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howtowhumpyourhiccup · 4 years

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Whumptober Day 18: To Fix What Is Broken

Summary: Written for Whumptober Day 18, follow-up to Day 12. Set after Httyd 2, not canon-compliant with THW. Years after their mistake, the Gang may need to force Hiccup to break down the wall he's constructed since then. It may not end as terribly as it did last time.

Rating: Mature

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

Pairing: None

Words: 5 187

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: "Panic Attack”

Whumpee: Hiccup

Author’s Notes: NOTE: The rape/non-con elements in this fic are purely implied and referenced. Nothing is explicitly shown.

Not sure how much I've succeeded at portraying a panic attack in this one. I’ve only done it once before and it’s in an unposted one-shot. So I have no idea how well I’ve written a panic attack.

Might also be too long. I tried to look at what needed cutting, but I had no idea what.

Also written as a follow-up to Whumptober Day 12, which I will be linking.

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

Ao3 to Whumptober Day 12

Ao3 To Whumptober Day 18

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In the end, nothing got fixed. After his outburst in the Dragon Academy and doing "damage control" with his father, Hiccup somehow managed to convince him to let him go back to the Edge, and then it's like everything went back to normal.

Normal as in Hiccup pretending like nothing happened and continuing on as usual. Giving orders, prioritizing dragons and beating Dragon Hunters, sassing, the whole charade. He simply goes about his business, truly as if nothing happened that day, as if they hadn't hurt him and he hadn't hurt them.

A part of them is selfishly relieved and wants to go along with the pretend, but a slightly bigger part of them knows it isn't right, that Hiccup is simply ignoring the issue altogether in the hope that it will just go away.

So they've tried to bring it up with him. At dinner, during game night, during a patrol, any moment where he can sit down and have a talk. But he always shuts them down as soon as the subject is brought up, telling them not to make such a big deal out of something so stupid and small and to let it rest.

Sometimes they don't even get the chance to start talking before Hiccup would leave the room as soon as they sit down. There's just something about the way they sit down whenever they try to talk to him that tips him off to what they're planning on doing.

This whole thing has made him a hypocrite because he wouldn't just let this rest if the person suffering isn't him. Though to be fair, he would be a lot more sensitive about it than they have been.

The worst part is that their attempts at reaching him aren't only in vain, they make things worse between them and him, too. Though he and Toothless seem to be doing fine, the two of them go off together without the rest of the Dragon Riders a lot more than they used to even at the very beginning of the Dragon Academy.

Hiccup spends more time by himself, while game night often keeps going until the wee hours of the night, he only stays for an hour or two before retreating to his hut or forge to do whatever.

And then they get captured again. The Riders fight and fight to make their captivity end as soon as humanly possible, to save Hiccup from more hurt, but when they get home, Hiccup and Toothless disappeared for days.

So instead of suffering through this period of pain on the Edge, he was suffering through it somewhere else instead, with only Toothless there to see it.

It's so unhealthy. The way he avoids it altogether, pretends like nothing is wrong, like his head isn't full of what he's enduring. The way he runs from his second home, from his friends, to suffer completely on his own only to return and continue to act like nothing's happened and like he hasn't been gone.

So they let it rest, feeling like they have no other choice. After telling Stoick had been disastrous, after returning to the Edge, after attempt after attempt ends in failure, they decide to let it rest. Maybe them "letting it go" will, at the very least, urge Hiccup to stay home when he has these troubling episodes. That way, he's safe with them when he has them and not off to Odin knows where.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, life has a way of confronting someone with their traumas.

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Years pass.

Drago Bludvist happens, Hiccup finds out his dead mother isn't actually dead, Stoick is killed, Hiccup becomes Chief of the Hooligan tribe at the young age of 20, and Eret joins the Dragon Riders. Once again his life is turned upsidedown, but besides a few references here and there, Viggo's criminal acts are never talked about.

Despite this, the Riders know that the former Dragon Hunter Chief is far from forgotten, even while dead.

Because Berk is a very handsy place and Berk doesn't know about Hiccup's ever-growing aversion to touch. They act around him as they always have, Hooligan friendly, and his friends have seen his discomfort that everyone else is either blind to or attributes to his awkwardness.

On that front, Eret is very observant, keeping it at friendly shoulder pats.

But it isn't just the "no touching", the Riders can see Viggo's influence on other aspects of Hiccup's life.

They can see when he's having a particularly bad episode by the bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep, by the weight he loses when eating becomes a problem, or when he suddenly and inexplicably needs to leave a room and won't be back for hours.

They've never disturbed him before, but they know he's at the cove with Toothless when he does this. So at least they know he's safe.

But Hiccup's wardrobe isn't lost on them either. Going from a simple tunic and somewhat plain armor to layers upon layers with armor on top and belts in more places than they need to be, one dagger strapped to an arm, and his Inferno strapped to his thigh,... the Riders aren't idiots.

Berk may think it's his taste for the dramatic, but they know that he's making up for a concerning lack of a sense of security. Viggo's death hasn't made him feel any safer and Stoick's has made that even less so.

It's all leather, too, all except for his tunic.

It always takes him minutes just to reach his main tunic and knowing Hiccup that is bound to bite him in the ass someday.

And it did.

Having allies means coming to their aid in their time of need and that can sometimes result in one of the Dragon Riders getting hurt. This time, it so happened to be Hiccup.

Aiding the Berserkers when an enemy tribe thought to raid them, the Dragon Riders came to help and in the ensuing battle, Hiccup got knocked off Toothless.

It is easier to down a disabled dragon than a fully-abled one, even with a rider, but throughout the years, their grace in the sky hasn't just grown, but their chances of being downed have lessened.

Unfortunately for Hiccup and Toothless, that means crashing just hurts more. As a dragon, Toothless is sturdy and can therefore shake a crash or two off, but as a mere human, Hiccup cannot.

Unable to just walk it off, he was taken to the healer to be looked at and treated. He'd been unconscious the whole way there, a blessing because that meant he didn't need to feel them move him and cause him more pain in the process, a curse because that meant he woke up in a stranger's home.

"He won't let me treat him," The healer had to tell the Riders and Heather, the Berserker Chieftess. Despite her many attempts at soothing him and telling him that he needs to be examined, he still won't let her.

The Riders, standing outside of her shack, all look at each other, knowing why Hiccup is refusing treatment and too afraid to say.

Heather places a hand on Astrid's shoulder, sharing her troubled mood. She, too, knows of Hiccup's fear, having lived on the Edge for a time and experienced his episodes for herself.

"Maybe it'll help if his friends are there? A familiar face can do wonders." She suggests, while Eret steps forward.

"This is so strange. The Chief has his reckless moments, but refusing treatment just seems... not like him." He says and he's right. This is beyond being reckless, this is endangering his own life. And not just for some stunt, but for refusing treatment!

"We can go in and see what we can do, but you're going to have let Toothless in. Hiccup won't accept treatment without him in the room." Astrid tells the healer. It's not a plan that guarantees success, but it's better than forcing him to comply with something that triggers an old fear.

The healer sighs and nods. She's not particularly happy to have a Night Fury in her home and place of work, but she recognizes that she needs to allow it for her patient's sake.

Astrid turns to face Toothless, who was all but glued to the door of the shack, awaiting the moment he could join Hiccup's side again. Was because he's already entering after pawing the door open.

So she turns to Eret instead.

"Eret, I know you want to help, but I need to ask you to stay here." She tells him and Eret nods. It's not that she wants to exclude him, it's just that he probably doesn't know and Hiccup would probably like to keep it that way. Until he wants to talk about it himself, that is. They've learned their lesson about telling people something this personal, even if they think it's for his sake.

The rest of the Riders, they follow Toothless inside. What they find is Toothless and Hiccup having what can only be called a stand-off.

"Oh great, guys, can you tell Toothless to move? He's not letting me leave." Hiccup requests when he notices they aren't alone anymore, but quickly resumes his staring contest with the dragon, who is rumbling challengingly. In a "you just try to get past me" kind of way. His tail is swaying behind him.

"Leave? You need medical attention, you can't leave!" Astrid replies surprised.

"Which I can get plenty of back home. Berk isn't far by dragon." Hiccup passes Toothless and for all his bravado, he realizes that he can't actually stop him from leaving the healer's hut.

The Riders and Toothless watch him limp towards the door, holding his side. He still looks like just as much of a mess as when Eret brought him in, including the bloody pants that he has bandaged rather messily. As someone who knows at least a thing or two medically and knows of the importance of proper treatment, this only shows his urgency to get out of here.

Catching him trying to limp past them and out the door, Astrid comes to stand before him, effectively stopping him in his way. Blinking in surprise, Hiccup looks at her.

"Wow hey, you can't just leave. A few hours by dragon is still far when you have injured your ribs. Especially when you have healer and supplies right here." She tells him and Hiccup doesn't like what he's hearing. She's making sense to him as well, of course, but his high levels of discomfort are overruling his common sense.

"Astrid, I'm fine. I can breathe fine, albeit, with a little bit of pain, I can make the trip back to Berk."

"So you say and then, once we're over the ocean with no island for miles you discover that, oh no, you suddenly can't breathe out of one lung! You faint, you and Toothless crash, and you both drown." Astrid puts her foot down and crosses her arms, scolding him for his way of thinking. "A little bit of pain" does not equal "okay".

"But that's why I have you guys, to keep that from happening." He says.

"Oh yeah, because we can definitely fix a collapsed lung on the spot." Snotlout sides with Astrid and comes to stand next to her, obstructing Hiccup's way out further.

Hiccup sighs and a look of pain passes on his face, the too deep release of air hurting his side.

"Hiccup, why don't you want to be treated?" Astrid asks, having some idea, but not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"It's just... It doesn't feel good to have a stranger..." Touch me, he wants to say, but having put up a wall between the Riders and his "issues", he refuses to say it.

"To have a stranger what?" Astrid asks, suspicious of what he actually wants to say.

"I just trust Gothi's expertise more." A rude thing to say, especially for him. They're lucky the healer isn't here to hear him.

The Riders glare at him and Hiccup looks away, uncomfortable with how rude he's just been to a woman who simply wants to help him. The words had left him before he could stop them and he regrets them already.

"Okay, we'll stay." He finally decides, but keeps standing by the door because he doesn't actually feel like moving, more so because of how much it hurts to use his injured leg.

He doesn't know what he cut his thigh on, just that it bleeds enough to require stitches and be at risk for infection. Which makes his decision to leave seem even more foolish and unlike him.

But the Riders don't blame him because they know exactly what causes this out of character behavior.

Offering her hands, Hiccup lets her help him sit down on the bed behind him. He'd been lying on it before, when he woke up and the healer tried to examine him and he was being too difficult of a patient.

Hiccup wipes his sweaty palms on his pants, he's anxious and his friends notice. Astrid crouches down in front of him.

"We can stay if you want us to. Fishlegs knows how to heal, he can even do it while the healer watches and helps where needed. We already convinced her to let Toothless stay. If having a familiar face helps you get through this, we're here for you." She talks vaguely about him not needing to be touched by a stranger or being left alone with a stranger on an island full of strangers.

Hiccup mulls it over, thinking about her offer, but then shakes his head lightly.

"This is stupid, she's not even..." A man, like he was. But he doesn't say it, whispering more to himself than he is talking to Astrid. They don't need to know. As if they don't know already.

"You're really anxious, it's not stupid." It's Snotlout who says this as he's surprisingly sensitive about this forbidden topic.

Hiccup looks up at his friends, Toothless purring as he invites himself in their space and nudges his human's uninjured leg in support.

He's not ready for this. He can feel himself sweating, his heart is pounding so much in dread that it aches, his anxiety is already through the roof.

He doesn't want to do this, but Astrid is right, this could potentially be needlessly life-threatening and he would be dragging Toothless down with him.

He just has to stop being so stupid and let the woman do her job.

"Okay, call her back in." Hiccup requests and lies back down with some difficulty while Fishlegs leaves to get her.

It'll be fine, it'll be fine, it'll be fine. It doesn't matter how many times he'll be repeating that in his mind, he'll have to do it as many times as it takes.

The old healer enters her hut again and she wants to get to work.

Hiccup watches her move around, his eyes following her as he attempts to control his breathing, as hard as it is with his ribs aching. Every breath in and out hurts him and that some part of him wants to draw shorter and shallower breaths with his rising nerves doesn't help.

She takes everything she may need. Cloth, bandages, water, herbs, anything to treat his injuries with.

It'll be fine, it'll be fine.

Everything in hand, Fishlegs helping her carry her stuff, she approaches and sets it all down.

"It'll be fine." Astrid looks at him when she hears him mutter.

But the second he feels hands trying to undo his belts, he panics. He takes her hands and pulls them away from him before rushing to sit up and hurting himself in the process. A cry of pain leaves him, everyone jumps to attention.

"Hiccup, wait, it's okay." Astrid tries to tell him, grabbing a shoulder.

"No! Nope! None of this is okay! I'm not okay!" He tells her before he winces and has no choice but to fall back down, holding his side and jostling his leg, which has bled through the bandages by now.

The Riders and Toothless gaze at him, the healer keeping her distance as she can tell this is a rather personal matter and so doesn't involve herself.

They listen to him groaning in pain, see the expression of agony as well as the sweat already glistening on his skin in the candlelight. His air intake is ragged. It is shallow and too fast, which only hurts him more.

"Hiccup," Astrid speaks his name, he shivers beneath her hand.

"No, I can't I... I just can't. I can't let this happen." This is wrong. This feels so wrong to him. The hands of someone that he doesn't know on his body where they don't belong.

In the past few years, the only ones who have been able to infiltrate his personal space in such a close manner have been his father and Toothless, maybe occasionally the Dragon Riders. Though, the Dragons more than the Riders.

And Berk, of course, but that was beyond his control. He doesn't like any of it and that is already hard to suffer through. Doing this is more than he can bear. He wants out.

He can already feel it creeping onto him. The hands.

"Hiccup, you need a healer." Astrid gently reminds him.

"I can put you under a sedative if that makes this procedure easier on you." The healer offers Berk's Chief some peace, at least for the next few hours.

"What? No! No sedatives!"

"Not even painkillers? It might help." Ruffnut suggests.

"No, no painkillers either. I want nothing." He's breathing so fast, he's becoming lightheaded. Meanwhile, his ribs burn.

"Then what do you want us to do?" Astrid asks, hoping Hiccup can tell them what he thinks will help him get through this most.

They've already gone behind his back once and it had made everything worse for him, had made things terrible between them.

But Hiccup shakes his head, not even knowing the answer to that question himself.

Gods, he can feel them. Disembodied hands where they don't belong, touching him where they were never meant to touch.

He wants to cry.

Astrid offers him her hand and he takes it too quickly and squeezes too hard. He's dying for comfort.

But he knows he needs to go through with it.

"Just go ahead with it. Just do it." He tells them uncertainly and the healer steps forward again, hands moving to his belts to undo them.

This time he lets her, but his hyperventilation worsens and so does his trembling. His eyes close as if it'll help if he can't see her hands on him. Feeling them on him is already bad enough.

He can feel other hands creeping upon him. They're bigger with more callouses and they aren't actually there, which is why they creep.

They belong to a man that isn't even alive anymore and yet, with every unwanted touch forced upon him, he can feel him again.

"Shhh, it's okay. You'll get through this. Just breathe, Hiccup, breathe." Astrid tells him and he tries to keep a hold of himself to the best of his ability.

His vest is splayed upon and more wounds are made bare. Besides the aching of his ribs, there's a splotch of blood on the right side of his lower abdomen, close to the hem of his trousers.

