#if anything they should make something about stoick or valka

[countlessofvoids]

If they ever make a prequel about any of the HTTYD antagonists, it needs to have mature rating and soundtrack done by Heilung. I don't make the rules

[10blue10]

The Hidden World Themes

(Rediscovered this on my computer and decided to dust it off and post it here on Tumblr XD)

The intended themes of HTTYD: THW, as far as I can tell, are about maturing, letting go, accepting change and standing on your own. These are all good themes and I agree with them in theory. The problem is the way they were handled. I’m sorry, but if the themes have gotten mixed up with implications about segregation and ‘otherness’, romantic vs platonic relationships being portrayed as a binary or one better than the other, and looking for a quick fix solution to avoid problems rather than face and solve them…then something has gone very wrong. I’m sure many of you may insist that Dean didn’t intend for these implications to be in the movie, but they are there regardless. If anything, the fact that Dean apparently didn’t notice or dismissed these issues with his script makes him more culpable, not less. Furthermore, does a franchise based on the premise ‘Vikings who ride dragons’ really need to be realistic? I’m not expecting a play by play of how history would change, but when you put dragons, or any supernatural element, in the ‘real world’, that changes things by definition. ‘Realism’ means addressing typically ignored consequences, not ‘copying’ reality (I recommend Overly Sarcastic Productions ‘Trope Talk: Realism’ for a more comprehensive exploration). That’s what reality TV is for. As I was saying…

Theme One – Coming of Age Dean wanted HTTYD to be Hiccup’s coming of age story, but he also projects onto Hiccup, and therein lies the biggest problem with the movie (and really the franchise as a whole). It revolves entirely around Hiccup, to the point that the other characters feel like NPCs, and Dean is simply ‘playing’ as Hiccup. Snotlout, the twins and even Fishlegs are all portrayed as being way more immature, irresponsible and ignorant than Hiccup ever was, but their complete lack of development is used for ‘comic relief’ (and I use the phrase very loosely). They don’t actually matter, because this is The Hiccup Show, aka The Dean Show.

What gets me is the fact that the movie seems to equate ‘coming of age’ with “get married”. Right from the start Hiccup is told he should marry Astrid, and then at the end when he sends the dragons away he’s rewarded for this ‘mature’ decision by… marrying Astrid. Something that was going to happen anyway, because of course it was. There was no way the franchise wouldn’t end with a Hiccstrid wedding scene. Let’s give the ‘coming of age’ arc to Snotlout instead, shall we? After all, he’s had development before regarding his dad Spitelout, so we can run with that. Instead of flirting with Valka (eww), we can have him be overly competitive towards Eret, to the point it’s affecting missions. Snotlout blames Eret for leaving Ruffnut behind, and Eret asks what Snotlouts’ problem with him is. To which Snotlout responds that he’s jealous, because Eret is tall, strong, handsome (wait what?), talented… even Spitelout likes him more! So Eret tells Spitelout that if he really said he prefers a complete stranger over his own son, he’s a shit dad, and then he punches Spitelout in the face. Because who among us hasn’t wanted to see Spitelout get punched in the face? Seeing this would give Snotlout the courage to stand up to his dad later in the movie. / Theme Two – With Love Comes Loss Oh boy. I get it; Dean was going for a classic ‘if you love them, let them go’ message and used this flashback scene to foreshadow/parallel it. But Stoick and Hiccup’s situations are completely different! 1) Stoick thought Valka was dead. It’s not like she decided to go and live with dragons, and he respected her decision to do so. They were separated by something outside of his control and he had to come to terms with that. 2) Stoick didn’t expect the other men on Berk to give up their wives because he’d lost his. Now then, who shall we give the ‘with love comes loss’ arc to? How about Valka and Gobber, who are also mourning Stoick. Perhaps they both unintentionally put pressure on Hiccup to be like his dad, trying to vicariously have Stoick with them through his son, if that makes sense. We could replace the flashback with a scene of them worried about Hiccup. One thing leads to another and they realise that they’ve been so focused on wanting Stoick back in some way that they haven’t just mourned and reminisced together. / Theme Three – Embracing Change “Look at you, embracing change. I’m proud of you” – says Astrid, to… I’m sorry, who? Hiccup? As in Hiccup ‘changed the whole of Berk’ Haddock? Hiccup ‘first Viking to ride a dragon’ Haddock? What the fuck? This line is stupid and makes no sense. Actually a lot of Astrid’s lines are stupid and make no sense, but I won’t get into that. The point is, Hiccup is the last person who needs to learn to ‘embrace change’. In fact, let’s just cut this theme entirely. There’s such a thing as having too many themes crammed into one story. / Theme Four – Stand/Fly on Your Own

Now for the theme that even the marketing played up. Hiccup thinks he’s nothing without Toothless, so he needs to let Toothless go. That’s the only way for him to stand on his own… or is it? Yes, in real life circumstances change, friends and even families drift apart, and people should be able to ‘stand on their own’ as independent individuals, absolutely – but we do this all the time without having to cut off ties to those we care about. There are hundreds of people in healthy, balanced relationships who still have friends beyond their significant other. ‘If you love them, let them go’ is a nice sentiment, but to me it applies better to unhealthy, imbalanced relationships i.e.: a parent who can’t deal with their child growing up, or an ex-lover struggling to accept that their partner has moved on.

As a real world example, if someone is dependent on another (often a romantic partner) for self-worth, the solution would not be to have them cut ties with their source of affirmation. It would be better to help them find self-worth within themselves, so they can ‘stand on their own’, without having to rely on another person’s approval or support…but that other person can still be there. So let’s address the Buffalord in the room; Hiccup’s apparent dependency on Toothless. For the sake of argument, we’ll assume he is too reliant on his best friend as a source of self-worth. The issue that needs addressing isn’t his reliance on Toothless, it’s his lack of self-worth without the dragons. Sending the dragons away didn’t need to be the ‘solution’ to this problem. He and Toothless had an equal, healthy partnership, shown through their matched missing limbs, similar personalities, and the way they treat each other.

HTTYD1 gives us a perfectly valid reason for why Hiccup would associate his self-worth with Toothless and the dragons. After all, if it weren’t for training Toothless, he would have stayed an outcast in his own tribe. People tell him “You’re nothing without your dragon”, but these people are usually the villains. As in the ones he has no good reason to listen to. If he believes them on some level, then that means neither he, Stoick, Gobber or Astrid ever addressed the issues that led to his lack of self-esteem and his need for an emotional crutch (which ends up being Astrid). That is the real problem, not his friendship with Toothless. If we want to give Hiccup an arc about ‘standing on his own’, let’s pick up where the second movie left off and have him still be torn between his duties as chief and what he actually wants to do with his life. At the end he understands that he doesn’t need Toothless or the dragons to define himself with, but he wants to keep studying and rescuing the dragons regardless. He chooses his own path rather than trying to follow in his father’s footsteps, thus culminating the arc of individualism/self worth that started in the first movie. I’ve also come up with a parallel negative arc for Grimmel that can tie into this ‘rewrite’, but that can be it’s own post, since this one is long enough as it is. So, how would you guys improve on the themes in THW?

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Noticing him look away for a moment, Freya wondered if she had said the right thing. 'I hope I didn't word it incorrectly..' Her worries were put to the side as he spoke up once more, easing herself down in the process. Not wanting the mood to be entirely downcast, she nodded her head with a small shrug. "I get what you mean...you just made me realize I have my own, uh...'habits' that I need to..work on as well.. but we'll get better at handling it, for the sake of not crumbling by the weight of our own...emotions, I guess.."

She felt a ghost of a smile trace her lips, another warmth filling her at Hiccup's statement. "Well, that must mean I'm doing something right..." Faintly chuckling, she made her tone more sincere. "In all seriousness..I'm glad. I know you probably like to invest yourself in...just about everything else.. but don't forget about yourself, Hiccup. Please. Even if it may be a bit..hard to confront those specific things."

----------------------

Giving him a loving grin, Valka resisted from allowing her tears to fall. "I can't tell you how happy I am that we encountered each other too, son. I am sorry it had happen this way...but..it'll turn around for the better."

Seeing the future Chief's excited look, Freya couldn't fight against the gentle smile that took over her features, silently telling him she'd come along with them by delicately squeezing his hand back.

After hearing what he said, she chose to lightly grab a hold of the straps on his arm, barely tugging it twice to get his full attention. "Nope, nope, nope. Don't go there again. You've done more than enough, Hiccup. Especially because of what you're personally going through with...y'know, your mom."

-------------

She took in his idea, pondering on what that might've been like. "No, no, you've got a good point. That probably would be the only other option..." If she were completely honest, Freya wanted to hear more of his quick-witted suggestions, finding his intelligence compelling. "..It's interesting to see what you can come up with for those type of situations..." She nearly mumbled, not registering that she had said that out loud until it was too late. "I-I, uh, cause...w-we would need to get Blaze home a-as soon as possible! Yeah.."

Geez, now she was stuttering. At least she was behind him, it partly covered up her reddening face.

"I understand... I just hope he doesn't get too upset...I mean, he should be relieved that his wife is alive after all.." The soft wind continued to blow against her hair, using that to further calm her nerves on what Stoick's reaction might be.

She was content with leaning against Hiccup already, but as his hand went to rest on top of hers, the weird, fluttery feeling invaded her once again. The small action seemed to soothe her while also making her flushed. She made no move to push him away, though, instead remaining in her spot of resting her cheek on his back, basking in the irreplaceable comfort that came with being close to him. "Yeah, I know... It'll be okay."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's not your fault. If anything, it's those stupid people who shot down Blaze...and you discovered your mom after this whole time, we couldn't have left after that..!" Freya lifted her face off him to make that clear, to show him that it wasn't any of his fault that this happened. "You better not make it sound like you're to blame, Hiccup. As I said, I'll probably be the one talking more so you don't do that." She was firm, but her voice also brought the care she felt towards him.

With Berk steadily becoming near, Freya reluctantly straightened herself up, tapping his arm as she did so. "We should go to the docks...lie low so no one can spot us out easily.." Glancing at Blaze, she spoke loud enough for the Chief's son to listen. "Valka needs the heads-up too. Especially with Cloudjumper...we'll have to fly very low and aim for the sides of the docks."

It helped, knowing that Freya was dealing with something similar. Nodding, he said softly, "That's--yeah, that sounds good, I think..."

"You do a lot more right than you realize, Fey..."

He couldn't look at her, he pinched his lips together, nodding. She was right. But no one had ever told him that before. Since fighting the Red Death, it seemed like people just wanted things from him, and didn't ask how he was doing... The back of his eyes stung as he avoided her gaze. He didn't want her to see how much he was affected by such a simple request.

His voice was so low, it was almost a whisper, "I'll keep that in mind... I'll--I'll try, but it's not easy."

------------

He knew Freya would want to see the dragon sanctuary too, so it wasn't a surprise that she agreed to come. The surprise was the warmth that flooded through him at the thought of getting to spend another day with her.

When she tugged the straps on his arm, he looked at her in amusement, before his expression fell at the sight of her being so serious. He thought it was cute how she did that now, and he didn't want her to stop. "O-okay, I'll, I won't go there..."

---------

A raft could have worked, it would have taken some time, but it definitely would have worked. Flying back was faster either way, dragons flew faster than any ship he'd seen.

He turned his head at her comment, brows raised, hint of a smile on his face, "You think so?" As she stumbled her way around the compliment, he chuckled lightly, shaking his head.

"Yeah, you'd think that, but...he could be upset that I hid this from him...my dad, he can be intimidating, but he, he cares very deeply, and...he was really broken up anytime Mom came up in conversation when I was a boy. I mean, just imagine, the love of your life, gets carried off by a dragon, never to be seen again, presumed dead...you grieve, you process, raise your infant son on your own, while leading your tribe...only to find that she was not dead, but perfectly fine, with a clear way to come back...yet chose not to. I mean, that's a big boulder to break! How, how does one even react to that?"

For him, it was a lot, but he had no previous memory of his mother, thought how different he'd feel if Valka was taken at a later date, he wasn't sure.

At her insistence, he turned slightly to face her. There was something different in her tone, something that made him feel...well, different. She wasn't helping his resolve to not act on his feelings, was she?

"Neither of us saw the net until it was too late. We dealt with the situation the best way we could, you're not hurt, Blaze will recover. Might be best to just...leave it at that. If one of us took the blame more than the other...you--you don't think Ragnar will..." He was almost afraid to say it. "...you don't think he'd forbid me from seeing you, do you?"

His eyes focused on the docks as she spoke, nodding in agreement. "Good plan. They're behind us, so they should follow our lead...but just in case..." In one swift motion, his sword was out and ignited, signaling to his mother and Cloudjumper where to go.

Collapsing the Dragon Blade, he placed it back in its holster. "Fly low, bud..."

Toothless did as instructed, flying low and landing right where Freya had pointed out.

Dismounting, Hiccup kept an eye for any Berkians, but it was deserted at the moment.

Huh. It shouldn't be...he'd have to rework their patrols...

[dragondevinity]

Life stopped, life restarted in another world..?

Chapter one

Readers POV

‘I can’t believe Ive been here for two weeks! Life here is so nice besides the Queen making the dragons raid the village, I know that the dragons have to but it’s still not good for anything involved… I’m just lucky I haven’t been in a fight with a dragon myself…’ I thought while kneading bread dough.

“Y/n! I’ve told you that you already do so much! Go take a break!” Valka says to me with a stern face.

“But Valka! I feel like you and Stoick have done so much for me! The least I can do is help with the cooking and cleaning!” I replied feeling bad.

“Fine..! But at least take a break once in a while.” Valka said with a sigh.

“Plus, this is barely anything, so don’t worry Valka! Plus don’t you like my cooking?” I stated.

“I do, and it’s helping a lot” Valka replies.

“You’re a great cook lassie, she just feels like you’re doing more than a guest should, and not to mention her cooking skills don’t really-“ Gobber says while walking in with Stoick before he gets cut off by Stoick giving him a stern look him.

