#|| crazy; i like that ( RUFFNUT MUSINGS )

[neverfcrgottenarchived]

three primary archetypes.

TAKE THE QUIZ HERE !

60% REBEL

The Rebel is comfortable throwing caution to the wind—and bucking the system—if that means getting their point across.

25% ATHLETE

The Athlete's focus and drive are unparalleled. Staying healthy and being fit are paramount to them (as for winning, that doesn't hurt, either).

15% EXPLORER

The Explorer is drawn to the unknown, whether that’s a Himalayan peak or the road not taken, and have a thirst for adventure. They take journeys, not vacations.

TAGGED BY: i tagged myself from my main blog lol TAGGING: anyone

[bi-bi-want-dragon]

The Little Things

From Meet the Ingermans

FF.net | AO3

A/N: More Ingerman family fluff for you! As always, let me know what you think, and feel free to let me know what you'd like to see from this sweet little family in the future!

~~~

“Do you have to go?” Ruffnut pleaded with her husband, swaying with their daughter in her arms.

Fishlegs chuckled.  “I don’t think Hiccup would appreciate me taking more time off.  It’s already been a month.”  He closed the distance between them as he pulled his tunic over his head.  “I think I’m convinced you and Nutmeg are okay.”

“But I like having you here,” Ruffnut pouted playfully.

“You won’t be alone,” he said, kissing her cheek.  “And besides, Astrid’s coming with Nuffink and Zephyr.”

“Astrid can’t do the things you can for me,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Fishlegs choked on air.  “Heh, um, you know” - he cleared this throat loudly - “you keep that up, and Nutmeg won’t be an only child for long.”

Ruffnut rolled her eyes and stepped to the side.  “Alright, alright, get out of here.  Go do your job,” she teased.

He smiled and leaned in for a long, slow, lingering kiss.  “I love you.”

“I... Uh, love you too,” Ruffnut sputtered, trying to reign in the onslaught of not-so-ladylike desires that crashed over her.

Fishlegs chuckled and kissed the top of Nutmeg’s head before stepping out the door.  “Astrid will be here soon!”

Ruffnut shook her head with a smile as the door shut, followed closely by Nutmeg’s quiet squeak that quickly grew into a cry.

“Oh, baby girl, I know,” Ruffnut cooed, swaying her way to her favorite chair by the fire.  “I don’t like when Daddy leaves either.”

As her daughter quieted, Ruffnut stilled, trying to place the unfamiliar sound slowly filling her home.

Wait.

That was silence.

And she didn’t want to immediately sleep through it!

Moving painstakingly slow so as to not jostle and frighten her infant, she lowered herself to rest in the oversized chair.  She sighed a quiet breath of relief and pulled her knees up, resting Nutmeg against her thighs.

And then there was a soft knock at the door.

So much for peace and quiet.

The door slowly creaked open.  “Aunt Ruffie?”

“You guys can come in, Zephyr,” Ruffnut quietly replied over her shoulder.

“Oh, um...  It’s just me, Auntie,” Zephyr said shyly, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

“Where’s your mom and Nuffink?”

“Um, well...  Nuffy wasn’t being a good boy today...” Zephyr started, craning her neck to try to see the new baby.  “And Momma didn’t want to bring him here and scare the baby...  So, um, so Daddy brought me before he went to work.”

Ruffnut wasn’t sure if she was relieved for Astrid’s thoughtfulness or disappointed in the lack of entertainment.  “Well, don’t be a stranger, Zeph,” she teased.  “Come over and meet the baby.”

Zephyr smiled and stepped further into her aunt’s home, slowing her walk as she stepped around the chair.  Her eyes widened when they finally found the sleeping baby, and she giggled behind her hands.

“Come on, snuggle up,” Ruffnut coaxed, freeing one arm and patting the open space next to her.  “I know you want to.”  She extended her arm in a further invitation.

Zephyr giggled again as she climbed up onto the couch next to Ruffnut, who secured her free arm around the girl to make sure she didn’t fall.  Zephyr grabbed Ruffnut’s shoulder to steady herself, and used her other hand to reach out to the baby.  She stopped herself, though, remembering how fragile her little brother was a year earlier when he was born.

“It’s okay, you can touch her,” Ruffnut encouraged.  She extended her legs slightly, enough that if she lifted her arm from her daughter she wouldn't slide off Ruffnut’s thighs in her deep sleep.  “See?  Feel her hair.”  Ruffnut demonstrated softly stroking the infant’s head.  “Feel how soft it is?”

Zephyr looked to her aunt, who nodded in confirmation that, yes, it was really okay, before reaching out to lightly pet the baby’s head.  She giggled quietly and let her hands fall to pet her little arms instead.  “She looks so squishy!”

Ruffnut laughed quietly.  “Yeah, she does, doesn’t she?  A lot different from baby Nuffink, huh?”

“Maybe.  But not anymore,” Zephyr said, scrunching her nose.  “He’s very squishy now.”

“Oh, is he?”

“Uh-huh,” Zephyr confirmed, before turning a little more somber.  “But he wasn’t before.  He was tiny.  Teeny tiny.”

“Yeah, he was.  A lot smaller than her, huh?”

“Yeah,” Zephyr said quietly, remembering how scared her Momma and Daddy had been that Baby Nuffink wasn’t going to be okay.  “But...  But, she’s going to be okay, right Aunt Ruffie?”

Ruffnut’s heart swelled.  “She’s going to be just fine, Zeph, don’t worry.  Just like Baby Nuff is now, right?”

Zephyr took a deep breath and nodded.  “Right.”  She looked back down to the baby and smiled again.  “What’s her name, what’s her name?!”

Laughing, Ruffnut said, “Uncle Fishlegs named her Nutmeg.”

Zephyr smiled a big, toothy grin at Ruffnut before turning back to the baby.  “Hi, Nutmeg!” She said, and then leaned in and lowered her voice just a little.  “We’re going to be best friends.”

Ruffnut bit her lip and tried to hold back tears, ignoring the fact that she still seemed to be a little off from the pregnancy hormones - even after not being pregnant for a month.

Zephyr continued, “And you’re really gonna like Nuffink.  He’s my little brother.  He’s...  Kinda silly and crazy right now, but I’m sure he’ll calm down...”  Zephyr stared off into space for a moment.  “Eventually...”

Ruffnut snickered.  “Is Mommy having trouble with the new baby?”

Zephyr nodded.  “He walks now!”

Ruffnut shuddered internally.  She did not envy the Haddocks.

~~~

Fishlegs was only half listening to Hiccup as he talked about a book collection of some sort on his way home.  The first full day away from his wife and daughter had been an agonizing one, and he was sure everyone noticed.  He was more distracted than he was present the entire day, but was so busy from being a month behind that he didn’t have time to go home for lunch to see them.

“Legs?”  Hiccup’s voice broke through.  “Don’t you think?”

“Huh?  Oh, yeah, right, that’s great.”

“The fact that we don’t have traders coming as often is great?” Hiccup clarified.

When did they get on that topic?  “Oh, uh, no, no it’s not.”

Hiccup chuckled.  “Thinking about Ruff and Nutmeg?”

Fishlegs sighed.  “I’m sorry, Hiccup.  It’s just-”

“I know, trust me, I get it,” Hiccup reassured him with a pat on the back.  “The first day away is always rough.  You don’t have to explain to me.”

Fishlegs smiled at him.  “Thanks, Chief.”

Needless to say, Fishlegs was overwhelmingly relieved when he finally opened the door to his home, quickly finding Ruffnut and Zephyr cooing over a happily squirming Nutmeg.

They looked up as the men entered the main room, Zephyr’s already-bright eyes shining more.  “Daddy!  Look at Nutmeg!”

Hiccup laughed.  “I see!  Did you have a good day with Ruffnut and the baby?” he asked, beckoning her over with his hands.

Zephyr hesitated for a moment, looking down at Nutmeg.