"He's bleeding through his tunic." Snotlout mutters, bringing attention to it. The healer takes the hem of his tunic in order to take a look.

Hiccup can feel it, is too aware of her every move. Still squeezing Astrid's hand, he squeezes even tighter and she lets him. Tears wet his eyes and when she cautiously pulls it up, they slip free and he seizes her hands again, unable to bear any more of this.

"Hey, shhh, it's okay." Astrid holds all of their hands as she hushes him.

Toothless intervenes and headbutts his human's face, a gesture of affection that Hiccup returns.

"Yeah, it's okay, we're all here with you." Snotlout tells him, stepping forward, but not daring to go as far as Astrid is going. One of them is probably enough.

"Breathe, Hiccup. Breathe."

"I can't. I-I can't."

Fishlegs comes closer.

"Then maybe I can help! Try to follow along with me, okay?" Hiccup leaves Toothless to face him, who exaggerates his breathing in a slow and timely manner so he can keep up.

It's hard, but Hiccup tries his best to follow along until his breathing comes to a more natural pace and his lightheadedness doesn't turn to darkness.

Astrid manages to make Hiccup let go of the healer and hold onto her instead.

They don't like any of this, the panic attack, the sweat sticking his clothing to his skin, or the tears now sliding down his face. His lip is trembling, his everything is trembling.

This is what he hid from them after their damning talk with Stoick for so long, this is what Viggo has done to him. Their fearless leader rendered to this. The fact that they still don't know the details haunts them to this day.

He can still face any enemy, can stare down death itself if he has to, but he can't stand being touched, not even if it's for his own well-being.

"This is so stupid." They hear him mutter, something they've heard him repeat over and over again with whatever involves his issues. They don't know what he thinks is so stupid, but they've heard him say this so many times by now.

Astrid dares to take a seat on the bed next to him and lets go of his hand to cup his cheeks. He stares up at her with a wild look of panic. If he wants her to let go, she trusts that he'll let her know.

"Hiccup, please listen," She starts and hopes that's what he'll do.

"We're all here to protect you. I know we've failed you before, but no more. You're safe with us. Tonight, tomorrow, every day for the rest of your life, you're safe." She tells him and his hands take hers, but he doesn't pull them away. Her touch is light, so it wouldn't be hard to remove them, he wants them there.

"We love you. Please let us protect you." She requests with genuine emotion.

He nods.

"Okay," He says quietly, barely above a whisper as most of his voice is stuck in his throat. It's a miracle he even got that much out.

Toothless rumbles encouragingly and invites himself partially into the bed, pretty much wrapping his forelegs around his Rider, but staying mindful of his injuries.

Hiccup lets go of Astrid's hands, gaining some control over himself.

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut take them, watching for any reaction that might tell them this is the wrong move to make. So far, there isn't any.

This might be it, the opening they've been waiting for. For years Hiccup has been completely closed off on this topic, he's locked his fears up tight and thrown away the key. But now, perhaps the door stands open on a creak and they're allowed a peek inside with a promise for more.

Whether this is what it is or not doesn't matter at the moment. What does matter, is helping him through tonight.

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"Hey, how're you feeling?" Back on Berk, Astrid asks Hiccup this question as they enter his home a few days later.

Looking up from his blueprints, he watches them enter with a tired smile.

He's sitting on a chair, wearing a comfortable tunic to spare his bruised ribs the weight that comes with many layers. The stitched gash on his lower abdomen benefits from this, too. He doesn't like it, but Toothless is with him always and so is Sharpshot, who lies curled up on the table. His injured leg rests on another chair, the wound having been stitched closed and showing no signs of infection so far.

"Eh, tired. Maybe in need of some more painkillers. It's been a few hours and my everything hurts again." He answers as they walk further into the home, greeted by Toothless who croons their way happily. He's lying curled up around Hiccup's spot, helping him feel secure as he can't wear his "shield".

Ever since that night, something has changed in their group again. Talking with him, being around him, it's easier. It's as if there's been this tension for so long that nobody even noticed after a time, and now that it's finally gone and they can all feel that lack of weight.

"I'll go make some!" Fishlegs offers himself up and disappears into the kitchen.

"How is everything with the village outside?" Hiccup asks, hoping that his work isn't stacking up as he spends his time inside recovering. He is weirdly okay with staying indoors. So far, at least.

"We're managing things, the twins are actually fixing stuff more than they break it," Astrid informs him.

"Hey, we can be very good repair people." Ruffnut protests.

"Besides, just means there's more for us to break later," Tuffnut mutters to her, and the two snicker. Astrid and Snotlout both roll their eyes.

"We'll make sure they don't break stuff later." The latter promises with a deadpan. Hiccup smiles at him gratefully.

"Here it is!" Fishlegs returns with a painkilling, and possibly sleep-inducing, broth and hands it to Hiccup.

"Thanks," He says, taking it and then staring at it as he holds it in his hands. He's not exactly looking forward to it, these broths never taste that pleasant. This one doesn't even smell good.

He should take it, get rid of the pain, and maybe get some shut-eye. These blueprints can wait.

But first, there's been something that he's been contemplating as he waited for his friends' inevitable visit for the day. They always come by.

"Hey, um..." He starts, gaze still on the cup with the broth.

The Riders look at him, wait for him to talk, and say what's on his mind as there is clearly something.

They aren't quite prepared for the topic he's about to bring up, but the day they've been waiting for has finally arrived.

After some hesitation, Hiccup forces himself to say it.

"He never went all the way."

Surprised to hear him talk about it, the Gang listens.

"Vi-Viggo, he... He never..." Hiccup stops talking then and they don't interrupt or try to finish his sentence for him. They can tell it's taking him everything just to talk now, he's not even looking at them, hand coming up to hide most of his face from view.

Toothless purrs, sitting up to meet Hiccup at eye-level, but he's not looking at him either.

"It really did just stay with words and... and touches... Every time I got captured and taken to him, but... That's it, nothing else." It's not like they don't know that something's been done to him, but to actually hear him say it, to hear their suspicions be confirmed is something else entirely.

The twins share a saddened look, Fishlegs looks down at his hands, and Astrid and Snotlout both feel themselves tense up. It's been a good few years and still, it makes them so angry that any of it happened.

Back to the conversation, Snotlout wanted to remind him that that wasn't nothing, but Astrid stops him. Hiccup is finally talking, they should let him have his say before they comment.

Still unable to bear to look at his friends, Hiccup wipes his sweaty palms on his trousers.

"It-it-it... "It" never actually happened so-so it-so it just seemed so stupid to feel the way I did. The-the way I do. Like-like I was hurt when I wasn't." That was part of the problem, it wasn't as bad as it could've been and that made worrying about it seem so dumb to him.

He's lucky. That's what he's been telling himself. He's lucky.

"So stupid," He repeats, feeling like an attention seeker for something that was "not as bad as it could've been". So many people have suffered worse than him, he shouldn't complain.

He rocks nervously, trying to cope with the influx of memories that have festered over the years, with the shame welling up. Thus far they've only been dealt with by cramming them into the darkest corners of his mind, a fruitless effort that usually ends in frustration and anger. There they have continued to rot and chipped away at him piece by piece like an untreated infection.

Bringing it up now still hurts just as much as it would've hurt to bring up back then.

As a brief silence sets in, Astrid dares to take a step and sits down at the table on a seat next to him.

"I think you and I both know that he doesn't need to go "all the way" for this to hurt, Hiccup. What happened was so, so traumatizing, doesn't matter how far he did or didn't go. And it happened... It happened multiple times." Astrid has to swallow, feeling like she might throw up if she doesn't.

"If we were in each other's shoes, you would be telling me the exact same thing." She tells him and Hiccup finds that she has a point.

If this had happened to Astrid, to any of his friends, he wouldn't stand for them to call their reaction to being... to being... He wouldn't call them stupid, he wouldn't call them calls for attention.

"He hurt you and you have every right to be angry, even now." She continues.

"We all hurt you." Snotlout admits, coming to sit at the table as well. The others, they swiftly follow their example.

To hear them tell him that he has every right to be angry, to be hurt, is more relieving than he can ever express.

But there's a question Snotlout has been wondering about this whole time and he wonders if Hiccup will answer.

"How... I understand if you don't want to answer, but how far did he get?" If he's not ready to tell them yet, if he'll never be ready, then he'll understand.

Hiccup doesn't answer and while he's told them he never went "all the way", "not all the way" still seems to be pretty far.

He wants to cry again. The memories running rampant inside his mind, the non-existing hands that refuse to leave him, they make tears gather in his eyes.

He's in pain and has been for much too long. He feels like he's been on fire this entire time and that someone is finally putting out the fire.

It's with a mere cup, but it's a start.

Managing to look at his friends, Hiccup cautiously gazes at them all, fearing judgment as he finally bares it all.

Astrid reaches and takes his hand, squeezing it lightly. Perhaps, it's time to talk and let his family in.

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disneysooner · 4 years

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Day #23 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out greatly?

So, I personally don’t like every single corner of this quadrilateral, but I can see where it works out very sweetly. A few years back, “The Big Four” were created. These four figures are Merida from Brave, Rapunzel from Tangled, Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians, and Hiccup Haddock from How To Train Your Dragon. Together, they formed the “Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons” fandom.

Now, I’ve seen all four of these figures paired with each other; I like a few of them, but not all of them. They seem popular though, so that’s why I think it works.

The different ships are Mericcup, Jackunzel, Jerida, Hiccunzel, Merunzel, and Hijack.

Now, here’s where I don’t agree with all the patterns of the quadrilateral. I love Rapunzel with Eugene Fitzherbert, and I love Hiccup with Astrid; those are their true loves. Now, if their real love interests didn’t exist, I would be fully down with shipping them within the square. Of all the ships within the square though, I do enjoy 3 of them. I’ve ranked them from #1 to #3 in how much I like them.

1. Merricup (Merida x Hiccup)

I do love these two together. Merida actually reminds me a bit of Astrid, so I could see her teasing Hiccup like Astrid does already. I also love the fact that their worlds look like they could be in the same universe where they might be living around the same time frame. I’ve seen lots of people write stories about how Hiccup becomes one of Merida’s suitors competing for her hand, and I love it! I do love that Merida is independent? But I could see her cheering on Hiccup silently from the stands to win. I’m sure she’d love flying on Toothless with Hiccup, and he’d enjoy learning archery from her.

2. Jarida (Jack Frost x Merida)

The reason I love this one is because of I imagine these two would be constant flirts with each other. She is the fire while he is the ice. This goes back to my love for how opposites attract. I picture Jack being a constant tease/flirt with Merida, and she would be annoyed by it for a while till she gives in and teases/flirts back with him. I could imagine them being a modern couple who has nerf gun fights when one comes home.

3. Jackunzel (Jack Frost x Rapunzel)

I do think this ship is sweet in that it’s somewhat similar to Eugene and Rapunzel; he’s a rouge that doesn’t want to be tied down, and she’s a naive sheltered girl who wants to see the world. She could be a light in his life, while he can open her eyes to all sorts of things the world has to offer. I’ve seen cute fanart of them here and there, so I like it every once in a while.

#my post #30 day shipping challenge #day 23 - love trianlge/quadrilateral that works well #the big four #rise of the brave tangled dragons #brave #pixar #disney #tangled #dreamworks #how to train your dragon #rise of the guardians #rapunzel #jack frost #hiccup haddock #mericcup #jackunzel #merida dunbroch #jarida

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dukereviewsxtra · 4 years

Text

Duke Reviews Xtra: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Another Duke Reviews Xtra Where We Continue Our Look At Disney...

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Last Sunday On Duke Reviews, I Reviewed Disney's Fantasia Which Features Mickey As The Sorcerer's Apprentice Well, Today We're Going To Switch Mickey With The Voice Of Hiccup From How To Train Your Dragon In Jerry Bruckheimer's Version Of The Sorcerer's Apprentice...

This Film Stars Nicholas Cage As Balthazar Blake, Who Is A Sorcerer In Modern Day Manhattan That Fights Against The Forces Of Evil In Particular, His Arch Nemesis And Former Partner, Maxim Horvath (Played By Doc Ock) While Searching For The Prime Merlinean, The Person Who Will Inherit Merlin's Powers...

This Turns Out To Be Dave Stutler (Played By Jay Baruchel) A Physics Student Who Balthazar Takes As His Apprentice, Giving Dave A Crash Course In The Art And Science Of Magic And Sorcery So They Can Stop Horvath And Morgana Le Fay From Raising The Souls Of Her Evil Dead Servants So They Can Take Over The World...

Will Dave And Balthazar Stop Them?

Let's Find Out As We Watch The Sorcerer's Apprentice...

The Movie Starts With An Intro By Ian McShane...

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Balthazar Spends The Ages Trying To Find The Prime Merlinean With No Child Being Successful Until The Year 2000...

When A 10 Year Old Named Dave Stutler (Played By Ben Stiller's Son From Night At The Museum) Encounters Balthazar In His Antique Store, After Straying Away From His Class Field Trip. Giving Dave The Dragon Figurine, It Comes To Life And Forms A Ring On Dave's Finger, Revealing Dave To Be The Prime Merlinean...

But When Balthazar Goes To Get A Book Of Spells For Dave, Dave Accidentally Knocks Over The Grimhold, Releasing Horvath From His Prison...

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(Start At 2:34)

Found By His Classmates And Teacher, Dave Is Ridiculed By His Classmates When He Tells Them What He Saw Only For The Shop To Be Completely Empty, But Either Way Dave Keeps The Ring...

Fast Forwarding 20 Years Later, Dave Is Now A Physics Student At NYU Where He Meets His Childhood Crush, Becky Barnes (Played By Teresa Palmer)...

No, Not Bucky Barnes, Becky Barnes Though The Possibility Of Relation Can Be Questioned...

With His Feelings For Her Quickly Coming Back, He Repairs The Transmitting Mast Of The Radio Station She Works At After It Is Struck By Lightning. Released From The Urn After 10 Years, Horvath And Balthazar Escape To Continue Their Missions With Horvath Being The First To Get To Dave..

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(Start At 0:38)

Landing On Top Of The Chrysler Building, Dave Refuses To Help Balthazar As He's Been Under Psychiatric Care Since They First Met But Saying That Once They Get The Grimhold, He'll Leave, Dave Decides To Help By Taking Balthazar To Chinatown Where It Has Been Located While Giving Dave Sorcery 101...

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But When They Get There They Discover That Horvath Has The Grimhold And He Has Unleashed One Of The Evil Sorcerers That Was Inside Of It With This One Being A Chinese Warlock Named Sun-Lok, Who Fights Balthazar Until It Ends Up On The Streets Of Chinatown...

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(End At 2:47)

Changing His Mind After Defeating Sun-Lok, Dave Becomes Balthazar's Apprentice, Giving Him A Book That Holds The History Of Sorcery As Dave Agrees To Take On The Responsibility Of Being His Apprentice...

Meanwhile, Horvath Goes To Visit A Current Evil Sorcerer Named Drake Stone, Who Is A Criss Angel Type Magician (Played By Doctor Doom From Fan4stic) To Ask For His Help Against Balthazar And Dave...

Taking A Break On A Bench, Balthazar And Dave On A Bench Across From Becky's Radio Station. Figuring Out That Dave Likes Her, Balthazar Is Somewhat Negative On The Relationship Stating That Love Is Not Good For A Sorcerer...

But Dave Follows Her To A Subway Station Where A Mugger Robs Them At Gunpoint, Stealing Becky's Grandmother's Bracelet But Chasing After The Mugger, Dave Uses His Magic To Knock Him Out And Return Becky's Stuff, Impressing Her...

