#source: defenders of berk

[nerdasaurus1200]

Odysseus: Are you calling your father ridiculous?

Telemachus: Of course not, that would be stupid!

Telemachus: I’m calling my king ridiculous.

[incorrectredwallquotes]

Shogg: Okay, now might be a good time to roll out that big plan of yours.

Triss: Right, right. Big plan. Uh, okay.

Shogg: Let me guess, you have no plan.

Triss: You... you're right. That would be correct.

[waterfire1848]

[ The adults call Sokka to come talk to them. ]

Sokka: Dad, Iroh, other scary looking adults. I would just like to say, in my defense, I cannot control Aang, Katara, Toph and Zuko 24 hours a day.

[incorrectgallifreyquotes]

Narvin: Okay, now might be a good time to roll out that big plan of yours.

Romana: Right, right. Big plan. Uh, okay.

Narvin: Let me guess, you have no plan.

Romana: You... you're right. That would be correct.

[evilwriter37]

Okay I was thinking on this:

You know how in Rtte S1 E3 where Hiccup meets the Thunderdrum after running from the Death Song? And where Hiccup puts the fact the Death Song uses its melody to lure dragons in and the fact that Thunderdrums have weak hearing together?

Take note that a baby Thunderdrum was also shown caught in the episode and I believe the reasoning behind this is:

Babies can make as loud as blasts so their hearing isn’t as bad as that of a fully grown Thunderdrum, making the younger Thunderdrums non immune to the Death Songs call!

Quoting The Httyd Wiki Fandom as well: The Thunderdrum's weak hearing is both their weakness, and their strength: being almost deaf leaves them immune to their own sonic blasts.

Did I think of this when I should have been studying? Yes.

Worth it? Also yes.

I think they went over something like your thoughts in Defenders of Berk, but I can’t remember. (It’s been too long. I need a rewatch.) But that makes sense. Weaker blasts = stronger hearing = trapped by Death Song.

Though I stay away from the Fandom Wiki because it can be edited by just about anyone. It’s not a good source for some things.

And noooo, go study, lol.

[eemoo1o-tfrmoo]

Snotlout Jorgenson and the art of defiance*, defamation, and daddy issues

* I will be including his demeanour as a doormat alongside this. I will not be discussing his dissipation in this post as well.

Today, I will be studying Snotlout in (RTTE) and his issues with rule abiding and control management and how his relationship with his father affects this.

The episodes in particular I will be deriving my sources from are:

Reign of Fireworms (1x07)

Team Astrid (2x01)

And, Darkest Night (6x10)

Additionally, an episode I will also be looking at, though only briefly, includes:

Big Man on Berk (1x05)

Firstly, we look at Reign of Fireworms for his acts of defiance towards leadership, with his vast background of defying Hiccup in reference.

(Wow, Tumblr really ate the quality on my already crunchy gif.)

Admittedly, this is a shy example in comparison to anything else I could have picked. Snotlout is known for defying orders and challenging leadership (with Hiccup and later Astrid respectively). However, what makes this episode so different is how Snotlout is so indecisive over the twins’ leadership. Allow me to put a pin in that for later.

Unlike other instances of rejecting leadership, Snotlout reacts similarly to the other riders over the twins’ new roles as Island Rulers, but the main difference between Snotlout and the others is that Snotlout seems to hold no filter over the matter, which is shown with how he is the first to protest, insult, attempt to rebel, and even propose to off the twins.

However, unlike the rest of the riders, Snotlout’s perspective on the twins’ leadership is quick to change when —

The twins give him a job that he likes: “sergeant at arms”.

This job is significant, and as such a role of power. This is seen throughout the episode where Snotlout is the one to throw all of the other riders (save from the twins, but eventually including himself) in jail.

Snotlout is the only one of the riders (with perhaps the exception being Fishlegs, but we don’t see much of that) to take his job, and the twins’ ridiculous rules, the most seriously.

However, once he throws himself in prison — claiming that “he was framed” — he is quick to side with the other riders’ rebellion again.

The main rule that Snotlout is seen sticking to most is the “no S” rule. At first, he seems adverse, with the twins calling for his as “Notlout”, and him completely missing the point, asking who that is and shrugging.

However, once fully embracing his role as “egeant at arm”, Snotlout is heard attempting to remove any S’s from his speech as often as he can. Until he throws himself in jail.

