Brooklyn & Berk

Nine-nine! Snotlout Snotlout Oi Oi Oi! Cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool. For the love of Thor!

Whenever I watch something, I always recall what some characters say with emotion. I guess it’s my way of retaining information about that show/series/movie. When it comes to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, whenever I hear the cast say their famous catchphrases, it kind of gives me the satisfaction that somehow translates to “hey, I know that! It’s from Nine-Nine!” Since I finished watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine right before starting Dreamworks Dragons: Riders & Defenders of Berk, most of the memorable events in the series were still fresh in my memory. But now, after finishing (bingewatching) the two seasons in like a month, I felt like I kind of messed up and I’m thinking about how am I going to compare these two shows? I’ll give it a try.

Well, if I’m gonna compare a reality sitcom to a cartoon, maybe I’ll look out for the qualities that make a cartoon realistic. I’d have to say, the visuals of Riders & Defenders of Berk doesn’t really capture the fullness of human emotion of its characters. Although, the budget you have when making an animated series after a movie can be seen as an excuse.

Next, both shows appeal to different audiences. Brooklyn Nine-Nine definitely appeals to a more mature audience while Dreamworks Dragons goes for the younger ones, but it doesn’t mean that the mature ones couldn’t enjoy watching it. We might just have a little difficulty adjusting our viewing experience and expectations, but we can manage it. Nine-Nine uses some strong words that may not be appropriate for young viewers, but as long as they are being guided by adults while watching, I guess that’s okay(?).

One thing that I noticed is that in every episode they (the characters) start a problem, either a petty or a pretty serious one, then one character shines the most out of that problem. In both shows, the main character does not have to be the one outshining the rest. By the end of the show, they somehow manage to resolve the said problem. I sometimes don’t get why producers or directors compress one problem in 20 to 22 minutes, when it can be explained further in like two or three episodes. I guess it’s just a consumer habit that TV networks tend to abuse. I don’t know.

Also, what I noticed is that when it comes to scenes that require exaggeration, Brooklyn Nine-Nine tries its best to reach that somewhat “luck or skill” theme, while Riders & Defenders of Berk can freely do anything they want, because cartoons allow them to do so. By having characters that really don’t feel anything or doesn’t feel that much when experiencing life-threatening situations, they are somehow expendable. Real actors couldn’t afford doing such, even though they have acting doubles.

Fine, I’ll go with what I really think about the two shows. I’m not gonna try and be technical in this one.

I only liked Dreamworks Dragons: Riders & Defenders of Berk because they have dragons. That’s it. Even though their graphics aren’t really my type as I prefer more of the Japanese animations, because they tried creating a show that has dragons as one of the important characters in it, is amazing. Maybe some of the scenes wherein they got me teary-eyed because they triggered my family issues could be considered. But as a typical television show consumer, I wouldn’t really suggest my younger cousins to binge watch this. I’m going to recommend Riders & Defenders of Berk to them of course, because maybe they like dragons too, but to binge watch the show? I don’t think so.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine so much, but there are a few things I noticed about the show that makes me feel things. Negative things. First, it’s that sometimes, in an episode, a lot of things happen at the same time. It’s like I don’t know where to focus because Jake either does his hero ball way, or Rosa acts like the mean girl that she is, or Captain Holt dismisses everything then suddenly reverses his decision or something like that. Sometimes it’s hard not to watch the show and focus on one single character because of the numerous events that take place in a single episode.

Also, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’m not quite sure whether they really give the New York Police District a different take. I think some, if not most of the characters somewhat give off a different energy than that of a typical detective in Brooklyn. I don’t know, maybe I just haven’t been to Brooklyn that’s why I’m saying this.

Lastly, I think that having several characters in a show helps in the plot of the story. I know, I might sound like I’m contradicting myself. In both of the shows, of course there is the main actor, but the supporting actors/actresses don’t really look like supporting actors/actresses. The shows give them enough limelight so that they can build a story of their own as the show progresses. I think that’s the best thing I can say about the two. I like how sometimes Ruffnut or Tuffnut can save the day with their stupid or borderline crazy antics, while Charles’s dad moves and Terry’s macho maneuvers actually solve a crime. It’s a good thing when you give the viewers a different taste per episode.