The Next Day, Horvath Plans To Use The Satellite Dishes In The Financial District When The Spell Is Cast By Morgana, While Balthazar Continues Training Dave Only To Be Interrupted By Becky Who Comes Over For Dave To Tutor Her In Physics. Despite Trying To Put A Dampener On Their Relationship, Balthazar Leaves..

Showing Off His Tesla Coils, Dave Uses Them To Make Musical Sounds From Stevie Wonder's Superstition...

To OneRepublic...

So He Can Impress Becky...

It's Not Quite Can You Feel The Love Tonight But...It Works...

But As Becky And Dave Start Somewhat Of A Relationship, Dave Gets Encountered In The Bathroom By Stone And Horvath, Who Ask Dave Where The Grimhold Is After Telling Him The Truth That Veronica Is Inside Of The Grimhold...

Saved By Balthazar, Who Traps Horvath Inside Of A Mirror Temporarily And Knocks Out Stone, Dave Tells Him That He's Tired Of The Lies And Wants To Know The Truth Which Leads Balthazar To Tell Dave The Entire Backstory Again So That Dave Will Know Everything..

Getting Ready For His Date, Dave Attempts To Clean Up The Lab But Frustrated At The Mess, Dave Brings A Broom To Life Which Leads To A Recreation Of The Sorcerer's Apprentice Scene From Fantasia...

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(Start At 0:25)

And Yes, I Know That Some People Complained That "They F-ed This Up This Is In No Way As Good As Fantasia!" And While That's True I Still Like This Scene For What It Is, The Actual Sorcerer's Apprentice Scene With Hiccup From How To Train Your Dragon...

Chastising Dave For Using Magic As A Shortcut, Dave And Balthazar Get Into A Big Fight Which Leads Dave To Storm Out In Anger...

Seeing Becky With Her Friends, Dave Leaves In Defeat Feeling Like He Doesn't Belong But Following Him To The Rooftop Where Balthazar Had Taken Him, Dave Is About To Throw Away The Ring, But She Stops Him, Saying That Nothing Is Ruined And That She Really Cares About Him...

Disguised As Dave, Drake Traps Balthazar So Horvath Can Search The Lab To Find The Grimhold As Horvath Reveals That The Reason He Turned Evil Was Because He Was Jealous Of Veronica Choosing Balthazar Over Him...

But Freeing Himself Balthazar Fights Horvath And Almost Loses Until The Real Dave Arrives To Save Him But Unfortunately Drake And Horvath Manage To Find The Grimhold And Leave With It...

Following Them In Balthazar's Car In A Chase That Ends Up In The Mirror Dimension From Doctor Strange, Horvath And Drake Still Get Away By Turning A Person Into A Veronica Look Alike...

Knowing That Balthazar Let Horvath Go For That Reason, Balthazar Finally Comes Clean That Veronica Was His One True Love Which Leads Dave To Decide That They Are Going To Get Veronica Out Of The Grimhold And Destroy Morgana Forever...

Back At Drake's Apartment, Drake Wonders How They're Going To Open The Last 2 Shells Of The Grimhold Only For Horvath To Use A Parasite Spell To Steal Drake's Powers And Life Force...

So He Can Open The Next Shell Which Releases Abigail Williams, A Witch From The Salem Witch Trials Who Kidnaps Becky At The Radio Station But Unfortunately After That, Horvath Uses The Parasite Spell On Her So He Can Eventually Free Morgana...

I Guess It Just Comes Down To...

Arriving At Drake's Apartment For The Grimhold, Balthazar Gets Caught In A Persian Rug Quick Sand Trap While Dave Gets The Grimhold Only For Horvath To Enter With Becky With His Cane On Her Throat Stating To Give Him The Ring And The Grimhold Or Becky Dies...

Realizing He Has No Other Option, Dave Does Just That Only For Horvath To Fire A Energy Bolt At Becky And Dave Which They Dodge And Flee As Balthazar Escapes The Quick Sand Trap...

Apologizing To Balthazar For Failing, He Accepts Saying That He Would Have Done The Same Thing Before Flying Away On A Giant Metal Eagle To Becky's Shock...

Dave Tries Dropping Off Becky But She Won't Have It As She's Involved Now So They Come Up With A Plan To Use Dave's Tesla Coils Strapped To Balthazar's Car To Defeat Morgana As Horvath Unleashes Morgana From The Grimhold In Battery Park...

Finding Them, Balthazar Fights Horvath Off As He Raises The Bull Market Bull Statue To Life So It Can Chase Balthazar. Believing Himself To Be Victorious, Dave Arrives To Halt Horvath's Celebration By Using Tesla Coils To Destroy His Cane, Defeating Him And The Bull..

But As That Happens, Becky Disrupts The Spell By Moving One Of The Satellites Which Leaves Balthazar To Suck Morgana's Soul Into His Body, Freeing Veronica...

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With Balthazar Not Breathing, Dave Uses His Magic To Resuscitate Him So He'll Live Happily Ever After With Veronica As Becky Arrives For Her And Dave To Live Happily Ever After By Taking The Giant Eagle To Paris...

We Get An End Credits Scene Which Reveals That Horvath Will Return In A Sequel That Will Never Happen Thanks To Everyone, Who Didn't Like This Film...

And That's The Sorcerer's Apprentice And How Could Anyone Not Like This Movie?

The Story Is Great, The Action Scenes Are Amazing, The Cast Was Good, I Just Honestly Enjoyed It As Much As I Enjoyed The National Treasurer Movies Who's Director Jon Turtletaub Directed This..

You Know Some People Consider This As One Of The Disney Reboots But I Seriously Don't And The People That Do Are Idiots Only Question I Have Is Why Did This Movie Not Do Great?, Is It Because There Wasn't A Nicholas Cage Freak Out In It?

Newsflash! We Do Not Need A Nicholas Cage Freak Out In Every Movie He's In!

The First National Treasurer Movie Didn't Have A Nicholas Cage Freak Out And Look How Well That Did At The Box Office Where The Second One Did And Look How Bad That One Ended Up, I Still Like The Second National Treasurer Movie And I'll See The Thrid One When And If It Comes Out But Still...

Either Way I Say Don't Listen To The Haters And See This Movie...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off

#the sorcerer's apprentice #nicholas cage #jay baruchel #teresa palmer #Alfred Molina #Disney #Fantasia Disney #disney live action #disney +#disnerd

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coneygoil · 5 years

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The Home We Built Together, part 22

Two young Vikings. An arranged marriage. Hiccup always wanted to win the girl of his dreams, but not like this. Now he and Astrid must learn to live together and maybe one day, learn to love…

It was strange how an unexpected turn of events could bring two people closer together. When Hiccup imagined Astrid discovering he’d sided with the enemy, he hoped she’d understand and hear him out. He could hope all he wanted, but in all honesty, he expected her to be a ball full of rage and come slicing with her axe. Thankfully, the former happened and somehow, this crazy friendship with a dragon had brought him and his wife closer than ever.

Maybe it was the comradery of keeping an earthshaking secret between them. Maybe Astrid changing her attitude towards dragons had opened a door inside her to let Hiccup walk in further than he’d ever been. Whatever it was that had changed, Hiccup was enjoying every second of it.

He glanced at Astrid from the corner of his eye as they strolled through the village hand-in-hand. She insisted on walked him to the forge every morning instead of saying goodbye at the front door of their home. There were still traces of awkwardness between, unsure moments of bridled affections. Those moments were becoming less.

“Are you asking him today?” Astrid inquired as they approached the forge.

“Yeah.” They stopped at entrance their hands still intertwined. Hiccup sucked in a deep breath. “Are you ready for this if Gobber says yes?”

Astrid pressed her lips into a thin line, her gaze wandering before bringing it back to Hiccup’s face. “I’ve seen what you’ve accomplished, Hiccup. I know you can do this.” Her free hand cupped his shoulder, reassuringly. “We can do this.”

Hiccup beamed at her. Toothless trusted him. Astrid trusted him. Someone finally had faith in him.

Astrid tugged him to her, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Now, go to work!” She laughed, pushing him into the forge and jogged off.

Hiccup knew he’d never tire of the lightness rising in his chest as he watched her leave.

“Lookit ye two lovebirds.”

Hiccup jumped. “Ahh! Gobber! What’re you doing watching on us?”

“Ah, don’t get your knickers tied in a knot, lad. It’s not like you two were trying to hide your affections. It’s good to see you two falling in love.”

Hiccup’s eyes bugged and he nearly choked on his own saliva. Love? He’d been in love with Astrid long before this whole marriage ever existed. At least, he thought he was in love, but he’d come to realize his affection during that season of his life was projected onto an idea of who he thought Astrid was. Strong. Level-headed. An aspiring warrior. Well-renowned for what she was doing right. It also helped that she was incredibly attractive.

The way he viewed her had changed. He knew he loved her still, though it wasn’t as clear and to the point anymore. But the real question was, did she love him?

It was obvious she’d developed a fondness for him. She wouldn’t subject her lips to touch his or allow him to hold her in their bed if she didn’t share the same affection. She enjoyed his company. He’d never heard the ring of her laughter until they’d grown close, and he wished to hear it for the rest of his (most likely, short) life. She seemed content, but was Astrid really falling in love with him? Entertaining the very thought sent Hiccup’s mind reeling.

Hiccup pushed aside the massive revelation and focused on the task at hand. “Hey Gobber, who takes care of feeding the training dragons?”

Tinking tap noises filled the forge as Gobber flattened out a door hinge. “You’re looking at him.”

Hiccup nodded, scanning through the inventory pile of the day. “Me and Astrid were discussing taking on more responsibilities and thought maybe…feeding the training dragons could be one of them.” He pulled out a shield that needed some bolts replaced. When he turned around, he nearly jumped out his skin at the sight of Gobber right behind him, smiling widely.

“Exceeding at dragon training, taking on responsibilities, proving that you could be Chief material.” Gobber wiped a single tear from his eye. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Uh…thanks—” this was turning out to be the most awkward conversation he’d ever had with Gobber, and that was saying a lot. Hiccup diverted off this unexpected (and uncomfortable) ride to get back to the point. “So, where do you get the food for the dragons?”

“I mostly use the rejected fish from the daily catches. They’re put in a barrel on the docks.”

“Wait, that’s all you feed them? Rejected fish?”

“Basically.”

“Why aren’t you feeding them the food they need?”

“What’s the point, lad? They’re going te die anyway sooner or later.”

A chill crept down Hiccup’s spine at Gobber’s haunting words. He knew the training dragons would be killed one day, whether during a training lesson or euthanized, but that known knowledge didn’t make it any less horrifying. His thoughts zeroed in on Toothless and how he’d taken care of him the last few weeks. Hiccup made sure the Night Fury had everything he needed, not only food but affection and companionship. Those poor dragons locked away in the cages were underfed, lonely, and afraid. Hiccup was determined to change that. He would save those dragons from their ultimate fate.

***

Toothless grumbled as he dived down to scoop up another mouthful of fish. Hiccup patted his friend’s neck. “Oh, come one, bud. You’re doing some extra fishing for a good cause.”

The next morning before the sun had awoken, Hiccup and Astrid left for the arena to begin training the dragons without the prying eyes of the other villagers. It was a risky move, training the dragons with a chance of others catching them. But the arena was a fair distance from the early morning activities of the village. Maybe they had a shot at this without getting caught.

Hiccup stood in the middle of the arena floor sweeping his gaze back and forth, lost in thought. He had to choose wisely which dragon to earn trust from first. The Gronkle was smaller than the rest of the dragons (besides the Terrible Terror), and maybe it could be easily won over by a pile of tasty rocks.

Something kept pulling Hiccup to the Monstrous Nightmare. If he could earn the trust of the most dangerous dragon then the other dragons would likely follow. Taking a deep breath, Hiccup squared his shoulders in determination and strode to the Nightmare’s cage.

“You’re starting with the Monstrous Nightmare?” the voice of reason floated from the back of him. He glanced over his shoulder to find Astrid looking positively aghast. “Do you have a death wish?”

“You trusted me this far, Astrid,” Hiccup pointed out.

Astrid stepped up to him and poked him in the chest. “You’re right, but don’t make me have to bring you back from the dead just so I can kill you for making me a widow.”

He snatched her finger and pushed it back towards her with a grin. “Have I told you I enjoy your heartwarming encouragement?”

Astrid’s eyes flew skywards. “Just go already.”

The playful banter had eased the nerves that were building in his stomach. Hiccup wondered if Astrid sassed him on purpose to help with that. He turned back to the present task: training the Monstrous Nightmare.

On the cage door was a smaller door that swung out. Hiccup unlatched the door and immediately ducked as a flaming stream shot through the opening.

“Hiccup!” Astrid yelled, ready to run to his aid.

“I’m okay!” He got back to his feet and grabbed a fish from the basket nearby. “Hey, big guy,” he greeted with an air of friendliness, “I’m not here to hurt you. I want to be your friend.”

Hiccup stuck the fish in view of the opening. When no more fiery blasts flew through, he peeked his head up. The Monstrous Nightmare stood several feet away, watching him with sharp, cautious eyes. His nostrils flared causing a dusty cloud to stir up at his front feet.

“Are you hungry?” Hiccup kept his tone light. He stuck the fish further into the opening. “Do you like cod? It’s much tastier than those sad little herrings you were being fed.”

The Nightmare snarled and shifted closer.

“There you go,” Hiccup encouraged, emphasizing the fish with a shake to draw the dragon nearer.

When the Nightmare had drawn close enough, Hiccup tossed the fish his way. The clamp of the dragon’s jaws echoed off the stone walls. Hiccup smiled when the Nightmare looked at him expectantly for more.

“Astrid, go raise the lever.”

Raising the lever meant releasing the dragon. Releasing the dragon meant risking being flame broiled.

The playful exchange from a few minutes earlier had completely fled as a tinge of worry shaded Astrid’s words. “Are you sure?”

He’d faced certain death at the mercy of a dragon who should have taken his life with the snap of the jaws. But he was still alive and whole and that dragon was considered his friend. Hiccup couldn’t guarantee that the Monstrous Nightmare would take the same path, but he had to try.

He met Astrid’s concerned gaze. “If this goes wrong, promise me you’ll take care of Toothless.”

“That’s not comforting, Hiccup.” The edge in her voice was evident, but Astrid wasn’t making an attempt to stop him. “Of course, I’ll take care of Toothless.” Squeezing his shoulder, she added, “But promise me, I won’t have to.”

He couldn’t. No simple promise could keep a fierce and angry dragon at bay. No promise could shield him from the fiery blasts Nightmares were known for. Hiccup offered a tight-lipped smile that couldn’t convince a fish it lived in water. Astrid moved to fulfil his request and in a minute’s time she was on the rocky ledge hovering over the lever.

Hiccup backed up at what he prayed was a safe distance. Filling his lungs with a calming breath, he nodded at Astrid. The massive wooden peg lifted, and the cage doors swung open to reveal the frightening dragon that was adequately named for haunting nightmares.

The Monstrous Nightmare loomed ominously, puffing smoke, the orange eerie glow of its eyes staring right through Hiccup. Hiccup expected more of a reaction, for the dragon to rampage out on fire. But it remained calm as it glared sharply at him.

Hiccup had planned to take the affable approach; to show the Nightmare that he wanted to be his friend, throw in some lighthearted conversation like he had a minute ago when he offered the fish.

That planned changed the moment the cage door opened.