The “throwing himself in jail” aspect of the episode is only used to get the riders all together again, and as a gag, but if we look at it more earnestly it’s sort of telling of how seriously Snotlout took the role and how he was playing into the role so much that he became a different person from his regular self.

Such evidence could be seen in how he claims “I was framed!” instead of “I wa framed!”.

I’m not implying that I think Snotlout has DID, but I am implying that I think his father (and other adults of Berk) — and the first movie — has something to do with this.

As far as I recall, in the first movie, Snotlout was the leader of the teens, and bully of Hiccup. I think it’s also implied that he’s the teen (or all of the teens are, excluding Hiccup) who’s well revered as being what a Viking should be for being strong and hard-headed, but now those are the characteristics that many on Berk frown upon him for. (The civilians even cheered for his death in the Defenders of Berk finale — another gag at Snotlout’s expense.)

I believe it’s also said or at least implied in the first film that Hiccup wants to be like the other kids, specifically Snotlout, and that Snotlout and Astrid were a thing, though the latter seems more expendable for my point to be made.

Now, Thawfest seems to be the only place where Snotlout can prevail over Hiccup (resented family name aside), and as such live up to his father’s expectations to some degree. We even see this inferred with how Snotlout is panicking in the final race over how “he can’t lose”.

We move onto the Defamation element of my analysis, with the few points I’d just made, and as such we skip to the episode Darkest Night.

In this episode, each of the riders (with the exception of Astrid and Hiccup) pitch each of their ideal realities if they’d never gone to Dragon’s Edge.

In Snotlout’s reality (after intruding on the ending of Fishlegs’) is one where he is promoted from Berk’s official weapon tester to their official weapon inventor.

Comparatively, this would be like a drug tester suddenly becoming a pharmacist, or a stunt man inexplicably becoming a choreographer.

The original job (weapon tester) in and of itself is telling of how Berk now views Snotlout. And while no one really mentions how dangerous or implicative the job actually is, we can see for ourselves the danger the job includes in both the twins’ reality and Race to the Edge’s first episode (as the twins’ reality starts off with a clip from the first episode where they place a wheelbarrow of sharp objects next to Snotlout’s pile of pillows whilst he’s testing out a catapult).

I don’t think this job would have been distributed to anyone smart enough to decline it, or at least well-liked enough to dissuade the distributor of said job to offer it to that person. As such, the job is very implicative in how Berk views Snotlout, whether he’s aware of it or not.

Now, in the episode, with the promotion Snotlout gives himself, he emerges from an explosion which is reminiscent of how the first film introduces the rest of the teens, only this time Snotlout is alone.

Unlike the others’ unrealistic realities, Snotlout’s is more like a fantasy than anything.

Not only does this fantasy feed into Snotlout’s egotistical point of view (as this is entirely centric on him, and other characters that are shown in this fantasy don’t pass the Snotlout-based Bechdel test), but we are also reminded of the time when Snotlout was well-liked: the first film, before Berk befriended dragons (though the dragons are still their friends in Snotlout’s fantasy, because as defamed as Snotlout’s image now is in contrast, I don’t think he’d give up Hookfang for the world — inexplicable explosion in the beginning of his fantasy aside), and even in Astrid’s alternate timeline where Berk hadn’t befriended dragons, and Snotlout is also well-liked by Stoick and others.

Firstly, Snotlout states that he invents this superweapon, though what is depicted is an unimaginatively unusable combination of all pre-existing weapons, though in the fantasy everyone adores the ‘invention’. I have the sense that while this isn’t stated to compete with Hiccup’s fire-sword, it is an attempt, because in the real world Hiccup inadvertently overshadows Snotlout in every possible aspect. Even Thawfest, however fleetingly.

In Snotlout’s fantasy, Gobber — who is very infamous for not taking Snotlout seriously or viewing him with any high regards — is the first to interact with Snotlout the Inventor by being completely enamoured with his invention, and praising him profusely on it.

When Hookfang appears in the fantasy just after, his tongue is hanging just marginally out of his mouth and his pupils are large and rotund, and he flies off whilst allowing Snotlout to remain standing on him.

The pupils of a dragon are shown time and time again to be easy tells of their mood. Narrow for hostile or under the influence of mind control (via Death Songs, Bewilderbeasts, Red/Blue/Green Deaths, so on), and wide/large for comfortable, adoring or even playful, as well as under the influence of dragon nip.

