#▎「 THE SHAPES IN THE AIR ONCE AGREED NOT TO BE BIRDS﹐AND YOU﹐ALONGSIDE THEM﹐BECAME DRAGON. BECAME LEGEND. ( headcanons. )

[chieftn]

hiccup  is  not  that  boy   gets me in such an introspective way,  and it’s put so easily into the beginning of the film,  so seamlessly that you just Get It without even looking that deeply into it  ?  how it is both comparison  /  understanding   /  separation  ?  it’s the first time as a viewer that we are learning about who hiccup is when he’s not the narrator of the story,  how instead we get this moment from stoick,  from his perspective,  who is like The Personification of the Definition of a True Viking, and to do this he tells the story of how  even as a boy,  i knew who i was   /   who i could be   /   who i had to become. 

and as we’ve seen,  how hiccup    –––––    hiccup is not that boy.   it’s the first instance where we are told how he is an outsider versus shown and it fits so well ?  how it is so multifaceted ?  we see stoick’s disappointment and regret with the missed connection,  and yet it fills in the opening scene with so much more material,  nailing down every loose thread ;   how hiccup tries to be a viking,  to be even viking-like,  and how easily it falls apart  ?   and then how this scene  leads  into first meeting toothless in the forest,  and we get the pièce de résistance of not only this sequence of opening events but also the entire movie’s allegory    –––    this kid can’t kill dragons  !   won’t kill dragons  !   and we know even more than stoick in that moment how far from your typical viking hiccup really is   !   and the potential that reveal holds,   how it leads the story  !  

the flow and progression of this film is so good.    it’s so good. 

[chieftn]

hey  if  u  think  i’m  over  that  Actual  Canon  Line  of      ‘     he thinks he’s nothing without toothless   ’     honey  u  got  a  big  storm  comin     !   

[chieftn]

the first film’s nuances are still.       so  powerful.     a near decade’s worth of power   .  .  . 

[chieftn]

i had the idea today of.       hiccup w/ a tattoo that goes around his left arm that’s in the nordic knot style    ?     nothing too.     detailed™ bc more of hic in pain     =     more angry night fury,      but having it be these big loose arching threads around his forearm   &   bicep w/ some detailing     (   accents,   dragons,   runes,   etc.   )     in some of the smaller sections   ! !       big bridge between worlds vibes,   y’feel me     ?

[chieftn]

i love you too ,         he said .       and i want you to be free .

[chieftn]

okay okay okay but what’s grimmel’s motivation .   does he want the glory of it  ?   all of the night fury legacy to his name ?  if so then like.  what’s the  i will take everything from you  aimed at hiccup  ?  is it personal ,  does it become personal over the story ?  or does he just not like being told no  ?  

it’s only been a year that hic’s been chief,  now,  and after drago,  he must know that powerful people have powerful friends.  berk’s got eret and any of the refugees that wanted a chance at a dragon / viking integrated society.  they must know more about this world,  the whole of everything far far outside berk and the archipelago,  now.   information and strategy and names  ––––  important names,  and how dragon hunting is.   is influential and powerful and used to gain status,  it’s gotta be widespread.   what is it that differentiates drago and grimmel  ?   i mean that scene from the trailer,  of grimmel and the dragon,   that takedown is just .  chilling  .   is there more fear,  now  ?   even more so than stoick’s  I Must Prepare You For War  immediate reaction last film  ?    is it more in the fact that there has been loss before,  it happens in every telling  :   take the  home,  the  identity,  the  power.    finality,   is this the time he is going to lose everything  ?   does it feel like he knows,  now ?   like it’s a physical thing he has to hold tight to  ?   does he understand the fragility of it all   /   when he sees his father’s statue in the distance  ?   is grimmel the final domino to fall,  to complete the trilogy  :  the lost of something integral of every iteration.  the body and home  /  the father and family  /  the dragons and the best friend   ?     how it all cumulates to right here    ?   how it has always been this inescapable thing,   no matter how far he ran    ?    

and like .   even w/ the Overhanging Feeling of the dragons leaving i’m  –––  i’m stuck on that final shot of the trailer of older hic & older (?) toothless  ?   do they still get to see one another  ?   is the hidden world not closed off forever,  is it not stuck myth in this now mythless world  ?  what are the rules dw    ??? 