“Zeph, baby, we’ll be back to see Nutmeg in no time,” Hiccup laughed again.  “But right now Mommy needs our help with Nuffink, don’t you think?”

Zephyr patted Nutmeg’s head and sighed.  “The work of a sister is never done, is it, Aunt Ruffie?”

Fishlegs and Hiccup snickered as Ruffnut smiled and said, “No it is not, Zephyr.  No it is not.”

Zephyr ran to the door and took Hiccup’s hand.  “Come on, Daddy!  Momma needs our help!”

Hiccup looked back to his friends and rolled his eyes, waving as he shut the door behind him.

“Did Hiccup tell you Nuffink can walk now?” Ruffnut mused.

Fishlegs thought for a moment.  “Well, that’s not all that strange.  I mean he did just turn one-”

“By himself?” Ruffnut added with a mischievous smile.

“You mean-”

“Literally just stands up and walks like it’s no problem?  Supposedly,” she shrugged.

“Oh, oh good.  Odin help us all, we’re done for,”  Fishlegs prayed as he joined Ruffnut.

Ruffnut laughed and leaned back into him, pulling Nutmeg to her chest.  “That’s what I said, too.”

Fishlegs happily wrapped his arms around Ruffnut and caressed Nutmeg’s check.  “How did my lovely ladies do without me today?”

“We missed you a lot.”  She turned her head to kiss his cheek, but he was faster.  He caught her lips in a quick kiss instead, making her giggle, before leaning in for a deeper one.

“I missed you both, too,” he said softly.

Fishlegs wasn’t sure if it was his exhaustion seeping into his bones or if he had simply spent more time working today than he thought, but the rest of the evening flew by far too fast for his liking.  Dinner was finished and cleaned up in no time, the fire slowly dying, the sun long gone from the sky.  Before he knew it, Ruffnut was standing and stretching, musing that it was getting late.

Fishlegs softly replied, “You go ahead and go to bed, love.  I think I’m going to stay up for a bit.”

Ruffnut was going to protest, but then she caught the soft smile and glimmer of adoration in her husband’s eyes as he looked down at their sleeping girl.  So instead, she simply leaned over to kiss him, whispered, “I love you,” and went off to bed.

As silence fell over the house, Fishlegs watched the quick rise and fall of his daughter’s chest as she slept in his arms.  It was such a simple sight, and yet one that he never grew tired of seeing.  Not after the image of her still and blue body laying limp in Tuffnut’s arms was seared into his brain.  Not after those agonizing hours of Ruffnut fading in and out, followed by the even more agonizing minutes waiting for Nutmeg to take her first breath.  No, each breath she took was precious, and it was a sight Fishlegs prayed he would continue to see until he breathed his own last breath.  It was a sight that he refused to take for granted.

Ruffnut told him that she didn’t even remember the stretch of time between her birth and her first breath.  She simply remembered the pain ceased, and then her daughter was in her arms, pink and breathing and lively.  And Fishlegs thanked the gods every day that Ruffnut was spared the torment of those few minutes.  She had been through enough, she didn’t need that memory on top of it.

Fishlegs smiled.  “You’re so beautiful, baby girl,” he whispered, leaning over to kiss her head.  She squirmed slightly in his arms and yawned but otherwise didn’t react.  Though it was enough to bring a small happy tear to Fishlegs’ eye.  “I promise, I’ll protect you.  I’ll always keep you safe.  I’ll always fight for you.”

He smiled.  “And I’ll always love you.  You’ll always be my baby girl.  The strongest of the Valkyrie and the sweetest of the Vikings.  More than you may ever know.  But I’ll know.  And that’s all that matters.”

She yawned again, and then her eyes fluttered open.  Her face scrunched up as if she was about to cry, but then softened.  She seemed like she was exploring her father’s face.

Fishlegs smiled.  “Hello, beautiful.”

She blinked as he spoke, eyes continuing to trace his face.

Fishlegs chuckled.  “Curious little one, huh?  You get that from me.”

She started to turn her head side to side, but her gaze kept returning to her father’s face, staring up in wonder.

And Fishlegs started to cry.

He laughed at himself as the tears fell down his cheeks.  “Oh, look at me.  All you have to do is look at Daddy and I’m a mess.  Completely at your mercy.”

She brought her hands to her mouth, but her eyes never left her father’s face.

“Gods, I love you so much.”  He brushed her cheek with his thumb, which she turned into.  “You may not know what that means yet, but I promise you will.  That’s all you’ll ever get from your mom and I.  More love and support than you’ll know what to do with.”

She yawned again, eyes fluttering between opened and closed, caught somewhere between wanting to sleep and wanting to investigate her father more.

Fishlegs smiled.  “You can be whatever you want to be, and your mom and I will still love you with all of our hearts.”

She closed her eyes again, but this time they stayed closed.  Fishlegs took a few more moments to watch her, to make sure she was still breathing, to make sure she wasn’t leaving him anytime soon.  And eventually he was satisfied enough to carry her to their room and lay her in her cradle.  He was going to leave it across the room where she normally slept, but after a moment of deliberation, he couldn’t help pulling her bed right next to the bed he shared with Ruffnut.

He knew she’d be okay, that she would continue to breathe through the night just like she had for the last month.  But he also knew that if she was anything like her mother, she’d make use of her independence in no time.  So for now, while she was still so small and dependent on her parents, Fishlegs would take advantage of the chance to keep her close.  And he prayed that even when she did grab ahold of that independence, she would still love him too.  And maybe stay relatively close.  At least.

[margarethelstone]

That Hopelessness of Mine

"She was weary, she was sick, she was completely unable to focus. She, the Astrid Hofferson, the most hard-working student the University of Berk had ever taught, suddenly appeared to be perfectly indifferent to what was happening around her. Her life was an utter mess – and a ridiculously handsome, green-eyed stranger was the last person she needed to meet." Hiccstrid modern AU.

fanfiction.net / AO3

Chapter 1

It looked like Eret had finally gathered the courage to ask Heather out. So what.

She was happy for him. For both of them, really. She had no right to be jealous or disappointed – after all, Eret had only been her best friend for like, her entire life. But hey, that did not mean the bond they had was going anywhere beyond that point, so it would be foolish of her to imagine any kind of romantic future with the bulky brunette by her side. Not that she hadn’t done that, but again, that was not the point. She and Eret were just a pair of crazy friends, the born-together-die-together type, who could never built anything stronger than this weird, a bit flirtatious kind of relationship.

Besides, she cared for Heather even more than she did for him, and she was well aware that the two made in fact a perfect match. She was probably more sure of this than either of them was at the moment.

So why on earth did it hurt so much?

Astrid spluttered in irritation, and threw her books into her old, worn-out bag, trying to ignore the curious glances Ruffnut had been casting on her for the greatest part of the day. She knew she was rather rude ignoring her like she was, but honestly, she couldn’t be bothered. The day had been way too long already, with more than ten hours spent at the university and with no gaps between their classes, and the last thing she needed was explaining her current state to the blonde girl beside her, no matter how well the latter meant.

She was ready to leave the minute her teacher said his goodbyes. She had no idea what he’d been telling them earlier, that however, was no different from her general oblivion to that particular day’s events. She was weary, she was sick, she was completely unable to focus. She, the Astrid Hofferson, the most hard-working student the University of Berk had ever had a chance to teach, suddenly appeared to be perfectly indifferent to what was happening in there, literally. If anything, she wondered why she’d even bothered to get up from her bed that morning.

However determined she was to escape, she failed miserably, as Rachael Thorston once again proved she could conquer the laws of space and time, somehow managing to bar her way just a few steps from the entrance.

Astrid groaned.

“Ruff, I’m too tired for this.”

“Oh, sure, and you think I’ll just let you run away with it, missie? Well, I don’t think so,” the other girl snorted. “You’ve been acting like a beaten dog for the entire day, and that’s not something that happens that often. The Astrid I know doesn’t get all sullen for no reason.”