The Nightmare approached, it’s terrifying claws scraping the ground and head dipped into a strike position. Hiccup stayed planted in his spot a few feet away from the creature that could be his demise. The Nightmare’s hot breath blew over him.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Hiccup reassured, and with every fiber in his being, he spoke the words that he had resolved to in his mind for weeks, “I’m not one of them.”

The Nightmare gurgled curiously, blinking its orange eyes.

Hiccup held his palm out in front of him and with one decisive step, his skin made contact with dragon scales. He hadn’t realized how fast his heart had been pumping. His face split into a relieved and overjoyed smile as the dragon’s nose pressed firmer against his palm.

His gaze flicked up to find Astrid. Both hands covered her mouth, her eyes round in shock and awe. He nodded at her in silent agreement and she returned the gesture.

Their crazy plan to train dragons may work after all.

tags: @martabm90 @chiefhiccstrid @lauracalabresi @drchee5e @celtictreemuffin

#httyd fanfiction #hiccstrid #arranged marriage au #the home we built together

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mnemememory · 5 years

Text

better to scream

yasha is too tired for this shit.

pacific rim fusion au part 2 of 2 (part 1)

Yasha doesn’t hear about it until later. Much later.

She wakes up in the infirmary with Jester’s anxious hands fluttering between Yasha’s collarbone and her temple. She looks far worse for ware than the last time Yasha had seen her, with bruises running down the side of her face and along her throat. She’s hidden as much of it as she can with long sleeves and blue-tinged concealer, but it doesn’t really help.

“Yasha,” Jester says, when Yasha opens her eyes. “You’re awake!”

Everything hurts.

“How – how much do you remember?”

Everything hurts.

This is what Yasha remembers: Beau panicking on the coms. “There’s something wrong with Jester and Fjord!” she’s saying, but it’s far away and fuzzy. Yasha blinks. Molly is next to her, out of his harness and shaking her arm, but he can’t be real. Yasha is dreaming.

“Yasha is –” he’s saying, and then. Nothing.

Yasha’s tongue feels thick and dry in her mouth. She tries to swallow down her spit, but her throat screams in protest and starts coughing instead.

“Oh, Yasha! Here is some water – I should go and get a nurse –”

Yasha accepts the straw with exhausted gratefulness. She tries to sit up, but her ribs buckle at the sudden movement and she falls back to the bed with a silent scream. The water sloshes out of the cup and across her shirt, and she somehow manages to stab herself with the straw.

Yasha tries to speak, but she has to clear her throat a few times to get the words out. Despite looking around nervously for a medical professional, Jester doesn’t seem too inclined to actually leave the room, but Yasha anchors her to the bed with a hand to her wrist anyway.

“Molly,” she spits out, and starts coughing again.

Jester blanches grey.

“Where,” Yasha says.

Jester rips her hand away. There are red welts against her skin from where Yasha has pressed her nails in a little too deeply. They’re going to bruise. Yasha feels sick.

“I need to get Beau,” Jester says, rushing unsteadily to her feet and tripping drunkenly to the door. From the look of it, she isn’t in much state to walk, let along run anywhere.

Yasha rolls onto her side, heedless of the pain, and vomits noisily onto the floor.

“I changed my mind,” Yasha says, walking as briskly as the ghost-ache in her ribs will let her. “I’m not doing this.”

Caduceus follows her at a more sedate pace, looking not the least bit perturbed at the thought of her going. This only fuels Yasha’s greater desire to just up and leave. That’s the only thing she’s proven consistently good at, so why mess with a thing that works? Yasha is going to leave, and the world is going to burn, and it won’t matter anymore because even without getting back into Necrotic Shroud Yasha is as good as dead anyway.

“You chased the RABIT,” Caduceus says. “But it won’t happen again. You’re trained against it.”

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place!” Yasha says. She doesn’t really know where she’s going, only that she needs to get as far away from Caduceus Clay as she possibly can. She feels gross. There’s a layer of grime under her skin that she can’t scrub away no matter how hard she tries. Everything about Yasha is rotten.

“I don’t think –”

“No, I obviously haven’t been thinking,” Yasha says. “This is a terrible idea. I’m not nearly emotionally stable enough for this shit –”

Someone clears their throat from behind her.

Yasha turns around, teeth bared, growl building low in her throat. “What?”

The person she confronts barely reaches up to her waist, with dyed-green hair bright enough to match with Jester and chipped, uneven teeth. She gives a small squeak and jumps back when Yasha turns to look at her, behind a taller man with a scraggly beard and bloodshot eyes. There is a tattoo of a Bengal cat done prominently across his throat.

“Good afternoon,” he says through heavy Zemnian accent. The small woman bares her teeth.

Yasha jerks back, caught between here-and-now and there-and-then. She forces her breathing to even out.

“You knew Molly.”

The man blinks, slowly. “Caleb Widogast,” he says, giving a small bow. “Science and Research Division. This is my co-worker, Veth.”

“Nott,” the woman corrects. At Yasha’s blank look, Nott-not-Veth rolls her eyes. “Only Caleb calls me Veth. My name is Nott.”

“Okay,” Yasha says. Her eyes keep flickering back to Caleb. There is something horribly familiar about his face.

He takes pity on her. “Mollymauk and I were roommates, the first year in the Academy,” he says. “I…dropped out to pursue knowledge, but he continued on to be a pilot.”

“Do you know what happened to him?” Yasha says. She can’t quite see straight. Her voice sounds distant, muted.

“I know enough,” Caleb says, and doesn’t clarify.

Nott clears her throat. “If you’ll excuse us, we have to go and give the Marshall our reports –”

“Of course.” Caleb shakes his head. He gives Yasha a polite smile, and then turns to Caduceus to give him a broader one. “I’m sure you two will work out your differences.”

I wouldn’t bet on it, Yasha doesn’t say. She’s very good at holding her tongue.

Caleb re-straightens his armful of papers. “If you ever feel like talking about him –”

He leaves the sentence open-ended. Yasha’s stomach squirms uncomfortably.

Nott does her a favour and whacks Caleb in the arm. “We’re understaffed and out of budget,” she says. “If you want to come down to help, feel free, but if it’s just to lie around drinking you’re going to have to find another person. Caleb here is too important to take too much time off work –”

“Yes, thank you, Nott,” Caleb says, hurrying them both past. There’s an embarrassed tinge of red to his cheeks that has Yasha, despite herself, suppressing a smile.

Caduceus is nice enough to be silent on their walk back to her room. It’s when he doesn’t leave that Yasha starts feeling the first real prickles of panic start to set in.

“Go away,” she says. “I think we’ve established that this isn’t going to work.”

Caduceus takes two deliberate steps out into the hallway and then sits down on the ground, leaning his back against the wall. Yasha stares at him in disbelief. It’s cold enough that her joints are aching, the lack of electricity and functional air-conditioning only further hampered by the fact that the whole building is made out of cold metal.

“You can’t be serious,” she says.

Caduceus shrugs and takes a small thermos out of one of his absurdly large pockets. He takes a small sip and sighs appreciatively.

“Would you like some tea?” he says.

Yasha slams the door closed.

Jester is alone, which is why Yasha goes to her.

She’s sitting curled tight in a corner, as out of the way as possible while still technically being in the main building. She’s shaking. Her fingers are clenched hard into her forearms, nails digging deep enough to leave bruises. Yasha doesn’t know where Fjord or Beau are, but she hasn’t seen them since yesterday. She doesn’t even know where they sleep. She used to know, once upon a time.

“Hey,” she says, leaning heavily against the wall and dropping to the ground next to her. Jester gives a hiccupping laugh and leans into her shoulder.

“Please don’t ask me why I’m upset,” she says.

“Okay,” Yasha says.

Jester manages a smile. Then she presses her face against Yasha’s jacket and starts to cry.

The alarm, when it sounds, is loud and familiar.

Yasha is up out of her bed and reaching for a uniform that doesn’t exist before she even processes it. She stumbles, cursing, out into the hallway and almost trips on Caduceus.

“What’s going on?” she says.

Caduceus just grabs onto her wrist and starts running.

The control room is a study in chaos. Yasha and Caduceus are collectively too large to dodge the people swarming around like rats in a sewer, so they carve out a path straight to where Shakaste and a tall, thinly androgynous figure is sitting in front of three screens. Every reflective surface is blaring red-and-white, doing nothing to dampen the impending panic.

“Bryce,” Yasha says, when she gets close enough.

Bryce looks up with a brief, strained smile. “Yasha. It would be good to see you, under different circumstances.”

Shakaste is talking to the gathered crowd. “Two signatures,” he says, and Yasha’s world goes white.

She barely hears the rest of the briefing. “Both Category 4’s. Codenames: Serissa and Catagan. They’ll reach the coast within the hour.”

Yasha looks out the window, into the hanger bay. Necrotic Shroud sits like a dead thing to the side, limbs limp and useless.

“We need to evacuate the cities. Shut down the bridges. We’ve sent out a general alert, so every civilian should be making their way into refuges right now.”

Beau is in the room. Yasha looks up and sees her, flanked by Jester and Fjord. They look grim and grey, all in uniform. Yasha’s cotton shirt and leggings suddenly feel far too light.

“Dragon Slayer,” Shakaste says. “Converging Fury. You two need to frontline this. Mighty Nein, stay back to the coastline and don’t engage until there is no other option.” He flashes a bright, savage smile. “We can’t afford to lose you right now.”

Four strangers salute from the crowd. Yasha barely has time to tattoo their faces into her memory before they’re gone, just as swiftly as they had first appeared. These are the pilots, she thinks. She’s seen them on television, working on the Wall – there hadn’t been much entertainment out there save for drinking and listening to bad radio, so television was treated as a luxury commodity. Her co-workers had enjoyed shouting rude things at the screen whenever a Jaeger pilot came into view.

They look so much smaller in person.

Shakaste turns to face Yasha and Caduceus. “You two will stay put.”

Yasha’s jaw clenches, but Caduceus nods for her.

One of the new pilots hesitates – Keg, her brain produces, and she doesn’t know whether it’s her own knowledge or Caduceus’s – eyes narrowed into stubborn slits. She looks like she wants to say something to Yasha, but her partner – Nila, taller than Caduceus but somehow less intimidating – nudges her away.

Someone grabs onto Yasha’s forearm and drags her down the hall. It takes her a few seconds to realise that it’s Beau, and then she starts internally panicking.

“If we don’t make it back,” Beau says.

Yasha glares at her.

“If we don’t make it back,” Beau barrels through. “Then I’m – I’m sorry for being such a…” her teeth grit.

Yasha pats her on the shoulder. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“God you’re the worst,” Beau says. “I’m trying to apologise.”

“Are you still taking lessons from Fjord?” Yasha says. “Because it shows.”

Beau turns on her heel and starts to stalk away. Yasha races after her and pulls her back by the wrist.

“What…?”

Yasha kisses her on the cheek. It’s fast and it’s soft and means a lot less than Yasha wants it to say, but there isn’t really much time and the alarm is still blaring around them.

“You’re going to make it back,” she says.

Beau blinks for a second, like she’s been stunned, and then shakes her head and rushes off. Yasha watches her go and tries not to think about how the last time they had kissed, Molly had died.

Caduceus finds her in her room, praying.

She hasn’t done this since she got to the Shatterdome, and the guilt of it slicks hot through her gut. There’s a part of Yasha that wonders if this is punishment – she knows the stories, knows the tests of devotion that plague the world before the world like poison. It’s so hard not to take the world ending personally. She’s got her holy symbol in her hand and her breath coming in short, sharp bursts.

“I didn’t know you were religious,” Caduceus says, sitting on the floor in her doorframe.

“He saved me,” Yasha says. Her voice is a small, strained thing. Her fingers are cramping around the metal, skin white on contact. “I’d be – dead, without Him.”

“I understand,” Caduceus says calmly. He unhooks something from inside his shirt and pulls it out to show her a small stone with a swirl carved into it. If Yasha squints, she can see the outline of a crashing wave.

Yasha can’t manage a smile. She just bows her head over her effigy of the Stormlord and whispers impossible things under her breath.

Caduceus doesn’t say anything else, just sits there and lets Yasha breathe.

Dragon Slayer dies the way all giants do.

Loudly.

“Do you know how he died?” Yasha says.

Her spine plate clicks into place, the sharp bite of needles piercing down her back causing her to momentarily cut off and hiss.

Caduceus stands next to her, seemingly unaffected, as technicians swarm through their last-minute check-ups.

“I’ve heard the stories,” he says, eyes straight forward.

Yasha smiles as two people fit her chest-plate over her collarbones. “His name was Lorenzo,” she says. “And he thought he was a monster.”

“I’ve heard that story, too,” Caduceus says.

“He got past all the background checks that this place needed back in my time,” Yasha says. “And he smiled every time someone came back for seconds. He was a very good cook.”

She can still see him standing in the cafeteria. She’s seen him smiling every time she closes her eyes.

They give her the helmet. Yasha checks the inside and then starts walking forward into Necrotic Shroud’s head. Caduceus follows her. An outsider wouldn’t have noticed the way his feet hesitate at the entrance, the way his fingers linger on the harness. Yasha can feel it like an ache in her bones.

“How much of it did you see?”

“Enough,” Caduceus says.

Yasha lets herself have one short burst of laughter. It isn’t much, but it makes her feel better, somehow. “The morning of Shepherd, he drugged the food. Molly and Beau were sleeping in, but Jester and Fjord and I…”

Yasha’s throat closes over as she straps herself into the harness, fingers numb. This time, no one tries to help her.

“I passed out in the cockpit in the middle of the fight,” Yasha says, voice thick and eyes unblinking. “Beau was piloting a three-person Jaeger by herself. She managed to kill it, but not in time for –”

“Prepare for neural handshake,” Shakaste’s cool voice comes over the comms.

“That won’t happen this time,” Caduceus says. “I’ve seen the photos. I’m a lot larger than Mollymauk. I think either of those monsters would have a lot harder of a time swallowing me than him. He was very skinny.”

Yasha turns and gapes at him.

“Four, three, two –”

“What?”

“One.”

The Drift is silence.

Yasha feels Caduceus’ presence like a warm pulse, green and growing. She barely has time to hold her breath before she’s dragged under and drowning.

Someone asked Yasha, once, what Drifting felt like. It was probably in an early interview – before questions like that had been blacklisted. Yasha hadn’t managed to find the right words.

Here’s the best that fits:

A white room spattered in blood.

“I find that I don’t quite agree with you, Miss Yasha,” Caduceus says, and the world unfurls into something bigger and brighter than Yasha could have ever dreamed of.

Yasha comes back to her body with a gasp, jerking forward. Necrotic Shroud groans under her.

“Neural handshake holding steady,” Bryce says.

“Are you ready?” Caduceus says, sounding totally unperturbed. She can feel him shaking in her bones.

We’re about to get dropped into an active warzone, Yasha thinks. I haven’t piloted in years. You’ve never piloted at all. This is the first double event ever, and the only reason we’re being allowed to do this is because of our nuclear core.

The thought of Beau and Jester and Fjord trapped in the lifeless corpse of their Jaeger as the monsters swarm around makes something cold lurch in Yasha’s stomach.

“Sure,” she says, and apparently that’s good enough, because they’re dropping down.

Someone told Yasha once, “You fight angry.”

(A lot of people have told her that).

The monster looms out of the water, and Yasha laughs.

“It’s not over,” Caleb says, because of course it isn’t. Something like this will never be over.

Yasha is exhausted all the way down to her bones. She leans against the wall and closes her eyes, listening with only half an ear. Caduceus is little better. Drift-hangover is never fun, especially after your first ride. Usually it’s something that should be mediated out over a long period of time with copious amounts of mineral-water, and that’s just for simulations. The real thing is a thousand times more intense.

