#hiccup is toothless's mobility human

[mischiefandspirits]

So as preparation to start outlining the Race to the Edge era of Kings of the Wilderwest, I've been turning the show on and listening to it while at work. While doing so, it suddenly hit me how many of the villains fall into the trap of

"You're so obsessed with Hiccup, it makes you stupid!"

Like, Hiccup has his moments too, but come on. All these guys really should have more important things to think about then this one-legged twig who looks at giant fire breathing lizards and gives up all thoughts of self-preservation in favor of "I bet I could pet that!! ❤️"

[vulchak]

Alright I'm gonna watch the travesty that is the live action httyd. So I'm taking notes like for Lilo and Stitch, and I have the original script, and the original movie pulled up, just to be sure I'm not forgetting anything despite the original httyd being seared into my retinas since age 10

TL;DR written post-watch cause this became like 2,000 words, It's bad, it's horrendous. Pretty much everyone is slightly to horribly out of character, they're all mean and/or stupid. It's mostly the same movie, but every change is for the worse, and everything that's stayed the same is acted and directed MUCH worse.

Berk isn't their home anymore it's just some random island close to the nest, the Red Death isn't fireproof, they still fire into her mouth but there's no reason for it now unless you've seen the original, Astrid is emotionless through the whole thing, none of her anger, passion or any other emotion is here.

Toothless and the other dragons are much less intelligent. The CGI looks like a mobile game ad most of the time. Overall, not a single good thing here, don't bother watching it, let alone giving it money. Go watch the original, or read the books and ignore this fucking insult to animation and to How to train your dragon.

Right off the bat:

"This, is Berk" no the fuck it isn't, that's a moldy pride rock. It's so ugly and, small.

Oh, the sheep isn't even real. What too pussy to use a real sheep? It's a fake one attached to a bell like someone wouldn't notice a real sheep bleating or THE GIANT FUCKING DRAGON TAKING IT. I guess the point was they're keeping the sheep safe from the dragons, then why put out bait? If the dragons don't see sheep they won't attack? Probably? Man idk, it's stupid

The opening monologue too, is just. Soulless. More brief and not an ounce of sarcasm or dry humor. Y'know, a big part of Hiccup's way of speaking

Stoick so far is alright. He's not NEARLY as imposing as his animated counterpart, didn't even recognize him at first. Even with real human proportion limitations, still think they could've done more in the costuming department, at least added some height to him cause rn Hiccup is like, up to his shoulder which just feels wrong

CGI so far looks horrendous, a shot of the dragons setting fire to the village looks like a fucking mobile game ad

Hiccup going to Gobber and that whole little scene is much more clunky here. They've removed basically all the sass and jokes from the scene, from BOTH sides. "They need toothpicks don't they" and "little-er" are gone The latter probably because they knew they severely miscast Hiccup cause this guy doesn't look like the scrawny little loser Hiccup is at the beginning of movie 1

Astrid coming out from smoke instead of walking in front of an explosion is just lame and screams "we didn't have the budget"

And on Astrid, Hiccup going on about how cool she is instead of just the delivery of her name letting us know he has a thing for her, is keeping up the trend of these fuckass remakes really struggling with subtlety and visual storytelling

Alright so Hiccup is a straight up moron now

First of all they're putting WAY too much emphasis on the Astrid thing, it wasn't acknowledged at all until a couple teasing comments from the CHILDREN in the arena, NOT Gobber Second of all, the launcher thing he built. Why the fuck does he firemit twice on purpose, at his fellow vikings? In the original it was an accident, he patted it, the mechanism was too sensitive and fired and hit a viking ON ACCIDENT

All the acting is so incredibly, and I hate using the word but there's no better one I can think of, cringe. It feels like a youtube skit more than a movie

And the delivery is horrible, especially on Gobber. In the original you could tell him and Hiccup were at odds but they still liked each other, Gobber came across as a silly uncle figure, who was still protective, and only became serious when he saw Hiccup was a danger to either himself(running out into a fight he wasn't ready for) or others(accidentally knocking a guy out with his launcher) here, Gobber seems to barely stand Hiccup and Hiccup is no better towards him

Okay just don't tell us the Monstrous Nightmare sets itself on fire, alright, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THEN?? (I know because I'm me, but for general audiences it's a weird omission, if I didn't know, I'd assume it was just, accidentally on fire, not something it deliberately did) they didn't bother introducing the rest of the teens either, Hiccup calls them the fire brigade and focuses solely on Astrid, we don't learn the others names till later

The whole dragon attack is so slow and anticlimactc, and this is the last time I'm mentioning Hiccup's delivery, because it's awful. End of story, slow, over-exagerated, not an ounce of the charm and sass Jay Baruchel brought to the role

No talking fishbone rant and Hiccup imitating Stoick. 0/10

So, Berk is no longer their home. BERK IS NOT THEIR HOME. It's just, close to where a "key dragons nest" is… They're setting up for the 3rd movie where they just ditch Berk so it's not a plot hole aren't they? It just, gives so much less weight to everything. They're not defending their generational home they're just, camping out to kill dragons

This was no doubt done to explain the POC vikings, as "the best warriors from all around the world" but. They didn't need to do that. It's a fucking fantasy dragon movie, especially for the background characters, cast whoever you damn well please, you don't need an in-universe explanation that ruins the lore and significance of the main location

The great hall is also tiny and cramped now

Gobber doesn't stay to talk to Stoick, Stoick has to stop him from leaving the hall. Gobber is just an ass here. Fuck this whole movie, bury the script with some C4 and light it up

Okay they mention Valka, by name, that's a good thing, but it's the least I'd expect now that they know exactly where the story is headed

WHY IS EVERYTHING SO BRIGHTLY LIT THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST TENSE SCENES IN THE WHOLE STORY AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE GODDAMN TELETUBBIES HILL UP IN HERE

Overzealous, excited teenager "I have slain this mighty beast!" VS generic protag guy "I DID IT!"

The shot of the reveal of Toothless' open eye gives me goosebumps, every single time. The atmosphere, the score, the slow camera movement and angle. None of that is here, it's just, oh, it's open btw here he is

Okay more of every character being meaner for no reason, why did Hiccup start to leave? In the og he immediately went to cut Toothless loose. Here he has to hear a whine then go back. Jackass

And Toothless doesn't pin Hiccup because the CGI characters interacting with the live humans is expensive and hard to pull off. Also GOD he's so SLOW and just. He feels like he shouldn't be able to lift off the ground, all his speed and agility are gone, and BCAUSE of said sluggishness we linger long enough on his tail to SEE IT MISSING HALF OF THE TAIL FIN BEFORE THE ACTUAL REVEAL. FUCK THIS MOVIES' COMPOSITION AND DIRECTION IS ASS

He doesn't even faint, he doesn't even stumble he just kinda. Looks at Toothless flying away, and sighs. He doesn't look like a guy who got attacked by the scariest dragon they've never even seen, he looks like a guy who saw his car getting towed

The conversation between Stoick and Hiccup is alright I guess, just a worse clunkier version of the original with worse delivery, not much more to say

Ooookay, dragon training, dunno what "trial of flame" is, dumb, will be ignoring it. They seem to be cause they call it dragon training half the time, anyway. Banter is OK, however, "daddy pulled some strings" is such a dumb line. Second, Tuffnut sounds so whiny and him and Ruffnut being held back, 4 years, makes them 19-20. That's. A pointless, mildly weird inclusion

They act childish as ever but they're that much older than the other teens. Again, utterly pointless

"Will you stop that?! You big bag of wool." And so, insulting Fishlegs, for his weight, was absolutely necessary apparently? Isn't this supposed to be the modern progressive remake that "fixes" and "improves" aspects of the original??

As far as I remember, Fishlegs was never made fun of for his weight, not in the first move at least. I don't wanna say with certainty without checking. But in this moment he definitely wasn't, and it further makes Gobber just, a jackass in this version

So. Gobber takes Hiccup's axe, emphasizing how important a shield is. Then Hiccup has to awkwardly tap his shield with his hand to make noise while everyone else still has their weapons?? Why??

Yet again I find myself, asking WHY. Why did we need the dragon manual scene to go on for so long just so Hiccup can simp for Astrid some more? So Astrid can further emphasize how Berk isn't their home and they don't care about it? So we can learn Hiccup and Stoick's house, their home, the home they lost Valka in, the home they cherished. Is like the viking white house and if one of them isn't chief they get kicked out?? The fuck is wrong with this movie??

Unsurprisingly the scene of Hiccup reading the manual is short, lame and without a fraction of the atmosphere and creepiness of the original. It's like he's reading a damn instruction manual and skipping to the part he needs to read

Seeing the ships get attacked is pretty neat, alright that one is a plus

They put the hesitation before the nose touch back, good. But forbidden friendship just, doesn't hit the way it does in the original, it's kinda. Boring, didn't make me feel a damn thing

Okay all the "us girls gotta stick together" is so fucking annoying YOU CAN SHOW THEM BEING FRIENDS WITHOUT POINTING IT OUT WITH OVERUSED MODERN TERMS. Show don't tell, dammit

Gothi standing there moving beads is also stupid and pointless, and her design isn't nowhere near as charming as the original(design being casting and costume)

Exchanging dragon nip for dandelions is also stupid

"Who's a good boy??" Ah so Toothless is in fact, a dog now. Good to fucking know. He seems so much less intelligent here as a whole

Test flight is just bad, bad camera work, bad cgi, bad everything. And no Toothless accidentally running Hiccup through fire in the end. Why remove it it was such a fun little gag

If I don't directly mention a scene, assume it's the same, but worse. That's how a majority of them are, same script with minor alterations and worse acting and animation I just don't have anything to say on those

Not faulting Nico Parker, she's doing the best with what she's got, but what she's got is a bad script and bad direction. Because Astrid seems so cold, and emotionless. Seeing the Red Death and saying "what is that" wtih a complteltly nerutral expression, she sounds like she's asking about an ugly shirt her friend is wearing

Also how do you manage to make the northern lights ugly? How is that possible? Beautiful blues teams and purples vs puke green

"Don't get inloved, my dad respects you too much" VS "make sure they don't find Toothless" So this Hiccup cares more about Astrid's reputation, not her, her REPUTATION, than he does about Toothless' life. Got it. SIMP. FAILTHY FUCKING SIMP What have they done to my boy.