“Ruffnut, please. Just let go.”

“Let go? So you can walk alone in the night, in that weather, shambling like some sick, light-headed shadow? You won’t even make it to that lousy flat of yours, and I’m certainly not going to scratch off your corpse from some lousy car after you drag your lousy butt on the street and are hit by it. You’re not going anywhere.”

Astrid sighed, praying to all the Saints she could think of that she’d find the strength to deal with her friend for a little bit longer.

“Okay, look,” she started, hoping she would manage to be assertive enough, even though every fibre of her being wished to be anything but that. “First of all, my flat isn’t lousy. Small, uncomfortable, boring maybe, yes, but otherwise it’s fine. Second, my block of flats is literally three minutes away from here, and I only have to cross one narrow street, so I think my butt is pretty safe. Oh, and by the way, thank you for not wanting to deal with my dead body, I always knew I could count on you.”

“You’re not making any sense, Hofferson.”

“Neither are you, Thorston.” Astrid forced herself to smile weakly, not wanting to worry her companion more than she already had. “Listen, you’ve got one more class ahead of you, and we both know you can’t skip this one. And I really don’t feel like spending another hour and a half here, waiting until you’ll be able to walk me home.”

“Fine, then I’m gonna call Tuff,” Ruffnut retorted.

“No! I mean… Oh gosh.”

“What?”

“I don’t need Tuff to walk me home. I don’t need anyone to walk me home! Just let me get out of here, and I promise you I’ll be in my room in no time. I can even text you so you know I’ve made it. Deal?”

Rachael raised her eyebrows in a disbelieving grimace, but nodded nevertheless. Her interlocutor sighed with relief.

“Only promise me you’ll let me know if you need anything,” the former added, relentlessly.

“All I need right now is to change into my pyjamas, get to my bed, and spend the rest of the evening curled up in it drinking tea, eating chocolate and probably mixing those with all the junk food I can find at my place. I’ll be fine.”

“You better be. See you tomorrow, you stubborn mutton head.”

“I love you, too.”

Astrid waved her hand carelessly, and grinned a bit more widely, seeing her friend shake her head in piteous disappointment. It was good to know at least one person cared.

The girl decided to waste no more time, and having turned on her heel, she crossed the threshold, making sure she didn’t jog anyone she was forced to pass.

Even at such an ungodly hour, there were still quite a lot of students buzzing around.

She shivered when a chilly blast of the wind stroke her, and wrapped her long scarf around her head and neck. It really was cold, and rather windy too, and she couldn’t help but think it would be a good idea to finally buy herself a hat, or earmuffs, or better, both. She could also use a jacket that would not be lacking a hood.

Oh, and gloves. She never remembered about gloves.

Either way, Astrid knew that the sooner she stopped pitying herself, the sooner she’d start walking, and as a result, the sooner she’d reach her own bedroom. Her evening plans might’ve been pathetic, but that didn’t make them any less urgent, and if she wanted to make the best of them (however ironic that sounded), she had to hurry.

You couldn’t call an evening special if you went to bed at the usual hour, right?

The young woman folded her arms on her chest, trying to keep as much warmth as possible, thinking about how worried Ruffnut had seemed that day. She understood she must have looked really bad to make her friends act the way she had – to the point when she’d been ready to call her brother and ask him to make sure Astrid’s journey would not be interrupted by any unwanted adventures. She was almost surprised Ruffnut had not suggest asking Snotlout to do that.

‘And that’s another problem we’ll have to deal with,’ she mused inwardly, feeling an unpleasant twinge in her chest. She couldn’t quite tell why watching her friends’ relationship blossom was so unsettling, considering how much impressed she was to see it actually work. And yet, Ruff and Snot being a couple was one thing, them being a successful one was another… but Snotlout actually popping the question was something none of the girls had expected.

Although the poor guy had been turned down at first (“I’m not going to marry you now, idiot!”) Astrid realised that he would not give up, eventually repeating the proposal – and she knew that when that would happen, Ruff would no longer play the unreachable and simply say yes.

To sum up: her best male friend had just started dating her roommate, her best girl friend was inches from being engaged, and from what she’d heard, even Tuff had managed to find someone strong – or crazy – enough to put up with him and his antics. She wasn’t sure what the poor girl’s name was (Cameron? Cambria? Camilla?), but the fact remained – she was the only one in the gang left behind as single.

Except Fishlegs, that is. It wasn’t like he was an option, though.

She blinked repeatedly when a snowflake flew into her eye. It wasn’t snowing too heavily yet, which was why she felt taken aback at first, however, it was enough to make her stumble. She balanced herself easily – unfortunately for her, her great physical skills could not prevent her bag’s strap from falling off, which happened almost simultaneously. Had she not been busy focusing on the snow, she might have caught the bag in time – instead, all she could do was watch it hit the ground with a heavy thud, while its contents spilled all over the footpath, while she couldn’t even fully comprehend the absurdity of the situation.

She snapped out of her stupefaction soon enough, seeing her papers being tossed by the heavy gust that seemed to be growing stronger and stronger with every passing second. She fell on her knees to grab her phone, which was lying just next to the bag, and reached for a notebook that had landed nearby; she was up again the next moment, trying to catch the loose sheets of paper, filled with her precious notes – and she would have succeeded, if not for a thin layer of ice under her shoe. She stumbled again, only this time her reflex didn’t work, causing her to fall forwards, miraculously avoiding meeting the floor with her face.

Her bag hit the ground close to her right hand, once again allowing her belongings to be spread all around. Astrid raised her head a few inches, only to let it fall on the footpath again a moment later.

Now she really wanted to cry.

She felt someone crutch before her; at first, she wanted to jerk up her head and look up at the stranger, probably snapping at them to mind their own business and leave her the hell alone on the ground. Then she realised she didn’t even have the strength to do that much. She was pathetic, and she knew it – but Thor strike her if there was anything she could do about it.

In her mind’s eyes she could see her notes gliding above the pavement, twirling around her, or maybe just flying away in the direction she didn’t even care to check.

She heard the other person clear their throat before her – she was pretty sure it was a man coughing, but then again, she really couldn’t tell for sure; not with her face pressed to the ground, and her thoughts focused on everything but the reality she wanted to escape so badly. The next moment she felt the person shift, stand up and walk away in a hurried pace, as if disgusted by the thought of standing near her for another second. Even though she knew it wouldn't solve anything, Astrid couldn't help but groan.

It was probably the thousandth time she did that day.

‘Go, go, hurry up,’ she yelled inwardly at the stranger, feeling the tears well in her eyes for real. ‘Run away before you get infected with that hopelessness of mine, before you get yourself a virus of being Berk's greatest loser. Leave me here, all alone, just like everybody else, and I'll just die, lonely and forgotten and -’

"Are you alright?"

Good Heaven, he hadn't left.

And yes, it definitely was a man speaking.

Her first reflex was to cover her head with her trembling, freezing arms, and block that part of reality that somehow still managed to get to her; and that's what she did, right before she realised how ridiculous she must have looked, and decided that if she couldn't make herself seem any more reasonable, at least she shouldn't do the opposite, and embarrass herself even further.

She took a deep breath, then another, and using all of the strength she had left, she lifted herself to a sitting position, wiping the tears away in what she hoped to be a discreet manner. She blinked a few times and, assuming the most peaceful expression she could afford, she finally turned towards the man in front of her.

[shipmistress9]

Not one of Them - Epilogue 1: Payback

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

A/N; Alright, here we go. Epilogue No.1. Have fun and I'll say something about it at the end ;)

. o O o .

Tuffnut Thorston, or better known as Crazy T, let his gaze wander over the crowded dance floor below him. Just as usual, people were dancing and swaying to the music he decided to play and in his opinion, this was the best job in the world. It was his decision that influenced the people's mood, his decision whether those guys over there would go crazy over some Metal music, whether those smaller groups of girls would shyly hob back and force with their drinks still in hand or whether couples would more or less make out openly right there in front of everyone. It was fun!