They don’t have the luxury of waiting around, though. Yasha can feel Caduceus in her head, twisting and churning. There are thoughts that don’t make much sense, prayers to the wrong god rattling around her skull.

“I predicted this double event,” Caleb says. “But this definitely isn’t he end. It’s just going to get worse from here on out.”

Behind the couch, huddled between Beau and Fjord, Jester gives a ragged cheer. They all look exhausted, wound as tight around each other as their shaking limbs would allow. Jester has a bruise along her cheek, and Beau’s left eye is patched over. Yasha had managed to get a peek at it in the infirmary: it was bright red, all the blood vessels burst.

“You’re such a ray of sunshine,” Beau says. “Every time you enter the room, the place brightens.”

Fjord sighs. His lip is split rather dramatically, but other than that he looks fairly stable – especially compared to the train wreck that his partners are presenting. “Go on, Caleb.”

Caleb gives a melodramatic flare of his hands, and holograms burst to life across the table. Jester oohs and aahs appreciatively. Despite herself, Yasha opens one eye to look.

“Here, we have the Breach,” Caleb says, pointing to the narrow point on his diagram. “Here we have the trench, and here is wherever the hell these things come from.”

“Probably a dimension incredibly dissimilar to our own,” Nott-not-Veth says. “Their physiology isn’t like anything on this planet, and I’ve been cross-testing whatever samples I can get my hands on over all the databases I have access to. Nothing.”

“Now, we’ve been getting these creatures coming in at increasingly smaller intervals. First it was every few months, which shortened to every few weeks – now, it’s every few days. The time between gets cut in half. In two days, we’re going to have another event.”

Yasha closes her eye. Around her, whispers break out.

“Our original plan was to send Mighty Nein with the thermonuclear warhead so we could drop it into the Breach,” Caleb says. “But that isn’t going to work anymore thanks to that last attack.”

“They’re learning,” Jester says, shivering. Beau hugs her tighter.

Caleb sighs. “It’s not just that they’re learning – they’re learning faster than we are. There are only so many adjustments we can make before we have to start building from the bones out again. That takes money that we don’t have.”

Yasha can imagine Molly sitting next to her and toasting his beer high: “Thanks for fucking us all, world government!” Next to her, Caduceus has to disguise his laugh as a cough.

Caleb’s face is fish-belly white as he stares around at them, dirt smudging along his cheeks like bruises. Yasha so badly wants to just go to sleep and never wake up. She’s so tired of this.

“We can’t switch out the power sources,” he says. “That would require entirely new Jaegers. At the moment, the only one who can reliably get to the Breach is Necrotic Shroud. Everything else will get taken out by that electromagnetic pulse.”

“If they can disable the Jaegers that far underwater, we’re sitting ducks,” Beau agrees. “It won’t matter that we’ve got the warhead if we can’t get it there.”

“Look at it this way,” Nott-not-Veth says. “If one of them pokes you too hard, you can just detonate yourselves and half the ocean with you.”

Yasha can feel eyes turning their way.

“You can’t be serious,” she says.

Shakaste flashes them a smooth grin. “You’re the best shot we have ate getting it there intact.”

“We’re down two Jaegers and the third is pretty badly damaged,” Yasha says. “And haven’t we tried bombing the Breach before? It didn’t exactly work out well the first time.”

“We’re running out of options,” Shakaste says.

“So we’re trying something that didn’t work before again because – what? Second time’s the charm?”

Caleb clears his throat. “The increased traffic should – if my predictions are correct –”

“Which they are,” Nott-not-Veth helpfully puts in.

Caleb ducks his head a little. “The increased traffic should force the Breach to stabilise and remain open long enough to get the warhead through far enough to collapse it’s structure. They’ve been coming through fairly regularly. The first time we tried – it was only months after the second attack, back when we didn’t know much about things. We were still learning.”

“That hasn’t changed,” Yasha says.

“I’m sorry,” Caleb says, eyes icy. “I didn’t realise that you were the one with a Masters in biochemistry –”

“Nothing’s ever even managed to get through it, though,” Fjord says, putting out his arms placatingly. Yasha leans back into the couch with a scowl, not entirely willing to let things go, but also not wanting to start a fight she doesn’t know she can win. Not now. Not when her head feels like she’s been used

Nott-not-Veth grins. “Actually, that’s where I come in.”

“This isn’t going to work,” Yasha says, staring at the blue, jelly-like substance that is being rubbed across every square inch of Necrotic Shroud’s metal body. Across the hanger bay, Mighty Nein and Converging Fury are being given the same treatment by some techs fitted out in hazmat suits.

The whole area had been evacuated on the grounds that interacting with biohazardous material would probably kill somebody. Yasha doesn’t quite know how to feel about this whole thing.

“It should certainly be interesting, though,” Caduceus says.

Yasha gives an unattractive snort. “That’s one word for it.”

“How did they even get this stuff?” Yasha says. “Aren’t we supposed to be – broke?”

“Oh, that’s a whole story,” Caduceus says. “It happened just a little bit after you left, I think – so apparently, Jester has a mob boss for a father –”

“Jester has a what?”

Nott-not-Veth is down on the ground, hazmat suit noticeably smaller than everyone else’s, bossing people around. As Yasha looks, she gives one of the technicians a whack on the back of the calf and grabs the hose from them, yelling profanities.

“I don’t want to know what that’s about,” Yasha says, when she’s recovered from the sudden shock of Jester – small, sweet, strong Jester – being related to one of the biggest crime bosses in the Dwendalian Empire. Yasha’s heart isn’t good enough for this.

“Nott isn’t so bad, once you get used to her,” Caduceus says. “And she’s a genius as well.”

“I don’t usually do well with geniuses,” Yasha says. People had called Molly a genius. Yasha had been good – had been better than good, sometimes – but it was always within the expected parameters of her personality. Yasha is big and can hit things. When Yasha is in Necrotic Shroud, she is bigger, and can hit bigger things. Molly had been the one to aim for the throat.

Caduceus hmms next to her but doesn’t speak up. They’re standing side-by-side over the hanger bay, feet dangling off the edge. Yasha can smell the potent mix of chemicals even from up here. She tries not to think about how proud Nott-not-Veth had been when she had announced the plan, but it’s a lost cause.

“My husband is a chemist,” she had said, chest puffed out. “He usually just stays at home and takes care of our son, especially since we moved out here for my job, but I asked him to come in and help with this. Edith is taking care of Luc at the moment, and –”

Yasha keeps nodding and smiling. She doesn’t understand half of the words that have started coming out of Nott’s mouth, and she’s frankly too scared to ask for some more clarification. Caduceus nods in time with Nott’s tone of voice and keeps smiling, long after Yasha can keep up the pretence of being interested in the process of deconstructing and mass-manufacturing monster DNA.

“Do you want to see photos?”

Yasha blanches, thinking of her brief (if singularly traumatising) foray into the deep, dark vestiges of the Shatterdome R&D department. She still hasn’t managed to scrub the image of monster parts, hacked to pieces, lying strewn out across the ground in some kind of disturbing parody of a children’s abstract painting. Nott had been in the middle of it all, elbow-length gloves covered in metallic blue muck and humming cheerfully to herself. Even Caleb was giving her a wide birth, which was saying something.

“We’d love to,” Caduceus says, showing – once again – that he had the self-preservation instincts of a blind lemming. Yasha starts to elbow him in the stomach, but she’s cut off as Nott shoves her phone underneath Yasha’s nose. Visible even underneath the layer of congealing blue slime is a small boy smiling happily at the camera, held tight by his short father.

“Oh,” Yasha says, softly. “He’s lovely.”

Nott’s smile is a thousand degrees hot and a world wide. “Isn’t he?”

“I need to talk with you.”

Yasha feels ambushed.

She had thought – well, she had hoped that there would be some lead up to this conversation. Some kind of warning. Instead, Beau is leaning with her hip against Yasha’s door, blocking the only entrance into her room. Caduceus is nowhere to be seen, the coward. Considering how he’s been camping out in that exact same spot for the past few days, he’s either been bribed or blackmailed to move. Traitor.

Beau doesn’t look good. None of them do, really, but there’s something extra than exhaustion hiding underneath her dark skin. She manages a grin when Yasha glares at her, opening the door and sweeping her arm out in invitation.

Yasha thinks about it.

“Okay,” she says, shoulders slumping in defeat. She walks inside.

She hasn’t had time to make the room as nice as things had once been – it’s too small and too empty at the same time. Molly exists in every corner.

Beau surveys the room with an arched eyebrow, and then leans back against the bed with a wry grin.

“Hey.”

Yasha crosses her arms across her chest and doesn’t say anything.

“So, I’ve been avoiding you,” Beau says.

Yasha gives her a Look.

“Yeah, I know,” Beau says. “But things have been pretty crazy lately, you’ve got to admit. There’s all these events, and very big monsters, and hey you’ve got a new Drift partner –”

“I’m not sorry for leaving,” Yasha interrupts.

Beau’s lips thin, and she cuts off with a sharp sigh.

“I had to go,” Yasha says. She feels desperate in a way she can’t fully express. She’s got three layers of skin between the air and her muscles, the shapes all stretched out to an awkward fit. Molly’s grin aches in the lines of her jaw. She can taste Caduceus’ favourite blend of tea in the back of her throat. Yasha doesn’t exist anymore except as a vessel for ghosts. “Beau, I had to go. I was dying.”

“You think we weren’t?” Beau says. Her fists are clenched at her sides, knuckles wrapped. The skin around the wrappings is scraped and bruised – she had obviously been working out her aggression before coming here.

Yasha leans back against the wall, abruptly drained. She doesn’t want a fight. For once in her life, Yasha doesn’t want to fight.

“I’m not sorry I left,” she says. “But I’m sorry that I left you.”

Beau’s head jerks to the side, cheeks flaring up. Her fists clench down harder, until there are going to be half-moon bruises on her palms later from her fingernails. Yasha has the absurd urge to reach out and curl her fingers between Beau’s, to kiss her knuckles. Without even meaning to, Yasha’s hand begins to reach out.

“Do you know what’s been going on?” Beau says. Her voice sounds clogged, raw. Yasha’s hand freezes. “Do you know what’s been happening these past few years? There are so many dead bodies out there. Every time we go out to fight, we’re walking over corpses.”

“The world is made of bones,” Yasha says.

Beau’s laugh is bitter. She throws her whole head into it, smile sharp enough to cut. “I can’t let them down,” she says. Yasha can tell from the tone of her voice that she is talking about Jester and Fjord. “I can’t let them die. I can live with anything else, but I can’t live without them.”

Yasha reaches out to take Beau’s knotted hand. It feels fevered in her cooler fingers, wounded. She gently flattens out her palms and leans forward to kiss her right index finger.

Beau watches her in a daze. The covering for her eye is still there, but the sticky-tape that’s been holding it to her skin is breaking away to reveal the horror underneath. Her eyelid is swelling into a blackened lump, the eye itself underneath red.

“When Molly died,” Yasha says. “The world kept spinning.”

“But you didn’t.”

Yasha smiles. Molly smiles with her.

“I wonder, sometimes,” she says. “If he even existed. I have – holes, in my memory. A lot of holes. Have I – have I ever told you that? I wake up, and I can’t remember my name. I have to think really hard about it. But I can always remember his.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save him,” Beau says, and starts crying.

“Did you have a good talk?”

Yasha glares at Caduceus as they leisurely walk towards the kitchen. Caduceus has his ever-present flask of tea in hand. Every time she tries some of it, it’s a different blend. Tea is almost impossible to get around here, even if it’s home-grown. Even drifting, Caduceus hadn’t been willing to share that little secret.

“It was for your own good,” Caduceus says, smile serene. He doesn’t appear to be noticing the dark clouds that are beginning to swarm over Yasha’s face, but the other people in the surrounding area certainly are. They begin to back away. Caduceus breezes on: “Things were complicated between you. Hopefully, they’re now less complicated.”

“They’re still complicated,” Yasha says, arms folded across her chest.

“Yes,” Caduceus says. “But having sex is a different kind of complicated to wanting to have sex.”

Yasha turns and walks away.

“Here’s what we need to do,” Caleb says.

The image is a little ridiculous. Caleb is standing in front of an old-fashioned blackboard, a piece of chalk in one hand and a laser-pointer in the other. Yasha keeps getting distracted by the bright light, which probably isn’t exactly the point of this exercise. She wishes that Caduceus would stop snickering at her from behind his tea.

There is a crudely drawn diagram on the blackboard. It looks nothing like Caleb’s usual shorthand scrawl – rather, suspiciously like it was done by a small child…

Nott notices Yasha’s look and puts a finger to her lips. “Children aren’t allowed in the Shatterdome,” she mouths.

“Here,” Caleb says, pointing. “Is the entry point.”

“Are you sure?” Fjord says.

Caleb gives him a bland look. “I’m sure,” he says. “And here” – this time, he uses the laser-pointed to wriggle around the top-left side – “is where Necrotic Shroud is going to push forward. You’re all going at different angles to hopefully catch the double event before they can disrupt our plans too much.”

“So we won’t have backup?” Keg says. Nila is sitting next to her, serene and calm. Yasha wishes that she didn’t know that Nila has a husband and child. She wishes that Caduceus hadn’t ever told her.

“No,” Caleb says.

“This plan definitely won’t fail,” Keg says.

“We only have until tomorrow to prepare,” Caleb says, ignoring her. “But we’ve already fitted all of your Jaegers with trace amounts of alien DNA – according to Veth’s predictions, they have a kind of lock on what can and cannot enter. Since you’ve all been coated –”

“You’ll all be able to go through!” Nott says, beaming. “Have fun falling into another world. I’m going to be safe and sound here, drinking my worries away.”

“If we fail, you’re not going to be very safe,” Fjord points out.

“If you fail, I’ll drink myself into a coma and not have to worry about it,” Nott says.

Shakaste clears his throat, hiding a smile behind his hand. “If you wouldn’t mind continuing?”

“Mighty Nein is going to enter the water first and get to the far side – then Converging Fury will go to the right, and Necrotic Shroud to the left. Necrotic Shroud is the one that absolutely must get through. They’re holding the payload.”

“And let me just say, I’m thrilled to be working so closely with nuclear explosives,” Caduceus says. “This definitely isn’t going to pollute the water around the rift for hundreds of years to come.”

Nott rolls her eyes. “The water around it is already polluted,” she says. “What, you think the monster aliens are going to care about taking care of the planet?”

Caduceus shrugs. Yasha leans over to give his shoulder a conciliatory pat.

“We have predicted the next event to happen sometime early tomorrow, so you’re going to be deployed at around 3AM in order to get to the Breach in time. I suggest” – Caleb…hesitates. Yasha closes her eyes and leans her head against the back of the couch. Caleb clears his throat and continues. “I suggest you get your affairs in order.”

Beau snorts. “The only family I care about is sitting right here.”

Jester runs an anxious hand across her scalp. “I need to call my Mama.”

Yasha feels like she’s been sucker-punched in the gut.

There had been a time – long ago. So long ago. A lifetime and a world away, when Yasha had smiled and the sea hadn’t been full of blue slime: Zuala had wanted children, and Yasha had wanted Zuala to be happy more than anything.

She wonders what it would have been like if things had been different. If she and Zuala – if they had –

“C’mon, let’s head off,” Fjord says, gently taking Jester by the shoulders and leading her away. Beau slumps against the couch, exhaustion written into the slump of her spine. “We can call her together, okay? She loves hearing from you.”