Okay there was one neat shot of Hiccup's hand matching Toothless' paw when they're trying to climb up

"ASTRID GET BACK HERE. THAT'S AN ORDER." So, he's concerned about flaunting power and being right, not just, getting a kid out of danger. He's upset they're not listening to him, not that they could get hurt

Fight between Toothless and Hookfang is extended and I guess it's decently cool, but that, and the longer fight between Toothless and Stoick, just makes everything slower and more anticlimactic. The original was quick and snappy, this is just "we're filling time"

"You're not one of us. You're not my son." Cannot BEGIN to compare to "You're not a viking. You're not my son." Seriously the delivery, the line itself, hits nowhere as hard. I guess bringing up Valka is alright but feels a bit forced ngl

WHY DOES TOOTHLESS HAVE A FUCKING AMERICAN FOOTBALL CROTCH GUARD ON HIS FACE LMAO WHAT IS THAT

Alright final battle, mostly the same but worse, HOWEVER, The occupational hazard line was removed, this one and the setup for it earlier

And Stoick, doesn't say "I'm sorry" nor does he tell Hiccup he doesn't have to go. No no he says he was "just trying to protect him" and that whatever happens up there he's proud. He doesn't apologize, he doesn't take accountability for being wrong

They got rid of "not fireproof on the inside" with the terrible terrors, and therefore, no explanation as to how or why Hiccup decided to fire inside the Red Death's mouth. Especially considering SHE'S NOT FIREPROOF. THEY BLEW HOLES IN HER WINGS AND FLEW THROUGH THEM FOR A COOL VISUAL, COMPLETELY FUCKING RUINING THEIR WHOLE LORE

(EDIT) I was mistaken, someone pointed this out and I went back to rewatch. In the original they blow holes in her wings too, but there it's much more subtle and it's small holes that get torn apart by wind instead, in the remake they just blow massive firey holes in her wings

Stoick apologizing and waiting to see Hiccup alive is alright, but they really should've kept it a father son moment, Astrid doesn't need to be there. Also, just he's alive. No "you brought him back alive" he still thanks Toothless later but that line was a nice acknowledgement to what he did

Well, the rest of it, is just the same, but worse. They acknowledge that Stoick and the others rode back on dragons, I guess that makes sense, it's alright

Snotlout has a non-subplot with his dad which was done much better in the show, not much else to say on that

And that was it. The live action How to train your dragon remake. In a word. Soulless. The same but worse. What they do change is for the worse, not a single person aside from Gerard Butler was cast appropriately, nor designed as far as costuming goes, they bend over backwards justifying the changes they've made and the movie is much worse for it

Every single character is also, meaner for some reason. Only Fishlegs is about the same but more whiny somehow. It's just. Bad, no other way to say it, it's bad. Gobber is the worst offender, he's an asshole to Hiccup, to the other kids, everyone. Hiccup is also so unlikeable and a genetic protagonist with bad delivery. By the end I couldn't give less of a shit if he made it or not cause he was annoying more than anything

Toothless is significantly less intelligent, agile and cool than in the original. Same goes for all the dragons honestly. Trash heap with bad cgi, bad acting and a bad script. I'll be happy when it's forgotten. And I hope the sequel gets canceled, but general audiences will make this at least an 800mil movie so that probably won't happen

[tenebrius-excellium]

I was just looking at your reverse Httyd AU, and I LOVE IT!!! I have a few questions:

Would Toothless still be named toothless, despite by the whole “biting off hiccup’s leg” thing?

How would Stoic find out he was alive?

Will Stoic ever find hiccup?

Does hiccup stay on Berk forever or eventually take off with Toothless?

What happens to the red death? Do the raids continue?

What’s the general conflict?

I seriously adore this take on Httyd, and I’d love to hear more about it!

Dude you assume I have thought this out??? T_T hahahaaha

No anyway hiiiii and thank you so much for these questions!!! They are fantastic! So the general idea was just that Hiccup and Toothless would switch injuries during the first movie (Hiccup loses his leg at the start, Toothless his tail at the end) and I haven't had the time to really dive into how that would change the entire dynamic of the film. Your questions are a great way to explore that, I believe, so let's get into it!?

1. Yeah Toothless would still be named Toothless. I'd like it to remain sort of ambiguous how Hiccup lost the leg - we don't know whether Toothless ripped it off or if it happened through some other traumatic force, like a fall, or if it was crushed by a rock. All I know is that Hiccup and Toothless VIOLENTLY collide in the woods. And you know the number that Toothless' killing blasts can do on a landscape. I assume the same indirect fault level that Hiccup had with Toothless' tail - Toothless wanted to eliminate the threat and thought he killed his enemy, or at least he scared Hiccup off enough to never come back, if he survived... only to discover that yes, the boy did in fact survive, with a heavy injury that will still end him if left untreated, and Toothless must come to terms with his role in the pain and suffering he caused. Hiccup must move from the role of a direct combat enemy to a wounded kid who needs support. Hiccup will need a fire to cauterize his leg, and to keep warm since I imagine there is a lot of rain on Berk. That will be Toothless' first chance to offer some help. But to approach Hiccup, he must drop his weapons first (like Hiccup had to drop his knife) and one of the things the Night Fury can do to show that he is not trying to be a threat anymore is to retract his teeth.

2. + 3. + 4. + 5. Yeah Stoick would find out that his son is alive. I'm not yet sure if Hiccup stays in the cove the entire time. I don't believe he would. Let's say he stays there for the duration that there are edible fish in the cove's little pond. But he can't climb out of the hole by himself, and he'll run out of food down there. So it's up to Toothless to help him move. Toothless might bring him fish from the sea at first, but it'll become too dangerous to openly fly around the island of Berk without being spotted by human sentries. So it will be Toothless who, seeing Hiccup's desire to leave, will grab him one day and move him to a remote cliff or something that's closer to the ocean, so he can catch fish and feed Hiccup there. This is where their friendship will blossom - Hiccup will learn to train Terrible Terrors, and Toothless and him will develop a closer physical bond while Hiccup heals. Toothless can't return Hiccup to the village himself, else he will be killed. Hiccup understands that, but he still thinks about how he can regain mobility and go back. He'll build a prosthetic leg for himself, tying it with straps of his clothing, and one day, while he is chilling on Toothless' back, Toothless will just walk off the cliff and show Hiccup the joys of flight.

Without Berk's resources, it will take Hiccup longer to master staying on Toothless' back. But eventually, he'll learn about the patterns of the dragon raids. Returning to the cove to perhaps grab something that he left behind there, Astrid will find him. The romantic flight and the discovery of the dragons' nest follow. Astrid promises not to give Toothcup's location away. Given that it's HER who won at dragon training in Hiccup's absence though, she is now expected to kill the Monstrous Nightmare in the kill ring finale. And knowing what she knows, she can't go through with it, prompting the discovery of Hiccup and Toothless. Toothless gives himself up willingly so that Hiccup can return home.

After that, the movie is basically "back to normal": Stoick uses Toothless to lead him to the dragon nest, Hiccup follows with the gang and they take down the Red Death. Toothless assumes the main part, since he is not limited by his tail. He can protect Hiccup better and outsmart the Red Death. After the fall, it's Hiccup who first gains consciousness before Toothless, and insists on taking him back to Berk so he can build him a prosthetic tail. Dragons come to live on Berk, and it's the same happy ending overall.

6. The general conflict would be slightly different having Hiccup's and Toothless' roles reversed. Some of the main differences are:

Toothless isn't part of a community in the way Hiccup is. Remember how no other dragon came to look for tailless Toothless. Toothless was abandoned because he was a lone cat, whereas Stoick would launch multiple search parties for Hiccup. So that would definitely create a different dynamic for the story.

It would be difficult to write this as a story where Toothless doesn't create the impression of keeping Hiccup "captive". There needs to be an immediate attempt to return Hiccup to the village but either Hiccup is still too sick to travel or it'll be too dangerous for Toothless, so it has to be impossible for a time. A quick Google search reveals that a below-the-knee amputation takes at least a month or two to heal. Prior to that, Hiccup cannot possibly think to put weight on a home-made prosthetic. So it'll take him an entire summer to learn how to walk again, just like it took several weeks for Toothcup to perfect their flying. Toothless isn't as physically integral to Hiccup's recovery as Hiccup was to the dragon's... Hiccup will build his own walking aid, and Toothless will "only" be there to provide food, shelter, and comfort. But on the other hand, this will give a better opportunity to gain some fascinating insight into the social order of dragons, as Hiccup will only be interacting with animals for a time.

It would be Toothless taking responsibility for the raids originating from his own nest. In the og movie, it's Hiccup who calls his father out for "killing thousands of them", and it's Stoick who sails out to end the conflict once and for all. In the reversed version, Toothless would have to decide to confront his own for "killing hundreds of them" and defeat the unrepentant and greedy dragon queen.

It would be harder to facilitate Hiccup's "discovery" without laying the blame on Astrid specifically. Perhaps Toothless finally brings Hiccup home after all, knowing fully well that he is walking into a death trap for himself.

The other themes, like of interspecies prejudices and unrelenting friendship betwee unlikely characters, could stay the same.

So, this isn't a hard outline, and there are lots of other ways that this idea can be played. If anyone feels inspired or has a better idea, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME; I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT.

I wanna make sure that this stays a movie that feels as much like og Httyd without losing any of the beautiful message. This is not an AU where Hiccup leaves indefinitely or becomes a dragon hermit like Valka... it's not supposed to be about becoming a hero or about revenge or about proving someone wrong, but about dragons and humans overcoming their differences. It's not the vigilante AU and not Damsel (2024) with Millie Bobbie Brown. The attempt is to tell the exact same Httyd story with the same morals, but reversed roles. Since Hiccup and Toothless have different traits and personalities though, it's interesting to think about what could replace what.

Feel free to hit me up with more ideas or headcanons, seriously.

Thank you for the ask!

Cheers

Reddie

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

10 Years Race to the Edge Week Day 2

Symbol

Summary: Set during RttE. Hiccup is having a rather terrible pain day, but he wouldn't be if he had never faced the Red Death.

Warnings: /

Rating: Teen and Up

Dead Dove: No

Words: 902

Prompt: "Where Hiccup Goes, We Go" + alt prompts: Cuddling + Dragon Riders

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Characters: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid

Whumpee: Hiccup

Whumper: /

Pairing: /

Author’s Notes: Happy Race to the Edge Day!!!

Anyway, here is the second and only other one-shot that I managed to finish for this challenge. Hopefully, I still get the other ones done in time. :')

Enjoy!

-XOXOX-

Toothless was usually the biggest indicator of when Hiccup was headed to a particularly bad bout of pain.

Hiccup could get snippy as his body steadily lost its mobility over a course of hours to days, as his exhaustion grew and his head began to throb nearly constantly from sun up to sun down. But then he would take willow bark, have some rest, and he would manage.

However, when Toothless starts to get in between him and his Riders or other dragons, when he starts to make decisions for him, when he denies him the sky, that’s when the Dragon Riders know he’s seeing something they aren’t. No matter if it’s the slightly deeper crease in his brow, the more pronounced frown, or the lightly more obvious limp, there’s always something and he’s usually always right.

That was happening all throughout yesterday. So when the Dragon Riders wake up the following morning only for it to pass to make way for noon and they realize Hiccup isn’t joining them for lunch either… Needless to say, Astrid was quickly pushed as their representative to the front door of their leader.

Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, even the dragons are here to see what she can get out of the two. How bad is it? She pulls on the pulley system and the door to the hut flips open.

Inside up on the loft, the sound of the door squeaking open has Hiccup groaning. It’s as sharp as a knife being driven straight into his ear canal. The throbbing in his head worsens tenfold as if someone were truly pounding a nail into his head and tears immediately escape from his lashes. He’s lying curled up in bed on his side, his covers pulled up to his chin.

Toothless lies right by him, enveloping him in his protective warmth. Upon hearing Hiccup’s reaction, he covers his ear with a paw and glares down at the invader. It’s Astrid who comes walking up the stairs and that helps him relax at least a tad. Perhaps, she can help Hiccup in a way he can’t.

She comes sneaking up the steps, treading lightly as she can probably already tell what’s going on. Reaching the top of the stairs, she approaches the bed with Toothless’ gaze following her. He doesn’t want her to make a noise.

When she can finally properly lay her eyes on Hiccup, there are a couple of things that Astrid notices immediately. His eyes are closed, so despite his earlier reaction to the noise of the door opening, he still appears to be at least half asleep. Then there is the blanket he has wrapped tightly around himself, while his legs poke out. They’re bare, he’s probably dressed in his linen nightshirt only. A notion that’s further backed up by just how red his cheeks look. He must be burning up, but Astrid doesn’t dare come too close, afraid to wake him up when sleep is what he needs most. If she wakes him, he might not be able to fall back asleep again.

“I’ll go get him some willow bark,” she whispers to Toothless, which is exactly what he hoped she would do. He puts his head back down, effectively trying to shield Hiccup from any light and sound that might hurt him.

He has his own needs to take care of, he must be hungry and in desperate need of an outhouse break himself, but until Astrid makes his human that willow bark tea to hopefully put a dent in his suffering, he won’t be moving from his spot. She loves him for it.

