#The new question is if Stoick lives long enough to help his son | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

howtodrawyourdragon · 4 years

Text

Acceptance

Summary: Set during RttE, trans!Hiccup. While away on the Edge, Hiccup has done a lot of introspection that Stoick isn't aware of. When he returns home and finds out that his father knows, Hiccup fears his father's judgment.

Rating: General

Characters: Hiccup, Stoick, Toothless, Astrid

Pairing: None

Words: 1 803

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Author’s Notes: An exploration of some kind, I guess? The first thing I wrote after finishing Whumptober as I apparently craved some Stoick and Hiccup bonding after the serious lack of Stoick and Hiccup bonding that I wrote during Whumptober.

Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Enjoy!

Ao3

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

With a heavy heart, Hiccup returns home after a long trip. It takes almost two days for the Dragon Riders to fly from the Edge to Berk and back again and he's been stressed the entire flight.

His dad has found something out about him, something he wasn't supposed to know. Maybe it was even something he was never supposed to find out.

He stands before the front door of his home, knowing he needs to enter, but much too nervous to.

Toothless stands beside him, he rumbles encouragingly and licks Hiccup's hand. Having him by his side always helps Hiccup feel better.

"I can do this, right?" He asks the Night Fury, who nudges his side to tell him to enter. There is only one way to find out.

"Yes, you can. And we'll be here waiting for you if you need us." The one who talks then is Astrid. She and the other Dragon Riders are standing at a distance, watching from the bottom of the steps leading up to the Haddock household.

They know this secret that Hiccup has been keeping from his father and they have been helping him keep it.

That is until someone with a big mouth found out and told the Chief of Berk, leading to a letter being sent requesting Hiccup's return for a talk. The author wants him to explain himself.

It's the most ominous letter he has ever received and he's been close to freaking out ever since.

He hates that his father knows, he hates that he wasn't the one who got to tell him, and he hates that he never got to choose when either. Now he's forced to pick up whatever pieces he can to somehow stick them back together again. If that is still at all possible, that is.

Hiccup sends his friends one last look before he enters, almost feeling like knocking on the front door as if he would be intruding into his own home.

He opens it as silently as he can, cringing at every creak that he hears. He enters and finds his father right there waiting for him, poking into the fire in the pit and making him flashback to every scolding and lecture he has ever received that started out exactly like this.

It's only late afternoon, too. His father shouldn't be home for a little while longer and yet here he is.

Toothless enters after Hiccup, just as nervous and blending right in with the shadows of their home. Hiccup closes it just as silently as he opened it, though he knows Stoick is already aware of his presence.

Knowing he can't just sneak past him, he has tried many times before in the past, Hiccup approaches instead. His pegleg thuds painfully loud on the wood.

Toothless, meanwhile, stays behind. He's here to support his Rider and he always will, but he knows he needs to stay behind for this one. You don't just intrude onto matters between a sire and his offspring. This is something that humans and dragons share.

"Uh... Hey dad," Hiccup reluctantly greets his father, crossing his arms only to uncross them and settle his hands on his hips. He's so nervous that he isn't quite sure how he wants to stand or what he wants to do with his hands. He feels like sitting. Should he grab a stool? But then standing allows him to leave quickly if he feels the need to.

Gods, he's nervous.

"Hiccup." Stoick greets him and though it doesn't sound cold, his tone isn't exactly warm either.

"So, uh... How is my father this fine evening?" Hiccup's question is clumsy and his dread is palpable. He rubs the back of his neck, his palms are sweaty.

Fire poker in one hand, Stoick halts and glances over at Hiccup, not answering his question.

Hiccup, his heir. Hiccup, who has been his one and only child, his only daughter for the past 18 years. But there she stands, hair much shorter than it used to be when she was a little girl. And no dress or skirt or long tunic, but a short tunic with armor and trousers.

Taking his eyes off his only child, Stoick gazes at the fire again and starts poking into the flaming embers.

"Spitelout told me some interesting news upon his return days ago." He tells Hiccup and he nods to show him that he has an idea what news Snotlout's father may have told his.

While visiting the Edge, Spitelout had caught a private conversation between Hiccup and the Riders. It had instantly become anything but private as he had immediately "intervened" and gave Hiccup a piece of his mind. And then he went back to Berk with the promise that Stoick would be hearing of this. Soon after, the letter came.

"And what did he tell you?" Hiccup asks as if he doesn't know, attempting to keep a hold of his trembling self and his trembling self's voice.

After a pause, Stoick straightens on his stool as he needs to think his words over before he speaks again. His many, many talks with Gobber after the news and the many nights of lonely thinking are on repeat in his mind.

"He told me that my daughter was disgracing herself and bringing shame to the Haddock name by pretending that she is a boy." In the end, his words come out harsh and Stoick finds that there is no other way of phrasing it, it's what Spitelout has told him.

He gazes at Hiccup, who can't hide the hurt that he feels when he hears the words his father chooses to use. Hiccup has always been an expressive and sensitive person, more so than any other Viking on Berk. So Stoick can see it clearly, the fact that this isn't just pretend and that something else is going on here, something deeper.

In comparison, Stoick's face is quite unreadable. His thoughts are his own.

Hiccup doesn't know what to do. Should he tell him Spitelout heard wrong and therefore drew the wrong conclusions? Should he tell him that it's pretense to fool Viggo? Or should he just come clean and tell Stoick how he really feels? About the doubts he's been feeling for years, the questions he's had, and how good it feels when his friends call him a 'he'?

With an unswallowable lump in his throat, Hiccup gives Stoick his answer.

"It's true," Hiccup says, his face heating up as his nerves rise. "But it's not pretend."

Stoick simply watches him with no reaction at all. If he wanted to explode, he would've done so already.

That is one advantage to living two days away by dragon, Hiccup supposes. His father must've done all his yelling before Hiccup got home. His silence, though unbearable, it helps him continue.

"It's just... We were... I... Being away from Berk, it's giving us a chance to-to think about things and about how we feel and-and... and stuff, you know?" Hiccup isn't sure how to word any of it. How to explain how he feels or how right it feels or any of the thoughts running in panic through his mind.

His father still doesn't speak. Instead, he just stares at him and Hiccup can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing.

At least he isn't raising his voice at him. Stoick loves him, Hiccup knows this, but a Viking's pride is often everything.

"I don't feel like I should be-should be a-a daughter. I know that-that may sound very strange, but- Ah, how do I even explain this." Hiccup crosses his arms, his nerves suffocating him and stealing his words.

"You don't feel like a daughter? You feel like a son?" But then Stoick finally talks and it almost appears to Hiccup that he wants to help him talk it through the mess in his mind.

If that is the truth, then maybe he still has a chance to help his father understand how he feels.

So he nods hopefully.

"I can't explain what this is or why I feel the way I do, I just know that it feels really good when the Riders refer to me as a "he" instead of a "she", dad. Really, really good. I don't know why." Hiccup explains that he's just as clueless on the matter. All he knows for sure is what feels right to him.

"And that is truly how you feel?" His father asks, still not a hint on what he may be thinking. Hiccup finds himself brave enough to nod.

"When I visit Berk and I have to listen to people call me something that I feel like I'm not... It hurts. It hurts so bad and I never realized how much it hurt and how wrong it felt until the Riders started calling me something that felt right to me." Hiccup is pouring his heart out to his father, hoping beyond hope that he's listening to the words that he's speaking to him.

Stoick nods, but whether this means he understands or not...

"I had no idea," He talks and stokes the fire again. "No idea that you felt this way. Or that it seems like I've had a son instead of a daughter these past 18 years."

Hiccup stares at his father, not sure if he's hearing this right or if this means what he wants it to mean.

"Do-do you-do you mean...?" Hiccup is a brave soul, is called fearless by his friends and rightfully so, but this question he has trouble asking in fear of imagining things. Relief is dying to well up, but he wants to repress it before he's sure.

Halting in his poking of the embers, Stoick pulls a stool closer to him, inviting Hiccup to sit down next to him.

"I admit, I have trouble understanding this, but I know better than to tell Hiccup Haddock how to feel. So how about you sit down and explain it to me?" His father requests softly and Hiccup is sure he might start crying any second now.

He lets his relief be felt and it shows, the fear melts away to make room for happiness.

His dad may not entirely understand him, but this feels like an acceptance. His father accepts him! His worst fear ends up being just that, a fear, and not the truth.

Hiccup's happiness is not lost on Stoick, not with how utterly present it is on his son's face. Though he has many questions, seeing him happy like that feels right to him and so he believes he's doing a good thing by choosing to accept him.

Swallowing the burning lump, able to breathe again, Hiccup walks over and takes a seat next to his father.

88 notes · View notes

whathappenedtomyweekend · 3 years

Text

It’s Just A Spark Ch.4 - Second Glances

Hiccup was late the next day, earling a partly stern, partly amused look from Gobber.

"So … went well last night?"

Hiccup did not fail to notice his suggestive tone and huffed, running a hand through his unkempt hair.

"Not as 'well' as you think. We just stayed out pretty late last night and I overslept."

"Ah," Gobber acknowledged, still smirking. "Seeing as she didn't run away the second she saw you as you assumed-"

"Honestly, Gobber, that's a new low, even for you."

The older man just laughed. After a while, Hiccup uttered, "Remember what you said about not spending the time I spend with her in my head? The second she opened her door, I just sort of stopped. I spent the whole evening with her without second guessing myself. She's just …" he tousled his hair again, letting out a breathless chuckle. "She's something else. It feels like with her I don't really have to decide, or turn things over and over, it's … confusing. In a good way.I wanna figure her out. I wanna know what makes her tick and know the way she thinks."

"Oh boy …" Gobber mumbled to himself, thinking, 'he is absolutely smitten'.

oOo

Astrid was humming. While working. It seemed almost outrageous to be in this much of a good mood. She was supposed to concentrate on her tasks - even if it was something as mindless as cleaning the cages - and not on the events of last night! And yet, she couldn't help but let her thoughts linger. Specifically on Hiccup. She smiled as she realised she silently referred to him as Hiccup too now.

He'd walked her home that night. Usually people would simply insist on doing so and Astrid would refuse, but Hiccup had simply grinned that lopsided grin of his and had said, that if she wanted to he'd like to walk her home and Astrid had accepted, gladly even. It was the she realised she hadn't really wanted to say goodbye just yet. She'd never say this out loud but that scared her a bit. She wasn't used to these kind of feelings and wasn't sure yet if she was okay with them. It all had all gone a bit fast, but then again, this had been building up for some time now.

Her first impression with him then had been so different from what she knew now. When they'd met she thought she'd only seen his physical attributes and had seen him as this serious, precise and abrupt professional.

The second glance had revealed much more - of course, he still was outrageously attractive, but Astrid now knew that he was in fact not as serious, nor curt or simple. He was funny and considerate and thoughtful and gentle and, goodness, that wasn't enough. She wanted second glances and third, fourth, fifth glances. She wanted to get to know him - really get to know him, past his smile and his lighthearted jokes.

Astrid sat there in litter and sand and thought, 'I hope he lets me.'

oOo

It was already dark when Hiccup got home. He felt as if he'd been dragged through hell and back; his lungs felt accordingly.

"Hey, bud," he rasped and gently scratched the black cat's ears. "Sorry for taking so long. We had two fires today. I'm just glad everyone got out well. You hungry?"

Toothless meowed and scrutinised him with bright green eyes, snapping his tail. Hiccup grinned and click-thumped towards the cupboard, wincing slightly with every step he took.

"I can't wait to get some ice on there," he muttered. "Remind me to keep some at the office."

He watched Toothless eat for a while, then he carefully shifted his weight back on his prosthesis and shuffled into the bathroom in search for his diffuser.

'A one-legged fireman with asthma,' he thought. 'How ironic.'

His phone started ringing just as he set his foot into the cold water. Hiccup shivered and picked up.

"Haddock?"

"I heard you had a date" the solemn voice of his father established. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Hey Dad, how are you? I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Hiccup."

"Okay, sorry. So Gobber already spilled, huh? That didn't last long," Hiccup commented dryly, heaved the diffuser onto the stool next to the bathtub and turned it on.

"No," his father replied but then quickly picked up the reason for his call again. "So? A date?"

"Yes."

"How'd you manage?"

"Wow, dad, don't make it sound like being a 23-year old man who didn't have a date in the past five years of his life is disappointing."