However, what makes Hookfang’s expression here most odd — as fantastical as it is — isn’t the very adoring way it’s depicted, but rather the shape of his pupils. We’ve seen Hookfang’s pupils dilated before, but they aren’t ever as round as they are here.

The dragon with the roundest and largest pupils that we know of is actually Toothless (the Night Fury, and as such the Light Fury). While Toothless’ pupils go a bit squarer as the movie series goes on, in the way they are depicted in Race to the Edge they are round, and as such so are Hookfang’s here.

This is obviously another way of showing that Snotlout wants what Hiccup has. In a way, he wants Hookfang to see him like Toothless sees Hiccup.

(A note worth adding us that in Snotlout’s fantasy, there’s even a metal statue of himself on Hookfang which he kisses the cheek of. This feeds into the egotistical side of things, but also serves as a callback to the Riders of Berk episode When Lightning Strikes.)

There’s also this golden, smoky hue over Snotlout’s fantasy which is lacking in the others’ concepts for an alternate reality, which perhaps could symbolise how this is an ideal, self-serving idea, and that these would have been golden memories for Snotlout, if they were to exist.

Next, we see Astrid fawning over Snotlout and then, the moment he is to land, his father scoops him up and says “You make me proud to be a Jorgenson, boyo!”, which is a recurring theme in Race to the Edge with how Snotlout expresses a true desire to hear this.

Which brings us, briefly, back to season one, with the episode Big Man On Berk.

In short, as stated in @jesse-the-writer’s post here, Snotlout seeks validation from men he deems strong, such as Thor and Dagur, due to his faulty relationship with his father.

He idolises them (Dagur more so in and before Riders and Defenders of Berk than after), in a manner similar to how he idolises his father, and in doing so he ignores how they write him off (Thor and Dagur), or forget his name countless times after being corrected (Dagur), or even insult his dragon (Thor) by laughing it off awkwardly and sometimes agreeing.

And all of the above is reminiscent of how Spitelout treats him (mostly in Riders and Defenders of Berk, but in a few instances of Race to the Edge also).

Psychoanalytically, the way parents treat their child pays a big role in how they view and act in relationships. This source focuses on romantic relationships, however some key elements can be attributed to platonic relationships, also.

“For instance, if your parents were not very affectionate and hardly ever hugged or kissed you, you may have an aversion to affection as an adult.”

I recall in the Defenders of Berk episode Scauldy, that when Astrid finally returns Snotlout’s affections/serial flirting (albeit in an insincere but well-acted way), Snotlout is immediately deterred and as such disgusted by her advances.

This is seen again with Ruffnut in the second and third film, and how he is quick to move on from and disregard her when she finally shows interest (albeit in both him and Fishlegs).

This shows that Snotlout actively pursues relationships (assumably romantic) where he is led to believe that his affections will not be returned or where they outright are not. Seeing as Spitelout, too, is not very affectionate, this could be a direct cause to Snotlout’s inability to find mutual affection very favourable or at the very least pleasant.

(A note worth mentioning is that in the season six episode Mi Amore Wing, Snotlout is the most visibly disgusted by the extreme affection shared between Mala and Dagur.)

Now, the most important question: is Snotlout aware of his father’s bad parenting? For that we go to the episode Team Astrid.

(The true villain of How To Train Your Dragon was Hiccup all along.)

Well, of course he is.

I think there’s something to be said for the change in Snotlout’s design. I won’t go too much into the theory here, but when Snotlout was younger he looked more like his father which shows that back then he was probably more blindsided to his father’s bad parenting ethics.

However, now that he is older he looks less like his father (squarer jaw, lighter skin, less freckles, shifted teeth), albeit still related in some way, which could be seen as a metaphor for how Snotlout is still looking up to his father, but is more aware than what he once was about what is so inherently wrong in their relationship (if not directly).

(This theory of mine also includes the idea as to why Spitelout has Deadly Nadder over a Monsteous Nightmare, which is briefly explained in the tags of this post here.)

As such, Snotlout clearly wants revenge that “the world owes him” (a line which could also double as him being owed for passing this opportunity up to actually listen to one of Hiccup’s orders, a trait which he gets better at in most instances as Race to the Edge goes on).