The rest of the group watches them go in silence. Then Nila breaks away and hurries off, face tight and ashen. Keg watches her go and lets out a loud sigh.

“This is fucked,” she says. No one says: this is a suicide run, but no one needs to. It’s written clear as day in the childish chalk-lines of Nott’s son. Yasha doesn’t know if that makes it better or worse. She doesn’t think it makes things anything, really.

“We knew what we were getting into,” Beau snaps.

“Maybe you did,” Keg says. “I sure as fuck didn’t.”

“Now, now – no need to –” Shakaste starts to say.

“Calianna and Twiggy are dead,” Keg says. “And we’re about to be next.”

“We signed up for this,” Beau says, folding her arms across her chest and clenching down hard on her jaw.

Keg laughs. Yasha flinches away from the bitter sound, fingers balling to fists on her lap.

“Of course you would say that,” Keg says.

Beau’s eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? You’d much rather go down in a blaze of glory than –”

Beau explodes off from the couch and grabs at Keg’s throat. Keg doesn’t flinch, the wide – slightly manic – grin stretched too-large across her small face.

“Shut it,” she says.

“We’re all as good as dead,” Keg says. “You’re just a little further along than the rest of us.”

“What the fuck,” Yasha says.

Beau doesn’t look away from Keg. “Ignore her. She’s talking bullshit.”

“Beauregard,” Shakaste sighs.

Beau abruptly breaks away from Keg, letting her back to the ground. Keg coughs in a breath. She’s shaking. They’re all shaking, Yasha realises. She’s so cold.

Beau turns on her heel and strides towards the door. On the way, she catches Yasha’s hand and drags her along.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s get out of here.”

Yasha follows.

If Molly was good at anything, it was keeping secrets.

Yasha can’t tell a lie to save her life. There’s a blunt straightforwardness to her that doesn’t do well under subterfuge. If someone is telling an untruth, Yasha is the last person in the room to know.

Molly, though. Molly could say the sky was green with such conviction that people would believe him.

“Don’t listen to her,” Beau says, tugging her further down the hall. Her knuckles are white under the pressure that she’s putting into holding onto Yasha’s hand. Yasha follows, quietly, and thinks of what Molly would say.

In the end, she’s not good with ghosts anymore than she’s good with lies. She says, “Okay”, and doesn’t say anything else.

“Are you sure about this?” Caduceus says.

Yasha just looks at him.

Caduceus grins, wide and sharp in a way that Yasha would have never pegged for him. There’s something so unassuming about his tall, rail thin appearance; the pink hair is a distraction. Camouflage. Nobody cruel could ever have pink hair.

“I’m not going to let them die,” she says.

Caduceus laughs to himself. Yasha wonders if they’re made of the same kind of steel, or if she’s just wishing things were different. Would she do this with Molly? Or is Molly the one suggesting it?

“Okay,” he says. “Let’s do this.”

Stealing a Jaeger is – surprisingly easy, once Yasha realises Caduceus’s older sister has terrorised her workers into submission. She has yet to meet the elder Clay, and at this point she’s a little bit too terrified to say: “Hi! Nice to meet you! Sorry I’m about to kill your little brother!”

It probably wouldn’t even come out that coherently, either. Yasha has so many problems with words.

Walking in the Drift is always a challenge. Fighting is smooth – punching, slashing: all easy. It’s walking that always tripped (Yasha snorts to herself, much to Caduceus’ amusement) her and Molly up. Neither of them had been very grounded people. Learning to run had come before their baby steps had even been an afterthought.

With Caduceus, walking – there’s an eerie feel of weightlessness to it. Yasha has always felt too heavy for the ground to properly hold her. Left, right, left, right. The further out to sea they go, the further away from gravity Yasha feels. Paradoxically, the heavier the controls become. Yasha is used to taking all the weight, but Caduceus – Caduceus holds his own. Better than Molly in some aspects, certainly. As Caduceus had pointed out: Molly had been very thin, and very small. Not much muscle in the end of it.

In her head – in Caduceus’ head – in their head, Molly makes an amused sound of outrage.

“I’m not short,” he says. He doesn’t even bother to refute his slimness.

“You’re shorter than both of us,” Yasha says. Outside, water swells around the reinforced glass of the cockpit. Left, right, left right: walking onward and forward and away from everything. Yasha’s floaty feeling does not dissipate.

“You’re both giants,” Molly says. His voice echoes around the otherwise empty cockpit, Caduceus and Yasha both beginning to sweat in their harnesses. No matter how many times Yasha has done this, she always starts to sweat the moment the first plate of armour goes on. Caduceus murmurs a small sound of agreement from over on his side. Together, they’re riding the Drift.

Three hours later, the intercom crackles to life.

“Well,” Caduceus says serenely as he listens to the babble of expletives that is being rained down upon both of them. “It looks like they figured out what we did.”

“A little early,” Yasha says, frowning.

Inside of her skin, Caduceus forms her shoulders into a shrug. Clarabelle is scary, but the night before the last big push was bound to attract some attention. It could have been as simple as one of the pilots not being able to go to sleep and wandering into the hanger, lost and lonely.

Yasha doesn’t want to think about that. Caduceus is kind enough to drag the thought away and smother it.

Beau’s voice abruptly cuts off from the intercom, and then Shakaste’s smooth tone comes through. There isn’t a hint of nerves in it, no matter that enough nuclear weapons to raze a small country has just disappeared into the abyss. Clarabelle had very helpfully disabled their GPS coordinates, though it probably wasn’t too much of a guess as to where they were going.

“What do you think you two are doing?”

Caduceus answers for them, when Yasha’s tongue gets knotted at the back of her throat.

“Completing the mission,” he says. He grins, sharp. Yasha has loved so many sharp people. “Sir.”

“Half at once,” Shakaste says. “Wait for the other Jaegers to get there. You need to stick to the plan.”

Yasha wants to laugh, so Caduceus does that for her, too.

“We’ll be waiting at the Breach,” he says, and cuts off the coms.

The silence gouges deeply into the space between them. Yasha is breathing heavily, and she hasn’t even said a single word. Next to her, Molly is laughing, because Molly is a dick.

“Beau sounded mad,” Yasha eventually says.

“Just a bit,” Caduceus says.

“I’m never going to get to apologise.”

“Probably not, no.”

Yasha thinks about that. Left, right, left right.

“Oh, well,” she thinks. Molly pats her shoulder. Caduceus says nothing.

They keep walking.

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httyd2014 · 6 years

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Character Review of HTTYD 3

This is Part 1 of a two part movie review of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Next up is the plot review.

As of March 3, I've seen it four times. The first was the February 2 early showing, the second and third were on opening weekend in a regular AMC theater, and the fourth was in IMAX yesterday, which, like, I'm bothered by the fact that this third movie in the franchise only has limited IMAX screenings whereas the first two were released in all IMAX theaters, and released in 3D to boot. But anyway, character review: (Also, spoilers abound, so only read this if you've seen it already)

He was at his BEST. That speech he gives to the Vikings in the great hall after Grimmel burns his house down gets more chilling and chilling with each viewing. Years ago when Dean Deblois was dropping hints over what to expect in the sequel, I got the impression that the arch of the trilogy would end with Hiccup's coronation as Chief at the end of the third. Instead, not only is he thrust into the role early thanks to Stoick's heartbreaking death, but we get to see him grow and struggle in the role of Chief, and I thought that character arch was pulled off sensationally. Although he takes after his mother's idealism in his attempts to save all innocent dragons from the hostile Trappers, he also embraces his father's lesson from the sequel that his first duty is to protect his people from harm and danger. His speech in the great hall encapsulates that beautifully with one powerful line after another.

Hiccup is truly the leader of his people by the end of this movie, and not only that, but at least from my perspective, he's also imminently relatable. He genuinely struggles with himself and questions whether he's capable of doing what needs to be done as Grimmel and the legion of Trappers advance on New Berk. That lack of internal belief he carried around inside him as a scrawny 15 year old boy before he shot down the Night Fury is still there, six years later, as a handsome 21 year old chief. His internal struggle really showed his humanity, and in my opinion, it was Hiccup's journey that drove this third movie more than any other character, including Toothless. Which brings me to our beloved Night Fury:

Ok, so I must confess, I wasn't totally satisfied with how his character was portrayed. What made Toothless so amazingly endearing in the first one was how he struck such a PERFECT balance between being this fierce, ferocious beast on one hand, and being this adorable little puppy dog on the other hand. For the most part, he kept that balance in the sequel, particularly at the end when he challenges Drago's Bewildabeast and becomes the new Alpha of all dragons. In this one, however, I honestly didn't get the sense that Toothless truly was the "Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death Itself" like the Viking legends said Night Furies were. Even during the above scene in the clouds where he does the Lightning Bolt thing and goes into stealth mode, it felt more like a cheap trick to impress Luna than a symbol of how utterly deadly he can be, and sure enough, he only uses it that one time to get those four Deathgrippers off his back. To me, all those puppy dog moments - of which there are MANY in this one - are less adorable because they aren't contrasted with enough moments of genuine fierceness. Simply put: I liked Toothless a lot more in the first and second movies than in the third one.

That being said - and I'm going to repeat this in the plot review - the flaws in his character are made up for by the ending. He does the most human thing we've EVER seen him do when he literally gives Hiccup a big bear hug as they say good by. I put my hand over my mouth to control my emotions when I saw that! And then during the final scene where Hiccup visits him after 5 or 6 years, Toothless does a very animal like thing by failing to recognize Hiccup at first, which, as a big fan of the Jurassic World movies, reminded me of how the velociraptor Blue didn't recognize Owen after not seeing him for a year, thus putting Owen in a dangerous situation. But then as soon as Hiccup does the Forbidden Friendship thing, BOOM, Toothless's eyes widen like the sea, and he embraces his dear friend that he can't see every day anymore. To me, that was totally in character of who Toothless is as both a deadly Night Fury, but also the best friend a human could ask for.

I'm gonna say this straight up: If Captain Marvel, or Star Wars, or Ghostbusters, or whoever, is going for the narrative of Strong, Female, Characters that do Strong, Female, Things, they already have an archetype that everyone loves, and her name is Astrid Hofferson. She is the true embodiment of a strong, female character, and I thought everything that made HTTYD fans love her in the first one was on display again in the third one. I was worried about this too, because in the trailers, it looked like Deblois might have been relying too heavily on the mythos of the first one, specifically the talk on the cliff, which from the trailers looked copied and pasted into the third one. However, it came off SO much better on film than it looked in the trailer, including one of my favorite lines from the entire franchise:

"But you know what? I am the person I am today because of you. And I have watched you doubt yourself every day ever since."

Astrid does what a good woman is supposed to do for her man: Be there for him when he falls down, comfort him with kind words, and remind him of who he is and what he can do. And she does all that in addition to being the warrior princess that Tuffnut correctly described her as. She fulfills the old saying, "behind every great man, stands a great woman." The talk on the cliff in this one is JUST AS GOOD as the same talk in the first one. It didn't come off as contrived or forced like I thought it would. Another favorite part of mine was during Hiccup's speech where she throws her axe on the table and demands that the Vikings hear out his plan to abandon Berk. She does that despite explicitly disagreeing with that plan earlier, which means that she was willing to stand by her man and her Chief even though she herself wasn't enthusiastic about the plan at first. Overall, I felt that the Hiccstrid relationship drove this story almost as much as the friendship between Hiccup and Toothless, and it did it without devolving into cliched romance.

She was good...at least when she had actual time onscreen (more on that in the plot review). I LOVED how she developed a relationship of sorts with her future daughter-in-law by encouraging Astrid to comfort Hiccup when he was doubting himself. I remember thinking to myself in the theater, "wow, Hiccup has two incredible women in his life! What a gift." I also liked how she automatically became an authority figure on Berk despite being gone for 20 years. She basically plays the role of General by scouting out Grimmel's advances towards New Berk and by bailing out Hiccup and the gang when Grimmel outfoxes Hiccup by trapping him on his ship. Between Valka, Eret, Astrid, and Gobber, it's really cool to see how Hiccup has a good leadership council behind him.

Believe me, his character is SO much cooler if you've seen Game of Thrones. I can't emphasize enough how Kit Herrington's personality comes alive in Eret. In this one, my only complaint is that I wish we saw him more in combat fighting along side Gobber and Valka, although even as an adviser to Hiccup, he plays the role really well. A part of me wishes he gave Hiccup and Stoick more of a challenge when he was working for Drago in the 2nd one, because his knowledge of the world outside Berk is impressive, not to mention he's a natural leader, as he demonstrates during the speech in the great hall when he augments Hiccup's points. Whatever goofball traits he had in the sequel are gone in this one, and I liked that. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about...

Ugh. The teens could have disappeared entirely and it wouldn't have effected the plot at all (Grimmel would have found New Berk eventually. Ruffnut's stupidity simply allowed him to find it faster). There was absolutely no character development from any of them, and in Snotlout's case, he outright devolved. The primary reason I didn't think HTTYD 3 was an A+ movie is because the teens would not shut the hell up. I did NOT find most of their lines or antics funny, I found them distracting and annoying. These characters reached their apex in Gift of the Night Fury, and they never got better after that.

Is Gobber. Good man, good leader, kind of paranoid. His shining moment in this franchise remains his eulogy during Stoick's funeral. In this one, you could tell that Deblois didn't really have anywhere to go with his character, so he added a subplot with the constantly appearing Hob Gobblers, which to me was what Legend of the Boneknapper should have looked like. One thing I do wish is that we saw one quick appearance of the Trolls alongside the Hob Gobblers on New Berk, as that would have been an amusing validation of his line to Stoick from the first one.

He gets two WONDERFUL flashbacks with Little Hiccup.* But, there's one error that was made during those flashbacks, and I apologize in advance to everyone who has already pointed it out: Stoick's beard should have looked scruffier and redder like it does in the first one when he's younger, as opposed to straight with grey spots like in the second when he's older. His beard is straight with grey spots during the flashbacks. Assuming that wasn't an oversight by Dreamworks, I'm guessing they did it that way because it was easier to animate. Which is understandable, but still, I'm a stickler for consistency. (The missing tree branch in front of Hiccup's face in the first one still jars me every time I see it).

*My gods, every animation studio from Dreamworks to Disney to Pixar has MASTERED the art of creating adorable children. It never ceases to amaze me

Ok, WOW, I loved him as a villain! He was everything Drago Bludvist wasn't: Cunning, crafty, smart, and above all, relatable. Grimmel is what Hiccup possibly WOULD have become if he stuck his knife into the downed Night Fury. Both of them are cerebral, and both of them play this delightful mind game where they try to anticipate each other's moves and countermoves, which Grimmel wins more often than not. As Gobber said to Hiccup, "one day, you're going to pick a fight you can't win." If Drago made Hiccup pay for his idealism by costing him his fathers life, than Grimmel makes Hiccup pay by costing him his Dragon-Human utopia. Grimmel's actions cause Hiccup to eventually accept the painful truth that humans living with dragons every day is not possible without resorting to war and death to keep that utopia a reality. When a villain can change things like that, then you have a damn good villain, and not just a guy who gets in the way periodically like Alvin and Dagur from the TV show.

Additionally, I thought Grimmel was so much more personable than Drago. His talk to Hiccup in the house evoked the same feelings in me as the talk between Evelyn Deavor and Elastigirl in Incredibles 2, which is to say, I was relating to what BOTH of them were saying to each other. It was like the Light and Dark sides that exist inside all of us were speaking to each other. Whereas Drago was just pure evil and brute force, Grimmel was genuinely compelling and interesting. I would have liked Deblois to take a different story arch with this third film than just throwing another disposable villain in the mix, but as it is, Grimmel was a worthy character.