His dad laughed. "So, come on, who is she?"

"Her name is Astrid Hofferson, she lives a couple of blocks away from me, actually. We met because she set her stove on fire - several times, I should mention. It took me a while to work up the courage to ask for her number. We went out yesterday at had a nice dinner at the Che Dragon."

"Hold on, did you say Hofferson? That name rings a bell." His father stayed silent for a while, which Hiccup used to dry his still slightly aching stump.

"Ah, now I remember!" Stoick Haddock bellowed, making his son flinch involuntarily. "Astrid Hofferson, of course! She's at the Smith's whenever we have a get together with the company."

"Oh. Yeah, she mentioned working part-time in a bar."

"She's a nice young lady, Hiccup, congratulations."

He chuckled. "We're not getting married, Dad, we just had our first date."

"So there will be others?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes. I invited her over for Friday. I'm cooking."

He practically heard his father raise an eyebrow and sighed.

"I promise my intentions are honorable."

"Good, I didn't raise you to be a brute like your cousin."

Silence. A defiant 'Snot changed a lot since he was sixteen, Dad' was quickly swallowed back down.

Instead Hiccup replied, "I know, Dad, I know. But, um … promise next time you see her not to talk about me. She probably doesn't even know you're my dad."

"Alright, my lips are sealed. I'll see you next Wednesday for lunch?"

Hiccup smiled. "Yup. 'Night, Dad."

"Good night, boy."

Stoick hung up. Hiccup sighed. Twenty-three years old and his father still refused to acknowledge it. The thoughts about his father were loudly interrupted by his growling stomach. Right. Nourishment. Pasta sounded good. Humming lightly Hiccup strapped his prosthesis back on and made his way back downstairs where Toothless waited for him. On the way down he idly wondered what Astrid's favourite kind of pasta was.

oOo

'Quickfire question: favourite kind of pasta?'

Astrid's heart jumped. Trying to bite back a grin, she texted back, 'Alfredo in terms of fettuchine or spaghetti etc , but Lasagna has a special spot in my heart. Yours? Though I feel like your message served some future reference..'.

Still smiling she set down her phone and turned her attention back to the book in front of her. She was only a couple of pages further in when her phone buzzed again.

'you guessed right ;^) Can't go towards Friday unprepared! I'm a man of simple taste, I usually just make good old pomidoro'.

She hummed.

'Simple taste, huh?'

'well..'

'Anything else that applies to?'

He typed, then stopped. Then, 'now you're just messing with me.'

She laughed. 'You guessed right ;)'. And after a moment of hesitation she added, 'You had a good evening?'

She imagined him laugh and run his fingers through his hair.

'almost got fried back in the city, but got out alright, everyone else did too. Those are my favourite days'

'I'm really glad - also glad you made it out fine!'

'we also had to rescue a cat from a tree, so I guess that sorta balances it out'

She snorted and scrunched her nose. 'Was that a pun?'

A pause. Then, 'what if I said yes?'

'Then I'd say it wasn't PAWrrible.'

'I'm sorry, did you just become the woman of my dreams'

She knew it was a joke. She could even imagine the tone of voice he'd deadpan this with. And yet, she blushed, her heart singing.

'good night then' she typed back before she did anything stupid.

Hiccup laid on his bed, Toothless on his chest, his leg propped on his pillow, shielding his wide grin from the darkness with the crook of his arm and only rasped out over his blush, "Good one."

#IJAS #Itsjustaspark #TiliaofAnkh #HTTYD #httyd2 #hiccstrid #toothless #modernAU #httydau #fanfiction #writing #mine

9 notes · View notes

fictionalnormalcy · 3 years

Text

TBWASN Ch. 10

The Boy with a Strange Name

Rating: Mature (Graphic Depictions of Violence)

Fandoms: Fusion of the How to Train Your Dragon books and animated franchise

Additional Tags: jaded protagonist, modern day AU, moving somewhere new, fitting in, making friends, additional DreamWorks characters, back to hometown

Summary: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III has lived nearly seventeen years of life. In the span of those years, he’s moved twelve times. Five of those years his mother was alive. Then a tragic accident left Hiccup in the sole care of his father, Stoick Haddock. Berk was where he had been born. That much he knew. Over every, single, move his father put him through, it wasn’t until he reached sixteen years old that Berk was the city in which the father finally decided to plant roots. At least, that was what he claimed. After years of being victimized at each school he attended, Hiccup was determined to keep a low profile at Berk High. His past is intent on preying upon him, deciding that Berk was perfect place to come back into the light. However, like all good things that came to him, there was always something to drag him back down into the pit of despair. A dormant secret, tied into his family history, was ultimately brought into the light when Hiccup settles on Berk. A secret tied with guilt and tears, and it all goes downhill from there. He discovered what his father truly did those long stretch of years, and finds he has a gift that had been nonexistent for centuries.

Ch. 10: A Questionable Bruise

"Yes, we were just about too," He said, suddenly getting a bad feeling about it.

He took a step back, but instantly froze when Astrid gently dragged her fingers across the bruise. The boy behind her became very fidgety, fiddling with the leather bracelets on his wrists, then dragging his left hand up and down the strap of his satchel. He was looking in Hamish's direction, or rather the doors behind him.

"I know I said this at lunch but you should really go to the nurse before you go."

"Why?" He scowled. "This pressure to have my wound attended to should have been during lunch, not now. I'm going home, Astrid. Good day."

"Dustin stepped on your hand," She placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "punched you in the jaw, and kicked you twice in the ribs. The least you could do is go talk to Ms. Ellery."

"It's after classes. She will refuse to see me, and say I need to stop blaming a senior for my injuries. Trying to hold him back from graduating will only hurt the school's reputation. It will just be a repeated story!"

He stopped fidgeting. His eyes as well, narrowed in on the bruise on Hamish's jaw. Staring at him, completely different than anyone had. He came to stand beside Astrid, glancing at her to see if she'd notice him.

"Astrid," he said, "you told me you have your basketball practice. I'm going to start walking,"

"I know I can't guide you, but can you at least wait until I finish so I can give you directions? Or maybe I can take you some other day."

"Then you need to understand, he doesn't need your help. If he's telling you it's too late, then you should respect his wishes. I'll wait outside."

He strode by Hamish, giving him an expression that completely boggled him. Compassion, yet he didn't dare to ask what had happened. Just who was this new kid? The boy was scrawny, but at least he was taller than Hamish. He heard the familiar swing of the door, as well as a different sound that had Hamish staring at the boy's leg. He could swear he heard a distinct click.

"Your chest doesn't hurt?" Astrid's concerned gaze regained his attention. "Orrick, how are your glasses?"

"Thank you for your concern Astrid, but everything is fine. We don't want to-"

"It's because of what happened earlier this year, isn't it? When he left me on the courts beaten?"

"Yes. Your father loves you Hamish. I'm just trying to make sure his son doesn't come home in critical condition."

"Like Orrick said. We don't want to keep you waiting. Help the new boy and we'll be on our way. My chauffeur should be outside."

"I'll drag you myself if I have to." Her concerned voice shifted into a threatening one. Her position shifted to be ready to grab him if necessary.

"I can make you a deal." He spoke to match her tone. "Help the boy outside, and you can come with me to see the nurse. Clearly you won't believe it until you see it."

"Or maybe I can give him the information he needs. What is it you were going to tell him Astrid?" Orrick hastily spoke up.

"He wanted directions to the Drinkery." She said cautiously, still watching Hamish.

She wouldn't let him walk out of the school if he tried. She always got her way. He'd known her for as long as he could remember. He could guess that if she didn't have her friends to keep her calm, she could be a bully as well. There was no one here to rescue him from Astrid Hofferson.

"I can help him! Hamish, please finish the matter quickly," Orrick squeezed his wrist as he scuttled out the doors.

He had seen her when someone provoked her into an angry fit. It was always justified, but she was indeed terrifying, and frankly, violent. He had best to fulfill his part of the bargain. However, if he ever wanted to make sure he gained enough confidence to stand up to Dustin, he needed to be able to keep Astrid in check as well.

"I'm going to need you to clarify some things for me." He told her as he started to briskly walk to the office. "Why now? You've seen me and Orrick be hurt by Dogsbreath dozens of times, especially at the beginning of the year. Today was not the worst he's done. There is no need for the threat to go to-"

"Hamish, your injuries were so severe you had to go to the hospital!"

Keep reading

2 notes · View notes

howtowhumpyourhiccup · 4 years

Text

The Stories Scars Can Tell

Summary: A 'Hiccup left Berk' whump fic. When Hiccup left Berk for Toothless' safety five years ago, he hadn't thought about how hard life as a solo Dragon Rider would be. He hadn't realized it either, until a year after his reunion with Berk and the new Dragon Riders want to learn more about his scars.

Rating: Teen and up

Words: 6 452

Author’s Notes: This was supposed to be a 'Hiccup left Berk' whump fic one-shot, but it got way out of hand. This part alone is already 6k words long and I have other parts in the works, all of which are about Hiccup's misfortunes.

Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Enjoy!

Ao3

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

"Is-is that from an arrow?"

Hiccup's honest question caused Astrid to take a pause. She'd been undressing herself, but she didn't get past her pauldrons before Hiccup asked her. They were left on the ground next to the hot spring they were planning on diving in.

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were all here as well and in several different stages of undress. Three of them pretty much threw their clothes off before jumping straight in. There were some surprised yelps of the water being too hot followed by Fishlegs chastising them for not taking their time to get used to the spring beforehand.

Usually, they'd be wearing nothing at all. Viking bathhouses were communal and these five young adults were familiar with each other as well. But having previously been somewhat hesitant to join them, this was the first time Hiccup was here with them, at one of the many bodies of water this island provided.

In the months since they came to live here with Hiccup, Toothless, and all the other dragons that called this place home, they had been trying to gain his trust. Hiccup's presence at the hot spring with them and without his very protective Night Fury was a sign that they were successful. As to not immediately scare him away again, the Thorston twins may or may not have compared Hiccup to a very skittish dragon more than once, they had decided to keep at least one layer of clothing on them.

It took Ruffnut a lot of convincing to go through with their plan.

It seemed to be working. At the very least, Hiccup wasn't wearing his armor, made out of Gronckle iron and dragon scales. His tunic and leather pants he did still wear. Much like his usual outer layer, they were dark in color. He had once explained it was because Toothless, a Night Fury, was a stealthy dragon. Hiccup just didn't wish to stand out on his back by wearing green or bright red.

That this was the first time was also the reason why he hadn't seen Astrid's scar before. It was located on her left shoulder, a very light pinkish line on her front. A similar one seemed to be present on the back parallel to the first one.

When Hiccup asked her about it, she glanced down at it.

"Oh yeah! In through the front and out through the back! Got it from some Dragon Hunter Viggo sent before the mysterious Dragon Master showed up to save Berk from his clutches." Astrid wasn't at all bothered as she talked about what was probably originally a very painful wound, sending Hiccup a smile when she mentioned this mystery figure. She even flexed her left arm and showed her scar with pride.

Hiccup smiled back at her, lightly shaking his head. Of course, Astrid would see her scars as achievements. That would be so like her.

The Dragon Master's war with the Dragon Hunters and Viggo uncovering his identity is what had lead him to Berk. The Grimborn brothers launching raids on the Viking village, capturing fishing boats, and cutting off their trading routes is what had then resulted in Hiccup returning to Hairy Hooligans for the first time since he had left it and his true self to be revealed.

Some hearts were broken, some were mended, there were some loud shouting matches, it had been a difficult few weeks for everybody, but in the end, Berk had been saved and Hiccup gained five new friends. Human friends.

The real reason behind the dragon raids and why they had suddenly stopped was known by now too and, needless to say, the Hooligans loved watching him come for a visit a lot more than they liked watching him leave.

"Must've been painful, though." Hiccup made a statement and cringed at the thought.

"Oh, it was! And... to be fair, I can't quite lift my left arm past my shoulder, but the kids on Berk haven't noticed. That is what matters." Nobody would ever think Astrid Hofferson, of all people, to be good with children, but the tiny Hairy Hooligans seemed to love her. A flash of regret did pass by on her face, but it was gone before Hiccup could speak of it and so he chose not too.

So that was somewhat of a sore spot to her, that she lost some of the range she used to have. She hoped her little fans would never find out their favorite warrior couldn't lift one of her arms all the way.