“What he means to say is we appreciate you cooking and cleaning” Stoick says to me, still slightly annoyed at Gobber.

“T-thank you!” I said, my voice stuttering.

“Okay time to change the topic, anyways are you here for dinner Gobber? It’ll be done in an hour if you are” I asked trying to lighten the mood.

“Yes I am lassie, I’m looking forward to try the food these two keep raving about, I heard you know recipes that contain something called a toma- something?” Gobber asked interested.

“I’ll gladly tell you different things that are good to make with Tomatoes!” I replied happily before explaining things I could make…

*time skip*

Third POV

“Stoick, when are you going to have people start building Y/n’s hut, the lass has been living with you and Valka for months” Gobber states confused at his friend.

“Me and Valka… like having her around, she brings more light to our lives” Stoick replied.

“Ohhh, the lass has herself a place in both you and Valka’s hearts, would it even work for the three of you, together I mean” Gobber asks slightly concerned.

“Well we haven’t told her yet, but we plan to ask her soon” Stoick replies happily.

“I wish ye three luck then” Gobber says with a small smile.

*time skip, again, only like a day though*

Readers POV

‘Why did I have to be grabbed by a dragon in the woods- god I wish I could understand dragons-‘ I thought before hearing… a voice..?

*“Geez this female is so calm, isn’t she that Viking that kiln said was crazy and trying to kill him with part of a tree..? Shoot did I grab the wrong female!”* the dragon said making me startled.

“Holy shit- did you just talk..? That’s so cool! Oh my gods!!” I say out loud which shocks the dragon carrying me.

*“you can understand me..???!”* the dragon says astonished.

“Oh my gods! You actually did talk! And I can understand you!!” I said giddily.

*“Were you the one that joined in to attack Kiln when the male Vikings were fighting him..?”* the dragon asked.

“Ah, yes, yes I was, I would like to apologise to- Kiln was it?- about that, I heard screaming and I thought he was a bird when I attempted to attack…” I replied slightly embarrassed.

*“im sure he’ll forgive you, he’s a nice dragon when not following the Queen’s orders, so don’t worry!”* the dragon replied with a slight purr.

“Thank you, and what’s your name..?” I asked since I don’t want to continue calling him ‘the dragon’ in my head.

*“my name is Terra, I’m a spike tail”* Terra replies happily.

*“you aren’t a normal human besides being able to understand me, huh?”* Terra asks confused.

“I’m not, truthfully I’m not a real Viking and haven’t ever been… but that’s not the point, how did you know..?” I asked.

*“You remind me of a tribe of people I was told about, fierce warriors who disliked hurting dragons”* he replied.

“Ah, there’s a few of those outside the archipelago, I’ve never met them sadly, I wish to one day if I can though” I explained happily.

*“What do you know of dragons miss?”* he asks after we land safely on a sea stack.

“That there’s a lot of species of you guys as well as a Queen as well as kings of dragons you might follow, I know you follow the Queen, I don’t blame you guys for attacking all the villages but I wish it could stop!” I replied confused at his question.

*“Most dragons don’t know a lot about the world, that Queen who some follow is a tyrant, if I had a choice I would abandon her… she even expects us to execute the dragons that are… ones that aren’t worth keeping around, or ones that are deemed dangerous because they can become like you…”* he states looking sad.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that, it’s not fun I’m guessing…” I replied sadly.

*“it isn’t… most of them are dead, they might even be fully gone…”* he says.

“Is it okay if I ask how they could become like me..?” I asked softly.

*“Well to do so they have to have died and survived… I don’t know how else to describe it…”* he replied.

“Wait, what..? Does that mean I can?-” I tried to ask.

*“Wait what, you did that already..? Well the way to transform from what I was told once is to concentrate on becoming something other than your normal form… but that might be wrong, it’s been years after all, but it should be worth a shot..?”* he replies.

“Should I try now..? Worst that happens is I can’t change” I say.

*“You should try, but I don’t know if it will work…”* he replied with a slight nod.

“Okay let me try..!” I replied before starting to focus…

*“!!! Female- what did you become-!”* he says startled.

*“It worked! Wait why does it feel like I’m covered in a full body blanket..?”* I said before looking Terra picks me up suddenly.

*“don’t worry I’m just taking you to a pond to look at you new form…”* he says to my panic.

*“oh! Thank you Terra!”* I replied relaxing slightly.

*“here we are! Just look”* he says after we land.

*“EHHHH?!?! I’m not a dragon! This is a dinosaur..?!?!? How in the world?!?!?”* I say confused as hell.

*”I don’t know, maybe it’s because you weren’t a dragon first..? But that form looks pretty and fluffy!”* he says happily.

*“Aww! Thank you Terra! Also it’s getting late, could you drop me back near where you found me..?”* I asked kindly before switching back to normal.

*“Sure, also if you ever want to do this again meet me where I originally snatched you..?”* Terra asks hopeful.

“Sure Terra! I’ll happily hang out with you again! How about in seven days?” I replied after we took off.

*“that works with me!”* Terra says happily.

‘I’m glad I made another friend..! And I’m so happy I found out about being able to change into an Utah-raptor!! Best day so far!!’ I thought happily before he quickly dropped me off in the forest…

“Y/n!!!!!!! Where are you!!” I heard coming from the village.

‘Shit’ I thought before running as quickly as I could to the village.

“There you are Lassie, the Chief’s been looking for ya! Go before he comes to get ye” Gobber states.

“Ah! Okay! Thanks Gobber!” I quickly said before running off.

[riddlerosehearts]

okay. i said i would write a post about how much i adore how to train your dragon 1 & 2 to balance out all the complaining about bad dreamworks movies that i've been doing, so:

i can be very indecisive at times when i try to rank and rate things. but httyd 1 and 2 are definitely both in my top 5 favorite dreamworks movies. the first movie is in my top 3, easily, because it's just a little more special to me than the second one. and then personally i have... some issues with the third movie, but god, the first two are just amazing. i think i'm mostly just gonna talk about the first one in this post since it's my favorite.

httyd 1 is a very simple story, about a boy finding his place in the world and earning his dad's acceptance through forming a forbidden friendship with a dragon. but it is so emotional and so beautifully told. every single scene matters to the story, and everything hiccup learns is used either in his training or to defeat the red death. the movie never ever feels slow or unbalanced, it all just flows perfectly. hiccup is loyal and stubborn and sassy and insecure and a genius inventor and one of the best leads in a dreamworks film. he feels so real and so well-developed. and toothless shows so much personality and has such a beautiful bond with him. astrid could, i suppose, have been more fleshed out in the first movie, but she still has a lot of great moments. she's fierce, passionate, and driven, and the way she grows to accept hiccup and softens up toward him is just adorable. i love her.

also, the character designs, animation, and the score were already amazing in httyd 1 but they only improve in the second movie. the flying scenes and toothless himself with his catlike mannerisms are especially well-animated in both movies and songs like test flight from httyd 1 and toothless found from httyd 2 are fantastic. and the humor of these movies is great. it's not reliant on making tons of pop culture reference and toilet jokes like dreamworks usually loves to do, instead it's just really witty. hearing hiccup say "any food that grows here is tough and tasteless, the people that grow here even more-so" is hilarious to me. berk also has such a unique atmosphere about it, especially in the first movie, i feel like.

i would argue that httyd 2 isn't quite as masterfully written and has some pacing issues, but i still love it a lot. valka's story, and the tragedy of her relationship with stoick, is so well done and i love seeing hiccup start learning to be chief and to be more responsible. httyd 1 is sweet and upbeat and heartwarming but httyd 2 has this epic fantasy feel with a darker type of story. and hiccup's dialogue at the end does not get enough appreciation for how beautiful it is: "we may be small in numbers, but we stand for something bigger than anything the world can pit against us. we are the voice of peace, and bit by bit, we will change this world."

and anyway anyone who's been following me for a while can probably tell i am bad at writing analyses and reviews lol. but i just love how to train your dragon so so much and i don't wanna seem like i set out to watch every dreamworks movie just so i could complain about them constantly. so yeah, these movies are amazing to me and i really should get around to watching the httyd tv shows one of these days.

[ashersmut]

Dragon Guardian Jack au

[Jack]

I was brought back into the world for a reason. My spirit followed the wind to the island of Berk where dragons saw and welcomed me as one of their own. 

Therefore, I will fight to protect them as long as I exist. 

Seven generations later, Hiccup is born. Jack watches Valka with her newborn from outside the Haddock home.

[Jack]

Gods…another one. He’s so small. I almost feel sorry for him.

Valka turns her head, as if she hears a voice. She looks directly at Jack, who stares back with disbelief. The winter spirit hides quickly, making an escape to the sky.

[Jack]

Thats…that's impossible. I've been invisible to mankind for centuries. That woman. Who is she? I need to speak with her face to face.

That night, Jack leads a dragon raid to have Valka captured. He brings her to the secret nest of the great Bewilderbeast. The winter spirit sits upon the Alpha dragon like a king, looking down upon his hostage with curiosity. 

[Valka]

You...I saw you earlier today. Who are you?

[Jack]

I think we have a lot to talk about. Let's sit down and have a cup of tea. 

The two of them sit down to talk, while drinking hot tea.

[Valka]

These creatures. I've never seen them up so close before, but this one (Cloudjumper) is gentle, intelligent, and beautiful. They all are. 

[Jack]

This woman's soul reflects my own. Perhaps that is why she can see me and others cannot.

You're different from the rest of them. 

[Valka]

I've always felt like an outsider on the island. I tried everything to stop the fighting, but it was impossible to reason with Stoick. I just wish the generations of bloodshed would come to an end.

[Jack]

For the first time, I felt like I made a mistake. I escalated the conflict between dragons and humans, and I need this woman's help to change history.

Do you wish to go back to Berk?

[Valka]

I don't know. I worry about my family…my son. But I do not miss the fighting. This home of yours is peaceful, and I wish to learn more about what you do. Would you care if I stayed for a little while?

[Jack]

You may stay for as long as you want.

Ten years later. Valka has decided to stay in the sanctuary. She and Jack work together to rescue dragons from hunters, and they take turns watching over the sanctuary when the other is gone. She still thinks of her family often, and she worries about her son. 

[Jack]

If you're thinking about your family, you're welcome to leave. 

[Valka]

It's been far too long. What would Stoick think? The person I am now, my ambitions…they conflict with the traditions of Berk. I'd be dead to them whether or not they already believe I am. 

[Jack]

Perhaps, but I have faith that one day, we can restore peace between dragons and mankind.

[Valka]

People are not so easily changed. You and I were born different.

Besides, I can’t afford to leave this nest. Not now. These creatures need me.

[Jack]

You have the heart of a mother and the soul of a dragon. That's why I've always admired you. 

[Valka]

I'm a terrible mother. I fear my son would resent me, knowing I've been away all this time.

[Jack]

I'm sorry, Valka. I should have never brought you here.

[Valka]

No. It was my decision to stay. I should thank you for your hospitality and the knowledge you've given me. 

[Jack]

And I'm glad to have you as an ally and a friend. If there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know.

[Valka]

There is one thing…

[Jack]

Hmm?

[Valka]

I may as well stay here for the rest of my life, and I'm content with that. But…if something were to happen to me, would you please watch over Hiccup?

[Jack]

Of course. I will make sure nothing happens to him.

----

An idea I had that's been sitting in my drafts for a while...something to give Hiccup and Jack some more history. I may or may not illustrate this at some point? I'm a pretty lousy writer so please excuse the strange writing format.

[kingofthewilderwest]

I can't get the thought of Hiccup is definitely wearing his mother's old clothes (it's too similar-) because they were the only ones that doesn't sweep the floor, and Stoick is like those types of parents that reuse stuff to not waste any money. Or maybe Hiccup really like women's fashion of his era just like the personal ring choice he has, unlike the rest of the boys in the gang

Please feel free to follow your headcanons and heart. As for myself, I suppose I don’t see Hiccup as wearing women’s fashion or borrowing from his mother’s old wardrobe.

Maybe I’m misreading you or missing something. That’s possible... I’m a little sleep-groggy rn. XD I admit I’m not sure where you’re saying Hiccup’s and Valka’s clothes are too similar, because if you’re referring to flashback!Valka in HTTYD 2, she was taken away in those clothes, and people don’t tend to wear multiple copies of one outfit that’s similar or all the same color and cut. The clothes she left behind aren’t necessarily going to be similar enough to account for Hiccup’s appearance. Many characters can wear green, most people on Berk have similar style, and while you could refit adult!Valka’s left-behind-clothes for Hiccup or find her old childhood clothes, I don���t get the sense that Hiccup’s wardrobe is that well-used. If anything, Hiccup’s clothing even in the first movie seems fit for him and less worn than other people’s around him.

Some people have pointed out that Hiccup’s stylistic choice is weird: this wonderful post by someone who knows her stuff more than me here talks about how in HTTYD 1 Hiccup’s fur is pricey, the green dye is cheap, and his clothing has few tears or restitching, indicating it’s new and made for him. That makes sense on account of him being the son of the chief, with the most resources and wealth available of anybody on Berk. Others have reached a similar conclusion about Hiccup’s clothing being better and newer than his friends’. I made my own post about clothing indicating wealth.

As far as the vambraces Hiccup wears, it’s true I analyzed how they compared to what women wore, but I realize now my thoughts could be misread: my intended conclusion is that what he wears is stylistically different and adopted for functional rather than fashion purposes. That part of the vambrace he wears is not like what either Hairy Hooligan men or women wear. It’s his own thing and not an adoption of women’s fashion. That said, I’d be chill with someone wanting to say he got some inspiration from women’s style, given as it is sort of a weird in-between visually. So you interpret it as you like it!