The way that Snotlout also puts emphasis on “I” and “him” here also implies that this is what Spitelout’s influence and presence over him is: a means to correct and shape him in a way that puts him down and never allows him to meet expectations, at least not fully. As such, this affects his ego and desire to be known, seen, as well as his view on relationships that hold a mutually professed affection whilst he still craves and shows a longing for his father’s approval and praise which deters him from anyone else’s (causing him to seek out relationships that are not mutually beneficial).

However, while I believe that Snotlout and Spitelout’s relationship isn’t beneficial to either parties, and as such toxic but not purposefully so (in fact I can imagine Spitelout’s relationship with his own father having been quite similar, but there is no evidence to support this, as far as I recall), I do not believe that it is inherently parasitic (otherwise I would be quoting the twins’ ramble about such relationships from Living on the Edge).

To sum up this analysis, I bring you these points:

Defamation: Snotlout was once well-liked amongst other Berkians for being strong and courageous but since Hiccup befriended the dragons Snotlout has since been pushed aside for the reasons he was once held in high esteem for.

As such, this makes him envious of Hiccup, and Hiccup’s relationship with Toothless, as Hiccup is now the one that everyone likes.

Defiance: This means that he is all too willing to prove and make a fool of himself due to this as well as trying to show to his father that he can amount to his expectations, and as such disregard most orders.

This makes Snotlout very willing to abide rules when he his put in a position of power above others, as seen in Reign of Fireworms. However he can sometimes get too carried away and disassociate himself from the role the more seriously he takes it.

Daddy issues: His and his father’s relationship is the reason why he chases relationships that treat him as the underdog despite his own ego, that either have him pursuing the forever unreciprocated (i.e. Astrid, and later Ruffnut) or even those that he idolises but is always disregarded (like Thor and Dagur), which could be seen as him trying to recreate his and his father’s relationship or perhaps search for the affection he has never properly received, but is immediately deterred once potentially finding or receiving it.

A part of Snotlout sees what is wrong with his and his father’s relationship, as seen with how he wishes to enact revenge through treating his father as he did him.

I think that the damage caused to Snotlout and his relationship with his father isn’t entirely reversible, I do believe that their relationship could reform. However, I don’t think them finding a means of doing so is entirely possible.

[thisrandomstuff]

A moment of appreciation for:

a) sturdy-looking, but not body-builder looking vikings (that have fat on them as well as muscle, which makes sense, given the geography, potential food sources, and that it just adds to their weight and size and makes it harder to mess with them/makes them more intimidating. It also makes it more obvious that Hiccup is a runt (Astrid is at least taller than him and wields an axe so no one is gonna call her a runt, and the twins are too unpredictable, imo for anyone to dare call them runts. Everyone else is a unit and a half in this.).

b) the lines of dialogue in this scene

It gives: "i've been turned into a cow; can I go home?" from Emperor's New Groove.

c) the slight differences between all the vikings despite having roughly the same build. They didn't need to put in all that effort, but those madmen did it anyway, because anything worth doing is worth doing right.

---

If you couldn't tell I'm re-watching a large chunk of the superior, animated, franchise. Planning on starting with HTTYD, then moving onto Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge (and also that one Christmassy special), and then HTTYD 2, after which there are no other movies/series/remakes as far as I'm concerned.

---

Also, this map is fine for an animated movie.

But for the live action?

Also, the live action map isn't even the same map, so why they didn't choose to update it to look more like an actual map is beyond me.

The live-action gives such Disney Channel vibes.

[zel-shadedreviews]

So, here’s the start of a franchise that wowed the audiences upon release, especially in IMAX theatres. Based on a large book series, each movie featured all types of amazing aspects such as character development, flying scenes, drama and of course, the titular dragons. For someone who loves the species, I found myself enjoying this franchise for their presentation and depth.

The island of Berk is infested with dragons that steal their livestock where the Vikings defend themselves through violence. One night, the chief’s son, Hiccup, sets out to catch his own dragon for once to prove that he’s not a weakling. Surprisingly, he captures one that no-one in Berk has ever done so and goes to find it. From that point, Hiccup’s whole life changes where he studies the dragon and is enrolled in a Viking class, further showing new skills to gently defeat the dragons gently instead of using violence. With Hiccup winning the respect of his peers and his father, he bonds with the secret dragon, but reasons for their thievery are soon revealed.