Astrid continued to work on the rest of her clothes. An extra pair of eyes did not make her waiver at all. She wasn't ashamed in friendly company she was close with.

An old crush and a want to still respect her decency got Hiccup to look away, even though she wasn't entirely in the nude.

This made Hiccup the only one still fully dressed. Something he was quite okay with, although he had agreed to join them at the springs this time.

Snotlout, soaked from head to toe, came stomping out of the water. Attempting to pretend like he wasn't freezing as he left the heat of both the hot spring and the steam, he took on a confident pose. Hiccup and Astrid's brief exchange had sparked inside of him the want to gloat.

"Pff! That puny thing? Let me show you a real scar!" He invited himself into the conversation. Propping a foot up on a nearby rock, he smugly pointed towards a jagged line on his inner thigh.

"Do you see that here? Got this one when I took a harpoon to the leg." Snotlout's ego simply oozed out of every spoken word. He was gloating and it looked like he had been waiting to do so for much too long.

"You did not!" Always ready to knock the Jorgenson right off the pedestal he liked to put himself on, the Thorston twins exited the spring as well. It was Ruffnut who spoke.

"Yeah, you got that scar when you accidentally destroyed that armory and that harpoon, that was just lying there, fell on you." Tuffnut followed swiftly.

"I did not! I-... Shut up, Tuffnut!" His pride hurt, Snotlout crossed his arms and looked away.

The twins grinned mischievously.

"Now check this out!" Both Ruff and Tuff pointed towards a particularly ugly-looking scar on the brother's side that didn't appear to be all that old. They were particularly happy with this one.

Walking closer, Hiccup couldn't help but notice something.

"Is that from... a Fireworm?" He asked, slightly worried.

"Uh-huh. Found some, tried to roll with them. You know how it is, being the feral dragon person that you are. Turns out they-"

"Have skin hot enough that it can melt flesh, yes, I'm aware." Tuffnut's exciting recount of the event did not help settle Hiccup's concern at all. If anything, he made a mental note to tell them which dragons to touch and which ones they should stay away from as far as humanly possible.

Or he should make that list in reverse. Knowing those two, Ruffnut and Tuffnut would absolutely seek out the ones they shouldn't ever come in contact with.

"And oh, Hiccup!" Ruffnut pulled on his sleeve excitedly before pointing towards her leg.

"And then there's this one I got on my leg from a fishing hook, that weird looking thing right here that I got when Tuff and I went Gronckle tipping-"

"That was you?!" Fishlegs' outrage was heard in an instance as Ruffnut decided to list each one of her own scars. Her body was quite littered with them.

"Yes, it was, Fishlegs! Pay attention!"

Hiccup didn't get to hear the end of their conversation as Astrid grabbed his shoulder to turn his attention towards her. She had taken note of Hiccup's stress levels rising significantly with each little anecdote Ruffnut shared and decided to save him before he bolted back towards his den where he could think of a way to "twin-proof" the island. She could see the want to do so on his face.

"You know, I had my suspicions, but they really haven't changed at all, have they?" Hiccup asked her, thankful for the save, and Astrid nodded.

"Unfortunately, they haven't. But don't worry about them, Fishlegs and I are keeping an eye out for them. And now you are too. They couldn't possibly be in any safer hands." Even after all of these months getting to know them after their reunion last year, Hiccup still wondered where this supportive side of Astrid had come from and why. He also wondered if she knew how much he appreciated it.

It made him remember that sometimes having other humans around could feel good.

There were the Defenders and the Wingmaidens, but Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut came from a tribe that weren't originally on good terms with dragons. Dragon people were far and wide in between, at least in the far North, and sometimes a little reminder that the majority of humans weren't bad was a welcome perspective.

"I'll, uh, do my best to help." Hiccup gave her an awkward smile.

They had come here to live with him, after all. After some talking with their parents and Berk's Chief, they were here to help Hiccup and Toothless protect the dragons under their care and save the ones held captive by those that would do them wrong. They were living his life with the sole purpose of understanding it.

Although, Hiccup was well aware that there were some other, more hidden, intentions behind their actions. Hiccup knew for a fact, for example, that Stoick hoped his estranged son would reach out to him again. He wanted to reconnect, but so far he was respecting Hiccup’s need for space and time, which Hiccup was quite certain Gobber had something to do with.

"No! That one is so embarrassing!" Fishlegs yelped as he physically removed himself from Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston.

After the twin had run out of nicks and blemishes on their person, they decided to point out the Ingerman's. Ruffnut had taken this opportunity to say how "disappointingly untouched" he was.

It sent shivers down the spines of everyone present and Fishlegs already decided that he would spending that night with Meatlug in her nest.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

Snotlout's question surprised Hiccup and he drew his gaze away from the three Riders.

"Do you have any scars?" Snotlout clarified his inquiry, he wasn't too happy that he needed to do so.

Hiccup was once again the center of attention, like he had been many times since the new Dragon Riders had come to live with him on what they called the "Better-than-Berk Berk".

Awkwardly, he gestured towards his prosthetic leg.

"Ugh, besides that! We know the story behind that one!" Jorgensons were often known for their temper and Snotlout was already annoyed.

Hiccup tugged on his tunic in discomfort, straightened it out as if possible crinkles mattered to him. They were all waiting on him and gazing at him expectantly. It had been a long while since he'd last felt this uncomfortable with his own body and yet the wave of embarrassment was a familiar one.

Dragons didn't care about his body. At least, the ones here didn't. He knew Toothless didn't. The Night Fury was never bothered by how weak and scrawny his partner looked, not even back when they first met. As a result, Hiccup never needed to care either.

But humans... Humans cared. A lot, from what he could remember.

"I don't..." Not even his hands quite knew what they were trying to say.

"You don't have to show us anything." Astrid decided to speak up as she took a step forward. Her hand was on his shoulder again.

"Oh, come on!"

"Is this about being scrawny? You're not that scrawny anymore! Honest!"

"And you're tall, H! Tall, handsome, and... Broad's not the word I'm looking for." The protest was instant. The only one who wasn't opposed to Hiccup listening to his boundaries was Fishlegs.

"Hiccup doesn't have to show us if he doesn't want to." Astrid hissed, unconsciously grasping for an axe that wasn't there with the way her fist clenched. She scolded the three of them. The other Riders muttered and two of them crossed their arms in disappointment. One even pouted.

Next to Astrid, however, Hiccup sighed and silently nodded to himself. He came to a decision and grabbed the back of his tunic to remove it.

"Hiccup?"

"You've shown me yours, I show you mine, right? It's only fair. And I'm doing this of my own free will. So don't worry about it." Though Hiccup tried to reassure her, Astrid's slight unease did not immediately fade away.

She felt compelled to look away at the slightest show of skin. It was unlike her, but as the tunic came off and all that remained was the leather pants, she didn't think there was any other choice.

"Damn, Haddock! Dragon riding did you good!" Ruffnut instantly piped up and Fishlegs even nodded in agreement. Snotlout was speechless, which was a feat in and of itself, and Tuffnut said something along the lines of having found someone even hotter than the skin-melting hides of Fireworms.

"Ah, thank you?" Hiccup hadn't expected any positive reactions, he'd expected neutral ones at best, but he would take it. It did his self-esteem some good. At least, for the time being.

Daring herself to look, Astrid finally willed her gaze to fall back on Hiccup and she saw what they all saw.

There were the tons and tons of freckles they already knew he had, but what was new was his figure as it was no longer scrawny as it was more toned instead. His muscles definitely weren't defined, but they were still unmistakenly there. Deceptively powerful in a lean and sleek design, that is what Astrid's keen eyes saw.

And something else that they knew weren't there before were the many, many scars on his body. For the amount alone, he had them all beat. Even Ruffnut!

As that sunk in, Astrid grew quiet while the others were delighted. Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout in particular. As a warrior, she had numerous imperfections of her own, but she could at least say that none of them originated from a brutal whipping.

The marks on his upper back, she'd seen them before on other people and she'd heard their stories.

How vicious had it been that it created wounds that scarred? Like that especially? And more importantly, how old was he when he got them? The mostly straight lines were white, meaning they have probably been there a while already.

"So, huh, which- which one should I talk about first?" The overwhelming attention made Hiccup flush, hands not knowing what they wanted to do. And it was, for once, not in an entirely bad way. If anything, it encouraged him to open up to them even more.

Astrid pushed her new realizations to the back of her mind for the time being. She would approach the Dragon Master about them later. In privacy. The others didn't need to know that particular story in case Hiccup didn't want them to know. And if he didn't want her to know either, then so be it. She was willing to accept that.

Another reason was that Astrid didn't want this fragile trust he had in them now to break simply because they were asking questions for answers Hiccup may not want to give.

So she came to stand in front of Hiccup and scanned his body from head to toe, searching for a tale he may want to share.

Meanwhile, Hiccup needed to tell himself to breathe as she looked him over. Once upon a time, he had made himself believe he'd gotten over his crush on Astrid after leaving Berk, but her stay here certainly disproved that.

"Let's start with... These! On your hands!" Astrid suggested and took Hiccup's hands into her own. He splayed them open, palm up. They were certainly calloused from years of blacksmithing, a skill he had continued to sharpen as he did have his very own forge here on the island. But besides the callouses, the surface showed small burn scars as well.

"Oh, these!" Seeing them, Hiccup's awkwardness melted away and the biggest grin appeared on his face. It was the brightest expression they'd seen him wear thus far. Astrid and Fishlegs smiled in response.

"I've told you guys about the hatchlings Toothless and I sometimes take in, right?" They all nodded simultaneously. If there was something Hiccup liked to boast about it were his hatchlings. Some of which were still here on the island with them and others which occasionally dropped by for a visit.

"There was this one abandoned little Nightmare that we hatched and raised. She was late, so I think her parents had given up on her. This one day she discovered she could light herself up on command and... Well, I was holding her at the time." Hiccup chuckled at the memory. That same Nightmare was one of those that had taken up residence on this island.

"It scared her so bad because she thought I was fireproof this whole time and Toothless scolded her for so long! Ah, the burns were terrible, but I couldn't stay mad at her, you know? I named her Fiery because of what happened." He was going to end it there. If he didn't, he would still be talking about her hours later. He loved her so much, just like every single other dragon juvenile he'd ever taken care of and raised by hand.

But just because he wouldn't talk about Fiery, didn't mean he wouldn't talk about a different dragon of his.

"And this one," He pointed towards a bite mark on his right arm. It wasn't particularly big, but it looked like it must've once hurt, but the smile on his face didn't vanish. This one was another good memory.

"I got this one from Trouble, a Zippleback. They loved playing growing up, but then one of the heads got a little too playful during a play-fight and bit me instead of just nipping me. It was an accident, but they kept bringing me fish for an entire week as an apology." A joyous laugh escaped him.

"You could say he got a little... bitey." Snotlout was very proud of himself, but his pun was not a welcome one. Nobody laughed, they just stared.

"Shut up, Fishlegs."

"I didn't even say anything!"

"Still, shut up!"

Astrid rolled her eyes and Hiccup shook his head, but more so out of amusement. Meanwhile, the twins needed to be stopped before they started a contest of puns just to show the dishonorable Jorgenson who the real pun masters were. There was no room on this island for more than two masters in the art of wordplay.

"Ooh, what is this one?" Fishlegs was the next one to speak up. He only had eyes for the strange scarring on Hiccup's right. They looked like veins, or like red lightning etched into his skin. Like a tattoo. It started on his shoulder and went down his chest.

"Oh, that one! Yeah, I, uh, I got hit by lightning this one time when Toothless and I got caught in a thunderstorm in the middle of the ocean. Yeah, so... that- that happened." He was slightly more awkward about that one and Snotlout was wholly disappointed a mark as cool as that didn't come with an equally awesome story.

He muttered a silent "geez". That was how much he felt let down. A corrective punch by Astrid followed swiftly.

The twins were slightly more excited to have heard about that one incident that had turned their fellow Rider into a human lightning rod.

"Oh yeah, I imagine the two of you need to be careful. You both carry a lot of metal with you as you fly." Fishlegs added helpfully. Hiccup had told them of how metal was naturally attracting to lightning. It was something he had found out the hard way and more than once, apparently.