To bring up though: Since that post, I realize I hadn’t been complete in my descriptions anyway... there’s instances of women wearing various forearm wraps without threading it between their fingers, too:

And then, since that post was created, there’s newer things to look at from THW, where Ruffnut’s wearing something quite similar to before, but Astrid’s forearm clothing is a new variation. Still doing that finger thing though.

So yeah, I guess. XD My analysis should be taken as “trying to fill in the gaps for fun,” but that can lend itself to recreational overthinking or noticing patterns the creators didn’t intend. It’s fun to interpret while knowing it’s my ideas and not necessarily that deep. Still, I do think that the specific type of arm wraps with the fingers threaded are intended to be a feminine style as designed by the DreamWorks peeps, and that Hiccup’s vambraces are different than those and fall into their own separate thing.

If anything, I’d say the character whose fashion follows Berk gender expectations the least is Ruffnut, but even then, I would say that only very tentatively; she doesn’t shirk them completely by any means. I’d want to go through screencaps showing similar styles to other characters like ROB Heather, Gothi, and background characters to show Ruff’s still not divergent either... just sliiiiiiiiightly more gender-neutral than someone like Astrid with her spiked skirts. Pffft, all the more reason she and Tuff get confused, right? ;)

[httyd-grimmelsgirl]

Milk Punch:

Part 3

Today was Snoggletog Eve and everything was done except for leaving treats in the kid’s helmets and preparing for the Snoggletog feast. That afternoon, Hiccup, Astrid, Valka, Gobber, Snotlout, Spitelout, and Eret, joined together in New Meade Hall to plan the feast. Of course, they were doing Hams, also stews and fowl birds, with peas, potatoes, berries, and cabbage as side dishes. And Grimmel went by to help.

“What are you doing here?”, Valka said.

Grimmel smirked with a confused expression, “I came to lend a hand.” Valka frowned, a little annoyed that he startled her.

Gobber butted in, “Well, nice of you to join us”, as he nudged Grimmel’s shoulder. “But don’t burn down the village again” he said, playfully shaking his finger at him. Grimmel shrugged, not at all offended by the vikings rough, manly friendliness, since many of his brawly, balky buddies behaved similarly.

Valka knew Grimmel was very creative and good at keeping secrets. “I’m sorry to ruin the positive mood, but I would really appreciate it if you weren’t here”, she told him.

He said, “May I ask why?”

Before she could answer, Snotlout butted in. "Yeah why are you okay with him being here? He's a trapper."

Astrid replied, "Because he is getting along with us now. Eret joined the fight just after getting us captured and no one wanted him to leave because he was a former trapper. Plus, it's not logical to gatekeep because of something that happened years ago." Then Hiccup and Astrid continued.

Astrid’s statement intrigued Valka, it was perfectly true in Eret's case. But her relationship with Grimmel was more complicated. Being raised by someone who was engrossed in the idea that killing was moral, and, convinced her that she would grow out of her pacifism, although he didn’t make much of an effort to. She didn't want anything to do with him, despite knowing maybe he did care about her.

Astrid said “Eret, you mind cooking the chickens and turkeys today with Brawlor?”

“Not at all, chieftess.” He said cheerfully as Grimmel moved behind Astrid to see the list. He spotted the name of a very wretched drink on the paper.

“Looks like we have everything covered”, said Hiccup.

Grimmel put his hands on their shoulders. “Great. I’ll do the yaknog”, he said with a wink to Astrid.

When everyone left to finish preparations, Valka walked away to a quiet area with a great view. Gobber caught up to her, and she knew right away why he wanted to talk to her. “Valka,” he began, “about that back there…I know it’s personal… whatever it is you don’t like about him.”

“Yes”, she replied, “He is my father.”

They both sat down on a bench that looked out to the lower platos of the island and the ocean. He gave a quiet sigh deep in thought, “I’m no shaman, but I think you should make the most of the fact that he came. I have seen strenuous parent and child relationships before… and… in hindsight, I wish I told Hiccup to not think so little of his father's opinion. To not be so resistant to him. The last thing Stoick saw him do was something defiant… and it would've killed him. To put that in context, you are spending… potentially the last time you will ever see your father not wanting him.”

This cut deep into her chest, because it was true. “I wish he wasn’t a part of me, a part of my childhood, I don’t want to see him… but I do want Cloudjumper… who he would-” She choked on the words, and two tears streamed down her face. “I don’t want to be reminded of him ever again.” Valka embraced Gobber, who offered her a shoulder to cry on. “The… the disapproval of one's own parents, is the most unbearable pain... It’s a wound on your heart you spend your entire life trying to heal, with victories, escapism, and blaming someone else for your pain.” She began crying a little harder, “I love him, yet I’ve resented him in favor of a lie… that he doesn’t love me.”

Gobber added, “Life is too short to only see the bad. Perhaps you should wish him a Happy Snoggletog Eve tonight.” She pulled away, nodded yes, and wiped away her tears.

That evening, many vikings gathered at the square to celebrate Snoggletog Eve, the village was decorated, gifts were ready to be distributed, and the food was done, including Grimmel’s Yaknog. The vikings all happily anticipated the holiday. Astrid used this time to appreciate everything in the present, Eret just had a great time, Snotlout and Tuffnut goofed off per usual, and Fishlegs sought to make those close to him happy. Hiccup always spent Snoggletog remembering the repurposing of Snoggletog, which was to celebrate the peace between man and dragon. Snoggletog was a very good time of year for many, because as the world was constantly changing, this tradition was an eternal, unwavering slice of home that not even the departure of their best friends could take away. A ritual Hiccup still had was making his buddy, Toothless, his favorite meal of various trouts. Astrid didn't have the same annual practices, but admired his commitment to enjoying Snoggletog the most he could. It was certain that this Snoggletog would be a great one.

All around the village, lamps were hung, snow lightly dusted the ground, and one pretty tree made of boards and shields sat right in the middle of it all. Grimmel always enjoyed these little moments, when what filled the air was peace and happiness. Bliss filled his heart to the brim, as he took in the cold breeze and soaked up the neon light.

Ruffnut, however, was a little doubtful one of her crushes would get her something. And to her surprise, Grimmel came to her and pulled a soft, round, plush dragon from under his coat. He presented it to her saying, “I thought you might like this.” It was a Zippleback that he made himself, of green fabric, red thread, and claws, horns, and eyes made of neatly knotted yarn, but it was missing it’s left head, with only a bit of its neck left. “I remembered you said something about liking Zipplebacks”, he said, “And that you don’t like one of the them… so… it’s really just Barf.”

Excitement overcame her. “He’s so cute! You gave him to me a day early, too. Thank you, Grimmel.” She gave him a quick hug, and she accepted the gift, smiling the sweetest smile she ever had, they wished each other a Happy Snoggletog, then went about their evening.

Meanwhile, Valka sat in the New Meade Hall alone, as other vikings partied. Grimmel was looking for her, and brought a cup of his special drink he put with the rest of the food earlier. He gave it to Valka hoping it would lift her spirits. She accepted the beverage. It was like eggnog, but smoother and thicker, served warm with a gentle taste of cinnamon. “It tastes like mom’s” she said. “I didn’t know you could make her Milk Punch so well.” This drink wasn’t magical or even uniquely a Snoggletog drink, but it did bring back feelings she hadn’t felt in so long.

Grimmel took another stuffed dragon from his coat, a cute, red Stormcutter with all it’s accurate but basic features. He playfully bobbed it side to side to make it "walk" into her view and tap its nose on her arm to get her attention. He sat it on the table next to her, her smile lit up the room. “He’s beautiful”, she said, picking it up. Grimmel was overjoyed by this. Then her smile faded, “I’m sorry…”, she said. Almost not knowing what to say, “I… didn’t know… you were so open to the fact that… that I love them.”

Grimmel chuckled, “Don’t be sorry, dear.” She was touched by his willingness to forgive her so easily. He said, “I’m only relieved that you are the safest and happiest you could ever be. You were the only piece of your mother left on earth, and I’m quite happy that you grew up to be so beautiful, brave, and free. And that you’re alive...”

It was bittersweet that they could depart on good terms, holding the plush dragon firmly under her chin. They embraced each other, enjoying their last moment together. She knew why he wasn't bitter to her for leaving him to protect dragons, it was for the same reason she never hated Stoick for fighting dragons: their bond existed independent from everything else in the world and couldn’t be broken as long as they loved each other just a little.

"Happy Snoggletog, Papa."

[crazy4dragons]

All-Nighter

Hiccup and Astrid spend the night together for the first time. Like Heaven AU. They’re 13 here and have been friends for just a few months! Friendship fluff, plus some Hiccup being a total Mama’s boy.

“Are you sure it’s okay with your mom if you sleep over?” Valka asked as she laid a plate full of barbecue chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes in front of Astrid. “I don’t want her worrying about you.”

“It’s okay,” replied Astrid, hugging her towel around her. With school out for the summer, she and Hiccup had planned an all-nighter. “I just have to be home by noon tomorrow for beach volleyball.”

“Are you cold, dear?” Valka frowned as she noticed Astrid shiver. “Hiccup has plenty of sweatshirts if you’d like one. You two probably wear about the same size.”

“I’ll be okay,” said Astrid. “Where is Hiccup, by the way?”

“He wanted to shower before he ate. He said he’s done swimming for tonight.”

Astrid bit into a chicken wing. “These are good. Did you make them, Mrs. Haddock?”

“Call me Valka. And no, Stoick actually made them. I’ve never been much of a cook.”

“Yeah, me neither. My mom tries to teach me, but I’m no good,” laughed Astrid.

Valka sat across from Astrid. “Let me give you some advice, dear. Marry a man who’s good in the kitchen and you’ll be set for life.”

Astrid laughed. “I’ll try.”

Smiling, Valka dug into her own plate of food. “By the way, I want to thank you for reaching out to Hiccup when we first moved here. He’s a very sweet boy, but he’s always had such a hard time making friends. You don’t know how happy he was when he came home and told me you invited him to the Zipplebacks concert.”

“Well, I’m lucky to have him as a friend,” Astrid said.

Just then, Stoick appeared on the patio. “I got the iced tea if any of yer want any,” he announced, holding up a tall pitcher of homemade iced tea.

“I’ll have some, love,” Valka responded.

“Could I have some, too?” asked Astrid.

“Of course, lass.” Stoick poured both Valka and Astrid a glass before sitting down beside his wife.

“I was just telling Astrid how much we appreciate her reaching out to Hiccup. She’s been a great friend to him since we moved here.”

“Speaking of Hiccup.” Stoick gestured to the back door, where Hiccup emerged.

“Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad. Hey, Astrid.” Hiccup took his place at the table. “Can I have some corn? And a couple pieces of chicken?”

“No broccoli?” questioned Valka.

Hiccup wrinkled his nose. “No, thank you.”

“Iced tea?” Stoick offered.

“Yes, please.”

The rest of the meal passed quickly as the little group talked and laughed together. After asking to be excused, Hiccup and Astrid hurried inside and up to Hiccup’s bedroom.

“Can I use your shower?” asked Astrid, digging through her backpack to find her hairbrush and clean clothes.

“Yeah, go for it. I’ll start looking through Netflix for a good movie to watch.” Hiccup settled onto his bed and grabbed the TV remote.

Astrid vanished into the bathroom, reappearing twenty minutes later in a pair of cozy pajamas. “Mind if I sit with you?”

“Of course not.” Hiccup patted the empty space beside him. “Come on up.” After she climbed onto his mattress, he said, “But if we decide to give up on the all-nighter tonight, which we probably should if you have a volleyball game tomorrow, you can sleep in the guest room if you want. Or you can stay here. The choice is all yours.”

“I’ll probably stay.” She pulled the covers to her chin and settled against a fluffy pillow. “I’ve always thought it would be fun share a room with someone.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“Did you find anything to watch?” asked Astrid, nodding towards the TV.

“Yeah. I thought we could watch Thor.”

“It figures you’d pick something that relates to Norse mythology.”

“You can pick the next one,” Hiccup promised. “We have plenty of time. It’s only nine o’ clock.”

“Deal.”

“Also, my dad bought microwave popcorn. If you want some, I can go make it before I start the movie.”

“Popcorn sounds good.” Astrid slipped out from beneath the covers. “I’ll come with you.”

“Okay.” Hiccup led Astrid to the kitchen, where they popped two bags of popcorn and poured it into a big bowl. “We have M&Ms, too. I’ll bring them with us because we might want some after the popcorn.”

“I could go for M&Ms.” Astrid grabbed the popcorn while Hiccup found the candy. “By the way, I hung my swimsuit in your bathroom to dry,” she said as they walked back upstairs. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course. Just don’t forget to take it home with you tomorrow.”

“I’ll try not to, but if I do, I have a couple more in my closet.” She settled atop the mattress.  “You know, I wanted to get a bikini to add to my collection this summer, but my mom said I’m too young even though literally every other girl our age is wearing them.”

“I can’t relate,” laughed Hiccup, climbing back onto his bed after Astrid.

“It’s just frustrating because I’m embarrassed enough to be the only girl on my volleyball team who doesn’t wear a bra yet. If I had a bikini, I could at least pretend I have boobs.” She paused. “Sorry, this is probably weird for you.”

“No,” shrugged Hiccup. “I get what you’re saying. I was the shortest boy in our grade this year. I’ve always been. My mom says I’ll catch up to everyone else eventually, but I’m tired of it. I mean, even you’re taller than me.”

“Only by an inch or two,” said Astrid. “But both your parents are tall, so you’re probably gonna end up tall, too. You might just be a late bloomer like I clearly am.”

“I hope so. I’ve always been small and skinny, though. My dad calls me a talking fishbone. I wish I was bigger like him. He’s 6’9” and almost 400 pounds. And here I am at five feet tall and barely 110 pounds.”

“I’m 5’2”, so you’ll catch up to me soon.” Astrid grabbed a handful of popcorn. “But anyway, are you gonna start the movie or what?”

“I forgot about the movie for a second,” said Hiccup, pressing the play button on the remote. “There we go. Do you want the light off or on?”