Today was different though. Today, he also intended to influence the people's mood but in a different way. It made him a bit nervous but then, it wasn't his plan and he only played a small role in it. He only needed to get the ball rolling.

"Any idea when it's going to start?" he asked, but his sister who sat at a table behind him just shrugged.

"No idea. She said someone would tell us when to start. Could be any moment now or still be hours. You know how those guys are, on it like rabbits."

"Thanks, Ruff. I didn't need that picture in my mind!" answered another female voice as she approached the private table up here at the mixing desk.

T turned and greeted the newcomer with their usual high five. The young woman with the wild blond hair and voluptuous curves still grimaced but neither T nor his sister were earnestly concerned about Cami's innocence of mind. She'd traded in that card a long time ago.

"It's true though. I don't know about her but he can be a bit demanding sometimes," Ruffnut replied with a smirk and T grimaced. He knew that his sister regularly banged random blokes but he didn't need to hear her talking about it. Time to change the topic.

"I still can't believe you knew about this!" he said reproachfully. "Honestly, C. H is a friend of mine, a warning might have been nice."

The blonde just shrugged. She made a specific gesture toward one of the waiters and then slumped down on one of the empty chairs. "I see him as a friend, too," she stated nonchalantly and inspected her fingernails. "We're kind of the same, after all. Always on the hunt. And from the few times we clashed, I can say that he's one of those who never makes things complicated. I like him."

"Why did you make this bet then? Honestly, that was just disgusting!" Ruff said angrily and T nodded. He was all for playing tricks but this bet was a bit over the top, even for his taste. Cami, however, just rolled her eyes.

"There never was a bet!" she sighed exasperatedly. "Honestly, what do you think of me?"

"That someone did make a bet with that bitch. And there were enough people around you who heard you talking."

The waiter came with Cami's order and she took a big sip of her cocktail before she answered.

"Yes, Ruff, I talked to her. But I didn't make a bet with her! She was new in town and I wanted to meet her, this self-proclaimed Sex-Goddess," Cami snorted.

T and Ruff exchanged a knowing smirk. "So, you felt threatened on your thrown?" Ruff asked with a grin.

But Cami ignored her. "She claimed she could have any man she wanted for as long as she wanted. Which is hilarious! Even men aren't stupid enough to put up with someone like her for long, no matter how good the sex is. But she didn't stop bragging. Honestly, I've never met someone this annoying and I know a lot of people. Anyway, I called her a show-off and... might have mentioned that I know at least one guy she wouldn't be able to keep chained to only her bed for long. She took that as a challenge, I guess..." Cami grimaced and shook her head.

"Honestly, I never expected Haddock would fall for her seduction. But hey, he's a big boy and it's not like it would hurt him to be used for only sex." She took another sip of her drink and then placed the glass back on the table between them. When she continued talking, she sounded apologetic. "I swear, I didn't know about this 'fake relationship'-thing she was playing on him; not until he send me all that stuff the other day. I would have said something long ago if I'd known! And I definitely didn't know that Eret was part of her game, either. I still want to scratch her eyes out for that. Tricking a playboy into sex is one thing. Tricking an uninvolved girl into a disgusting lie of a relationship though?" Cami angrily shook her head.

"Well, then let's just hope there are enough other people who think like you," Ruff stated dryly. "That's kind of what Haddock's idea was, right? Not the gory part, but..." she trailed off and T stepped in.

"So, what exactly is the plan then? You said you need my help, but for what exactly?" he asked, glancing at his mixing desk. All he'd gotten was a message from H where he'd explained the situation. He'd said that C would contact him and explain the rest.

"Oh, you'll love this!" Cami grinned. "You have this App here at the club, remember? The one where you announce special theme-days and people can make song requests and all?"

T nodded. Nearly every regular visitor to this club had this app on their phone. It was convenient; they even could put in a warning when the club was full and the waiting line outside too long.

"See, I have this neighbour," Cami went on. "Justin. He's an adorable dork. He programmed a little bug for me and –"

"And you banged him in return?" Ruff threw in.

"Actually, no, I didn't. He's far too awkward for casual sex. But he's a nice guy and once fell for a girl like Heather as well. He was all too willing to help."

"Adorable awkward dork," Ruff mused. "I might need to pay him a visit someday."

T grimaced. "He programmed a bug, you said. For our App? How does that work?" The thought made him a bit uncomfortable. Surely, neither C nor H would do something to compromise him in his job or harm this club in general, but still...

"Yeah. He gave me this," Cami held up a small USB-stick. "I just needed to plug it into your computer here, and –"

"Wait, wait, wait!" T interrupted her. "You broke into the office just now?"

Once more, Cami rolled her eyes. "Of course, I didn't! I convinced one of your security guys to open it for me."

"Which one?" Ruff cackled. "Scott or Throg?"

"Scott," the other girl replied. "I promised him a weekend at my mum's holiday house in return."

"Uhg, really?" Ruff shuddered. "Fair warning, he can get a bit annoying. Never stops talking about himself."

"Ah, he's not so bad," Cami replied with an insinuating smirk. "You just need to keep his mouth otherwise occupied and then he's fantastic company." Both girls began to snicker and now it was on T to roll his eyes.

"Alright, back to the main point. You hacked our App! What are you planning? And does Mala know about it?"

Cami sobered up again and a calm smile spread across her face. "Yeah, don't worry. Your boss knows I kind of hijacked her club tonight. She knows me after all. And she knows Haddock and Astrid and what kind of girl Heather is. She's okay with paying her and Eret back. She just didn't want to know too many details and be involved directly in any way.

"And the plan is that you get most people off the dance floor. Play some slow love ballad. The happy couples in this room aren't the ones we need anyway. Then I'll send a specific song request, a codeword. It'll only work once and then the bug should inactivate itself. But once I did that, the App will send an announcement to everyone who has your App on their phone. Nearly all phones in here should start beeping at once. That should draw enough attention so people look it up directly. The announcement contains what Haddock send me, Heather's and Eret's bragging about how they tricked them. He blacked out a few parts, those who would be too detailed about his friend, I guess. But you get the idea anyway. Everyone will know what they did and believe me, no-one is going to like it. She went way too far!"

T nodded but there was still an unanswered question. "And what are we waiting for? I mean, why not do it now? As soon as people know, Heather and Eret will have a hard time fooling anyone else. Isn't that the point?"

"Ah, where would be the fun in that?" Cami smirked. "No, I had an idea that went a bit further and Haddock agreed," she took another sip from her drink, obviously holding the twins in suspense on purpose. Taking her time, she put the glass down and leaned back in her chair.

"I invited her here today," she finally went on. "Told her I want to pay my respect for her accomplishment. She'll walk in here, expecting to be hailed as the one who captured Hiccup Haddock. I'm sure there are those who would have admired her for that. But as I said, she went too far. Instead of congratulations, she'll only get insults and scorn. For someone who's so obsessed with how people regard her, a humiliation like this will be worse than being dragged to court, believe me. And it'll stick in the people's mind. She'll never be able to pull something like this ever again!"

Ruff, who seemed to have heard this part before, nodded before asking another question. "How do you know when to send this announcement though? I'm pretty sure at least Eret has our App as well. They won't show up here when they know everyone read this."

Cami glanced at her phone. "A little bird is going to tell me when it's time," she murmured mysteriously. Then she glanced up and grinned at Ruff's and T's confused expressions. "Her brother isn't all too happy with what she pulled off, either. I know Dagur from an... ah... other club. He's a decent guy and didn't know about the game she and his flatmate played. Just that they both also slept with other people, but that was nothing new. Usually, those people knew about each other, after all.

"Anyway, he'll tell me when they left his flat and are on their way. They won't stop just to check their phones, assuming they notice them beeping at all. And I arranged for them to be on the special guest list so they don't have to wait outside, either."