Turning away from her boys, and watching for any potential squeaky floorboards, she still manages a glance back at Hiccup. She’s looking at his legs, which carry burn scars from the first battle he ever fought and won.

She knows there’s a lot of them, the scar tissue wraps all around his legs and even goes up some of his back. Two of his remaining toes appear webbed in the light. They took months to heal and have left his body broken. They’re also the reason why his left leg needed to be taken. The burns went down to the bone there.

Hiccup is in such pain, confined to his bed with mere existence making him suffer, because of those burns that he suffered in a battle that really shouldn’t have happened the way it did.

The Red Death needed to be brought down, she did. She caused an ocean of bloodshed and if there’s a death Hiccup doesn’t regret, it’s hers. If there’s something he fears, it’s another one like her coming to his home.

She had to go, but there were a million better ways to deal with her that probably wouldn’t have ended in Hiccup suffering burns on most of his body, along with a head injury that may or may not have been the cause for his now frequent migraines.

Hiccup suffers because he came to the rescue of his tribe and Toothless in a rescue mission that shouldn’t have been, but he went on anyway and without a second thought. In a way, those terrible burns are the reason why the Dragon Riders go where Hiccup goes.

Getting back to the task at hand, Astrid sneaks back down the stairs and manages to make some willow bark tea without waking him up.

[evilwriter37]

Vigcup Week 2023 Day 2

Freedom Comes on Violet Wings

Prompt: Dragons

Rated: teen

Warnings: none

Pairings: Viggo/Hiccup, Hiccup & Toothless

Word count: 2,702

Summary: Continuation of Day 1. Hiccup helps Viggo train the Skrill.

The air was crisp, but bitterly cold. Parts of the calm sea were covered in ice floes. The wind whipped this way and that, almost rising to a shriek in some places, like a Night Fury in distress.

Luckily, Toothless was in no distress. He, Hiccup, and Viggo were flying towards the last place they'd found the Skrill, and Toothless didn't seem to mind the extra weight of another rider and that rider's wheelchair. They'd strapped it on tightly so as not to lose it. It was an invention of Hiccup's that had taken him long to make, and it was valuable to Viggo and his mobility. Losing it would be horrible.

Viggo rode behind Hiccup, his immobile legs strapped to Toothless as a form of holding on, and his arms were wrapped around Hiccup's waist. It had taken some help from the other Dragon Riders to get him in the saddle, and Fishlegs had been the one to give him the final boost up.

Viggo liked flying with Hiccup, even though he couldn't hang on with his legs himself, even though it was a process to get him in the saddle.

It made him feel free again.

Because, with his injury, he felt anything but free. He couldn't move his body from the waist down, and he had chronic back pain from the arrows. One had struck directly into a nerve, and now, all that nerve knew how to do was scream.

But Hiccup helped him. He had helped him and was continuing to do so. It wasn't out of a sense of duty or loyalty.

It was out of love.

"Are we almost there?" Viggo asked. He was having a good day pain-wise, but it felt like he had fog in his brain. Thinking was like slogging through mud, so he wasn't quite sure how far away from the Skrill's island they were. He recognized some of their path, but not all of it. It was hard to concentrate.

"Yeah," Hiccup responded. He twisted around to look at him. "You feeling okay?"

"Chipper," Viggo responded. And he was. Today was an exciting day.

Hiccup was going to try to help Viggo officially train the Skrill. They'd bonded closely during the mission that had rendered Viggo paralyzed, and Hiccup wanted him to have a dragon of his own.

Viggo didn't want to admit it, but he wanted a dragon of his own as well. He felt a slight twinge of jealousy over the bond Hiccup had with Toothless, and the Riders with their dragons. He hadn't realized just how close they were until he was living among them. The bond was amazing. It was like they were married to each other's souls.

Viggo didn't know if he had that in him. It was only recent that he'd gotten true feelings for others. It was like Hiccup had flipped some sort of switch in him. He'd gone from uncaring, unable to connect with anyone, just seeing them as pieces to be used rather than human beings with their own lives--to caring deeply about someone, and learning to care about others. He didn't feel cold or asocial anymore. He felt real human connection for the first time in his life, and it was incredible.

But could he gain that sort of deep connection with a dragon?

He hoped so.

"This is the one!" Hiccup let him know as he directed Toothless to angle downward for a landing. The island looked quite different when not in the middle of a blizzard.

But still, it was cold, and Viggo adjusted his thick leather gloves on his hands. Getting frostbite was the last thing he wanted.

Toothless landed rather lightly on the frozen ground, not wanting to hurt either of his disabled riders. Hiccup got off, and then he stood there for a moment, hands on his hips.

"What are you thinking?" Viggo asked.

"That you should probably stay on Toothless till we find the Skrill. The terrain wouldn't be good for your chair."

Viggo nodded. That made sense. He also didn't want to tire himself out rolling the chair along himself, or tire Hiccup out by having him do it. Luckily, Viggo still had a great amount of strength in his arms, and pushing himself in the wheelchair wasn't hard at all.

Physically, at least.

Mentally, he wished he could still be walking, that he could use his legs like anyone else. He was grieving what he'd lost, just like how he'd grieved the loss of sight in his left eye.

Life had not gone easy on him, had it?

They headed into the forest of pine trees, the wind rustling them from side to side, making the pungent odor of the trees drift around them like a fog. It was a nice smell. Viggo liked the scent of pine quite a lot.

"How are we going to find the Skrill?" Viggo asked as they traveled.

"Well, I found footprints," Hiccup said. He pointed to the ground, and Viggo realized they were following a trail. "Maybe once we get closer, he'll recognize you're smell." Hiccup paused, put a hand to his chin. "Or... she. I didn't get a good look at anything, if I'm being honest."

Viggo chuckled. "I'm sure they will find us then, if we're already tracking them."

Hiccup nodded, and they continued on through the trees.

After some time, a very familiar screech reached their ears, and the beat of wings came from above. They looked up to see the Skrill descending.

"She," Viggo said. After years of dragon hunting, he was good at telling the sex of the beasts.

Hiccup nodded in agreement. "She."

The Skrill landed in front of them, folding her wings and sniffing the air. She appeared rather calm and curious.

"Let's get you off Toothless," Hiccup decided. "That okay?"

Viggo nodded. He wanted to be as close to this dragon as possible.

So, Hiccup came over and began undoing the straps that held the wheelchair to Toothless' back. Once that was down on the ground, he went to undo Viggo's. The Skrill was circling around them a little, but not in a threatening manner. She was merely curious to be seeing them again.

Viggo felt better once he was in his chair. He rolled himself over to the Skrill.

"She remembers us," Viggo said, seeing the intelligence and recognition in her eyes. He smiled, but then it dropped. He realized that this territory was all new for him. He was completely lost on what to do next. "Now what?"

"Well, she'll need a name," Hiccup said. "And you have to show her that you trust her."

"Elding," Viggo said with no hesitation. He turned from Hiccup to look at the dragon. "Yes, I think that shall do nicely." He'd been thinking about her name since Hiccup had brought up the idea of bonding with her. "How do I show her that I trust her?" Because he did. This Skrill had helped him: she was the reason he was alive as much as Hiccup was.

Hiccup came close, took Viggo's hand in his, and pulled off his glove. The air nipped at his fingers like teething Terrible Terrors. 

Once his hand was uncovered, Hiccup had him hold it out to Elding, palm open towards her.

"Wait, I need to touch her already?"

"It'll work," Hiccup said. "I promise." He let go of Viggo's hand, leaving the next movements up to him and Elding. He met her gaze, and then her eyes drew towards his hand. She came close, sniffed him; he felt her hot breath glide over his fingers.

Viggo waited with baited breath. He wondered if he would have to make the first move, but how would that show trust? No. He had to wait for Elding.

Viggo breathed out a huge breath as she stepped forward and pressed her snout against his hand. He was familiar with the feeling of scales, but not necessarily on a living dragon. This whole experience was new to him.

He found himself smiling, mouth open, teeth showing. His and Elding's breath fogged in the air together, intertwining.

This would work.

Viggo would have his own dragon.

---

It was two weeks later that Elding let Viggo onto her back. It had been difficult getting her back to Dragon's Edge, and she lived more secluded from the other dragons. At first, she hadn't slept near Viggo even, only present for meal times and bits and pieces of training.

That had changed, however, as she and Viggo grew closer. The night before, she'd dared to come into Hiccup and Viggo's shared hut and sleep near the bed. She was confused by their kissing, and Viggo and Hiccup had laughed at her watching them.

They'd figured that that morning would be perfect to get Viggo onto her back.

It was the same process that they used with Toothless, and Fishlegs had to help again. Elding was a little wary around the other Dragon Riders, but was growing used to them and their dragons as well.

Elding let them saddle her with the custom saddle Hiccup had made, let them strap Viggo's legs onto her. She seemed nervous and twitchy though.

"It's alright, Elding," Viggo said in his best soothing voice. He rubbed a hand along her neck, and she made an odd humming sound that Viggo had learned was her way of showing pleasure.

"You guys make a good match," Astrid admitted, arms crossed.

The Riders had come to help out and watch. They had begun to drop their animosity towards Viggo, though Astrid still clung to hers rather tightly. Viggo didn't blame any of them for their feelings towards him; he'd done absolutely terrible things to all of them.

"Hiccup, you sure you shouldn't have given him a Gronckle like Dagur?" Snotlout asked. There was a bit of disdain in his tone.

"I think Elding is right for him," Hiccup said, tone firm. He patted her neck confidently. "Viggo, you ready to fly?"

Viggo gripped the handholds on the saddle. "I think so."

Hiccup smiled. "Good." He went and mounted Toothless, who was literally wiggling with excitement. "Let's go."

Toothless took off, and Viggo didn't have to do anything to make Elding do so as well. She took the cue and was in the air.

Viggo bent over Elding, holding on tightly. He was having a bad pain day with his he back, but he couldn't miss this opportunity of Elding putting her trust in him.

Once they were high up, the trees on the Edge specks beneath them, Hiccup spoke.

"I'm sorry about Snotlout. He can be kinda mean sometimes."

"Nothing I can't shake off," Viggo said. He looked down below. He was used to being this high up now, after flights with Hiccup, but it was exhilarating to be the one in control.

It was frightening too.

"Don't look down," Hiccup directed. "Watch me and Toothless. You can't direct Elding with your legs, so you'll have to use your arms."

Viggo nodded. Hiccup turned and began flying, pulling Toothless in an arc to the right. Viggo was grateful for Hiccup taking his partial blindness into account. Flying to the left would be difficult for him.

The flight was silent as Hiccup flew along ahead of Viggo, looking back every once in a while to make sure he was copying his maneuvers. Viggo was a little shaky at them, not performing them as smoothly as Hiccup, but who could blame him? This was his first time riding a dragon of his own!

And it was incredible. The wind whipped around him like he was dashing through shards of ice, but the cold didn't matter. He felt free, like he wasn't tethered to his body or the earth, trapped like he had been since the mission. 

That was how Viggo had felt: trapped. He couldn't do things on his own, not the way he had before. He needed help with some of the smallest things, and some of the most intimate things. Luckily, Hiccup didn't seem to mind any of it. It had been awkward at first, of course, when Viggo had needed help relieving himself, but now, it was just part of their daily routine.

He felt trapped in a scarred body that wanted nothing more than for him to suffer. His back hurt, his face hurt, he couldn't walk, he could only half see...

But none of that mattered right now. Right now he was flying. Right now he was free.

Viggo did something he hadn't done since he was probably twelve... He whooped with joy! He urged Elding to go faster, and pulled up beside Hiccup. The longer he was out here with Hiccup and Toothless, the more confident he felt on Elding's back. It was like she could anticipate his movements. It was incredible having a living being beneath him that could fly and free him.

