Can we appreciate how this short definitely made a clear link between Zephyr and the blue-eyed Night Light with this one shot? (Yes this is a genuine shot; they show them both in a split screen)
I love how the short showed the blue-eyed baby being the leader of the siblings; it was the blue-eyed Night Light who came up with the plan to go to Berk and who led the charge. The blue-eyed one definitely seemed to be slightly more mature. It’s a fantastic parallel to Zephyr (presumably) being her father’s heir, and we see her taking an active part in trying to keep her family safe when she makes her dragon traps, and she even makes sure to shield her brother when things go wrong at the paegent. Both of them are perceptive and were the first to notice the fire on-stage, that something wasn’t right. I wonder if this means that the blue-eyed Night Light will take over after Toothless, given the parallels.
I think it’s definitely not a coincidence that Zephyr sort-of has Hiccup’s hair (technically she has Stoick’s but still) and Astrid’s eyes, whilst the blue-eyed Night Light is mostly black like Toothless and has blue eyes like the Light Fury. Someone else already pointed out months ago about Nuffink having his mother’s blonde hair and father’s green eyes - similarly, the white Night Light is obviously primarily white like the Light Fury and green-eyed like Toothless.
I have to wonder if Dean really WAS dropping a clue with the third Night Light - mostly black scales and green eyes like Toothless. Perhaps it’s a little Easter Egg pointing to a third Haddock child in the future - one with their father’s hair and eyes? Perhaps it’s nothing but a fan theory, and we will probably never know.
Either way, I absolutely LOVE this parallel so much!
Can I just say that I absolutely love the overarching theme for HTTYD3 (or one of several). The idea that with love comes loss but love is still worth it. It’s not teaching this fairytale-ish notion that love heals all or love is the answer to everything and with love all of your problems are solved. There is, of course, a time and a place for those types of stories but this…This god damn so-called animated children’s film is teaching the notion that love and loss are a package deal. You cannot have one without the other; it’s unavoidable, it’s literally impossible and that sucks but that doesn’t make love any less worth it even for the short time that it might occur. That is such an important lesson to learn over the course of your life and the fact that it’s in a god damn kids movie is so amazing to me. It’s one of the most mature lessons I’ve ever seen in a children’s film.
That along with learning how to let go and knowing when to let go and learning that…you know what? Sometimes you really do have to let go of things/people you love…my god, I love this film.
I’ve seen a lot of people quite shocked by this on Astrid’s part. I personally hadn’t seen it coming, had simply thought that Hiccup and Astrid hadn’t had the time to get married, but when I saw it in the movie it made sense to me, even when Astrid didn’t really explain her feelings. Hiccup and Astrid have been together for a long time, so why the reluctance to get married? Hiccup wasn’t at all hesitant and really seemed to be wanting to do it, but Astrid said they weren’t ready for marriage. Well, clearly one of them was ready, and it certainly wasn’t Astrid. Why?
More of a headcanon than anything, but it makes a lot of sense when you think about it: Astrid’s afraid of pregnancy. She’s a warrior by nature. Not only does she want to be able to defend herself, but those she cares about. She also doesn’t like being told what to do. Pregnancy, in the later stages, would probably make her feel pretty helpless compared to her usual self, and helplessness is not something Astrid wants to endure. She also would have to limit activity even in the early part of pregnancy to keep the baby healthy. She’d have to focus on herself and the baby instead of taking care of other people, and she’d be limited in what she could do. So, to Astrid, pregnancy probably seems like helplessness, and she’s terrified of that.
Pregnancy, however, can’t be avoided when you’re marrying a chief. Believe it or not, but the Vikings actually had birth control and a little bit of an understanding of what actually went into making a baby, so it was a more or less avoidable fate. Not for the chief’s wife though. As rulers, she and Hiccup would have to produce heirs. That would be one of their main jobs after getting married. Astrid probably felt a lot of pressure stepping into this role. What if she couldn’t get pregnant? What if she couldn’t carry a baby to full term? What if she was a bad parent? As Hiccup’s wife, none of these anxieties are avoidable, because they need heirs, and she’s the one that has to carry them.
