I know you're not big on HTTYD ships, but what are your opinions on Hiccami and Hiccstrid? P. S. I've yet to read the books and I'm trying to avoid spoilers!
Comparing Astrid and Camicazi
Does Hiccup marry Camicazi? (involves commentary of the final books)
Thanks for letting me know you’re my anon friend who’s been watching spoilers for the books! Your P.S. makes it slightly harder to talk about Hiccami at all, to be honest, but I’ll respond without any spoiler references, discussion of the end of the book series, or talk of where Cowell may be headed with a potential new HTTYD series.
I think I’ll plop in this post to give my quick overarching perspective of Hiccstrid. Don’t worry, it’s not just an answer “Do you or don’t you ship Hiccstrid” - I give some explanation of my perspective about the ship as a whole.
As far as Hiccami is concerned, it’s honestly something I’d rather do without. It’s not that it’s a bad ship, but what’s so refreshing about the How to Train Your Dragon books is that they’re written with an emphasis on platonic and familial love. It’s not about the main protagonist male falling in love with the lead female character. The adults - Stoick and Valhallarama, for instance - are written with romantic emotions, but the children in the series interact with one another through friendships. And I absolutely adore the fact that the HTTYD books are about a friendship trio - Hiccup, Fishlegs, Camicazi - and I prefer the trio to be the platonic triangle they are. It’s just so nice to have an adventure without some sort of romantic entanglement between the lead characters.
And that’s really the biggest critical difference between Hiccstrid and Hiccami for me. Hiccstrid is written to be a romance from the start; the filmmakers even talk in the commentary about the “get the girl” trope they realize. But Hiccami is something that is firmly established as a friendship, and which is written through the lens of a friendship, and which consequently I so far much prefer to be a friendship. I will be honest... I would HUGELY prefer if Hiccup and Camicazi never hooked up. Not saying where my suspicions are with Cowell (and I do have my suspicions), but I’d be slightly disappointed if Cowell hooked them up as a couple in any future books she could write. XD As I said in the Hiccami marriage analysis from three years ago:
In a world where girls expect to see the main supporting female hook up with the main protagonist, it’s healthy to see that does not have to be the case. Even in action movies, after all, the action-oriented female character is often very romantically involved in the plot.
A little variety would be nice, and I hope that the author of the HTTYD novels realizes that making Camicazi purely platonic with Hiccup brings out something too frequently forgotten in modern society.
I consequently believe it is critically important that there are more female characters in literature and other media who have zero romantic roles in stories - not because romance is bad - but because female characters are too quickly mentally reduced in readers’ mind as the character central to the romantic part of a plot. The fact she and Hiccup are purely platonic is glorious, fun, and refreshing. A story where none of the main characters enter into a romance *IS* refreshing, after all, and important to readers.
I personally believe we need more stories that purely focus on the meaningfulness of platonic friendships. How platonic relationships are just as important and just as meaningful without ever, ever, ever turning into something romantic later down the road. Thus far, How to Train Your Dragon has done that by keeping Camicazi, Fishlegs, and Hiccup clear from any sort of serious romances. They are shown to be content with the relationships we have. I honestly feel, then, that Camicazi and Hiccup coming together at a later time reduces that message HTTYD thus far has given. Literarily, it is a bad idea to hook them up.
So I’m someone who isn’t invested in Hiccami, but is actually someone who wishes it doesn’t happen - regardless of the direction Cowell would choose to take it. However, I’m also not in some sort of NOTP zone with this, and if Cowell chooses to take that route and hook them up, I’ll give enormous respect to the author’s desires, too. There’s nothing about it I hate. I just have my preferences that these two remain friends. I like their friendship.
Because Hiccstrid was always written to be a canonical romance, I look at it very differently. I am someone who almost always prefers, supports, and gives credit to the canonical ships in a story. Therefore, you’ll notice that I’ll talk about Hiccstrid from the positive analytical lens of someone who’s fully accepted that romantic Hiccstrid is integral to the DreamWorks Dragons universe, and talk about the good elements that their relationship inspires. The casual closeness they have in HTTYD 2 is special and rare, for instance - we’re beyond the butterflies stage and into something cemented, which is so cool to see on screen.
So essentially, I see Hiccstrid as “They’re supposed to be together in a romance” but Hiccami as “They’re so great together as friends!”