"It's awesome, right?" Hiccup asked, a huge smile adorning his beautiful face. His cheeks and nose were red from the cold. Viggo wanted so badly to kiss him.

"Incredible," Viggo breathed. He pet Elding on the neck, and she looked back at him. If dragons could smile, or at least give the idea of a smile, she did. She was happy with him, and that made Viggo's heart soar.

"Well, we can't stay out here forever," Hiccup said sadly. He looked back at Dragon's Edge. They'd gone rather far over open ocean. "I can't feel my nose."

Viggo laughed, lifted a hand to check if he could feel his. Nope. Nothing. Heading back inside and resting near a warm fire would be a grand idea.

"Your nose is cute," Viggo told Hiccup, and then he pulled Elding around in a turn to the right, and headed back for Dragon's Edge.

---

Viggo sat in front of the fire in the clubhouse, his back resting against Elding. He was on the floor rather than a chair, as Elding had wanted to come in with him, clearly wanting to be close to him.

For now, it was just Hiccup, Toothless, Elding, and Viggo in the clubhouse. The rest of the Riders were out doing other things. Unless they'd patrolled today, they hadn't felt the bite of the winter air so high up.

Viggo held out his hands to warm them. It felt good to gain feeling back in his nose and fingers. For a brief moment, he thought that the feeling would come back in his legs as well, that they were just numb from cold and not from a horrible injury that he'd never truly recover from.

But still, he couldn't feel them, couldn't move them. At least Hiccup had helped him arrange them comfortably so that his back wasn't hurting as much. He'd also made him some willow bark tea for the pain.

"Hiccup."

"Yes?" Hiccup looked up from the book he was reading. Viggo beckoned him over with a hand, and he sat beside him, snuggling close and resting his head on his shoulder.

"That's better," Viggo breathed. He rested his head against Hiccup's, wrapping his arm around him.

For a few moments they were silent, just breathing together, enjoying each other's company.

"What did you think of flying?" Hiccup asked.

"It was amazing," Viggo said. He smiled. "I adored it."

"Good." Hiccup snuggled closer, wrapping both his arms around Viggo's waist. He was nice and warm against him. Elding grunted, then wrapped her tail around the both of them.

Toothless rumbled from across the room, while Viggo was still looking at Elding in awe.

"Of course you can join us, bud!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Wouldn't be a proper cuddle pile without you, now would it?"

Making a chortling sound that was close to laughter, Toothless padded over, and laid down in front of them, curling himself around them, his tail almost wrapped around Elding's. The two had grown close just as Viggo and Elding had.

"Thank you, Hiccup," Viggo said after some time, squeezing him tight. This was probably the most relaxed and happy he'd felt in his entire life.

"For what?"

Viggo kissed him on the top of the head. "For everything."

[nocturnasnadderaneas]

okay, while i have a minute,

my current thoughts on the nine realms show is that it just doesn’t seem like it should exist.

the synopsis says that a couple of kids find dragons and now they have to work to keep the dragons a secret. ultimately, it sounds like by the end of the show nothing about the world will have changed, just that some handful of privileged i’m sorry, lucky kids will have gotten to experience dragons in a positive way when no one else in the world has been able to for over a thousand years, and never will be able to again in the future.

my second and more important thought is that this plot just doesn’t even seem plausible? correct me if I'm wrong, but the entire world has found an entrance to the hidden world and it’s being investigated. that’s literally just game over right there.

an entrance to the hidden world has been found, and researchers and scientists from all over the world are involved. even if not one of the dragons had flown out of it or otherwise took a breather from being undergrown for over a thousand years, there is still the fact every single dragon in the world has been shoved in the hidden world, and for generations. there is no possible way that it’s not going to be laughably easy to find a dragon after the scientists have gotten in even marginally, because the dragons are literally packed in there like sardines with no where to go but out.

unless there’s been a mass death event in the hidden world as a result of packing every dragon, and every dragon species, into one singular area. and there aren’t that many dragons left as there were before. that would definitely make it harder for anyone exploring/inside the hidden world to come into contact with a dragon.

but we all know dreamworks wouldn’t show us the full ramifications of toothless’—because 90% of this is toothless’ fault—actions in plain detail like that.

like i just don’t see this situation ending happily, and not just because canonically there’s likely to be a tearful goodbye that parallels toothless and hiccup between this blonde kid and this nightlight. i don’t see this situation ending happily because we’re in fucking modern day now, the stakes are just too damn high. before i say anything else let it be clear that i know that this is not only the httyd franchise we’re talking about here, but also a httyd show made for kids, and a healthy suspension of belief is required. but if you want to talk pure realism; the show would be over before it even really started. there’s military grade weaponry and mobility that exists now, and a couple of kids being able to either 1.) hide away an unimaginable amount of dragons from the entire globe and people who are human curiosity personified, also in a world where the internet exists, 2.) convince the—maybe really small(?) group of—scientists and researchers to...not...go in and explore the hidden world? 3.) fight off the entire world to get them to somehow leave the dragons alone? again, in a world where the internet exists? these kids being able to even do one of these three things just isn’t plausible. i mean, stealth is the best course of option here and it’s just not going to fucking work, humans are too advanced and once they find the dragons that’s going to be it for dragonkind unless the dragons fight back.

in which case, we’re back to where we started, which is dragons and humans at war until eventual eradication.

(also kind of unrelated but it’s so fucking funny to me that that nightlight has to be horrifyingly inbred to have that many night fury traits after a millennia. probably why it’s muzzle is fucked up like that.)

[magnetothemagnificent]

So, because of how the world is, I thought I'd draw a bit of good ol' Aziraphale and Crowley fluff, and use the drawing as a chance to talk about something that's important to me.

Something that isn't talked about or given much thought about is how disabilities would present in a fantasy/sci-fi world.

For example, in a fantasy world, there might be a disabled character (rarely), but they're only disabled in the way we're used to as humans. We never see a disabled centaur, mermaid, harpy, etc... even though realistically, surely there would be disabled people in any population, human or not, and especially in intelligent, humanoid species. And then, we never, even see the universe's version of mobility devices, even if they have a disabled population.

I've always headcanoned Crowley, a winged species, as being unable to fly. And there are so many fantasy universes with winged species, and yet when they do have a character who is unable to fly, they never have access to mobility devices.

A notable example is Lord Milori from Disney's Secret of the Wings from the Tinker Bell series. He's a fairy whose wings were damaged, and thus he can't fly. He's depressed, partially due to his disability, and he's never able to fly again. This is unrealistic, aside from all the magic, but especially since the Tinker Bell universe and Pixie Hollow is a highly advanced civilian with advanced machinery and contraptions. And yet, nobody, not even Tinker Bell, thinks to build prosthetic wings, a glider even, so that Milori can fly.

There is one case of good representation, though- in How to Train Your Dragon. The protagonist, Hiccup, is disabled, and so is his dragon companion, Toothless. Instead of being pitied or played as a tragedy, Hiccup has a prosthetic leg and sometimes uses a cane, and Toothless is given a prosthetic wing so he can fly.

We know there are prosthetics now for animals, so the argument that 'oh, well, they don't have human anatomy of biology,' is completely invalid.

I want to see a mermaid with a prosthetic tail like the one built for the dolphin Winter, or a mermaid that uses an underwater jet to aid in swimming.

I want to see a centaur that uses a wheelchair (and they already exist for quadrupeds, so it's not unrealistic), or a deaf vampire that has a special sign language that he can use even while in bat form.

I want to see a winged creature, like a harpy or a fairy, that uses a glider or a jetpack because they can't fly on their own.

Seriously, when world building, why does no one think about disabilities?????

Anyway, that's why Crowley uses a hang glider when he wants to fly.

[blutrillion]

Breaking the Ice Post

How Were You Introduced To The Franchise?

Like many I was introduced to the franchise with the beautiful movie. I already had a love for dragons so it was wonderful to delve deeper. 

Favorite Movie/Show

Race to the Edge. I love being introduced to new riders and dragons and you can’t beat Viggo as antagonist. You were guessing at every turn!

Favorite Dragon And Human

Oooh, it’s a toss up between Dagur’s crazy personality and the Astrid/Stormfly team. I love how competitive she is, and how bird-like Stormfly is to watch. Together they’re a marvelous flying team.  It’s why I love the series more than the movies, more depth to all partner relationships and the world doesn’t revolve around Hiccup and Toothless. I also really appreciate Stoick the Vast as a father figure. He learned, he did a wonderful job supporting and driving Hiccup to be all he could be. He loved and believed in his son.

Least Favorite Dragon And Human

Grimmel. He’s the laziest villain and doesn’t hold a candle to Viggo, Krogan or any of the series antagonists. 

Favorite Dragon Species

A toss between Sentinels and the Triple Strike. I also think the thunderdrum is a very fun design. 

Least Favorite Dragon Species

Sorry guys, Lightfury. They’re canon, and I accept them but they also feel like a dull fan oc recolour. She’s so sparkly!!! And White! And ridiculously gendered! OrIGinAL ChARActeR!!! DO NOT STEAL!!!

Favorite Song

Don’t get me wrong, there are so many exciting and uplifting songs but the one that gets the most out of me is For the Dancing and Dreaming. Stoic is such a wonderful character and I get a little smile and a tear watching Stoic and Valka reunited. It’s such a sweet, cheerful, beautiful song. 

Favorite HTTYD Game

Rise of Berk. I’m both busy and lazy to a mobile game that just requires tapping is right up my alley… But their dragon designs are incredible!

Favourite Fandom Things

Ridersonas! Gimme all the Ridersona OCs! I know it's probably not popular, but I really like seeing the more unusual dragons as partners… 

There’s tons and tons of Fury subspecies but I haven’t seen an OC riding a Grapple Grounder yet, or a Sliquifier or Thornridge! I’d love to meet more of those!

Favourite Fanfiction Stories

I love fanfiction so I added my own. My favourite thing to read are OC Ridersona stories. Just like in the tv series, my favourite thing is to see a trainer form their bond with a unique dragon species. It was better than horoscopes! Stoic the Vast taming Thornado! How cute was it when Eret reached out to Skullcrusher at the end of HTTYD2? Grump meeting and saving Gobber! How awesome was it to cheer on Dagur and Sleuther as they fought together? Even Viggo bonded with the Skrill! A different dragon for every kind of trainer!

Seeing an OC/dragon species bond we haven’t seen before is like opening a Gatcha surprise!

I like OC fics that find their own plot. I quite like ‘School of Dragon’ fics because they’re an easy way to insert an OC naturally. I’d also like to see some post HTTYD3 fics, maybe Zephyr and Nuffink form their own team to defend the HiddenWorld? 

I don’t want to reread the entirety of Defenders of Berk with an OC squeezed in like a sixth finger in a glove. I call these Dolly or Clone Fics, like Dolly the Sheep. A poor clone with weird tumours growing on it. 

I also don’t read fics where trainers have a nightfury or a lightfury or otherfury set within the movie/tv series.  Drink an extra shot if it's a female. I don’t read these because;

(a) They’re more common. There are more trainer/female nightfury fics out there than trainer/timberjack fics out there. It’s like getting doubles in my Gatcha collection. 

(b) It undermines the specialness of Toothless as the last nighfury and usurps the plot HTTYD3.

However if it’s post HTTYD3, there’s no reason not to introduce these kind of riders! I actually believe nightfuries and nightlights are more common in the Hidden World because Grimmel says, ‘My favourite bait.’ implying crossbreeds were common. 

3) I think having another two riders on the same kind of dragon is boring. There are so many cool dragons! Sandwraiths! Hackatoo! Raincutters! 

5) Talking to dragon OCs. There’s actually nothing really wrong with these fics, it’s just not my jam.