In Summary

Hiccup and Astrid were spectacular, Toothless was very good but could have been better, Valka, Eret, and Gobber played their roles well, and Grimmel was an excellent bad guy. The only downside was the Teens. If their comic relief was cut, or if they were actual characters, this could have been an A+ movie from start to finish as opposed to A+ at the end and at specific parts in between (like the speech and the talks on the cliff).

#httyd 3 #the hidden world #hiccup #toothless #astrid #valka #stoick #eret #Gobber #grimmel #characters #review #hiccstrid #night fury #dean deblois

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kingofthewilderwest · 6 years

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Can you describe Cressida Cowell's writing style? (And try to convince me to start reading httyd books while you're at it)

Oh my goodness, I am *SO* excited to talk about Cowell’s writing style!

I realized my FAQ page was outdated with a broken link (whoops!), so I’ve fixed that! If you haven’t check that page out or my up-to-date #faq tag, I’ve written many responses on why I recommend the HTTYD books. Obviously those posts aren’t focused on Cowell’s writing style, as you’re curious about. Nevertheless, since you’re interested in recommendations and perspectives regarding those books, these prior responses could be worth checking out, and I’ll happily boop you a link to some of those! [1] [2] [3]

Cressida Cowell’s writing style, to me, is a fascinating combination of simple and eloquent. This goes for how she forms sentences, constructs plot, uses tropes, and more. She takes seemingly common elements that most of us wouldn’t consider “special” - and utilizes them to powerful effect.

Her narration style is charming. In the How to Train Your Dragon books, she uses two similar but distinct writing styles. The prologues and epilogues are given a finesse different than the material in the main chapters.

The majority of her text is written in an almost whimsical, childish way - especially at the start of the series. Sentences are simple; descriptions are amusing; humor is prevalent; and her presentation is straightforward. Unashamed use of italics, capslock, font changes, and font size changes - plus childish scribbles for illustration - contribute to the youthfulness of her narration.

How to Train Your Dragon Ch. 1: First Catch Your Dragon:

“ANYBODY would be better than Hiccup,” sneered Snotface Snotlout. “Even Fishlegs would be better than Hiccup.”

Fishlegs had a squint that made him blind as a jellyfish, and an allergy to reptiles.

“SILENCE!” roared Gobber the Belch. “The next boy to speak has limpets for lunch for the next THREE WEEKS!”

There was absolute silence immediately. Limpets are a bit like worms and a bit like snot and a lot less tasty than either.

As the series develops, the main prose develops slightly, too. Fans often discuss how Cowell’s illustrations markedly grow in complexity from start to end, even as they retain their childish personality. Cowell herself has confirmed that these artistic changes are representative of Hiccup aging. The writing doesn’t change as notably, but it’s arguably there. So, this benign, whimsical narration takes on intentional effect: she’s writing a story about a child with prose that matches the character’s age. It helps us readers enter the mind of a child as we go through Hiccup’s younger years. It’s not to say that it means we can’t think through complex topics in this framework, because we do address deep topics in the breadth of the narration... but the childish writing style provides a personality and character and framing device for how we readers “feel” the story.

The prologues and epilogues are different. In first instead of third person, they’re written as the reflections of old man Hiccup in his eighties. The writing style here maintains simple characteristics in, for instance, word choice... but it’s mature in tone and topic. These passages are often my favorites, as they delve into interesting moral reflections tied to the adventures young!Hiccup is having in the main story. This is where Cowell shines the most in her combination of simple and eloquent. There’s beauty in what she writes in the prologues and epilogues. Reading them aloud, words flow marvelously (that opening passage in the first book... mmm yum), and you can hear the reflection of the man behind them. It’s where you’ll get quotes like:

How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm: Epilogue

Maybe all Kings should bear the Slavemark, to remind them that they should be slaves to their people, rather than the other way around. And to help them never to forget what it feels like to be a child... to be small and weak and helpless.

How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero: Prologue

Great things are only made out of love and out of pain.

A great sword must be made out of the very best steel. But what truly makes the sword great is what happens to the sword after it is made.

We call this the “testing” of the sword.

The sword is bashed and hammered and hollered into shape by the bright hammer. It is thrust into the fierce heat of the fire, where it softens, and then it is quickly quenched in water, where it hardens again. The higher the temperature, the fiercer the fire, the tougher and greater the sword eventually becomes.

The whole testing process can make a sword, or break it.

The same could be said for the making of a Hero.

Cowell’s still not using complicated vocabulary. Occasionally she’ll insert something like “indelible” into the text, but generally, it’s (superficially) simple language. However. It’s also thoughtful, eloquent, and markedly more mature than something you’ll get in Chapter 3 of the first book. “Great things are only made out of love and out of pain” is something I could embroider and hang on my wall - it’s that sort of a reflective quote.

The contrast of the two styles - the more childish and the more eloquent-mature - help us understand Hiccup’s life from two perspectives: the viewpoint of a kid experiencing dangers around him idealistically hoping to change the world, and the viewpoint of an adult reflecting back with complex moral understandings. And as Hiccup’s adventures become increasingly darker and he grows in age, the main prose will match the mood.

The writing style works. She doesn’t need a large vocabulary or complex sentential forms to sound thoughtful and imbue great adventures or thematic points. Cowell knows how to impart heart-felt concepts and great reflections for readers of any age, child to adult... and have us impacted by them.

Cressida Cowell’s use of tropes is similarly deceiving. The best writing, I believe, combines refreshingly new material with storytelling elements we’re familiar with - our tropes. I believe Cowell strikes the balance marvelously.

She brings in wildly creative new concepts - like a quirky world where dragon species are everything down to big-mouthed bee catchers or insect-sized nanodragons. Characters are equally as ridiculous and special; I’d be hard-pressed to find a personality similar to Camicazi anywhere in literature or media.

Cowell also knows how to use tropes. We so often see the feckless, unwanted, socially outcast wimpy protagonist turn into a Hero. We’ve seen a character with a special sword and a noteworthy family history. We’ve seen a character called by fate and prophecy to revolutionize the land before apocalypse. But that doesn’t make Hiccup a generic character handled blandly. Cowell balances fate with agency and with the challenges of reality. Hiccup has to make choices to save what he loves. And Hiccup is limited in what he can do. After all, “History is a set of repeating circles, like the tide. The wind does blow through the ruins of tomorrow. But it is more a question of two steps forward, one step back.” What we get is a Hero’s journey, but one where our Hero is truly spectacular, diligent, unyielding, pushed to the brink, and endlessly inspirational.

I think the thing that impresses me the most in how Cowell handles tropes is the “it can’t get any worse and then it does” concept. We’ve seen it before. Stories make protagonists go through a dark low. And when the character doesn’t think situations can worsen, they do. What makes the HTTYD series so spectacular and unique in how it’s handled... is the sheer repeated beating Cowell does. It’s overwhelming. She keeps going, and going, and going, and going, and doesn’t stop. Other authors would have stopped five bad events ago! It’s to the point that, in book ten, after so many bad things repeatedly occurred, I cried when Hiccup reached one small positive in his efforts. The author isn’t afraid to put our protagonist through the ringer, thereby making every bad experience, and good experience, impacting, memorable, and sometimes shocking to us as readers.

Cowell definitely uses plot devices we’ve seen before. But she weaves them together impactingly, making an emotional ride through high highs and low lows. We’re left with an inspirational takeaway and a Hero’s development we won’t forget.

Cowell’s long-term plot structure is brilliant, too. She divides the series into three equal parts, more or less. The first part is the “isolated” series of whimsical, innocent, childish adventures. The second part makes you squint suspiciously, realizing you’re getting into more complex and dangerous incidences than you expected. The third part is what I lovingly call “the Ragnarok of pain and despair.”

The starting books, deceivingly, seem like isolated, simple adventures. Cowell’s actually setting ALL the stages for the series’ later turmoil. She’s inserting characters, items, prophecies, themes, conflicts, and plot points that will become extraordinarily impacting as the series continues. But readers don’t notice Cowell’s clever, thorough foundation. They just see cutesie, simple, isolated incidences first read through.

The middling section is where Cowell starts to utilize what she set up. She begins implementing chaos and intertwining strings, pulling Hiccup’s life from random childhood incidences with Alvin and dragons... into something centrally important. She brings together the history of the Barbaric Archipelago with the current events Hiccup’s experiencing around him. All Hiccup’s starting point experiences from the first books become formulative to the choices he has to make now. And all the while, there’s the stewing build-up of a central conflict... which explodes at the end of the second part.

The third part is all-out war. All-out drama. All-out danger. All-out stakes. We see how everything Cowell wrote is interconnected, from the start of the series to whatever conclusion Hiccup’s journey will bring. Moral themes and questions are central; characters are pushed into growth; what we thought was some random thing at the start turns out to be a cleverly-inserted Chekhov’s gun. It’s the payoff to all the set-up and build-up... brilliantly, effectively executed.

Obviously I can’t give examples to you. That would be spoilers. XD To people who’ve read the series, I’ll just say, for one example: all the King’s Things. That’s one example of Cowell’s build-up. But the build-up is everything from moral themes, to character dynamics, to foreshadowed historical revelations. It’s well-paced, well-thought through, well-executed.

The How to Train Your Dragon books are thus both simple and eloquent. And that which is simple isn’t “watered down” - it’s “simple” with purpose, “simple” with complexity, “simple” with personality, “simple” with power.

This is why I always encourage people to keep reading after the first few books. Some people find the starting adventures adorable, loving the charm and humor. I adore that all myself! They’re legitimately treasurable books in and of their own. Other readers aren’t as interested in the cutesie stuff, approaching the first HTTYD books with skepticism; they don’t think that these benign stories are “their thing.” However, every time I’ve encouraged skeptics to read after the first few books, they get sucked in, and find themselves screaming and crying and laughing and celebrating with Hiccup’s dynamic adventures. It’s all because Cowell’s simplicity is deceptive: there’s so much more going on, and there’s always more going on the deeper in you look.

#long post #httyd books #faq #httyd #How to Train Your Dragon #How to Ride a Dragon's Storm #analysis #my analysis #Cressida Cowell #ask #ask me #loveallcute

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nadderqueenastridhofferson · 5 years

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Hate on Astrid

Hey everyone Mun here and I would like to rant a bit about people hating on my girl Astrid.

Now this isn't the first time I have heard about people hating on Astrid and probably won't be the last. This is however the first time I am speaking out about it. I have seen people say things like: Astrid is an abusive character because she's hit Hiccup. A lot of people reference the first movie when it comes to this.

But first I would like to point out what a lot of people are neglecting to look at. They are Vikings! Looking back on History Viking women were very dominant. A strong Viking woman was praised and sought after. They held more freedom and power then most women in their day and age. They were allowed to own property, divorce their husbands, and even take back their bride prices after divorce. There was a viking woman by the name of Lagertha who fought with Ragnar Lothbrok in a battle against the Swedes who was so impressed with her that he pursued her and won her hand in marriage. Viking women were allowed to defend themselves and those they care about. Yes men ruled the house for the majority of the marriage but should he die the woman got full control of property, trade, and what ever else they owned. Now that I have said that here is my thoughts on Astrid Hofferson.

Example 1:

Dragon training when she lands on Hiccup while trying to run from Stormfly. Astrid is more concerned with getting her axe out of Hiccup's shield then whether or not she is hurting him. First off, they are in the middle of fucking DRAGON TRAINING! They are being attacked by a dragon. Who in their right mind is going to think about whether they are hurting someone when said person is trying to save their lives. She was in a panic as a Deadly Nadder was bearing down on them and her only weapon was embedded in Hiccup's shield which was stuck. Of course she wasn't thinking about whether she was hurting him or not cause she was trying to stop the Nadder from killing them. She didn't apologize because she was angry, angry at the fact that he wasn't taken their training seriously which meant that with his lack of attention it was going to get someone or even himself hurt and/or killed. She doesn't hate Hiccup. If you watch carefully in the beginning of the movie when Snotlout makes fun of Hiccup she actually looks upset at him for being mean.

Example 2:

When she confronts Hiccup in the cove where she bends his arm and hits him with her axe. First off she was trying to get answers and two she was angry. Again she is a VIKING WOMAN. She has been trained her whole life to be strong, to not show weakness. Not everyone can control their actions when their emotions get the better of them. You can't tell me you haven't hit your friend or loved one when you are upset with them or think they are doing something stupid. And it wasn't like Astrid stood there and continued to beat him up. Also let's not forget the fact when she saw Toothless for the first time she GRABBED HICCUP WANTING TO PROTECT HIM!! HOW IS THAT ABUSIVE? She saw a dragon, her first instinct was to protect Hiccup.

Example 3:

She hit Hiccup after their romantic flight. That punch she gave him had no heat to it at all. It's like me when I hit my boyfriend in the stomach because he scared me or is being an annoying adorable dork. I don't hit him hard, it's a love tap. I would like to also point out the fact that Astrid followed the hit with a kiss. These are the ways that Astrid shows her emotions. Her world completely changes when Hiccup becomes a huge part of her life. Until then they may not have been exactly friends but she also didn't hate him or tease him like some of the other kids. Which if anyone has watched the deleted scene with Hiccup and Astrid in the forge they would see that. She even takes a bit of interest in his inventions.

Example 4:

She hits him at the end of the movie saying "That's for scaring me." Again... punch had no heat to it at all. Like I said in my previous example if my boyfriend scares me, mainly out of reflex, I hit him but instead of going around screaming about abuse he just laughs and makes it up to me by giving me a kiss. Oh hey look! That's EXACTLY what Astrid did... TWICE. Astrid is a viking/shield maiden, raised in a viking world and culture. I don't see anyone screaming about abuse when she hits Snotlout or when the twins beat each other up. It's their world, their culture. People need to get their fucking facts and truly look at their world and how they were raised. Yes Hiccup has never hit Astrid but he is the only viking who is a fucking Pacifist to an extent. Although I would like to remind everyone of the time he punch Snotlout in the face. *cackles* Pricless. *coughs* Anyway... He fights when he has to but he would rather talk things out then fight. Astrid was raised to be strong, a fighter. That's all she knows is how to fight. We don't know much about Astrid's homelife or who her parents are, we have only ever heard her talk about her Uncle Finn. For all we know her parents could have enforced in her brain to talk with her fists first. It's not her fault.

And may I point out that DESPITE ALL OF THAT Hiccup is still head over heels in love with her. We need to look beyond those incidents to what happens after and in between. Things that she says to Hiccup like for example: 'You've lost everything, your father, your tribe, you best friend.' She isn't saying this to hurt Hiccup. She is saying this to get him to think, think outside the box, find another solution. It's the same thing when she says "You gave him his freedom, what did you expect?" In the third movie. She isn't saying it to hurt him but again to get him to think clearly. Make him see, open his eyes wider to see the bigger picture. She loves Hiccup more then anything in the world. Because of him she looked at the world in a brand new light, saw things, did things she never would of dreamed about if Hiccup hadn't showed her how. She is the person she is by the end of the third movie because of Hiccup. He is her world and she is his. Together they are a force to be reckoned with. I also have a Hiccup blog and I have been roleplaying and cosplaying as Hiccup for years and one of my best friends, my Astrid, feels the same way I do. I am tired of people dragging Astrid through the mud and painting her as the bad guy. This goes for Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons. I like the idea of Hiccup, Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel being friends and I am a fan of the Hijack ship but I'm not going to make Astrid a raging bitch or a cheater or make her out to be someone she isn't to get a fucking ship! I have a hijack rp that I am doing with a friend and Hiccup and Astrid are childhood friends. They may not be a couple but they have a good relationship, she is even good friends with Jack. Now I'm all for creative liberties and people writing how they wish but I will not be involved in any thing that involves hating on Astrid. I love her character dearly and I will not sit quietly and let someone bash her in front of me.

