Loves HTTYD, writes fic to deal with it

Netherlands/27. I read & write fanfiction (AO3 | FF.net) and share things I love about HTTYD. Talk to me about my fics on Discord! (channel: #aleteias-fics). Personal blog is alsoaleteia. Support me on Ko-Fi | PayPal. Banner (Star Wars AU) and Avatar (Phantomcup) by Rannvadraws.

[aleteia-ff]

The Phantom of the Archipelago - Chapter 18: What's in a Name?

Read on: AO3 | FF.net

Read the previous story, The Phantom of the Arena, on: AO3 | FF.net

Join us on Discord in #aleteias-fics to discuss the story with others!

Full synopsis:

After five years of relentlessly putting up a siege against the Red Death, Hiccup, the former terrorist known as the Phantom of the Arena, has finally defeated the Archipelago's greatest enemy, putting a definitive end to the dragon raids. Hoping the worst is finally behind him, he returns to Berk, only to find he left more behind than just the girl he loved. And that life still isn't done with him.

Outside of the Archipelago, Eret, son of Eret, is left with nothing after a mysterious dragon rider destroys his fort and releases the captured dragons his employer sorely needed. Fearing he'll be killed if he doesn't, he flees to the Archipelago with what little remains, hoping to find employment in the dragon-infested area. But the threat seems to have followed him, as news spreads of how Berk's infamous Phantom has returned to reclaim what's his. And that people like Eret will never be safe, unless they act against him.

Ships: Hiccstrid, Eret/Tuffnut Thorston, Stoick/Valka

Rated Mature for Violence and Sexual Content.

[aleteia-ff]

The Phantom of the Archipelago - Chapter 19: Under Pressure

Read on: AO3 | FF.net not up yet, website is not working for me

Read the previous story, The Phantom of the Arena, on: AO3 | FF.net

Join us on Discord in #aleteias-fics to discuss the story with others!

Full synopsis:

After five years of relentlessly putting up a siege against the Red Death, Hiccup, the former terrorist known as the Phantom of the Arena, has finally defeated the Archipelago's greatest enemy, putting a definitive end to the dragon raids. Hoping the worst is finally behind him, he returns to Berk, only to find he left more behind than just the girl he loved. And that life still isn't done with him.

Outside of the Archipelago, Eret, son of Eret, is left with nothing after a mysterious dragon rider destroys his fort and releases the captured dragons his employer sorely needed. Fearing he'll be killed if he doesn't, he flees to the Archipelago with what little remains, hoping to find employment in the dragon-infested area. But the threat seems to have followed him, as news spreads of how Berk's infamous Phantom has returned to reclaim what's his. And that people like Eret will never be safe, unless they act against him.

Ships: Hiccstrid, Eret/Tuffnut Thorston, Stoick/Valka

Rated Mature for Violence and Sexual Content.

[aleteia-ff]

How long now until the next chapter? Please i need this sequel so i can finally see phantom hiccup happy 😭

I estimate it will be about 10 minutes before the moment I write this :D

[aleteia-ff]

Hii! Im the anon from before, so the curse is the (quite common apparently) fact that authors who publish on ao3 often go through odd/terrible things right after either writing or publishing on there. Basically I’m kinda scared of it bc (this sounds more and more ridiculous as I write lmaooo) what if someone bad happens like??

Aha! Learnt something new today :)

I personally think it's more of a visibility factor than an actual curse. Fanfiction writing - or content creation in general - is a unique hobby in that

1) The output is shared with other people, who, if you're lucky, actively look forward to more

2) Creating and sharing with the world requires, for me at least, a certain level of vulnerability and openness

3) Writing, while done largely in a solo setting, is a creative hobby and - for me personally - needs a different type/degree of energy than 'consuming' hobbies (like video games, watching shows/movies)

This means that whenever something disruptive happens in life - and this happens to all of us - which has an effect on hobbies, writing can be more heavily affected than other hobbies (at least for me creative energy disappears first) and this is then immediately visible to a wider reader group. Whereas for many other hobbies (such as playing video games), no one will notice if I'm unable to pick them up for a while. In addition, if you're used to sharing a piece of your soul through writing, the barrier for sharing what is going on personally (perhaps driven by a feeling of guilt for lack of updates too) might also be lower, leading to very personal author notes.

So to get back to your original question: I wouldn't be afraid of a curse 😉 But it is good to be aware that this hobby can create a feeling of commitment towards an audience that can be challenging at times. But also incredibly, deeply rewarding ❤️

[sweeetcheeese]

Hijack? Haven't heard that name in years *takes a long drag*

[aleteia-ff]

just out of curiosity and bc I neeedddd a happy ending, will Hiccup and Astrid get their happy ending in Phantom of the Archipelago? (Pls say they do, pls say they do pls pls pls)

I don't want to give a public spoilery answer (you are always free to reach out in DM), but I do have a strong belief that if characters work hard enough to deserve their happy ending, that I as a writer should give it to them :)

I don't see Phantom as an angst-for-the-sake-of-angst story (which have their place too, this is just not one of them)

[aleteia-ff]

SoonTM

(new Phantom chapter has reached the 'editing' stage!)