But I want to meet and follow more Ridersonas! Let there be more #httydocs !!

[sebseyesandbuckysthighs]

Three Soldiers and a Baby | Part Four

summary: Three handsome bachelors find their day to day operations disrupted when an unexpected new roommate (who comes complete with a diaper and a pacifier) shows up at their doorstep. How will they deal with this new and baffling responsibility without losing their minds or killing each other in the process?

pairings: Bucky x Reader (eventual) featuring Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson

warnings: mild language, lots of fluff, a lil bit swoonworthy perhaps

a/n: Here comes part 4! I’m telling y’all, I had a lot of fun writing this series and this was definitely one of my favourite parts to write. Also, if you haven’t seen the movie I highly recommend you do! Just a disclaimer, this fic is not exactly canon to the movie so it won’t necessarily be the exact same outcome or events. Heavily inspired by it though!

*warning to mobile users, the “keep reading” tab may not work so apologies in advance*

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |

| previously |

“And at least she smells slightly better than Barnes.” Sam joked, even managing to let out a small chuckle.

No sooner had Sam said the words than Ellie began to wiggle and squirm. Little noises of discomfort started out low and soon turned into a full-on cry. What followed the tiny wailing was a smell that could clear a room. It very nearly did as Sam choked and turned on his heel to get away, pinching his nostrils shut. Before he could get too far, Steve managed to grab him by the back of his shirt collar to reel him back in. There was no way he was handling this on his own. “You spoke too soon, Sam.”

The hands desperately covering his nose and mouth caused Sam’s voice to sound muffled. “That’s just nasty.”

———————————————————————

It was starting to dawn on Steve that they might be a little out of their league here. The letter may have given them some information, but they still didn't really know what to do with any of it. Especially not when they had to compete against a very loud crying baby.

“Damn, this kid has a set of pipes on her.” Sam shouted over the screaming. “Now what are we gonna do, Captain?” He didn't bother to hide the little bit of disdain in his tone.

“We need to change her.” The Captain stated obviously.

“Uh-uh.” Sam shook his head. “Not we. You. I'm not going anywhere near whatever just came out of that kid. Sorry, but it's not happening.” The outrageous odor wafted up through his nostrils again and it was all he could do to stop from gagging. “What's her mother been feeding her?!”

This really wasn't the time to discuss the baby's diet. What they needed to do was have one of them rush down to the store to pick up as much of the essentials as they could. Everything else could be bought later. With no time for debate, Steve tasked Sam with the store run while he would stay behind with Ellie and try to clean her up as best he could. The winged Avenger didn't even wait around to hear the end of Steve's sentence before he was out the door and repeatedly pressing for the elevator to come up. The blonde man barely had time to roll his eyes at his dramatic friend before turning his full attention back to the baby.

She was still wailing, clearly unhappy that she had to be subjected to rolling around in whatever mess she made. Steve was hoping he could take a minute to at least google everything he needed to know, but the sounds of Ellie's cries getting louder left him no choice. He would just have to wing it. First thing's first, he would actually have to pick up the baby to do this and Steve couldn't remember when the last time was where he held a baby in his arms. Had they always looked so small and fragile as Ellie looked right now? There was no time to second guess himself or back out on this right now, so after taking a few deep breaths Steve reached into the bassinet and picked her up.

His arms were stiff as he held Ellie out in front of him as far as he could manage. Her tiny legs dangled and kicked as Steve tried to decide what to do next. Now that she was awake and her eyes were open, he could finally see the soft shade of blue even behind the tears. The same shade that matched her father's eyes. In that moment, Steve knew that he would do whatever it takes to come through for his best friend, but more importantly, for the little girl he held in his hands and her mother. He wasn't about to let any of them down. With renewed determination, Steve cradled the little girl closer to his chest and started walking towards the bathroom.

“I'm sorry, princess. I know you're probably pretty uncomfortable right now huh? Don't worry, we'll get you cleaned up and feeling better in no time.” Steve's comforting words may not have made much sense to her, but he knew she needed just as much reassurance as he did. To know that everything would be alright. Just as long as Sam didn't take too long at the store and got everything they needed.

Once they reached the bathroom, Steve managed to grab a few towels from a shelf while still keeping a safe grip on Ellie and brought them over to the large counter-top sink. He laid the towels out in a pile and rested Ellie on top of them to keep her from feeling the cold, hard marble underneath. Safely resting atop the soft pile, Ellie's cries finally softened and she was now only emitting quiet whimpers and hiccups. Almost as though she knew she would find relief soon. The sounds were still enough to pull at Steve's heartstrings, but he just needed a moment to collect himself.

“This isn't rocket science or whatever Shuri and Stark get up to in their spare time.” Steve said aloud, not worrying that the baby would judge him for talking to himself. “You can do this, Rogers. She's just a sweet little baby, how bad could it be?”

After finding the little button clasps, he made quick work of removing the tiny outfit from the tiny human. He fiddled for a moment with the taped sides of the diaper and pulled it open only to immediately put it back in its place. “Holy shit, kid! What have you done?!” Steve recoiled before looking down in amazement at the bumbling baby. “How hell does something so cute and small make something so disgusting?”

The sound of Ellie giggling distracted Steve enough to forget the horror contained within the diaper and just stare down at the little girl. Her toothless grin seemed to say she knew exactly what she had done. He almost thought he could forgive her for having to clean up the mess she made. Almost.

“Proud of yourself, ain't ya?” he asked, to which she replied with another series of giggles that made saliva bubble at her lips. Despite the drool, she was still beyond adorable and he couldn't help but laugh with her.

Having wasted enough time and not wanting to tempt her cries again, Steve finally removed the diaper, tossed it, and started cleaning her up. He didn't have any baby wipes so he did the best he could with a soft cloth that he soaked in warm water. He also made a mental note to go out and buy Sam a new set of towels because this set was definitely headed for the trash.

“There we go. All clean.” Steve announced, proud of himself. The problem now was that he didn't have another diaper to change her into and she couldn't wear her onesie without one. He looked around the bathroom trying to figure out a solution, but nothing came up. Looking down at Ellie, she was staring back up at him as she made those cute baby gibberish sounds and holding onto her feet. “I'm gonna trust you not to make another mess. Do we have a deal?” He took her entire hand between his thumb and index fingers and shook the little fist in agreement. “Alright. Good. Sam better get back here soon.” He mumbled and picked Ellie up.

It ended up taking Sam about twenty minutes of practically flying through the store to pick up everything they would need. Thankfully he had enough foresight to grab his baseball cap and sunglasses to cover his face because the last thing they needed was the public finding out that one of the Avengers was buying baby items. He was already getting enough weird looks as it was with the way he was shopping like a madman. Another mad dash and he was back at the apartment bursting through the front door with his hands full of bags.

“I'm back!!” He announced, hurrying past the front hallway towards the kitchen and living room. “Okay I think I got everything we need. Got the diapers, the formula, three different kinds of baby wipes and powder. Grabbed every kind of baby food they had cause a girl's gotta have options. Finally there's the bottles and these nipple things. Oh, I even got some pacifiers, a couple toys, and...dude...what the hell are you doing?” Sam paused, taking in a long breath from reciting his purchases and stared at Steve as he held Ellie, pacing the living room.

“What's it look like I'm doing?” Steve replied. “Waiting for you to get back so we can change her.”

“Nooo.” Sam turned for a second to drop the bags on the kitchen island before turning back to point at the pair. “What it looks like is you standing there with no shirt on and a naked baby on your chest.”

Steve continued to rock back and forth while Ellie absently pawed at his bare shoulders. “It was the only way I could get her to stop crying. Besides, I didn't really have another diaper to change her into now did I?” He had also wanted to keep her warm and the best way to do that was skin-to-skin.

“Yeah, but what if she...y'know...relieved herself on you?” Sam cringed.

“Well it's a good thing I'm not wearing a shirt then is it?” Of course, it still would have been nasty as hell, but at least then all he would have to do is hop in the shower instead of throwing out a shirt. “Alright, grab the stuff. I don't want her getting cold.”

Sam searched through the bags until he found what they needed as Steve walked Ellie towards the living room. Once the diapers, wipes and baby powder were all laid out on the coffee table behind them, they placed her in the center of the couch and got to their knees. Sam watched as Steve took out a clean diaper, laid it beneath the baby, and grabbed a wipe just to make sure she was clean.

“I'm surprised, Cap. Looks like you actually know what you're doing here.” Sam was just glad that the letter mentioned the right diapers to get her otherwise he probably would've bought one of every size.

“I read up on a couple things while we waited. It's pretty straight forward.” Steve finished with the wipe, disposed of it into an empty bag, and gestured behind him. “Can you grab the baby powder? Just need a little bit.”

As long as he didn't have to deal with any of the actual dirty work, Sam was happy to help in this way. Unfortunately, today just wasn't in his favor.

“What's the hold up?” Steve asked after several seconds had passed. He was keeping Ellie entertained, but he really wanted to get this diaper on her.

“Hang on a second.” Sam continued to struggle with opening the bottle, not sure what the problem was and getting increasingly frustrated.

“Hurry up, Sam.”

“Don't push me, Steve. The stupid nozzle on this thing is stuck or something.”

After another minute passed, Steve's impatience was really kicking in. He placed pillows on either side of Ellie to make sure she didn't roll around and then turned to help Sam. “Just open the damn container.” He reached out to grab the bottle from him, but Sam pulled it away.

“I'm trying to for fucks sake!” Sam exclaimed, slamming the bottle down on the table in his frustration. A thick cloud erupted from the bottle covering both men in the soft white powder. Loud peals of laughter sounded behind them as both men slowly turned to face Ellie, who was clearly in hysterics over the mess they made.

Sam's tired sigh turned into a low growl. “Barnes owes me so bad after all this and I plan to collect large.”

“You and me both, pal.” Steve agreed before they both broke out into a fit of coughs.

———————————————————————

Feedback is always appreciated, leave it here!

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part three << part four >> part five

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Series Masterlist

Full Masterlist

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tags: 

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[inke-ri]

A HTTYD 3 AU

@hiccup-is-left-handed did a thing (which I cannot link because mobile) and I really don’t wanna hijack their post but credit where credit is due ok? Ok.

This got way out of hand, I apologize for the long post… Idk how to put it under a read more on mobile, heh <3

—

So. The Hidden World AU where Toothless and the Light Fury are friends/“just like me” sort of situation + Hiccup is the one captured:

• That add on where the beginning was dark and grimy, yes. • The Grimmel scene happens between him and a fallen drago. Drago desperately needs a new Alpha to control his dragon army, so he enlists Grimmel. • The Light Fury in the cage is not in fact our LF girl, but a young male, about Toothless’ age in HTTYD 1 • Grimmel’s comment about him is around the line of “Furies are social creatures”, so through that line we learn that Toothless would in fact crave a “pack” (I keep calling a group of furies a pack bear with me), except he doesn’t really know that yet.