"So what about the scar here?" Tuffnut asked, pointing to the rather ugly one on the other's chin. Hiccup didn't know when the Thorston had pulled his pant leg up.

Or where his boot had gone for that matter.

Either way, Tuffnut figured Ugly marks were bound to have a nice and gruesome backstory.

Hiccup’s smile, that first appeared as genuine and then became more awkward, made way for a cringe. Just the thought of what had caused this particular blemish on his person made him wince. His slightly hunched posture told of his nervousness.

It was still very pink in coloration, indicating that it couldn't have been that old yet.

"Um, we, uh... We crashed. Some strong winds caught Toothless' wings. I broke my leg. The bone was out. Needed to set it myself, but couldn't. So Hookfang did it for me. It was very painful." There were no details, his sentences were short and to the point, and still, the faces of everyone present pulled into a grimace.

"That... could not have been a fun time," Ruffnut stated and the others agreed. Even she got goosebumps just imagining what that must've been like.

"Couldn't walk for so long. I actually just got back up on my feet when you guys sent me that T-mail asking me if you could come live here with us." Just thinking back to the time spent in bed simply because the dragons forbid him from getting up made Hiccup feel restless. Like he needed to strap the saddle to Toothless and go for a flight with him right this instance.

This, however, explained some things to the Riders. When they had first moved to the "Better Than Berk" Berk, Hiccup did seem to fatigue easily at the beginning of their stay and there had been no news of any recent rescue missions that had taken place before their arrival.

Usually, they heard about all sorts of rumors from seafaring merchants and such. That Hiccup needed some time to recover would be one reason why it had been strangely quiet on the grapevine concerning the Dragon Master.

"Is it...?" Astrid pointed to his leg.

"Oh, don't worry about it! It's good now! I'm good now! It just hurts when I run for too long."

"Define how much "for too long" is."

"Anyway, anything else you guys want to know?" Instead of answering Fishlegs' query, Hiccup gazed at three of the other Riders, who had been surprisingly silent.

Hiccup took a seat on a nearby rock. It most definitely didn't have anything to do with what they had just discussed.

Attempting to shrug away the tension that hung in the atmosphere, Snotlout and the twins circled him and looked him over. It was slightly uncomfortable for Hiccup, but if there was something they wanted to know, he was willing to share.

Fishlegs and Astrid had heard enough for the time being, though they did not leave.

"These!" Snotlout picked next.

Hiccup looked over his left shoulder to look at the scars Snotlout was referring too. He could barely see them, but he knew which ones the other was talking about.

"Got those from a dragon. Which I'm sure is quite obvious. This one time Trouble had wandered into a different dragon's territory and they weren't too happy about it. It was a Monstrous Nightmare and a very territorial one at that. She was about to nest and she didn't want any competition." Hiccup rubbed his shoulder. That Nightmare had found a good den and thought Trouble and Hiccup had come to steal it.

Many dragons Hiccup had met in life were good and kind beings, but there were some rotten apples he was unfortunate enough to come across. Most dragons did not hurt young juveniles.

So Hiccup remembered that incident with some unease, but Snotlout, meanwhile, looked back at those scars and was stunned.

They were claw marks that ran from his upper back all the way down to his hips. Had the claws responsible been just a tad bit more to the right, they would've taken Hiccup's spine.

Just like Astrid and Fishlegs, he was starting to have enough.

Hiccup seemed to notice. Snotlout didn't have any comments, he was now uncharacteristically quiet. But Hiccup had promised he would tell, so...

"What's this one?!" Ruffnut asked. Not having lost her curiosity just yet, she wanted to continue this interrogation as she poked at what once must've been a large gash on his right side, where his ribs were.

"That one I got from an axe, believe it or not! Got in over my head with some Dragon Hunters back when this one guy called Krogan was still alive. He was... a very cruel man. Said that, if I wanted to live like a dragon, I needed to be put down like a dragon. But I survived! So that's good!" Hiccup was slightly hesitant as he answered. His apprehension grew when he watched true horror appear on the faces of even the twins.

Suddenly, listening to Hiccup talk about several different incidents that each lead to horrific injury after horrific injury wasn't as appealing anymore.

Hiccup thought to himself that it was a good thing he wasn't naked, or they would've seen some other disfigurements he was still hiding.

Tuffnut raised his finger, as if he wanted to speak, but then lowered it again. It seemed like even he had enough by now. Hiccup wasn't kidding when he promised he was ready to tell them everything they wanted to know. And there were still quite a few scars they hadn't asked about.

Such as that thin vertical line on the right side of his abdomen. It wasn't all that short either. There were those odd spots on his lower back that looked like burns, but who knew what could cause a pattern such as that.

The Riders looked at one another, a look of new understanding on each of their faces.

Thinking of this lost Berkian as some crazy feral vigilante dragon-man had always been fun. After the years away, having fully devoted himself to dragons, he had adopted many draconic mannerisms. It was kooky, but amusing. As for the power he showed in battle, he and Toothless were like their own two-man army, you'd be an absolute fool to stand in their way. When he had first returned to Berk, they had been blown away by how much he had grown.

But now the Riders understood the kind of toll achieving such a strength and loyalty had on Hiccup, the pain he must've endured in his solo career as the Dragon Rider.

He had his dragons and they used their claws and fiery breath to keep him safe, but he didn't have any humans around. Each new injury Hiccup had to tend to himself, no matter how life-threatening.

He had human allies, such as the Defenders and the Wingmaidens, but they were never around. They didn't travel as much or as far as Hiccup did. In this manner, Hiccup was almost like their scout, their eyes in places they could not see. In return, they were a safe haven Hiccup was always welcome in, but couldn't always reach.

So Astrid figured the question she was about to ask was a fair one. Considering all their friend had gone through already in his short life, she didn't feel like she could rest easy without knowing that he was okay.

She came to stand before him while everyone else had moved away, her hand ghosting over a considerably large gash on his front that could only be caused by another dragon. It was another horrible tale, another stain on what they thought for so long had been a happy-go-lucky life without any care, stress, or worry. It would remain untold until the day the Riders got the heart to learn more.

Hiccup pushed himself back up on his feet, brows furrowed in concern.

"Hiccup... Are you sure you won't come back to Berk with us? Come back home? For good?" It was quiet at the hot spring. By now, they had all forgotten why they had come here in the first place. Something about going swimming and reconnecting with someone from their childhood.

Hiccup didn't know what to say as this question was asked. His gaze traveled to look at the others and he could see that they shared this sentiment with her. They wanted him to move back to Berk with them, permanently, and leave the home he had built here.

Some of these injuries were received after Hiccup had first returned to Berk. He could've been out there fighting with them, injured, and they would have no idea. He could've been suffering from fevers and infections while they had been in their cozy homes, enjoying the company of friends and family, of people with opposable thumbs who could help should trouble ever arise.

Tonight had been a revealing one for them.

But Hiccup already knew his answer.

"I... can't."

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

Later that evening, with the moon high in the sky, Hiccup sat on the ledge of the entrance to the den he shared with Toothless, a knee pulled up to his chest.

It was a considerably sized cave in the side of a mountain that they found when they had first come to this island. There were very clear signs of both a dragon and a human living here. While it stayed mostly untouched, there was a large stone slab covered with piles of fur, there was a wall covered in paper with sketches and blueprints, there was a desk filled with parts and tools, and so much more.

It was quite high up from the base and the way there was steep too. Without a flying reptile for a best bud, it was hard to reach. That is what made it so perfect.

Fully clothed again, Hiccup had retreated here after a very tense dip in one of the hot springs with his human friends. Not feeling like sleeping yet, at night he was usually awake after having grown accustomed to Toothless' way of life, he was instead staring up to the sky and the stars.

He contemplated the events of the day, the things he'd said, and the Riders' reaction to them.

He thought he was doing the right thing by telling them all they wanted to know. He kept his life the past five years mostly hidden even when the others had come, he thought finally coming clean would strengthen their bond as the Dragon Riders. Instead, he got them to worry for him.

Honestly, he had never realized just how hard life had been on him. Even with all physical reminders blemishing his skin.

Toothless dropping his head heavily on Hiccup's lap pulled him out of his thoughts. It had been done on purpose. He crooned in question and looked up to his Rider.

When he only smiled and then proceeded to stroke the top of the dragon’s head, Toothless figured a more direct approach was needed to get Hiccup to talk.

So he picked his Rider up and all but threw him off the ledge and into their shared den. Hiccup landed with a grunt. Dragons weren't known for their gentle nature. Especially when they happened to have a close of a bond as Hiccup and Toothless had and regularly played rough with each other.

“Toothless!” Hiccup rubbed his backside.

The Night Fury gazed at him and roared in protest. It was his way of asking him what was up.

Hiccup let out a sigh as he crossed his legs. Toothless moved closer to sit down in front of him. He was quite a bit bigger than the human. Hiccup looked like he was contemplating something and Toothless wasn't pushing him. He knew his Rider would tell him when he was ready. There was hardly anything the two kept from each other, even during times when what they wanted to say to the other could not be said.

Hiccup looked up to his best friend.

"I think I did something bad, Bud. It's- it's nothing serious. I was... I was just thinking."

Toothless gave him a look and seemed to be saying "when you think it's always serious." It was an expression Hiccup often saw.

"Okay, fair point. I guess." Hiccup shrugged.

“I-I... You knew they wanted me to join them at the hot springs, right? They asked me about my scars and- and it made them really worried for my safety and..." He grew silent again and swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Do you, um... Do you think we should go back to Berk, Bud?” Hiccup finally spoke what was on his mind. Toothless cocked his head to one side.

“I-I mean, we only went back because of Viggo. And then we kept coming back whenever they needed us and-and then whenever there was a celebration or a holiday and they asked us to come... And then the Riders decided to come live here and see things from my perspective… And...” He let out a deep sigh and looked back up to his dragon, who gazed back at him with a look of understanding. He was allowing him to let it all out first.

"We have it good here, Bud. We worked so hard on this place. We can't just leave it behind."

Toothless gave him a look and a purr. With his nose, he dove underneath Hiccup's tunic to nudge the long scar on his abdomen and Hiccup's sighed deeply. Another one he hadn't told the Riders about and it didn't have such a lovely tale either. It was the one Astrid had not dared to touch.

It was caused by a Skrill they once had a scuffle with. She had been exceptionally cruel, like a dragon version of Krogan, and had come to their island in search of trouble. She had come specifically to challenge Hiccup and Toothless, this pack's alphas.

The Night Fury and the Rider won, but it had been a terrifying battle. She had been big, strong, and relentless. The fight had not ended well for her, much to Hiccup's regret. Though, he knew she left them no choice.

Hiccup was beginning to realize nearly every scar's story was a scary one. Toothless was right, the Dragon Riders did have a reason to worry for him. Hiccup knew he would've if any of them got hurt as often as he did.

He pulled a knee up to his chest and wrapped an arm around it. He looked off to the side.

He shook his head.

"No, we can't leave. This is my home, Toothless. It's our home. I-I can't leave." Toothless was comfortable with that answer and he wasn't about to argue with Hiccup. Whether on Berk or here, he wanted to be wherever Hiccup wanted to be.

That was wherever he was the most comfortable and it was clear he wasn't ready yet to return to the human settlement he was born and raised in.

Hiccup's history with fellow humans was not a good one. Toothless knew this.

He brushed with his cheek against Hiccup's as an approving gesture. Hiccup smiled. He could count on Toothless for anything.

"I'm gonna go to bed, Bud. I'm beat." As if on cue, Hiccup let out a loud yawn. After getting used to Toothless' sleeping schedule, trying to stay up during most of the day for his Riders and then the night for his dragon was proving to be a difficult feat. He was tired, exhausted. For once, he longed for his bed.

Toothless seemed to agree. As Hiccup got up to his feet, the dragon pushed him forward with the flat of his head. The former chuckled as he made his way over to the furs and promptly dropped down on top of them on his back.

Lifting his leg, Hiccup undid his prosthetic before moving further up on the pile to curl up and Toothless, who had been staying up together with him, wrapped himself around the other. He was tired as well.

Hiccup smiled up to the Night Fury and received a lick on the entire right side of his face. He groaned, but it didn't wipe his grin away as he wiped the slobber off. Grabbing Toothless' chin, Hiccup briefly touched Toothless' forehead with his own and the latter closed his eyes and purred. It was their good night and their good morning.

Rolling back onto his other side, Hiccup rested his head on his arm.

He tried to close his eyes so he could sleep, but found that something was keeping him awake. Smile replaced by a frown, he couldn't stop thinking about his evening with the Riders.

He wanted to stay, he really did. This island was his home, a place for both him and his dragons where they would all be safe. It was high up, a place only those with wings could reach.

And yet, something was nagging at him. Something was bothering him and he wasn't quite sure what.

It wasn't necessarily moving back to Berk that troubled him. He wasn't so keen on doing so, but it wasn't his main concern.

Was it the realization that his life, so far, had been difficult?

He feared water because of the sheer amount of times he had nearly drowned so far. He still avoided many human settlements and even contact for all his bad experiences with them. Berk, at some point, included. His friends even compared him to a "very skittish dragon" when they thought he wasn't around to hear it. It was true that, for as much as Hiccup trusted the Riders, he was still often cautious around them.

Rolling onto his other side to face Toothless, Hiccup scooted up to him. Without a single word spoken, the Night Fury wrapped himself tighter around him. He was already half asleep, but Hiccup coming closer wasn't lost on him.

Once comfortable, Hiccup figured he should follow his lead, and yet he still found sleep to be much too far away, in spite of his exhaustion.

He didn't want to go back to Berk, he really didn't. But this wasn't his first sleepless night, even with Toothless there to keep him safe.

He had to admit, far too many stories had been engraved into both his body and mind.

49 notes · View notes

chaotic-trav · 4 years

Text

Heck,just imagine them going to school right now.Astrid would be the popular girl,the one who's great in sports,the one who knows all the kids,the one who gets invited to parties,the athletic and strong one, who dreams of being a sports teacher one day,the one who would punch the daylights out of those boys who dared to flirt with her,the one who wouldn't take anything from anyone,she would be the queen bee if the school,every guy would have a crush on her.She would be a disaster at cooking(yaknog is proof of that)and art.But at the end if the day she would still be kind and caring and would never let her reputation make her someone she dosen't want to, if she can help it.She would probably have alot of friends but would worry of all of them are actually for real or not,she would probably ignore Hiccup at first because she had a reputation to keep but when it would come down to doing the right thing or protecting her reputation, you can bet that she would choose the right thing.Those two would still have a lot in common like the fact that they are both pretty smart and sarcastic and pass all of their test with an A or A plus,at least a B,and would always be fighting for the second position since Fishlegs would always be first.Hiccup on the other hand would be the total opposite,he would be that weird guy who always sits at the back of the class,not to talk but to avoid his bullies,he would be super nerdy and would like to spend all his free time in the library or in one of his clubs,he would be the one who loves to donate money to charity.He would be great at cooking and art.He would also be filthy rich,since he would be the mayor's son,but you would never hear him brag about that,instead he would probably get bullied for being such a screw-up and fishbone when his father was such an accomplished man,he would probably have a pretty strained relationship with his dad as well.But he would still be the kind, gentle,sarcastic,sassy,insecure,funny,dorky Hiccup we all know and love.

Just bear with me and imagine,Its their senior year,Snotlout and the twins are picking on him for being such a disappointment to his father,Astrid coming to his aid. Hiccup saying his thanks,offering Astrid coffee as an repayment for her kindness.Astrit telling him that it was the right thing to do and nobody would have just stood and let him be bullied,but she accepted his offer,Hiccup telling that she was wrong and that if anyone else had seen that they would have encouraged Snotlout to continue.This would have probably caused Astrid to be shocked,abd asking Hiccup why he would think in such a way, Hiccup swiftly telling her that it happened on a daily basis.This would probably raise many questions,and by the time they reach the cafe,owned by Dagur the Deranged Astrid is wondering why she hadn't noticed this boy before.She immediately apologizes for not noticing him and Hiccup just shrugging it off with a"Why would you notice a guy like me anyway?".Astrid lightly punching his shoulder and telling him that he seemed like a great guy and he shouldn't be so hard on himself.Hiccup just replying with a sarcastic comment.They keep chatting for a while.Hiccup insisting on walking Astrid home,Astrud giving him her number,telling him to call her later.This causes a new friendship and they both realize that they have many things in common,their sass, sarcasm and stubbornness for example.Astrid falling for this nerdy and dorky guy,while Hiccup always liked Astrid.The school being shocked at the unusual friendship those two have.Some even begin to ship those two.All the bullies backing off once they realize that Astrid is ready to kill anyone who harms Hiccup.Hiccup's relationship with his dad starts to improve and Astrid seems to have a great relationship with Stoick,who is the biggest Huccstrid shipper alive(the man even has a Hiccstrid shirt).Astrid meeting Gobber Hiccup's crazy godfather,who Hiccup seems to have a weird but pretty good relationship with,who also not all subtley asks when they are gonna bang,which causes both of them to blush and tell him they are just friends.Hiccup and Astrid both the biggest fans alive for the movie How to train your dragon.Astrid meets Hiccup's cat Toothless,at first they are both wary of each other but they soon warm up to each other.Hicvup meeting Stormfly Astrid's parrot,and they both immediately like each other,unlike Toothless and Astrid.

Then a fire happens.Hiccup's cat Toothless gets stuck and Hiccup rushes to save him.He success but loses the lost part of his left leg.Astrid finding out and immediately rushing to the hospital.Astrid finding out that Hiccup is unconscious and has list his lower left leg,Astrid crying and realizing that she loves Hiccup.Finally Hiccup wakes up,he's devasted to find out about his left leg. Astrid coming to visit him,punchimg his shoulder,scolding him to her scare her like that again,Hiccup sassing back that go just got up and he has enough injuries and didn't need another one,which instantly lightens up the mood.Astrid keeps visiting him straight from school,bringing her schoolwork along and keeping Hiccup up to date with both the schoolwork and the gossip.Hiccup getting out of the hospital,walking on crutches for a while,he also takes intensive therapy.Astrud getting him through the days when he's feeling hopeless or feeling as if he doesn't deserve to live or he's not a man because he lost his leg.Astrid being there for him,comforting him,being his strength.And Hiccup does the same for her,he gets her though her worst days,he reminds her that she's a wonderful person when she feels insecure.He also reminds Astrid that he will always be there for her making her feeling cared for.The school losing their mind watching those two oblivious people be so blind to each other's feelings,when it's cleared day they belong together.

Then comes graduation,both of them pass with great marks and are going to the same university.They go to a cliffside after graduation,abd watch the sunset,and in that moment Astrid confesses her feelings and Hiccup tells her he has felt that way for her for a long time.As the sun sets they both kiss and that is how they start dating.They both accomplish their dreams,and end up married,with Hiccup as an engineer and Astrid the sports teacher of Berk High. They gave two kids named Zephyr and Nuffink

That's all.Thank you for taking the time of day to read my useless cliche garbage.I don't even know what possessed me to write this,and I doubt that I will ever know.Anyway thank you to whoever is reading this.

HICCSTRID UNTIL THE END.

14 notes · View notes

jloves-pp · 4 years

Text

The Story of Merida and Hiccup- prologue and part 1

Once. In Scotland, a Great War began between the Scottish and the Vikings. A Viking tribe called the Hairy Hooligans, led by their new chef. Stoick the Vast sailed to find a new home away from the dragons that plagued their land of Berk. At the time the clans of Scotland weren't on good terms, attacking each other so the Vikings thought they could come in and build their new homes, without the Scots knowing but they found them, the clans bonded together and fought the Vikings off. The Scottish clans cheered as the Vikings left on their boats, Stoick filled with rage, promised that he would return and finish what he'd started, once and for all. This battle united the Clans and they made the leader of Clans DunBroch, Fergus their King. The Clans were wary but time passed and the Vikings and the Hooligans did not return. Even if the Scots and Vikings paths never crossed, the hatred was still there and they would tell tales making the other heartless, violent monsters. Things may have still been this way but fate had other ideas.

Chapter 1-the Viking and the Princess

"And even if our spirits were crush, even if our bones ache, Stoick stood at the end of ship and told those barbarians. "I, Stoick the Vast will have my revenge on the lot of you. Once and for all"

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third sat by a table as Gobber was told young children about the tale of his dad's battle with the Scots in the great hall.

He disliked this story ever since he was little, he won't sure why. Maybe because what he went toward this himself.

A soft groan made Hiccup smile and turned to his best friend, Toothless. The dragon smiled back before they continued watching Gobber.

"Yeah, that happened before I was born, it about my dad and the other Vikings travelling to Scotland. I don't think I ever went there"

"You did, when you were five" Hiccup and Toothless turned and looked behind them to see Hiccup's dad, Stoick. "It was your first trip outside Berk, I remember it well, mostly because you were seasick but you did managed to over it before we returned home"

"Yeah, I think I remember the last day at sea" Hiccup commented.

The big Viking chuckled before continuing "Well we never went near any shores that the Scots could spot us" he then noticed Gobber and the children had already leaved the hall. "It's getting late, time from bed"

It had been some months since Hiccup first met the Night Fury, the Vikings and Dragons now lived in harmony. Well as Vikings and Dragons could. Hiccup and his dad's relationship change for the better. In the past, Hiccup wanted to show Stoick and the other Vikings that he could be one of them but no matter what he did, it went wrong one way or another and the worst part was Stoick disappointed in him. That changed one night when Hiccup shout down a dangerous dragon, he found it and plan to kill it but he wouldn't do it. He released and befriended the dragon who his named Toothless. For a long time, Hiccup kept Toothless hidden pretty well but it didn't last long. His dad was more than angry and took Toothless away, they ten proved themselves by saving the Vikings and defeating a huge dragon called the Red Death. Hiccup and Toothless brought peace to their home.

They didn't have to walk far to their home. Hiccup could feel that his dad was bothered by something.

"Dad, when did we and the Scots began enemies? Hiccup asked.

"Actually, no one really knows now. It happened decades ago" Stoick sighed before adding "but what I try to do become one of losses of life" He said seriously clutching his thirst, even though it was terrible, he know the worst day of his life was.

"Dad, the past is the past. We move on, they've probably move on too." Hiccup explained.

"I know but it was a blow to my reputation, it made me question myself, if I was good enough as a leader but this war go beyond that, it's gone on for decades, you'll understand when you're older" Stoick told his son.

Hiccup looked over to Toothless who had a concerned as Stoick opened the door to their home. Stoick still had his Stoick moments but it's hasn't less and he and Hiccup become closer. Stoick listened to his son and he could talk without expecting much.

"Oh, I've got something for you son" Stoick said more cheerfully as Hiccup and Toothless was half way up the stairs. They came back down as Stoick opened his hand to reveal a wooden circle with curved design of a dragon, held by a string.

"I find this when it was looking for my axe" Stoick explained as Hiccup and Toothless looked at the necklace.

"Well it's...its nice and...ur it's interesting" Hiccup managed to ask while his dragon sniffed it.

"It was your mother's" Stoick then said which made both Hiccup and Toothless look up at him. Hiccup didn't know much about his mother, so finding something that had belonged to her was a big deal. "I gave her this when I ask her to marry me. And now, I want me to have it" and he placed this treasure into his son's hand. Hiccup looked closer at the wooden pendant; he slowly ran his hand around it. The pendant was definitely a better gift than the helmet.

"Thanks dad" he then said giving his dad a warm smile.

Stoick smiled in return before saying "Well I hope you will give to Astrid, I probably...

"Oh dad, me and Astrid, we're just friends" Hiccup quickly said.

"Oh," his dad replied clearly confused "I just though you two..."

"I know, I had a crush on her and she did kiss me but I don't want to rush into anything right now" the young Viking explained rubbing his neck nervously.

"Oh that's understandable" Stoick said but Hiccup could hear a bit of disappointment in his voice.

Hiccup heard a loud yawn; he could see Toothless was getting tried. "Ready for bed, aren't you bud" Hiccup said gently stoking his best friend's head.

"Well see you two in the morning, night son, night Toothless" Stoick said before turning and heading to his room.

"Good night dad" Hiccup said as he and his dragon climbed the stairs to Hiccup's room.

The young Viking laid on his bed, he looked over to the night fury who that was falling asleep. He kept looking at the necklace in his hand, rubbing the grooves. He wouldn't sure why but the story of the war still linger in his mind, now there was peace here and the Scots never attack them, so why was his father still thinking about it?

"Maybe in a few years, he'll let it go and think of the here and now" Hiccup thought to himself. He then put the necklace safe in his fur vest and soon he too was fast asleep.

At the same time in Scotland. The kingdom of DunBroch was winding down; many people were getting ready to bed down for the night. In the castle, the royal family were enjoying a story before bed. King Fergus was telling his four children about his and the other clans victory over the Vikings.

"...and soon they retreated back to their ships, we cheered till are lungs hurt" Fergus said lifted his sword as he spoke.

The children were dressed in their nightgowns, they all enjoyed the stories their dad told them. His tales were full of exciting fights, about far of landed and terrifying beasts. The triplets, Hamish, Hubert and Harris were sitting cross legged, grinning from ear to ear as they listened. Their older sister, Merida had her arms around her legs, picturing it all in her head. Queen Elinor listened along, while she sat sewing in a chair behind her children.

"Of course their leader vowed that he'll get revenge but we never heard of them again" Fergus continued putting the sword against the wall.

"Then what happened?" Merida asked.

"Well, we feasted for weeks and made the peace treaty between the clans and we never had any problems" her dad said.

"Never dear?" Elinor then added with a knowing smile to her husband.

"Ok, we're not perfect but we're trying" Fergus said chuckling slightly.

"And now, it's time for bed" Elinor then said, this was followed by groans from her children.

"Oh mum, it's too early" Merida said before letting out a loud yawn.

"It's about at this time you should all be asleep" her mum said helping Merida up as Fergus carried the boys in his arms and shoulders. As Fergus went to put the boys to bed, Merida and Elinor headed to Merida's bedroom.

"Right, in you go" Elinor said merrily after she pulled away the sheets away on Merida's bed.

"Oh mum, I'm not five anyone" Merida pointed out but has to smile when she heard her mum chuckle softly.

Months ago, both mother and daughter weren't as close as they were now. Both wanted different things, Merida wanted her freedom and enjoy her hobbies like riding and archery while Elinor wanted her daughter to be an ideal princess and future Queen. Things became worse when Elinor told Merida that at the Highland games, suitors will try and win her hand in marriage. On the day, Merida found a way out of this arrangement by picking archery and winning her own hand. Her mum was furious and the two had a huge fright. The princess found a witch and got a spell, hoping it would change her mums mind but the spell ended up transforming her into a bear. After escaping the castle, Elinor and Merida grew closer as they search for a cure. Meanwhile King Fergus and the other clansmen did try to kill Elinor (the bear) and the demon bear Mor'du. Mother and daughter broken the spell and their bond was mended.

"Mum, have you ever met a Viking?" Merida asked as she watched her mum pulled the curtains closed.

"Thankfully no, I was far away from that fright. Pregnant with you, actually" Elinor replied "and I hope I never have to deal with them, ever"

"Well, I happen to think it would be exciting meeting a Viking" Merida admitted, putting her weapons away.

"Merida!" her mum said in surprised and turned to her daughter. "They evil, heartless barbecues who care for no one but themselves"

"Mum, you know I face evil monsters before, I think I can handle one of those" the princess protested, folding her arms.

"I know you can, you probably scare them off with your skills and fiery Highland spirit" Elinor commented which brought a smile to both of their faces.

"Well now. Tomorrow, the MacGuffin clan are visiting so please don't get mud on your dress again" Elinor joked as she Merida climbed into her bed. Elinor notices a sad look on Merida's face.

"Merida, what's wrong? Is this about the recent news?"

The redhead sighed and tried to find the right words.

"I'm happy for Young MacGuffin that he met someone, Penelope sounds like a nice girl" she explained sitting up against her headboard.

Elinor knew what she was talking about. The queen broke the tradition for marriage so that Merida and others could marry for love. Since then, Merida's former suitors had moved on from trying to win Merida's heart. First, Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall told her that they didn't have romantic feelings for her and now, Young MacGuffin had a girlfriend. Merida was fine just being friends but she felt a bit disappointed and she didn't know why.

"You think you won't found love" Elinor softly uttered. Merida didn't want to talk about it but since the bear incident, they became closer than before. The two were able to sit down and talk easily about personal and everyday things. They also enjoyed going out riding together some days.

"Maybe" Merida murmured then added "but it's not like I'm looking for thing. I'm perfectly happy without it"

Elinor took a moment to think what to say; of course her teenage daughter wasn't the romantic daydreaming kind of girl. She was happy being wild and free rather than being someone's wife but lately Elinor could sends that Merida had become curious about it even know she won't wouldn't admitted it.

"Merida, love isn't just for marriage. There's love for your family, your home, even friendship like you and Angus is love" Elinor explained. Merida couldn't help but chuckle when her mum mentioned her horse. "You have all the love in the world already"

"You're right mum, I have love. I don't need to look for it" Merida said smile up in her mum which she returned.

"Trust me, yes who know? Love may found you, when you least expect it. Now time for sleep" now with that, the princess lay back as her mum pulled the cover over her, kiss her head and blew out the candle. "Good night Merida" she whispered.

"Good night mum" Merida said replied before her mum gently closed the door behind her. Merida thought over her words for a moment before her fell fast asleep.

#mericcup #Merida #hiccup #how to train your dragon #brave #fanfic

15 notes · View notes

christinethethunnus · 5 years

Text

So..back from watching HTTYD 3...

(I respect everyone who loved it and cried during watching it, so if you loved it a lot, I recommend on not reading this post.)

(Contains entire plot of movie including personal criticism.)

And I didn’t really like it. I thought the visuals were good, but the plot and motivations were really weak compared to the previous movies and there was a lot of weird stuff in there that was just unnecessary or actually relevant.

My main problem with is it’s just too predictable. Movies can be predictable, and maybe because this is the last movie of a trilogy I might have gotten too hyped up. But if you’re going to make it be predictable, then add actually good conflict or good dialogue. But the dialogue is so cliched like, How are your plans on conquering the world going? You’re the one who changed me, I will destroy everything and everyone you love MUHAHAHAHHA Our home is not only this place we live on, it’s us and something like that.

And am I the only one who thought the writers were gonna go with Tuffnut is actually gay for Hiccup route? I know he’s an annoying character, but the way he’s always bringing up

is Hiccup’s getting married to Astrid, is he not gonna get married to her, he’s gonna help out with him, talks about a lot about Hiccup, overly agreeing with everything he does and the weird smashing Hiccup into his ‘beard’

was really disturbing in my opinion. I don’t get why Tuffnut’s there.

Snotlout likes Valka now. Yeah, wasn’t okay at all with that. And he still has inferiority issues, now with Eret. Which was resolved in the end with Hiccup’s mom going like hey, I think you have better brains than Eret, which means we have possible chemistry and this is NOT OKAY TO ME. Snotlout never had any scene which would make her say that, and why would she even show any interest to someone at a similar age to her son?

I have no idea how Snotlout’s character development is like in the tv series, but writers, if you’re gonna use that as a character trait, can’t you just have it actually be relevant to the story and build up the guy to be an actual character than a stereotypical stupid bully jerk who now likes the MAIN CHARACTER’S MOM???

And the villain.

This guy. I forgot what his name was after I came out watching it, so I just found it’s Grimmel, Grimmel the Grisly. Okay. You claim to have killed all of the Night Furies. How did you know you killed all of them? Did you like count all of the N.Fs and then started killing them off one by one? Did you do the same with the Light Furies? Does NightLight Furies live outside of the Hidden world and that’s why you could count all of them?

How does Valka know the Night Furies were all killed too? If He’s a dragon ‘hunter’ why didn’t Valka, who were protecting the dragons like Hiccup, not know who he is and have methods to defend against him? Was she just protecting dragons who lived in a certain range of land?

I really thought Grimmel was going to turn out as the ‘Anti-Hiccup’, someone who Hiccup could have been, challenging Hiccup physically and psychologically. He could have threatened to destroy Berk with the help of his conqueror friends, he says he’s a hunter but Hiccup and his friends and viking guys just chill on the island.

At that scene when Grimmel’s like ‘can’t you guess where they must have gone’(evil guy face), I was thinking that this guy knows EVERY PLAN THAT’S GOING ON IN HICCUP’S BRAIN OMG DON’T CAMP IN THAT ISLAND YOU GUYS ARE DOOMED but no, they have to tail Ruffnut, who was accidentally left behind, to find the actual location wayyyyyy later on. Great tracking skills, I’m so impressed.

I can’t help but think the writers went the easy route because they didn’t want to take risks and disappoint or shock the kids that would watch the movies, but you’ve already taken risks in the first and second movies with Hiccup’s leg and Stoick’s death, the viewers have grown up with the movies, so why are you going backwards all of a sudden? Not to mention this being the end of the trilogy so I can’t expect that the next one will be better than this one.

My final rant is a plot I wrote right after I came back from watching it yesterday, contains the entire plot of the movie, I didn’t change the final half completely because I had to rest after all that 3D and moving chairs, just added ideas which I thought could have been in some scenes. It’s not great, some scenes could be cliche too, but it’s what I wished could have been. I haven’t watched the entire TV series, so please put that into consideration.

(I didn’t write Grimmel’s name because I forgot what it was at the time when I was writing this down, but I think bad guy’s enough for his current characterization and you could add any name in it if you wanted, I also forgot how you call the people of Berk and just wrote vikings instead. There’s no full dialogue scenes either, just some gibberish lines.)

Hiccup and gang saves the dragons, and returns to Berk.

Berk is overpopulated by dragons and humans, and while managing to co-exist with them, are having problems like the dragons consuming too many fish, serious arson, and some of the vikings (including Gobber) are interested in plundering other villages with their dragons, because that’s what VIKINGS DO.

The giant dragon knocks down the towers which served as houses for the dragons, and they need a place to stay, and the newcomer dragons end up barging into the Vikings’ houses, being not accustomed to the rules. The alpha, Toothless, tries to control them, but the damage is done.

So, Hiccup is forced to look for a haven for some of the dragons to stay beyond Berk, which he recalls the memory of his dad, and the stories of the ‘Hidden World of Dragons.’ And while he wants to work on looking for that, Hiccup is chief, and can’t leave the village like he used to while Stoick was around. Hiccup also addresses that they’ll have to do something about the dragon hunters and their plans to use the dragons as weapons, and same scene with Gobber, him saying that one day Hiccup will meet his match.

(Scene with the Conquerors, showing them training dragons to be brutal killers and detailed plans of weaponizing them) appearance of the bad guy, he doesn’t look menacing, thin and has the appearance of a weasel. Is irked at the mentioning of ‘dragon riders’, and follows similarly to movie scene. (shows his power of DARTS by immobilizing a big dragon)

Snotlout, claiming to be second in charge, leaves with Astrid, (and the dragons) and he brags about how dismayed she must be to lose such a guy like him (Astrid ignores him), and continues to fantasize about Hiccup’s mom.

Astrid: (disgusted, scoffs) she’s like the same age as your mom

Snotlout: and more awesome, thinner and beautiful...... (A:ugh)

Snotlout mumbles about her probably preferring Eret, and they talk over Snotlout feeling inferior and wanting to get compensation from being adored by stronger women. (like Valka or Astrid) Astrid points out he can’t fill in that gap by getting married to the previous chief’s wife, he has to prove himself actually being courageous (S:Which I am!) They go through clouds, and is astonished.

(black screen, transitions to Berk)

Toothless tries to play with Hiccup, but he’s burdened by his chief duties and can’t spend time with his bud. Pouting, Toothless leaves the hut and catches the scent of the Light Fury and searches for her, meeting in the forest. They have a moment, but she flies away, and Toothless looks at his prosthetic tail with resent, and looks back to the sky with longing.

(Transition to hidden island in the clouds)

Snotlout and Astrid arrive on the island, and finds it good enough to hide the dragons in it, and the dragons find refuge in the woods. Snotlout announces all is done and they should leave, but Astrid decides to explore the island, and draws it on pieces of paper. Snotlout questions what she’s doing, and Astrid answers it’s for Hiccup’s map. S comments on when she’s so become like Hiccup, and she comments,

Yeah, I never saw it coming. (Astrid smiles as she continues to draw, when suddenly she spots the Light Fury in the sky, and hurriedly draws it on another paper.)

Done with work, Hiccup sighs as he finally comes out, and sees Toothless, and asks whether his bud wants to get some flying with him. Toothless looks depressed, and trips Hiccup with his prosthetic tail.

“Aw, come on, what you’d do that for?” (Toothless:growls) and Hiccup is slightly worried about him. Astrid arrives with Snotlout, their mission accomplished, and Snotlout announces that HE’S seen a NEW NIGHT FURY, ONLY WHITE BUT NEW AND IT WAS HE WHO FOUND IT SO HE’LL NAME IT- Astrid comes over to Hiccup, and hands over the drawing, and that it disappeared while being chased by other dragons she’s never seen before.(the bad guy’s dragons.) She comments on them being very hostile, and that they were trying to force the L.Fury to come with them. Toothless listens to them talking, and makes enthusiastic motions at the mentioning of the Light Fury (also named by Astrid)

(transition to Valka) she talks about how the Night furies went extinct (memory scene) she was looking for other dragons which were going extinct, and comes across the bad guy’s lair which had skull upon skull of all kinds of dragons, and mostly Night and Light furies. And since she could communicate with dragons she never heard of them recalling on seeing another Night Fury, so assumed they had gone extinct. (Fishlegs adding that the last records of N,Furies were made of patches of writings from decades ago, so it was unclear whether they went extinct or not)

After listening to Valka, Hiccup is delighted at the idea of finding a new dragon, and wants to go and find it. Some of the Vikings are interested in having another Night fury to protect them, which they could use in their pillaging villages.(Viking stuff) Hiccup is still against using dragons as weapons, (H: They are our family) and Gobber counters, We are already using them to make weapons, you, are doing it as well, Hiccup. (H:But not to harm other humans-) But you are no Dragon. It’s high time you chose the side where you want to rule over.

And Hiccup notices most of the things he did was to assist in humans living a better life with dragons than actually trying to solve the problems the villagers had. He wonders whether he just took the place of chief just to not disappoint his father. Hiccup turns to talk with Toothless to collect his thoughts, but he’s not there, and Hiccup feels more alone and burdened than ever.

Toothless is absent during the previous scene, as he hears distress calls from afar and looks for the Light Fury. He can’t fly, but can glides down and climbs trees to look for her, and finds her hurt and afraid, injured by the bad guy’s dragons. (same scene like the movie, tries to court her, but fails, tries again, but fails, and then succeeds with the drawing.) and when she tries to get more close, she’s shot by the evil guy’s dart, and Toothless is captured in a trap. He calls a distress call, which orders all of the dragons on Berk, who goes to save him, and the Vikings including Hiccup notice this. Before Toothless is taken, Hiccup arrives on the back of another dragon, and Hiccup encounters his enemy for the first time, but the guy flies away with his dragons.

(transition to dart scene) Eret explains who the bad guy is, calls him ‘The Dragonslayer’ who was rumored to have killed all of the Night Furies. which connects to Valka’s story of the dragon skeleton heap. Eret adds, that if the conquerors have called upon the bad guy, then they must be ready for another attack. The Vikings call on war with the conquerors and the Dragonslayer, and they’ll use their dragons to crush them. Against the idea, Hiccup tries to say they could work things out without fighting, but he is reminded by Snotlout (Valka winces) how that turned out a year ago. He looks for Astrid to support, but she agrees with Snotlout, saying that she can’t lose him too. Not a second time. And she glances at his prosthetic leg. [which H notices, and understands]

The crowd over agreeing or disagreeing on war, and Hiccup bellows Enough!

He asks to give him some time, he’ll work something out, and goes into his hut. (opens his map and Stoick’s book about the Hidden world.

(same scene with the bad guy)(the bad guy’s dragons circle around Hiccup, threatening him, drooling venom)they have a talk about how the guy became a hero by killing a night Fury, (Hiccup is reminded of himself

in the first movie) Hiccup claims the dragons are harmless, and can live along with humans, as he has proven with Berk,

But the bad guy retorts, then why can’t the other Vikings exist with the dragons, if they are so harmless? Why didn’t the people of Berk co-exist with dragons before Hiccup, although they must have had so many chances to?

Hiccup: Because they went the easy way of trying to kill them off.

B.G: Exactly. And how wrong is that? You don’t seriously think dragons to be equal to you? Just because they are big lizards that breathe fire and can fly? You wouldn’t befriend flies even if they had grown to the size of a horse, you kill them. same with dragons.

Hiccup tries to ignore the bad guy’s words, claiming he’s nothing but a cold blooded murderer, and the bad guy says he killed dragons for humans, and was therefore hailed a hero among men. Just like Stoick.

“And whose chief were you again? Hiccup, Savior of Dragons?”

Suddenly, Astrid hacks into the hut with Stormfly, which smelled the dragons’ venom. She saves Hiccup (and asleep Toothless or fake Fishlegs, but then Toothless comes to save Hiccup with Astrid)

and the bad guy retreats on his dragons, shouting that he will kill off the last Night fury alive, and he will wear their skin as his coat to honor Stoick, the greatest of dragonkillers. If Hiccup dares to stop him, he will destroy Berk. (The hut is burnt down)

Everyone hurridly arrives to see Stoick’s hut burn down, and Astrid pulling Hiccup out, them coughing from the smoke.

Hiccup says they’re in danger, the bad guy’s going to come for them unless he gives up Toothless and the dragons. The Vikings and Snotlout claim this a proclamation of war, and they leave to prepare for it, and Hiccup tries to stop them, but they don’t listen, and leave off without him. Agitated, he sighs, and leans on a post to think. Astrid comes up to Hiccup, and asks him if he’s okay.

Hiccup: Yeah, probably, on a second…I don’t think so.

She smiles as she gives him the map of the island she (and Snotlout)found.

“I don’t think this is the place you were looking for.. but it’s not half bad. And it’s a new add to your map. “ Hiccup ponders on this information, large, not on the map, and hidden from plain sight.

He calls on the Vikings that they could move on to this Island to hide themselves, and the dragons to hide from the ships that are coming for Berk. Hiccup declares that he cannot lose the soul of Berk which is both this island and the lives of people of it.) Including the dragons.

(same scene with the bad guy and the conquerors) – B.G says he has a plan to find them (Moves off to the island with the dragons.)

(scene with Snotlout and Valka talking about inferiority issues (she says she only loves Stoick, and gives him motherly advice on being warrior like by talking about Stoick)

---(Below are summaries of the scene from the movie, and the ideas I wished it could have been)

*The L.F arrives on the island, Toothless is given the good new tail and goes after her

Hiccup tries to capture the bad guy, falls into obvious trap (Ruffnut captured and annoys the bad guy, he follows her back with the armada)

- Ruffnut talks about everything about the Hiccup Gang, the bad guy could have like used that to harm Astrid and force Hiccup to do his shit or if they’re only eating fish, use some dragon to poison the water and fish so they’ll starve to death. Ever heard of Siege tactics?

*Hiccup tries to find Toothless, finds the hidden world. (Toothless hailed king, Hiccup is saved by Toothless and remembers his dad talking about his mom and getting not married and how love is powerful)

- This could have gone like this, Hiccup and Astrid is attacked by the dragons, and as Hiccup is the intruder, (or he or Astrid accidentally injures a dragon) Toothless shows hostility towards him, (mirrors hostility from first movie), until he recognizes it’s his best friend. Hiccup, who looks upon him with some fear. Toothless tries to look menacing to save face, and ‘kidnaps Hiccup and Astrid’, flying out to the outside world to save his friends.

- and Hiccup has a flashback of his dad, being this dragon killing warrior, and how he too wanted to be like his dad. But despite his fearsome front, he still believed in love and loved his mother.

*Goes back to Berk, only to find that the L.Fury returned with them, she is captured by the bad guy, and Toothless is captured, and the other dragons have to follow their ‘Alpha’ and are caged. Hiccup is distressed, Astrid cheers him up, the gang suit up and glide down to the so conveniently barked enemy ships ALONE and tries to save Toothless (with no plan, just kamikazes into it) - After the bad guy leaves, the Vikings panic on having no ships and stuff and they’re stuck on the island(All of their dragons are gone and nobody notices or panics?? Did the dragons mean nothing to them?)

- Hiccup talks with Astrid about how similar he could have been to the bad guy, whether if the bad guy is actually the true successor of his dad, the dragon slaying warrior. Astrid reminds Hiccup of how he’s changed the lives of Berk for the better by saving and looking for ways to live with dragons, that he’s always been looking for ways for both dragons and humans, and just because everyone doesn’t get Hiccup’s methods deem his work useless. Hiccup being an exception has changed so many lives and destinies, including his dad. And don’t forget it’s him who made Astrid who she is now. Now determined, Hiccup stands.

- (Orders the Vikings to fight for their once friends, and regain the victory of vikings (and Snotlout agrees with him, (maybe he’s finally learned some humiliation and acceptance by then, idk)

- Leads the Vikings all to fly, and they all attack the fleet (surely he has more flying suits...)

*they don’t save Toothless until the last part, saves the other dragons first and destroys ships, and then has fight with bad guy, who flies off with L.Fury and Hiccup follows with Toothless, Toothless zaps the other evil dragons into oblivion, bad guy injures Toothless and Hiccup holds onto the guy and tells L.F to go save Toothless, and he lets go and falls with the bad guy.

Bad guy rips off Hiccup’s wings, and L.F catches Hiccup, Hiccup takes off his prosthetic leg and the guy (holding on to the leg) falls to the ocean and dies(probably) - There could be dialogue in this scene, cliché but cool like if your father could see you now something. Maybe he takes both Astrid and the Light Fury and makes Hiccup choose between the two,

and Hiccup frees the Light Fury, tells her to save Toothless, hands himself over to the bad guy, and chooses to fall to the sea to save Astrid .

“If your father could see you now. Sacrificing the love of your life... and your life for a dragon.”

“He’d be proud.”

[insert Astrid grinning back at Hiccup]

- Astrid attacks the bad guy, who falls from his dragon(or falls with dragon until the dragon gets to his senses and abandons him) and Astrid leaps down to save Hiccup, (she tries to glide but the fall is too great) and they hold onto each other before falling……and then the Light fury catches them. (Give me more Hiccstrid dammit)

(Hiccup chooses to let the dragons go, away from the humans so that they’ll never be used as weapons again)

(I kind of expected the dragons to shut the door to their world and that’s why they can’t meet again, and can’t they just go back to the isle of Berk by making ships? I see no reason for them to not go back home)

*Hiccup lets go of Toothless and the dragons, and gets married with Astrid (best scene with the final fight scene, where they both look at each other and the soundtrack from the first movie oh SO GREAT ) Years pass, Berk has no dragons, and Hiccup and Astrid and their kids go to the end of the world and sees Toothless again, Toothless remembers Hiccup and they ride him and Stormfly and goes off (monologue going on like the dragons are waiting for humans to accept them)

- monologue about Berk, establishing shot with clouds, the first person view being a flying figure, and the viewer sees faint figures which look like dragons flying through the sky. The camera moves through clouds and dives down, showing the new island of Berk, the sea and Viking fleet. - Hiccup leading a fleet with Astrid, they come across a great mist and hear sounds of dragons, but cannot see them. Astrid stands on the front deck with her children, they try to touch the mist as if she’s trying to touch the clouds (homage to first movie) The new generation of vikings are worried of the sounds being a threat, but Hiccup calms them down, and silently waits looking up to the clouds.

Suddenly a black great figure lands on the ship, the children scramble behind Astrid’s back, and she assures them, saying it’s okay.

- Hiccup slowly movies towards the figure, and same scene as in movie, they recognize each other, and the camera shows their expressions (as if they realize something forgotten) and ends with title.

(End)

The bad guy’s plot for my plot (the first half I wrote) , First, make his dragons force the Light Fury to land on Berk to hide herself, and she’ll meet Toothless, and the N.L furies mate for life so they’ll fall for each other. The Light Fury’ll want to find a safe place to not get captured again, so she’ll look for a place to hide with her possible future mate in or out of Berk, but he orders his dragons to injure her, and get her calling for help, forcing Toothless to be more concerned about her. (Making them inseparable) And then it returns back to the movie with him capturing her and then forcing Toothless to be captured and then taking all the dragons in Berk.......................................................................................................................but why doesn’t he force them to lead him to the Hidden world, where he could kill all dragons by blocking the hole and Atlantising them? Why would he let her go in the first place, without any dragon following where she is?? Can he SMELL DRAGON? IS THAT HOW HE CAN TRACK THEM DOWN?? How was he sure that they’d come back after the Light Fury took Toothless back to the H.Word??? This is so confusing and ugh your plans are the worst GRIMMEL THE GRISLY YOUR NAME IS FORGETFUL AND SO IS YOUR TITLE OF DRAGON KILLER GO FOR SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN REMEMBER AFTER HOLDING ONTO MOVING CHAIRS FOR OVER AN HOUR in fact, you are NEVER SHOWN ACTUALLY KILLING A DRAGON, YOU ALWAYS JUST PUT THEM TO SLEEP YOU ARE NOT A DRAGON SLEEP FAIRY

I do think the sub-title ‘The Hidden World’ doesn’t suit this plot, but it doesn’t matter probably. I’m really sad to see it go, but am still joyous to see that wedding scene. I’m happy to have grown up with you, How to Train your Dragon, good bye and farewell.

#rant #httyd3 #whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

3 notes · View notes

howtowhumpyourhiccup · 5 years

Text

Straight Through

Summary: WHUMP. HICCUP WHUMP. Hiccup was mortally wounded during their last battle, so why didn't he die? Immortal!Hiccup AU.

Rating: Teen and Up

Words: 2 432

Author’s Notes: Trying out something new by giving the rating and the amount of words this fic has.

Anyway, enjoy! Constructive criticism is appreciated!

The Dragon Riders found that caring for and loving their leader had come with its fair share of risks and even consequences.

Hiccup Haddock the Third was, by nature, prone to accidents and bad luck. He had been ever since the day of his birth.

Unlucky enough to be born too early, but fortunate enough to have the strength to survive. That was how one could sum up his kind of luck in a single sentence. And no matter how hard he tried to stay safe, which he honestly didn't try as often as he really should, trouble always seemed to find him somehow, someway.

The young Viking and his dragon could leave Berk for a nice relaxing flight and come back with a new declaration of war. It has happened before. It was basically how their war with the Berserkers and with the Dragon Hunters started.

Hiccup cared too much about way too many, he always got involved and in over his head. This lead to him being hurt or even almost killed in the past. More times than any of them were comfortable admitting to.

Through all of this the Dragons and the Riders who loved him deeply each did their part to keep him safe, as he did his to return the favour. They tried their best.

Sometimes their best just wasn't enough.

And now they were in mourning.

There had been a small fleet of leftover Dragon Hunters still preying on dragons to make a profit off even now, long after Viggo Grimborn's empire had crumbled down.

The group of eleven warriors found them through intel from allies and had made their move to end their effort at reviving that kind of business once and for all.

It seemed easy enough, they had fought countless battles like this before. They had faced much worse.

And yet the unexpected still happened.

Hiccup and Toothless, easily the most veteran fliers of the entire group, were downed.

None of them had seen exactly what happened. Hiccup had been giving orders on how to tackle the next ship armed with two powerful ballistas one moment and the next...

The two must've flown too close, because that was when his body jerked violently to one side. Even to the point of almost being thrown out of the saddle and knocking Toothless off course. His shouting had stopped instantly.

The Riders watched Hiccup try to recover by pulling himself back up before slumping forward and losing grip.

When they plummeted, Toothless caught him just in time.

They had crashed on the deck of one of the ships, painfully so, and the Riders had fought hard to get them back.

Once the remaining Hunters were defeated, that's when they could grab the Viking and the Night Fury and bring them to the nearest island they could find, the very one the Hunters had been trying to rob of its dragons. They needed to check up on Hiccup before deciding what needed to be done next. They found a cave in which they could rest. It was then that they were confronted with a cruel discovery.

The reason Hiccup and Toothless went down was to blame on a single arrow buried deep within the Dragon Rider's throat.

It had gone straight through. In one end and out the other. Though the head had broken off at some point it seemed.

Someone had been lucky enough to shoot Hiccup, ironically one of the few lucky enough to down a Night Fury long ago, and this injury he likely wouldn't survive.

There was barely any blood to be seen with the projectile still embedded in the wound, but his windpipe, his oesophagus or even the arteries in his neck, there really wasn't anything the arrow could hit that wasn't important.

It was a lethal shot. Lethal and lucky. It was why Hiccup was now so still.

There was a wide cave nearby where they settled for the night. Though Hiccup lived for now, with that injury he wouldn't last for much longer and no one expected him to make the trip back to the Edge, let alone home. He wouldn't even make it through the night.

Instead of returning to Berk, the Riders decided that all they could do now was to make Hiccup's last minutes, or hour, in this world a comfortable one. Flying would only make him suffer more than he needed to.

Astrid and Snotlout were uncharacteristically quiet as they cut through his armour to remove it without jostling him too much. His brand new prosthetic they left on simply because of how proud he'd been to reveal his newest invention just weeks prior. His gait had steadily improved since using it.

The arrow Fishlegs removed and the injury he dressed with all the care he could muster with his trembling hands. At that point Hiccup already looked so pale and his breathing had become worryingly slow. The blood loss hadn't been too terrible, but it wasn't a reason for hope either.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut provided blankets and something soft to rest his head on. The least they could do was make his passing a peaceful one and it was going to be cold out tonight.

Anytime now, they suspected. Both the Dragons and the Riders sat around him and wondered if Hiccup knew he wasn't alone. Especially with Toothless acting as his protector of this world's evils for one last time, curled up next to him and crooning a most sorrowful song as he gently nudged his cheek and huffed lungfuls of warm air on his hair.

"What do we tell Stoick?" Fishlegs was the first to break the silence since the battle and a new kind of dread settled in their stomachs. As if waiting for one of their best friends to slowly die right in front of their eyes wasn't enough to upset them.

"He's going to be heartbroken." He added and they all knew that to be the truth.

Hiccup and Stoick had their fair share of troubles, as many families did, but that man loved his son more than life itself. He was all that remained of Valka and the only blood-related family he still had left. The Chief had run through blazing fires and fought raging dragons to keep him safe. He had been trying to create a better world for him.

This kind of loss, the cruelty of a parent outliving their child, it might be enough to break him.

If anything could possibly break the one and only Stoick the Vast, this would be it.

Their hearts ached for him now too.

At least it was peaceful, they supposed. That was their sole comfort.

Hiccup was pale and unnervingly still, he simply looked as if he were sleeping. That at least meant he wasn't coughing up blood, crying from the pain, fearing the end or consciously and desperately fighting to draw breath to stay alive.

Knowing Hiccup, that was exactly what he would be doing if he were awake. Exert all of his strength and will for as long as he could for even the slightest chance to survive.

For everything he's been through, all the trouble he's gotten himself into, his death wasn't as violent as it probably could've been.

Astrid choked up. She wanted to stay strong for her friends, she knew they would need her after tonight, but her emotions were overflowing too.

She grabbed at his hair, the part of him she loved toying with and braiding because of how invitingly soft and wild it was, and lowered herself so her forehead could touch his.

It was still warm. She foolishly hoped that warmth would never leave.

This was her betrothed. They had gotten engaged just months ago and she felt herself growing sick at the thought of never being able to have that life she wanted to share with him.

She already hated the very thought of it. A life without him? A world in which he no longer existed? An Astrid without her Hiccup?

She didn't want to accept such a harsh reality.

"Snotlout, what're you-" She sniffed. Astrid wanted to question the Jorgenson boy's actions as he moved closer to their dying leader and carefully pulled on the bandages just enough to see underneath them.

"He's not bleeding." He answered.

"Yeah, I... I stitched it up. I just... I just couldn't let Hiccup go without doing everything in my power to save him first." Fishlegs inhaled a shaky breath, shivering and curling in on himself further. He knew he had done everything he could, but it would never feel like he did.

How someone so big could seem so small...

"Snotlout-" Astrid shook her head.

"He's breathing too!"

She stopped talking for a moment, but her exasperation stayed as she turned her head and watched the Jorgenson undo the dressings. None of the Riders were really stopping him, but they were questioning him.

The twins looked at each other, wondering if either of them should do or say something to their friend.

"What are you getting at, Snotlout?!" She didn't mean to snap, but she couldn't help raise her voice. Snotlout's nonsense was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

"Hiccup should be coughing up blood, but he's not! And... I think he's breathing easier? Didn't Fishf-Fishlegs say that things could get ugly earlier? Because the veins in his neck or windsophagus are probably hit or whatever?" Snotlout butchered the explanation Fishlegs had given them earlier whilst treating their leader, about how the arrow must've severed arteries or cut off Hiccup's air supply, but there was truth to his words.

Hiccup was peaceful when he should be choking on either blood or a lack of air.

These weren't the ramblings of someone in denial.

"Guys, I'm telling you something isn't adding up! And have you noticed that Hiccup isn't wheezing anymore?" That sentence Snotlout barely needed to finish before Fishlegs scooted closer. He shared a look with Astrid before he crawled to Hiccup and rested his head on his barely heaving chest, Snotlout allowed him his space.

"I think he's right." Tuff hesitantly spoke up.

"Yeah, Hiccup made that really terrifying sound earlier when we pulled him out of Toothless' arm... legs and brought him here, but it just sorta stopped." Ruffnut piped up aswell.

Astrid didn't reply.

Was there truly something they were missing? Or were they simply giving themselves false hope because they couldn't bear the thought of losing one of their own to something other than old age?

The answer wasn't provided by her as Fishlegs came back up and held up his hand to Hiccup's slightly parted lips.

And he found Snotlout to be right.

Hiccup's breathing had gone from wheezy, laboured breaths to ones too hard to notice, but it was more evident now. And with the wheezing gone, he could only conclude that Hiccup was breathing just fine. Somehow.

"Astrid, Hiccup is... I think he might actually make it." Fishlegs spoke words, but not one of them seemed to really register in any of their minds. They didn't understand.

Hiccup was going to die and now he wasn't?

"You never followed any classes with Gothi, did you?" Snotlout was suspicious to say the least.

"What?! You're the one who started it!" Fishlegs was quick to defend himself, offended.

"But you're sure, Fishlegs? You're sure Hiccup is going to live?" A part of Astrid was still fearful, but the relief was already trying to ban any and all fear from her heart.

"I'm sure, Astrid. And... I'm really sorry to say this guys, but if Hiccup was dying, he should've passed already. It's been hours since the battle!" Fishlegs hated the very words that rolled off his tongue, but that didn't make them any less true.

Hiccup should not be holding on for as long as he had.

"Hiccup-" Astrid wanted to speak to him, wanted to see if she could wake him up, but someone beat her to it.

Toothless had been listening to the Riders, much like the other dragons circling them who had grown anxious themselves.

Moaning louder this time, he tried to wake his Rider up instead of trying to lull him into a peaceful passing. His more comforting nudges turned a little less gentle and his tongue poked the injury on accident while it wet his cheek. His clawed paw grasped Hiccup's tunic as if attempting to hold him closer.

And then...

"Toothless, Bud...?" It was a mere whisper, but they came from Hiccup himself and the Riders could only look on, dumbfounded, as he opened his eyes and smiled up to his Night Fury. And Toothless retracted his teeth to give his Rider the gummy smile usually only reserved for him.

The others stared. As Hiccup released a breathy laugh while fending off Toothless' affection, followed by a pained yelp and a grimace that caused Toothless to settle down and worry about him again, their friends simply stared.

They were happy. Of course, they were! But just minutes ago they believed Hiccup was dying a slow and silent death.

The Dragon Riders gazed at each other, every one of them silently wondering if this was something they should tell their friend about.

No.

This was a secret they would keep to themselves. At least for the time being.

"I'm... I'm okay, Bud." Hiccup was curled up on his side, holding onto his painful throat as he tried to swallow the aching away, face still contorted. Toothless was lying with his head in front of Hiccup's, softly whining, his nose wiggling as he sniffed and his breath wafting gently over his face.

Their wordless decision made, Astrid bend down to rest her head on Hiccup's shoulder and wrap her arms around him in a comforting embrace. Whether it was to comfort him or herself was up for debate.

She stayed quiet, but cherished her boyfriend, this moment and the fact that she would still get to share her life with him.

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, while happy, weren't quite sure what to feel or even think now.

It was one thing to have Hiccup's luck to survive time and again, which was already quite questionable at times. It was a whole other story when that same person managed to crawl their way back from the edge when they should've died hours ago.

No matter, their friend lived. The how and why weren't as important to them.

52 notes · View notes