Just had a thought, her punching Hiccup in HTTYD2, you know the punch that made his dorsal fin pop open. That was not a malicious punch, she was fucking teasing him. Again look at the culture.

*huffs* Okay I've said my piece. Rant over.

Mun out

#hate on astrid #astrid hofferson #hiccstrid #astrid #hiccup #hiccup horrendous haddock #httyd #httyd2 #httyd3 #how to train your dragon

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shipmistress9 · 5 years

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Ex-Trapper With Benefits - 1

Fandom: How To Train Your Dragon

Pairing: Hiccstrid / Erestrid / Hicretstrid

Rating: Explicit

Genre: Romance/Erotica

Summary: Hiccup's and Astrid's sex life can't be called boring by any means. They want to try everything, the wilder the better. But their latest interest, having sex where they easily could be found or watched, takes on a new turn when out of the blue a new idea comes up. The only question is... would Eret be up for it?

. o O o .

AN: Some while ago, a good friend got a slightly creepy prompt; something about Hiccstrid spicing up their sex life by inviting Eret in – only for Astrid to then leave Hiccup for Eret's enormous dick. There was more to it that I thankfully forgot by now, but it made us all shudder. However, it inspired me to write a counterstory, something that starts like that prompt but then goes into another direction.

Also, this story features a certain HC of me and a friend, that Eret is something like the Captain Jack Harkness of Berk. Ready and happy to jump everything and everyone, but with respect and only in consense of everyone involved, endearing friendliness, and always an amused twinkle in his eyes.

I plan to have this finished in three chapters. It also could turn into four though, we'll see.

Hope you enjoy! ;)

. o O o .

(Lemon below the cut)

#Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot #Outdoor Sex #Vaginal Fingering #Vaginal Sex #Oral Sex #Pervestrid #Pervecup #Exhibitionism #canonverse #Voyeurism #chapter 1+2 are Hiccstrid #kinky Hiccstrid

Hiccup wasn't really surprised when, after the council meeting was over and everyone left the Great Hall, he got pulled to the side by a pair of small but strong hands. In fact, he'd expected nothing else. During the entire meeting, Astrid's eyes had felt like burning coals on his skin, mentally undressing him at any moment, and this certainly wasn't the first time she wasn't patient enough to return to their home before she jumped him. No, not at all.

"Gods, I thought old Spitelout would keep on talking forever," his wife groaned as she opened the belt that held his trousers with sure and quick movements. She had him pinned against the wall of the stairs that led up to the Hall, not a place anyone could easily see but still anything but private. But that, too, wasn't a surprise.

At first, Hiccup let her do as she pleased. She pulled his trousers down just enough to free his semi, and he couldn't suppress a pitiful groan as she dropped to her knees to suck and tease him until he was fully erect. But once he had enough of that admittedly divine treatment, he pulled her back up on her feet, a little rougher than necessary but he knew she liked it that way. With one deft movement, he turned them around until it was she who had her back pressed against the stone wall, and pinned her there with his entire body pressed to hers.

"You're horribly impatient, do you know that?" he growled, letting out another groan when his hand wandered beneath her studded skirt and found her bare and dripping wet already.

"Not my – fuck! – my fault," she gasped when his fingers slipped inside her. Gods, she was a gift. “Nobody told me sex is that much fun.”

Chuckling to himself, he kept tormenting her a little longer. Slowly he moved his fingers in and out of her, taking his sweet time to enjoy having her like this; the slick slide, how her eyes glazed over with undulated lust, and all those wanton little moans she gave in response to him fucking her on his fingers. Every now and then, he swiped this thumb over her clit, making her shudder, until her frustrated whine told him that he would be playing with his health if he continued like this.

He withdrew his hand and silenced her sounds of impatience by pushing his fingers into her mouth, making her taste herself on him. Her sucking at his digits and humming at the taste quickly made him just as impatient as she was.

Eager to be inside her, he hoisted her up with a few deft motions, her legs quickly wrapping around his waist, and without any more preamble, he buried himself in her scolding heat.

"Oh, fuck!" Astrid moaned, loudly, and let her head fall back against the stones. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, and Hiccup knew that, even with his tunic between her fingers and his skin, he would keep visible marks from this encounter. He was looking forward to it.

For a couple of minutes, Hiccup simply enjoyed the sight and feeling of her; her flushed skin all the way down to where it disappeared beneath her flimsy vest, her dazed eyes that wouldn’t register anything of their surroundings anymore, her choked moans and sobs when he thrust particularly hard, and, of course, her silken heat that always felt as if she would suck him in to never let him go again.

Gods, how he loved their heated trysts! Marrying Astrid had been a dream come true, but never in his life had he been able to imagine how actually being married to her would be. Because it was amazing! Living with her was easy, effortless, and always such fun. They worked perfectly together in some aspects of their lives while they equally perfectly completed each other in other aspects. But without a doubt the biggest surprise had been the sex. With them both having had practically no experience before, they'd dived head over heels into this adventure, and it was an endless roller coaster ride ever since. There was nothing they were afraid of trying, the wilder and crazier the better. For once, Ruffnut's countless escapades with passing sailors and her loose mouth had actually turned out to be a blessing, if only to give them ideas about what they wanted to try next.

But lately, Astrid seemed to have found a new favourite. She just loved to have sex out in the open, in places that couldn't by any means be called private – and Hiccup had to admit that he rather liked it too. The danger of getting caught. The thrill.

"Imagine someone finding us here," he grunted, playing into this fantasy. The thought made them both groan, his fingers on her rear twitching just as she tightened around him. He couldn't even say what it was, but just the idea of someone else being involved in their sex life, even just as a watcher, made him almost come on the spot.

But he could tell that Astrid wasn't there yet, that she needed a little more. So he leaned closer and whispered into her ear, "Imagine how Fishlegs would react if he found us like this. He'd turn pale all over, stammer, and stumble backwards to flee and try not to look too closely."

Astrid giggled breathlessly, and the way that made her tighten around him nearly was his undoing. "Or Snot," she suggested. "God, how jealous he would be. He'd turn bright red, with anger and lust, and probably run to jerk it behind the next tree."

Oh, now that was an intriguing thought. Not that Hiccup really needed that sort of validation – not after all these years into his relationship with Astrid, not with them being happily married, and certainly not with her carrying a sweet little secret beneath her heart by now – but the idea of rubbing it in to Snot... he kinda liked it!

"The twins would probably just cheer us on," she went on in that wonderfully breathless and distracted tone that threatened to rob Hiccup of all senses. She was close now too, so he put in more effort, thrusting harder and deeper and tried to hold her with one hand only to rub her clit with the other. "And Eret... mmh, yes, don't stop. Ooohh..."

"Eret wouldn't be shocked at all," he gasped, the words dropping off his lips without even thinking about them. The ex-trapper definitely wasn't new to sex, and pretty much the entire village knew that by now. "He'd probably ask whether he can join in."

Unbiddenly, a picture appeared in his head, just as Astrid came with a beautiful little cry, with her fingernails clawing at his shoulders and her walls squeezing sense right out of him. He followed her into bliss, his desperate grunt muffled by biting into her shoulder – and with the image of him watching as Astrid got fucked by Eret in his mind's eye.

. o O o .

As always, reactions are very welcome! ;)

#Hiccstrid #fanfiction #Lemon #not for children #httyd

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elistwilightofart · 5 years

Text

Stay Close to Me - Chapter 3

Summary: Dragons, a conversation, and an altercation

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch9

Ch 3 - Dragons (big Hiccup)

The previous day, when Hiccup had taken Snotlout aside to talk about his apology, there had been tears. He’d never received an apology from any of the riders. They seemed to have forgotten about the way he’d lived for fifteen years. Hiccup had been just fine with that, wanted to forget those days. But the apology was welcome, and while his younger self had been unable to forgive Snotlout, Hiccup could. The rest of the day had been only slightly taxing, but the debate with Stoick drained the last of Hiccup’s reserves.

He woke up dreading the day. He didn’t want to deal with whatever it was that Viggo had done. Stoick was annoying, and he was grateful the man had changed in the past few years.

Case in point: Stoick brought his sword to breakfast.

“Please don’t bring weapons to meals,” Hiccup politely requested. Stoick glared at him.

“Hiccup has a dragon.”

“She’s just a terrible terror. She’s welcome as long as she remembers her manners.”

Stoick grumbled. “Dragons don’t have manners.”

Little Hiccup said brightly, “Estelle won’t bother anyone!”

“That’s that, then,” Hiccup nodded, “What’s the plan for today?”

Astrid gestured with her fish. “We’ll set up a watch on Viggo. Buddy system, sunrise to sunset.”

Hiccup nodded. “We’ll send Hiccup to Berk with someone once he gets a dragon. They’ll grab anything we need that we don’t already have; clothes, for example. And maybe explain what’s going on.”

Astrid nodded, “Good idea. Who wants first watch?”

Nobody raised their hand.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “What about who wants to go to Berk?”

“Ooh!” Fishlegs said, “I’ve been wanting to go back. We’re low on medical supplies anyway.”

Hiccup nodded, “Okay, Fishlegs is going to Berk. You’ll have a two-day rest period when you return where you won’t have to take any shifts, kay?”

Fishlegs nodded.

“Great,” Hiccup stood up, “Astrid, I trust you can handle the shifts?”

Astrid nodded.

“Awesome,” Hiccup turned to his younger counterpart, “Let’s go get you a dragon.”

The other side of the island was where the dragons hung out. There weren’t many on Dragon’s Edge, but a small flock of various species had taken residence after the riders showed up. Hiccup assumed they’d figured out that the island was protected.

On the trip there, Stoick held Hiccup back, walking several paces behind his son. “I don’t like how well he’s adjusting to dragons being allies.” He spat the last word, as if it were poison.

Hiccup glanced at Stoick. “You know, if I remember correctly, he’s already told you he doesn’t want to kill dragons.”

“Nonsense, of course he does. He always wanted to.”

Hiccup gestured ahead at his younger self, who was playing a game of fetch with Estelle. “Does that look like a dragon killer to you?”

Stoick was forced to admit defeat. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

There weren’t many dragon species to choose from, but little Hiccup didn’t seem to be focused on a specific species.

“Why not a nadder?” Hiccup suggested, “They’re tracker class, so it’s difficult to get separated for any large amount of time. They tend to be reliable. Several methods of defense.”

To be completely honest, the stats were more for Stoick than little Hiccup. The “failsafes” seemed to calm the man down, so Hiccup considered it a win.

“I thought they were sharp class.” Little Hiccup frowned. “I’ve never heard of tracker class.”

“They were,” Hiccup agreed, “but we reclassified them after we created the tracker class. Tracker class dragons are dragons with good senses of taste and smell that allow them to track down and find things.”

Little Hiccup continued to frown.

“There aren’t many around Berk,” Hiccup added, “Only the nadders, really.”

“Okay.”

Hiccup stopped Stoick about a hundred feet from the flock’s water source. Stoick growled at him.

“If anything goes wrong, I’ll interfere.” Hiccup assured him, “The dragons’ll listen to me.”

Stoick continued to stare suspiciously. Hiccup huffed. “Look, worst case scenario, we have a nightfury on our side.”

“Fine,” Stoick deflated.

Little Hiccup looked ready. “You know the drill,” Hiccup said, “No weapons, unthreatening, total trust.”

Little Hiccup nodded. When he was thirty feet from the water, he sat down. Estelle crawled off his head onto his thigh.

“What’s he doing?” Stoick whispered.

“Rule number one,” Hiccup said, “let the dragon come to you.”

A green nadder with purple undertones eyed little Hiccup, but didn’t approach. On the other side of the river, another nadder, this one blue and purple, stared too.

Little Hiccup didn’t look at the dragons directly, though he seemed to be aware of them. He had a notebook – possibly his notebook – and was writing or drawing something. Both Nadders approached as the boy opened a new page. They sniffed at him, the blue one nipping at his clothes.

Stoick squeezed Hiccup’s arm. “What are they doing?” he hissed.

“Relax, they’re just getting to know him.”

The blue one gave one last sniff and returned to the river. The green one, however, nuzzled into little Hiccup’s chest. He stood up, reaching a hand out.

“How bout it, huh? Wanna help me?”

The nadder squawked. Little Hiccup placed his hand on the dragon’s snout.

“Alright, let’s go.” Hiccup dragged Stoick over to little Hiccup. Stoick protested heavily, but Hiccup ignored him, something he regretted. Stoick clearly was still uncomfortable being so close to the dragons, especially wild ones.

The man raised his sword. Little Hiccup’s nadder friend hissed and puffed out his tail. The other wild dragons began circling the group, poised to attack, and Toothless. Toothless had jumped back as soon as Stoick raised the sword and began growling. Stoick raised his sword higher.

Toothless growled, the only dragon willing to get within reach of Stoick. The man shifted, taking a step back.

“Get me out of here.”

Hiccup held his hands up. “Okay, just put down the sword.”

Stoick shook his head. “Not until I’m out.”

“The dragons won’t let us go unless they know they’re safe.”

Stoick glared at everything, but the sword drooped. The dragons relaxed. “Thank you,” Hiccup said.

“Let’s go,” Stoick insisted.

“Alright,” Hiccup said, turning toward his younger self. “I’ll see you back at the Edge?”

“No,” Stoick said, “he comes back now.”

Hiccup sighed. “Dragon training isn’t an immediate thing. The dragon won’t let you ride them immediately, it takes work. He needs to stay here or otherwise get the dragon elsewhere so he can train with them.”

Stoick didn’t move for a moment. “Fine,” he said, “I’ll wait over there.” He pointed to the edge of the forest, “Make sure you don’t kill my son.”

Hiccup smiled and led the man to the forest. “Hiccup’ll be fine.”

Returning to little Hiccup, the nadder was on the ground, little Hiccup petting his neck behind the spines.

“Right,” Hiccup said, “we need you to be able to fly by tomorrow.”

Little Hiccup nodded. “I’d imagine it’s a little different than flying Toothless.”

Hiccup laughed. “It is. You won’t have the unconscious understanding that you’re used to. Flying is different for every dragon, so you’ll need to figure it out on your own.”

Little Hiccup nodded. The nadder shook his head as little Hiccup climbed onto his back. Hiccup stood in front and calmed him down.

Toothless seemed to do a better job, though. He crooned at the nadder and seemed to explain what was happening.

“Hold on,” Hiccup said, “it looks like he’s gonna take off.”

Little Hiccup leaned down and wrapped his arms as far around the nadder as he could.

The nadder leapt up and into the sky. Toothless threw Hiccup onto his back and grabbed Stoick.

“Aaahhh!” Toothless shook as Stoick tried to hold on. Hiccup rolled his eyes and leaned down, holding out a hand of Stoick to grab.

“C’mon. I don’t want to leave Hiccup up there alone.”

Stoick grabbed Hiccup’s arm, hoisting himself up. Hiccup’s leg and midsection ached.

They spent the rest of the day training the Nadder, which he named Preen. Fishlegs was absent, packing up for the trip, and Astrid has wrangled Snotlout and the Twins into first watch, so it was just the four of them. Stoick watched from a safe distance as Hiccup and Astrid tutored little Hiccup.

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