Now, in preparations, I’ve actually read the first book to compare both the source and adaptation, where this ironically had nothing to do with it. Meant as a fresh new perspective, Hiccup was more as the failing underachieving student, though could talk to dragons, with Fishlegs as his only friend and Snotloud was the school bully. But, the two biggest aspects were that they already featured dragons to train for their companions and that Toothless was a disobedient little imp who only helped when needed. There’s also the facts that Hiccup could communicate with dragons. No matter the changes, the author loved the movie franchise, even promoting it on her website.

From the absolute start, this film used a ton of tropes that were ever so popular in a lot of family films, ranging stock characters of the main underdog and the ignorant father, while its storyline reeked off the kid meeting an alien creature. Fortunately to its greatest advantage, this utilised a lot of generic ideas and blended them with spins galore. When the film began to progress, so did the main character, Hiccup, developing more from the dragon’s point-of-view, beginning their journey to trusting each-other. The dragons weren’t exactly treated as antagonistic beasts but slaves fighting for survival as when the third act proceeded, we see a dive into their own perspectives.

The climax and ending captured the thrilling adventure, bringing the main characters into fruition to save both of their kinds, before the dragon dived to save the only one who trusted him. There is one important aspect that you rarely see in lost media where character suffer injuries and it remains permanently; I grew tired of characters coming out of battles without a scratch, but this clearly showed that there are consequences.

I think I can say for anyone that the flying scenes are absolutely breathtaking, easily winning the greatest aspect of the movie. All had that sense of exhilaration whenever Hiccup takes flight, only occurring when he earned the right all after his days of studying the dragons. Whenever the two fly, we’re gifted astounding angles from the perspective of the dragon and their manoeuvres across the mountaintops. With every flying montage, this allowed Hiccup to construct a harness and assist his new companion with a way to overcome his injury. The climax helped deliver the amp of danger with its scope of the dragon’s leader and how someone so minuscule compared towards its monstrous size. Above all, this was a flowing theme of each movie, where they kept the momentum and pushed for more potential involving its new atmospheres.

Something I love about films are how believable they made these flying scenes, giving the experience that you’re there. This was the rightful way to present 3D effects in a movie rather than show imagery to scream it themselves.

Each dragon design wasn’t a rehash, baring their own names, behaviours, strengths and weaknesses. Dragons ranged from utilising elemental powers like rocks or fire, or those that need each-other’s help for deadlier attacks. I was impressed by how much they wanted to tell which dragon was which, managing to give Hiccup the opportunities to overcome their powers and pacify each one by studying the one he captured. The main dragon, who Hiccup dubs as Toothless, had an adorable design, baring animalistic behaviour like the lone wolf and curious cat. It’s the dragon’s quick movements across his hideout that gave off that intimidating stance, but then it’s with every moment that Hiccup attempts a truce that makes him drop his guard. Their unique designs were thanks to the director, Chris Sanders, who also worked on Lilo & Stitch.

These characters were stock cookie cutter at first, but they bared believable demeanours and development that made them stand out, especially as the franchise went on. At first glance, Hiccup was seen as the standard weakling, but there’s some likability and identity to him. He acts as the pacifist of the Vikings, which doesn’t make him stand out in a bad way, where they all grow to respect him for his fresher manoeuvres on defeating the dragons. Throughout his enrolment into the tryouts, Hiccup takes the time to study about the dragons and spark an adorable connection with one, helping him out with his injury and then becoming a team. At first, his voice was grating to hear, which emphasised on the current breaks in his tone, similar to Ron Stoppable’s actor, Will Friedle; eventually, you’ll get used to Jay Baruchel’s performance, where it’s the progression in his character that made it worthwhile.

With Hiccup’s involvement, he was able to learn more about the rarest dragon, Toothless; standoffish at first towards his prime enemy, the dragon allows trust when he sees more to the gentle nature of Hiccup, before allowing his guard to drop afterwards. Toothless himself is an adorable and expressive character, beginning a blooming friendship with Hiccup, both helping out with each-other’s permanent injuries. Who performed his growls and noises was Skywalker Sound’s sound designer, Randy Thom.

Stoick the Vast was also a stock character the ever so typically mean-spirited father, but his view of Hiccup changes throughout. At first, he sees him as a screw-up, but then when he has the chance to talk to him, he doesn’t have much to say as the two never really had anything in common. You do receive a genuine care from this character with an awkward relationship between the two as they’ve had anything to say due to their time spent away. Eventually, we receive the third act breakup, involving the father harshly disowning Hiccup, but the way they show his instant regret afterwards brings a realistic spin to his character. You can see how words can affect himself even in anger and how he painfully reflects on his actions in the climax.