For Hiccup, the marriage doesn’t really change much about their relationship. It’s not a heavy mantle being set on him. The only new thing is that he has to be able to aid in reproduction. Astrid, on the other hand, has to take on the responsibility of bearing children. Marrying Hiccup means she has to deal with something she’s quite possibly afraid of, and even without that fear, it’s a heavy burden to have.
Astrid wasn’t hesitant to marry Hiccup out of a lack of love or care for him. Not at all. It’s quite clear through the way she treats him that she does indeed love him. Though, for her and Hiccup, marriage has two different roles, and she’s been given the harder part to play.
(End of essay. Now I want to write a fic where they sit and talk about this.)
notice the growth in her belief in him too… the second time she’s waaaay more sassy and like poke poke I KNOW you’ve got a plan up there let’s get it done.. but in the first she’s just starting to reach out, to feel out the fight and optimism she knows is inside Hiccup’s heart. By now, she knows it’s there and she’s been through heaven and hell with him and she loves him, and she trusts him.
you all expect me to take you seriously....talking about “soulmates aren’t just a romantic concept!!!! more platonic soulmates. uwu.”.....and yet REFUSING to stan how to train your dragon (2010)....i cannot fucking imagine
there-is-still-some-liquor-left
no no i’m not done. toothless loses his left right tail flap while fighting a human....hiccup loses his left foot while fighting a dragon. hiccup has a scar on his chin from a dragon....toothless has a scar on his neck from a human. they are both isolated from their kin for different reasons and in the fall out from their individual conflict and pain find one another.........their separate species are natural enemies, yet fate brings them together as outsiders in order to live out the friendship of a lifetime and you all SNUB THIS? THE POETICISM OF IT ALL. you ingrates are like “haha bee movie company” so you cannot SEE the GIFT of TENDERNESS that you’ve been GIVEN? good fucking night count your blessings
"Not only is the friendship beneficial for both of them (they were each alone and they fulfilled themselves in each other), it was beneficial for the entire world. If anything, they owe it to the archipelago and the future of dragons and humans to stay together." I loved this! did you mean it?! could you elaborate on it pleeease? thanks!
So this is in response to this post and the reply by @kingofthewilderwest, referencing why Hiccup and Toothless had to separate and the implied selfishness on the part of Hiccup for hanging onto the friendship. Specifically, this is in response to a quote from Haddock’s reply:
“Can we actually call Hiccup’s relationship to Toothless through the years a selfish holding on? When so much of Hicctooth’s relationship has been sacrifice for one another, through and through and through?”
Hiccup and Toothless’ friendship is such a deep one precisely because it made both of them stronger and braver and better than they were before: Hiccup found his place in the world, found his confidence, found love and respect among his friends and family, found his identity and his mission in the world. Hiccup became brave and selfless enough to lose the love of his father in order to prove that dragons were not killers. He became a warrior in order to save his dragon and his tribe and father.
Toothless, through Hiccup’s confidence in him, found courage to fight the tyrant that had kept his fellow dragons under control. He saved his dragonkind, not only by doing this, but by proving that dragons are the loyal, wonderful creatures Hiccup believed them to be. Toothless became selfless enough not to look out for his own self-preservation, but to put himself in harm’s way in order to save Hiccup from the Kill Ring. His saving Hiccup from the fire proved to Stoick that dragons can love, and indeed, love deeply.
And it was these, the acts of both Hiccup and Toothless, that brought peace to the 300-year-war that raged on Berk against dragons. Thousands of lives, dragon and human, were saved by the simple but powerful expression of love between two individuals. (And when you think about it, that’s a really remarkable achievement.)
In the second film, we get the same theme: Hiccup and Toothless have created a world where humans and dragons live together. Drago believes that dragons can simply be controlled by wielding power over them and by taking command of the dragon alpha. It’s a pragmatic equation built on the belief that dragons have no love and no loyalty in them. He’s out to make a dragon army and to decimate tribes across the archipelago, using dragons as his henchmen. But what stops him? What stops this tyrant from destroying the world? The fact that Toothless is independent of the Alpha, he has free will, he has loyalty, he has choice. He is not beholden to the will of the Alpha, or by extension, Drago. Dragons cannot be used, they cannot be forced to do that which they hate.