“Off would be good.”

Hiccup reached over to turn out his bedside lamp before reaching into the popcorn bowl and focusing on the TV.

…

Astrid’s eyes opened as a bright ray of sun shone through the curtains, signaling that it was morning. For a moment, she was surprised to find herself pressed against a warm body. However, as she fully awakened, she came to realize that the warm body was Hiccup, and remembered that they’d had a sleepover.

“Hey, Astrid.” Hiccup twisted around. “I tried to give you space last night, but I suppose you like to cuddle.” He let out a soft laugh.

Blushing, Astrid noticed that her arm was draped across Hiccup’s middle and quickly withdrew it. Judging by their current position, she guessed that she’d been lying with her head against his shoulder and her torso pressed into his back while she slept. “I’m sorry.” She slid back to her side of the bed.

“Don’t be sorry. It was kind of nice.” Hiccup paused. “Don’t go spreading this around, but I’m kind of a big Mama’s boy and I used to cuddle with my mom every night before bed. I only stopped a few years ago, so it was good to…” He trailed off. “With you,” he quickly added.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a Mama’s boy,” said a new voice.

Hiccup and Astrid looked up to see Valka in the doorway.

“Oh, hey, Mom,” greeted Hiccup.

“Good morning, loves. It’s just past ten-thirty, so I thought I’d check in to see if you were awake. How did the two of you sleep?” She pressed a kiss against Hiccup’s forehead.

“Fine,” replied Hiccup, hugging Valka.

“Great,” said Astrid with a yawn.

“Still sleepy, dear?”

Astrid nodded and buried herself in the covers.

“Well, there’s breakfast downstairs if either of you want any. And Astrid, sweetheart, don’t forget your volleyball game.”

“Can Hiccup come?” Astrid asked.

“Can I?” echoed Hiccup.

“I’m going to have to say no,” answered Valka. “You have a lot of chores you still need to finish. Your room needs to be vacuumed, the rafts in the pool needs to be put away, your bathroom needs to be cleaned, and you have to work on getting through your summer reading list.”

“Can’t I do all that tomorrow?”

“No, love. You’ve already procrastinated.”

Hiccup groaned.

“Maybe you can go to Astrid’s next game, but right now I need you to stay on top of your chores. Alright?”

“Fine,” he sighed.

“Thank you, dear. I’ll see you in the kitchen when you’re ready to eat.” Giving Hiccup one more kiss, Valka left the room.

Hiccup relaxed against the pillows for a few minutes before sliding off the bed. “Okay, Astrid, I’m gonna go grab breakfast. Are you coming?”

No response.

“Astrid?”

Still no response.

Hiccup peeked beneath the covers to find Astrid sound asleep. He considered waking her, but she looked too peaceful to disturb. Her lips were ever-so-slightly curved into a smile, her hands clutched a fluffy pillow, and her chest rose and fell with each soft breath she took. Clearly she needed the extra rest, and clearly she was comfortable snuggled amongst his bedding.

Sighing, Hiccup reached over and tugged the covers back up to her nose. He then set an alarm on his phone so she wouldn’t miss her game and headed towards the door. But as soon as he had his hand on the knob, he glanced over at Astrid one last time. She made his oversized bed look so cozy, so inviting, that he slowly turned around. Biting his lip, he climbed in next to her, cautiously rested his chin on her shoulder, and closed his eyes.

Breakfast could wait.

[dzamie-oc]

Smaugust 20 - Death

Toothless takes Hiccup to visit his parents. It's not what Hiccup expected. (1915 words)

cw: spoilers for HTTYD 2

Toothless perched on the edge of a cliff, overseeing a long fall towards the wide, open ocean. Hiccup laid on the night fury's back, staring up at the night sky. The dragon's tail swished back and forth, quietly playing a game with the viking's prosthetic leg, each catching and releasing the other in a tiny game of tag. It was a time of quiet thought. Toothless was thinking mostly about fish. Big ones, little ones, raw and cooked, wriggling in his mouth and dangling lifelessly from a human's hook. He silently wondered if whales were fish, or if they were too big. Perhaps all that differentiates a dragon from a large fish is a breath weapon. Toothless imagined fish flying through the sky, where he would dart down and snap them up.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was not thinking about fish. He was thinking about Toothless, and Stoick the Vast, and Valka. "Hey, Toothless, I just realized: you've met both of my parents now." The thin viking chuckled. "I can't say I ever expected that to happen... any time before it actually did. Do dragons keep track of their parents?"

The night fury made an inquisitive sound, then quickly bobbed his head, nodding a confirmation. He wondered if fish had parents, and if it was better to eat a parent fish or a child fish. Maybe a distraught child fish would make itself easier to catch after Toothless ate its parents. Maybe the reverse was true. Or, the night fury considered, a fish might grow angry and flop ferociously at him in the wake of his piscematricide. An imaginary fish slapped him in the face; an imaginary version of Toothless ate it for its insolence, and also because it was tasty.

Toothless realized Hiccup was talking again, and decided to stop thinking about fish. For now. Probably.

"...so, it would be cool to meet your parents. I mean, if they're not dead. That would be, uh, awkward." Toothless's rider lost confidence and spoke more quietly as he kept speaking. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen any other night furies, actually. I hope you're not the last of..."

Toothless snorted and rose to his feet, jostling his human off. He flicked his tailfin open and wiggled his body, inviting Hiccup to mount up and fly. He had something to show the human. He trusted him more than enough.

The human in question, however, kept talking, mostly stammering as he continue to try to apologize for what might have been a slight but almost certainly wasn't, and several other silly human things. Toothless rolled his eyes, growled for attention, and wiggled again. It was time for Hiccup to be quiet and get on his dragon. And fortunately, Hiccup did just that. Toothless crouched as soon as he felt Hiccup's foot and fake foot slide into place at the controls of his tailfin, then leapt into the air and plummeted off the cliff.

Hiccup couldn't see so well in the dark, so Toothless pulled up early; as he not only expected, but knew in his heart would happen, Hiccup snapped open the fake fin as soon as the black-scaled dragon began to pull up, leaving them shooting off over the water, between a sea of stars and a sea of fish.

They approached the forest of rocky pillars, and Toothless built up the fire and magic within him. The dragon pulled his teeth in to avoid them getting hit, and a ball of superheated gas shot from between his lips, a shock of lightning on its tail. It zoomed into the cluster of stone, burst in a purple, white, and blue explosion, and sent several small sparks of lightning crackling and crawling around and through the pillars. Toothless watched as the lights all but disippated, then approached and vocalized a few noises, their signal for "let me fly." The dragon felt his human's feet disengage from the tailfin mechanism, and he flew silently into the darkened maze of stone. It was a familiar, yet unused pattern. With just the moon and the stars shedding light, the night fury was nearly invisible as he banked left around a few rocks, circled one, dove and rose through an invisible pattern of flight. The dragon landed on a pillar of stone and leapt off it, then ran down another before flaring his wings and zooming through a shallow slalom.

At last, Toothless soared back up, spiraling up around a towering spire of rock to shed speed. He burbled another signal to his rider, and felt the comfort of his partner ready for backup, to once more fly WITH him rather than merely ON him. And, all set, Toothless flapped leisurely out of the maze of stone, directly towards an island that he was certain Hiccup had never seen before.

The island was lit with torches that did not burn, and the weather was pleasant, even in the cool night. Toothless landed in a run, slowing to a trot as he neared the familiar - to him, at least - stone and wood buildings. Hiccup shifted to untether himself and dismount, but Toothless raised his wings up to either side. It wouldn't physically stop Hiccup, but he hoped it would let him know to stay on the night fury. As the brown-haired viking settled back into position on his back, Toothless relaxed and gave a low, approving warble as he walked along the island, headed towards a large house partway up. As he neared it, the night fury opened his mouth and shrieked a greeting. He stopped in front of the large front doors and patiently waited until they opened. Once inside, he let his wings droop, and Hiccup slid off his back, walking side-by-side with Toothless.

From a doorway ahead, a woman peered into the hallway, then smiled warmly when she saw Toothless. "Oh, hello dear," she said, stepping out and opening her arms for a hug, "it's been so long. You should visit more often!" She wore what Toothless remembered her often wearing - a loose, elegant, black shirt with a ribcage done in faint, light blue, and a pair of pants in the same style, long enough to cover even her feet, but never seeming to trip her up. Toothless leaned his head and neck into her as they embraced, the woman's bracelets of bone a stark contrast against both her clothing and his scales. "Your father is off brewing a storm for some big contract he has, otherwise he'd be here to see you too. Oh, and who's this?"

Hiccup was still busy staring, utterly bewildered, between Toothless and this strange woman, when she turned towards him. "You didn't tell me you got a boyfriend!" she said; Toothless hissed and grumbled, and she laughed. "I'm only playing, dear. I suppose I should be thankful one of my children thinks to introduce me to his friends outside of professional matters."

Hiccup awkwardly waved his hand, then offered it out to shake. "Uh, hi. I'm Hiccup. So, you're Toothless's... mother?"

"Oh, is that what he's going by now?" She looked over at her son, who moaned and brought his wings tightly against himself, trying to shrink away from sight. "And yes, though you can just call me Death." Hiccup jolted back, though he immediately looked more sheepish over his reaction than scared of the woman. Toothless rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what joke his mom was about to make. "Oh, don't you worry, Hiccup, I'm off the clock. The only thing I'm interested in killing right now is the stew I've been heating up." Yep, there it was. "Anyway, come in, come in. I'll get some bowls out for you both; I'm sure there's nothing like some fresh mutton stew after a flight, and I always make far too much for just me."

As they made their way into the dining room and to the table, Toothless watched as his viking's gaze went from him, to his mom, then back to him, doing that little thing with his mouth whenever he thought really hard. After a few seconds, he saw him mouth a few words, then his face went slack with shock. "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself..." he mumbled.

Death returned with three bowls of stew - Toothless's being the widest and shallowest, with a nice, big piece of meat in the middle - and quirked an eybrow at Hiccup. "What's this about my boy being unholy?" she asked.

The viking blanched. "No, not that - he's amazing, trust me, saved my life more times than I can count - it's just, there's this book of dragons we had- have, I guess, but that was only in the old version-" he rambled. Toothless watched calmly after bolting down his meat, keeping his eyes on his rider while he lapped at his stew. "-and most dragons, they had these ratings and descriptions, like 'speed four, strength two, breath seven, extremely dangerous, kill on sight.' But for night furies-" Toothless flicked his focus to his mom, catching a glimmer of satisfaction at the phrase "kill on sight."

"-almost never seen, and certainly never captured - until me - so it was just 'speed unknown, size unknown, never engage; hide and pray it doesn't find you.' And the description it gave was 'the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself,' that was all I knew on it - on him - before I started learning about him from, well, him." Hiccup finally took a break to breathe and try some stew, then finished his thought, "anyway, so that's why I said that. I certainly don't think there's anything unholy about him. In fact, he's sort of the reason Snotlout isn't chief, and I-"

Toothless and Hiccup froze as the night fury and his rider considered the unsaid word, "chief," and the weight behind how Toothless granted Hiccup that title. They and their friends - the riders, for Hiccup, and the Berkian dragons, for Toothless - had spent such a long time trying to help them work through their guilt and sorrow of that event. And, luckily, their efforts had borne fruit. They soon calmed back down, although Toothless found himself much more interested in his lamb stew.

If there could be one saving grace of that moment, it was that both boys figured that they wouldn't have to explain their silence. Death, of all people, would know. "Well," she said, to break the silence and change the topic, "I'm glad my son has found such a 'very good friend.' One he felt was important enough to convince him to visit his mother after so many years."

It worked; Toothless moaned a complaint while Hiccup chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, that's partly my fault. He hasn't exactly had a natural tailfin for a while now, it was lost when he crashed in my net." Toothless helpfully raised the tip of his tail to show off the mismatched fins.

"Ah. Well." Death took a sip from her cup. "All's well that ends well, I suppose. Perhaps it's a good thing your father isn't home; he can be very protective of our scaly son."

Hiccup took another spoonful of stew, then looked back at Death. "Wait, if you're Death, and Toothless is of... does that mean that his dad, who'd be upset at me, is-"

Death smiled. "Lightning, yes. I believe you might know him as... what's that moniker, Thor?"

The viking's eyes unfocused. "Good to know. Now, if you'll please excuse me."

Hiccup fainted.

[naberiuz]

Tunnel Vision

Read on: AO3

Back then, Astrid had been the wonder girl of Hogwarts. The star of Gryffindor, role model student, best Chaser Hogwarts has ever seen. Her glory ended when suddenly, Hiccup Horrrendous Haddock III, previous nobody now turned superstar started beating her at everything. Literally. He took the spotlight from then on, genius Slytherin boy, top of class for all time, the fastest and the most agile Seeker Hogwarts has ever seen.

It hurt to no longer be in the limelight, to always be in his shadow. But she can't help admiring him, he was kind, compassionate, and a competent leader. And he's incredibly attractive too.

In which Astrid and Hiccup have a confrontation that ends with a twist. Pre-relationship, silly teenagers.

Author’s Note:

Ahh, the infamous Hogwarts AU. This came to me suddenly in the middle of the night, choosing to write a 4k one shot instead of editing articles and finishing my editorial. Oh well.

Okay take note, I made some changes to this universe. One, the Triwizard tournament is back, because why tf not. And two, the age requirement of the Triwizard tournament is not quite the same. I've chosen to make it 15(?) to make it HTTYD compliant since the gang were 15 year olds when they started training dragons.  

I also made a choice that some of the readers may not like(?), which was Hiccup being sorted in Slytherin rather than in Hufflepuff. I will start my defense by insisting that he IS definitely Slytherin; intelligent and cunning, with an insane drive to prove himself to the world and leave his mark. He is a strong leader as well as a careful thinker, with a snarky attitude too. Sound Slytherin enough?

Anyway, hope you guys like this. My memory of HP goes all the way back in grade school so....have fun? And leave kudos and comments!