[aleteia-ff]

Hii! Love your stories so so much but I have one (unrelated) question and it may seem silly but I’m genuinely curious about this, have you heard about the ao3 writers’ curse? Bc no joke I want to write but I’m scared of it lmaooo

Thank you for the compliment! I don't know the curse, so I can't comment on that. Or is that the curse, that you forget about it? 🤔

[smthingandiforgothelyrics]

my fingers are broken but at least the lovelies get to stare into each others’ eyes

[aleteia-ff]

When you were writing the phantom of the arena, was there a rule or some process where you ensured your plot would be different from the original phantom of the opera? Did you have moments were you couldn't easily differentiate?

Ooh, interesting question, thank you!

Spoilers for Phantom of the Arena below

I didn't necessarily worry too much about being different from Phantom of the Opera because 1) I have never tried to hide that inspiration and 2) placing it within the HTTYD universe already requiredchanges that took it quite far away enough from the musical that to readers but also to myself the way the story would go was not necessarily a given.

In my opinion - and opinions on this differ - the Phantom of the Opera is not a love story between the Phantom and Christine, but the Phantom of the Arena is, so I needed to build that out and justify that romance. At the same time, I really wanted to tell what is to me, the central point of Phantom of the Opera: compassion, from an unexpected corner, can make us come to see the error of our ways. In Phantom of the Arena, Hiccup experience this twice - once in the main romance, with Astrid's love introducing him to the idea that not necessarily everyone in this world is against him. But he views her as an exception, and a romance does not necessarily heal you from the scars you collected throughout your life. In the end it's Stoick's love - still there, enduring, despite everything that's happened - that brings him to realise that he's living a life that can only lead to the destruction of the things he cares about.

I remember that the thing I was most on the fence about was actually the Masquerade-wedding :D I really wanted to do it because it provided such a cool setting and a way to bring Hiccup to Berk, but I also thought quite a while about how to justify it within the story. I was quite happy there with positioning it as an act of defiance against the Phantom on Berk's end (as well as Ruffnut & Tuffnut's personalities and Hiccup and Astrid also actively being surprised by it).

Still very happy with it because it was one of my favourites pieces of the story to write :) I have very fond memories of writing the entire sequence from Masquerade to the end of the story. Very very precious time of my life <3

[dragonridersource]

“Well, we could just take Gobber's advice and tie the knot. That should fix everything. But, hey, if you're having doubts about yours truly, I'm pretty sure Snotlout's available.”

[aleteia-ff]

The Phantom of the Archipelago - Chapter 18: What's in a Name?

Read on: AO3 | FF.net

Read the previous story, The Phantom of the Arena, on: AO3 | FF.net

Join us on Discord in #aleteias-fics to discuss the story with others!

Full synopsis:

After five years of relentlessly putting up a siege against the Red Death, Hiccup, the former terrorist known as the Phantom of the Arena, has finally defeated the Archipelago's greatest enemy, putting a definitive end to the dragon raids. Hoping the worst is finally behind him, he returns to Berk, only to find he left more behind than just the girl he loved. And that life still isn't done with him.

Outside of the Archipelago, Eret, son of Eret, is left with nothing after a mysterious dragon rider destroys his fort and releases the captured dragons his employer sorely needed. Fearing he'll be killed if he doesn't, he flees to the Archipelago with what little remains, hoping to find employment in the dragon-infested area. But the threat seems to have followed him, as news spreads of how Berk's infamous Phantom has returned to reclaim what's his. And that people like Eret will never be safe, unless they act against him.

Ships: Hiccstrid, Eret/Tuffnut Thorston, Stoick/Valka

Rated Mature for Violence and Sexual Content.

[aleteia-ff]

I just readthrough your Phantom fics in the past 2 days, amd I LOVE IT!!

The charactization, the threads slowly tying together, the way you write, its all SO GOOD!

Thank you so much for your fics!

Thank you so much for your lovely comment!! I am only getting to some of the asks right now but wanted to let you know I really appreciate it <3

[aleteia-ff]

Thank you for new chapter!!! I loved it.

You're very welcome!! <3

[aleteia-ff]

The Phantom of the Archipelago - Chapter 18: What's in a Name?

Read on: AO3 | FF.net

Read the previous story, The Phantom of the Arena, on: AO3 | FF.net

Join us on Discord in #aleteias-fics to discuss the story with others!

Full synopsis:

After five years of relentlessly putting up a siege against the Red Death, Hiccup, the former terrorist known as the Phantom of the Arena, has finally defeated the Archipelago's greatest enemy, putting a definitive end to the dragon raids. Hoping the worst is finally behind him, he returns to Berk, only to find he left more behind than just the girl he loved. And that life still isn't done with him.

Outside of the Archipelago, Eret, son of Eret, is left with nothing after a mysterious dragon rider destroys his fort and releases the captured dragons his employer sorely needed. Fearing he'll be killed if he doesn't, he flees to the Archipelago with what little remains, hoping to find employment in the dragon-infested area. But the threat seems to have followed him, as news spreads of how Berk's infamous Phantom has returned to reclaim what's his. And that people like Eret will never be safe, unless they act against him.

Ships: Hiccstrid, Eret/Tuffnut Thorston, Stoick/Valka

Rated Mature for Violence and Sexual Content.

[sasha-hofferson]

hiccstid

[akstzs]

Stoick’s ship