THATCAT!

Somebody on the medical team put him on his bunk in a wrong way...

I refuse to draw him in pants btw

Separate Paths A last-minute change before the Unknowing begins... A huge, huge thanks for @hemi-demi for looking through the text for me this time as well <3

If you are new to this AU, or don't remember: It's called Gertrude is still around or GiSA

You can see my other posts for this au here: Gertrude is still around au on tumblr, or you can check out The AO3 if you want to read all the chapters in one place

I was reading Ch.12 ‘Of the Northmost Winds and Skies’ and couldn’t stop imagining the scene where Jack spars with Hiccup

“The rest of the gang were all watching, with various looks of astonishment on their faces. Jamie was grinning, Astrid looked almost angry in the way she did when she was surprised, and the twins seemed strangely pale. Even Toothless looked taken aback.”

Specifically the twins, considering their last encounter with Jack LOL

Early days, a loose follow-up to this

We've all seen the posts about qifrey jumpscaring Olly by asking if he wants kids, but I’ve been thinking… what if he didn’t tell him about any of them, and that’s part of why he’s so mad about Coco

Appreciating the ADHD representation along with everything else the manga includes.

I just can't say how much I appreciate this story exploring how a magical society that has so much potential to do good for everyone, leaves so many behind because of their rigid structures.

We see this theme repeat with Tartah, Quifrey, Custas. People who are left behind or taken advantage of due to not fitting into the 'normal' expected by witch society. Even Beldaruit is forced to use smoke illusions to get around the Great Hall due to it not being accommodating to his sealchair.

It's even more egregious because it's shown time and again that the practice of the magic itself thrives on out of the box thinking. The more creatively you can think the more amazing things you can create.

Utowin literally believes all he's good at is being the muscle of the Knights Moralis because he's not good at the book learning part of magic and his father treats him like garbage because of it.

He compares him to Olruggio, who is presented as a prodigy, but who has the opposite problem of too much expectation put on his shoulders as a child and who suffers for it. (I feel like they could have been good friends if their paths had crossed a bit differently.)

Utowin is also an interesting foil for Coco's story because she knows nothing about witch society at the start but spends her entire young life yearning to become one.

She initially has a very naive and whitewashed view of it because she hasn't seen the uglier side, which the story begins to reveal to her as it goes on.

Utowin, on the other hand, is raised in witch society but wishes he'd been born just a regular person because then he'd be praised for something he enjoys.

Witch society is fascinating but it also fails people, and so often children, so awfully. And I really appreciate that the story isn't afraid of showing how terrible it is and how severely it can impact the people inside of it.

This manga has gone places I never expected it would and it is masterful in how it engages the reader and makes us ask questions, instead of simply presenting everything in black and white (pun intended).

Also, one final note, I know Easties is a dick but I really, really like that he believes in Utowin so completely that he's willing to put his life in his hands.

Having a character who is so structured rely on you despite your 'failings' is a big thing. It's no wonder Utowin is so devoted to him.

This is very stupid but it’s genuinely what I think about every time I consider skipping dinner after work