[chieftn]

muse body language.

bold / italicise what you apply to your muse.

tagged by.    stolen from @daaorys    ! tagging.     steal it   !

defensiveness.

arms crossed on chest  /   crossing legs   /   fist-like gestures   /   pointing index finger  /    karate chops   /   stiffening of shoulders   /   tense posture  /   curling of lip   /   baring of teeth

reflective.

hand-to-face gestures   /   head tilted  /   stroking chin   /   peering over glasses   /   taking glasses off — cleaning   /   putting earpiece of glasses in mouth   /   pipe smoker gestures   /   putting hand to bridge of nose   /   pursed lips,  knitted brows

suspicion.

arms crossed  /   sideways glance  /   touching or rubbing nose   /   rubbing eyes   /  hands resting on weapon   /   brows raising  /   lips pressing into a thin line  /   strict, unwavering eye contact   /   wrinkling of nose

openness & cooperation.

open hands   /   upper body in sprinters position   /  sitting on edge of chair  /  hand-to-face gestures   /   unbuttoned coat   /   tilted head  /   slacked shoulders, droopy posture   /   feet pointed outward   /   palms flat and facing outward   /   chin up

confidence.

hands behind back   /   hands on lapels of coat   /   steepled hands   /   baring teeth in a grin  /   rolling shoulders   /   tipping head back but maintaining eye contact  /   chest puffed up  /  shoulders back  /   arms folded just above navel

insecurity & anxiety.

chewing pen or pencil   /   rubbing thumb over opposite thumb   /   biting fingernails   /  hands in pockets   /   elbow bent/closed gestures   /   clearing throat   /   “whew” sound   /   picking or pinching flesh   /   fidgeting in chair   /   hand covering mouth whilst speaking   /   poor eye contact   /   tugging at pants whilst seated   /   jingling money in pockets   /   tugging at ear   /   perspiring hands   /   playing with hair   /   swaying   /   playing with pointer/marker/cane   / smacking lips   /   sighing   /   rocking on balls of feet   /   flexing fingers sporadically

frustration.

short breaths   /   “tsk” sounds  /   tightly-clenched hands  /   fist-like gestures  /  pointing index finger  /   rubbing hand through hair   /   rubbing back of neck   /   snarling   /  revealing teeth  /  grimacing   /   sharp-eyed glowers w/ notable tension in brow   /  shoulders back, head up — defensive posturing   /   clenching of jaw  /  grinding teeth   /   nostrils flaring   /   heavy exhales

[chieftn]

he  thinks  he  has  to  lead  alone,   because  his  father  had  to.               he  doesn’t  realize  the  strength  that  you  have  together. 

why do i not completely jive w/ this    ???????????????   

is it because it’s half - right ?   because it’s.  it’s not   he  doesn’t  realize  the  strength  that  you  have  together.     it’s because    /    it’s how he grew up.    it’s what he knows,  what he remembers vividly.   because without toothless he thinks he’s going right back to being classic hiccup again.   he sees causation   /   effect.   he sees the introduction of toothless and how  /  it has  made  him  into who he is today.  take that away and what is left ?   half  of  himself.   the half without toothless  /  a him,  a time no one likes to remember.  (  except snotlout,  apparently.  )  

and me,   gathering up the  five  entire  years  of teamwork in rob  /  dob  /  rtte in my arms   :    you have the years on berk,  on the edge,  hiccup  knows  the strength you have together.  it’s why the dragon riders exist,  and only continues to grow in strength   ?   because of their belief in him  ?   they began directly because of astrid’s faith that he could lead them  ??   but that is within the strength that he has with the riders   ––––   the real question of this is   :   does he have that with the people of berk  ?   do they trust him  ?   do they believe in him,  even though he is not like his father before him ?    bc he is a different kind of chief  ?   they trusted  /  still trust him now when it comes to dragons.   but when it came to protecting the village ?    with a gently far - fetched,  hiccup - like idea  ?   their support wasn’t there ,  continuously through the story .   how can he realize the strength there is to  berk  and  its  people  if it’s .   only held one - sided  ?    if it is only accentuated to one thing  ––  dragons,  and the strength he gets given alongside toothless  ?   if they do not trust him,  with or without toothless,  where does that leave him as a leader ?   it’s only been a year.   he is still new  /  still inexperienced.  but he has lived beside berk as this version of himself to them for  six  years  now.  everything they have been through.  he has shown them time and time again that he is willing to risk everything to protect what they have built together  /  a world of people alongside dragons in peace.   what have they shown him ?

it should be   :    he thinks he has to lead alone,  because his father had to.  he doesn’t realize that berk stands behind him.   because that’s the part we haven’t seen.   we see berk  /  cheering for him in every big battle.   we see them in support him after the fact,  in every story.    but it’s in the everyday,  the question of  :   how do they view him  ?  and hasn’t it already been shown in  :    congratulations,  stoick  !   everyone is so relieved.   /   out with the old in with the new,  right   ? !   /   no one will miss that old nuisance  !    we hear these from the vikings but hiccup has lived alongside these thoughts for the better half of twenty one years  ?   and it  changed  practically overnight because of what toothless brought out in him.  and even now,  in this film  :   you have grimmel’s  berk doesn’t have a chief.  they have a boy.   you have ruff  &  tuff’s   out to lunch  ?    you have valka  ?   “ this gift we share,  it bonds us ”   valka,  saying that he should reconsider his options and plans  ?  when literally talking about a safe haven for all dragons ?   uh  ?   hello  ?   if you want him to believe that berk is in support of him and that this part of his arc is complete   :    show us .  but even more importantly   :     don’t have astrid  tell  him.   have everyone  –––  everyone who ever doubted him as a boy,  all of berk,  have them  show him.  the self - realization alone  ?   hiccup coming to that final thought of  :  i do not have to be what is seen / expected of me  ( failure,  hero,  peacekeeper, chief )  to be worthy of respect.  to be worthy of love.  even if.  even if it is just self-love,  self-acceptance,  all my own.  

