What do we know about the parents of the gang. Or family in general? I mean yeah, we know about hiccup, we know spitelout. But.. What about the others?
Headcanons about the Hoffersons, Ingermans, and Thorstons. Headcanons about Mrs. Jorgenson.
We know next to nothing about most of the dragon riders’ families canonically, unfortunately. The most we get from Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut are a few vague mentions of parents every once in a while. Here’s a (non-comprehensive, but still hopefully helpful) list of quotes:
Snotlout: Oh my gosh! Hookfang, did you hear that? It’s a little baby dragon roar! Oh, look! It doesn’t even have its fire yet! [singing] Have a black yak, have you even fur? Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, more than you can master! I’ll be the judge of the little viking boy. Give me, give me, give me your macey with a toy. My mom used to sing that to me. Oh, he’s so freaking cute!
Snotlout, around baby Fireworms, becomes rather soft and mushy. He starts to spontaneously sing a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him. The fact that Snotlout sings this with coddling affection suggests that the memory of his mother’s old lullaby is a fond one, and that she treated him with love when he was little. So we know his mother cared for him as a baby, sang him lullabies, and probably treated him warmly.
Given that the lyrics are a little awkward, we could maybe guess Mrs. Jorgenson came up with the words herself.
We know Snotlout’s mother is still alive given some other comments he makes, particularly in Turn and Burn:
Snotlout: I knew I should’ve used a lock stitch, not a cross stitch! Stupid Snotlout, stupid! Oh, Mom’s going to be so disappointed in me!
So, in addition to knowing Snotlout’s mother sang him lullabies when he was young, we also know that she’s good with needlework. Given Snotlout’s comment she would be disappointed in his own handiwork, this indicates that Mrs. Jorgenson sat down and taught her son how to sew.
The first mention of Mrs. Thorston comes from the first HTTYD movie:
Fishlegs: Your Mom let you get a tattoo? Tuffnut: It’s not a tattoo. It’s a birthmark.
The fact that Ruffnut does not recognize the tattoo, Tuffnut tries to argue it’s a birthmark, and Fishlegs is shocked at the presence of the tattoo suggests that someone Tuffnut’s age would usually not get a tattoo. It probably means that Mrs. Thorston wouldn’t want her son to get a tattoo. Tuffnut probably got it done outside of her desires and knowledge.
Ruffnut: We’re experts at interpreting abstract images. Watch and learn.Tuffnut: A boat.Ruffnut: Mm-hm.Tuffnut: A pineapple.Ruffnut: Mm-hm.Tuffnut: Mom.
What is most revealing about this quote is that Tuffnut says “mom” with some enthusiasm and affection. This would suggest a positive relationship between the twins and their mother.
However, we get something a little different in Dawn of the Dragon Racers:
Tuffnut: Well, you know what they say. You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few legs.Hiccup: Uh, that’s actually not the saying.Ruffnut: It isn’t? Then we need to send out some apologies.Tuffnut: Yeah, we better start with Mom.
The twins seem to love their mother, but it appears they’ve done some things that would occasionally upset her, too. Some… strange… things.
Stoick: Quiet! Hiccup, I want you to get those troublemakers off this island now.Tuffnut: Okay, we’ll go, but know this: our mother will miss us.
Overall, then, the twins appear to have a pretty positive relationship with their mother.
We hear another “mom” comment in Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part 1:
Tuffnut: Jewels, jewels! You know what we’re gonna do? We’re bringing them back for the family. Mom will be so happy. Wait, but how are we going to carry all these back to Berk?
Perhaps Mrs. Thorston loves jewels for their appearance, she loves them for jewelry, she would be excited to receive the wealth, or she would be touched that her children are bringing the jewels for the family’s use. It is hard to say, but I do note that the Thorstons are probably pretty poor.
As far as Mr. Thorston is concerned… I do not believe we have any direct remark in which they talk about their father alone.
Gobber: Oh, come on! You can’t tell me my saddle is heavier than Fishlegs!Fishlegs: My mom says I’m just husky.
While the Hairy Hooligan Tribe appears to be a strong, sturdy group of people, this conversation suggests that weight without muscle could be perceived negatively in this culture. Fishlegs’ mother seems to be kindly calling her son “husky” in a way to encourage her boy. It could suggest she knows her son well enough to know what might make him insecure, or that she simply wishes to make sure that her son feels secure. I read this quote as a suggestion that Fishlegs’ mother is there to support him and love him for who he is.
From In Dragons We Trust:
Fishlegs: Um, have you cleared this with our parents? Because some of us might not be allowed out after a certain hour.
Fishlegs implies that, as a teenager, his parents have him on a curfew. It is also true that Fishlegs is bringing this up because he is uncomfortable patrolling at night, but this comment does seem to indicate the presence of some parental regulation. Probably, his parents have set up this rule for safety, and Fishlegs is more than happy to oblige on this rule.