Cami looked at them both with a smug expression and T couldn't help but feel similar. He'd meant what he'd said earlier. He considered H to be a friend even when the man barely ever let anyone near him, metaphorically spoken. No-one but A, that is. T had wondered about what kind of relationship those two had shared, had been slightly worried about them during the past months and now was glad to know they'd finally made up their minds.

For about half an hour, not much happened. C and Ruff had started to talk about men again and T tried to tune them out and concentrated on his music instead. But when a short and slightly metallic sounding battle cry and the noises of a vibrating phone echoed toward him, he turned toward the girls again. Cami had her phone in her hand and a mischievous smirk spread across her face.

"Alright," she announced. "That's the signal. Your turn now, T. Slow and intense." She flashed him a grin which got her two pairs of rolling eyes.

"So, Haddock and Astrid won't be here for this payback?" Ruff asked instead. "I know I would want to be there if the bitch who played a trick like that on me gets grilled."

Cami gave her a thoughtful look. "Me too, I guess. But, no, they won't be here. Something about never wanting to see them again, I think," she shrugged. "Works for me," she pushed her chair closer to the railing as to have a better view of the dancefloor below. "This way, I can brag about how it went to him tomorrow. So much more fun!"

Shaking his head at her eagerness, T turned once more to his mixing desk when the song playing right now came to an end.

"Alright, guys," he called into his mic. "Have a little break and relax for once. I'm giving you slow and lovely. Don't blame me!" He started the track – Taylor Swift, not what he played often – and thereby got the ball rolling.

It was sufficient to say that everything worked as Cami had planned.

. o O o .

I freely admit that I didn't think much about any revenge when I first planned this story. I mainly focused on Hiccup and Astrid getting together. But as I wrote it out, Heather and Eret became even more horrible and I realised that, yes, there had to be some kind of payback.

Now, I don't think any legal means would work. Hiccup bought all those things for her and freely gave them over after the breakup. And as bad as it is, cheating and playing tricks isn't illegal last time I checked.

And I can't see (this) Hiccup or Astrid planning some ambush to beat them up either. Because that would be illegal!

After some while of thinking about it, I then came up with this idea. I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed but, personally, I have to say I like this outcome. Hiccup has more friends than he thinks, I guess. ;) And it was a Hel lot of fun to write! :D

The next epilogue might take a bit longer or might be up tomorrow, who knows... xD But it will be fluff and smut!

Epilogue 2

[astridthevalkyrie]

Troublemakers

Two gangs roam around Berk, both trying to upstage the other in every way they can. The Berserkers, led by Dagur, who has the most pretty girl in town, Astrid, as his girlfriend. And then there's the Hooligans. Hiccup, their leader, wants nothing more to impress Dagur’s girlfriend. Astrid, however, is in Dagur’s gang - what about the other side would ever tempt her to leave?

@transbeequeen I’ve done it! Not too much of how they “work” in this chapter, but it’ll come (if I even have time to continue this)

Okay, just a quick memo. This is rated T, but there is one small scene in this first chapter that should be Rated M. If there is anything like this after this chapter, it’ll be fade to black. Just a warning in case anyone doesn’t want to read it.

A challenge.

One challenge, between Hiccup and Dagur, and then he could get...say, a month’s worth of bragging rights. And the reward, obviously. These things did not come easy. It was hard to get an hour’s worth of bragging rights in this place, let alone a month. If he could beat Dagur, then not only would he be looked at differently, then Astrid might finally notice him.

Well, notice him and not scowl at any rate.

The only catch was that Dagur was to choose what the challenge was. It could be jumping from a cliff or a simple game of chess. It wouldn’t be chess, the cliff situation was more likely. Dagur was crazy.

Fishlegs had warned him against it, Tuff and Ruff had urged him on, and Snotlout had merely stared Dagur down threateningly (as though Dagur was someone who could be stared down). Hiccup had accepted, but he wasn’t looking at Dagur when he did, he was looking directly at Astrid.

She had been standing behind Dagur, with her signature blue leather jacket and her helmet in her hands. She had raised an eye when he accepted, and then her cheeks had reddened in anger when Hiccup blew a kiss to her.

He would see her again today.

That was the only thing on his mind today. Not that he could possible die if Dagur chose a challenge that was out of this world. There would be no backing out. But he knew Dagur well, he knew that there would be no death. Dagur would want him alive so he could gloat. Seriously injured, now that was something he should have been worrying about, but how could he when he imagined what it sounded like when Astrid laughed?

She had never laughed in front of him. Sarcastically? Yes, definitely. Genuinely? No.

He had a ball in his hand as he lay down, throwing it from one hand to the other. It had been Stoick’s, but now that he was gone, he inherited everything. Everything that he didn’t want. He didn’t want memories. All memories did was make you hurt.

But the ball was cool. It had been dusty when he found it, so his suspicion that his father had never shared these things with him were proven right.

Astrid Hofferson was what it all came down to tonight. She might not have known it, but everyone considered her Dagur’s...property. Dagur himself was the number one supporter of that.

But he knew that she would hate anyone comparing her to a thing. She wasn’t something to be owned. So when he won whatever challenge this was, that would be the reward.

He was going to ask for Astrid Hofferson. To hang out with her for a day. And when she was with him, he would spill everything. Astrid would hate Dagur. They would be done. Astrid would be free. And he was no longer the shy boy who doodled her in middle school, never having the courage to actually talk to her.

He would make a move.

Astrid gasped, her nails scratching Dagur’s back as he thrusted in and out of her. Her nails didn’t seem to pain him in anyway, but he still growled, so she stopped, clenching her fists instead.

This was not the right place to be doing this.

They were in front of the college. The only thing that kept people from seeing them was a giant tree. Not to mention if anyone interrupted them, Dagur wouldn’t hesitate to pull out his switchblade and stab them. And he wouldn’t miss. No one from his own gang would interrupt him when he grabbed her hand and brought her to the spare bedroom in their hideout. Dagur was not someone to be messed with.

And she didn’t even have to do anything. All it would take was wearing a bit of a short skirt, or maybe a swear coming out of her mouth, and Dagur would be jumping her as though there was no tomorrow.

Not that Astrid didn’t like the sex. It pleased her, and it took the tension off. But maybe reading all those books made her feel bad that there weren’t any feelings behind it. Or rather, not the feelings that she wanted. Her parents would be rolling in their graves if they saw her now.

Dagur didn’t keep her with him against her will. But staying with him stopped everyone from thinking they had a free pass at her. And they came to know that she wasn’t some weak girl to be messed with. Dagur’s skills with a knife were rivalled by her own.

Astrid heard Dagur’s moan of pleasure in her ear, and a second later he came, wearing a condom, of course.

“They’re waiting for us,” he said as they both put on their clothes.

“I know.”

Why, honestly, did he have to challenge Hiccup Haddock? Whatever he was planning, Astrid knew that it would be physical, because the boy was the skinniest dweeb she had seen.

He only looked like it, Astrid mused, because she knew he was actually strong enough to do heavy lifting in the car repair shop he worked at.  That along with his clever moves would be enough to best him.

But even if Dagur did go down, it wasn’t as though anyone would think Dagur was weak, only that he was weaker than Hiccup. So why did it bother her so much?

She supposed it was because Hiccup was everything that infuriated her.

Dagur was cocky, yes, but he didn’t run his hand through his hair like it was the smoothest thing in the world. Dagur was a braggart, but he didn’t invent his own motorcycle and go riding in the middle of the night to show off. Dagur acted like he owned her, but Hiccup acted like he didn’t need to own anyone to make them listen to him.

It was infuriating.

Her and Dagur both got on their respective motorcycles, and took off, with Astrid still having one burning question left. Why had Hiccup accepted the challenge? Why had he smirked at her as he did so?

What, in short, did he want?

“This,” Fishlegs said crossly, leaning on the wall with a grumpy expression, “is a really bad idea.”

