Expanding on the "Golden Brown" Universe! Pt. 1 - Hiccup Haddock & Jackson Osorio
hello, hello! i hope everyone's had a lovely time!
this is the second installment ( *cough*regularasspost*cough* ) for "Golden Brown", a fairytale-esc world of drama and romance following Prince Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III of the Kingdom of Berk and the orphaned half-fae servant with no magic to speak of and a struggle with flight, Jackson Osorio.
we'll be talking about what's going on with these two individually!
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock. otherwise known as the disastrous Prince of the Kingdom of Berk. son of King Stoick the Vast and the late Queen Valka Violence Haddock, Hiccup was expected to rise to the throne with all the might and intelligence his parents had. only to fail, in the eyes of his people, with being a runt of the litter and having trouble follow him everywhere he went.
growing up, Hiccup was more of a scrapper and an artist than a Prince, his ideas and inventions broad in spectrum and passion undeniable. even in the face of adversaries, Hiccup remained optimistic and hopeful for his future, despite his sarcasm and self-deprecating tendencies. he was an apprentice for the blacksmith of the Kingdom, Stoick's righthand man, Gobber the Belch, and that gave him a plethora of room to work with, to design and prosper in his creativity. if only the people were more understanding of his differences...
in current day, Hiccup remains to be disliked by his people, no matter how hard he tries to prove to them and his father that he has a place in their world. that he can be a Viking, like his ancestors. but there's been an even wider disconnect between himself and others, leading him to have no real friends and a starvation for validation and freedom.
Hiccup is throttled by tasks and duties that he feels aren't his own, while simultaneously feeling that he owes everything to his father, as he knows he would've been put out to sea if he wasn't the Prince. he's wrapped up in frustration, guilt, desperation, and he has no idea what to do. if not even Fishlegs talks to him anymore...
can he really be saved? will anyone look at him with pride? will he ever be anyone worth the light of Sol at all?
Jackson Osorio. the servant of Prince Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and an old part-time thief who needed to get food in his stomach and the occasional roof over his head.
the Kingdom of Berk isn't the utopia of strength and opportunities people believe it is. it is, at large, a flawed Kingdom with the unspoken rule that if you are weak or slow down the progress being made, you will be thrown to the side and forgotten.
it's not an intentional, conscious choice to make for most. but that's what the Kingdom has become, ever since their ancestors first sailed to the island and made it their home. people like Jack were never supposed to survive. it wasn't made for them. but rebellion always starts somewhere.
Jack has been down on his luck since his parents, a human woman named Kaari and a fae man named Emanuel, had died in separate, but devastating tragedies. while it wasn't super comfortable living before, at least there was food on the table and a bed to sleep in. now, he didn't even have that. he had to struggle day in and day out in the hot, the cold, the rain and snow, with no end in sight.
it's a miracle he's survived this long, to be honest.
and if that wasn't enough, Jack suffered a lot from ableism and speciesism, going from fetishization to harassment to isolation and even to assault. at best, he was an object. at worst, he was considered a mistake and a nuisance. unwanted by both worlds, Jack had nowhere to turn to and was forever at rock bottom.
so, how could he keep going in a place like that?
the answer is simple. a little ridiculous, to some.
Jack was loved by the children of Berk. he had fostered relationships with them, especially the orphans. though adults disliked him and treated him like trash, the children he knew were untouched by such prejudice and ignorance. he could teach them so much. and he did.
in a roundabout way, Jack was a teacher to them. he told them stories, nurtured growth in hobbies and interests, taught them how to write and read when their caretakers either couldn't or wouldn't. he was adored by them. the children were Jack's reason to keep going.
but what will happen when they grow older? will he still be remembered as their guide? their storyteller? their artist?
or will he be ignored and forgotten by them, too?
Hiccup and Jack go through quite a lot in this AU, for better or for worse. their relationship being tense in the beginning isn't from a source of prejudice or influence, but rather by their traumas.
the isolation and degradation they suffered has a large impact on their persons, and though it might be a form of connection, it could also be a source of conflict. trauma is a damning thing. and these two go through a lot before it gets better.
but the Gods must be looking out for them, somehow. because, despite it all, their paths crossed.
and it was the best thing to ever happen to them.