I guess watching a TV sitcom and using it to compare an animated series isn’t the best thing to do, especially since they’re two completely different entities. You can’t just boil it down to how unrealistic one is while the other is true to life. If you love both, then good for you. If you’re just a casual consumer just like me, who doesn’t really analyze what I’m watching, good for you as well. I mean, these shows sure give us a lesson or two about life, but it’s all about entertainment. And by watching them, we somehow relate to a more personal level than what we really think. And I guess that’s one thing we cannot compare.

Defenders of Berk Synthesis

“The first rule of Dragon Flight Club is that there is no Dragon Flight Club.”

Dreamworks Dragons: Defenders of Berk revisits your favorite characters from the How To Train Your Dragon film, chronicling the further adventures of Viking teenager Hiccup, his friends, and their dragons. This release picks up right where the first season left off. Hiccup and his gang have just returned from Outcast Island, where Alvin, the leader of the Outcasts, has amassed a his own collection of dragons and is attempting to train them.

While the first season of Dreamworks Dragons (Riders of Berk) concentrated on the Viking teenagers learning about dragons and learning how to fly, the second season (Defenders of Berk) finds Hiccup and his friends concentrating their efforts on training and being ready to protect Berk from outside threats.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the DreamWorks Dragons series thus far, and this season is no different. While the episodes can be enjoyed individually, it also makes for great binge-watching. I really like how the series progresses as the season goes long, with each episode building off of the previous ones. There is an interesting ongoing story arc and character development, while each episode also provides a mini problem-of-the-week for the riders to overcome.

The series seems to have really kicked up the humor for these final ten episodes of the season. I found myself laughing an smiling even more than usual while watching this batch of episodes—Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Ruffnut & Tuffnut all get some hilarious scenes! It’s like they’re having their own spotlights in some of the episodes, which is great not only for their character development but also for the show.

The series does a great job at recapturing the same spirit and fun of the original film, and even brings back many of the original voice cast from the movies, including Jay Baruchel (“Hiccup”), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Fishlegs”), T.J. Miller (“Tuffnut”) and America Ferrera (“Astrid”). The animation is really well done—the 3D environment and characters come to life on the TV screen. The dragons look amazing as they fly around, shoot fire, and attack their targets.

For the most part the video quality is really great, with lots of detail. However, there is the occasional scene that has a bit of a dull, blurry look—these are usually scenes that take place on rocky terrain. I also found that text—like the credits or episode titles—have some ghosting. All in all, if I were to watch the second movie of the series, I would understand more and would have really been a fanboy myself – which I did but I’m not really that much of a fanboy after.

Oh, one last thing. I liked the drama in this season. I guess it’s the main difference between the first season and this one.

Relatable Rhetoric: Defenders of Berk Ep. 13-20

Let’s get things going.

For Free Scauldy, I guess it’s just that sometimes, the person you expect the least from does the unimaginable. It happens. Not all the time, though. But when it does, you just couldn’t believe it. Who would’ve thought? An example I can relate to would be when it comes to drinking. Everyone has their own level of alcohol tolerance. You can only know how “strong” a person is when he/she is put to the test. After a while, when everyone’s either sleeping, crying, vomiting, singing, throwing bottles, or doing crazy stuff somewhere, you’ll see that person finishing the bottle of whisky you guys bought.

In the case of Frozen (not the ice princess movie), all I can think about is how wonderful nature is. In terms of animals, we are blessed to see how Mother Nature has given these creatures different abilities in order to protect themselves from predators or from any kind of threat when exposed to. For me, it’s the very reason that I chose Environmental Science as my degree program upon entering Ateneo. Sadly, I had to shift out to Interdisciplinary Studies because of academic reasons. Still, my love for wildlife never changed.

In the episode entitled A Tale Of Two Dragons, the main problem usually happens among groups of friends: when two of your buddies don’t get along, and there is something that you guys have to work on together. Sometimes, people around you get pressured and choose sides. Some try to avoid the drama, while others love even the tiniest of sorts. Sadly, being in the war zone gives you this opportunity to make ends meet, and in by doing so, you put back what has been torn apart. LOL. Although not all friendships could be fixed. Some just serve as learning experiences, some remain to be your support systems.