• Toothless meeting this equivalent of yearling male would go the same way except the dynamic would be (as hiccup-is-left-handed mentioned) similar to spiderverse’s “you’re like me”– a connection but not a romantic one

• Grimmel would still attack Hiccup’s home, but his deathgrippers actually torch down a good deal of the village • Because of the grimy beginning we see this is just another attack and Berk’s people have been suffering (injuries, slings and stuff in the great hall scene) • a bigger deal is made out of them leaving, there’s probably a scene where Hiccup is sitting next to his father’s statue after the meeting and talking to it, asking for advice • Astrid comforts Hiccup there– you’d have time for this since we’d cut most of the Hesitant To Get Married subplot, it’s in fact treated as something to happen someday in the future but both agree with the current situation it’s best to postpone it • or maybe Valka, since because we’re removing the marriage subplot, she could still get One Good Scene with Hiccup. It would still be a little stiff between them, since she’s still relatively new at this mom thing, but they both try. It’s up to you. Either way, Hiccup is convinced they must leave now. • Personally, because I’m a nerd, I’d make the beginning of the scene about Hiccup telling one of them (Valka or Astrid, your call), about how when he were little he always wanted the glory, and to be a Hero to his tribe… But he has so many difficult choices to make and it’s hard. And Valka/Astrid comments that yes, indeed, some people win glory “easily”, how Hiccup would have gotten had he killed that Night Fury, others… Well, others like him need to become Heroes the Hard Way <3 • Probably a scene of the Berkians sadly looking back to their old island and and then forward to their new future

• The yearling doesn’t go back for Toothless, but (in Nova Berk) Toothless does pick up his scent and follows him to that beachy area Toothless tries to woo the LF in the actual movie • There we find out the yearling male has a sibling, a sister, and THAT would be our girl. He calls out to the mountains and she appears and makes a huge fuss about him being back (which gives them both some nice personalities as well as showing their devotion to each other)

• Toothless is in fact attracted to her, but it’s a very minor thing in the grand scheme of him meeting others like him • Toothless tries to join them, and like in the movie Hiccup tries to coach him through befriending these dragons which are so like him • LF girl still gets offended, Toothless still falls down from the tree. yearling LF is very amused at this but also very curious about the branch, so he picks it up and starts playing with it in a rather catlike fashion • Toothless decides to show them how HE plays with the branch, so he picks it up and starts drawing • It’s no big fancy drawing, just his usual scribbles, but both siblings are very intrigued and impressed by it • Toothless still growls at the LF when she tries to step on it, and she growls back (they do NOT get started on the best terms despite Toothless’ original attraction– it could even be read as him just being curious about the fact that she’s a female), but the young male does get it, so he hops around the lines like Hiccup did, grabs the stick and flies away • Following her brother’s example, the LF tries to get to Toothless by hopping around the scribbly lines • We’d get a similar scene to Hiccup hitting his back on toothless and looking up at him, except the LF just gazes at him and Toothless smiles a little at her • She in turn tried to copy his facial expression and smiles as well, and it’s -then- that they click • The siblings still find Hiccup, but Toothless stands between them and his friend so they just choose to leave instead • Toothless still falls on the water trying to follow them but he doesn’t glare at his lack of tail, just looks longingly up at them

• Hiccup does NOT make a new tailfin right away for Toothless. Instead, we get a very “See You Tomorrow” montage, except it’s with Toothless going between the dragons and Hiccup, and each time he learns something new about himself • You could also show Hiccup looking a bit down/feeling left off during this montage, but trying to be happy for Toothless • Eventually, Hiccup decides to make the new tailfin. The scene would go basically the same way except there’s a bigger moment for Toothless not wanting to leave Hiccup, he smells the old saddle and Hiccup comforts him, saying it’s okay. He would have explained to astrid the reason why he made the new tail is not cause Toothless “never had a reason to leave”, it’s just cause Toothless is discovering a new side of him and Hiccup wants him to be happy

• the “third date” scene would be mostly be a platonic scene between the three furies, where Toothless learns to harness lightning • The difference would be the young male gets separated from them for a bit, chasing after some bird or something (he’s young and excitable, also a personality point for him) • You’d then get a smaller version of a romantic scene, but you can clearly see that after that wrong first impression the LF and Toothless do seem to like each other. Still would get the scene of them flying up into the moon and Toothless kissing her, and the “wing holding”. That was cute, and I like that scene, but the romance would still be comparatively secondary • The young male would interrupt the “hand holding”, and that’s where they’d find the hidden world. Male goes in excitedly and toothless hesitates but LF cheerfully drags him down after her brother

• The Hiccup side of it remains the same. They go after Grimmel, there’s an emphasis on all the anti-dragon humans banding together to take down berk. • Grimmel’s villain speech gets a flashback in which we get a scene more akin to the one of the first Dragons movie, there’s a slight discrepancy compared to Grimmel’s words. In the flashback, Grimmel -hesitates- before killing a wounded, sleeping night fury (it could even be faking its sleep, kinda like how Toothless just closed his eyes and waited for death, but that might be too much for a kid’s movie), but eventually does kill it • All the riders make it out of Grimmel’s trap.

• Hiccup and Astrid still go after Toothless • the Hidden World scene is expanded upon. We actually get two things that Hiccup sees: one (and this is optional but a personal headcanon of mine) being the LF siblings introducing Toothless to small, wary, scarred group of night furies (complete with Hiccup’s awe at finding more of them but also his realization that HUMANS did that to those dragons, they’re scarred and crippled because of them) • The other would be that Toothless doesn’t have the time to meet them properly, he gets distracted by squabble between two groups of wild dragons over food. Toothless instinctively uses his alpha command to take one of the groups to another feeding location, avoiding a fight. • The dragons recognize Toothless as a benevolent Alpha, and bow to him. It’s then that Astrid says that “now that’s a king” line.

• Hiccup chooses to leave Toothless there (the shock and pain of the Night Fury survivors being a factor of Hiccup deciding Toothless is better off without him, and besides, we’ve been building up on that “Toothless prefers his new friends over me” issue Hiccup is dealing with) • The whole rumblehorn thing happens and Toothless still brings Hiccup home, but Toothless isn’t angry or anything. The two light Furies do follow them. Seeing them actually only hardens Hiccup’s resolve, and he essentially kicks Toothless out, but he’s lashing out out of hurt, worry, rejection, and overall being overwhelmed by his duties as a Chief (namely the very large group of vikings bent on destroying Berk due to their philosophy) and his love and worry for Toothless • Toothless does leave, looking hurt but he does. • Astrid tries to comfort Hiccup again, but this time he just wants to be alone. Once she leaves, Hiccup mourns a little, but then he’s suddenly shot with one of Grimmel's darts. Astrid sees him be taken, but it’s too late to rescue him

• Hiccup wakes up in a ship of the armada his mother had seen on Cloudjumper, and is surprised in a very angry way to see Drago there (we hadn’t seen him since the moment he lashes at Grimmel for letting the Berkians get away– but he does so in a logical and tactical way) • Drago wants the location of the Hidden World – something he probably got from Grimmel who overheard it during the raid on his lair – and he plans to use Hiccup for it • Remember when Hiccup was called a devil in the beginning of the movie? This scene would get its payback here!! In a very clear parallel to Dragons 1, Drago would shackle Hiccup and sail east, and in a very Stoick-esque way, tells him to “lead the way, [to the nest], little devil” • Y'know like what happened to Toothless in HTTYD 1

• Cut to Toothless in the Hidden World. He’s looking at his tail, rather forlorn and lost • The Lightfury comes to see him, looking rather affectionate- they’re a couple, it seems. Toothless looks to her and then to behind him, where the other Light/Night furies (and some other dragons in the background) are waiting for him • Toothless isn’t ready yet. He licks the LF (think of a “I have to” kiss on the cheek Hiccup gave Astrid in HTTYD 2), and flies towards the waterfall and out of the hidden world, back to Hiccup.

• Drago is sailing towards the general direction of the hidden world, guided by the direction Toothless flew off before he captured Hiccup • Hiccup is unable to free himself, but then he (and the antagonists) is surprised to see that Berk is flying towards the armada to free him, en masse. All seem determined to defend the Hidden World’s entrance from Drago’s fleet • It’s a nice shout out to both HTTYD 1, where that small team fought the read death, but also to how the vikings have changed, how Hiccup has changed them. A small team has become a whole village. • no one can quite get to Hiccup tho, but then Drago is surprised to find Toothless there, looking very very angry • Grimmel still threatens someone Toothless loves, but it’s Hiccup this time. For a brief moment, Toothless controls the dragons away from the fight, so Hiccup isn’t killed. Toothless cannot let Hiccup die. He can’t. He loves him too much. • Drago and Grimmel however, are distracted long enough for Toothless to grab Hiccup and flee– not by humans but by the whole group of light and night furies. It seems as though Furies are a very territorial species, and act as protectors of the hidden world.

• Grimmel still grabs the LF, Toothless still follows him with Hiccup. The whole thing that went down in the movie happens here. Grimmel dies. Toothless is rescued by the young, excitable LF Male, while our girl, who has always been more distrustful of Hiccup, saves his life. She does smile crookedly at him, that very Toothless smile she learned from him.

• Drago is still out there, though. Hiccup, Toothless and the dragon gang regroup while most of Berk still fights. Hiccup is alive, but feels lost, he always wanted to prevent a war and now a war has happened anyway • This is where Astrid comes in again, and where she repeats that “what are you going to do about it” line • The gang goes after drago– and surprise: Hiccup is using the old saddle, but Toothless still wears the new tailfin, one last big fight for the two of them: this time, while they’re still connected, they’re able to fight apart from each other– maybe it’s here that we get that sword/explosion/look between Hiccup and Astrid. Toothless is flying on his own, and Hiccup is fighting on his own as well. By mutual choice this time, knowing how their differences don’t affect their devotion to each other • The furies fight alongside Hiccup, Toothless and the Berkians, showing the beauty of cooperation and mutual respect between humans and dragons that do decide to work together… As well as allowing Hiccup one big flight with Toothless and other night furies, as was his dream for his friend. • Drago is defeated, and the army scatters (how it’s up to you, I’m still fond of the jailed idea, except Drago falls under water and drowns, or something. Idk. For a man who’s so determined to control and dominate, dying in a cage designed to control and rip freedom away would be pretty good poetic justice, but idk.)

• Hiccup and Toothless still part ways. Hiccup’s speech isn’t really about how his dream wasn’t the dragons’ dream. Instead, much like the books, he says that Humanity isn’t quite ready to share the world with them, and that Toothless needs to take them away for their own safety (basically the same message of the movie but sans the weird “hiccup is clinging to toothless” subplot.) • That heart-wrenching scene still happens pretty much the same way.

• The ending is also very much the same, the babies and stuff. We’d probably see more light furies and one or two night furies on the other rocks surrounding the hidden world– they still act as protectors. • the ending goes very much the same way: I’d just tweak the words a little to explain that this isn’t just about hiding the hidden world’s secret (though you do see that in a way, Hiccup and Berk = the Furies’ role, all are guardians of the Hidden World, kinda binding them together even if they are away), but also about spreading the message that one day humans and dragons (wildlife?) can coexist someday, and when We’re ready, the Dragons will one day return.

— ……. Well that was long. I’ve been furiously typing on my phone for a good hour and a half actually. My fingers are dead but I just love this idea so much.

Also very much Not Revised so forgive any grammar/spelling mistakes!

Sorry for like. Making this way too big, Hiccup-is-left-handed. I got way too excited about it :’D

[yv-sketches]

I JUST SAW HTTYD 3 TODAY

Un. Follow. Me now, this is going to be the only thing I post about for weeks.

Please, please do not read this if you haven’t been a lucky bastard of an Australian. Do not click read more on pc, go back to your blog and block the tag httyd 3 spoilers on mobile, unfollow me if you want to.

There was no assigned seat system so I sat in front of the door to go in first and get a good one, but two guys (as in, fandom age) beat me. I wonder if they have tumblr...

Things I loved (prepare for a long list):

THAT OPENING SCENE

Hiccup boards a ship to free dragons and swordfights this guard dude. Guard knocks over a lamp, setting the deck on fire and Hiccup and a blue glowing Toothless deadass walk through it. Boi that was awesome

This is Berk.

Lots of action scenes in general. Hiccup with a sword is my new aesthetic. I did not pay a lot of attention, but I think he fought left handed.

The visuals.

Hot.

Damn.

Thought httyd 2 Berk was impressive? I think not.