---

The Great Hall erupts with roars of cheering, as students donned in black and green robes stand from their tables to holler delightedly.

House Slytherin had won the House Cup yet again, third time on the row. Astrid huffs bitterly, jamming her fork on her steak, upset that her house couldn’t overtake Slytherin. They were only down by 30 points after all, and had House Gryffindor won the Quidditch Finals, surely they would have won the House Cup as well.

But of course. Even though Astrid scored points after points, being the best Chaser there was in the entirety of the Hogwarts Quidditch varsity, their initial access all crumbled away the moment Hiccup pumped his fist up in the air, Golden Snitch in hand.

210 to 190, Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Their massive lead over Slytherin fell away just like that.

It was a great game, if she were to be honest. The pitch stands were full at that day, with even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students coming in to watch the decisive match for the House Cup. Gryffindor lost, but not without honor. She knew she did her best, which was why it was easy to hold her head up as both teams went for the ending handshake.

Well until her and Hiccup's hands came across each other, and she had found herself looking to the side then.

She sighed. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. The golden boy of Hogwarts. Slytherin's seeker and the top student overall, the son of two amazing aurors Stoick Haddock and Valka Stormcutter. Chosen Hogwarts champion and won the Triwizard tournament, amazingly so, after showing a great feat of making the dragons in the arena listen and cooperate with him.

Hiccup, that scrawny, clumsy, awkward Slytherin boy, who had suddenly turned 180, improving leaps upon leaps. Suddenly one of the strongest duelists in the academy, suddenly the fastest and the most agile Seeker Hogwarts has ever seen, suddenly everyone’s biggest crush—what, with his tall and lean figure, adorable freckles, beautiful green eyes, and disarming smile—

Wait. Hold on.

Did I just…Did I just—

Did I just think Hiccup was adorable, beautiful, and disarming?

Astrid flushes despite herself. She can’t believe her sudden change of thoughts, suddenly feeling embarrassed even though she has no outward reason to be. She should be wallowing in sadness after losing the House Cup, dammit, Slytherin has won the same amount of cups as Gryffindor now ever since she entered the academy.

She chances a glance at Hiccup from her table, who is currently being swamped by students in green robes. The Thorston twins flank Hiccup side by side, with Ruffnut ruffling Hiccup’s hair, the boy swatting her hand away with a large smile. Tuffnut was making an announcement with his goblet raised. “Hiccup says he’s treating us to the Three Broomsticks this weekend!”, Tuffnut exclaims, to which Hiccup elbows him saying, “I never said that!”. The long-haired boy just cackles, Hiccup’s voice drowned out by cheers all over the Slytherin table.

Astrid watches them from behind her bangs, a small smile creeping at the corner of her mouth. Beside her, Snotlout groans, upset about the results of the House Cup. She doesn’t admonish him for it, she did see how Snotlout tried his hardest flinging bludgers back at the Slytherin Beaters, which were none other than the twins.

“Ugh, I’m gonna smack that gleeful smile off of Tuffnut’s face, I swear it!” Snotlout growls beside her, slamming his fist down on the table. Astrid rolls her eyes at that.

“We can’t do anything about it. We lost the moment Hiccup got that Golden Snitch.” Astrid replies coolly, grabbing her goblet and sipping from it. Snotlout looks up at her, having plopped his face flat on the table after his sudden declaration.

“You know what, Astrid? I’m actually surprised you’re not raging right now." Astrid pauses from her drink as she returns her gaze on the boy at her right. "You scored so much points! The twins couldn’t even make a clean shot at you.” Snotlout drawls out, continuing to eat his meal gloomily.

Astrid sets her goblet down, her fist clenching slightly. “I am angry, Snotlout. I just don’t need to slam my fist on the table like an idiot.” She fires back with less venom than usual, her mood having damped her usual fieriness.

Snotlout shakes his head. “You totally slam things around when you’re angry Astrid, don’t even.”

Astrid huffs, flips her braid over her shoulder and crosses her arms. “Whatever, Snotlout.” She replies, looking down on her nails.

“Ahhhhh damn that Hiccup. Why is he so overpowered? He’s like one of those Green Eyes Black Dragon that Fishlegs keeps talking about, damn unbeatable guy. Can’t believe I used to heckle him around back when we were first years, now this asshole just gives me a smug grin whenever I see him, you know? Like he’s trying to deliberately set me off….”

Astrid drones out the rest of Snotlout’s rant. Hiccup this and Hiccup that, even her friend (she’ll never admit that to Snotlout, ever) is talking about him. Gods, he’s such a thorn on her side, isn’t he?

She looks at the Slytherin table again, Hiccup having stood up from his seat and giving a little speech about how they were definitely going to win next year’s House Cup. The Slytherin table roars again, Hiccup ending his speech with a smile and lifting his goblet to his mouth. Tuffnut and Ruffnut cheer in unison, chanting “Butterbeer! Butterbeer!” repeatedly. Hiccup shakes his head with an exasperated grin.

From the Slytherin table, Hiccup’s gaze shifts from his housemates, to the table farthest from Slytherin’s side, seemingly looking for someone. Astrid doesn’t realize she has stopped breathing, back going rigid as she held her watchful eyes on him

Then, Hiccup’s emerald gaze slides on hers, face softening, his smile turning more shy than gleeful.

Astrid stands then, hurrying away from the table and into the doors, ignoring Snotlout’s calls. She walks briskly, all the way to the Gryffindor tower, and all the way to her room where she promptly crashes on the bed.

With red cheeks and an uneasy stomach, she curses Hiccup to Hel.

  ---

  She used to be the wonder girl of Hogwarts. At least three years ago.

She used to be the talk of the four houses. Top of class, excellent duelist, best Chaser ever, model student, whatever. House Slytherin couldn’t even hold a flame to House Gryffindor back then, completely humbled as they lost year after year against Gryffindor. She’d always been confident and headstrong, never failing to display very high aptitude in any subject, even Transfiguration. She could even say that Headmistress Gothi watched her.

Until Hiccup, the boy whom she thought as irrelevant for the longest time, the very un-Slytherin boy who sucked at casting spells and was easily pushed away. Too weak to fight back, too awkward to make himself new friends. The boy kept to himself, staying away from House Slytherin's clique even though he was pureblood and from a noble house.

But then something had changed when news of Valka’s death spread throughout the Wizarding World. Even though they were complete strangers, Astrid still felt a deep sadness for her. She was her idol after all, there weren’t a lot of Aurors who were women. Drago Bludvist was a terrible enemy, and the entire Wizarding World is too afraid to make concrete measures against him. Astrid swears that once she becomes Auror, she will definitely bring Drago to justice.

Hiccup had changed then. At first he seemed jaded and soulless, but his character had definitely changed. He had a cold look in his eyes every now and then. He had started to retaliate against the ones bullying him, although it didn’t always ended up prettily.

But that Hiccup was only temporary. She supposes Toothless had something to do with it, the Nightfury dragon hatched by Gobber (who probably got the egg illegally, now that she thought about it). The Care for Magical Creatures professor was incredibly weird, if Astrid may say so herself, and she’s friends with Fishlegs—but she supposes Hiccup being Gobber’s helping hand was a good thing that happened. If Hiccup wasn't in the library, in the pitch, or in the Slytherin common room, then he's probably at Gobber's hut.

And then history happened. As it turned out, Hiccup actually had more than enough capacity to decimate the top students in their game. To be fair, he wasn’t so bad at academics in the first place, already being the top student in Care for Magical Creatures and History of Magic even when they were first years. But to suddenly beat everyone, including Astrid in everything? That pissed her off.

And it wasn’t just academics. Duelling went astonishingly well for him, his casting quick and efficient, his duels lasting no more than a minute. They had alternated as Duelling Champion for the past four years. She supposes she should have expected that, he was the son of a noble house after all, with notable aurors in his pure bloodline.

(Weirdly enough, Stoick was a Gryffindor and Valka was a Ravenclaw.)

And then came Quidditch, when it turned out Hiccup was really really good at flying. Like impossibly good. He was the fastest Hogwarts has ever seen, with agility and precision that probably only gods should have. Odin above. She remembers the Ravenclaw and Slytherin match that ended 5 minutes into the game, when 4th year Hiccup suddenly went for an incredibly sharp dive, twisting and turning against the bludgers the Beaters sent to him, and then suddenly emerging with the golden snitch at his hand.

Perhaps what really hurt her pride the most was when Hiccup had been chosen Hogwarts champion. It had been her dream to take that role. She had wanted to make the Hofferson family proud by being the first in their family to be Hogwarts champion, or Triwizard champion if the gods let her be. She had been so nervous at the announcement, clinging into the hope that Hiccup wouldn’t waste his time with the tournament, Go to your damned dragon already!—she had thought that time.

And then the paper emerged from the Goblet of Fire, “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III”, Headmistress Gothi read.

Of course it would be him. She remembers sitting frozen as the Hogwarts students roared to life, as students from each House began cheering his name as a display of rare unity. Even Snotlout had cheered then. But she couldn’t, she had went back to her room quickly and sobbed all night.

Gods, she despised him at that moment. She had been completely and totally overshadowed by a guy who used to be a nobody. If she thought she was confident in herself and her achievements, then she guesses she couldn’t anymore.

But Hogwarts was so happy. Especially when Hiccup tamed the dragons at the final test, having been able to make the dragons listen and cooperate with him to bring him the Golden Egg. She remembers how the Nightmare, the Nadder, the Zippleback, and the Gronckle all bowed to him, and how Hiccup had coaxed them, head turned away as he held the dragons’ snouts one by one. It was amazing, truthfully so.

She realized too, some point later on, that had she been chosen as the Hogwarts champion she may have lost the Final Test.

That didn't make her feel better at all.

  --

  She sighed, her breakfast quickly cooling as she ate slowly. Her mood hadn’t improved much from last night, but she was still reeling with her last train of thought at the feast.

She had chosen to sit beside Fishlegs at the Hufflepuff table this time. Beside her, Fishlegs eats pop tart after pop tart, all the while engrossed with his deck of cards that Astrid has no interest of knowing about.

“You should cheer up Astrid.” Fishlegs remarks, not looking up from his cards. Astrid tsks, punching Fishlegs’ shoulder lightly.

“I’m not sad.” She replies, sitting up straighter now, feeling self-conscious. She can't be looking all weak and gloomy now.

Fishlegs hums, unconvinced. “You’ve been sighing non-stop since you sat here. That IS a sad Astrid.” He promptly puts his cards down and looks at her with his beady eyes. “So, how are you? You know you can tell me about it.”

Astrid smiles at him, appreciative for his concern. If only Fishlegs ended up in Gryffindor and not Snotlout…

“It’s nothing. I’m just sad we lost for the third time, that’s all.” She replies easily, because it’s part of the truth. Fishlegs blinks once and twice. “Okaaaay.” Astrid doesn’t reply, choosing instead to toy at her braid.

“But normal Astrid would be more angry than sad.” Fishlegs says, to which Astrid raises an eyebrow.

“Does it have something to do with Hiccup?” He asks, out of a sudden, and Astrid abruptly looks down on her lap.

“No.” She replies a bit too quickly.

“So it is about Hiccup.” Fishlegs presses on, his tone lilting with excitement.

“I said no, this is not about him.” Astrid retorts, perhaps a bit too harshly. She bites her lip, suddenly apologetic. Beside her, Fishlegs doesn’t take offense.

“It’s okay, Astrid. The two of you have been toe-to-toe for the past three years, it’s like you guys are unspoken rivals. It must be really frustrating.”

Astrid nods. Not toe to toe, more like me completely losing every damn time which makes me a total embarrassment… She replies bitterly in her head.

Speaking of the devil, the Great Hall suddenly grows noisy as Hiccup enters the doors, a large group of Slytherin students at his back.

The two of them watch the crowd, her eyes particularly drawn to Hiccup as he sits on his spot, chatting animatedly with Ruffnut. Around Astrid, the Hufflepuff students start to chatter among themselves, particularly about Hiccup.

"He's so amazing and dreamy...", remarks a soft-spoken Hufflepuff girl to her right.

“And so good looking!” A particularly bubbly Hufflepuff girl responds to her friend who giggled in response.

Yeah…he is…Astrid thinks, only to catch herself half a second later. She slams a hand to her forehead in grimace. The two girls at her right suddenly quiet down to stare at her confusedly.

“You know, I get that you’re a Gryffindor and all, and Hiccup's a Slytherin, but he's actually not that bad.” Fishlegs tells her jovially, watching the Slytherin table with interest. "He's actually super cool! We actually played a game of Dragons and Vikings last week, and let me tell you, he's one of the best competitive gamers I have ever met."  Fishlegs trails off with something like respect laced in his voice.

“I know.” She replies with a sigh, because it was true. Hiccup was amazing. No doubt. No amount of jealousy in her heart can prevent her from admitting that. Astrid plays with her bangs as she continues to watch the Slytherin table.

Hiccup was kind and passionate, she reflects. He loved dragons, and he also loved people. She knows she’s biased because of her house, but for a Slytherin, he’s really kind.

Hiccup was also level-headed and competent. His intelligence wasn’t of the bookish, theory-heavy kind, no, he was equal parts adept at both theory and application. He was a strong leader too, charismatic and genuinely good.

Sure, there has been skirmishes between their houses in the past, but Hiccup was never one to play foul. Indeed, he had a sharp tongue and knew where to taunt where it irritates the most. Snotlout has been up his face quite a number of times, has stepped over the line often enough. But in those times Hiccup just smirks at him, says a thing or two about how Snotlout should really brush up on his skills as a Beater, because clearly he could never land a single hit on Hiccup.

In those times her role has always been to pull an agitated Snotlout away and reprimand him on the spot. She would not make him go on stupid fights, both as a Gryffindor and a prefect. But also because Hiccup was a prefect too, and he could very well report Snotlout to the headmaster and deduct points from their house.

