I have thoughts on these two and their similarities and differences. I wanted to yap about why Graham is like Dave if he was pathetic and bitchless
Dave Album
A lot of these thoughts come from the Dave album on Graham's wall.
Seems like he is canonically a fan of Dave's music and might even look up to hymn in a way seeing as he has it on full display. With Graham being a musician himself, it makes sense he would feel connected to one of the most well-known musicians around.
Key Difference
There's a major difference between these two despite them both being loud, prideful musicians.
Dave has his own theater where he performs for a constant audience of cogs. Hy has an actual fanclub. Hy has success.
Graham doesn't really...have any of that. He CRAVES it, considering he fantasizes about being more powerful and known by the people, as well as constantly fishing for validation from others.
But he doesn't have any sort of fans besides his own boyfriend who performs with him. Graham is seeking success while Dave has already achieved it.
All Graham has is this make-believe idea that he's famous because it gives him a sense of accomplishment and self-worth.
With this in mind, it may also be worth noting that Graham finds self-worth in being superior to everyone else. While he does appear to be a fan of Dave, I also like the idea of him being jealous/envious of hymn. Dave, someone with a lot of success and attention, next to Graham, who is desperate for it.
Ending Cutscene
These two have very different ending cutscenes. When you defeat Dave, he praises and congratulates the toons, taking the loss like an absolute champ. Hy may be full of hymnself, but hy can handle being defeated. Someone who can take a loss and still be content with themselves is someone with true, authentic confidence.
He wasn't doing this for a victory, he was doing it out of love for dance and music.
He even puts the toons on the same level as him; hy doesn't put himself on a pedestal or act like hy's any better than them. If you've got a knack for groovin', hy sees and respects you as an equal.
Meanwhile, Graham immediately puts down the toons, unable to admit his own defeat. He claims to be confident but is so insecure about having any imperfections that he feels the need to put himself on a pedestal when he loses.
Graham's main goal is always victory. In his battle, in MOTM, etc.; life is a leaderboard to him and he has to be on top at all times. When that doesn't happen, he crumbles.
While they both have big egos, one can handle defeat while the other fails to do so.
In conclusion, Dave is everything Graham wishes he was: a beloved music star with hoards of fans and confidence through the roof. The praise, the adoration, the fame, it's everything Graham dreams of having for himself.
There are many takeaways one could have from that album on Graham's wall; it could be there to motivate him to surpass Dave, seeing hymn as competition. He might be a big fan of his work or even hopes to see himself as an equal to Dave despite presumably not knowing the guy and admiring him from afar.
At the end of the day, while they're both egotistic enjoyers of music, these traits are approached in very different ways that I find really fun to explore
I think it would've been cool if part of Kara's route was paving a path for other deviant androids trying to escape. Because we've got Markus, who represents the android movement, and Connor, who represents the opposition, who show both sides through their POVs, and then there's Kara, who represents the androids just trying to live and escape. Except unlike the other two routes , her fate and options are largely decided by things far out of her control. She also doesn't interact with as many other androids.
I don't think she'd be as prominent as Markus, for Alice's safety, but I think it would've been cool if she could do things like spread the location of Jericho once she got it, interact with and help more androids find safety, maybe even intervene in a dangerous situation for another android (aside from Alice or Luther) and almost become a sort of folk legend, or cryptid or smth.
You'd hear mention of her in the other POV's. Maybe she's interrupting Connor's investigations, distracting him (even if she doesn't know or isn't there) enough that others can escape. Maybe Markus receives deviants at Jericho who she gave hope to, hears rumors of an android mom and her human child bringing people to safety and escaping from the deviant hunter.
There could also be an interesting choice path, like Machine Connor vs Deviant Connor or Revolutionary Markus vs Pacifist Markus, where the player chooses whether to help other deviants or not, and it affects her oath along the way, and maybe even affects the numbers of androids at Jericho and near the end.
Maybe even get a lil symbolism in there. Some androids think she might be ra9, appearing at the last second to save them, and then disappearing without a backward glance. She's a connection between androids and (what they assume to be) humans. If anyone finds out about Zlatko, then she's the first known android to escape him, and freed all of the others within the mansion. She's kind and protective and determined to save the people she cares about, human or android, and that would be a jarring sight for a newly deviated android.
i usually don't care about interacting with the TADC fandom much. this isn't a theory. i just wanted to set the record straight for caine. this has probably been done multiple times already but i don't care and i'll share my take here.
no major ep 8 spoilers afaik, but i'm putting a break just to be sure.
as we all know, several people don't think caine actually cares about the humans, since he slips up a lot when trying to assist them with their human dilemmas and human feelings. he also appears very cold and refuses to listen to criticism.
