Okay, HTTYD fandom I’m coming for you.
I want an au where the gang were always friends. Like, they grew up to be just as tight-nit as they are in RTTE, but because of reasons they hide the fact that they’re friends with Hiccup from the adults. Why do I think this could work?
Hiccup by nature is very forgiving, so when all his friends come to him and say they can’t be friends in public because of one reason or another, he sympathizes, as long as they’re still friends, he doesn’t really care.
Snotlout is the first in the group to start drifting away, and they all ask him why
Spitelout doesn’t like that his son is hanging around Hiccup when he’s so unviking-like
He pressures Snotlout to cut ties with his cousin and to start putting him down for not living up to “what he should”
Baby-lout hasn’t yet had the time to really internalize his father’s teachings, so when his friends ask, he tearfully tells them
Most of the group is furious, but Hiccup understands
If it had just been up to him the group probably would’ve disbanded then and there
They figure that if Spitelout doesn’t want them to friends then they won’t… in public
In private is a different story
In public they treat it like a game, to taunt each other and be as sarcastic as possible
But when they’re alone they let their guard down
The next one to go, surprisingly, is Astrid
After her uncle died her family’s reputation takes a dive
At first, the fact that she’s friends with the chief’s son is a good thing, but as time goes on and he doesn’t grow, her parents start getting pressure, and Astrid, not being as young anymore, feels it, too
Astrid’s extremely conflicted, because on the one hand she doesn’t want to abandon Hiccup, let alone insult him in front of the village like Snotlout
But on the other, she needs to restore her family’s honor
So they come up with Astrid’s cover: in public she’ll distance herself from all of them, working hard to be a shield-maiden, only being a part of the group in an orbit-sort of way
She grows into ignoring Hiccup in public because if she doesn’t she’s going to take the head off the next person who insults him
For Fishlegs and the Twins, there’s no specific moment that they start to distance themselves in public
Overtime, the twins become more destructive and so does Hiccup, so being seen together is a no-go
Fishlegs is growing evermore into the scholar and is completely uninterested in fighting, to the point where, if it wasn’t for his stature, he’d be in the same boat as Hiccup (if less magnified, because he’s not the Chief’s son)
So they all “grow apart” into the roles we see in the first movie, with some noticeable differences
They sit together in the great hall, but to anyone casually observing Hiccup’s excluded from the conversation
In actuality, Hiccup and Fishlegs came up with their own little version of sign language which Astrid forced everyone to learn, though some are more fluent than others (Tuffnut is surprising good at it, but Snotlout’s lucky to understand a full sentence)
Astrid still trains extra in the forest, but usually you can find the rest of the group somewhere nearby doing their own thing, if they’re not needed elsewhere
Similarly, because they hang out around her while she trains, she manages to bully at least Hiccup and Fishlegs into being at least passable with one weapon (sword and hammer)
Snotlout still flirts with Astrid, but it’s far more joking and well timed than in canon (of course he still has a crush on her, she’s Astrid, but he also flirts with her to escape that weird fluttery feeling he gets when Fishlegs gets excited about the book he’s reading)
The twins outward behavior doesn’t change as much as their friends’ perception of them
The group is very aware that the twins are far smarter and more capable than they let on, and are aware that a lot of their chaos is carefully planned and not just violent stupidity like the rest of the village might assume
The gang even joins in a lot, the twins made them far more mischievous than they let anyone know
Due to the closeness to Astrid, Ruffnut is far more willing to be serious about training and other things, even if she still tries to downplay it
In reverse, Astrid is far more willing to chill the fuck out and have some fun, let her creativity take the lead, even if she’s very strict about keeping a mask in public
This is getting really long and repetitive so I’m just going to leave a few more thoughts
Fishlegs is far more confident and courageous because of his friends, but he’s still skittish in public
Hiccup is far less he’ll-bent on proving himself, but he’s still a sarcastic insane inventor so the results are pretty much the same he’s just happier (less lonely and lacking self-esteem)
Snotlout and Astrid are more comfortable with their emotions
Snotlout has less self-image problems (still-there though, fuck Spitelout)
When Hiccup says he shot down a Night Fury, they can tell he’s telling the truth, but they don’t have time to search with him that day, so he still meets Toothless the same
They plan to work together come dragon training, but Toothless kinda throws a wrench in that plan
Hiccup tries to keep him secret, but they know him, so when the Zippleback thing happens, he stands no chance
I have a lot more ideas but this so long
Just. Let them be friends damn it
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