And then Hiccup would give her a smirk, the greens of his eyes twinkling with amusement as he looked at her. And the she would look away coldly, dragging Snotlout by the back of his robes.

And Hiccup was…well, Hiccup. He was handsome and tall and dorky and has a cute voice—

Oh my Thor. She stands up, cheeks flaming yet again, and stomps out the Great Hall. Fishlegs observes her curiously, wondering what got her so wrung up. He brings his gaze back to the Slytherin table and finds that he wasn’t the only one who watched Astrid’s sudden exit.

From his spot, Hiccup stares at Astrid’s retreating back, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

  ---

  Astrid paces the corridors, lost in thought.  She wants to get away from all this, from Hiccup being the center of attention, from her thoughts on Hiccup, from her loss at Quidditch, everything. She hates herself for her jealousy, because Hiccup deserves the recognition he gets. But she also hates herself for losing and losing, because there would be no jealousy and loss had she just been worthy enough, had she just been good enough.

She thinks of her family, all Gryffindors, proud and brave and strong. Her parents would surely be disappointed in her, being at the 2nd place all the damn time.

She bites her lip frustratedly. She wants so badly to get out of this mess, to prove herself to be an equal to Hiccup and to redeem herself as Gryffindor’s star student.

She’s so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice an incoming set of footsteps, not until the person was in close enough proximity. She composes herself suddenly, standing straighter and flipping her braid back on her shoulder. She raises her eyes slowly, black, then green, then—oh no.

Hiccup smiles at her, hands in his pockets. Astrid cannot find it in her to smile back, her heart still tittering from her disappointment with herself. That, and the nerves in her stomach as she stared up at Hiccup’s face.

“I, uh, just wanted to tell you something.” Hiccup swallows, the apple at his throat bobbing up and down nervously. Astrid stares, transfixed.

“First, there’s the thing with the House Cup.” Hiccup starts, voice uncharacteristically unsure. Astrid nods along.

“Our house won for the third time, which I’m really happy for, but that meant yours lost so…no hard feelings, yeah?” He says and chuckles playfully. His smile quickly drops when Astrid doesn’t say anything in response, her blue eyes staying glued on his face.

“Uhm. Right. So.” She watches the expressions on his face, jumping from teasing to a sudden restrained panic, like he had done something very very wrong.

“Just…lately, some things have changed and I guess it has been kind of...weird for me.” He continues, holding her gaze steadily.

Inwardly, Astrid’s stomach drops. Oh no…he must have noticed that I’ve been cold to him for the past few weeks. And how I didn’t even congratulate him, and how I’ve been avoiding his eye since last night…

“But I guess I realized I shouldn’t think about it too hard, because really, I won’t lose anything.”

Oh gods no. Astrid breathes in shakily, preparing herself for the rightful accusation, because she was wrong, so utterly wrong about how she felt about all this

“I’ve decided that I should just tell you what’s been on my mind. For a while now.” Hiccup continues, voice dropping. He takes a breath to still himself. But Astrid beats him to it.

 “I know what you think of me, Hiccup!” Astrid blurts out agitatedly, eyes pinched closed with fists clenched at her sides. In front of her, Hiccup’s mouth gapes open in shock.

 “Y-you do?” He asks nervously.

“I do.” Astrid replies. “I  know how what you think about me, and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you.” She swallows, her hands flying to toy with her braid, while looking to the side. “But I’m really sorry, this is what I am, and you don’t deserve this…whatever this is…because it is wrong and I—“

“You’re right, Astrid! I totally don’t deserve you at all!” Hiccup interrupts which promptly stuns her to silence.

  What?

 Hiccup swallows again, one hand shooting up to rub at his nape. “I know it’s pathetic, only watching you from afar and never making a move, but how could I really?” He sighs, biting the bottom of his lip which totally doesn’t steal her gaze.

“How could I stop myself from liking you when you’re so amazing? When you’re so talented, and brave, and inspiring that I—” Hiccup suddenly pauses, looking away with flushed cheeks as he runs his hand over his hair.

Hiccup called me…amazing?

“I really admire you , I really do. And...I also think you’re beautiful.” He was looking at her when he said that, trying very hard to not to break his gaze away.

B-beautiful?

“I m-mean, of course you know you’re beautiful! But I just wanted to tell you that in my personal definition of beauty, I think you’re perfect.” He continues, cheeks seemingly getting redder at the second. “Odin Allfather, why did I say that?” He says as he winces to the side, messing up his hair once more with his left hand.

“But okay Astrid…I understand. You are right, I don’t deserve you. But thank you for letting me know right away.” His eyes had gone from embarrassed to sad in just a second. “It hurts but I guess I’ll just have to—”

“You’re wrong! I like you too!”

That stuns them both.

Hiccup’s eyes widen, his face in disbelief. Astrid was flushing now too, cheeks burning ablaze because of her sudden confession.

“I like you...It’s just that some things are difficult to accept, especially with you beating me at everything.” She breathes out, holding his gaze even if all she wanted to do was to look away.

“You don’t deserve my ill feelings, and I should just congratulate and support you.” She mumbles, shifting her weight left and right.

In front of her, Hiccup nods, hanging on to her every word.

“But I can’t help it too, you are all sorts of amazing, and you deserve everything. I know I can’t measure up to you but still…” Astrid trails off, wringing her hands nervously.

“I can’t deny that you look handsome and—“Astrid cuts off, too embarrassed to continue. Meanwhile, Hiccup couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing, his ears coloring a dusty pink at Astrid's words.

“Wait, so you weren’t rejecting me?” Hiccup asks her after a moment, voice softer and more hopeful. Astrid brings her gaze back up at his eyes then, confused.

"...what do you mean? Why would I reject you?" She says back to him. They stood frozen for a few seconds, both unable to think of an appropriate response.

 Oh gods. Hiccup was supposed to be confessing and I just--I just-- She shifts at her feet, wringing her hands together while keeping her gaze to her feet. In front of her Hiccup scratches at the side of his head, looking at her with a lop-sided confused smile.

"Um, shall we start again?" Hiccup asks her, moving a little closer. Astrid nods and looks up once more to find his emerald eyes looking back at her.

"I like you Astrid. I have liked you for a long while now and we're already on our sixth year and I still haven't invited you out on a date." Hiccup exhales, chuckling nervously. Astrid hmms at that, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. Hiccup catches her smile and visibly relaxes giving her a wide grin.

"Tomorrow's the weekend and if you're not going home yet, I was hoping if we could hang out in Hogsmeade together?" He asks expectantly. Astrid chuckles inwardly.

"Sure, why not. Your treat." She replies, trying to be cool, but the weird feeling in her stomach has come back.

Hiccup beams at her words. "Great!" He says a bit too excitedly. "I mean, wow Astrid, what a way to take advantage of my heart, huh?" He replies playfully to which Astrid rolls her eyes.

"I mean, you might as well add me to the list of people you'll have to treat for a Butterbeer tomorrow." She retorts with a smirk. Hiccup rubs his face with a groan at her reply, mumbling, "Those twins, I swear..."

She laughs softly at him, watching as Hiccup tried to give her a glare that was completely ruined with his smiling mouth.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, comfortable in the silence that followed Hiccup's confession. Then, Hiccup steps closer and holds his hands out at her, to which she looks at questioningly. Hiccup just gives her a smile and waits for her to put her own on his.

And when she does, she immediately notes how Hiccup's hands were calloused and warm. With long fingers that curled easily around hers, her smaller ones wrapped delicately in his hold.

She's sure she's blushing from her ears to her cheeks. She hopes Hiccup wouldn't notice.

"When I said that you were amazing and inspiring, I was dead serious you know." She nods and bites  her lip, waiting for his next words. "I didn't understand what you meant when you said you can't measure up to me, because I always thought I was trying to catch up to you."

She blinks at Hiccup then, perplexed at his line of thought, not when he was literally unbeatable and everyone looks up to him. "But I guess that's something we'll have to work around, I guess? I will try to understand you, even if right now what you said doesn't make sense to me." Hiccup continues, green orbs locked on their hands, his thumbs running over her knuckles. But Astrid was staring at his face, lost in the earnestness of his voice and his emotions.

Suddenly, she feels a weight slowly rising out of her chest, like a burden was slowly being lifted off from her. Her heartbeat thunders on her ears, so fast and steady as she took in the boy in front of her.

"I want to get closer to you, if you'd let me. And then maybe we'll...I dunno...holdhandsorsomething..." Hiccup mumbles the last part embarrasedly, but Astrid caught all of it. She chuckles at him, untangling one of her hands to lay a punch on his shoulder. Hiccup grunts and rubs at the part where she hit him, his "What now?" being choked up by his laugh.

"That's for beating me in the finals." She says, smirking as she placed her hands on her hips. Hiccup shakes his head at that, his grin seemingly plastered permanently on his face.

They hear several voices from the end of the corridor, signifying that breakfast in the Great Hall was over.

"So...see you at the Great Hall tomorrow morning?" Hiccup asks her, hands back in his pockets. Astrid hums out a "Sure" while pretending to look at her nails.

"Okay. I'll see you then." Hiccup finishes right before a crowd of students emerge from the end of the corridor. She watches him as he fixes his tie before walking.

"See you." Astrid says over her shoulder, Hiccup looking back at her one last time with a grin, before facing forward to find his house members.

She breathes out an easy sigh this time, her feet moving automatically to go find her friends at the Gryffindor common room. She fixes her bangs, feeling the heat from her cheeks simmer to a comfortable warmth.

And just like that, Hiccup's words build up a considerable part of her confidence back, and Astrid feels headstrong once more. She failed to tell him that she has also liked him for a while now, just as he did, but she supposes they have all the time.

For now, she has a date to get ready for.

---

Ending note:

And that's my first ever HP AU! Hope you enjoyed it.

This was written as a character study for Astrid, because let's face it, she will definitely have inferiority issues given her competitiveness. I think it would be interesting to write how would Astrid feel when the spotlight is taken from her--but make it HP universe. Oh and, I have a soft spot for Hogwarts AUs even tho Rowling is shit af.

To be completely honest, a big part of the reason why I wrote this was because I wanted to prove the point that Hiccup is definitely Slytherin lmao.

*Green Eyes Black Dragon - hope you guys got this reference, haha. I was referring to Blue Eyes White Dragon, the incredibly overpowered card in Yu-gi-oh!

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Father’s Worst Nightmare

Summary: Set during RttE. Stoick has imagined it before. After losing Valka, after watching the other Chiefs burn in the inferno that Drago caused, Stoick imagined losing Hiccup to that very same fiery fate. Despite the years spent protecting him, Stoick discover he still wasn't ready for the real deal. NO MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH.

Rating: Teen and Up

Words: 1 912

Prompt: Burn(s)

Author’s Notes: Written for the prompt "Burns" over on the Httyd whump Discord that I'm in. This was a lot of fun to write.

Constructive criticism is highly appreciated!

Enjoy!

AO3

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Stoick has imagined it before.

When he lost Valka and watched her be taken into the dark night sky by a Stormcutter while he and their son were left in the burning house that was once their home. When Drago came down with his dragon army and turned the Great Hall in which all the Chiefs of the Archipelago had gathered into a blazing inferno. During every single dragon attack on Berk, he imagined it.

He imagined losing Hiccup to fire, to the flames of dragons.

In his darkest moments, he heard him scream. At night, in his nightmares, he watched him burn. Every morning he woke up, he prepared himself for the possibility that this day could be his last with his son.

For so long, that was all Stoick could think about. Since the boy's birth, he has thanked the Gods for each and every day Hiccup had not yet been taken from him.

But his wild imagination, the years of detachment and fighting, not even watching his son nearly be engulfed by the fires of the dying Red Death has ever managed to prepare Stoick for the day he watched a Singetail burn Hiccup alive.

It happened on the island that was supposed to become the Jorgenson's Storehouse Island.

As Stoick, Spitelout and Snotlout along with their dragons cornered the Singetail that had come to claim the land as theirs, Hiccup and Toothless flew up from underneath to blast the belly of the beast and chase it away. What was supposed to be any dragon's weakness was a surprise ambush in waiting from a Singetail instead.

As the fires from its belly came down upon them, Toothless tried to back up in time. Stoick had seen him try with a cry of panic, but the flames from the Singetail were too quick to avoid.

Many times Stoick had the displeasure of imagining what his only child's screaming would sound like. One time he had the misfortune of hearing them as an urgent amputation was performed on Hiccup to save his life from a rotting leg. The sounds he heard Hiccup make the day a Singetail burned him, Stoick had the bad luck to discover that they didn't even sound human anymore.

They managed to get him back home. It had been a torture to do so, but Hiccup lied in bed now. He was knocked out cold after all the sedative drugs Gothi managed to stuff his system full with. Painkillers and mind-altering herbs that Hiccup would need if they wanted his recovery to be as painless as they could make it. And if they wanted him to retain as little memory of this ordeal as was possible. It's how they got him through the loss of his leg as well.

Stoick sat by his bedside, Hiccup's bed having been moved to the groundfloor. He was just as lost now as he was last time.

Neck, torso, all of his right arm and his left forearm were bandaged up. His face and hair, though the latter was signed in some places, had been spared in the blast as Hiccup's arms had taken the brunt instead.

There was a mix of burns. Some would take weeks to heal, most would take months. Along the way, they would have to watch out for infections. They would have to fight the pain too. It would be Hiccup's reality his every waking moment, all they could do was help him lighten it and help him sleep through it.

For now, though, he was still. He slept.

Toothless did too, but his slumber was a light one. Stoick could see the Night Fury's ears twitching at the smallest of sounds. Minutes ago, Sharpshot scampered across the wooden floor in search of fish and Toothless was already wide awake to see what the source of those tiny claws were.

Stoick was thankful for that. For both Toothless' watchful eye and that his son slept. At least for now.