As for the other characters, some were memorable or were just there for the sake of additional tagalongs. The best of the class, Astrid, is a great character where she does disbelieve Hiccup’s sudden progression, showing some realistic jealousy increasing over his victories. Later on, she eventually warms up to his own perspective of dragons and starts caring for his wellbeing, becoming a love interest that felt earned and not forced. Through the franchise, my favourite character was Gobber, Stoick’s best friend and weapons dealer, a sarcastic yet acknowledgeable teacher of Hiccup. likeable character with some humorous dialogue.

The students were passable enough, presented as the typical underachieving students that each had a flaw which matched their chosen dragons. They more so remind me of the teammates of Big Hero 6 where they don’t have to be in the movie, but serve their roles decently enough: consisted of Rough and Tough Nut the bickering twins; Snotlout the jock by default; the only one I actually didn’t mind as much was the enlarged nerdy coward, Fishlegs. A little disclaimer for the franchise, which I would have saved, but I never really cared for these side-characters as they’re just there to have some banter and mostly make their mark during the climatic final battle.

This film became a staple of DreamWorks Animation, earning the critical acclaim it deserved, but sadly losing towards Pixar, which was ironic how the same would occur nine years later. Nonetheless, it was the right way to start a franchise, similar to another masterpiece, Kung Fu Panda.

Final Rating: A

10/10

[evidence-based-activism]

feminists are trying to defend Lucy letby the vile woman who killed babies, too bad for you she has been found guilty. https://apple.news/AYaBFIXxAQ1KtwSC2w-84kA

Hello Anon -

I'm going to answer this in parts:

Are feminists trying to defend Lucy Letby?

I searched for any evidence of this and found none. If you have any evidence that this is occurring you'll have to provide sources for it. However, I've searched for news articles, organization statements, and social media posts and found absolutely no evidence of this. (The link you provided is just to a generic news article on the topic. Nothing about a feminist defense on the topic.)

Is anyone trying to defend Lucy Letby?

There are some people saying that a "miscarriage of justice" has taken place. However, they're explicitly indicating that they don't know if Lucy Letby is innocent. They have an issue with the way the prosecution used statistical and scientific evidence, and with the defense's inadequate response to this misuse of evidence.

Essentially, they are saying that - regardless of Letby's innocence or guilt - she received an inadequate defense and should be retried. (This article (archived link) introduces the arguments, although its tone suggests the arguments lack merit.)

I'm not going to go into the problems they've identified (with one exception, which I'll address next), but if you're interested in a breakdown of the issues an article by The Guardian (archived link) and another by The Telegraph (archived link) discuss the identified problems with the case's statistics/science (and some counter-arguments). The first is from a left-leaning source and the second from a right-leaning source, but they essentially address the same information.

One of the primary points behind this argument is that the prosecution misused statistical data. One of the primary advocates is Statistician Richard Gill. An important note about him, is that Letby is not the first person he's made this argument for. From the first article:

Seven years before anyone had heard of Letby, Gill successfully campaigned for the retrial of Dutch nurse Lucia de Berk. De Berk stood trial for serial murder in 2003 and was convicted of four murders and three attempted murders. In 2010, after a campaign led by whistleblowers and statisticians including Gill, the case was sent back to court. De Berk was exonerated; her case is now considered one of the worst miscarriages of justice in Dutch history. (Emphasis added.)

This same issue has apparently arisen frequently enough that the "Royal Statistical Society" wrote and published a report ("Healthcare serial killer or coincidence? Statistical issues in investigation of suspected medical misconduct.") on the topic, which essentially advised people to consult a statistician before using statistics for a criminal case. Neither the prosecution or the defense followed this recommendation.

That doesn't necessarily make these arguments correct ... just because he's been right before doesn't mean he's right this time. There's room for doubt in almost any type of evidence (hence why the juries are asked to consider "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" instead of "absolute certainty in guilt").

All in all, some field experts are indicating they believe the prosecutions evidence was flawed and the defense's response failed to address these flaws in Letby's defense. As a result, they believe Letby should be retried. Notably, they are not suggesting she be immediately exonerated or released.

Importantly, this argument is not based on feminism or Letby being female. It's specifically a scientific/statistical argument. As such, your assertion that "feminists are trying to defend Lucy Letby" is still incorrect.

Bonus: general serial killer statistics.