In The Eel Effect, I really feel that this episode is like the ‘calm before the storm’ episode, and because it’s a light episode, I guess what you can learn from this is that some random stuff lying around you might be the cure to some random thing you might experience in the future. In my case, because I had asthma and occasional cough, my mom would boil oregano leaves and make me drink the mixture. It tastes awful, but it works. Nature really has its own ways of giving us weird but helpful ingredients, but we still do not utilize their potential to the fullest.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes just tells us that one way or another, karma will come to you eventually. But sometimes, I really wish that there would be creatures that would get scattered scrap metal and create their habitat from it. For example, I know that when a ship sinks into the bottom of the sea, the metal gets rusty after quite some time, like 50 years or something and corals start to grow on it, thus making them a habitat for a lot of fish. That’s a good way of making use of scrap metal.

Bing Bang Boom shows us the importance of maternal/paternal leave. Sometimes, we have to sacrifice our work in order to do our duty as parents. It’s already hard to grow one kid, what more if it’s three of them? That’s why when Stoick did what he had to do, I almost teared up. Being raised by a single mom, I learned the hard way that she couldn’t sacrifice her work so that she could be with us. That is why I made a promise to myself that my future family will never experience what I experienced. I will make sure that work will never be a hindrance to me in terms of time management as a parent.

Cast Out Parts 1 & 2 really mirrors to me the Parable of The Prodigal Son. Everything that was told in the story was acted out in both episodes. If there’s one thing I picked up from watching the two episodes, it’s that tarnished friendships can still be saved. Sometimes it just happens. Just like what happened in The Tale Of Two Dragons, some serve as a memory and lesson, but what happened in these two episodes show otherwise. It really made me think about my past friendships, and how I dealt with them. I guess for me losing friends along the way didn’t give me much of a problem, because I knew that I’d be making more in the process. But, I never really thought about making peace with those that I lost. I guess it’s just a part of growing up. When you realize that you’re better off without them, and you know for yourself that you deserve better, you start to attract better people who in turn become your new friends. But hey, if those friends you lost along the way start to show up and do something crazy that would make you think that giving them another shot is okay, then go for it! I mean, having new friends is okay but regaining old ones would be better! Isn’t it?

Relatable Rhetoric: Defenders of Berk Ep. 5-12

Let’s continue with the thought sharing.

For the next episode entitled Race To Fireworm Island, I immediately thought of something most of us, millennial or not, experience nowadays is getting burned out. When we push ourselves to the limit, even though we say that we can still go further, it starts to get toxic for you at some point. You lose your drive, your body gets weak, the people around you notice it but you don’t. I don’t know if it has to do with the current situation in your workplace, school, or at home, but as much as possible try to give yourself a break sometimes. Detach from all of the stress of everyday life and unwind once in a while. Gather your thoughts and treat your body like your best buddy. When you do that, life’s gonna be good.

As for Fright Of Passage, I can relate to that “freezing” whenever I speak in front of people. I guess I’m just not good at public speaking. I hate having oral presentations in front of my professor so much, what more when it’s in front of 50-ish students? My friends, especially my Philosophy professor (Hi Ms. Paclibar!) always tell me that the only way to get over my “freezing” is to conquer it, by actually doing the very thing that makes me freeze, as many times as possible. Familiarity over fear. I haven’t made any progress regarding that, but I hope to achieve so in the future.

In the seventh episode entitled Worst In Show, when Ruffnut said that competition is the very essence of life, I instantly remembered one of my lessons in Philosophy, where Thomas Hobbes’ idea of Leviathan stood out from the very dark places of my mind. In his theory, people compete for natural resources because it’s in their nature. In order to avoid this competition that could lead to violence and/or death, Hobbes proposed that the ‘Leviathan’ should be constructed through the social contract, which basically means you submit yourself to a higher being in the hopes that that higher being will protect you from harm. Remembering my failures in this subject last semester just broke me down, again. ☹