“You think?” Snotlout sneered, giving a pointed look at Hiccup.

Hiccup ignored him. A lot of motors suddenly resounded, and he casually rested his arms on the front of his bike. Astrid Hofferson zoomed in, landing right in front of him. Hiccup smirked at her, giving her a small salute.

Dagur hopped off. Him and Hiccup shook hands, and then Hiccup grinned. “So, what’s the game?”

“Hardly a game,” Dagur drawled, as though he was bored. “You’re way too good at games for my taste. Hiccup.”

That irked him, but only a little So it was going to be a physical fight. That was fine. He would play. Next to Dagur, Astrid wrapped her jacket around herself tighter.

Dagur smirked. “What we’re going to do is a bit more...challenging.”

“Define a ‘bit more’,” Hiccup said dryly, not liking his triumphant expression. They hadn’t even started yet, for Thor’s sake.

Everyone in his gang started following Dagur. Sharing a bewildered look with Ruffnut, he went after them until they reached a cliff. Hiccup looked up at it. The entire area was jagged, filled with rocks that could cut you so swiftly you wouldn’t know until you were bleeding to death.

“This is the challenge,” Dagur said with a maniacal gleam in his eye. He pointed to the top. “That is the challenge, and we...are the challengers.”

He walked forward and grabbed Hiccup’s arm, shoving him so only he could hear.

“Hope you’re ready to climb, brother.”

[neverfcrgottenarchived]

LE MUSES AND THEIR FATHERS:

lady has no memory of her father since she was bred to be sold.  thus, even if he was introduced to the litter, she was far too young to recall meeting him.  she doesn’t even have memory of her mother.  however, she is exceedingly loving of jim dear.  she finds him a bit strict and sometimes the less forgiving of her humans, but he’s still always loving and gives the best snuggles.

mittens was also bred, though not so pure and expensive as lady.  but she never met her father, as well, and was actually a pet shop cat, even.  she’s less alley blooded than she thinks.  however, she has no human male or animal male figure for her to look up in much respect.  she did look up to the male of the couple who originally owned her, but has long since felt only bitterness towards him since then.  they used to get along great, her constantly on his lap and him loving to play chase the feather with her.

georgette is similar to lady and mittens with no memory of her actual father, bred to be sold.  she does have an affection for winston, however, who has learned her habits and routine well enough that she respects the man.  however, as a human, she has a loving but distant relationship with her father.  he’s always been supportive of her, but he and her mother were hardly ever home, so it was mostly winston who raised her.  thus, georgette has a sort of fatherly appeal to the man even if she treats him also a butler.

ruffnut’s father isn’t affectionate with her, but she loves him because he’s supporting.  he doesn’t compare her to tuff in any way, nor does he compare her to anyone in general, not even astrid.  he’s proud of her for who she is, so ruff is satisfied.  their love may be based more on punching and sparring instead of hugs and kisses, but she highly respects him, his stories, his knowledge, and all that he does for her and her twin.

laila is daddy’s girl.  he just wants to protect her from the harmful side of modeling, but he also spoils her beyond anything.  he’ll give her almost anything and everything she wants, though they sometimes have to compromise on a few things.  he just wants the best for his only girl and, while he isn’t overly fond her her career choice, he supports and does all that he can to show he’s proud of what she’s done regardless.

marinette absolutely loves her father.  both her parents, really.  it hurts her beyond everything to have to lie to them both, but she knows it’s for their own protection.  she would do anything for them.  and with her father, she loves to try out his tasty treats, which he’s more than happy to let her have a go with.  though they also enjoy playing video and board games together.  they’re quite competitive and challenge each other in life constantly to become better people.

dawn is scott’s ( @famebounded ) princess.  she is inspired by him, loves to be with him, and is generally known for seeking him out for almost anything and everything.  not that she doesn’t love her mother, she certainly seeks out cat for comfort and hugs, as well, but it’s scott’s stories that really capture dawn’s attention.  she’s an imaginative child, and so his job and his talent really helps free her from her disabilities and gives her courage to keep working hard and dream big, which is incredibly important for her.

[neverfcrgottenarchived]

LE HUMANS AND COOKING

laila - is a wonderful cook and decently enjoys it though she also loves splurging money on the nicer things.  she can even grill, but that’s her least favorite way of cooking, mostly since she isn’t fond of fire or the smokey smell that gets attached to her after.

marinette - mari prefers baking due to her father running the pastry shop.  but she can cook plenty of others things, inspired by her uncle.  she isn’t the most talented at it, tending to be slow and precise, but the meals she makes are always delicious and well done.  well, except when she gets distracted and ends up leaving something in the oven too long.

ruffnut - ruffnut doesn’t cook much but what she can cook is... generally awful.  terrible.  she tries and enjoys cooking, but she loves to experiment far too much with spices and sauces and ways of going through the process.  if she had better taste or followed recipes, she’d be decent, but she always tries out various things, thinking she knows better.  it rarely, if ever, works out.  the gang appreciates her trying but not the final product.

georgette - even though human georgette is just a verse, it’s easy enough to point out that georgette doesn’t cook.  winston or a chef does.

dawn - though slow and a bit shaky due to her cp, dawn LOVES to cook.  she works very hard with every meal she tries and actually has pretty impressive skill when it comes to taste and a decent eye when measuring things.  her only downfall is sometimes making sweet things like cookies a little too sweet.  but if you’re willing to be patient with her and tackle the mess she makes with her struggling arms, she really enjoys it.  her uncle ryan really helps influence this.

[neverfcrgottenarchived]

  RUFFNUT ON ASTRID ( and sort of tuff ) AND HERSELF

note: admittedly, i may have derailed myself a few times writing this so if it seems jumpy, the answer is because it is.

i’m putting these topics together because a lot of how ruff views astrid ( and sort of tuff ) ends up playing into how she views herself.  and i just have this complete and utter fascination with ruff and astrid’s relationship, and i h a t e that it’s never really explored.  as the only two girls in the group, and as the only two teenaged girls on berk, there’s kind of a lot currently riding on their shoulders with the change in how dragons are treated and the island runs and everything.

but don’t even get me started on ruff just becoming fishlegs and snotlout’s object of affections and her and eret, that whole thing irks me and i have very low expectations for what they’ll do with her in h.ttyd 3.

the easiest place to start is with the obvious.  astrid is the popular one.  astrid is the one everyone expects things from.  astrid is the strongest, most talented, prettiest, smartest, etc. etc. ( and the implications of the stress this might place upon astrid is an entirely other post for an astrid roleplayer haha )  so, right from the get go, ruffnut is probably already down the drain.  lets be real, she’s already getting compared to tuffnut and now she’s got the one other girl her age to live under.  not that ruff is necessarily under tuffnut, but in a society that favors the mighty, i’m sure boys are initially considered the stronger gender due to sheer physical differences with biology.  and even despite that issue, they’re twins and always going to be compared in similarities and differences.  thus with tuffnut the generally louder and more talkative of the two, ruffnut more than likely comes off as his shadow to most people, even if she’s stronger and smarter.

ruff is probably in this really odd space of being herself and trying to live up to being a thorston while also trying to not get completely disregarded as a female viking in comparison to astrid.  but, in the end, she’s aware that it’s “astrid this, astrid that.”  she won’t compete in that regard so all she has left is to be herself and try to be the best her she can be.  that doesn’t mean she’s completely happy with the situation, and i think there are a few instances we can see that she’s not perfect with how things have turned out, but she’s made the best of her situation.

she doesn’t hate astrid.  she may, at times, envy or grow frustrated with the other, but there is very little disrespect or hate towards her.  if anything, i think ruffnut uses her feelings towards astrid to hate herself in some regards.  because, honestly, i think ruffnut views astrid in much the same way as the rest of the village, she just tends not to show it through constant praise or attention as even hiccup will give.  ruff finds the other blonde to be cool and tough and amazing.  but astrid’s just all those things in a way that ruffnut isn’t interested in being like.  she doesn’t care to look cool taking down five vikings at once -- she’d rather look cool burning down five buildings at once.  her interests differ and so she never met the same scale as her fellow female, leaving her forgotten in the dust and just merely “the girl twin.”

and, in some instances, people don’t even see her as a girl.

this hurts ruffnut.  she does have female-aligned qualities and likes being seen as female.  she cares about her looks to some extent and has shown this when tuffnut generally puts her down.  with astrid already being the “pretty” one, she doesn’t need her own brother making her feel as if she’s not cute in any regard.  she does have a sense of insecurity because she’s so closely regarded with tuff that her being female is either looked over because no one cares to differentiate between the siblings or it’s the only aspect that separates them so she simply becomes the girl version of tuff.  but it’s a trait she doesn’t want to be forgotten or simply skimmed over.  she’s female.  she wants to be pretty and tough and unladylike all at the same time.  but she also doesn’t want to just be tuff with boobs.  and just because she doesn’t have table manners nor rounded features doesn’t mean she should be seen as any less than astrid in the terms of looks.

but she knows she is.