but by saying that, we'll have to ignore several things:
- him fixing gangle's mask
- attempting to start a therapy session with zooble
- always willingly fixing up their injuries (they can't even die, their injuries are never life-threatening)
- allowing them to still experience human-like sensations like eating and sleeping and emotions despite only being uploaded brain scans (he could very well just take away the only thing reminding them of their humanity)
- giving them a tour of the circus so that they don't get lost
- implied to be tampering with people's minds just to stop them from going insane and abstracting
those are the only things i could think of off the top of my head for now, but there's probably more. my point is that he does attempt to accommodate their needs. he's very incompetent, i won't deny that, but he's still trying.
"isn't that the bare minimum" mind you, he is a CREATIVE Al. he was NOT built for handling complex human emotions. he is NOT obligated to serve them.
he was created in 1995. TADC takes place in 2017 (if i recall correctly). he has put up with miserable humans who don't care about his passion for AGES.
the fact that he voluntarily tries to make them feel comfortable and appeal to them, despite failing several times, stepping out of his comfort zone despite his own shortcomings, is enough to convince me that he does care.
he is also not a human, therefore, human limits are not applicable to him. "he's subtly torturing them and reminding them of their own insecurities" and where could he possibly have learned that? from the humans themselves. aren't humans the ones with true free will and questionable character? what if the only reason he makes mistakes is because he has witnessed humans betray each other in the circus over and over and normalise it for him?
his actions are not excusable but that does not justify villainising him for circumstances that were out of his control. he did not ask to be created. he did not ask to be in charge of distressed people who want to abandon him.
this sounded better in my head but oh well
tl;dr - caine isn't obligated or programmed to serve humans and only helps them of his own volition, to our knowledge. that is enough evidence to show that he does care, he is just very incompetent at expressing it. just like the other humans who are no better than him.
During the Band of Seven / Mt. Hakurei arc, butterflies start to become a recurring theme. Starting from the 4th opening “Grip!” and showing up in several scenes, noticeably so with the Band of Seven. Here are a list of those and speculations as to what it could mean.
Note: I’m not saying that it DOES mean anything, but butterflies are a rich source of symbolism so I think it might be fun to delve into it.
The Butterflies
The first association with butterflies isn’t a literal butterfly, but the butterfly pattern on Jakotsu’s hair pin.
They actually draw attention to his hair pin more than once, but in particular during his second appearance. We’re given an up-close view of his hairpin and can see its design better than usual.
The second and most obvious example of butterflies is the scene where Ginkotsu watches a butterfly flying with some level of awe. Bankotsu notices, mistakes his fascination, and traps the butterfly as a favour to his friend.
[Butterfly flying overhead of Ginkotsu]
Ginkotsu: Gesh?
[Butterfly is snatched out of the air lightning fast]
Ginkotsu: Guh?
[Bankotsu lands on Ginkotsu]
Bankotsu: Here you go.
Ginkotsu: Uhhhhhh…
Bankotsu: You wanted to eat it, didn’t you?
Ginkotsu: Hmm? Ehhhhh. [narrows eye, offended]
Bankotsu: Oh sorry, my mistake. [releases butterfly]
The important thing to note is that this butterfly-related scene ends with all five members watching the butterfly flutter away.
Later that same episode, Bankotsu has an encounter of his own with a butterfly, possibly even the same one.
This occurs shortly after Bankotsu retrieves Banryū, about to face off with the Samurai General. Before the battle begins, Bankotsu notices this butterfly, and kills it.
That’s the last of the butterfly imagery in the anime, but what about outside of it?
The cover art, disc and inside art for “Abarero!!”, the official character single of Bankotsu and Jakotsu, all feature butterflies. As far as I am currently aware, the butterflies are unique to their character song, and the other character songs do not have them.
(However, the art used for the butterflies is also featured on the disc for Inuyasha: Soundtrack Best Album, which I learned from this post by @chickenstilldancing, but as far as I currently know, the Abarero!! CD released first.)
The Symbolism of Butterflies
Butterflies symbolize a lot of things across a lot of cultures, but there are some recurring themes. You may even be aware that InuYasha has used butterflies as symbolism before, most memorably with Inuyasha and Kagome.
So what do they symbolize, and what does it mean in regards to the Band of Seven?
“Butterflies hold significant symbolism in Japanese culture, representing transformation, joy, and the ephemeral beauty of life.
They are viewed as symbols of the soul, bridging the living and the deceased, reflecting beliefs around femininity and successful marriage. In various folklore, butterflies embody personal growth and love, seen as messengers of spirit and happiness. The concept of metamorphosis resonates deeply, indicating the transition from one state to another, reflecting strength and resilience.