For the next episode entitled Appetite For Destruction, whenever I think of a big entity that destroys the homes of those who live in that area and drive them away, in Philippine context, I think of the big companies that abuse their power (hello SM). Especially with what they did in Baguio, where they uprooted the pine trees during the visit of Pope Francis here back in 2015. That memory was so fresh in my mind, as I was still an Environmental Science student back then. I really hated them so much because they did that WHILE the Pope was here. The title of an article published by Rappler, ‘Like a thief in the night’, perfectly describes the conglomerate’s course of action. Such a shame. I hope the big companies here learn more about how not to mess with Mother Nature. #angryreactsonly

In the episode Zippleback Down, I’m not sure whether to focus on the harm that forest fires bring or the good that meeting an old friend can. Why not both? Let’s start with the bad first. Nowadays, due to global warming, some of our forests don’t receive much rainfall, which in turn dries up the leaves that make them easy to attract fire. But, it doesn’t end there. Forest fires won’t start without a fire, right? Where could that come from? Or, who? 😊 Thought so too. Anyways, meeting an old friend will always be a good thing, unless that person only wants to ask money from you. Besides that, it’s always nice to see a face from the past.

Let’s take a short break. Stretch a little bit. Check Twitter for class suspensions or drama. Scroll your news feed on Facebook for recent memes.

Okay, going back.

For the tenth and eleventh episodes of the series entitled A View To A Skrill Parts 1 and 2, respectively, I think it’s like discovering some dirty stuff that should have remained in the past. You managed to bring it back up, and now it brought you so much trouble that from a single person being drawn to it, now there’s like a hundred. Like a secret that only two people should know but because someone ratted it out, everyone knew about it. Now, you tried to put out the fire before it spreads out but it didn’t turn out to be that easy that it took two episodes for it to be resolved. Some secrets are just better left undisturbed, because with them resurfacing, it brings more harm than good. Take it from the dragon riders of Berk.

Finally, in The Flight Stuff, I can easily relate to this because I know people who still believe in “signs” and because of these “signs”, they revolve their actions either towards them or away from them. I just find it crazy how people think that a series of random events could somehow explain certain things. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I really don’t buy that idea. It somehow neglects the belief that you cannot do anything in order to get things done; just leave it out to a falling star or lucky coin toss to decide on something. I’m a firm believer that good things come to those who wait, but better things come to those who make it happen. And by waiting for these “signs” to happen just means that you completely let go of the ability to change your so called ‘destiny’. That’s deep.

 

Relatable Rhetoric: Defenders of Berk Ep. 1-4

For this season, I’ll try to think of one experience I can relate to per episode. This is gonna be fun.

In the first episode entitled Live And Let Fly, I instantly thought of when parents get caught by their children disobeying the rules they themselves implemented. Why? Because, like anyone, most parents will almost immediately see it as their children defying or challenging them. Even if they aren’t.

Being challenged or defied (if perceived that way) can feel threatening, especially coming from people you birthed/raised.

So a lot of parents will stand their ground and say something like “When you have your own place you can right” or “I’m not wrong in my own house” things of that nature. It’s really just a defense mechanism.

In Grunckle Iron, because of what transpired after the first few scenes, I figured out that maybe it’s about finding your sense of purpose. After days of reflecting, I thought that our purpose can be found in a combination of three questions:

What are your strengths?

What are things you are passionate about doing?

What the world needs?

The answers are not necessarily found overnight, but keeping these in mind, your path takes turns to the directions that will bring you to the answers. Truth be told, hardly anyone knows their life’s purpose.

Something that they are doing right now might feel like it’s their purpose, but just like you think you will have the same best friend forever when you are a child, things change.

For The Night And The Fury, I think the obvious one would be about dealing with a control freak. Manipulative people are those who disguise their interests as your interests. These people will do their best to manipulate you into believing that their opinions are objective facts. They’ll tell you that the entire office thinks you’re arrogant, crazy, or incompetent.

Then… they’ll act concerned. They’ll offer to help you improve your performance, improve your attitude, and improve your life in general. If you don’t change in exactly the way they want you to change, your life will be ruined. The truth is these people don’t want to help you. They want to control you.

They want to change you, not to better your life, but to validate their lives and to keep you from outgrowing them. Once you let manipulative people in your life, they can be extremely hard to get rid of.