“Astrid, Astrid, Astrid.  Everyone’s always talking about her.  How pretty she is, how smart she is, how muscular and shapely her upper arms are...”

ruff is insecure!  at this point when she says this line in the show, she even holds up her arms to look at them, flexing before growing disappointed and sighing.  she had just come from talking astrid down in terms of astrid’s inability to hold respect for some of the riders, revealing one of the girl’s flaws, and yet ruff still feels that it doesn’t matter because everyone will always favor astrid despite this.  and it is a sense of jealousy to some extent, but it’s also a sort of sadness and understanding that she’s not meeting the standards.  it’s not that astrid is the most amazing, but that ruffnut isn’t doing amazing at all.  hence why she looks at her arms.  she’s not trying to disprove that astrid doesn’t have strong arms in that moment, but instead seeing that she’s the one who doesn’t.  and then goes to wonder why her and tuffnut’s idea isn’t being recognized.

she’s not blaming astrid, she’s blaming them.  herself.  how come she isn’t good enough?

this isn’t something that ruff questions every day, i don’t feel.  she isn’t to the point that she looks in the mirror and is disappointed in that she doesn’t look as strong or pretty as astrid.  in fact, i think ruff believes she and tuff are just as talented and just as smart and just as strong.  it’s just in different ways.  and it’s the fact that no one seems to believe or accept their strengths that bothers her.  that makes her feel downhearted.  she has no desire to be more like astrid, but she wants people to see them on the same level as her.  ruffnut doesn’t like her and her brother to be treated as infants in comparison to the others.  it’s demeaning and annoying, even to someone so carefree at times.  just because their behavior is different, doesn’t make them any less viking.

and the only reason she probably doesn’t feel so strong about situations where hiccup is praised is because he’s a whole different story in regards to his strengths and talents.  and he’s male.  it’s easier by default to compare oneself to a person of the same gender than it is the opposite ( for the sake of this headcanon, please don’t think too overly l.iberal of gender right now, i’m not trying to get into politics just share my views on the thoughts of a teenaged, fictional, girl viking ).  i’m sure, at times, she does think about how even he is getting recognition for his accomplishments and not them, but he’s still just a widely different circumstance while she grew up and trained more alongside astrid until things began to change so much.  astrid had the same goals and aspirations as them all for a while, so it’s always been astrid’s accomplishments up for the comparison.

regardless, another thing i think shows ruff’s insecurity is when bark and belch have left to pay hiccup back for saving his life.  ruffnut is, understandably, sad by what is basically the loss of their dragon.  as far as they’re all aware, the zippleback won’t be coming back to them any time soon unless they can trick him in believing he saved hiccup’s life or he actually saves hiccup’s life.  or they’re all dead ( which isn’t quite what anyone wants ).  at one point, tuffnut says that he left because ruffnut is too clingy.  and she gets angry for a heartbeat, shoving him, and trying to retort with “no, you’re too clingy.”

really, all it does is show a sadness and she sounds bitter when she responds, revealing that ruffnut may actually be rather clingy and she knows it.  where this sort of clinginess stems from exactly is unknown, but i’ve always sort of felt that ruffnut is used to being ignored in a way.  the others mock her and tuffnut so much and tuffnut mocks her, as well.  granted, she does it completely to them back, but maybe there’s something inside ruff that seeks more of a connection than just bickering.  granted, this was probably just done for comedic effect within the show, but i personal love the idea that ruffnut is more of an emotional being and does desire closer friendships aside from her brother.  it also fits in with her desire to be recognized in comparison to astrid and to be her own person beyond just her brother’s twin.  a great way to achieve these notions is through stronger attachments with other people and animals.  and we have seen her form these sorts of bonds with scauldy, barf, and belch.  she has a more inclined love for animals more so than people, i feel, because the animals can’t really call her and her brother names, and are also much more likely to be impressed or amazed by things she does than humans.  since, well, animals are generally more instinctual creatures and will display their gratitude.

tl;dr - ruffnut really admires astrid but, because of this, it gets her down when she ( and tuffnut ) are not recognized for their strengths and efforts the same way astrid is.  she indirectly compares herself to the other, and does hold some jealousy though it’s not abundant.  all-in-all, ruffnut is more insecure than she lets on, wanting to be praised in for the good things that she and her brother still accomplish, even if it doesn’t meet the standards of most vikings.

she wants to be an individual and not just a female version of her brother or the ignored teen girl viking.

she’s a bit clingy, especially with those she cares about, because she she does seek a more emotional level bond with others.  she’s just not exactly good at it in any way.  it’s easier with dragons and perhaps other animals for her.

[neverfcrgottenarchived]

            RUFFNUT ( AND TUFFNUT ) ON INTELLIGENCE

first and foremost: please forgive typos.  i’ve been bloody horrible at spelling today idk.

watching r.ace to the e.dge last night helped solidify some thoughts i’ve had about ruffnut, so here’s the first part of those for you all.  i didn’t only get these headcanons just because of the episodes; i had them before, but these situations helped to sort of solidify my thoughts.  i’m going through the series quite slowly, so there might be more episodes that counter/prove my thoughts all the more, but these are honestly going to be my headcanons on ruff regardless of what happens within the show here on out.  it’s just nice to have some semi sort of back up so i have better examples than the 0.5% of things they do in the movies.

but i digress, regardless of my interest in the show, let me get to the thoughts.

( the main, but not only, episodes i’ll be referring to throughout this post are from season two.  episodes six, eight, and nine.  which is where barf and belch leave the twins to pay a life debt to hiccup, and then ruffnut is kidnapped by daggur and ryder while tuff and astrid are left to defend the edge alone. )

the first fact of the matter is: ruff and tuff aren’t stupid.  i could give my spiel that i hate they’re treated as nothing more than comedic relief 90% of the time ( e s p e c i a l l y in the movies ), but it’s not exactly necessary.  they’re always going to play that role in the franchise, there’s no changing that.  and i do appreciate them as the humor, actually.  besides, anyone who watches the show or really pays attention to their characters are going to know and agree with me on this.  they’re not geniuses by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re intelligent.  they’re simply a different sort of intelligent from what’s praised so highly in hiccup, astrid, and fishlegs.

i think astrid describes it best when she says they just come up with these crazy ideas without taking logic into consideration.  which is true in comparison to most people, but with the way the twins work, a number of their ideas are actually perfectly “logical” to them.  they prove they consider their logic when trying to come up with ideas to get barf and belch to pay back their life debt to hiccup.  ruffnut’s even sketching these many plans out while tuffnut considers them over.  they have reasons for why they choose to consider or not consider those ideas, even if every last one of them is destructive; the main thing that makes astrid and hiccup believe the twins will love or suggest a thought regardless.  maybe the reasonings tuff and ruff consider don’t make sense to the “normal” viking, but as far as the two are aware, they’re calculating as they go.  and when hiccup accuses them for not thinking about how snotlout would have probably died form their chosen plan, they admit to having thought of that.  it’s just... they don’t really care.  to them, it still would work and made sense.