To try and keep both posts a reasonable length, I have made a separate post about Sex Differences in Serial/Mass Murder.

[10blue10]

Draconic Sociality

Many species of dragon are social. However, there are different levels of sociality, and dragons, like most animals, fall into various categories. 

Level 0 - Solitary 

Several species, such as Skrills and Armorwings, are highly territorial and do not tolerate the presence of other dragons. They likely only tolerate the presence of their own kind, as adults, if there is an opportunity to mate. 

Level 1 - Gregarious 

Many species, including Nadders, Gronckles and Terrors, are gregarious. They congregate, either naturally or under certain conditions, for the sake of protection, company, easier access to mates etc. These groups are referred to as flocks. There are single-species flocks, such as those of Smokebreaths, and there are multi-species flocks. Within flocks, a loose hierarchy often forms. 

Typically this is a case of Might makes Right. The bigger, stronger and more aggressive dragons tend to dominate over the smaller, weaker and less aggressive ones. Therefore, it follows logically that the biggest dragon in a flock, especially if they have no competition from their own kind, will become the ‘leader’ of the flock (also known as a Queen, King, alpha, defender etc.)

However, dragons do not behave solely based on instinct. They can and will recognise other qualities as being worthy of high status. (For example, Toothless is the de facto leader of the Berk flock not because he’s the biggest dragon, but because he killed the Red Death.) Dragons will naturally have friends and rivals within the larger social network of the flock. 

Level 2 - Hierarchical 

Several species, such as Changewings or Speed Stingers, live in single-species packs. A pack is distinguished from a flock by the more rigid social hierarchy and distinct pecking order they develop. The kind of hierarchy varies between species. For instance, Changewings have a social hierarchy similar to that of spotted hyenas, where females are dominant over males. 

‘Pack’ used to refer to single-species groups and ‘flock’ to multi-species groups. However, further research into the social dynamics of dragons has revealed that a more accurate distinction would be that packs have a pecking order, whereas flocks are more generalised. The norm is to have multi-species flocks and single-species packs, but of course there are always exceptions. 

Level 3 - Eusocial 

Firewyrms (and possibly Prickleboggles) are unusual amongst dragons as they are eusocial. Eusociality is characterised by the following: Reproductive division of labor (with or without sterile castes), overlapping generations, and cooperative care of young. It is considered the highest form of sociality. 

The Firewyrm Queen is the sole reproductive female within a colony. She reproduces parthenogenically, laying hundreds of unfertilised eggs that develop into non-reproductive drones. Genetically speaking, these are male, though functionally speaking they are sexless. The workers care for future generations, defend the colony and scout out new territory or food sources. 

When a colony starts to get too large, the resident Queen will produce a special type of fire-comb gel called drottninghunang (lit: ‘queen honey’) that is laced with hormones. This gel is fed to one of the hatchling drones, though the mechanism behind which this individual is chosen is not yet understood. 

The drottninghunang basically triggers their transformation into another reproductively-capable female, known as a Firewyrm Princess. When this female is large enough to fend for herself (and before she gets large enough to be a potential rival to her mother), she will leave the colony to start her own. 

[incorrectsdsins]

Estarossa: And make a fool out of me?!

Meliodas: You don't really need a lot of help with that.

[waterfire1848]

Charlie: I don’t know what to do about Husk and Alastor. They can’t go five minutes without an argument. Angel: There’s three ways to deal with Sinners who aren’t getting along. Vaggie: We’re all ears. Angel: Option one: give them both guns and you let them fight to the end. Charlie: That one seems a tad…permanent. What’s option two? Angel: You give them both axes and let them fight to the end.

[nightfurylover31]

Yusaku: You stay here where you can't get into any trouble.

Ai: Actually, I can get into trouble pretty much anywhere. Remember that empty room?

Kusanagi: He's got a point.

[tqgincorrectquotes]

Weiss: Beth's mean, but in a nice way.

Weiss: Benny's mean, but in a mean way.

[incorrectone-piece]

Usopp: How 'bout we all play twenty questions?

Luffy: Oh oh! Okay! First question!!

Luffy: How do you play "Twenty Questions"?

Nami: *Face palms*

[glassnightfury]

Hiccup: Listen, you're my friends, and I love you. But you're all terrible at what you do here.

Hiccup: I feel like I should tell you: I'd fire all of you if I could.

Astrid: Hiccup.

Hiccup: Alright, hands in!