Don’t put up with passive-aggressive behavior. Have enough confidence in yourself to actively deal with manipulative people as soon as you spot them.

In the episode Tunnel Vision, what struck me is the importance of water in our lives.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that you can’t live without it. And by it I don’t mean water of just any sort, I mean water suitable for drinking. As far as I know all plants and animals require water to live. It is also needed for many geological processes. Take away all life and geological processes that require water and this would be a pretty bleak place.

Here’s an experiment you can do. Stop drinking any water or anything that contains water and then, a month later, either you or your friends can then report back the results of your experiment. Just kidding.

Are movie-based programs gonna cut it?

I have long been a proponent of movie-based animated programs. Perhaps I am unusual in that regard, but if I like a movie, I would like to see as much of its world as possible. Sure, it might not be as excellently portrayed on a TV budget, but at least you get to see its characters long after their  star has burned out. That notion, however, was far more relevant when Disney held the torch. With a few exceptions, they only turned their movies into animated programs once they realized that any future movies based on the property would only be direct-to-video titles. That’s what makes the new torchbearer, DreamWorks Animation, so intriguing. They are actively striving to turn as many of their movies into animated programs as possible, while simultaneously striving to keep new sequels based on those properties in the theaters. Suffice to say, that has muddied the waters exponentially.

It’s all a matter of principle. When a movie gets turned into an animated program, things change. It’s an occupational hazard. The cartoons from the 90’s didn’t have to worry about that very much because, in most cases, there weren’t going to be any new theatrical movies. Kids would watch the original movie and then watch the cartoon, accepting any changes and experiencing the transition in a linear fashion. It may not have been perfect, but it made sense. With these DreamWorks cartoons, on the other hand, kids would watch the first movie, watch the animated program, and then watch the second movie. The changes between them are jarring, even for adults.

So, what makes Dragons: Riders of Berk stand out from the rest of the movie-based programs I’ve seen? I guess it’s the dragons. Being once a kid, I’ve always had this fascination about dragons and how beautiful they are. Sadly, because of technology’s limitations back then, the most popular ones that were available on TV were Dragon Ball, namely Shenron, and Pokemon, through some of their dragon-looking beasts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really a big fan of Pokemon, and I still play some of their best-selling games through an emulator on my phone and laptop.

Anyways, what I’m trying to say here is that by creating a series based from a movie, people usually set different expectations due to several factors. For some, you might have given justice to it. Others might say it was a total rip-off of the original. In the case of Riders of Berk, I can say that it somehow gave the movie justice in the sense that it made a storyline that wasn’t clearly elaborated in the movie, and it didn’t end after the last episode, meaning it was intended to continue for a few more seasons.

From a Different Perspective: Riders of Berk Ep. 16-20

Okay, let’s finish what we’ve started.

Defiant One

On some days, you and one of your friends may not be on good terms when it comes to some things like ideas and beliefs, but as much as possible you try not to get it between your friendship. On some days, it just does. And when it does, it’s really a pain in the butt – especially when you need his help the most, and he’s the only one who can help you. You gotta admit, in a school setting wherein you and your friends spend almost an entire day with each other five times a week, excluding birthday parties, gimmicks, etc., keeping the friendship should be more important than anything else.

Breakneck Bog

Sometimes, we just have to face our fears even though we have no idea how to do it. Who knows, we might even get ourselves a reward just by overcoming it. I don’t know much, I guess I can relate that to studying something I find difficult. As the saying goes, if it scares you, it might be a good thing to try. You don’t have to fear anything, especially if you have people supporting you, being there with you in every step of the way. (A big shoutout to my friends!)

Gem of A Different Color

People make mistakes, and we all learn from them. For some, once or twice would be enough but there are others that wouldn’t really get a hold of it unless they cause a bigger problem, and involve innocent people who totally have nothing to do with it. And well, yeah, stealing is bad. But you know what’s worse than stealing? Strong-arming someone weaker than you and getting something out of it. Be careful though: you wouldn’t like it when that person’s parents call you up and beat the crap out of you. Just a friendly warning.