if anything, they might be a little slow to come to the reasoning of their choices because they are exceedingly sporadic and generally made with logic but no reasoning.  such as the zipline they made to the watch tower.  astrid asks them what it would ever be useful for and, no, they don’t have an answer off the bat, but right as ruffnut’s face lights up and she’s about to respond, astrid cuts her off.  of course, that whole small arc is astrid cutting off the twins ( mostly tuff ) because she doesn’t believe they can be intelligent or serious about the situation.  still, this shows that, even if their logic was there, it’s their reasons for such logic that tend to be the less considered part.

they’re still serious thinkers.  especially when the other is in trouble.

when ruff was worried about tuff’s concern over the “bite” of the fabled lycanwingdragon thing, she did not stop with her idea to find a bite to prove to tuff he was fine.  granted, she used snotlout as the bait ( once more proving that she had an idea and perhaps knew the consequences but... simply didn’t care about the sacrifices.  though why the twins don’t worry themselves about the safety of others is something i’ll address in my next post ), but she went along with an idea seemingly working and wasn’t going to stop until she had accomplished her goal.

when ruffnut was kidnapped, tuff was bursting with ideas to help against the invading hunters in an effort to save his sister.  the only reason they were disregarded was because astrid refused to even listen to them or deem them with any merit simply because it was tuffnut and the twins are prone to embellishing and destroying things pretty much at the same time.  they are destructive and many of their ideas can involve pain, but they never truly force anyone into their ideas unless they believe it’s for the benefit of others ( the thorston sandwich, for example, which they used to keep each other and whoever they were hugging warm.  did the other appreciate it?  no.  but ruff and tuff were convinced it would keep them alive ).

in fact, the twins often have ideas that they understand thoroughly and accept the consequences of themselves.  unfortunately, it’s their lack of avoiding pain for others involved that generally get them ignored.

the point of all this is that, despite their minimal amount of hiccup/astrid/fishlegs based logical plans, they shouldn’t be discredited.  their ideas are generally valid and thought out by them.  do they always work or appeal to others?  no.  but neither do even hiccup’s.  there are a number of times the twins prove that their headstrong, random, and even destructive plans are for the best -- especially during fights and other fast paced sort of situations where drawn out plans won’t always be available.  while the entire gang was captured earlier in the series, ruffnut even used false begging to get the key off the guard for their cell.  she had tried repeatedly to tell others about her idea, but they ignored her, trying to come up with a more thorough plan by themselves after deciding tuff and ruff would be useless.  however, ruffnut proves her spontaneous and rather out of the box idea wasn’t all so crazy.  the twins’ logic tends to shift depending on the situation ( obviously tuffnut was trying to dig a tunnel through the wood that same episode so even the logic between just the two of them can shift ).  who’s in trouble, what’s they’re trying to accomplish, etc.

if they can, they will involve fire and pain, but not force it or even expect the others to take them up on their thoughts ( hence why they’re genuinely shocked most of the time hiccup concedes to them ).

which rolls into my second idea of their intelligence.

THEY ARE SO FREAKING AWARE.  they are the most aware people ever.  and they use that to their advantage.  they’re not always good listeners and so they’re not always aware of the current situation or plans, but they’re aware in how others are thinking and feeling and what has led up to that moment.  they’re especially conscious of how others things and feel in regards to them.  the twins know that they’re seen as stupid.  they were aware astrid didn’t respect them, they’re aware hiccup expects little of them, and they’re always ready to provide synonyms to describe their stupidity because they’re so used to hearing people call them those things.

but they T H R I V E off it.  it literally allows them to get away with the trouble they do.  to have their fun and cause mischief and not be perfect.  that way, when they do good then they can reap the rewards.  otherwise, they’re not usually facing much punishment except the so-standard, usual disappointment that almost everyone gives them.  they don’t like letting people down entirely and reveal that they can be frustrated and upset when ignored or deemed failures but, for the most part, being themselves and being considered stupid has done them a great service.

especially considering, the more you listen, the less stupid you realize they are.  they’re not always paying attention which can cause frustration and make them seem dumb to those trying to get things accomplished with the twins, but ruff and tuff still know.  the two are actually rather good at handling the ambiguous and weird, they do understand a pretty decent vocabulary despite what everyone else may think ( ruffnut explains to tuffnut what a rhetorical question is, and is fully aware herself when being asked one as one example ), and both generally have a good sense of others’ mindsets, thoughts, and how they’ll react to things.  just because they’re asking “what” more than anyone else in the group has nothing to do with their ability of when they can turn around and tell astrid exactly how she’s feeling about a situation.  they’re “empathetic” in a way, but minus the ability to generally be compassionate or sympathetic in many instances.  

not all, of course, and ruffnut has proven to have more of a heart than she generally lets on.  and both are actually caring towards their friends, but more in the loyalty sort of fashion and not in the dry your tears sort of fashion.

the last thing to note is ruffnut is generally the more intelligent one.  she doesn’t ramble quite so much as tuff, more playing off her brother than anything.  his ideas tend to be the crazier, more outside the realms of traditional logic than hers.  of course, his are not always useless or bad but generally he’s the one sharing the ideas that ruff goes along with.  hers, when shared, don’t usually meet the same sort of standards as tuff’s.  sometimes, but not always..  they’re both observant, but her semi-quietness compared to her brother allows her to catch on to thing easier.  she’s also more grounded and not quite as lost within the realm of the mystical.  she’s capable of tricking and convincing tuff into a number of different beliefs, knowing her brother is more susceptible to the power of suggestion.  while ruff can be naive and eager to listen to some things, she isn’t as entirely easy to walk over and tries not to let tuff get played, either.  she isn’t, however, as good as dealing with her emotions as tuff, preferring to get them off her chest or keep them to herself.  tuff, meanwhile, sort of lives in a state of content, his emotions generally playing more off ruff’s in return.

i think one of the biggest examples to support most all of these i’ve said is essentially the whole second half of ruffnut’s capture.  she continues to talk and sort of play dumb and obnoxious.  by doing so, she’s sort of allowing the hunters to believe it’s safe to speak in front of her.  she’s an idiot anyways in their eyes.  it also forces heather to eventually try to shut her up, which brings heather close.  ruffnut knows they need to act like they’re enemies with the girl, so by getting heather near to her, it allows for the headbutt and for ruff to “steal” windshear without it looking at all like heather was sloppy in any way. thus, made it more believable.  and being able to fly windshear with no training or extensive knowledge of the dragon shows she can pick up on some things fast.  all-in-all, ruffnut was being herself to keep insulting, but she also knew how the others were thinking of her, including heather, which slowed the group down to yell at her, as well as eventually get heather to give her the means of escape ( plus a plan to do so ).  and though she could have gone to try and help astrid and tuffnut, she was smart enough and worried enough to know that just the three of them wouldn’t work.  by going to find hiccup and the others, she was able to at least prepare them for what they were going to fly into, as well as get them to hurry back faster so as to arrive in time to save the edge.

tl;dr - ruff and tuff’s intelligence is based in a different sense of logic.  a more destructive and less reasoned logic, but they still think things through.  they’re actually rather decent at plans, but are often ignored due to the majority of their plans generally focused too much on something they find amusing.  still, when they have good plans, they’re just out-of-the-box and more sporadic than the others’. 

they’re both very aware of how others are usually thinking and feeling.  especially in regards to them.  the twins use this view of stupidity in order to get away with more things and have fun when something else is generally expected of them.  they’re actually quite empathetic even if not sympathetic.

they don’t always listen to the moment, but they tend to know the greater picture.

they understand the abstract and weird well, and also have a greater sense of vocabulary than most anyone would ever give them credit for.

ruffnut is generally the smarter, but also the more emotional one.