and what a development that could’ve been  . . . . . .   hiccup the mistake to hiccup the realized chief  . . .   berk standing up for him  ?   standing beside him   ?    something like   :   he may not be stoick,  but he is the truest expression of what values vikings stand for.  bravery.  heart.  courage.  determination,  stubbornness.  he changed berk for the better  –––  and we’ll follow him to the ends of the earth.  

because then ?   with all of berk and their dragons beside him  ?  grimmel wouldn’t have stood a fucking chance.  and with the soaring score in the background that rivals the all - sky - emotion of  two  new  alphas ,  could you imagine what a moment like that could’ve felt like?   @ me dreamworks i’ll finish ur character arc for you 

tldr  :     hiccup does realize the strength they have together  :   with the riders,  completely,  indefinitely.  but with berk   –––   he doesn’t feel confident that  berk’s  people  realize it,  with him.  he thinks that as soon as he is without toothless  /  he’s just classic hiccup again,  that everything reverts back to stage one.   he needs to believe that berk believes in him,  dragons or no dragons.  with that  :   the completion of the arc that has been building since we first met hiccup in httyd   ;   self acceptance,  to the very core of his character.

[chieftn]

the modern au headcanon of toothless as a three - legged or tailless cat is just .  so good  ?  it’s so good 

[chieftn]

‘   so  that  people  and  dragons  will  fight  no  more .   ’        and when we see it like this it is .   the same agenda .    it is your destiny   /   one day i’ll find it .   like in some strange,  twisted way they were always after the same thing  ?    an  end  to the division between the dragons and themselves ,   to find peace and redefine it amongst all of the stillness and ash. 

but this.   this also means that there was a time,   before everything,   before making things into a mess every time hiccup steps outside,   even after valka was gone that    –––––    they  spent  together.   that at least some of those moments were not strained or heavy - handed.   that they were a family ,   even small ,  even broken ,   even just for a little while .

[chieftn]

hiccup   ‘   i  can  train  anything   ’   haddock,  sees your untrainable label on a dragon and says  fuck  that,   gives his whole heart and tries his  hardest  to give his hand as well    ?  

[chieftn]

hey it’s been  four  whole  years  but drago’s     :      this      –      is   the   great  dragon  master     ?          the  son  of  stoick  the  vast   ?         what  shame  he  must  feel.         bc like.      no no,    you don’t understand,    he’s    right    ?  

the only thing stoick has wanted for hiccup is to.    be  like  them  ?    be a viking  ?   and for him to,   in actuality,    be.    so different,   so  drastically  different,   so seemingly easily  ?    y’all  remember  the kill ring   ?    how hiccup goes against the whole of viking culture up to this point,    saying,    like stone,   a permanence,     i’m  not  one  of  them   ?   

and how this.   stays even  after  the events w/ the red death   ?    even in riders of b.erk,    portrait  of  hiccup  as  a  buff  young  man    ?    is that not.    shame,   there   ?    that even in all of his accomplishments,  in trying to be this bridge between their worlds,   in orchestrating this new part of their history,    they still don’t want to see it all as.    him   ?    

and yea it gets better as hic and stoick develop relationship-wise,   but like.  don’t u think stoick would’ve been  100 %  happier if hiccup was.  big and strong and idealistically viking-like  ?   someone the village would be overjoyed to see as their chief   ?    as their leader  ?    here he is,     dragon by his side,   a whole ass night fury,   w/ status and title of chief-to-be and  pride  of  berk,    all of it so.    sacrificially  earned,   monumentally,   and still,   still,   he is ever-followed by this philosophy of  not  being  enough    !  !  !

[chieftn]

y’know  in  gift  of  the  ni.ght  fury  when  hiccup  mimics  toothless’  chortle  back  at  him  while  shaking  his  head    .  .  .    give  me  more  of  that  please  n  thank  u       !   

[chieftn]

also .         you’re  nothing  without  your  dragon    ?

[chieftn]

hiccup    ?       writing  in  a  linear  fashion   ?      not  in  this  archipelago    !  

[chieftn]

a   sad   thought     :     after  the  dragons  are  gone,   the  closest  hic  can  get  to  the  just.   pure  feelings  of  contentedness   &   relaxation  of  being  up  in  the  air  is  either  in  witnessing  the  winds  up  on a  hilltop,    filtering  through  the  trees    –    or  being  present  on  the  shore,   with  the  waves.