THAT NEW BERK ISLAND

THE CAMP

THE WATERFALL

THE CLOUDS

SNOWY NEW BERK ISLAND

THE SAND

Oh boy the sand. Because there are no places like that waterfall or new Berk island it is obviously fake, but the clouds and sand... If you took a screenshot and said it was a photo I’m pretty sure 99% of the people would believe you.

All the decors. Dreamworks made So. Many. Environments. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an animated movie with this level and amount of sets and details. This beats Finding Dory, Big Hero 6, httyd 2 by far. Maybe Zootopia and Moana reached this level, but never on this scale.

The composition. Whoever did the cinematography, kudos to you. The fight scenes were awesome, actually, most of the shots were.

The music. John Powell amirite??? When Hiccup sits there with his map. When they introduce Grimmel’s fort. When they go into the waterfall. Test flight when Light Fury saves Hiccup...

Drago’s fleet was cool, but Grimmel has a freaking aircraft/helicopter thing. Who does this guy think he is? Norbert the Nutjob?

Speaking of Grimmel HE SAID IT HE SAID IT WHEN HE BROKE INTO HICCUP’S HOUSE

“You wish for a world where humans and dragons live as equals? That will be the end of civilization.�� Or something like that. Can you hear my book fandom heart beating faster? There was even a faintly recognizable ‘history repeats itself’.

The entirety of Berk on the move. Dragons carrying bags, entire ships with stuff and lots and lots of citizens. I don’t know when Hiccup acquired all this power to make people listen to him immediately, but he’s owning it.

The gang, minus Snotlout, had an actual part in the plot, unlike httyd 1 and 2 where they were mainly background characters. Gobber had a running gag with funny round dragons. I LOVE THEM OK they are so round.

TINY HICCUP IN THE FLASHBACKS Stoick was so sweet on him, and the way he speaks about Valka.... Take notes Disney, that’s a declaration of love.

No hate on Light Fury. She was the amazing ball of feral sass that I hoped she would be. She noped out when Toothless tried to flirt and yeeted Hiccup off his back. You go girl.

Toothless being a Skrill.

Toothless being da king. I got chills. Toothless my baby you are so amazing

That scene where Grimmel symbolically rips off Hiccup’s dragon-y wings, night fury pauldron and leg... Cressida Cowell would be proud of that.

“The world if not ready for dragons. Yet”

HICCUP TRULY SAID IT CAN I GET ALL BOOK FANS TO SAY IT WITH ME?

At the last hand thing where Hiccup slowly takes his hand off Toothless, I swear I heard someone cry softly. I don’t blame them.

Have I mentioned the visuals yet?

Things that I thought were very good, but not True Perfection My Life Is Complete 10/10 level good:

The ending was kind of sudden. Grimmel is defeated and then Hiccup decides to let Toothless go free? And then the entirety of Berk unsaddles their dragons to let them go? Yes, I understand, but I thought it would have taken an ENTIRE movie for him to do that. It WAS there throughout the movie, but it was never the main focus (the way Tadashi’s death was in BH6). The attention was always on either Grimmel or the Light Fury.

This in general. The emotions were the subplots instead of the main ones.

The whole “What is Hiccup without Toothless?” was a most perfect plot that kind of.... was resolved far easier than I hoped. It was still good, just not “hero the hard way”-level good.

“Hiccup makes Toothless a self-flying tail fin while that was a major point of their soulmate-ness” was missing some emotional weight. Hiccup was clearly super distressed, it was just not addressed a lot.

The Hiccstrid wedding plot was nice and I suspect lots of shippers will have their funerals in theatre, however, I think that too was not “companions of the Dragonmark”-level good. BUT THEY ARE SO CUTE! THEY ARE SUCH A REALISTIC AND GOOD COUPLE LIKE THEY WERE IN HTTYD 2. No mushy romance, just two badass Vikings who are so comfortable around each other it can only be true love.

Random stuff:

Eret might be gay for Gobber.

Snotlout might have slapped Hiccup’s butt.

Valka beat Spitelout (voiced by David Tennant despite not having any real lines) in arm wrestling.

Ruffnut annoying Grimmel the way only she can.

Valka has bits of grey in her hair, but her face still looks super young.

The whole gang has flight suits

Things I did not like:

Toothless fell in love too fast. He ditched Hiccup’s flirting tactics and made her a drawing. Cool. He got mad when she stepped on the lines. Cool. But then she got mad as well and Toothless just.... left it at that. Apparently he was so lovestruck he let Light Fury trample his art. No.

Things I hated with every inch of my being (that is not a lot of inches by the way):

Snotlout flirting with a Valka.

Gods... He is younger than Hiccup. Valka is Hiccup’s mom. Blergh.

Things I understand and fit the movie verse but annoyed me because it killed the entire meaning of Cressida Cowell’s conclusion (yes this is very specific):

The ending.

The dragons leave. Hiccup smiles through his tears because he knows this is the best thing to do. Toothless becomes king of the dragon world. Light Fury is his queen. Hiccup and Astrid marry and have cute children. Hiccup grows a beard. So far so good. Very good ending.

But then. Then Toothless reappears and meets Hiccup’s son and daughter. -_-

I don’t know about you, but wasn’t the whole point that dragons went into the hidden world to hide from humans? Wasn’t the whole point that ‘great things are only made out of love and pain’ and that doing the good thing also meant letting Toothless go? I wanted a heartbreaking ending. The bittersweet one from book 12. And this just felt like a fairytale that was too good to be true.

Yet at the same time, I like this ending. Toothless has his own life. Hiccup is his own person without Toothless. He’s a good chief and everyone is generally happy. The world does not believe dragons exist. Except for Berk.

Berk is this special place that dragons sometimes visit before returning back to the hidden world because Berlin’s do love dragons.

And come on. Kids and parents would riot if Hiccup and Toothless did separate for good.

Things that whacked me in the face like

"There were dragons when I was a boy"

BUT HE DID NOT ONLY SAY THAT HE SAID THE ENTIRE THING

THE ENTIRE THING from ‘There were dragons when I was a boy’ TO ‘leaving not a bone, not a fang, in the earth for the men of the future to remember them by.’

I died.

[nimrook-fr]

Major HTTYD3 spoilers below the cut!!! Sorry mobile users if the “read more” thing doesn’t work!

you guys it is dumb how fucking emotional I am over the last movie. I was trying to figure out why I am so heartbroken over the film and I’ve concluded that because films/videogames/literature/etc are my only escape from the world like many people, when a world I’m used to escaping into changes in a way that I don’t necessarily want it to I feel like I lost an old friend or something. Like there are some worlds that I just really want to exist. And when the movie ended with all the dragons leaving until someday when humans can learn to stop hunting them and we can all get along I was just so SAD. Like no i wanted to movie to end with everyone getting to stay with their friends in Berk and live happily ever after. I wanted Hiccup and Astrid’s kids to grow up with Toothless and the Lightfury’s kids. I mean don’t get me wrong the ending is beautiful in it’s own way, and I loved the movie, I just wanted to live in a world where the dragons and the humans all live together in peace in the end. The ending was a good ending, but it was bittersweet (which is honestly an amazing choice for the movie, because it represented how friendships can also mean great sacrifice and how close relationships can be really painful but in a good way?? Idk there was good symbolism. I just wanted a super fuzzy feel good at the end I guess aha).

Maybe I’ll get lucky and a new movie will be made in the future about the dragons coming back but I doubt it because this movie was advertised as the epic conclusion. It’s too bad though, it’s hard to go back in time and watch the first movies without being really sad because I know all the dragons are going to leave in the end.

[kingofthewilderwest]

I read someones comment and i agreed, if toothless gave up his flight for hiccup, i think he would perfectly gave up his entire species survival for him too, what are your thoughts?

An extremely relevant link to prior discussion!

Personally I think that there’s an enormous difference - both conceptually and morally - between giving up flight and letting an entire species die.

Giving up flight affects only one person: himself. Toothless giving up flight of course majorly changes his own life, but he doesn’t hurt anyone that way. Toothless is willing to sacrifice his own personal mobility and type of life based upon his love of Hiccup. It’s an extraordinary gesture, one that is pure and full of heart and love.

Letting an entire species die, though, is an entirely different story. What sort of “give up entire species’ survival” are we talking about? If it’s just letting his species die because he doesn’t mate with the supposedly only other female alive of his kind… yeah. Toothless would put a preference of his best friend Hiccup over a female dragon he just met. Easy. 

I don’t think Night Furies enter existential questions regarding the importance of perpetuation of a species (and by “I don’t think” I mean I’d eat my socks if that happened XD). Toothless is a dragon - a species that isn’t going to have the same line of thought that philosophical humans sitting in a circle postulating hypothetical questions. As far as Toothless is going to care, he’s going to focus on his instinctual needs, his love for Hiccup, and his ties to the people already in his life. From what we know of his behavior and draconic behavior in general, the need to procreate isn’t going to be prioritized over his love of Hiccup. Nowhere close. I mean, Stormfly and Meatlug had babies. Where are their mates? Don’t know. But where are their dragon riders? Right at their side. These dragons prioritize their riders over their reproduction and Toothless will too. So Hiccup will definitely come first. 

It’s like the tail fin - Toothless makes a choice that really affects just him and his trajectory of life. The conceptual consequences or obligated “survival of his species” isn’t going to be something a Night Fury will philosophically consider.

But there are other cases in which “giving up a species’ survival” means Toothless encountering a group of Night Furies (which is likely what will happen in HTTYD 3). And in a situation like that, this is an ENTIRELY different ethical consideration than Toothless giving up his tail fin. Here it’s a choice that affects the life and death of other living individuals! In many scenarios, you could easily ethically argue that intentionally letting an entire species die is the allowance of genocide. In this case, Toothless isn’t sacrificing quality of life for himself or anything that might limit himself. In this scenario, Toothless would be letting many other individuals die. This is not a purehearted gesture. It’s honestly extremely ethically questionable to pin on a character: they would allow potentially dozens, potentially hundreds, potentially thousands of individuals die? That’s… uncomfortable.

Toothless isn’t someone like that who could make a choice to consciously let so many people die like that. That is far from Toothless’ heart. Toothless is someone who deeply loves Hiccup. But Toothless is also someone who cherishes the lives of others, too. He and Hiccup have worked together for years to save the lives of other dragons - stranger dragons! Toothless wouldn’t be so callous as to give up his entire species’ survival.

So depends what you mean by “give up his species’ survival”. If it’s something like not procreating? Yeah, easy, Hiccup comes first. No question! If it’s something like saving the lives of dozens of dragons? Toothless emotionally has a sense of responsibility to saving their lives, and that is what he’d do.

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Whumptober Day 29: Strange Dream

Summary: Written for Whumptober Day 29. Set after Httyd 2. Hiccup wakes up in a strange place. Or at least, he thinks he's waking up.

Rating: Teen and Up

Characters: Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Words: 1 989

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Intubation

Whumpee: Hiccup

Author’s Notes: I saw this prompt, got this idea, and thought "why not".

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

Ao3

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He's choking. The first thought running through his mind upon waking up is that he's choking on something. Hiccup doesn't know what it could be, but there's something inside his throat and it's in there deep. It's distressing and he fights to struggle his hands out of whatever that has a hold on them to pull it out.

They feel like cuffs and they are strong, not even moving no matter how much he pulls and jerks. It causes him to panic and to fear that he's fated to be choked by this thing inside of him.

He can feel instinctual tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, freezing his face even further. He's cold. He's so very cold and he doesn't know why. It reminds him of the few seconds he spent frozen inside the ice of a Bewilderbeast. It was so bone-chillingly cold that he worried for a moment that he would freeze on the inside, too.

But somehow, he manages to force himself into calming down. He needs to think clearly if he wants to get out of this.

His eyes are heavy like he desires more sleep, but he manages to open them. What he sees is something akin to Deathsong amber, except it's much clearer and it's frosted over with ice, giving weight to how cold he feels. He can barely see beyond the amber.