It was night, he should be sleeping too, but found that it was nigh impossible. He already needed to abandon his son during the day to perform his duties as Chief, when Gobber helped Toothless watch over him instead, Stoick couldn't bear to be apart from Hiccup at night as well.

He blamed Spitelout. For being too stubborn, for not listening, for not knowing about all of the Singetail's abilities. It went so far that the Chief hadn't even allowed Snotlout to come see his cousin yet.

"Dad-dad, I... I didn't know about the- about the- about the underbelly either. I should've- I should've known!" That is what Hiccup told him days ago, when Gothi tried to clean his burns for the first time and Stoick had mentioned thinking that the Jorgensons were responsible for this.

In between his sobs and his cries, even in agony, his son would defend others.

How had it taken him fifteen whole years to see these sides to him?

Pulled out of his thoughts, Stoick took his gaze off Hiccup's hand, held in both of his own, to look at his face. Hiccup let out small strangled noises of pain and wore a grimace, sure signs that his painkillers had worn off. The hurt was waking him up.

Gently laying the young man's hand down, the Chief stood up to go prepare the medicine Hiccup would need in the kitchen.

Waking up meant the chance to visit the outhouse, have something to drink and eat, a change of bandages, but he wouldn't want to stay awake for long. He would want peace and relief soon. Gothi left plenty of herbs. All Stoick had to do was mix them and add water.

By the time he was finished and returned with both it as well as water and a light meal, he could hear Hiccup groaning in the other room. Toothless was already up and purring by his side.

"Bud... Bud." Stoick noticed his son's eyes were open and focussed on Toothless as the Night Fury cooed comforting sounds to his Rider. He wanted to pet him on the nose.

"You're awake." Stoick's voice was soft as he settled back in his seat. His gaze was as gentle as he sounded as he looked down at his son. Teary eyes were wide as they stared back up to him. Hiccup was already trembling all over.

"Are you in any pain?" The Chief wasn't a fool, he knew Hiccup's every nerve must be on fire now, but at least this way he could provide Hiccup an opportunity to voice what he felt. Perhaps, it was a reminder to Hiccup that he didn't need to hide his hurt from his father.

"Yeah. Hurts." Some of Hiccup's tears slipped. Awake for less than five minutes and already the young man wished he'd never woken up.

Setting the medicine down on a small table next to the bed, Stoick knew Hiccup would need to face half an hour to an hour more of this agony before he could have the sweet, sweet release of sleep to put an end to his suffering.

It made Stoick feel even more guilty than he already did.

For failing to protect his son, for not being able to take away the pain, for not knowing what involving Hiccup in his quest to find Spitelout would lead to.

Stoick wished he could reverse time. Even when the burns would eventually heal, many of them would leave behind ugly scars that would remain sensitive. Berk's cold certainly wouldn't be kind to them. This could very well be an injury, received in just the blink of an eye, that would trouble Hiccup for years to come.

He had yet to forgive himself for the loss of Hiccup's leg too.

"Dad?" Pulled out of his wandering thoughts once more, Stoick noticed Hiccup reaching for the mug of water.

"Water. Please?" He looked almost desperate for it and his father was reminded of the fact that one of Gothi's fears was that Hiccup's burns were internal as well.

They weren't, another something Stoick thanked the Gods for, but the mere possibility had certainly kept him up at night.

"Here, son." Hiccup's throat was only dry, fortunately. He sat up as he accepted the mug his father offered to him. The act of sitting up was not an easy feat and Stoick needed to help him stay up, but resisting the urge to down the entire drink in one gulp was evidently more difficult for Hiccup.

Hiccup shrunk in on himself as he handed the wooden mug back and whimpered, the first sign of desperation already showing through. He wanted to fall asleep again, but he also knew his bandages and his body's needs needed tending to first.

He didn't look forward to the next hour or two. He didn't look forward to tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or the ones following afterwards.

"What do you think, son? Something to eat? Or do you want your bandages changed first?" It took Stoick every little bit of his willpower to keep his composure.

Hiccup was suffering. He could see it in the way his son shivered, in how he was using every ounce of his own strength to not break out into a crying fit right in front of his Chief because of the hurt tearing his nerves apart, in the way his one somewhat uninjured hand grabbed a fistful of the covers. Stoick knew very little to measure up to what Hiccup was feeling, but it pained the man to see him this way.

He tried to stay strong and yet he was about to break.

When Hiccup's face inevitably contorted into a pained grimace, he lied down and small noises of pain left his vocals. Hiccup's strength failed him as he lost his battle and he began to cry.

Hiccup almost curled up on his side, but that move just brought him even more pain. Everything he did brought nothing more than pain. And there wouldn't be any relief, not for another hour or so.

Stoick could lay a hand on Hiccup's one mostly unscathed shoulder and let him know he was here, but there was little else he could do to help him. There wasn't anything else Toothless could do besides giving him reassuring rumbles and his nearest thigh a nudge either. The Night Fury was too scared to even settle on the bed like he usually would, afraid that his dry scales would accidentally brush up against his Rider's burnt skin.

All Stoick could really do was sigh deeply and cast his gaze downward in sorrow. Hiccup's mug was still in his hand as he sat there and listened to his son cry, knowing those tears and his pitiful sobbing wouldn't stop until Gothi's mixture would knock him out again.

They all needed to get through these coming months. Hiccup would need to heal, would need to take care of himself and live with the kind of pain able to tear one's sanity apart. Stoick would need to live with his guilt, with the knowledge that he couldn't save his son's mother, his leg and now most of his upper body.

These would be trying times and all the while Hiccup still worried about the Dragon Hunters, but they would need to get through them.

Someway, somehow, they would need to live to see the day they could be okay again.

[inke-ri]

It’s so obvious how Hiccup loves Toothless too, y'know.

And in HTTYD 3 we do get to see that… But it’s somehow portrayed as though he’s clinging to Toothless somehow. And he’s not! He’s NOT! He’s just being the same Hiccup of Httyd 1 and Httyd 2! He’s not isolating himself, he’s trying to focus on the village too, he’s only struggling with overcrowding. He’s worried about Toothless, but OF COURSE HE WOULD BE! It’s Toothless! Unlike Stoick and Hiccup in HTTYD 1 (something referenced by Gobber on Dragons 3), we NEVER see this relationship being portrayed in a negative or controlling light.

Hiccup singlehandedly carries the weight of that friendship on his shoulders and his scenes are what save the movie for me, but at the same time it still hurts because it feels like an unrequited thing. It’s not supposed to be but that’s the feeling I got from it, and from I’ve seen around the internet, I’m not the only one.

More so. Httyd 2 spends SO MUCH TIME showing how Hiccup didn’t really “choose dragons over people” in the first movie. That “I’m not one of them” of the first movie was not him siding with the “enemy” as Stoick thought. Hiccup turns his back on being solely a dragon protector as well. He’s neither Stoick NOR Valka, he’s the one who believes both sides can live in harmony… And the third movie completely steps over this. From the beginning, we see Hiccup is already “grounded”. Even his scenes with Toothless (before he practically forgets all about Hiccup in his chase after a sparkly tail) are on the ground. He’s on a ship, he’s on Berk, he’s in the clearing where Toothless first met the light fury, he’s in the Great Hall, he’s grounded on New Berk. While of course we have flying – with stormfly, a bit when they were moving islands – Hiccup and Toothless are SEPARATED through most of the movie.

I just can’t wrap my head around this being marketed as “the friendship of a lifetime” when more than half of the movie is spent with the friends being separated. It’s wrong. It feels wrong.

Look. I’m not just a HTTYD-movies person. I own all the books from Cressida Cowell’s series. I know how the story was meant to end and I know HOW it ends and WHY it makes sense. I was prepared for it. I was expecting it. I knew that for all Hiccup being set apart as someone who thought differently… He was going to fail.

Thing is, this movie does NOTHING to explain why he should fail. Suddenly an “idea” is enough to send them all running? The threat of enemies? Please, at the end of Httyd 2 Hiccup was EXCITED to continue spreading the word about the dragons. If anything, facing Drago and loosing loved ones only hardened his resolve. And then Grimmel… Sends him running? I was expecting a good reason, I would have been fine with this separation if I had a good reason. But I don’t. It just feels like Hiccup is sending the dragons away because he assumes Toothless will be happier without him… And judging by Toothless’ behavior in this movie, can we blame him?

And there’s such a… Somber, feel to this movie. Underneath the ships and romance (so much romance, I still don’t get why there was so much romance), it’s basically a story of failure. They just focus on the romance because if they stopped to consider how Hiccup would feel after having to give up on his dream, on his best friend, on his whole world since age 15 there would be nothing.

And there’s something to be said about HTTYD 2. I used to just see the darkness in it… But there’s more than that. Eret for example. Eret is actually a FUNDAMENTAL character for the HTTYD 2 movie to work. Because Eret *changed*– a dragon trapper and likely dragon killer. He got his own dragon, he fought happily and of his own accord to save the dragons. He was PROOF that Hiccup’s method worked. That for all the Dragos we met out there in the world, we’d still have so many more Erets. People that would be touched by dreams such as Hiccup’s.

But in HTTYD 3 we have… A wedding that was always gonna happen as a silver lining? Keeping the Hidden World’s secret? Hiccup teaching his kids about dragons and showing them the joy of flight while being implied this isn’t a permanent thing and all that WONDER and JOY in those children’s faces will be there just for a moment? That scene shows Hiccup’s method still works. He and Toothless can still touch the hearts of people- of a whole new generation. And in this world… It just feels so wrong to set this story to fail. It makes sense in Cressida’s work but I just don’t think this movie can convince me this was the best ending for the movie franchise.

Because in Cressida’s work it was shown that dragons and humans COULD INDEED coexist. Under the care of people with hearts like Hiccup’s. The dragons only ever truly left when they agreed they couldn’t trust the rest of humanity with themselves yet. Not Hiccup. Hiccup didn’t fail per se. He did his job, he spread his message, he made the world a beautiful place with Dragons and Humans as equals. And when he died, in peace because he did what was right, he left his memories and his tale so that WE, people, can learn to be like him, and the dragons can maybe one day return.

Book Hiccup didn’t just fail. He won, he succeeded. The minds of the people of the Barbaric Archipelago WERE changed. It just wasn’t the right time to make this a permanent change, because what Hiccup couldn’t predict was the future. But he did everything he could to ensure that someday his work would be done and the dragons would return. They leave, and it’s sad, but we don’t get a feeling of loss and failure.

Why did the movie went the path of “Hiccup could not, in fact, touch the people of the Archipelago and this is why they have to leave” then? It doesn’t even make sense. Grimmel acts as though Hiccup’s ideas are a poisonous thing… That could infect everyone. Why, why, WHY did the movie made him win the battle but loose the war then?

In the books, we get a feeling of hope. Yes, humanity is complicated, but Hiccup intends to have his message heard and people’s hearts be changed, even beyond death via his stories.

In the movies, they no longer try to “bit by bit [...] change this world”… They just hide and keep the secret until humanity is ready. It’s not a message of hope. It’s just a “hide until the trouble goes away” situation.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

Her eyes widened, shocked that she had been caught. “W-what?! Psh, no, I know nothing about that! Who do you take me for? A thief?! Because I am not!”

“A window?” She couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s um, that’s pretty random… But, I don’t really need a window, I like the room as is. It’s cozy, y’know?” She was grateful for the offer though.

She picked up a nearby chair and moved it close to his bed, sitting on it crossed-legged.

Holding her hands out in a ‘stop’ motion, she quickly replied, “Woah there, don’t get ahead of yourself. You are still a boring loser, okay? I don’t even know why I said that in the first place.”

She’d never admit it, but it was because she genuinely thought he was pretty cool.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been sick before. If I happen to catch this, I’d be completely fine. And unlike you, I would gladly accept a couple days of bed rest.”

Her eyes widened, this time with nervousness, at Valka’s question. Quickly standing up, she began defending herself, just after Hiccup had finished speaking. “Only if it’s okay with you, he’s your son after all— I wouldn’t want to get in the way of blood family! I- I am so sorry-“

She was cut off by Valka wrapping her in another hug. Relief washed over her and she let out a shaky breath, hugging her back tightly before letting go, a small smile on her face as she looked up at Valka. “I-I didn’t know that you’d be okay with it, and it just never came up before this.” She shrugged.

Danny also looked at Toothless as he sneezed, a lopsided grin making its way onto her face.

She tiled her head at Valka’s question, shrugging lightly. “I uh- I’ve never really cooked before, but I could probably help stir the herbs in?”

He scoffed. "I don't know about that, I feel like you'd hate to go back to bed rest, even if it was for a short time."

Valka gestured for Danny to join her. "Perhaps, between the two of us, we'll make something edible." Eyeing Hiccup, she pointed a finger at him. "You, rest."

Normally, he would have protested, but he was starting to feel achey all over, of course his leg wasn't doing him any favors.

Calling Toothless over, he moved from the chair to the dragons back, prosthetic in hand. "Hey bud, can you help me get to that bed over there?"

Grabbing a nearby blanket on the way, he carefully moved over to the bed, removing the harder pieces of his armor.

He'd initially grabbed the blanket because he was cold, but now he was feeling like he stood too close to a fire.

Eyes heavy, he laid down, and after tossing and turning a little from aches, discomfort, and feeling too warm or too chilly, he finally fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Great Hall was full of people, and Hiccup stood in front of the angry crowd as they all berated him.

"She's been here a whole year, a threat to us all!"

"How could you have kept that from us?"

"Her father killed Stoick! Why, she might as well have done it herself!"

"She's certainly a spy for the remaining hunters, looking to take us down at the first opportunity!"

Hiccup kept trying to calm them, to assure them that there was nothing to be afraid of, that she meant no harm to anyone in Berk or elsewhere, but their shouts were too loud, and his voice was too quiet.

"ENOUGH!" Spitelout suddenly showed up, pointing an accusatory finger at Hiccup. "You never should have been made chief. It's your fault she's here, your fault Stoick's gone, and you have been useless to Berk since you were born! I say, we execute them both!"

