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Lord Of War and Agony

@evilwriter37 / evilwriter37.tumblr.com

Chief of Hiccup Whump. Queer af. He/him. Autistic. 25. Special interest is HTTYD but this is also a multifandom blog. Occasionally nsfw. Very into whump. (I also love cats and nature.)
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ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅᴇʀꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀꜱ <3

  • it's okay to stray from your story. go write that short fic you can't take your mind off of! give you—and your characters—a break.
  • you! won't! always! make! your! word! count! -- you don't need to keep stretching sentences because the scene you finally got right is a hundred words too short. sometimes it's better that way.
  • the "rules" and "tips" are just ~guidelines~ (especially for people who like to swear by them) -- writing has no laws. especially first drafts. scrap the grammar, scrap the emotional tips, write it because it feels right, not because someone else says so.
  • every writer procrastinates. it's not easy being a writer.
  • take time off for yourself. the only thing harder than writing a story is to keep pushing it when you need a break the most. come back to it later. I promise there will be no dumpster fires when you're gone.
  • all writing is "real" writing. I don't think there's an explanation here?? fiction writers are writers. nonfiction writers are writers. fanfic writers are writers. (like how all reading is real reading!! in every format, too!)
  • it doesn't need to be perfect. honestly, it might never be. but it can be really close to it. if you're not satisfied with it, move on and come back when you're ready.
  • you are just as skilled as any bestselling author. remember that everything you read has been heavily edited by teams of people! their first draft could not even be as good as yours is now.
  • not using clichés is cliché. you will find one in any story. no one can bring you down for liking a certain trope. just because it's common doesn't mean it's bad!
  • no writer is fully well-rounded. dialogue will be easier to write for some, and description for others.
  • and, finally, no one knows what they're doing. trust me. we're all stumbling around blind here.
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Sometimes I need to hear this.

What do you think about people saying Astrid was OCC in the Mi Amore Wing Episode? I just saw her as opening up with her feelings more. I remember even hiccup telling her to promise to tell him how she feels. Also this is their first relationship so not everything is gonna be perfect. Its just sad seeing the hate she gets for this.

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Omg so excited you asked me this!!

In my opinion, this reaction was not out of character. However, I understand why other fans may disagree because in Mi Amore Wing, we see a different, more vulnerable side of Astrid that's not highly explored in other parts of the series.

Astrid is a reactive person and reactive people, even if they put up hard exteriors, also contain softer depths. Let me be clear: I am not discounting how fierce and strong this woman truly is. And maybe I’m projecting onto her (but if you didn’t know that I project onto this homegirl and have been for the past 13 years, then why are you reading this? ANYWAY) but I would imagine that hearing your betrothed, the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, who you would do ANYTHING TO PROTECT, downplay the significance of your relationship in front of your friends, (“Astrid and I have a different kind of relationship built in years of friendship.”) that would certainly sting. It would make you reflect.

(Side note: I do not mean that friendships are insignificant. In fact, in the case of Hiccup and Astrid’s relationship, friendship is an instrumental foundational pillar! But to go from years of telling people “No! Seriously! Just friends.” into an extra layer of attraction to each other for it to only be referred to as a friendship once again could feel hurtful. I don’t know about you, but one time my ex-boyfriend (whom I had been dating for multiple years and was living with at the time) referred to me offhandedly in a conversation as "his roommate", not his girlfriend. As strong as you are, and no matter how strong the wall you've built is, that instance is going to hurt, if not in the moment, then later. MOVING ON!)

Her reaction, however, was not based on solely Hiccup’s near dismissal of their romantic involvement in Mi Amore Wing. Up until that episode, Hiccup and Astrid spent much of season 6 on separate missions away from each other. How long had it been since the two of them had a genuine moment to connect alone with each other? Possibly, the feeling of neglect could have festered over time, only to come to a head when Hiccup OBLIVIOUSLY delivers the most LEGENDARY LINE IN ALL OF DRAGONS HISTORY:

In Hiccup’s defense, he likely didn’t intend to neglect Astrid. As the question asker mentioned, yes, it is their first relationship. In any relationship, it can be hard to find a balance of prioritizing your time spent with your significant other. (This conflict is explored more in-depth in season 5 in Dawn of Destruction.) And in your first, when you have absolutely no frame of reference, it is INCREDIBLY difficult. Add in the layer of Hiccup is their leader. He has to look out for every member of their team. Add responsibility for everyone’s lives into the mix and of course some priorities will shift and some things will fall through the cracks. Unfortunate that Astrid was one of them.

Question asker, I agree with you. She has a more sensitive side which we don’t often see but we know it exists. For example in Dawn of Destruction, she wraps Hiccup in an enormous hug and applauds his sensitivity, telling him it makes him “a great boyfriend”.

Also (not to get super analytical about a Y7 show about dragons but I’m gonna do it anyway), let’s talk about LOVE LANGUAGES! For those of you who are unfamiliar, the five love languages are Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gift-Giving, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. Recently in a post, @reviewinghiccup suggested that Hiccup’s love language was Words of Affirmation (which tracks, given the big speech he gives to her at the end of Mi Amore Wing also unrelated THATS MY LOVE LANGUAGE 😱😭😍👌❤️👏🙌). And for YEARS I have always thought Astrid’s love language was Physical Touch. To me, this explains why she is the one to initiate any sort of physical connection between the two of them (when she kisses him on the cheek in the cove in the first film to thank him for their flight, and later when she first kisses him on the lips at its end, in the second film when she braids his hair). Yes, even her punches and thrown elbows! Come on now, that looks like a teenager who doesn’t know how to flirt so she just punches the guy.

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I mention her love language because we see Astrid get uncomfortable when Mala and Dagur are so physically affectionate with each other. Yes, Astrid retreated into herself in this situation, but that was likely because Hiccup was not meeting her emotional needs.

Observe these instances after the episode in which Hiccup becomes more physical in his expressions of his affection towards Astrid.

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TLDR; Astrid’s reaction to Hiccup downplaying their relationship and feeling like her emotional needs were not met was not out of character in Mi Amore Wing.

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There is no statement you can make that applies to every religion in the world. Full stop.

"But all religions follow a book or other form of guidelines!" Nope!

"But all religions discourage independent thinking and questioning!" Wrong again!!

"But all religions believe in some sort of higher power or supreme being!" Stop talking!!!

Any attempts at forcing all religions under one blanket statement are ignorant at best, violently bigoted at worst. Even the term religion itself has a dubious definition and a political weight behind what practices and traditions are called "religion" and what are "spirituality" or "mythology."

Christianity is not the be-all-end-all of religion. Neither is whatever your personal religious background is. Stop trying to force your preconceived beliefs and biases onto religion as a whole.