As he trembles, he brings his attention to what covers his face. It's something black and it feels like a material he has never seen or touched before. It's almost leathery, that's the closest material he can compare it to, and even then it's far off.

He can barely move, but he can maneuver himself just enough to see that his hands, arms, legs, even his torso are all bound by cuffs that can only be a kind of metal.

Wanting out, he struggles as hard as he can, hoping to gain some mobility or have a sense of how strong they are and what he's dealing with. But before he can get a good sense, a weird set of short noises like beeps sounds and they all release at the same time.

Hiccup's legs buckle beneath him as they can't carry his weight. They feel weak, how long has he been standing like that?

It hurts, falling down to the bottom of this strange cell with his body as cold as it is. His stump burns in his pegleg and his joints scream with the sudden influx of movement. He stills, riding out the pain until it abates enough for him to move.

When it does, Hiccup brings up two shaking hands to finally deal with whatever is occupying his throat. He undoes the mask clinging to the lower half of his face and then hurries to remove the snake-like thing.

Grabbing a tight holt, he pulls and it's still in there, scratching at his gag reflex and causing a choking noise to erupt. He pulls a second time and feels the overwhelming need to cough and throw up, his gag reflex now in overdrive to get this thing out of him. He pulls a third time and then it finally leaves him.

He almost spits it out, dry heaving and retching as is his body's response to when something foreign has been shoved inside of him. He leans on his hands and knees, coughing and waiting to possibly spill what may still remain in his stomach. His throat is sore and burns after the removal of the inanimate snake.

Gods, he feels strangely violated. What was that thing doing inside of him? Who put it there?

But he doesn't expel anything from his body and so he brings his attention to his next obstacle.

The thing he'd been standing in, it's circular as well. He put his hands on the amber hoping to gain some hold as he struggles back to his feet, his prosthetic still present.

But that same noise sounds and the clear amber parts with a hiss, making him stumble out of his tiny prison.

He falls to the floor outside, where a wave of warmth washes over his freezing body. He feels so weak and he has to take a moment to let the outside heat help him recover before he can make another move.

The floor he's lying on, it's some kind of metal and he knocks on it, attempting to find out exactly what it's made out of and finds that he can't identify this material either. He's surrounded by things that he doesn't recognize. The only familiar things with him are his clothes and prosthetic. His dagger and Inferno, however, they are both missing.

Once strong enough to get up, Hiccup shakingly moves to sit up and then stand up. It briefly becomes black before his eyes and he almost falls over.

Now standing, he's starting to feel sick, like he might pass out again. Stumbling, he grabs hold of a side of his cell to keep standing.

He seems to be standing in a hallway and there are other... pods like the one he was in.

The ones on either side of him, they appear to be other humans just like him, but in others further down the hallway on either side of him... He blames on the ice frosting over each one. Because the things inside of them are not humans, dragons, not any living animal he's ever seen or heard of before. They almost appear to be out of this world and that is just too crazy for him to comprehend right now.

Hiccup reels, feeling sicker and more tired by the second, his head rolling. When he woke up, his mind was clear and focused. At least enough to still his panic and free himself. But now it's like something is fogging up his brain again and it's acting fast. Something is still in his system.

But he needs to get out of here somehow, wherever here is. So he takes a direction and walks it, having very few choices.

Mind quickly becoming more unfocused, vision growing blurry, and body heavy. He stumbles down the hallway, footsteps echoing. Feeling sick turns into terrible nausea and the corridor starts to twist before his very eyes.

By the time he reaches the end, he's dragging himself forward, breathing hard, blinking slowly, and barely thinking coherently. Out of the hallway and into a room of some kind, he looks to his left at something... At something... outside? It's blue and round and contrasts brightly against a pitch-black background.. That's the last thing he gets to see before he blacks out and falls to the floor.

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"Hiccup? Hiccup, wake up, Babe."

"What's wrong with him?"

"How should I know, Snotlout? I just found him like this."

"Maybe we should go get Gothi?"

It's voices that he wakes up to this time, his friends are talking around him. He groans as he returns to a state of consciousness.

"Oh, he's waking up!"

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup opens his eyes and finds all his friends surrounding him and looking down on him. Toothless croons and greets his human with a headbutt, which Hiccup gladly returns.

"Hiccup," Astrid starts and scoots closer on her knees, Stormfly behind her. The Dragons are all here and staring, too.

"What happened? Where did you go? You've been gone for-for days!" She starts to question him, grabbing his shoulders since he appears to be lucid enough to answer.

"Wh-wha? Days?" He asks, coughing soon after as his throat is dry and unimaginably sore. How did he hurt his throat? Is he getting sick?

"Fishlegs," Astrid turns to him and receives the flask of water that he hands to her.

Hiccup feels too shaky and weak to sit up on his own and so Astrid and Snotlout help him up, after which he's given the flask and he drinks and drinks and drinks until the entire flask is empty. He gasps and pants, feeling at least a little bit refreshed, but his throat still hurts. The Riders share a concerned look and Toothless rumbles in worry. He drank that like he hasn't had one in days.

They're on a beach.

"What do you mean days?" Hiccup asks with his thirst quenched. Words have a hard time leaving him and his voice is hoarse.

"Yeah, we've been searching for you," Tuffnut tells him. They're all sitting in a circle around him.

"All over Berk and in the ocean. We even went back to the Edge." Ruffnut speaks up and adds.

Hiccup looks at his friends in confusion, his gaze gliding over all their faces and he sees nothing but the truth. They all look worried and like they haven't slept or eaten much as of late.

His confusion isn't lost on his wife.

"Hiccup, what's the last thing you remember?" She asks, feeling like it might be a good thing to know.

Hiccup looks at her, searching his memory for an answer. There is something prodding the very edges of it, nagging at him from just beyond the limits of what he can remember.

But it doesn't come.

"I remember going to sleep with you and Toothless. You were a little agitated because of how late it was and how it was Spitelout's fault for keeping us up at that hour. We had a talk about it, sparred to get your frustration out, then we went to sleep." Hiccup answers and the Dragon Riders all look at Astrid to see if she can confirm.

It's the answer Astrid expected, but it's not the one she wanted to hear as this means he remembers nothing.

"Astrid, guys, how long have I been gone?" With a hoarse voice he still continues talk, he has to know.

"You've been gone for a week." Snotlout tells him and Hiccup stares at him, overcome with shock.

He has a week-sized hole inside his memory. And it's not like Hiccup has a terrible memory either as his has always been exceptionally good. Making Toothless' first tailfin purely on first impressions of the remaining fin alone has proven that.

"When did you guys find out I was gone?" Hiccup asks, wondering how long it took them to figure out he was missing. After previous incidents, he can't expect it to be long.

"Not until morning. Toothless and I, we never noticed you leave." And yet, Hiccup is shocked by the answer he's given by Astrid.

"Or even be taken." Snotlout adds.

Astrid is always wary, even as she sleeps, and Toothless, his hearing doesn't allow him to not notice.

This incident becomes stranger by the minute and still that nagging at the back of Hiccup's mind continues. It's like a dream that he can't quite recall.

Hiccup looks down on himself and finds everything still intact. And his knife and sword, they are now in his hand instead of where they should be.

"Come on, we're taking you to Gothi," Astrid tells him and grabs his arm to help him to his feet.

"I can't fly." He still feels too weak to. Astrid shares another look with Snotlout.

"You don't have to, Hiccup, you're on Berk." She tells him and he looks up, finding the cliffs and the few homes near it. The beach they're on is one of Berk's, a place where they've spend a lot of time in their lives and a site they have probably searched once before already. Astrid and Stormfly must've found him here purely by chance.

Hiccup nods to tell them that he realizes and lets them take him back to the village.

He doesn't know where he's been that entire week, who has taken him, or why he can't remember seven whole days, but it's concerning and the likelihood of finding any answers is too slim for his comfort. And that soreness in his throat, where did that come from?

[korben600]

I would like to point out that Toothless is disabled too. And they actually do a really interesting job analyzing that, because Toothless’s disability (his lost tail) forced him at first to completely rely on Hiccup for mobility (IE Toothless couldn’t fly without Hiccup).

Hiccup realizes this, during that Christmas special, FYI, and does his best to minimize toothless’s dependency on him, even giving him an autonomic wing that doesn’t require human interaction so he has complete freedom of movement. It’s a great bit of world building and character growth where Hiccup realizes that he has the privilege of body autonomy and his buddy doesn’t, because of the nature of their disabilities and prosthetics, despite the similar nature of their injuries.

And then Toothless promptly explains to Hiccup’s dumb ass that while he likes the ability to fly without Hiccup’s assistance yes, he does in fact prefer flying with Hiccup, since this stupidly nice human is his best friend.

“What? Like, a disabled protagonist? How would that even work? How could someone with a disability be the hero in an action show?” local anime trash boy wonders while sitting next to his box sets of Full Metal Alchemist, showing no hint of irony or self awareness. 

[whatwasoverwrought]

Someone pointed out that adult Hiccup went back to having the same hair as 15yo Hiccup, and it makes sense because the windswept look is a bit juvenile (like how it was annoying that adult Simba with a grown daughter had the same hairstyle as young adult Simba from the first Lion King movie), but also because there’s literally no reason for it to be windswept anymore now that he lives in a society without dragons.

Also, huge parts of the HTTYD movies are contrived, including the vague and sudden reason for Berk to give up the dragons that their whole lifestyle was based on, but maybe there’s an allegory there.

At first, thinking of current global issues, dragons could an allegory for oil. It’s something that literally powers flight nowadays, and the dragons did all literally withdraw underground and Toothless is black like oil. Maybe HTTYD is an allegory about us needing to wean ourselves from our dependence on oil, despite all the conveniences it gives us.

Dragons could also be an allegory for other technology, specifically the internet. It’s also something that gives us huge practical and emotional benefits, but on which we are too dependent. This makes the most sense on a personal self-application level. We need to be phone-free and only visit every ten years (allegorically speaking) or so until we can develop proper respect and self-control. This makes sense for a kid-centric audience. You can’t just have escapist phone on the internet all the time!

But the Berkians give up dragons for the sake of their dragons, not for themselves and not for the environment.

Hiccup is consistently peaceful throughout the trilogy. If anything if intensifies over time. He kills a dragon the first movie, but refuses to do so in the 2nd, even though killing the alpha or Drago would be the simplest solution. The third movie he literally relocates his village to avoid war. In some ways it’s admirable, but it’s not practical, even if his people feel that they’ve traded up in terms of location. Just as Hiccup is maybe overly focused on Toothless, he is in some ways more focused on the well-being his dragon Berkians than on his human Berkians.

So it could be an animal rights allegory, which I don’t quite believe. I mean, I do believe wild animals can’t truly be domesticated and need more space and freedom in general than most human caretakers can provide, but for highly intelligent animals based on cats and dogs, there’s no reason that they can’t consent to living with humans if that’s their choice. Also, domesticated cats should really be kept indoors, for the sake of your local wild bird population. I don’t think anyone’s saying cats and dogs are better off in the wild. For one thing they would really mess up the actual wildlife population.

This makes me uncomfortable to think about, but given how intelligent dragons are, if they are in fact people, if not human people, then you could say that dragons are an allegory for slavery, where the Uber-white Scandinavian population first wars with what they think of as savages before deciding to enslave them as second class citizens needing to be trained to adapt to a new culture. In which case, yes, setting the dragons free to go back to their own society was absolutely the right thing to do. I mean, now that I’m thinking about it, Toothless is even black. And the only reason he became friends with Hiccup was because Hiccup literally disabled him and then made Toothless’s mobility dependent on him, in a Stockholm Syndrome-esque, messed up Opium War allegory. Wow. Fridge horror.

This is the best!