We Are A Family parts 1 & 2

Now, as you and your friends spend the last few weeks of the school year, you guys were tasked to handle the family day program, which means socialization! You get to bring your family members, and everyone gets to know everyone. sadly, one of your friends’ family couldn’t attend for some reason. As a friend, you just couldn’t let this pass because you don’t think an opportunity like this would be something that should be passed on, rather be celebrated. And for that reason, you somehow got a hunch that someone is behind this. You set out and try to find out what’s wrong, and when you learn that your evil classmate told your friend’s parents that the family day program isn’t required and it’s just his dirty old plot to destroy you and/or your friends’ lives. I guess some people just have too much time on their hands that they use it for useless yet harmful purposes. He might have chosen to do bad things for a while, but you know for yourself that you haven’t given up on him. You’re wrong, and it’s alright. You did what you thought was right. You can only do so much for people. What’s important is that you have the support of your friends and family. Not the best way to end the year, but nonetheless thankful for it. Another year has passed.

 

“Magic” for “Beginners”

After reading Kelly Link’s Magic For Beginners, I just had one thing in mind: is this how television could affect a person’s life? What if that person was brought up this way? I wasn’t really focusing on what happened to Jeremy or Fox, but more on how not being able to distinguish a thing from another could make an impact on someone’s life. I won’t go spoiling the content of the story. I’m just gonna share what I learned from my Psychology professor, something about kids and their habits when it comes to television. Guys, bring out your pens and notebooks.

*this didn’t come from me, I’m just sharing what I think I can apply to the story*

Young children watch more television than any other age group.

Most children develop a favorite television show and begin to acquire the habit of watching television. Toddlers spend more time watching TV than any other age group! Presumably, school and other activities cut down on viewing time for children in the adolescent category. Among other things, heavy TV viewing can also mean heavy exposure to violence. Children’s programming has consistently been found to have higher levels of violence than any other category of programming. And young children also frequently watch violent programming intended for adults.

Children can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

For example, a preschooler’s rich imagination is a big part of his normal development, but that means it is usually hard for him to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s imaginary. Preschoolers cannot always understand that what they see on television is made up, especially when it looks so much like real life, so it’s especially difficult for them to distinguish between television violence and real- life violence.

Children are particularly susceptible to media violence.

Because they lack the life experience to evaluate what they are watching, preschoolers are not critical viewers of the violence they see in television programs, movies, and videotapes. They simply accept the violent behavior they see as real and normal.

Children learn by imitating what they see, so television can be a powerful teacher.

Television can teach your child about violence and aggressive behavior, but perhaps in ways you have not considered before. For instance, because most kids want to feel that they are strong and in control of their world, they often identify with TV characters who are powerful and effective. But what they see most often are superheroes and other characters who solve problems with violence, usually as a first resort, and then are rewarded for doing so. When young children watch TV or videos that present violence as successful, exciting, funny, and pleasurable, it can be easy for them to accept the “TV way” as real and desirable.

Children need a variety of real experiences and real playtime in order to grow and develop.

Your younger cousin needs a wide range of activities and experiences. She needs a mix of physical activity, lots of “hands-on” experience with the world, a chance to be with other children and caring adults, and quiet time by herself. And she needs lots of time to play! Imaginative play is the single most important way kids learn, grow, and work out their feelings, fears, and fantasies. The more your child watches TV, the less she develops her own ability to entertain herself, and the less time she spends on all the other important experiences she needs to grow and learn.

No doubt, Magic for Beginners is a good read, as it defined how a single television show managed to transform the lives of the viewers (and the ones acting), but at the same time didn’t really had a grip of their lives. At the end, television is only an influencer, not the deciding factor.

From A Different Perspective: Dragons: Riders of Berk Ep. 6 – 15

[draft]

Let’s continue with the school setting as an example for the next ten episodes, shall we? Some scenes might be pushing it, but hey, as long as they’re making sense. Here it goes.