To Hiccup's horror, the crowd cheered, suddenly holding up their sharpened axes. He turned away, hoping that something, anything could be done to reverse this, finding Danny next to him, looking smaller, younger than she was, with tears in her eyes. "Why? I thought you wouldn't betray me...you said this wouldn't happen...."

"I'm not! I---"

The crowd was closing in, and he stepped in front of Danny, hand out towards the crowd---

Hiccup cried out, "No! Stop!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Valka locked eyes with Danny for a moment before rushing to check on Hiccup. They'd heard him mumble here and there in his sleep, and she attributed it to the feverish sleep, but this was concerning.

The soup, almost done, was left hanging over the fire.

Hiccup was awake now, sitting up, eyes wide, breaths rapid. Toothless had placed his head on Hiccup's lap, and looked up at him with big eyes.

He didn't react to Valka rushing over, just continued trying to calm down, his fists clenched.

"...Hiccup? What happened? Are you alright?"

He shook his head, taking a few more breaths before answering. His eyes were still looking ahead of him, he wasn't making any eye contact with either of them. "A nightmare...That's all it was, just a nightmare. It wasn't...it couldn't be real..." But it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of that than anything else.

Valka looked over at Danny, unsure of what this meant, while Hiccup put his head in his hands, unable to stop seeing the dream replay over and over in his mind.

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Nuffink (or: “How Nuffink Got His Name”)

When their second child is born, it doesn’t all go as it should - something goes wrong. Astrid is left weak and sick, having lost a lot of blood due to complications during the delivery. The baby is a healthy boy, Gods be good, but Hiccup can’t focus on that because of the fact his wife is lying in bed, dying as a fever overtakes her; he has never seen Astrid look so ill, so unlike her usual strong self. Their daughter is kept away from the house, staying with her Nanna Valka whilst her father worries and withdraws; even at two-and-a-half, Zephyr finds herself worrying too - about her mummy and daddy, about the new baby.

Hiccup finds himself praying to the Gods, begging that they do not take Astrid from him; he has already lost his father, his best friend...he cannot lose her too. He knows that he will be lost without her by his side, without her smiles, her intelligence, her bravery, her support. He doesn’t want to live in a world that does not have Astrid in it. He sits by her side all day and all night, hoping that she will get better - she has to. His council - Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Eret, Gobber, his mother - all band together and do their best to take over his Chief duties for the time being, they alone being the few who know exactly what is wrong. The rest of New Berk knows something is wrong but can only rumor and whisper as they wait for the Chief to tell them himself.

Gothi visits regularly over the following few days, doing everything possible to get Astrid better. No method or medicine is overlooked - there are herbs, mixtures, practices she tries, and everyone waits with bated breath for something (anything) to work. She also checks over the baby in the meantime, confirming that he is indeed a healthy and strong boy, if a little on the small side from being early.

After three and a half days of worrying, of sleepless nights, of praying diligently, Astrid wakes. She’s weak and exhausted, but she smiles at the sight of her husband, laughing quietly when he clutches her to him. “Not getting rid of me that easy,” she jokes. He’s so relieved that he can’t help but laugh too, tears streaming down his face.

When Astrid is strong enough to sit up, they bring the baby to her to nurse; some of the midwives hesitate and suggest that maybe she should take it easy, that one of the other mothers in the village do it instead. Astrid merely rolls her eyes and brings the babe to her breast pointedly. She is then quiet and astounded by the baby boy, running a finger over the tufts of blonde hair so like her own, and she loves him so much so fast. Hiccup is slightly sheepish that he hasn’t seen the baby much in the last few days, but all of that falls away when he sits by his wife’s side and gazes at their son in awe. He has never had his breath taken away like this, except for when their daughter came into the world and changed his life just two and a half years previously.

Zephyr is finally allowed to visit too, now that Astrid is better, and she is impatient to meet her new baby brother. She checks for herself first that her mother is okay, reassuring herself as she cuddles up with Astrid, and then her brother is brought into the room. She grows very quiet, wide-eyed as she peers at the bundle her father holds in his arms.

“Small,” She says finally, voice a mere whisper, and then, “Love baby brother.”

The family sit there for some time as the baby fusses, wanting a feed and screwing up his face until he gets it. When he’s settled, Hiccup realizes something.

“You know, we haven’t got a name for him yet,” He states. “Got any ideas?”

Astrid shrugs and frowns, unsure herself. ‘Stoick’ - the name they had decided on should the baby be a boy - doesn’t really fit their small, blonde son, and they both know it.

Half-joking, Hiccup turns to their daughter and picks her up before putting her in his lap; she giggles at him. “What about you, little lady? Got any ideas?”

Zephyr shrugs too, not really concerned. “Nothing,” she says, though it comes out as “Nuffink”, because of her lisp.

Both of her parents laugh quietly and fondly at this. Encouraged, she giggles again. “Nuffink!”

“Call the baby, ‘Nothing’,” Hiccup jokes, deadpan, and he shakes his head in amusement when she nods. “We can’t call your brother ‘Nothing’, Zeph.”

“Nuffink,” She says again happily, looking at her brother. Neither of her parents take this seriously, still laughing between themselves when Valka comes to collect Zephyr for the night, just to give them both some more time to adjust to the new baby.

As Valka carries Zephyr through the village, they’re approached by the former dragon riders, who dote on her at sight. Zephyr revels in this attention, particularly when Snotlout puts her on his shoulders and lets her steal his helmet.

“So?” Tuffnut asks expectantly. “What’re they calling him?”

“Baby,” Zephyr says before Valka can explain there’s no name yet, and the little girl beams with excitement. “Nuffink! Baby Nuffink!”

She giggles at her own joke, and the adults are all amused. After a moment, Tuffnut muses “Heh, Nuff-ink. Hey, that’s actually a good name!”

Ruffnut nods in agreement. “Yeah - he could be one of us, Tuff!”

It becomes a running joke by the next morning; whenever anyone asks what the Chief’s new baby is called, someone replies “Nuffink, according to young Zephyr”. It spreads through the village like wildfire.

Hiccup goes to greet their friends in the morning, only to find himself face to face with several people eager to see “Nuffink”. For a moment he’s confused - and then he realizes and is astounded. “That’s...That’s not his actual name.”

“Yeah it is,” Snotlout informs him. “Zeph said so.”

Hiccup tries to convince his friends that his newborn son is not in fact called “Nuffink”, but his friends don’t listen.

“Zeph’s next in line, right?” Tuffnut reminds him. “Whatever she says goes.”

It shouldn’t surprise him that his friends take orders from his two year old daughter more than they do him, it really shouldn’t.

“It’s not his name,” Hiccup insists, mostly because he knows Astrid will murder him if he doesn’t make this clear.

“Then what name did you pick for him?”

“Well...Nothing ye-“

“So it IS Nuffink!” Tuffnut interrupts triumphantly.

“It is NOT-“

But they’re all talking over him. Hiccup deflates, sighing as he turns to go back into the house. He is not looking forward to explaining this to Astrid. In truth, they still haven’t been able to come up with any other names, and they can’t keep calling their son “the baby” forever.

And so it sort of just starts to stick.

“Nuffink!” Zephyr cries when she comes to see him again, excited and laughing happily.

“Nuffink is so cute!” Fishlegs gushes when he comes over that afternoon, unable to contain himself.

“Aww, lil Nuff is sleeping,” Tuffnut says to his twin.

Ruffnut nods in agreement. “Hey, we should make him an honorary -nut - Nuffnut!”

Astrid nearly throws them both out of the house right then and there.

Unfortunately, it starts to catch on with everyone else too. Gobber visits with a small toy hammer, exclaiming he’s excited to see little Nuffink. Eret visits with gifts too, and when he’s allowed to hold the baby he grins. “He’s a chip off the old block, Hiccup - Nuffink will do us all proud.”

Even Valka starts calling him that, much to Hiccup’s chagrin.

“Mum, no...”

“Oh, but it suits him, son,” She tells him cheerfully, enamored by her new grandson. “It has its own charm, don’t you think?”

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” He mutters for himself dryly. “I mean, you did call me ‘Hiccup’.”

“And you turned out to be the strongest of them all!” She reminds him fondly, and he feels his annoyance drift away slightly.

Soon enough, even Hiccup and Astrid are calling him that - it just happens, despite them trying not to give into it.

“Well, at least he won’t have to live up to anyone,” Astrid sighs, swaddling their son in furs to keep him warm one morning. “Nuffink...well, we can make it work. We’ll make it great, won’t we, Nuff?”

Nuffink gurgles happily at her, quite unconcerned. She smiles, pressing a kiss to her son’s forehead as Hiccup chuckles fondly at her.

“There are worse names,” He reminds her. “He could be a Hiccup, like me, or...or a Snotlout.”

She narrows her eyes at him, though he sees the playful smirk tugging at her mouth. “We are never - and I mean never - naming one of our children after a Jorgenson, Hiccup.”

Hiccup laughs, and she laughs too in amusement. “Well, thank Thor we can agree on that, at least.”

Perhaps it’s mostly because their daughter picked it, but they both grow to love the name quickly - almost as quickly as their family grows to love their son himself.

[takaraphoenix]

DreamWorks for the ask game (though in hindsight, I should've just added Disney to this because CROSSOVERS are a major thing since HiJack...)

Thanks for asking! But now I’m confused if you wanna see DreamWorks or the HiJack fandom...? So since I did Disney movies before, I’ll just do DreamWorks movies now (also that HiJack crossover is far too small and short a thing to make sense for this large-ass ask game xD)? ^^°

Top 5 favourite characters: JACK FROST, Hiccup Haddock, Miguel (The Road to El Dorado), Eris (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas),

Other characters you like: Sinbad, Puss in Boots (Shrek), Megamind

Least favourite characters:that obnoxious alien from Home

Otps: Hiccup Haddock/Jack Frost, Tulio/Miguel (The Road to El Dorado), uuuh that is it when it comes to real OTPs though

Notps: Jack Frost/Elsa, Hiccup Haddock/Astrid Hofferson, Tulio/Chel (The Road to El Dorado), Stoick the Vast/Valka

Favourite friendships: Toothless and Hiccup, Jamie Bennett and Jack Frost!

Favourite family: Ooof... None? I don’t have a favorite family?

Favourite episodes: doesn’t really apply here

Favourite season/book/movie: Rise of the Guardians, by a landslide, followed by The Road to El Dorado and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas! *^*

Favourite quotes:not a quote person xD

Best musical moment: The drunk godly song on The Road to El Dorado (a rare one, but I do prefer the English version here xD)

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: uuuhm huh... I don’t know, really. Most of Rise of the Guardians, really ^^°

When it really disappointed you: sadly there are a lot of turds in the DreamWorks line-up... but like that alien from Home. That movie had a lot of potential and the human protagonist was so cute but then that obnoxious creature that talked like Sheldon Cooper and made poop jokes... urgh

Saddest moment: WHEN STOICK DIED BUT I PREFER TO IGNORE THAT THAT HAPPENED

Most well done character death:Jack Frost’s

Favourite guest star: I don’t care much about voice actors

Favourite cast member: see above xD”

Character you wish was still alive: Stoick

One thing you hope really happens:a sequel or TV show for Rise of the Guardians, please, I deserve it ;-;

Most shocking twist: I... got nothing. Not a whole lot of twists

When did you start watching/reading?: When I was a very small child

Best animal/creature: Toothless!

Favourite location: Mh... the Tooth Palace in Rise of the Guardians?

Trope you wish they would stop using: there are probably a couple, but I can’t think of any right now... òô

One thing this show/book/film does better than others:occasionally, the animation and storytelling. It’s... so weird, because DreamWorks is really not very consistent with either of those. xD”

Funniest moments: the moment someone pitched a DreamWorks executive the Bee Movie and actually got away with that :D”““

Couple you would like to see: Tulio/Miguel. They should have been our first gay couple. I would not oppose to a sequel, even all these years later, that makes em gay

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: don’t care much about voice actors

Favourite outfit: Jack Frost’s hoodie *-*

Favourite item: shoot, maybe the tooth boxes? They were so freaking pretty

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: A lot of figures/toys

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: Maybe a Believer? xD”

Most boring plotline: uuuh Turbo? I just... I literally keep forgetting that this movie even EXISTS...

Most laughably bad moment: that human/bee romance in the Bee Movie...

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: If we take that as sequel again... uh... damn... Madagascar 2...?

Most layered character: Megamind...? He would have so much to offer, but a lot is played off as a joke. I mean, the kid was raised in PRISON. He was declared a villain before he ever even spoke his first word. He was raised by a FISH...

Most one dimensional character: Chel. Shit, she is such a cliche bimbo in the character design that is sooo cringey and then her only motivation is “I wanna get outta here because I don’t like it at home anymore. Also money”...

Scariest moment: Really not scary movies xD

Grossest moment: Fart jokes

Best looking male: Jack Frost!

Best looking female: ERIS!!! *^*

Who you’re crushing on (if any):Eris, absolutely. That trickster goddess can step on me any day of the week ù///û

Favourite cast moment: Don’t know any of that ^^°

Favourite transportation: The sleigh from North

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): ...the whole entire Rise of the Guardians movie? I have seen it about fifty times by now (and that’s not even an exaggeration, after I first saw it I literally watched it daily for a month...) - it’s so incredibly beautiful in animation and design, I can’t look away despite having seen it so often already

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you:How are you this inconsistent, DreamWorks? How do you make something as beautiful as Rise of the Guardians and then have that followed by Croods...?

Best promo: That Shrek 2 with that Puss in Boots got me hook line and adorable talking kitten sinker ùû°°°

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Ironically, rather late. I used to watch them at first release as a kid already, but they never spoke to me, none of them did. Only after Shrek and Madagascar, when I decided to give the old movies a rewatch, I deeply and madly fell in love with Sinbad, Road to El Dorado and Prince of Egypt. Heck, I even ended up liking Antz.

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS