#the httyd au is finally real | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hiccanna-tidbits · 2 years

Photo

HICCANNA MONTH WEEK 1, DAY 6 - “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO” “WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT” DRACULA DAILY AU

*Collapses in an exhausted heap and plops this on your dash* IT’S DONE IT’S FINALLY DONEEEEE

So anyways I was talking with @ohlooksheswriting about Dracula Daily and how Jonathan Harker has some of the biggest Anna Energy I have ever seen (i.e. the appreciation of good food, the general desire to give people the benefit of the doubt perhaps a little more than is wise, politeness even in the most dire of situations, the aggressive focus on the positive in the face of imminent doom, the general vibe of “ah no!!! I can't let my people down!!! Gotta push through even when things get dicey!!!”, whether it be with sketchy real estate deals or your sister accidentally freezing the kingdom etc etc), and there’s already some pretty suspiciously romantic undertones between Jon and Drac, so I was like “OMG Dracula Daily AU for Hiccanna Month??? DRACULA DAILY AU FOR HICCANNA MONTH???” And here we are XD

Fwiw I can totally see Hiccup being a loving househusband who spends his time nerding out over books on places he’s interested in, so it works, fight me. Also, I think Hiccup deserves to do the spooky little castle lizard crawl. As A Treat! And lawyer!Anna??? Immaculate. She has Elle Woods vibes and I intend to see her put them to full use. Anyways these two invented girlboss/malewife in this fic and I love that for them.

Not me legit doing an internet deep dive researching Transylvanian food for this, just so I could do justice to Anna’s foodie/generally-food-preoccupied tendencies XD That’s basically the only aspect of this I have any confidence is like...sort of accurate to the source material. Apologies in advance for any general anachronisms and/or inaccuracies in the way property attorneys and property law are portrayed here (property law practice was something admittedly a bit heavy to research for a fanfiction XD). I got most of my lawyer info from the Dracula emails themselves, and I tried not to use any anachronisms that don’t feel like they’d show up in Frozen or HTTYD themselves, so hopefully it reads all right. It prolly doesn’t feel as much like an old-timey period piece as I was hoping for, but hopefully I ensnared at least a little bit of the classic spooky gothic vibes. Idk.

I decided to try bolding instead of italicizing for emphasis to give the whole thing a more, like...“handwritten journal” feel? No idea if it worked, but I tried! XD (Also, in case you’re wondering, Anna starts off her journal entries with “Hi friend” because she considers her journal her friend!!!)

Is this more wholesome than the OG Dracula? Oh yeah, absolutely! Did I keep the impeccable comedy of the original book while swapping out the more horrific parts for a fluffest and angstfest of a romance that would probably make Bram Stoker turn in his grave? Definitely! Listen, I was too jam-packed with internalized misogyny to have a Twilight phase in 2008, so I gotta get that angsty vampire romance nonsense out of my system now before it consumes me. So something something AU of “what if the real-estate-buying vampire...wasn’t evil??? What if he was a sadboi instead???” Sometimes I get to have a few supernatural monster sadbois who get girlfriends anyways. As A Treat. Also yes, Anna caring more about workplace romances being unprofessional than dating a dude who sucks blood is the hill I will die on because a) it’s absolutely hysterical to me and b) it feels oddly in-character??? Girlie will give you the benefit of the doubt to ridiculous extents, but not if it gets in the way of important duties and responsibilities! She also has fried post-BAR brain so like. That doesn’t HELP--

So, without further ado, join me for this fun, wacky jaunt into the life of newly-certified lawyer Anna, going on a business trip to Transylvania and hoping to collect some local recipes for her two recently-engaged best friends! She hardly expects to be so taken with her first client’s eccentricities, nor did she ever dream that a rather inconvenient and unprofessional crush on him would blossom, but life is full of surprises! Featuring Merida and the Thorston twins as Count Haddock’s slightly-unhinged freeloading eternal roommates, and a little Jackunzel on the side--as a treat!!!

Not me thinking about how if I had the drive to make this a longer thing the endgame pairing would probably be Hijannunzel to pay homage to the shameless polyamory of the source material akbsahydgewoyvd

Fic under the cut! As always, moodboard pic credits available upon request!

***

May 15

Hi friend,

Anna Runeardsen here! Or should I say Certified Property Attorney Anna Runeardsen here!!! My god, I still can’t believe I passed the BAR. I passed the BAR!!! I PASSED THE BAR!!!

Anyways, you already know that. Duh. I’ve said it like 5 times already. I’m just still in shock. Like I go to law school like “let’s see what happens! Maybe I’ll flunk out!” but then I didn’t? And here I am! Those all-nighters took years off my life I’m never getting back, though. My brain still kind of feels like mamaliga.

Wow. I have a lot of news. I don’t really know where to start, because a ton of stuff has happened since I last wrote. Maybe I’ll start with the little things?

So first off, my god, the other night I had the BEST roast chicken!!! Literally so good!!! I don’t know what it is about the cooking here—maybe turning it over a blue fire gives it a slightly different flavor? I mean yeah, I don’t know for sure Count Haddock’s been cooking with those blue inferno circle things, but maybe that’s what gives it the kinda extra-savory, smoky flavor? Anyways, he gave me the recipe! Turns out he just used some salt and pepper and cloves and a bit of saffron and then drenched it in this olive oil mix. I’ll have to see if it tastes any different when I try making it back home in Oslo. I’ll add the recipe to the collection I’m giving to Jack and Punzie.

Can I just say, by the way, how GREAT that is going??? I’ve only been here a few days, and I’ve already got 5 recipes!! I’ve got mamaliga, paprika chicken, mititei, szekelyalmas, and the Count Haddock Roast Chicken Special! At this rate, I’ll have a whole bookful of them by the time I go back to Norway. Actually, I think I am gonna bind what I have into a nice little book, and give it to Jack and Punz as a wedding gift. It’ll be so exciting to make all this new food!!!

I still can’t believe Jack and Punz are finally getting married, honestly. Took him long enough to propose! I seriously thought I was going to have to fail and retake the BAR a few more times, and THEN maybe they’d finally be engaged. Right before the big boss man sent me out on this special mission, Punzel told me Jack stumbled up to her by the fountain in her estate garden and just started rambling incoherently. He pulled out the ring, and his hands were shaking so badly that he dropped it in the fountain??? So Rapunzel sees and she notices Jack was doing really bad at the whole talking thing just then, so she diffuses the tension by saying “well, if we’re wishing on things we’re throwing in the fountain, I wish you’d marry me!” And then she picks up the ring and proposes to HIM with it!!! Let me tell you, it was a whole thing. I really have to work on that maid of honor speech when I get the chance. They’re my two best friends in the world, and I want to do them justice!!!

But back on the topic of food! Did I mention Count Haddock does all his own cooking? I think he’s kind of embarrassed about it because he keeps pretending like he has a whole kitchen staff. When he gave me the roast chicken recipe, he said “here, let me go fetch it from the chef” and ran off into the hall, but…then I heard him doing this thing where he was like…stepping more and more quietly to make it seem like he was getting farther away? And then I could have sworn I heard him scribbling something? Anyways, he gets back with the recipe and there is no WAY he had time to go all the way down to the kitchen.

I don’t know what his deal is. The boss would probably say it’s a rich person thing. I don’t know why they’re so ashamed about cooking??? I mean, I’m not RICH rich or anything, but I’ve cooked loads of times and I never developed the black plague or leprosy or what have you. And look at Rapunzel—her family is drowning in money, and she still plays around in the kitchen! She loves keeping busy and hanging out with the kitchen staff, but it doesn’t make her any less of a fancy lady.

I’ve been trying to get Count Haddock to open up about his cooking. Just, you know, raving about how good it is, compliments to the chef, et cetera et cetera, in sort of a wink-wink-nudge-nudge kind of way. A lot of the men back home really brighten up when I shower them with compliments, so I was hoping Count Haddock would do the same. Sometimes the fellows back home will even try to one-up you and start gloating about their accomplishments if you compliment them enough! Not Count Haddock, though. He seemed really nervous, and just mumbled that he’d be sure to tell all that to the cook. I DO think I saw him blushing, though??? Kind of hard to tell—his skin is this pale whitish, and it turned kind of grayish for a second. I wonder why his blood looks so weird. I shouldn’t pry, though.

Count Haddock is actually SUCH a sweet host, and I wish he wouldn’t be so self-conscious about it! Like I’m not going to judge him for not having servants. I think it’s admirable how hard he works, doing everything himself! Did you know I caught him making my bed the other day? GOD, so many men I know wouldn’t be caught dead doing “woman’s work” or “commoner’s work” or whatever. He’s so humble!!! He really wants me to be comfortable, even if he has to do all the work on his own. Imagine what a thoughtful and attentive husband he would make! It’s not every day you find a man who’s willing to help with the housework without complaining every step of the way.

I MEAN—

God, I shouldn’t be talking like this. He’s my client, for god’s sake, and I have to keep our relationship professional. The entire firm is counting on me succeeding!!! But sometimes I—well, I don’t know. He keeps leaving these little mints on my pillow, and even the nicest places I’ve stayed don’t do that. I mean, they give me maybe 1 mint when I check in or something, but not every night or anything like that. He’s so consistent!!! Sometimes the mints even have a little chocolate coating, and I have to wonder if he remembers me saying I’m really into chocolate?

Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Either way, it’s a nice gesture.

Count Haddock is honestly such an interesting person. Unusual, but like…in the best kind of way. He’s so into Oslo—has a whole shelf of books about it and everything. I came in the other day and caught him reading…an Oslo train schedule??? A little boring for my taste, but it’s nice to see someone with an appreciation for our public transportation systems. They’re not half bad, if I do say so myself.

I started talking to him in the library the other day, and the time completely got away from me. I just got so swept up in the conversation, and he was so excited, telling me all the things he learned from his books about Oslo and recounting some of his old family stories. Did you know Norway is apparently his ancestral home? He said his ancestors used to tame dragons there!!! DRAGONS!!! They’ve been extinct for hundreds of years now, as far as I know, but Count Haddock’s ancestors saw them with their own eyes! It’s crazy. I think that’s part of why he wants to move to Oslo. To him, it feels much more like his homeland than Transylvania does.

I asked how he ended up in Transylvania, and he got really sad—completely crushed, honestly. I felt so bad—I told him we could drop the topic if he wanted. But he said it was fine, saying it was only natural to be curious. Apparently there was some huge war in Scandinavia all those years ago, and his ancestors and their dragons fought side by side. Then a terrible evil guy named Drago Bludvist found a way to control the dragons and possessed them all to leave Count Haddock’s ancestors and their village. One of his ancestors was the next in line to be chief, and his dragon was killed in battle. His spirit was too broken to continue fighting after that.

It was a little weird—he looked so downtrodden and miserable when he talked about his ancestor’s dragon dying. If I didn’t know better, I’d say HE was the one who lost a dragon. That would be ridiculous, though—no one lives to be THAT old. I guess he feels like…really intimately connected with his past family, and all their pains and struggles. It’s kind of inspiring, in a weird way—if not a little atypical.

Anyways, he says with their dragons gone, his ancestors were overwhelmed by Bludvist’s armies and had to flee. Considering all the literal dragons this Bludvist guy had at his disposal, no surprise, I guess, that he was able to chase them all the way across the continent. The only place they could find to hide was tucked away in these imposing-looking mountains, where they eventually built a fortress of sorts. They’ve been there ever since—well, Count Haddock has, anyways. He’s the last of his family’s descendants, and the rest of his ancestors’ village dispersed long before he was born.

Seems lonely, honestly. I asked him how he managed, with no family to keep him company, and he claims the servants are company enough. That just made my heart hurt, since I know damn well he doesn’t have a single staff member waiting on us. Seems to me like Count Haddock’s been alone for longer than he’d care to admit, and he doesn’t want to admit how painful isolation can be.

Anyhow, he told me about all kinds of fascinating things, and just—his eyes were shining so bright and he was so giddy and so excited and he was grinning so big (yeah, I know I should probably be concerned about the fact that two of his top teeth are honed into these long, sharp points that don’t look very natural…but they look so pretty when he smiles!!! How can I hate them???) and I couldn’t bear to stop him. Then, before I knew it, it was morning already! Can you believe I was up all night talking to him? It really only felt like a few minutes! Went a lot faster than all the nights I had to stay up studying, that’s for sure.

Well, anyhow, Count Haddock said he had to take care of some business when the sun started to come up, and…wow. As soon as I left, the exhaustion decided to come back from lunch—or wherever it skipped off to when the Count was with me. The distinct feeling of numbing, on-the-brink-of-death emptiness and muddy swamp brain I remember from my exam-taking days hit me like one of those trains Count Haddock is all too fond of. I decided to take a nap, and I feel a lot better now.

Can I tell you something, friend? I know I shouldn’t be saying this. It’s probably really out of line, considering Count Haddock is a man of class and high status and all, but…okay, I’ll say it. (I know you won’t tell.) I’m worried about him. Sometimes I hear him letting out plaintive wails in the middle of the night, when I guess he thinks no one is listening. Or shuffling down the halls, looking sullen and miserable and muttering about what a terrible monster he is. I’m a little surprised—I mean, the men back home ARE embarrassed when they have to do housework or kitchenwork, but I’ve never seen any of them spiral into such a vat of self-loathing over…I don’t know, making a bed and cooking a chicken, that they call themselves a MONSTER over it. Seems a little rude to the people who actually DO do those kinds of menial things for a living, but maybe I’m misinterpreting what’s going on here. Maybe he’s talking about something else. You have to be open to a number of different scenarios when you’re looking for an explanation—in my line of work, at least.

Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not as bad as he thinks. Take it from me—sometimes you’re so sure you’re the worst person in the world and totally not good for anything, and then you graduate law school and pass the BAR!!! Count Haddock is a kind man, and he shouldn’t be so hard on himself for being unconventional. He’s a fantastic homemaker, a charming conversationalist, and an excellent cook! What could he hate about himself so much?

There IS one thing that’s a tad off-putting, but it’s probably not too big a deal.

The other night, I went out to find him—mainly just to tell him that I think he’s wonderful and appreciate his hospitality. I don’t know how long he’s been alone in here, and since he seems to regard himself so poorly…well, I don’t know how long it’s been since someone said something nice to him. I intend to change that! Everyone deserves to feel good about themselves, even when they live alone in a kind of creepy castle in the middle of nowhere and cover up weird things about their household activities and close their eyes whenever I get a cut and constantly look at my crucifix necklace weird.

Anyways, so I stopped to admire the view out one of the castle windows, and then I saw a head pop out a window a little ways below. Didn’t take long to realize it must be Count Haddock—I think I’d know those wiry, well-built shoulders and that luscious mop of dark hair anywhere. He’s hard to miss.

So he puts one of those thin, elegant hands of his (look, he gestures a LOT when he talks—I’ve become very familiar with the way his hands look. I’m not being weird or anything.) on the castle wall, and sort of…pulls himself out of the window? And then before I know it, he’s stuck all his hands and feet on the stones and is clinging like a gecko. I kind of wonder if his ancestors’ dragons infused him with reptilian powers or something. So then he scuttles down the wall, and his cloak is blowing every which way, and it was VERY weird to watch. I stood there for a really long time trying to process what—pardon my French—the FUCK just happened.

That said! I don’t think being able to walk on walls is EVIL, it’s just…kind of unsettling? I want to ask him what’s up with that. But I also wonder if that’d be too nosy. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to see?

Oh well. If this is all Count Haddock is upset about, then I think it’s fine. I wish there was a way to tell him it’s not scary. I think it’s an amazing ability, personally! (So lucrative if you want to go rock-climbing, especially.) If a little…odd. Still, I want him to know it doesn’t make him a monster, no matter what anyone else says.

May 18

Hi again friend,

Wow, do I have news!!! Some of it’s sort of disquieting, but some pretty good, so…net positive?

So the good news is that I’m pretty sure Count Haddock is into me. Like…into me into me. You know what I mean. (I’m not holding my breath for a ring or anything, since I know it took months of formal courting for Jack to pop Punzie the question! But I just have a feeling??? I don’t know, I could be entirely off-base. Like a court case red herring or something.) The bad news is that Count Haddock has some…friends? Roommates? Some guys who live in his castle and definitely want to eat me. No, I will not elaborate on that.

Just kidding! I absolutely will elaborate. It’s literally my job! I PASSED THE BAR!!! I rant to people about laws and logic for a living!!!

Anyways, do you remember those locked rooms Count Haddock told me to avoid? Because of ghosts or something? I mean yeah, I guess I can understand how spirits would be a safety concern, but I figured logistically, how bad could they be? I mean, they try to punch me or kick me or bite me or what have you, and it’ll go through me, right? And according to some of the books I’ve perused in the library, the worst ghosts can do is like…knock a cup over here and there. Well, I’ve seen Jack’s cats knock mugs and glasses over plenty of times, and I lived to tell the tale! If the ghosts come for me, this property attorney is READY.

So all this to say I got pretty bored, and I, uh. I may have gone creeping around in the rooms Count Haddock told me not to. Whoops. To be fair, I normally wouldn’t have, and just sought out Count Haddock for company, but he was running errands.

I don’t know if I mentioned, but he asked me if I could stay a little longer so I could help him learn Norwegian. He speaks mostly Transylvanian, and a little Old Norse, too. Pretty impressive his ancestral language was passed down through the family for this long! He told me his parents taught him as a kid but got kind of weird and evasive when he started talking about his childhood. I don’t know why—maybe he’s self-conscious about knowing such an old language? He doesn’t need to be. Lots of people have ancient dialects passed down through their family lineages, I’d bet!

Anyways, I wrote a letter to Jack and Rapunzel and the big boss man telling them I was staying a bit longer and assuring Jack and Punz I’d be back in time for the wedding. Count Haddock said he’d run all the letters to the post office to save me the trouble—such a gentleman!—although he grabbed all the envelopes in his teeth and gecko-ran down the wall again when he thought I wasn’t looking. I mean, I don’t mind when he does this—it’s kind of morbidly fascinating to watch, actually—but I do have to wonder why he doesn’t just use the front door.

So the hours sort of dragged by, and I guess I’ve read basically all I can in the library. Everything else is in Old Norse or Transylvanian, and I mean…it’d be nice to learn a couple new languages, but I don’t think I could do it in one night, you know? And okay, against probably my better judgment, I decided to go check out this ghost business. How bad can it be? It’ll spice things up a little, at least!

Heh. Spice. So many nice spices here! Did I mention that Count Haddock made the most delicious mititei the other night? It’s these little meat rolls with sour cream inside and all this paprika, saffron, and cloves sprinkled on it, and I LOVE IT!!! Really, if Count Haddock didn’t have all that old family money, I’d suggest he go into hospitality or the cooking business or something. Punzel’s an amazing cook, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think she’s ever made me stuff this good. Am I a bad friend for saying that…? Maybe I’m just a little preoccupied, since Count Haddock is so…I don’t know…

Oh, right. I was talking about the ghost adventure. Well, it didn’t actually turn out to be a ghost adventure, but it sure was…something.

So anyways I was bored out of my head, so I wandered around and tried a bunch of the doors. This one was actually unlocked, and it led into this big fancy room with all these couches and tables and stuff—maybe a parlor or something?—and this HUGE panoramic window!!! Like I could see the whole SKY and all this silvery, moon-washed forest and hills and landscape and I am here to tell you it was EPIC. It’s times like those that I wonder if this is actually the best business trip ever, despite the lizard-walking and the weird lack of servants and that one thing Count Haddock does around mirrors where he sort of tears up and runs away.

I found this one nice velvety green loveseat-looking thing, and I wiped the dust off (only a little bit—victory!) and just laid on it for awhile and admired the view. It was kind of relaxing, taking in the nightscape and the moonlight and feeling this weird kind of peace. Ironic, since this castle seems like it SHOULD give me the major creeps, but…I guess in that moment, it really didn’t. It felt almost like…home. Is that weird?

Probably. I feel like I should be more concerned about the fact that I don’t really mind not having seen the sun for a while. How long has it been? A week? Two weeks? Ah, well—it’s not like I can’t remember what daylight looked like. Granted, my memory historically hasn’t been the best, and I probably wouldn’t have passed the BAR without lots of…whatever Ingrid Olsen was slipping me, but I can remember what’s important, okay?! Or not important, maybe, so much as like…things that don’t make me feel like I’m drowning in information. Point being, I’m not forgetting how sunlight looks anytime soon, so I can just file that away in my brain and focus on the moon right now. Or at least that was my train of thought last night.

I think I must’ve dozed off, because the next thing I knew, I heard these voices drifting over from the corner. My first thought was “ah, great, how am I gonna tell the big boss man that I’ve lost it??? That’ll be so bad for business!” But the voices seemed way too distinct for my brain to have made them up. I mean, one of them had this really thick Scottish accent! Why would my brain randomly make up a Scot living in Transylvania?! It doesn’t make any sense. And if there’s one thing they taught me in law school, it’s that MOST things have a rational explanation behind them, and the occasional completely illogical nonsense is the exception rather than the rule, etc etc.

Anyways, I kind of slowly sat up to see what was going on, but I tried to be inconspicuous about it. I didn’t know who these people were, and I mean…just because Count Haddock lives in a creepy castle and is really nice doesn’t mean EVERYONE who lives in a creepy castle is going to be really nice, you know?

Besides, I was like, are these people even supposed to be here?! Count Haddock never mentioned living with anyone besides servants, and these people didn’t look like servants. They seemed to all be fancy ladies—well, it was a little hard to tell in just grayish moonlight, but the Scottish lady had this huge, luxurious mane of red curls, and the other two had this long, shiny blonde hair. And they didn’t really hold themselves like the common folk would, I don’t think. Does Count Haddock have a bunch of aristocratic squatters?! How did they even get in here, with all the locked doors???

I probably don’t need to tell you, but I really didn’t trust these strange girls. I mean, I study property law—I KNOW you have to be careful with squatters. I decided to eavesdrop for a while, just to figure out what was going on. Here’s what I got:

Scottish Lady: I’m telling you two, he wouldn’t have let her wander in here if he didn’t want us to have a little scran!

Blonde Lady #1: Ugh, you’re so stupid. Isn’t he doing a property deal with her or something? He probably doesn’t want her sucked yet.

Scottish Lady: Wait. THAT’S the lawyer?!

Blonde Lady #2 (who actually had a pretty deep voice, so come to think of it…was probably actually a guy with long hair??? My mistake): So what? Lawyers are a dime a dozen! We drain this one, and the head lawyer guy in the firm will just send another one.

Scottish Lady: You gommy! What are we going to tell him, ‘Ah, our bad one of your employees mysteriously vanished while staying in our castle! We’ll do better with the next one, we promise!’

Blonde Guy: Sounds like Hiccup’s problem, not ours. He’ll be fine, he can reason with anyone. And didn’t you JUST say we should suck her?

Scottish Lady: Yeah, but I didn’t know that’s the property lady! I thought she was just some village lass he charmed in here.

Blonde Guy: In THAT kind of business casual?

Blonde Lady: Ugh, I don’t CARE anymore. She’s starting to look too delicious for me to care what Hiccup thinks. He can find himself another lawyer.

Scottish lady: Maybe you’re right. A quick little slurp couldn’t hurt.

Blonde Guy: Yeah, that’s the spirit! We’ll leave enough for her to sell us the land plot or whatever.

Blonde Lady: Aw, Thor, YES! Dinnertime! Uhhhh, someone else go first, though. I don’t want to get thrown out the window again.

I really had no idea why they were talking about me like I was some kind of fancy buffet, but I decided I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I tried to slink out while they were bickering, but these people were alarmingly fast. I’d barely started to get up before they suddenly surrounded the couch, the blondes on either end and the Scottish lady eyeing me up in a way I was not super crazy about.

“Oh, beautiful young lass!” she purred. She climbed on top of me before I could even move, and before I knew it, she was straddling me. I pretty much froze up because I mean…no one is EVER that forward with me that fast, let alone strange women I’ve just met. Also I mean. I’ve never given much thought to liking women like THAT. I mean…I guess I’m not opposed, and maybe what happens in weird Transylvanian castles can stay in weird Transylvanian castles, but the fact remained that I didn’t even know this lady’s name and she was already looking at me like she wanted to…I don’t know. Do things not really discussed in polite society.

“Our hair matches. How about that?” she said, in kind of this thick, breathy voice. She picked up a lock of my hair and twirled it between her fingers, pressing it up against her own curls. They were in fact pretty close in color. But, man, was that awkward. I’m not super stingy about my personal bubble or anything, but that was a little much. Like, not because she’s a lady or anything—that part I was strangely okay with. More because I only met her five minutes ago (if you can call this making someone’s acquaintance), and also the metaphors comparing me to dinner weren’t my favorite.

She leaned down and whispered in my ear “you know what else is a very pretty shade of red?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out. But did I have much choice at that point?

That’s about when she lowered her face to press it against my neck (which I might have been into otherwise, but for god’s sake, we were NOT at that point yet!). Then I felt two very sharp teeth piercing into the skin just below my jawline.

I barely had time to start panicking before this huge roar shook the room, louder and fiercer than the dragons I’ve read fairy tales about. OR the ones Count Haddock described.

Then someone’s hand was around the Scottish lady’s neck, and she was being yanked into the air. I saw this flash of green eyes and white fangs, and that’s when I realized.

God, it was Count Haddock. And I had NEVER seen him that furious before. It seemed like every part of him was radiating rage. He was tensed up like a panther ready to spring, his eyes all flaming malachite and his teeth bared like a wolf’s. He took the Scottish lady and slammed her against the wall, hissing.

I honestly never imagined he was that strong, what with those skinny limbs of his. Some kind of adrenaline rush helped, I imagine.

I was stunned. I couldn’t say anything—I just laid there. Count Haddock was friendly, but I never knew he cared so…passionately about my safety. It’s flattering, thinking back on it. At the time, though…well, I’ll admit I was a little taken aback.

“Great Odin’s ghost, what is WRONG with you?!” he spat. “Attorney Runeardsen is our guest, and this is NOT how we treat guests! You dare lay so much as a FINGER on her when I’ve told you to leave her be?!”

The Scottish lady choked, and Count Haddock threw her at the blonde lady. They both stumbled back, the blonde man scurrying over to hide behind them.

“What, you let your little pet go wandering about the castle, and you’re surprised when we think she’s free for the taking?” the Scottish lady said scornfully.

Count Haddock stepped in front of the couch, shielding me from his three strange cohabitors. I saw he was so angry he was shaking, and he had to run a hand along the wall to steady himself, His fingernails dug into the wood like claws, and left long gougemarks.

I hadn’t noticed before then how sharp his nails were. Maybe seeing those two pointed front teeth so often desensitized me to sharp things on Count Haddock’s person. Maybe I should have been more alarmed. Truth be told, though, in the moment I was glad he was pulling the intimidation card on my behalf.

“She’s not my pet,” he snarled at his cohabitors. “She’s my business associate. If any of you so much as LOOK at her again, there’ll be hell to pay. You want Ms. Runeardsen, and you’ll have to go through me.”

“What’s so special about her?” the blonde lady griped. “She’s just a property lawyer! Can’t you get another one?”

“Yeah! We’re hungry!” the blonde man added crossly. “You haven’t brought us anything to eat in two weeks.”

I remember thinking, huh. They don’t look too worse for wear, for not having eaten in a fortnight.

Count Haddock scoffed. “A lot of business you have complaining when you three haven’t paid rent in 400 YEARS! I’ve been sharing my home with you, letting you freeload century after century, and THIS is how you thank me?!”

“Oh, here we go again, with the rent lecture,” the Scottish lady complained.

“Yeah, when are you gonna let that go, man?” the blonde man demanded.

“I’ll let it go when your lazy behinds start getting your OWN meals,” Count Haddock shot back, starting to sound tired.

“Why ARE you so enamored with that lawyer, anyways?” the blonde lady asked.

“Oooooohhhh!” the blonde man sneered. “Hiccup’s in looooove!”

The Scottish lady let out a harsh cackle. “Don’t be daft, both of you. He can’t love any more than we can. Not anymore.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Count Haddock’s voice softened, the anger and frustration seeming to drain out. He turned to face the three freeloaders, and I caught a glimpse of the side of his face.

His expression was tense, and his eyes were glistening in the darkness. He looked almost…sad.

“Maybe you’ve decided you can’t love anymore,” he said quietly. “But I’m not so sure.”

His whole body suddenly looked so crumpled and broken, and more than anything I just wanted to hold him. Sweep myself under that dark green cape of his and wrap my arms around his waist and tell him everything was going to be okay and he wasn’t unlovable and that I’m so grateful he probably saved my life. But with everything happening so fast, and his three creepy friends so close by, I just…I still couldn’t move.

“So, what?” the blonde man whined. “We don’t get any dinner? You promised!”

Count Haddock sighed. “FINE. You really don’t deserve it, after that horrifying stunt you pulled, but dinner’s in the bag.”

He walked over to the door and grabbed a large bag he had left there, slinging it over his shoulder. As he came back, I noticed something long and mangled sticking out of the top.

It was—and I wish I was joking—a human arm.

I thought all that talk of sucking and slurping and eating me was some kind of bizarre metaphor, but I guess not. Count Haddock and his friends, evidently, actually do eat people.

I guess my brain decided that was enough stress for one night, because the next thing I knew, I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in my own bed. Pretty sure I didn’t sleepwalk all the way back here, so the only thing I can figure is that Count Haddock carried me. It’s vague, but the last thing I remember before I passed out is feeling his arms scooping under my legs and shoulders.

He must’ve carried me like a bride. Like Jack is going to carry Rapunzel after their wedding this summer. And all the way down the hall, too. And then he tucked me into bed and blew out the candles.

The thought shouldn’t make me blush as much as it does. I know it’s unprofessional. (Not to mention he also eats people.) But something about him…

The more I came to, the worse it got. As in, I realized he also left a glass of water on my bedside table and a platter of little mints and fresh Belgian chocolates, folded all my clothes on the floor and put them on a nearby chair (look, it is HARD keeping my room tidy, okay?!), and even changed me into a nightgown. All these little favors for me while I’m not even conscious, on top of keeping me safe from those strange roommates of his? How are you supposed to maintain a “strictly professional” relationship with—well, with someone like THAT? Someone who treats you so softly, and senses your needs better than you can, and is willing to unleash the wrath of a thousand ravenous beasts on anyone who may wish you harm? I mean yes, I should check up on what exactly the cannibalism situation is, but other than that…

I don’t know. Call me a naïve, wide-eyed sap, and a sorry excuse for a certified property attorney, but I don’t know if I can be “just colleagues” with Count Haddock. Something in me tells me we’re meant for something more.

Is that stupid? Probably. Nonetheless!

Human-flesh-eating aside, could you ask for a more perfect man??? I think not!

May 20

Hi friend,

Okay, SO. Hiccup finally told me what’s actually going on.

Yes, Hiccup! Uh…so Count Haddock and I are on a first name basis now. But more on that later.

So it all started when he called me in for dinner. So much good stuff last night, let me tell you—there was this kind of fried pancake thing called clătite brașovene, covered in batter and with beef, mushrooms, and breadcrumbs inside. It tasted amazing!!! He also made me this stuff called “robber steak,” and you really HAVE to try it—bacon, onion, and beef, red pepper seasoning, what’s not to love??? It reminded me so much of the little kebabs you can buy on the street back in Oslo! You know, the ones you give to the cats?

I got so excited when I saw the kebabs that…I think I squealed? Kind of unprofessional, but oh well. Probably so is lizard-walking down walls on all fours and feeding human bodies to your roommates, so Hiccup’s not in a place to judge. Anyways, I DID get a little embarrassed, and I guess I expected him to look amused, but he just seemed…sad?

And I couldn’t help it, I told him how much his robber steak reminded me of all the cats I buy street food for (and there are a lot…Jack’s always teasing that I’m going to blow through my first real paycheck buying dinner for every stray in Oslo), and how it felt like a little piece of home. And I swear, I think he teared up at that.

His tears weren’t…clear was the thing. It kind of looked like there was a little blood in them? He wiped them away too quickly for me to really tell. Anyways, his voice got curt and he corrected me, saying it wasn’t HIS robber steak but his COOKS’, and I shouldn’t group him in with commoners, etc etc. It sounded stilted, though, like he was rehearsing a script. And he wouldn’t meet my eyes as he said it.

He started to leave—and yes, I’ll admit it was a little undignified, but I called after him and asked him to stay for dinner. Not even to eat (seeing as he somehow always manages to eat before me), but just for company. It gets so lonely here, and he really did seem so melancholy. I thought maybe if we had an engaging conversation, we could perk each other up!

But he rushed off, saying he had to make dessert—and then immediately correcting himself that no, the COOKS had to make dessert. And he was gone, and, as usual, I had to eat my clătite brașovene and my robber steak in silence.

It was a long time before he came back. I was starting to doubt he would, thinking “dessert” was just an excuse to leave. Nonetheless, I waited at the table after I finished, admiring the paintings on the wall. Mostly portraits of sophisticated-looking young men, all in varying styles of dress from different time periods. Count Haddock’s ancestors, I assume—although oddly enough, all these men looked exactly like him. There were some pictures of those three strange people I ran into the other night—recent commissions, probably. And, of course, your standard gorgeous hill, forest, mountain, and river scenery—all landscapes in daylight, I noticed.

For as often as Count Haddock stays up all night, he doesn’t have many paintings of nightscapes, or the moon and stars. I guess he figures if he wants to see those, he can just look outside.

I was so wrapped up in the dining room art gallery that I started when the door opened. And there he was after all, holding a platter with some kind of cake on it.

I think it was meant to be…cozonac? It was hard to tell, honestly, because the whole thing was kind of flat and saggy and odd-looking—and when he cut it open, it was a mess of walnuts and melted chocolate that just sort of oozed out everywhere. It didn’t look anything like the pictures I’ve seen, but I’ll tell you what—it DID look delicious.

“I made this for you,” he said. No correction, no last-minute insistence that it was the kitchen staff. He swallowed hard and seemed to force himself to meet my eyes. He was fully owning up to producing this dessert that loosely resembled a cake, and I thought that was beautiful.

“You’ve been a great guest, and really helpful, and you’ve taught me so much about Oslo and Norway,” he added. “And I wanted to make you something with chocolate. Just, uh. I hope you like it.”

He started to back away, a little less quickly than he had with dinner. He hesitated, glancing from the table to the door like he couldn’t decide whether he should leave.

I chanced my input again. “Count Haddock, won’t you stay?”

And that’s when he sat down, smiling at me so softly that I felt warmer than the sun could ever make me. I don’t think the sharpest front teeth in the world could have made it any less beautiful.

“Call me Hiccup,” he said. “And yes. I’d like to stay this time.”

He cut me a piece of cozonac-ish cake, and was silent as I began to eat. When he did speak, his voice came out as this like…ashamed mumble, almost.

“I haven’t been honest with you.”

I was tempted to tell him that was obvious, but that seemed rude. I kept eating my dessert and looked at him expectantly.

“There…aren’t any kitchen staff, Anna. I wanted you to think I was some…normal, dignified nobleguy, with prestige and class and all that. Just your average member of the gentry, not…well, whatever the townsfolk say I am. But there aren’t any cooks. I’ve been preparing all your food myself.”

I barely managed to keep myself from laughing, and nearly choked on the cake in the process. “Hiccup,” I got out, fighting to keep my voice level. “I know.”

He gave me a weird look. “Wait. You do?”

“You’re not exactly subtle,” I told him. “And I know you’ve been making my bed and cleaning my room and leaving little gifts on my table. I think it’s endearing, and you’re without a doubt the BEST host I’ve ever had. You shouldn’t be so embarrassed just because this sort of thing is below your station, usually. Only the humblest AND noblest of men would work this hard to help a guest feel welcome.”

His cheeks darkened, and he looked away. “I mean—well, I DO appreciate that. But that isn’t the only thing you should know.”

And that, dear friend, is when I learned the whole truth. The full, would-be-court-approved testimony.

The Haddock story didn’t end with them fleeing Scandinavia and disappearing into Transylvania for the next several generations. Drago Bludvist was relentless, and he wasn’t about to let the foes who made his conquests so difficult get off easy. He slaughtered most of the Haddocks’ village and hunted down the survivors, ambushing them just when they finally thought they fled far enough.

The only ones to survive the second assault were the Haddock son and two of his friends. And this Bludvist guy, well…apparently, he had a pretty twisted sense of humor. He got a powerful warlock ally of his to put a terrible curse on all three, trapping them in a limbo where they could never age, supernaturally strong and fast forever (not bad perks honestly), but they had to subsist off human blood to survive and could never be in sunlight without getting burned. And so they found someplace out of the way, somewhere to hide from everyone who called them monsters.

Hiccup was crying by the time he finished the story. And I knew I wasn’t imagining it this time—there WAS blood in those tears.

And that’s about when I figured it all out. The pictures—they were all of HIM. He was the one who lost his dragon to Bludvist’s armies. And he was the last Haddock son, cursed with the worst kind of eternal life. Centuries old.

I thought he was being hyperbolic the other night, when he said his three roommates haven’t paid rent in 400 years. I guess not?

In any case, I couldn’t deny it any longer. I knew then that he was hungry for my blood. I knew then that he constantly must fight the urge to kill me, every instinct in him screaming at him to rip me apart. But I also knew then, without a shadow of a doubt, that no part of him WANTED to be that way.

I mean, I’m an attorney, for god’s sake. I can recognize fake crying when I see it.

And this boy had lost everything. His family. His tribe. His draconic best friend. His fiancé.

(I really don’t know why I still feel so weird about him having a fiancé several centuries ago. I guess it didn’t occur to me he might, although it shouldn’t be surprising—he’s an attractive man! Still, thinking about it makes me feel…uneasy for whatever reason. Funny how that’s eating at me more than him literally having to eat people to live, huh?)

That’s about when he confessed what I suspected all along: He was terribly lonely, locked away from the sun and the city and forced to live this kind of parasitic life. I can’t say whether he was venting in the heat of the moment, or if he had been working up the courage to admit this to me. Whatever the case, it only seemed to make him crumple more.

And I couldn’t help it, friend—something in me gave way. I don’t think I’d ever seen someone look so lost, and…shattered. In that moment, I decided “strictly business” etiquette could go to hell—if someone’s in immense distress, who am I not to help?!

So, in only the most unprofessional of ways, I rose from my seat and sat next to him, throwing my arm around his shoulder. He leaned into me in a way that made me think he had not been affectionately touched in a very, very long time.

For a while he cried into my neck, and I rubbed his shoulder and his back the way Elsa used to do before we grew apart. He stopped only to assure me he would wash the blood and tear stains out of my new suit as soon as he got the chance (having no staff means that, regrettably, he has to do all the washing himself. I did make sure to tell him he’s been doing a superb job of getting the sweat stains out of my blouses!). I told him not to worry himself over it, and I would be happy to help if laundry proved to be too much for him to handle right now. I’m sure resisting the urge to eat your delicious-smelling new friend is a trying affair, and I figure one gets stressed rather easily anyways when subjected to an eternal existence of sucking human blood in order to not die.

He told me, a little unsteadily, that I was the nicest person he’d met in 200 years. Every time he goes into town (to get cooking ingredients or new soap or what have you), everyone is always so rude, hissing and clutching their crucifixes and whimpering prayers. Last time Hiccup asked the grocer how his family was doing, the man called him hellspawn and told him he hopes his castle gets struck by lightning and goes up in a terrible inferno to match his personality! He also insulted Hiccup’s sun umbrella, saying it was severely out-of-fashion, and threw a bag of garlic at him that left burns that lasted weeks! Look, I know sucking blood can be a bit off-putting, but everyone deserves basic common courtesy, whether they eat people or not. Like come ON, have some maturity!

Anyways, I guess I soothed him after a while, because the crying died down—more like small sobs now and again instead of outright bawling. Once he seemed past the worst of all of it, I admitted something was confusing me. How was he so lonesome when the three strange people I met last night lived in the castle too, and apparently had been for quite some time? He chuckled a little darkly at this.

It turns out the four of them used to be great friends, a very long time ago. The blondes—a twin sister and brother, Ruffnut and Tuffnut—were the only other survivors from Hiccup’s village, and only others (that he knows of) to be afflicted with the vampire curse. That’s what his condition’s called, apparently. They were all each other had for a while. Merida, the Scottish lady, came a century or so later. She was a princess on the run from an arranged marriage, and she stumbled on Hiccup’s castle in her quest to go where no one could ever find her. Hiccup, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut invited her in, but Ruffnut ended up liking her too much to make a meal out of her, so she made her into a vampire instead. Apparently you can transfer the curse through some specific type of biting—who knew? I guess it makes sense, with those big pointy teeth and all.

They were thick as thieves, those four, back in the day. All kinds of running around the woods, climbing trees, scaling cliff faces with weird lizard wall-clinging skills. Seeing who could lift the thickest tree trunk (it was usually Merida). Dining on the town’s most depraved, stumbling on Hiccup’s castle on their run from the law.

But over the centuries, Hiccup and his friends grew apart. The main reason, he told me, was…“diverging opinions on the value of human life and such,” as he put it. Eventually, they ran out of deplorable townspeople and traveling ne’er-do-wells and bandits to eat, but the need for blood remained.

So Hiccup tried to live in moderation, taking only what he needed to survive. Occasionally even feeding on wildlife, for as far as that would get him. The others, however…

It sounded like an addiction of sorts—getting a little too fond of how lively and powerful they felt just after feeding on a human. And they wanted more, and more, and more…and kept finding ways to justify the killing to themselves, until they barely saw anything wrong with it at all. Makes me nervous, thinking of what they would have done to me the other night had Hiccup not showed up.

(I asked what happened after I passed out, and Hiccup told me his friends took their dinner and scuttled out the window in a huff. I didn’t ask who the “dinner” in the bag had been. Maybe I’d be happier not knowing…)

These days, Hiccup’s three cohabitors have gotten lazy, preferring to let Hiccup do the hard work of putting himself in danger to get them all food. They’ve been freeloading for…300ish years now, he tells me? And he dutifully provides still, despite how tumultuous things have gotten. I guess out of obsolete loyalty to his longest-standing friends, no matter how…morally questionable they’ve become. Or maybe grief for the friendship that once was. As is, though, he feels he has little in common with them anymore.

He told me how it breaks his heart, seeing how much the curse twisted the three of them. Often, he can’t even bear to be around them—to see what they’ve become. So he stays away, seeking them out only when it comes time to feed them. But the resentment, the anger that they’ve let themselves stray so far into the darkness—I can tell it’s still there. And the bitter loneliness of seeing his three best friends go down a disturbing path that he doesn’t have the heart to follow…it must weigh on him terribly.

“And that’s not even the worst part,” he told me when he finished the story. He stood suddenly as he said it, knocking my hand off him. It was difficult to imagine what could be significantly worse than having to regularly drink human blood, but nonetheless I gestured for him to continue.

“Ruff, Tuff, Mer, and I…” His voice shook as he said it, and he gripped the table like a lifeline. I wondered if the tears were going to come back.

“We were planning…” He trailed off and took a breath. “I’ve been trying to reach out to them. For, I don’t know, the last 50 years or so. Trying to rekindle the friendship we once had, because I couldn’t bear an eternity alone. Even if my only alternative was to spend it with people who had become…well, bloodthirsty and completely depraved. But I wanted someone. So the four of us made a plan—I made a plan. To try and make them happy. I thought maybe then, they’d love me again.”

He frowned at me and stiffened, like he was trying to hold himself together. “We figured it had been so many centuries that no one in our ancestral lands would remember who we were. If Drago had some kind of lineage, they surely would have died out by now. So we decided to return to the homeland in Scandinavia—to Oslo.”

“Of course!” I nodded, because it all made sense then. “That’s why we talked through buying all that land. You want to go home.”

“I was hesitant at first,” he admitted. “I was worried there were too many scenarios where we all ended up discovered and slaughtered. But the idea grew on me. I read books and newspaper articles and learned how much the outside world had grown since our time. And I realized how much I’ve missed the fjords and the sea cliffs and everything else. So I started setting everything in motion.”

He paused, like he was waiting for me to scream or wail or flee in terror or what have you. I planned on doing no such thing! I’m a professional, after all.

“Anna,” he added bluntly, when I didn’t provide him with a sufficiently horrified reaction. “We eat people. And we bought land in and planned to move to YOUR hometown. Shouldn’t you…I don’t know, be more concerned?”

Huh. Well, when he put it like that, I DID understand why this was concerning.

I couldn’t find myself too surprised, though, that this was the story behind everything going on. I’ve suspected something was up for a while now, and Hiccup and his roommates being cursed, blood-sucking creatures of the night fits with what I’ve seen. After all, what good is a lawyer if they can’t piece together the evidence they gather and arrive at something resembling the truth?

Hiccup doesn’t eat human food. No one in town will work for him. He can lizard crawl up the side of buildings. He has two front teeth perfected for breaking skin and drawing blood. He’s constantly in distress over seeing himself as some sort of “thing of evil.” His friends were talking about sucking me and draining me and calling me a meal. The townsfolk are terrified of him. He always disappears at dawn. He has circles of blue fire just lying around. Really, him being a blood-drinking night creature explains all that better than perhaps anything else could.

As absolutely absurd as it all sounds. But if law school taught me anything, it’s that oftentimes the truth is a LOT stranger than you think it will be. You can’t ever rule anything out until you have significant evidence against it—and it’s quite the opposite, in this case.

Strangely enough, I found I wasn’t hugely bothered with the idea of him coming to Oslo. It took me a moment to realize why.

“Well, you have to have blood to live, right?” I said. “So either you’ll be eating people here or you’ll be eating people in Oslo. What difference does it make where you are?” He gave me kind of a weird look, so I elaborated. “I mean, obviously the ideal number of people you would be eating is zero, but it sounds like that isn’t an option.”

He gave me what seemed like a genuinely apologetic look. “Anna, your friends…your family….”

Oh. Right. Jack and Punzie. Elsa. My colleagues at the firm.

I guess some part of me figured if I asked Hiccup to leave them out of it, he would. That he’d do me that one favor, after how much I’d tried to help him with the legalities of property transfer and the intricacies of Norwegian. That after everything…

Maybe he’d come to care for me.

The boss man would call me naïve if he knew. I guess I never could quash that little romantic in my chest, who kept insisting I wasn’t just fated to become some cranky, law-practicing old maid. But affection is a powerful thing, and I’d be an idiot to deny the reserve of it that was steadily building for Hiccup.

“And you…” He turned and walked away from the table as he said it. He started pacing back and forth, burying his face in his hands and groaning. “That’s the worst of all.”

That’s when the unease really started to set in, but I kept my cool. No one ever accomplished anything by descending into embarrassing hysterics.

“What about me?” I asked (impressively calmly, I think, given the situation).

“Once we got the property deeds, we were going to…” He cut himself off and sank into his hands, heaving a strangled breath.

I didn’t want to make him say it. “You were going to let your friends eat me. When I wasn’t useful anymore.”

“Yes!” He lowered his hands and looked right at me, and I saw he was teary-eyed again. “But I CAN’T, not now that I know you. These last few weeks have been the best I’ve had in decades. I’ve realized that I don’t just want to go to Oslo—I want to walk the streets with YOU, stopping at those little stalls to buy kebabs for the cats. I want to hold your hand under the aspens in the park and feed oats to the ducks—and I’d probably only eat one or two ducks, I promise. I want to ride the streetcars and window-shop and buy you things for Snoggletog…or whatever your equivaent of that nowadays is, anyhow. I want to roam the fjords with you at midnight, when it’s quiet—and watch the stars and the northern lights when there’s no one around but us. I want to see the moonlight on the waterfalls, and I want you to show me everything you love.”

He took a deep breath then, like he was willing the courage to go on. “You make Oslo sound so beautiful, but I can’t—I just can’t imagine it without you there, too. Getting excited when you point out all the things we talked about and filling my head with all of your fun facts. Telling me about your latest property court cases over fresh-cooked fårikål I made. Taking the train into the mountains on the weekend and watching the lynxes and puffins and reindeer and white foxes. I want to experience it all with you, Anna.”

I just stared at him, stunned. How did I, your run-of-the-mill property attorney, manage to impress a man who was centuries old?

“And now…the thought of hurting you, I just can’t—” He cut himself off again and heaved a ragged sob. “I couldn’t forgive myself. I’m so sorry I planned to. Sometimes, I think the townspeople are right about me—I really AM some kind of vile demon.”

And that’s when—god forgive me—I made what was easily the most unprofessional move of my career.

I couldn’t help it. He looked so devastated, and I had to show him he was a better man than he believed.

I stood and crossed the room in a few strides. His head was in his hands again, but he looked up as I approached.

And then, before my logical lawyer brain could kick in, I leaned in and grabbed his cheeks and I kissed Count Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III just like in the fairy tales!!!

His mouth was on the cold side, and his lips were dry and chapped, but he tasted so right. And he smelled like chocolate and nuts and cake batter and a little bit like what had come to feel like home.

I think I shocked him at first, because I felt him stiffen. But then he melted into it, and cold arms wrapped around my neck and suddenly it was one of those moments where I felt rather foolish for ceasing to believe in magic when my childhood was over. If the mystical was a farce, how did you explain the soft, velvety feeling in my chest, brought about from nothing but unchecked bliss?

And let me tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer than in the arms of a centuries-old undead creature. The irony is scandalous, I know.

Even after our lips parted, he still clung to me like a lost kitten. I pressed my forehead to his, just to assure him I was comfortable.

I spoke as quietly and soothingly as I could, saying “I’m not afraid of you. And I know you’re not going to hurt me now. I trust you.”

“How do you know you should?” he asked me, voice trembling.

I had to laugh at this, and I told him “Because, um…I really don’t think you would have put so much thought into all the fun activities we were going to do in Oslo together if you still planned on draining all my blood out.”

That got a laugh out of him, too! I think I was doing pretty damn well, all things considered.

“You…don’t hate what I am?” he asked.

“No,” I told him. “I’m not really that surprised, given all your…well…all the oddities around here. But you can’t help it that you were cursed, and I can tell you’ve got a good heart. That’s what matters to me.”

“It’s just…ugh. It’s all so complicated now.” He pulled away a little, hands on my shoulders as he stared at the ground. “The four of us were going to take over the whole damn city, draining or turning every last one of them. But now I can’t. I can’t do that to your home! And I wouldn’t hurt the people you care about, but…how am I going to keep Mer, Ruff, and Tuff away?”

He started to pace again, gesturing wildly as he talked. “And I already sent off the property deeds to be approved by your boss! What am I going to do when they come back?! How do I tell Merida and the others that maybe I don’t want to do this after all? Would they just kill me? Could they just kill me?”

I pointed out that was unlikely, considering they seemed like they hadn’t been outside the castle to even hunt in several years, but he still seemed worried.

“I can’t take over an entire city!” he went on. “Or subject them to this—this life I’m stuck with! But I still want to go to Oslo, but I have to eat! What am I supposed to do?!”

I pondered on it as he continued with his anxious ramble.

“Well,” I said—perhaps a little cheekily, I’ll admit. “You know, there’s plenty of ne’er-do-wells and criminals in the backalleys of Oslo. I’m sure they could stand to lose a little blood here and there. I mean, the authorities TRY to round them up, and we lawyers try to make sure they can’t make any more trouble, but even the keenest of law-upholders can’t catch them all.”

“So how long would they last?” he demanded. “How long before I start having to eat good people again, Anna? I don’t know how much longer I can take it!”

I pondered more at this. “I don’t know. It would take careful planning, for sure, and you’d have to figure out how to reign in your friends so they don’t make all of Oslo into a bloodbath, but I don’t think it’s hopeless. I’m trained to navigate, er—tricky situations, you could say. Legal, mostly, but it’s not strictly limited to that.”

“I just don’t know.” He shook his head, breathing hard. “I want to go, I want to explore, I want to see my homeland again, but I don’t—I don’t want to ruin your city with my…my undead debauchery! And I don’t want to put your friends in danger, but I want to stay with you, and this whole plan is a mess, and I just…I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”

He repeated the words frantically, over and over as he paced with his hands tugging at his hair. A strange calm settled over me, and for whatever reason, I suddenly felt more collected than I had in days.

Even if he was fraying, that didn’t mean I couldn’t tie up his loose ends. I didn’t pass the BAR to fall into panics whenever trouble arose.

“Hiccup,” I said, walking over to him again. I reached up and placed a hand on top of his own, guiding it down from his head and lacing our fingers together. His shaking seemed to wane, if only a little.

I spoke with as much confidence as I’d ever had, and I told him:

“I know it seems like a lot, but I promise you we will figure something out. I’m a lawyer, after all—it’s my goddamn job.”

16 notes · View notes

brichan132 · 23 days

Text

So I was going to do a little real of that cuphead song by fandorid with aus I made…

I HAVE OVER 18 HTTYD AUS

Side note: hiccup name for any of my modern aus involving him are normally henrik, besides on where their name is Helka… I will tell you which one it is.

To list them all is this:

Toothless makes a deal with the moon and henrik “hiccup” haddock is half possessed by his past life

Age of dragons is the max out dipper angst au, + dipper being a homeless person for two years… and it being set in a post post apocalyptic world.

Eldritch god hiccup au (technically, he still a god but eldritch is a little uncertain)

Autumn spirit au (aka sad man hours)

Fire spirit au (aka chaotic teen hours)

Robot au (hiccup is a robot built for fighting but he decided no, no fighting for me and goes awal)

Dipper and Mabel’s mom is a hiccup reincarnation, who’s name is Helka haddock

Saving black is feral, experimented on half dragon hiccup au

Dnd au, where hiccup is a Durid rogue who’d much rather hide than fight when it comes to anything besides his forest and friends.

An au where hiccup and toothless share the same body because grimmel killing all the nightfuries, making the boy suffer from having dragon related stuff grow on him… like scales

Mabel and dipper in httyd, but with time travel, and their 14.

Wolfwalker au, but modern day and it’s with a human toothless than with hiccup.

NUFFINK, THE MAGE au

Swap au with a twist tm (aka books are also in their so human windwaker, and toothless and windwaker are twins)

Book hiccup wonders around berk and place that need him, as he is the spirit of freedom…

Hiccup reincarnated into dipper, and meets toothless

Hiccup and the rest of berk goes underground and later dipper finds the settlement and meets his cousin, Herleif.

Dipper is a puppet recreation of hiccup that woke up one day and ran from the workshop he was made in, meeting Mabel and henrik.

TECHNICALLY LIAM AND HIKS, THE PEOPLE I CREATED TO REPRESENTS ROTG (Liam) AND HTTYD (Hiks) FANDOMS.

HICCUP, TOOTHLESS, AND 2012 MIKEY ARE IN HYRULE WITH PEICES OF THE TRI-FORCE

And finally, at number 21, and the one I’m currently working on is this.

Cult of the dragon au, where human toothless is the older brother of henrik haddock, and there is a cult stalking them as they believe that Viking hiccup, and by extension henrik, is a god among men. This au is maxed out hiccup angst, as boy am I psychologically torturing this kid/teen.

21 aus, and I think I have more and I am not looking for the rest of them.

#bri rambles #httyd au #a lot of httyd au #what the fuck me #WHY SO MANY HTTYD AUS #AND MOST OF THEM INVOLES BOOK HICCUP AND DIPPER #AND DIPPER STEALS A VIKING BOAT IN ALL OF THESE #shitpost #help #21 AUS #TWENTY FUCKING ONE AUS OF ME TORTURING TWO SMART BRUNETTE AND A TIRED RED HEAD #????? help #like what

1 note · View note

cookisugarrdraws · 1 year

Text

In the name of Anubis, all hail the General Mahamatra; Cyno! He's finally been added to the httyd au! I'm a really big fan of this character and find him really fun to play in game so this was a real treat to draw! Cyno's dragon is a Sandbuster named Scarab!

#genshin #genshin impact #httyd #httyd au #httyd fanart #cyno #cyno genshin #cyno fanart #cookisugarrart

1 note · View note

the-fandom-crossroads · 2 years

Text

Decided to start making genshin fic rec posts. There's a lot of um interesting fiction to sort through on AO3. Figured a post listing the readable ones might be appreciated.

Ground rules for what I'll recommend. No noncon, incest, or adult and child ships. M rated is allowed for violence or discussion topic reasons only. aka no Smut or pwp.

And without further ado here's the fics I recommend from April 7th 2022!

Crashing - Rated Teen, Zhongli/Childe ch 1/?

Zhongli and Childe get pushed to their fighting limits.

I recommend reading Grounding before this one. It's short at only five chapters of Childe supporting Zhongli through some angst.

Amber and Ashes - Rated Teen, Xingqiu/Chongyun ch1/?

AU where Chongyun finds Xingqiu trapped in amber.

Fire on your Tongue - Rated Teen, Lumine/Childe Ch1/1

Drunk love confessions during Lantern Rite. Very cute. with just a hint of angst.

Three Things - Rated Teen, Kaeya solo fic ch1/1

Kaeya's angsty reaction to the Chasm story Quest. No real quest spoilers, but his reaction won't make sense if you haven't seen it.

Let's toast to the Ones that got away - Rated G, Jean/Rosaria, Jean/Lisa, Jean/La Signora, Jean/Ningguang, Jean/Diluc ch1/1

Jean thinking about past relations ships on her wedding day. A great summary of the way different Jean ships would work. Jean/Rosaria end game in case that's a no go for you for some reason.

Chongyun's Diary - Rated Teen, Chongyun/Xingqiu Ch11/11

Exactly what it says. Chongyun's diary going over cute moments between the two friends.

Letters Exchanged - Rated G, Albedo&Xingqiu ch 1/1

Xingqiu writes a letter to his penpal Albedo. Short and sweet.

Praenuntius - Rated Teen, Zhongli/Childe ch 3/?

Friends to enemies to lovers. Childe trying to kill Morax actually has consequences for once. well relationship consequences at least. There's also promises of Dragon!Zhongli.

Of Drink a Dreaming - Rated Teen but is basically G, Rosaria&Barbara ch 1/1

Barbara saves a Drink for Rosaria. . . that's it that's literally the fic.

Alchemy is hard but Feelings are Harder - Rated Teen, Albedo/Sucrose ch 3/?

Albedo and Sucrose go Hilcurl hunting and maybe realize they like each other along the way. workaholic doing selfcare by caring for another workaholic crush trope. Is that a trope? it should be these nerds need sleep.

Crimson Wings and Frozen Swords - Rated G, Amber/Eula ch 1/1

Alternate Amber and Eula first meeting that happens on Dragonspine.

Eternity - Rated Teen, Gorou/Kazuha ch 1/?

Gorou and Kazuha spar on the beach and cuddle. An adventure to Enkanomiya with Captain Beidou is on the horizon.

How to Train Your Father - Rated Teen, Crepus & Diluc & Kaeya ch 1/1

AU where Crepus turns into a dragon instead of dies. Really curious about where this goes and love the HTTYD reference.

My Indulgence will be your Ruin - Rated Teen, Eula/Amber Ch 1/?

Lisa and Kaeya tease Eula about a certain outrider. Said outrider drops in to save the day.

Atop Wangshu Inn's Peak - Rated G, Xiao/Venti ch 1/1

Venti joins Xiao after a few drinks with Zhongli.

Returning Home - rated Teen but almost M, zhongli/Childe ch 1/1

Childe and Zhongli don't make up as fast as expected. But that doesn't stop Childe from going to Zhongli when horribly injured in a fight. Almost M rated descriptions of wounds but otherwise Teen.

Growing Pains - Rated G, Kaeya&Diluc ch 4/?

Sick fic brought about by the Khaenri'ah curse Kaeya definitely has.

The Weight of his Sins - Rated Teen, Xiao/Venti ch 1/1

Xiao's Karma flares after a battle and is soothed by a certain Anemo Archon.

My Heart Calls You - Rated M but is actually Teen at most, Xiao/Aether ch 1/1

Aether calls Xiao's name even when it's not needed and Xiao finally asks him about it. Leads to eventual love confessions and kissing.

Into the Chasm - Rated Teen, Childe/Lumine ch 1/1

Childe joins Lumine for the last fight in the Chasm. With lots of Flirting involved. End of Chasm quest Spoilers

You Owe Me for This - Rated Teen, Diluc & Kaeya ch 3/?

Diluc starts to notice something is up with Kaeya. But the past gets in the way once again.

The Sinners are All that's Left - Rated Teen, Kaeya & Klee ch 1/1

Kaeya and Albedo can feel what's happening in the Chasm. Kaeya is grounded with Klee when it happens.

SparkKnight Captain - rated G, Kaeya & Klee ch 1/1

Kaeya tells Klee a bedtime story.

Alright I'll end it on pure fluff. It's late and this is a lot more fics than I expected. Hope you enjoy reading some of them! I sure did. Let me know if there's anything I should have tagged or if I should do one of these again tomorrow.

34 notes · View notes

noctusfury · 2 years

Text

My Future Fanfic Projects

Thanks @valiantwarrior37 for the tag!

These are my list of WIP projects that I’m doing in the next couple of years:

(UA stands for “Universe Alternation”, which, unlike AU, is basically changes made to the canonverse or characters, but it’s still the same universe.)

Also, keep in mind that despite the placement, these works won’t exactly be in chronological order. I’ll be doing this more on an “as-inspiration-hits-me” basis.

Return of Mildew’s Son (a HTTYD short-story)

Months after Mildew’s disappearance (and treason), his land needs to be worked and lived in. Eventually, a man comes to Berk with his family, claiming to be Mildew’s son, and claims his inheritance. Of course, chaos and hilarity ensue. He is, after all, Mildew’s son. Will Berk come to accept this new resident, or will they wish to give him the boot?

Macey Comes to Life (a Tuffnut/OC short story)

Folklore/Fantasy AU

Inspired from the classic tales where a man wishes that something of his creation was real, and it comes to life as a woman that he then marries.

Tuffnut gets lonely and jealous when the rest of the Gang each get married and have families of his own, while he gets left behind, still a single bachelor, and no family has come to his to offer their daughter’s hand in marriage to him. Sad, he snuggles with Macey and wishes that it was real so that he could have somebody. Next day, he wakes up to find Macey, alive, as a woman, and is overjoyed. Will this be a dream come true? Or will Tuffnut get more than he bargained for?

Bury the Axe (a Snotlout/OC story)

(Snotlout / OFC) An UA story where a Jorgenson MARRIES a Hofferson. But it’s not Astrid whom Snotlout marries, but rather her older sister, in order to end the feud between the Jorgenson and Hofferson clans. Will he survive this union and find love at last? Or will he become eel bait?

This will be set in HTTYD 2 and a little into THW.

Also this story will be loosely canon, as I’ll be fixing up HTTYD 2 and HTTYD 3 and changing the plots to where they’re compatible and make sense. Hiccstrid marries much sooner, Stoick is alive, Hiccup isn’t an idiot, Drago and Grimmel don’t exist and are replaced with the Warlords, instead. And the Berkians will remain on Berk, New Berk will be greatly altered, and instead of colonizing, the focus will be more on exploration of the Western Archipelago, and perhaps even as far as the British Isles and Iceland. 😉

Based on this conversation in the final scene in RTTE episode “Snotlout Gets the Axe”.

Snotlout’s Saga (Snotlout Leaves Berk UA)

Snotlout loses the Thawfest Games, and has to deal with the aftermath. When things get out-of-hand, Snotlout and Hookfang are forced to leave Berk and become Outcasts. This saga will focus on their journey, their struggles, their successes, their losses, their sacrifices, and their growth.

This story will be set during/after the RoB episode “Thawfest” onwards and ends after RTTE but before HTTYD 2. And because Snotlout leaves so early, much of the plot shall be changed. I have, in fact, been watching the show VERY closely and have been taking notes at what exactly gets changed and how to write accordingly. Surprisingly, Snotlout actually affects much of the plot. Some episodes will be gone, others will be greatly altered, and others not much will change.

I might also do a companion story for this that gets into the Gang’s POV during Snotlout’s exile, just so that you guys can see the changes caused by Snotlout’s absence. I don’t plan on doing this for the other Gang members. Only for Snotlout. Because he’s fun. lol XD

This story will be part of my X-Leaves-Berk Series, which will be loosely connected but not much. It’ll mostly be a series where each of the Gang members will be leaving Berk for one reason or another and at different times. Simply because I’ve never seen any fanfics where the rest of the Gang leave Berk besides Hiccup (and sometimes Astrid who goes with Hiccup). So I’m deciding to fix that. I’m actually quite excited about this series! ^_^

Aside from the Gang, I plan on doing stories for Stoick, Spitelout, Alvin, and Valka for this series. (Valka’s saga will be original and won’t follow the “canon” backstory given to her in HTTYD 2.) Heck, I might even do some Sagas for GUSTAV and MILDEW, of all Vikings. lol XD

Gobber, Dagur, Heather, and other characters might also have Sagas of their own but won’t be part of this Series (since they don’t leave Berk). Or maybe I will... who knows?

Family Bonds || PRE-HTTYD 1/HTTYD 1 Retelling (the Berkian Sagas)

A fix-it fic starting from Pre-HTTYD, with Hiccup as a baby. Essentially fixing the mess-ups of the plot of this film, beginning with Valka and having her not get taken away (which will eventually result in Hiccup having more siblings later down the line), Hiccup having a group of friends (OCs), a stronger Hiccup who knows how to fight but still isn’t good with dragon killing, a better graduation of Astrid and Hiccup’s relationship and better explain how she eventually ends up with Hiccup, getting rid of the “Romantic Flight” and the kisses (or maybe keep the one at the very end). Also, Hiccup’s oppression and ostracization will be more obvious and heavier than the film since it was a “kid’s movie”, though with his group of friends to protect him, it won’t be as dark as you’re fearing.

The biggest changes to this plot will be those but also focusing on Hiccup’s childhood and the others as well. Another one is that Hiccup will be having an adopted brother whom he’s close with (I really wanted to implement the historical adoption and foster system of the Vikings into this franchise, since that was a huge part of Viking culture — and an important one at that — and because I got tired of the whole twin sibling thing that people keep giving Hiccup, and nobody had ever come up with a story where Hiccup gets an adopted sibling). We’ll also be using characters, locations, Tribes, and plot-points from the HTTYD Books as well.

This will literally be a fix-it series that will change and fix anything in the various plots in the franchise that was badly written. I’ll also be adding OCs to help balance the cast and also to make the families more larger and emphasize on their interactions with their families (I was a little miffed that we didn’t really get to see everyone else’s families, aside from Snotlout’s and Hiccup’s fathers and the occasional extended relative on the Twins’ side, and various mentions of family, there wasn’t really a whole lot of family interaction); there.will also be OCs to help increase the Dragon Riders, aaaand also to become Hunter fodder so that Berk and the Riders will actually have suffered losses and make this an actual conflict. (Also because Hiccup trained with a lot of kids in the Books, so Hiccup being with only 5 other kids his age is way too small for my tastes.) Many of these will be essential to the plot of the overall franchise, but won’t hopefully change the plot TOO much — just enough to make it interesting and unique.

There will also be politics involved and new adversaries to defeat, as well as dwarfing the plot armor and making sure that the Gang actually USE armor and weapons and shields when they go to battle. I’ll also be fixing the Defenders of the Wing and the Wingmaidens and making them more Viking-like. I’ll also be implementing various headcanons into the stories to give various characters more background depth to help explain various circumstances in the canon. As well as several other changes.

Obviously, this will be a rather ambitious project — one that will definitely take me a good chunk of my life in doing (since I’m writing for several other Fandoms besides HTTYD). So I’m definitely don’t plan on posting these until I get the outlines or even the entire fics written. Though there WILL be a scattering of short stories and one-shots that I plan on adding into these series for various characters and what-not. Such as “The Return of Mildew’s Son” and “Rig’s Impossible Quest”, etc, etc.

Unforbidden Friendship (A One-Shot Collection)

A collection of one-shots that, obviously, will be focusing on friendships. There’s really no limit, people. The platonic pairing can be anything or anyone — human, animal, or inanimate object — and be up to 3 people (because anything more than that’s a crowd).

Anyway, if you have any platonic pairings that you’d like to see, send me an ask and I’ll add it to my list. It can literally be anybody or anything. Create your own combo that nobody has even thought of that you’d like to see if you have to. Have fun with it!

Enemy of My Enemy (A One-Shot Collection)

A collection of one-shots that, obviously, will be focusing on antagonistic pairings — essentially two or more people who are either antagonistic or hostile (aka villainous, evil, or enemies) towards each other, with absolutely no romantic or platonic notions for each other. There’s really no limit, people. The antagonistic pairing can be anything or anyone — human, animal, or inanimate object — and be up to 3 people (because anything more than that’s a crowd).

Anyway, if you have any antagonistic pairings that you’d like to see, send me an ask and I’ll add it to my list. It can literally be anybody or anything. Create your own combo that nobody has even thought of that you’d like to see if you have to. Have fun with it!

The Whumpfest Games (A One-Shot Collection)

A collection of one-shots that, obviously, will be focusing on whumping characters. There’s really no limit, people. The whumpee(s) and whumper(s) can be anything or anyone — human, animal, or inanimate object — and there’s really no limit to the number of characters either (because anything more than that’s a crowd). That being said, 2 people would be preferable. This may include heroes, neutrals, antagonists, and villains. And animals and inanimate objects, even. (It would be interesting to see Tuffnut emotional whump for the loss of Macey, and also Macey’s “thoughts” as its being... well... whumped.)

Anyway, if you have anyone whom you would like to see whumped, send me an ask and I’ll add it to my list. It can literally be anybody or anything. Create your own combo that nobody has even thought of that you’d like to see if you have to. Have fun with it!

Hiccup the Weaponsmith (A Hiccstrid Story)

(Saga AU) A story where Hiccup and his brothers Snotlout, Throk, and Fishlegs are out hunting and run into a group of Valkryies bathing. As they watch, they see some ne’er-do-wells trying to take advantage of them and corner them, so they decide to come to their rescue. Afterwards, the Valkryies introduce themselves as Astrid, Heather, Minden, and Ruffnut. They then offer themselves to the men, each of them choosing the man they wish to marry. But they warn that they’ll be off to join in Odin’s wars after a long hiatus. So for several years they end up happy living together and even starting to have children of their own. But eventually they disappear as promised. Saddened, Throk and Fishlegs abandon their homes as they go on a journey to find their wives again, leaving Hiccup and Snotlout, and their children, to remain, having faith that their (Hiccup’s and Snotlout’s) wives will return one day, and thus continue life as usual.

However, Mala (or Griselda), Queen of the region where they live, hears of them and how Hiccup is a legendary weaponsmith and warrior, along with Snotlout, and with a prophecy which foretells of this, and also wanting to increase her martial abilities, Mala/Griselda sends soldiers to take them and tries to pressure Hiccup to marry her.

Will Hiccup and Snotlout be able to get out and escape? Will their wives ever return?

Melotraumatic/Saving Snotlout (Snotlout whump story)

Originally created for the Whumptober event, this story will be essentially me whumping Snotlout. Set after RTTE, Savage abducts Snotlout in an act of revenge and, with the help of his witch, Norna (unofficial name), they inflict torture on Snotlout for information, and use an unknown dragon species to instigate it. During this, Snotlout meets two other prisoners who are Savage and Norna’s slaves — adolescents from Meathead Island who had been captured during a raid. Despite being in great pain, Snotlout’s determined to protect them as well, and his fellow Riders, while trying to find some way to escape. Can he hold out long enough for his friends and allies to rescue him?

(May or may not become a part of the Retelling Series.)

A Most Dangerous Game (A Hiccther Arranged Marriage UA story)

(Hiccup / Heather) After the events of “Twinsanity”, when Dagur and his Berserkers leave, a letter arrives to Stoick from Thorvald, Dagur and Heather’s cousin, asking for him and Hiccup to meet him secretly, at night, on Berserk Island... with their dragons. With their secret now out, they go to meet him, where Thorvald tells them of the political situation on Berserk and gives them a proposal to help them take Dagur out, preventing a potential conflict between their two Tribes, and helping Berk with their conflict with the Outcasts. He then offers a pact between them. He also reveals to them a secret he’s been keeping for many years: Heather.

However, Thorvald also offers an ultimatum: either Hiccup marries Heather to seal the deal between them, and to ensure a lasting peace between their two Tribes (as well as to protect Heather), or Thorvald will expose their little secret to Dagur and use it to his own advantage in his struggle with Dagur for the throne, bringing Berk into a costly war they don’t need.

Will Hiccup step up and do what’s needed for Berk, or will he plunge his Tribe into a costly war?

Snotlout’s Bride (part of the Bride/Groom Series)

(Snotlout / OFC) It’s the time in every Viking’s life when he or she settles down and gets married — and Snotlout is no different. When his clan go to the Althing in search for a bride, Snotlout explores the various tents in search for the ideal wife. He eventually catches sight of a young woman who’s struggling with sewing a shirt — and her relatives aren’t encouraging at all. Snotlout, seeing himself in her, decides to help her discreetly with her task, much to her surprise.

While he takes his leave and tries to move on, his mind keeps wondering to the girl with the downtrodden face who doesn’t seem to be very competent as a housewife (he knows she’s not a shield-maiden because she wore no armor not had any weapons around like many shield-maidens are wont to do). Before he knows it, he finds himself going back to his family’s tent and talks it over with his father. Spitelout, of course, isn’t too pleased, expecting Snotlout to do as he had asked and find a strong, competent wife from a great family to help strengthen the clan’s prestige. Needless to say, they eventually get into a disagreement, resulting in Spitelout refusing to use any of his money to buy the girl’s hand, and asserts that Snotlout, if he’s so persistent to have her, can go buy her himself.

Not being allowed to bring his dragon, nor having much in the ways of wealth aside from what he took with him, Snotlout decides to go to the girl’s father to make a deal, and at least offer a down payment until he can acquire the rest. But when he sees who the girl’s father truly is, he is shocked.Eventually, after a lot of haggling, he’s able to acquire her hand in marriage, and the wedding date gets set.

Will Snotlout be able to live happily with his new blushing bride for the rest of his life? Or will this turn out to be the greatest mistake he’s ever made? Will this chance bride become the woman he never knew he needed?

Hiccup’s Saga/Wilderwest Saga (Young Chief UA)

A Hiccup-Leaves-Berk story with a ton of inspiration and elements of the Books, this story will be placed before the events of HTTYD 1. When Stoick goes off to search for the Nest, 10/12-year-old Hiccup and his adopted brother Drift get abducted and taken by Danger-Brute warriors to the Dungeons at the behest of the Chief of the Shivering Shores. There, the Chief of the Danger-Brutes imprisons them so that they don’t escape. While in the dungeons, they meet a fellow prisoner, Heather, daughter of Chief Osvald of the Berserkers, who has also been abducted and imprisoned.

Meanwhile, back on Berk, news of the “deaths” of Hiccup and Drift send shockwaves to the villagers. Even worse, a week after their disappearance, Stoick is still nowhere to be seen. Stoick’s brother decides to take over with his son Snotface Haddock (Book Snotlout) as Heir and declares Stoick to be dead. Not wanting to accept it, the Gang decide to go search for Stoick and warn them of what’s happened.

Can Hiccup and his brother escape the Dungeons of the Danger-Brutes, a prison said to be inescapable? Can they survive? And what happened to Stoick? Will the brothers be able to return to Berk and reclaim Hiccup’s birthright? Even more important: Can they do it without ending up with the Slavemark before then?

Zephyr’s Hero (a Zephlout short story)

(Inspired by “Sense & Sensibility”) When 18-year-old Zephyr gets injured and trapped after a fall, Snotlout finds her and rescues her and takes her back to her family. He later comes and keeps her company while she recovers. Zephyr eventually develops feelings for him, and the determination to have him as her husband burns strong within her. Will she claim him as her own, or will her heart get broken? (This is a crack ship fic.)

The Berkian Berserker (Berserker!Hiccup UA)

This story idea was inspired by Berserker!Hiccup fanart by @baisleyarts , and whose gracious permission allowed me to use this idea for my own use.

Wanting to solidify their alliance, Stoick exchanges his son Hiccup to Chief Osvald of the Berserker Tribe to foster in the hopes that Hiccup will become more Viking-like. As the years go by, Hiccup becomes more warrior-like and strong, adopting the Berserker life as his own — albeit a difficult one to deal with due to his mild and kind-hearted personality, as well as looked down on for being Berkian, despite not feeling any loyalty to them in the slightest. Still, he was nowhere near the derangedness of his foster brother.

By the time he’s 15/16, Berk has been slowly weakening from the Dragon attacks and the Outcast and Meathead raids. What’s worse is that Osvald mysteriously vanishes and Dagur claims to have slain him to take the throne for his own in a coup. Alarmed, Hiccup (renamed Hauberk or Brandur) and Thorvald conspire to overthrow him, find Osvald, and reinstate him as Chief once again.

When they go to Berk to sign the treaty, Dagur sees the weakness of Berk and reveals his cards to his relatives, causing Hiccup and Thorvald to secretly send a message to Stoick to warn him.

War is coming. Will Hiccup and Thorvald, with Berk’s aid, thwart Dagur’s schemes and also find Chief Osvald again? Or will Dagur succeed in his ambitions?

The Furian Sagas

This work(s) will focus on the POV of my OC “tribe” and the OCs who come from it — Norrik and Nidhoggr, among others. You’ll see parts of this be in the Retelling Series, including the Rogue Riders that I plan on introducing in the series (because RTTE indiscriminately neglected that particular plot-point in the “Have Dragon, Will Travel” episode about the Rogue Riders! The potential was staggering and was a crime for that plot-point having been wasted!). Essentially, this will get into the history, background, and day-to-day life of the Furians behind-the-scenes that we won’t get to see much of with the rest of my stories. (Or that’s the plan, anyway.)

The main focus will be on Norrik’s father, Norrik IV Nottrikr and his brother, and will be more or less in his perspective. We’ll see his sons from time-to-time, but since they’re usually off with the Gang, we won’t see much of them.

The Accomplice (A Viggo Grimborn-centric Story)

(Canon Divergence AU)

Did Viggo REALLY die in the cave? What if the Skrill wasn’t the only accomplice up Viggo’s sleeve? Created from one of my pet peeves where one of the plot points — in “Wings of War” — was never used at all in the series.

In my headcanon, this Hunter was the other “accomplice” that Viggo had up his sleeve and he comes in the nick of time and rescues Viggo from impending death, smuggling him out of the cave and away to somewhere isolated where Viggo can heal his wounds. When he recovers, Viggo, keeping his word to Hiccup, leaves the Archipelago for his Tribe’s home. While he has a new respect for dragons, he still wishes to continue dragon hunting, and even in the human slave market. He decides to take a page in Krogan’s book and form his own Dragon Flyers.

This story will follow Viggo and his new subordinate as he gathers the remnants of the scattered Dragon Hunters and reorganizes his organization, his ambitions no longer residing in the Archipelago, but in other parts of the world.

Memoirs of a Dragon Flyer (part of the Memoirs Series)

An auto-biographical/fiction story that goes into the perspective of a Dragon Flyer freshly recruited into Krogan’s ranks. It will showcase his thoughts, his experiences, the people he meets, the dragon he rides, the enemies he fights (mostly the Riders, but other foes too), the ideals he inherits, and the various adventures he undergoes as an up-and-coming Flyer. Will he survive long enough to return home? Will he remain a Flyer even after his service is over? Or will he perish — either by the hands of his enemies, the dragons, or by Krogan’s own hand?

Or will he join Viggo in an act of treason against Krogan?

When Love Washed Ashore (a Johann/Atali story)

Based on my headcanon that Minden is Atali’s daughter — and that Johann (who won’t be following the Traitor arc) is her father — this fanfic goes into Atali’s story before she became the Chieftess of the Wingmaidens. When she was young, she lived in a Tribe that was dedicated to the preservation of the Razorwhips. According to tradition, only female members of the Royal Family of the Chieftain could fill the role. But doing so meant giving up the idea of get married, raising a family, and dedicating most of one’s life to Freya.

Young Atali is 17-years-old and her father has plans to marry her off to the son of an old ally of theirs. While she doesn’t protest, she’s not accepting of it either. She has no idea what her purpose is in life and doesn’t know what she wants to do. But she knows that duty to her clan comes first. That is... before Fate had other plans.

When she finds a young man unconscious on her island’s shore due to a shipwreck, her life is changed forever. He is a young merchant by the name of Johann Johansson and he fascinates her and her people with many tales of his journeys and adventures, as well as those that he has heard from his travels. Her heart stirs with a desire to explore and travel to places that she’s never seen before, let alone heard of them.

As he recovers from his injuries, Johann and Atali fall in love. Unfortunately, her father is adamant for her to marry the son of their old ally; and with Johann being a merchant now with nothing to his name, and Atali being of royal blood, just the mere suggestion of their union would never be considered. Nonetheless, this doesn’t stop romance from blossoming between them.

Will they be able to live a happily ever after? Or is their love condemned to the fate of never being together? Will she choose love, duty, or will Freya make things more complicated by throwing the Wingmaiden option on the table?

Saga of the Berserkers (HTTYD Retelling Series)

(HTTYD) This story focuses on the narrative of the Berserker Tribe -- namely the Royal Family of High Chieftains who rule Berserk. Osvald, Osvald’s Wife, Heather, Dagur, their extended family -- we will see them all. We will also see the shifting political plates as characters grow up and things heat up as Osvald disappears while on a Quest with Lady Valka to find a way to end the Dragon Wars. Dagur starts butting heads with members of his own family, namely Thorvald (OC), his cousin, and others. This saga will also detail the relationships between the characters and how this’ll result in the eventual Berserker Wars with Berk.

Savage's Saga / Savage's Revenge

(RTTE / Post-RTTE) Savage may have lost his opportunity to rule the Berserkers thanks to the Dragon Riders, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the fight yet! When his backup plan is activated, he and his cohorts are able to escape captivity and flee Berserk. However, Savage’s heart is fuming for revenge for the humiliation and defeats that he had suffered at the hands of his former masters and the Dragon Riders as well.

With this in mind, Savage gathers his followers and goes into hiding, determined to build and grow his strength for when he can strike his enemies. When that opportunity arises, Savage is determined to finally become a Viking Hero of Legend.

Will Savage be able to overcome all obstacles and enemies in his path and claim the Title of Ultimate Villain?

Savage Regression (Reincarnation/Regression AU)

(RTTE / HTTYD) While dying from pneumonia while in prison after having failed in his coup, Savage is left with the bitter regret of not having become the Great Viking of Legend that he had always promised himself (and his mother) that he would become. However, when he wakes up, assuming to be in Niflheim, he’s instead back during his days as an Outcast. How did he end up here? Regardless, Savage is determined to not let this chance go to waste. It is also time for him to change the past, and reverse choices that he had regretted having made in his past life.

Will Savage be able to come out on top as Ultimate Viking?

Savage Rematch (Reincarnation/Regression AU)

(RTTE S5 E3) Not wanting to take any chances of him escaping and starting a coup again, the Berserkers decide to kill Savage and his followers by beheading. However, an unlikely ally decides to step in, and, upon his death, he has regressed back in time to before the Dragon Riders came to Berserk.

Noticing this, Savage decides to monopolize this second chance at life and change things up, now armed with the knowledge of past events, and setting up countermeasures against that happening again, will Savage be able to change history and alter his fate? Or is he only setting himself up to lose again?

Into the Archipelago (Nonfiction)

Similar with the How to Pick Your Dragon work, this work will be in a “non-fiction” format in the guise of Hiccup and Fishlegs writing this for the future generations of Vikings about the nations of the Archipelago. This work will detail the geography, history, politics, culture and customs of every “Tribe” (even though they’re technically communities or chiefdoms) in the Archipelago seen and/or mentioned in the HTTYD franchise.

Even though there are probably many “Tribes” in the Archipelago, most of them aren’t mentioned or shown, so I’ll only be focusing on those communities that are shown and mentioned. Some of the communities portrayed are inaccurate and so I’ll be altering them to fit the HTTYD world better.

Please keep in mind that the majority of this content will contain my headcanons, theories, and my perceptions of these Tribes, since much is unknown about these Tribes and I have to fill in the blanks to the best of my abilities.

The rest of the Retelling Series.

Riders of Berk Retelling

Defenders of Berk Retelling

Race to the Edge Retelling

HTTYD 2 Retelling

HTTYD 3/THW Retelling

HTTYD 4 Epilogue/Next Generation(?)

Aside from these fics, I also might work on other stories that will bridge the gaps throughout the franchise: Pre- and Post-HTTYD 1, Pre- and Post-RTTE, HTTYD 2-HTTYD 3, and HTTYD 3-HTTYD 4 (fanon).

The rest of the Bride/Groom Series.

Hiccup’s Bride

Astrid’s Groom

Fishlegs’s Bride

Ruffnut’s Groom

Tuffnut’s Bride

Gustav’s Bride

Dagur’s Bride

Heather’s Groom

There might be more, but let’s just stick with these characters for now.

The rest of the X Leaves Berk Series.

Astrid’s Saga

Fishlegs’s Saga

Tuffnut and Ruffnut’s Saga

Alvin’s Saga

Stoick’s Saga

Valka’s Saga

Spitelout’s Saga

Gustav’s Saga?

Mildew’s Saga?

Drift/Rig’s Saga (OC)?

And maybe others...

The rest of the Memoirs Series.

Memoirs of a Dragon Hunter

Memoirs of a Warlord

Memoirs of an Outcast

Memoirs of a Berserker

Memoirs of a Viking from the Shivering Shores

Memoirs of a Mercenary

Memoirs of a Bounty Hunter

Memoirs of a Wingmaiden

Memoirs of a Defender of the Wing

And maybe others...

<><><><><><><>

Fateful Consequences (A Brave trilogy)

(Canon Divergence / Historical AU / Arranged Marriage AU)

[Eventual Merida x OMC]

In an alternate universe where there is no magic, Merida’s rebellion has real-life consequences, and she has to witness her misdeeds tear apart the former unity of the Four Great Clans and have it start a civil war between them once more. As a result, the Viking-held earldoms of the Scottish islands take advantage of this turmoil and invade the Kingdom of Dun Broch. When they try to claim the castle, Fergus orders his family to ride to one of their relative’s clans for safety, and battles them out as his family rides out from the castle to escape the invaders. But they end up getting captured by Norse raiders.

Elinor and Merida are put into a tent with other hostages. Merida is left with feelings of guilt and sorrow for what her selfishness caused and afraid of what their fate will be. But her fiery heart is determined to right the wrongs that she had caused and restore her Kingdom. She and her mother also befriend two royal adolescents from a Scot-Norse clan who’ve also been taken hostage. When the camp gets attacked by a warband and the hostages rescued, she meets her new friends’ elder brother, a ruler-in-exile by the name of Heimir (called “Hamish” by the Scots), who heard about his siblings being taken and rushed to save them.

Later on, when they return to his base, Elinor and Merida ask him to help them reclaim their home and route the Norse invaders, but Hamish’s court isn’t willing to participate in a war that was of their (Dun Broch’s) own doing and tell them that the only reason they would go to war was if Merida’s hand was proffered in exchange for martial aid.

Will Merida learn her lesson and sacrifice her freedom for the sake of her people, or will history repeat itself? Will she fix her mistakes and defeat the Norse invaders with Hamish’s aid, or will their new union fracture under the weight of different cultures, beliefs, customs, and idealogies?

The Pirate Life (Brave 2012)

(Pirate AU)

[Eventual Merida x OMC]

Merida is the boisterous daughter of an infamous Scottish pirate in the Caribbean. When a raid goes horribly wrong and ends up in prison, a mysterious ally comes to rescue her on behalf of her father. He is the complete opposite of her -- and everything she detests. And yet... why does he draw her mind in like a will-o’-the-wisp?

—

This trilogy will consist of this fic, along with a prequel fic that will dive into Hamish’s past and the events leading up to his fateful meeting with Merida and Elinor, and then a sequel fic which will not only focus on their future, but also on their quest to find Merida’s missing father and brothers.

In addition, I plan on there being short stories or semi-full-length stories which will give alternative scenarios in Hamish’s case spouse-wise — since he had a couple of past love interests whom he couldn’t get together with — and how they would change his fate. Including a what-if fanfic where Hamish marries Elinor instead of Merida (due to Fergus dying) and how that would change the current plot only slightly.

The Boy King (A Frozen story)

(Historical AU / Light Supernatural AU)

[OMC x OFC, later Anna x Kristoff, mentioned Elsa x OMC]

This story is part of the same universe as FTN and Han’s Redemption, being around 1830s-1840s, and will be focused on a foreign nation that’s in dire straights. Prince Nyrriki, the youngest and only surviving son of King Haappi of the Kingdom of Tulemar, inherits a political hot potato stuffed with explosives when his father dies under suspicious circumstances. With Nyrriki being too young to rule, his grandfather decides to take up the mantle until his grandson comes of-age — only for him to share the same fate some time later, leaving Nyrriki all alone.

But since birth, there were omens and a phenomenon that only a couple of people noticed and saw: Nyrriki was born during a fierce storm during the night — possibly foretelling that he will live during a tumultuous time and dark period in the Kingdom’s future. Not only this, but Tuumi Varyoya (”dark shadows”) — evil spirits of the spirit world in folklore — tried to kill the boy, or at least put a curse on him, but was stopped by the Fire Spirit, Tulisydaan (”Fireheart”), considered by many, according to legend, to be the Guardian of and Guide to the Royal Family, and is said to be the living spirit of the volcano by the same name. Ever since he was young, Nyrriki was able to hear the whispers of this Guardian Spirit and even see it when it decides to show itself. Besides his siblings, this spirit was his only friend for a long time.

8-year-old Nyrriki, considered too young to take up the throne, is forced aside so that the Council can rule in his stead until he comes of age (even though there are notable exceptions in the laws that exempt him from this rule). Even from a young age, Nyrriki has had a powerful urge to rule despite his young age, and rule like the Warrior Kings of Old — to protect his people from any danger and exploitation thrown at them. But such ideals are considered old-fashioned and “no longer applicable” in this current modern age. But with a Council who seeks their own interests, enemies on all sides, claimants who wish to take the throne for themselves in Nyrriki’s place, and with the kingdom on the brink of economic and political collapse — on top of all the bias and prejudice towards his age and inexperience — the young heir definitely has a steep uphill climb to the top if he wishes to be the monarch his people need. It’s up to Nyrriki to search for some trustworthy allies and friends who can support his dream, vision, and ambition.

On top of all of this, their trading partner, Weselton, adds to the turmoil by imposing economic and political pressure onto the already-struggling nation, sensing weakness like a shark to blood. What’s more, Weselton is rumored to be meddling in Tulemar’s administrative affairs, and could also have been the culprit behind the deaths of Nyrriki’s father and grandfather. And war is a grim possibility not only from Weselton but from other nations besides.

Can Prince Nyrriki survive this tribulation long enough to be King? Can he pluck his kingdom out from the metaphorical furnace and bring them into a golden age that they haven’t seen in a century(ies)? Can he overcome his adversaries and his country’s enemies? Or will he lose everything and succumb his people into a period of conquest and foreign rule and darkness?

From the North (A Frozen story)

(Historical AU / Arranged Marriage AU)

[Eventual Elsa x OMC(??) and Kristoff x Anna]

In an AU where Elsa has no magical powers, and, as a result, bears the consequence of Elsa and Anna’s parents still alive (thus making Elsa a princess again) and there’s no war that happens — for now. And since Elsa is now of-age to look for a suitor, many candidates come from many countries. One of whom is Nordrik X of the Northern Isles, and also the Duke of Weselton’s son, Lord Waldo.

However, between assassination attempts, kidnapping attempts, and suitors wearing masks of charisma while hiding barely concealed daggers of ambition, who can Princess Elsa truly trust and proffer her hand to in eternal matrimony?

Then Prince Nordrik X offers his assistance. Can Elsa trust him, or will he prove to be another Hans? Just who is he? Can they be able to defeat the conspiracies, or get swallowed by them?

Hans’s Redemption (A Frozen story)

(Prince Hans x OFC)

This story idea has been a great source of internal conflict for me over the years. I’ve heard of and read several Hans redemption stories, and also of how much flak they’ve gotten over the years due to how badly written several of them have been (among other things). However, I’ve been vaguely outlining it with a friend or two of mine and I think I can confidently say that I can do this when I decide to do it.

Set in a Historical AU — where cannons, muskets, and pistols exist — Prince Hans of the Southern Isles has been dealing with his punishment for 3 years, his reputation tarnished and his plans foiled. And the persecution of his Father and brothers has gotten worse due to his failure and shaming the family name. However, he gets a surprise one day. His brother, Lars, who gave him the idea of marrying into the Arendelle royal family and ruling there (but not the murder part), comes to him and gives him a chance to escape their family and the Southern Isles... forever. Lars arranges for him to leave the Southern Isles on a ship and gives him new clothes and money and they say goodbye for the final time, before Hans leaves.

Hans arrives to a distant small country and accidentally ends up becoming the Heir when an ailing King is appalled by his son’s antics, which is bringing the Kingdom down and causing conflict within his Kingdom. Hans is basically offered the Throne on a silver platter — provided that he marry the Princess, along with a few other conditions. Of course, as is routine, many of the nobility and the son don’t approve of this new move, and when Hans does eventually become King, he’ll have a devil of a time proving himself and winning their favor.

This story will focus on Hans’s journey and will detail his slow and gradual reformation, in a *hopefully* realistic and believable manner. One that will hopefully keep Hans in-character while giving him the chance to change into someone better... in time.

This may or may not end up being connected to my Boy King and From the North stories.

<><><><><><><>

There’s also the myriad of one-shots that aren’t included in this post. I’ve also been thinking about writing some HTTYD/Drifting Dragons crossover fanfics. Because it’d be a crime to pass that up! lol XD

<><><><><>

Note: Of course, I’m not working on these projects all at once. But these are projects that are in my files that I outline from time-to-time. The top-most ones are the ones that I’m currently focusing on. But this list isn’t exactly in order. It may be that I get inspired and do one of the fanfics that aren’t one of the foremost ones.

<><><><><>

There are also several other projects I plan on doing but they’re either far-off into the future or belong to my other profiles (such as @minlout3heathlegs3ruffthrokfan @companion-of-the-dragonmark profiles).

Plus, also, the myriad of one-shots that I have planned. Hehe. ^_^

20 notes · View notes

wipodu-ao3 · 3 years

Text

Fueled by revenge - a HTTYD fanfic

Read it on Ao3. Join the Discord!

A work in the Cannibal AU.

Summary:

A simple day in the life of Hiccup, with a few twist that can change a life, not his though.

An explanaition on how the chapter 'Fueled by revenge' came to be.

Words: 2,502

[One-shot]

After they had taken care of the tribe who were responsible for Toothless’ injury, Hiccup had used the forge on that cursed island to build the Nigh Fury a temporary fin. It had disturbed Hiccup that he felt nothing when he stepped over the dead bodies of the cursed tribe, but they were responsible for their own situation.

The tribe that had captured him had held dragons as food, nothing more, nothing less. Hiccup had learned from Storm that they had been capturing dragons and ate them as their main source of meat. While Storm was okay with fish that Shadow managed to catch, Hiccup grew a preference for… something else.

It was easy for Hiccup to take a knife to the body. It was easy to cut the flesh and taste it again. The fact that Toothless indulged in the taste too, just made everything seem okay. Hiccup knew it wasn’t, but he didn’t care.

What had shocked Hiccup, was that Storm didn’t seem to care. She had stumbled upon him with the knife in his hand and a cut up body below him. She didn’t scream or seem afraid. Storm had looked at him in disgust and scoffed.

“Cook it at least,” she told him.

And that was that. Hiccup’s new meat preferences were left undiscussed and an understanding was born between the two humans.

While Hiccup was making Toothless’ first ever prosthetic, they talked.

Hiccup learned that the man he had killed was Storm’s father. He learned that the reason the girl was with the dragons, was because she refused to eat the dragon flesh and her father didn’t have it in him to kill her. The reason Shadow was alive? ‘Skrill wasn’t tasty’.

The more Hiccup learned, the more he felt justified in his actions. Something he hadn’t noticed in his rage, was that the girl didn’t have a leg, just like him she had a prosthetic. It was a simple wooden one and she had clearly not gotten used to it. When asked about how that happened, Storm simply said:

“Just because he didn’t kill me, doesn’t mean he didn’t try.”

The fact that she joined him so easily made sense, she wanted revenge and she got it. Still, Hiccup had taken upon himself to make her a prosthetic, like the one he had, as a gesture of his gratitude. At first she refused, but the prospect of having a comfortable leg won her over.

Fortunately for both Hiccup and Toothless, Storm knew a little bit about healing and she took care of the injuries they sustained. Their injuries needed time to heal and Hiccup gladly stayed on the island for a few more days.

When he was done with both prosthetics, he asked Storm what she was going to do. She had hesitantly admitted that she didn’t know, but she wanted to but the cursed island to the ground. Hiccup was hit with an idea, he knew that learning to fly with Toothless’ new tail would take some time, but he wanted to get back to Berk sooner rather than later. He offered Storm a place to stay if he got her help one more time.

That was about two years ago.

Hiccup was hammering a metal rod for Toothless’ new tail. The new tail would seamlessly blend in with the Night Fury’s body and nobody would know that Toothless doesn’t have a tailfin. It was the third fin Hiccup was making for the dragon. The first one was on the Edge, and Toothless’ current one would join it in Hiccup’s room.

The Edge was the place Hiccup had offered to Storm. At the time it was just an island with a lone abandoned hut that Hiccup sometimes used to spend the night. While Hiccup had been at Berk, Storm had taken it upon herself to fix it up, she didn’t want to explore without Hiccup, so she spent her time building. At this point, the Edge had two houses, one they used for sleeping and the other was like a common space, with a simple kitchen and a library in progress.

Hiccup would leave for the Edge and be long gone by the time the morning rolled around. He had plans to explore and check out some spots frequented by Dragon Trappers. He also wanted to make sure the new tail was okay and that the saddle didn’t need any adjustments. Hiccup had already adjusted the saddle twice, his growth spurt making it uncomfortable.

Hiccup finished with the rod and put away the used forge equipment. He took the rod, also taking some nails he had made previously, and left the forge. It was late evening, but people were still milling around. He didn’t bother hiding the rod or nails as he could just claim they were for his prosthetic, nobody would care, because his growth spurt did mean he had to build a new prosthetic.

Hiccup let his eyes wander across the village. A lot of people were trying to finish up their chores for the next day, as from tomorrow, for almost a week, his father would be in the Meade hall, answering the tribe’s problems and solving their disputes. A good time for Hiccup to disappear for a while.

“Hiccup!” he heard his name being called from behind him.

He kept walking, not even glancing back to acknowledge his cousin. Hiccup hoped his obvious dismissal would discourage Snotlout from pursuing him. Luck was not on Hiccup’s sight it seemed as Snotlout caught up with him and stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. Hiccup stopped and looked at the hand in disgust and Snotlout quickly removed it.

“We’re going over to the Meade hall, want to join us?” Snotlout asked him, gesturing to the rest of the gang standing a bit away.

“No,” Hiccup answered after glancing at the others, he went to leave, but his cousin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder again, and even Hiccup’s disgusted look didn’t make Snotlout remove his hand this time.

“We-we’re gonna take some mead and head out to the academy,” Snotlout tried to persuade him.

Hiccup almost laughed. How times have changed… a few years ago, he would have jumped on the chance to hang out with the others, but now he knew that they didn’t have any real value in his life. With Toothless he could see faraway lands and explore, with Storm he could talk about his thoughts and have meaningful conversations. The others just didn’t offer him anything, at least not at this time.

He knew that if they were a bit more mature or adventurous, and forgot their hate for dragons, they would be great friends. Also, Hiccup was still a bit mad that they had tormented him in his younger years, the torment stopping only when he stopped reacting to them and started treating them with indifference. His cold disposition somehow made him cool in their eyes.

“I don’t drink,” Hiccup told him and shrugged of his hand, going back home without looking back.

Hiccup didn’t linger at home, he didn’t need to. He just took a loaf of bread and put it with his other things. He left through the back door so nobody would see him leaving, because while they generally never noticed he left, but that was because they didn’t see him leave.

Toothless excitedly bounced towards Hiccup as he entered the cove. Hiccup greeted his best friend and went over to his stash of things. His stash consisted of the armor he didn’t want to wear around the village, the armor that could easily be recognized as the Dragon Master’s get up, some spare bags and a few of his own made weapons.

He dressed in his armor, mounted Toothless and with one final pet to the dragon’s head, they took off. They flew through the air as fast as they could, making short work of leaving Berk behind. Hiccup knew the way to the Edge by hearth, he could find it with his eyes closed.

Flying was freeing for him. Soaring through the air like nothing mattered, because it didn’t when he was there, Hiccup let his mind wander. He thought about the dragons he had found, the places he had explored and the people he had ‘met’. He used the term ‘met’ loosely as the people met his persona of ‘Dragon Master’.

He didn’t know who had given him that name, but he had no problem with it. The name gave him notoriety and opened doors that could never be opened otherwise. And he couldn’t say that ‘Dragon Master’s’ reputation was unwarranted, because it was. He didn’t hesitate to land a killing blow if he needed to, he frequently went around Dragon Trapper ships and freed the dragons inside, killing anyone who came in his way. And, of course, taking some of his preferred meat with him anytime he could.

Halfway to the Edge, in the middle of the night, Hiccup saw a ship in the waters below him. Curiosity got the better of him and he steered Toothless down. They flew around the ship, the darkness hiding them. Hiccup felt anger rise within him when he heard the roars of scared dragons come from within. Hiccup hated Dragon Trappers, he had taken care of countless ships on his own before, this time would be no different. He doubted anyone would survive.

Hiccup touched down on the ship, the fact that the deck was clear of people surprised him. He dismounted Toothless and gestured for him to stay quiet, he listened closer and he heard a voice mixed in with the roaring of the dragons. The shouting was filled with pain, it was clear to Hiccup that whoever was beneath the deck was being tortured. That did not surprise him, Dragon Trappers were rarely smart or compassionate people.

Hiccup motioned for Toothless to stay on alert and went beneath the deck. It was light there, torches on the walls giving enough light for him to see clearly. There were about ten people there, all ganged up on one tied up man. The tied up man was screaming as one of the trappers, donned with a cloak made of dragon hide, took a knife to his bicep – carving away the skin there.

Hiccup didn’t waste time when he saw the keys dangling on one of their belts. He sneaked toward the man with the keys, luckily he was in the back of the group so Hiccup found it easy to cover the man’s mouth and pull him back. A dagger to the man’s throat was a quick and silent way to dispose of him, the body went down and Hiccup took the keys from his belt.

It was done silently, not alerting the others in the group. Hiccup used the keys to unlock the cages that housed dragons that did gain the group’s attention. Startled shouts rang out as the dragons ran out, Hiccup used the commotion to his advantage. He took his sword and managed to kill three more of the men before the others register what had happened.

The remaining six were easy to dispose of. Hiccup’s sword was sharp and he managed to behead two of the six, their head landing on the ground with a thud. One took a stab at the heart, two took fatal blows to the neck. The last one was the leader of the group, the one who had been carving at the man’s bicep. Hiccup managed to push the man to the ground and used his sword to cut the man’s leg at the hip clean off. The leader screamed in pain as he bled out.

Hiccup took the dismembered leg and with one swig he separated it at the knee. Hiccup called for Toothless, the dragon bouncing in with a croon. Hiccup took a mesh bag he had in the sack with his other things and wrapped the thigh in it. He fixed the slab of meat on Toothless’ saddle and turned to the man who had been tortured.

The man was looking at him with fear and confusion. Hiccup went over to him and took a knee to stay in eye level with the man.

“What’s your name?” Hiccup asked him with a tilt of his head.

“E-Eret,” the man gasped out, his face screwed up in pain.

“You have a choice Eret,” Hiccup told him, his eyes turning to the man’s bleeding bicep, the wound would scar if the man stayed alive, “Join me.”

“Or?” Eret asked when Hiccup didn’t elaborate.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked around the dead men, making a show of his wandering gaze. Eret gulped as he understood, he took a deep breath and nodded.

“Join you.”

Hiccup smiled and went around him to cut the rope that held his hands. Eret was another person for him to train and be friends with. Even if Hiccup could do this on his own, more people meant more saved dragons. Hiccup got Eret in Toothless and they took off.

Hiccup wasn’t scared that Eret would try to hurt him. For one, the man’s bicep must have been killing him. Eret had also been tortured by the dragon trappers, which meant he was someone they hated, and he didn’t share in their believes, at least not anymore. Hiccup could easily recognize people who could be assets to his cause, Eret was one.

By the time they landed on the Edge, Eret was struggling to stay awake, even the pain from his injury and the excitement that came with flying for the first time, couldn’t keep him awake. They had landed by the main building and, even though it was still dark, Storm had come to greet them.

“Who’s this?” she asked instead of greeting them, Eret’s presence coming as a shock to her.

Hiccup jumped from the saddle and helped Eret down, letting the man lean on him. Toothless went over to Storm and nuzzled her in greeting, she petted the Night Fury’s head as she watched the two men. Hiccup started leading Eret to the house.

“A new member of our team,” Hiccup told her as she held the door open, “He needs a bit of medical attention, if you don’t mind.”

Storm sighed and went over to their kitchen, she opened a cabinet where they stored their medical supplies, and took out everything she would need. Hiccup sat Eret down at the table and pulled out a seat for Storm.

She sat down and looked at the man’s bicep, she blew her hair out of her face and glanced at Toothless. The Night Fury was sitting near the door, waiting for Hiccup to take his things from the dragon. Storm eyed the mesh bag and turned to Hiccup.

“Put the meat on ice, at least,” she sighed and rolled her eyes, “Thor, you never learn…” she mumbled and got to work on Eret’s wound.

#cannibalism #au #httyd #hiccup #dark hiccup #toothless #storm #httyd fanfiction #fanfiction #eret son of eret

54 notes · View notes

secret-engima · 3 years

Note

I’m interested in hearing more about that AU you told me about before- the RWBY/HTTYD fusion(?) where Oscar is basically Hiccup and Ozpin is the dadliest Nightfury ever :)

OH YES THAT WAS A FUN IDEA.

Okay so like- RWBY/HTTYD fusion kinda thing where instead of vikings there’s Remnant characters. And possibly Remnant’s world. Anyway dragons are a thing, dragons are something people all have strong mixed opinions on because most dragons are furious monsters that try to destroy human settlements at any turn, but there are stories and legends of a time centuries ago when dragons were peaceful and tamable and kind.

Oscar has no real opinion on the legends. He’s mostly scared of dragons after an attack of a huge flock of Terrible Terrors when he was a small child left his hands and neck all scarred up. Even so, he doesn't ... really hate them? They’re wild animals. They’re just angry ones. He and his Aunt are pretty good at keeping their farm unnoticed when a flock passes overhead and as long as it stays that way, he’s fine. Any stray dragon that comes by and starts making noises to set the barn on fire or steal livestock, his Aunt deals with it. She’s a good shot.

Then one day, his hideout is broken into.

Now, his hideout isn’t really a “hideout” it’s just the old barn that the farm doesn’t use anymore. it’s too far away from the house, right on the edge of their property. But nobody has a reason to go there, so as long as he’s careful, Oscar gets to use it as his own little clubhouse. He stores books in there, and notebooks to sketch in, and all the junk he likes to tinker with because he likes building things on the side. His aunt says that maybe someday he can get a scholarship to a proper school for engineering and stuff.

He’s always careful not to store food in there, so that the wild animals of any kind have no reason to try to get in, and he locks it when he leaves.

So he is understandably VERY surprised when he comes in and finds a DRAGON on the floor of his hideout, having apparently broken in through the old window on the upper floor. The dragon stirs when Oscar gasps in fear, moves faster than Oscar can think and suddenly Oscar is pinned by a dark paw as the dragon looms over him with bloody, sharp teeth and furious gold eyes.

So this is how he dies then.

He squeezes his eyes shut with a whimper, waiting for the half-remembered agony of being mauled by a dragon to start (it had hurt so bad as a child and this dragon was so much bigger than a Terrible Terror-).

Hot breath on his face and then instead of pain, a low noise that was too soft to be a growl. Oscar whimpers again because please, please don’t try to eat him alive or something, but instead of pain the paw just leaves his chest and when Oscar dares to open his eyes and sit up, the dragon has limped away to curl up in a corner of the hideout again.

....Dragons aren’t supposed to let humans live.

......They probably aren’t supposed to look so exhausted and in pain and bloody either.

Oscar knows he should run. Go get his Aunt so she can come put the dragon down before it changes its mind and hurts him but-. The dragon looks at him, and gold eyes aren’t furious anymore. Just resigned. Scared. The dragon looks like it’s been on the losing side of a very bad fight with something that wasn’t human. There are gashes where scales have been clawed away, and when its tail slides slowly to curl around its paws, Oscar can see its missing a tail fin.

...Was this dragon attacked by other dragons?

Curiosity and pity make Oscar hold his silence as he backs slowly out of the barn and shuts the door behind him. He ... maybe it will go away in a few hours. Once it’s caught its breath.

He peaks in that evening and finds it hasn’t. It’s curled up tightly in the same corner, and he’s pretty sure the dragon is shivering.

He should REALLY tell his Aunt about this.

He brings it a small bucket of fish from the farm’s massive pond the next morning instead.

The dragon looks at him in open surprise and takes the fish as politely as a well trained dog. When it stands up again Oscar flinches, but all it does is sniff at him and then start licking his hair and Oscar yelps from shock more than fear. It’s like a switch has been flipped and even though the dragon is still exhausted and injured, it gently wrestles him down to give him ... a bath? A dragon bath. The dragon is purring while it does so. Oscar takes it as a form of thank you and has to work hard to snag a shower before Auntie Em can see him covered in dragon drool.

It takes a few more tentative visits to realize that 1. the dragon can’t leave because he can’t fly anymore, 2. he’s not actually black like Oscar thought, but a really deep, rich green in the sunlight when the dragon sneaks out to the old back field for a sun nap, and 3. Oscar is pretty sure he’s been adopted by the dragon. It (he, the dragon is a he), keeps cooing at him and trying to follow him and giving him tongue baths and offering him regurgitated bits of fish, which Oscar frantically turns down each time.

He names the dragon Ozpin, after one of the few dragon stories he knows where the dragon isn’t a horrible monster, and the first time he uses it, Ozpin reacts like it’s always been his name.

Oscar realizes halfway through designing a new tail fin for Ozpin that 1. this design is going to need a rider and 2. he’s had a dragon for about three months now and still hasn’t told his aunt. That ... will probably come back to bite later. But by now he’s more afraid of her reaction over the delay than her reaction over the dragon. So he keeps putting it off.

He kinda sorta really wants to ride Ozpin before his aunt can shut the idea down.

Ozpin expected to die that night he fled. Hundreds of seasons he’d managed to keep ahead of Salem, his mad former mate, freeing dragons from her control in twos and threes and hiding them away where she would not find them again, and she had finally caught him. He had been betrayed. Willingly. Leo’s eyes had been clear as day as he stood by Salem’s side, not glazed with her hate and control, and that hurt almost as much as the claws of her horde of dragons (always a horde, never leaving the risk that she will have to fight him alone, because she knows that in an equal fight, he would win, just like he almost had last time) tearing apart his scales, driving him from the air before he managed to fight some of them off and escape.

He’s not sure when he lost his tail fin. But that is a death sentence to a dragon like him. A dragon who cannot fly is a dead dragon, either by starvation, by Salem, or by the humans who have long forgotten what it was like to be friends and companions to dragon kind.

Ozpin wakes up in a human structure and can’t remember how he got in, but he hears movement and pained instinct drives him up to attack (what if it’s Salem, what if it’s one of her scouts, a poor dragon that Ozpin is too weak to free from her control and will have to kill to save himself like the coward he is-).

A child.

A human child.

Oh. Oh dear.

He really is going to die.

Ozpin removes his paw, hoping he didn’t break any fragile bones (human hatchlings were so *delicate*, he remembered that even after so long) and slinks to a far corner. He could run again, but he’s too tired and too heartsick. Let the boy call his parents.

At least the humans would probably make his death quick.

Except the boy does not call his parents, he leaves and pokes his head in hours later as if to check if Ozpin is still there. He leaves again and the next morning arrives with a bucket of fish to feed him. It is strange and kind and strange because it is kind and when he sniffs at the boy in curiosity, looking for a reason, the child doesn’t run, just flinches nervously. He smells of only one guardian and no other hatchlings. He smells nervous and a bit frightened and ... lonely.

Ozpin finds himself gently pulling the child close and bathing him before he can think better of it, and it is foolish, to risk claiming another human hatchling, he hasn’t shared his Life with a Rider in a long long time (not since Salem killed the last one before his eyes back when he was young and foolish and still thought he could call her back from the edge of madness), but he is so grateful and lonely and this child is all but aching with the need for love. Why else would he risk bringing Ozpin food when all the stories men tell nowadays are of how dragons are bloodthirsty monsters?

The boy keeps coming back, bringing just enough fish to take the edge of Ozpin’s hunger, and even though his days are numbered, Ozpin stays and croons and tries to impart love on the child who is so lonely he would befriend a monster. He lets the boy tentatively climb on him and touch his scales, even lets him inspect Ozpin’s injured, ruined tail. He can’t help it. He always loved hatchlings, human or dragon, and it’s been so *long*-.

The boy takes to sketching and building ... something. Ozpin isn’t entirely certain what. He almost jumps out of his scales when Oscar (that was the boy’s name he learned at last) calls him Ozpin, calls him by name, and then learns that there still are a handful of stories of the Old Days. Dismissed as myth now. It’s amusing to be named after himself.

Ozpin frets quietly over the child sometimes, because while he can smell a guardian on him, he has never seen this guardian, even from afar. He knows this barn is on the edge of Oscar’s little territory, but even so, what guardian lets her hatchling wander off so frequently and never thinks to check on him? Sometimes Oscar falls *asleep* in here, curled up against Ozpin’s side and tucked under a wing, and only wakes up when Ozpin nudges him up because he can hear the far off bell that he thinks means it’s time for his hatchling to go home and eat.

He wishes Speaking Stones still existed. That he’d managed to save more of them, or that he was able to fly and get one. The only way to exchange true words without a Speaking Stone would be a Rider bond and- and he can’t do that to Oscar. It wouldn’t be fair.

He doesn’t deserve to be dragged into a war for freedom of mind that Ozpin and dragon kind has been losing for seasons upon seasons.

Except the child doesn’t seem to think so, doesn’t even know what he flirts with when he tentatively drags in a rudimentary replacement tail fin and saddle as well as a harness to connect them.

Ozpin tries to reject it. As much as he wants (needs) to fly, it’s too dangerous. The boy pouts and sets the harness and gear aside, muttering to himself that he’ll just leave it in the barn for a while until “Ozpin gets used to the smell”.

Ozpin snorts. Because he is not a dog that can be tricked into forgetting something exists thank you.

Oscar sticks his tongue out at him. Adorable, feisty, silly little hatchling.

#SE asks #keeperofgems asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Dragon Rider Oscar verse #long post #rwby #httyd #very loose fusion #OH LOOK NEW AU

63 notes · View notes

shipmistress9 · 4 years

Text

The Perks Of Your Boyfriend Being A Ghost

HTTYD -- Hiccstrid -- Rated E -- Ghost boyfriend AU -- so I guess Hiccup must have died at some point -- Modern AU -- I Guess...?

Summary: As a single mother of three children, Astrid's life is stressful and barely ever about her at all. Just good that her undead ghost boyfriend Hiccup makes sure that she gets some stress relief from time to time.

AN: As it says in the tags, this is 200% self-indulgent projecting. The only/main difference is that I'm not a single mother, and in fact have a loving and caring husband who helps as best he can. But still, let me keep my fantasies. ;P

. o O o .

With an exhausted sigh, Astrid leaned against the closed door and sank to the ground. Finally, Brianna was asleep, too. Zephyr and Nuffink had been restless as well after being locked inside on a bad weather day, had only calmed down two hours after their usual bedtime, but the eighteen months old toddler had taken even longer. But then, she was teething, so that wasn't surprising. Astrid just hoped that she would have a couple of hours now before either of her children needed her again. Not like last night where Nuffink had sneaked into her bed after a bad dream and Brianna hadn't wanted to sleep longer than six in the morning at all…

Astrid loved her children with all her heart, she really did. After she'd left her now-ex-husband when she'd learned about his constant cheating – and had inherited his fortune when he'd driven himself off a cliff soon after – Zephyr, Nuffink, and little Brianna were the most important and precious parts of her life. Under no circumstance at all would she ever give them up, and after they'd all moved into her great-grandaunt’s old mansion, their life was slowly settling into something more normal again. Something good even. They were happy.

But still, sometimes being a single mother was just exhausting and brought her to her limits. As much as she enjoyed taking care of her toddler or playing games with the older ones, sometimes she wished she could get just half an hour for herself. There was an archery range behind the house and she was dying to give her old hobby a try. But so far, she hasn't gotten the chance.

Even now, there were still so many other things to do. Like cleaning up, at least the most important parts of the house, sorting clothes so Zephyr wouldn't need to rummage through her brother's socks again to find a shirt, and the kitchen was in dire need of a thorough clean up as well. Maybe, if she put in an effort, she could get at least some of those tasks done…

However, when she tried to stand up, she found that she couldn't. Her legs gave way midway and she slumped back onto the hard ground with low outcry.

For a second or three, she just sat there in silence. Then some incoherent noises bubbled up from deep within her chest, and not even she could say whether she was laughing or crying.

Now she was even too exhausted and weak to simply stand up? That was ridiculous!

She tried again but this time, she didn't even manage to position her feet correctly; they just slid across the floor the moment she straightened her legs. And when she lifted her hands, just holding them before her eyes, they were shaking.

Defeated, she let her head fall against the door behind her. She was sobbing now, low but unrestrained. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't just sit here all night. There was so much left to do, so many tasks and duties, and failing her children just wasn't an option. They were all she had left and they depended on her.

She couldn't say for how long she sat there, crying from exhaustion, when she felt it. The brush of something cool against her wet cheek and along her neck. It could have been mistaken as a draft, nothing uncommon in an old house like this one – but Astrid knew better. The sensation returned, cool fingers caressing her skin, and without her help, her lips twitched into a weak smile.

Come…

She let out a heavy sigh. Right. Exhausted as she was, trying to get even one of her tasks done tonight was futile. It was far more sensible to get as much rest as she could so that, hopefully, she would function better in the morning.

This time, it worked when she tried to get on her feet. Her knees were shaking and she kept one hand firmly on the wall for stabilisation, but at least she could walk. Luckily, she didn't have to go far though, only to the other end of the corridor to where her own bedroom was. With her last strength, she stripped off her clothes and put on her comfortable flannel pyjama before she slipped beneath the sheets with a relieved sigh, revelling in the softness of her bed with her eyes closed.

Yes, that’s it.

There it was again, that featherlike touch, light as a breeze as it caressed her forehead and along her temple. As if brushing away a strand of hair.

That’s better, isn’t it?

Humming, she leaned into the touch, another soft smile playing around her lips. “Yes, it is,” she murmured into the darkness around her. “Thank you.”

Anytime.

There was a hint of humour in the voice, even as it was nothing but a faint echo inside her head, as always. Astrid opened her eyes, wanted to see whether there was a matching smile to go with that tone.

The other side of her bed wasn’t empty anymore, as it had been only moments before. Now, the outline of a figure was visible, a man lying next to her. Except that it wasn’t really a man, just his memory. He was pale, translucent, and aside from his face and the hand hovering near her face, he even seemed a little blurry. As if he was nothing but mist and the next draft would blow him away.

There was indeed an amused smile playing around his lips, but his eyes were full of concern. From the painting that hung downstairs in the entry hall, she knew that these eyes once had been vibrantly green, like the forest on a summer day, and that the unruly hair on his head used to be a beautiful shade of reddish-brown. Now, however, all colours were washed away by time and death, even as he was glowing slightly in the darkness of the night.

You’re working too hard.

She chuckled weakly at his word. “Well, there’s little I can do about that. They need me so I have no choice. Not as if I can take a day off from being a mum.”

He frowned but nodded. True. They’re lucky to have you, though. Not all parents care this much.

Astrid shrugged. To her, it was no question. Her children came first, always.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still stunned at how easily she could talk to the ghost of a man that had lived long before her in this house. But it felt so natural, so easy. Aside from the very first seconds, she hadn’t even been afraid of him.

Maybe that was because he wasn’t really here and she was just going insane. But Astrid didn’t want to think about that. Hiccup felt so real. Besides, she never could have come up with such a ridiculous name on her own anyway.

Astrid was bone-tired, but watching him was still something she didn’t want to miss out on. And as they gazed at each other, his features changed; the frown and worries from before melted away and got replaced by a surprising warmth and only a small hint of underlying sadness.

You’re amazing…

His words were nothing but a whisper in her mind as he leaned closer and cool lips brushed against her own. It made her heart flutter in joy, her eyes falling close.

Her instincts told her to lift her arms, to wrap them around her lover, to hold him close. She wanted to run her fingers through his soft hair, wanted to explore the wiry strength of his shoulder, his back. But with Hiccup, that wasn't possible. It already took all his will power to let her feel him at all, to garner enough solidity for his lips and tongue to not pass right through her. At least, that’s what he’d told her all those weeks ago when this wonderful craziness had started.

So instead, she just enjoyed what she could, the cool pressure of his mouth against her own, his presence, grabbing at her soft blanket instead of firm flesh. But if that was the price she had to pay for loving a ghost then she would pay it. Because Hiccup was worth it.

I think you deserve some stress relief.

Astrid hummed when his lips wandered along her jaw and down her neck. It tickled but in the most wonderful way, the way that made her shiver in anticipation and tiny sparks of electricity run through her entire body. He always knew what she needed, be it someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on – or this. And he was so good at this, too. A soft kiss here, a gentle bite there, and she was putty in his incorporate hands.

A soft moan slipped from her mouth when he suckled on her neck, directly above her pulse point, and her mind went blissfully blank. This was just what she needed. She luxuriated in the sensations he elicited in her body, the chance to just let go of everything. But then, she gasped when she felt something new. At first, she thought he'd brought a hand to her breast, to caress and squeeze at flesh and let cool fingers play with sensitive nipples. Except that it felt different, not like fingers but teeth gently nipping, lips and a tongue sucking on the hardening bud. Her eyes widened when she felt the same at her other breast too, three ghostly mouthed now working to drive her insane.

"I-is that all you?" she asked, shifting a little until she could look at him.

Hiccup had a look of high concentration on his face, his eyebrows furrowed. Yes. He seemed to hesitate for a moment. Is it okay for you?

Humming, Astrid laid back down into her cushion and nodded. "It is. I was just surprised, is all."

In her mind, she heard him chuckle, a little embarrassed. It's got to have at least one perk that I don't have a solid form…

That was something she couldn't really argue with. She wished she could feel more of him, his body, his warmth, his breath on her skin or his beating heart beneath her hand on his chest. But since none of that was possible, multiple mouths and hands to pleasure her… well, she at least wouldn't say no to this.

Although… it was so surreal. She was still wearing her warm pyjama and lay beneath the heavy blanket, safe from the cool night air. And yet, she could feel his phantom touches on her skin as if she was entirely bare to him – which in a way she was. Neither walls nor fabric meant anything to him.

After kissing her once more on her lips, so soft and sweet that she nearly melted, Hiccup returned his attention to the rest of her body. Before long, she could feel him everywhere. Phantom mouths were suckling on her breasts, her clit, and even her toes, tongues teasing and lapping eagerly as phantom hands ran over her entire body, caressing over delicate skin or squeezing to heighten her sensitivity.

The onslaught of sensations left her writhing and twisting between her sheets, gasping and moaning. But no matter how much she moved, his phantom touch always followed. She couldn’t escape, couldn’t get even the smallest reprieve. All she could do was press her forearm to her mouth to muffle the endless stream of moans and little screams that left her throat. It could have been scary, feeling so helpless and being at someone else’s mercy like this. But this was Hiccup and she trusted him completely. She couldn’t even say why, she just knew that she had nothing to fear when she was with him.

And it was wonderful. All her worries and the stress of the day melted off her as her body and mind got submerged in this endless ocean of sensations. Chasing only one feeling was impossible, so she quickly gave up to even try and instead gave herself over to him, to his care.

Astrid had no idea for how long he kept her in this wonderfully-mindless state of need and longing; it was just an endless rollercoaster of building pleasure. Everything inside her was tense, coiled so tightly like never before until he finally showed mercy. Her orgasm washed through her like a crashing wave, so powerful that it made her entire body shake violently, her back arching off the bed and her lips were parted in a silent scream. Her mind empty of every thought.

When it was over, she only slowly drifted down from her height, didn’t want it to end. She felt better than in a long while, safe, secure, cared for.

“Thank you,” she sighed into the darkness, her voice so weak that it nearly broke. “I… I think I needed this.”

Again, she heard him chuckle inside her head. I think you’re right there. And I also think you deserved it. You’re doing so much and–

He broke off when another sound echoed through the old house, a crying child. Brianna must have woken up. But before Astrid could react, could even do so much as let out a tired groan, it had stopped again. Surprised and a little confused, she blinked to clear her mind of its blissful haze, then jumped when Hiccup appeared next to her again. She hadn’t even registered that he’d left.

It’s okay. She’d just lost Mr Carrot, but once he was back in her arms, she fell asleep again.

Smiling, Astrid relaxed back into her cushions. Mr Carrot was Brianna’s cuddly rabbit. He was old, a hand-me-down from Astrid’s own grandmother, and rather ugly to be honest. But Brianna loved the beast.

“And thank you again,” she murmured, exhaustion taking her quickly now. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

The same you’re doing now. Be the best mum a child could ask for.

Her lips twitched into a sad smile. Hiccup's own mother had left him when he'd been younger than Brianna was now, so his bar of what counted as a good mother was bound to be rather low. All she did was struggling not to fail, really.

"How did you do that?" she asked to change the topic. "Didn't you say it costs all your concentration and energy to let me feel you at all?

He nodded, his eyes flickering away as if he was embarrassed. It did in the beginning. But the more time I spend with you, the stronger I feel. I barely have to think about simple touches at all anymore. To prove his point, he reached for her face and brushed a few sweats strands of hair out of her face. So I thought I could try something more… advanced.

“Mmmh, a good idea.”

Once more, she heard him chuckle in her mind. Now, rest. You’re going to need your strength tomorrow.

Sighing, Astrid complied. She curled up in her bed, feeling more relaxed than she had in days, and hummed in surprise and delight when she somewhat felt Hiccup curl around her back. He even wrapped an arm around her waist without it passing right through her. Hopefully, they would soon get the chance to further explore Hiccup’s newfound strength.

After a good night’s sleep!

. o O o .

"I just want to write a quick one-shot. Nothing difficult. Just something short to get back into writing. It won't get any sequels."

That's what I told myself the entire time, even when I was plotting out several more chapters for this verse. Ah, well... This does work well on it's own for now. And I can always add more when I feel like it and have the time.

* - . - * - . o O o . - * - . - *

If you want to support me you can buy me a coffee. I love coffee 😊 (Ko-Fi)

#Hiccstrid #fanfiction #httyd #Ghost Boyfriend AU #Modern AU #200% self-indulgent projecting #NSFT #not for children

70 notes · View notes