Just a little recap:

You and your friends are currently in detention because of your evil-looking classmate. The next day…

*Alvin and the Outcasts*

Some guys from the other section who thought that bullying is cool decided to wreak havoc along the corridors of your beloved school. A few of your classmates remembered the name of their leader, someone whose tricks haven’t been forgotten just quite yet. Now, the teacher finds out about the chaos, and decides that you and your friends should fix what is happening. Of course, you did. You fixed the problem. After all the confrontation, one comment you got from the so called “leader” of the squad was that he thought you were quite bigger than him. He was very ill-informed. You and your friends just laughed it off. Because of your heroic act, you were cleared by your teacher, praised you and your friends in front of the class, and disregarded your evil-looking classmate’s accusations. A big sigh of relief. Another day in school.

*How To Pick Your Dragon/Portrait of Hiccup and Stoick/Dragon Flower*

After that incident, school life has been, normal. Let’s just say that in a span of a few days or weeks, you taught your teacher how to pet a dog, finding a treasure map hidden on one of the pictures of the past principals of your school (and almost got into trouble after trying to get to it), and even having an outbreak of some kind of disease that only got cured by a wonder ingredient: Kopiko 78C. Weird? I know.

*Heather Report I*

Things have been pretty boring in the campus, until the teacher brought in an exchange student. Charming would be apt to describe her, since her looks were kind of different from what you typically see around. She got her way with most of us, since we’re guys and… yeah we’re easily swayed with anything that has to do with girls. Guilty as charged. But not everyone was convinced with her antics. One of my girl friends just won’t bite to her alibi. You know something’s up if girls don’t make that instant connection right away. She asks a lot about our personal lives, and we’ve answered everything about it. Because of her ‘nature’, my girl friend’s suspicion grew larger and she knew she had to do something before things get worse for us. I’ll admit it, I’d hate it too if someone told me I couldn’t be friends with a specific person for no reason, but if it was my friend who told me that, I would be confused as hell. Maybe there is something about her ways, but I won’t jump to it right away. Until, something unexpected happened. Well, it was kinda expected, I just wasn’t listening. My Psychology book got stolen! By this newly made friend. And one of my friends was her accomplice in escaping! The audacity!

*girl tries to escape, but to no success due to our skills*

We eventually caught her. Now we know why she stole the book. She needed to sell the book to some schoolmate we handled some time ago, because apparently this guy had something on her and that if she didn’t come through with her end of the bargain, the bad schoolmate would embarrass her in front of everyone. Honestly, I would do the same thing, but I won’t.

We were so glad we caught her, but we noticed that the book was not with her anymore. We decided to take a rest, call it a night, and continue the search tomorrow. Another day has passed.

*Heather Report II*

We set out to retrieve the stolen book. Turns out, everything this girl confessed to us was all true. Anyways, because we had a great plan, we retrieved the book and stopped the bully from going behind our backs. How did we do it, you might ask. Well, I’ll leave it to your imagination. Now, it’s time for our new made friend to return to her town. No extra gestures needed, just pure business. Although, a hug from her would’ve made it sweeter. But it’s okay. No, really.

*Thawfest*

Now, it’s time for the school intramurals! Time for me to get beaten again. Not. Of course, I have some tricks up my sleeve, and since there are new events added to this year’s competition, wherein you can team up with a partner. I know for myself that I can’t do it alone, but now I can give my competitive buddy a fight. I know I can do it, but what would that give me? Satisfaction? Knowing that my friend and opponent lives for these kinds of moments, I’d rather let him have this. It’s not about me. It was never about me. It was always about being the better person, in this case about letting the other person have it. Cheesy, but true. *siiiiiigh* Another day in school.

*When Lightning Strikes*

Usually, as students, we would normally love having our classes suspended due to inclement weather. Not for us, though. We are always tasked to do even more stuff by our teachers such as repairing broken roofs, volunteer in helping the community, and many more. Apparently, some of the elderly in our village thinks that we brought the disaster to their place. How could that even be possible? Where’s the logic in that? Oh well, as if we’d let them have their win. Anyways, I just did something stupid and borderline crazy just to prove my point. It wasn’t getting hit by a lightning bolt, I swear.

*What Flies Beneath*

After a stressful day in school, I always look forward to seeing my dog. We’d play around, hug each other and lie down on the grass. But, today was different. He wasn’t acting like himself. I noticed he was sniffing something. He kept digging until we both found an underground pathway. Then, a giant rat jumped out of the hole! I immediately called my friends and asked them on what I should do. I’d love to help in driving away the monstrous four-legged beast, but my dog wouldn’t allow it. I know that it’s something in his nature to get rid of something that bothers him, and as his partner, it’s only right that do what I can. After all, he’s my best friend.