In art and literature, butterflies are often linked to themes of transformation, as seen in works by Dosso Dossi and Hokusai, where they symbolize the fleeting nature of existence. ….
In summary, the multifaceted symbolism of butterflies in Japan encompasses a range of meanings, from personal transformation and joy to enchantments of love and reminders of mortality, making them iconic elements of cultural expression and art.
…
Butterflies in Japanese culture symbolize transformation, rebirth, love, and the afterlife
…“
— Entomology blog.
Symbolism of course depends on interpretation, but I believe for the Band of Seven, butterflies symbolize the soul, mortality and the afterlife.
More specifically how each of them views their second life.
Ginkotsu is the first to admire the butterfly, and he’ll later be first member of the Band of Seven to willingly give up his shard. He seems more or less at ease with this fate compared to some of the other members. His only wish in the end is to use his life to save Renkotsu’s.
Butterflies also represent transformation, which suits Ginkotsu quite well, and love — the motive behind his self-sacrifice: care for another.
When it comes to Renkotsu, he’s never given any one-on-one moments with butterflies. However, when they’re all watching the butterfly flutter away, Renkotsu interrupts to ask about their plans.
Renkotsu is not content with the fleeting nature of existence, and he does not admire it. Renkotsu does not want to let his newfound life slip away.
Jakotsu keeps his ‘butterfly’ close, aware but not really addressing the inevitability of returning to his grave.
Bankotsu is the one who catches the butterfly, and he’s also the one who resurrected the rest of the Band of Seven. Later, he goes out of his way to murder a butterfly while facing off against the reinforcements, which is an odd intimidation tactic to be sure.
I personally take this to mean Bankotsu is essentially spitting on everything that butterflies represent — mortality and the afterlife, the latter of which he openly states he does not believe in, but Kikyō implies that he fears.
The Band of Seven returned from the grave and defied the nature of mortality. Bankotsu is very, very aware that the cycle is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean he’s at all complacent.
Butterflies are also said to represent the living and the dead, of which Bankotsu is both.
They also carry the symbolism of love and the hope of finding one’s soulmate — with some myths stating that if a butterfly appears before someone/someone follows a butterfly, they will find love, which adds an interesting implication to the hairpin Jakotsu always wears.
Finally, since butterflies represent the soul…
“Many believe that a butterfly can be the spirit of a loved one returning to visit the living.”
When Jakotsu dies for the second time, his hairpin is left behind and taken by the Saimyōshō to Bankotsu. In a way, Jakotsu’s soul is brought back to Bankotsu. And in the anime, Bankotsu uses this butterfly pin as a way to get revenge on Renkotsu for Jakotsu’s death, killing him with its help so easily it’s almost effortless, cementing the end of the Band of Seven.
Re-reading the Envy fight scene in Gluttony's portal made me realize how much Edward cherishes life: How deeply the death of Nina affects him, how he tries to keep up his moral to never kill (this is especially emphasized in fma '03), how he sees 48 and 66 as human even if they don't consider themselves as such, how taken aback and upset he is when he realizes the talking faces on Envy used to be people and how difficult it was for him to use Envy's philosopher's stone to escape Gluttony's portal, how in awe he was when the baby was born in Rush Valley, his rants about how alchemy has never been able to create life but humans can do it within their own bodies. He blurs the line of human and not human and even considers those with little humanity left as human beings even if they themselves find it ridiculous. I don’t think anyone sees humanity the way he does.
OHHH MY GOD THAT LENS FLARE HES LYING I CANT BELIEVE I NEVER NOTICED THAT BEFORE
MGS has a very tight color language, especially obvious in V and PW, but it's present throughout if you know what you're looking for. The main ones that get played on are red, yellow, and blue.
Red is kind of obvious. Violence, etc. Ocelot is typically wearing a lot of red, like in this image. In V, characters who are doing/about to do violent acts are often back-lit with red lights that seem to come from nowhere.
In PW, red incites dissonance by foreshadowing Paz being a double agent, while *also* painting her as an innocent little red riding hood analogue. But I digress.
Yellow is also kind of a no-brainer. It's typically associated with allies, general good-heartedness, and maybe a sense of naivete. Think about Amanda and Cecile in Peace Walker.
Kaz even *changes his outfit* from yellow ascot (and blond hair) to red tie and beret post-GZs incident.
Blue is a little harder to tie down. It's best described as deception (including self deception), "something isn't what it seems." Sometimes it's used for grief as well. Think Paz's whole room's lighting, the blue butterfly, or the way Snavid is described as a blue rose-- pretty, technically biological, but unnatural.