Granted, it was hard for Toothless to evade the control of the Alpha, which shows how strong the biological drive is to listen to the Alpha’s command. But because Toothless’ love for Hiccup is so strong, it can and will overpower his other, deep biological instincts. In the final battle of the second film, it is again Toothless’ absolute trust in Hiccup that allows him to evade the Alpha’s hive mind, and his absolute ferocity in having Hiccup hurt again under his watch that empowered him to take on the Alpha and upturn the natural order of the species. It was Toothless’ command of the dragons that allowed them all the strength to fight the Bewilderbeast and protect not only their own free will but the lives of the Berkians (and by extension, all the peoples under threat by Drago).
In both films and in the series, we see again and again how association and comradeship with dragons makes for a better world: from the Riders (the next generation who will live loving dragons for who they are and what they can do), to Eret (changing his worldview entirely), to Mala (who gives dragons the respect they deserve as incredible, powerful beings), to the Wingmaidens (who have a symbiotic relationship to their dragons and their wellbeing). Hiccup’s message of how humans and dragons should work together has never created a worse world.
Even in the third film, it is Hiccup and Toothless’ absolute and undying love for one another that takes down the enemy that symbolizes the world: Hiccup, because of his love for Toothless, sacrificed himself to kill Grimmel, to save Toothless. Hiccup and the other riders continually saved dragons from trapper cages because they worked together with their dragons to fight them. The riders take down the enemy armada by joining forces with dragons. It is Hiccup’s association with Toothless and with dragons that allows Hiccup to innovate creatively to create a world that tries to accommodate both species––an unheard of notion among Vikings that is relevant to the very core of what tolerance means.
Hiccup and Toothless have only ever made each other’s lives better. They have both only ever made the world a better place. They have symbolized peace and equality to people everywhere, they have fought as one to defeat foes who believed only subordination or murder was possible between the species.
Hiccup, as a mediator between the human and dragon species, is in the perfect position to negotiate between the species, to understand what humans need to understand about dragons, and what dragons need to ally with humans. Hiccup is capable of talking to leaders and chiefs on the archipelago, showing them the power and splendor of the dragons by his side. Toothless is the leader capable of defending and leading dragonkind away from control by a dominating foe or a challenger Alpha. Because their enemies underestimate the bond between two individuals and the two species, Hiccup and Toothless have the advantage of them and have continually taken victory from them through the sheer expression of their love and belief in one another.
What makes Hiccup and Toothless special in the history of the world is how they are the individual representation of a larger goal. It’s a psychological fact that tolerance for foreign groups and immigrants increases by the sheer presence of those groups. Keeping dragons and humans together in some form keeps that existence alive in the world, allowing Hiccup and Toothless to develop their joint leadership into something that guides the entire world into peace and understanding. By putting a halt to that association, by giving in to the divide of the species believed by the world, Hiccup is essentially formalizing the idea that his efforts at peace are not enough, that his and Toothless’ association cannot help create a better world anymore. And while this is an admirable, humble realization (and one I would have loved to see better developed in THW), it really doesn’t come across that way in the HTTYD narrative. In the narrative, we see how much their friendship helps defeat vast armies and tyrannical foes, and how their bond has created a utopia where both species live (albeit somewhat uncomfortably, but really.. not irrecoverably).
So, I guess what I’m saying is that the love between Hiccup and Toothless has only ever been selfless and giving. And more than that, it has continually shown to be the catalyst of major societal and political change in their world. By their both becoming leaders to their respective groups, they are in the perfect position to further enact real change in the larger world, by preaching tolerance by example and demonstrating that a mutually-beneficial dragon-human alliance is more powerful than humans or dragons alone.
I’d like to note that in the books, Hiccup and the dragons remained together and at peace for most of Hiccup’s life because the dragons trusted Hiccup to be a friend of dragons, and to lead the archipelago in that friendly alliance. The separation happened towards the end of Hiccup’s life because, while dragons could trust Hiccup to lead the humans in friendship with dragons, they could not always trust who came after Hiccup. That is the difference in thematic I think is missing from the narrative in THW: that, yes, there are humans who will always be evil towards dragons, but it is Hiccup and his tribe who can be forces for change in their world right now, before they pass on to the next generation.
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