*Twinsanity*

We always have this relative who is secretly a warfreak, who doesn’t care whether your friends are in the place. This relative always treats you with little respect, and the only reason it’s not dropping is because your mom or dad is there. Also, he hates dogs. Or any kind of animal. That’s why you’re praying to God that he doesn’t go into your room, only to find out that you’re hiding your dog from him. And then, your twin friends decided to visit you. With their pet dog. Worst timing ever. Now you had to convince them that you also hate dogs and that you three had to act as if you’re allergic to them and have them run someplace else. Or maybe not. I don’t really know how it happened, but it just did. We convinced him. Just got lucky, I guess.

From A Different Perspective: Riders of Berk Ep. 1 to 5

Let’s try to explain the first five episodes of Dragons: Riders of Berk in a different setting, so as to avoid spoilers. A school experience for example.

This isn’t supposed to reflect the actual events in the show, so please bear with the inconsistencies. 😦

It’s the first day of school. You get to introduce yourself in front of everyone. Suddenly you see your best friend, seated somewhere in the middle of the pack. You notice him right away because of his trademark – the no teeth smile. Some faces look familiar to you. Some you’re seeing for the first time. Some look nice, while some look like they have been plotting evil schemes ever since they were born. As you start to say something about yourself, one of your classmates do something stupid. Of course, the teacher does not want to make the class feel like he already has a favorite in class, so he tries to be fair and gives everyone a second chance. You, for some unknown reason, feel that maybe some of your classmates feel this way is because it’s their first time experiencing this. No big deal about it. Ain’t that bad for the first day in school.

Having the nature to fix everything, you and your best friend start to gain popularity. You walk along the corridor, most of the students wave at you two. Then your teacher tells you to befriend this student who, apparently, was “the” guy before you. He lost most of his friends because you “took” them away from him. It was hard at first, since this student thinks he’s worthless. But being the good guys that you and your friend are, the problem still got resolved.  Another day in school.

You think you’ve made enough friends in school. You’re wrong, and you find out about it in an unpleasant way. You see some kids getting bullied, and when you and your friends tried to help, these kids just ran away. You think that maybe, they think that you and your group aren’t different from those who bullied them. Of course, you spearhead the plan to befriend the bullied kids. You made them feel that they’re always welcome in your group. You made them feel that in your group, you don’t treat each other as objects – you treat them as ‘family’. Another day in school.

As you move along the semester, you meet a lot of different people. Make new friends. Of course, your best friend, even though he wouldn’t say it, feels jealous sometimes. You tend to give most of your attention to people you just met because the idea of learning something new about them gives you the feeling of wonder, and your best friend couldn’t give you that. Then suddenly, because of your best friend’s jealousy, he finds out something going on with the new friend you just made. Being preoccupied with your instant friend, you disregard your best friend’s opinion. After a while, a ‘see, I told you so’ moment comes, and you apologize to your buddy for it. Another day in school.

Of course, you can’t please everyone. Your classmate with the evil look ever since the first day your eyes met? He has been planning to ruin your so far stressful yet rewarding experience in school. He wanted to ruin you and your group of friends’ reputations, and he did so by making your teacher send you guys into detention for things you didn’t do but looked otherwise. Who knows what will happen next… another day in school.

Aaaand, cut. 

For the first five episodes of the series, one underlying trope is that the villagers of Berk are still trying to cope up with dragons as part of their daily life. From fierce enemies to working and living side by side, the transition was never supposed to be easy. There will always be people who are conservative when it comes to progress, and they are more than willing to show their intentions. There will always be people, things, and instances greatly affected by these changes, whether for better or for worse. I chose the school setting as a comparison, simply because the experiences are somewhat similar, to the point that I got to name pretty specific examples.

The point is, we will always deal with crazy stuff whenever something new comes up our way. We just have to remember that whatever it is that we’re facing, two or more heads (and pairs of arms/limbs/wings) are better than one. Also, a better quality of the show would definitely help. Just a little bit.