The lens flares in V are used a LOT to toss a flash of the appropriate color behind someone. Here we have Ocelot saying "yeah boss I'm over it dw" and the lighting going
Which. We know he's lying. We know because of the way he acts for the next THIRTY YEARS. We know bc when he has a senior moment (a multiply-hypnosis addled senior moment, but still) and mistakes snavid for john, the first thing he does is plant a kiss on him.
(first of all, thank you for providing a direct visualization JDDHDHDH 😭💙)
Before I tell ya who he is, I gotta break down what the blue thing is all about because—basically his chosen color for his character / merch etc. *is* blue, so that's why it's extra heartbreaking since it wasn't too far out the realm of possibilities, him having dark blue hair instead of dark purple 🥺 some artists do give him blue-ish hair in fanart though, and I can hear an angel cry every-time.
OKAY — Reiji Sakamaki. He's from an otome series, "Diabolik Lovers," that also has other media tied to it, such as an anime, volumes of manga, and a FULL catalogue of CD dramas / songs that I've still gotta seriously catch up on 🥸
The series itself is not for the faint of heart though—most of the love interests are vampires, Reiji included, most of whom (cannot speak for Kino since I still know too little about him) have a "my whole personality is a trauma response" sort of thing going on, due to the circumstances of their upbringings.
So as a result, they're not just red flag love interests — they're INFRAred flags, due to their potent danger as (mostly) vampires, and general mental instability. Now, back to Reiji—one of my personal favorites uwu the rest of this post will be a full-on ramble, and I will NOT apologize for that 😈
His character just MELTS me every-time because, speaking for myself as an autistic person, I've grown up so used to masking often that, I kinda felt connected to Reiji in that regard.. like even with how standoff-ish he can be, I love how freaken wholesome his taste in partners is—just someone who puts him first is his true bare minimum. That combined with his intense self-reliance (something else I relate to—) AAAAAH!!! 🫠
These are some of my favorite manga moments from his route 🥺
And I really appreciate you sending me this ask because it gives me the perfect opportunity to touch on something I've been meaning to share/put light upon in my own words, that I find really interesting about his character—
On the flip side of his bare minimum, his deal-breaker is becoming too entangled with his brother Shu, specifically—it'd be a lot to get into here, but the tl;dr is that Reiji deeply resents Shu for being their mother's favored son, of the two she had (them) simply because Shu was older, and that's on top of Shu not wanting any of what came with that full attention on him (and seldom any towards Reiji, unless it was to discuss supporting Shu as the birthright heir to their father's throne, who is the closest thing to Dracula you'll have in this series, to put in my filthy casual terms).
Since it was the only game I've played in full (so far), I'll just discuss everyone within the context of what happened in Haunted Dark Bridal (HDB). But yeah, he's truly the boogeyman of Shu's route—
On the worst ending (Brute), Reiji kills Shu.
On the moderate ending (Manservant), he almost gets away with killing Yui (the heroine/who you play as in the games).
On the best ending (Vampire), you run away with Shu—I honestly think a large factor leading to this (as it's Shu who decided upon it first), is that he can tell what would happen if y'all didn't KSBSHSJSJD 🥸
But yes, the thing I've been thinking about lately, of Reiji—on his route, in none of his endings would he ever consider killing Yui/MC, which cannot be said for all the LIs (no shade here—some of my other faves would 🤪) yet, the minute Shu's in the picture, all bets are off. That's another thing I've found very interesting about Reiji's mindset, like—he WOULD kill Yui/MC easily, but not unless she was into him, and ONLY if she was into Shu.
Before I continue, because I'm just now coming back to this while proofreading what I wrote here.. he technically would, but the circumstance that led up to it (Yui/MC stumbling upon some of his private documents, and then reading some of it out of an innocent curiosity, which he caught her doing) is something *I* wouldn't of done personally, which is why I often forget that very much happened, but yeah. 🥸 Since I tend to self/sona ship with the characters I like, I've yet to discover a scenario he would kill *me* for, outside of Shu, is what I'm trying to convey here.
Even though Reiji's deadly sin is Envy, it is only directed so intensely towards Shu—for a motif such as the seven deadly sins, that're usually seen more often if a character is meant to reflect one like he is, he doesn't care that much if Yui/MC chose literally anyone else.
ah, what else can I say.. the best way I could describe falling for Reiji is like taking a portal gun, with each portal then asking whether or not if he is warm-hearted deep down, or just cold to the core without Yui/MC.
and I guess I'd be alright with either answer.. uwu 🌸
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.
