

Knives flashed. Eris had been used to fighting Fallen and Ahamkara. Human scale was disorienting, but only temporarily. They fought to a draw. They grinned tightly at each other like they were both on the winning team after a Crucible match. 

“The astrologers will have to chart your orbit too,” Eris said. *

They lose. The whole fireteam loses the bout that matters, down in the dark where their Ghosts can’t help. Eris sends other Guardians to get her revenge, reconciles with her memories of loss, and after eight long years she knows it is the right time to take her revenge personally.

Tomorrow, she will take Savathûn’s tithes and banish Xivu Arath.

Today, she takes something from Toland the Shattered that is not exactly revenge.

She summons him from the Ascendant Plane using an equation of Ley lines and deathsong notation and goes after him like a cat chases a string. It’s ridiculous. White sparks slide under her thin, sharp claws. She pounces across the ritual circle on hands and knees, because she is full of the joy of the tithe and the mouth she has can’t smile. Meanwhile, she knows he can disappear. She’s seen him do it to Guardians. She knows the sound of it. For her, Toland darts and dodges but doesn’t leave her. There is a note somewhere sustained forever. Eris screams and laughs and burns energy off, into Ahsa. 

Toland laughs quietly. “You remind me of Sai Mota. She initiated most of the games.”

Eris grabs him. Her claws go through the white and jar against the floor.  

“You remind me of nothing,” Eris intones. “Of none of them. You are yourself given or taken. Foolish, curious traitor — ” He makes a sound like fat sizzling in a pan. She lashes him to the floor in a cage made of runes. Imagines him spider-webbed there in the body he left behind and laughs and for a moment forgets all her spells. He says nothing, expresses nothing with the body that could have been a quirk of weather or a bloom on a cactus. She lays on the floor and looks at him, angry but more curious than angry (they share this) and listens to the silence. She is a Hive queen and he is a trinket in her fortress, a creature kept as a trophy of one of her conquests. 

She opens the trap. He floats to her and is a weight on her scaled chest, dropping her onto her back. She turns over and slaps him to the ground again, sleepily. “I’m going to end what started on Fundament,” says Eris Morn. 

“Reshape the stars, dearest Eris.”