#httyd whimsy

[h3lfaerie]

"Screw your dragon. Fight me like a proper man."

You mean Hiccup “War Crimes” Haddock? The 6'2 Viking CEO of Psychological Warfare™ in prime physical condition with a sword that catches fire, a metal leg that doubles as a tool box, and no will to live? Buddy. The dragon’s the nice part.

(Also known as Dragon Master "Catch These Hands".)

[h3lfaerie]

No one:

Literally no one:

Me: SO THERE'S THIS HICCUP VOICE IMPERSONATOR-

(Original Creator -> @sonamburkeva on TikTok)

[h3lfaerie]

Dear Gods, the way he SMIRKS in the deleted one. You know DAMN well how you look like, you rat bastard.

(Original Tiktok Creator -> @rungerd_httyd)

[h3lfaerie]

I was asked by a friend last night, whether Hiccup's tattoo on his breast (Astrid's name in Runic Scripture) which is confirmed to be Canon in the OG Movies and Comics will be Canon in Path of Alfheim (which is, as we all know very well, a Hiccup X Reader Fic).

My answer?

UH, IT IS, NOW.

You think I'm going to miss out on prime angst material?! Think again.

You think I’m not going to exploit this perfectly tragic storytelling device, a literal mark of devotion inked over the heart, symbolizing a love that's both platonic and romantic, as their relationship unravels, not from betrayal or scandal, but simply because Astrid’s moral compass is unshakable while Hiccup is steadily slipping into madness and near-tyranny?

PUH-LEASE.

I want to do these guys justice. Astrid is inarguably the most important person in Hiccup's life. I am not straying from Canon when it comes to their relationship. They're betrothed, for crying out loud.

When I started writing Path of Alfheim, I knew right away that I didn’t want to rewrite the depth of their relationship just for the sake of the Reader. Let alone create some narrative where Hiccup leaves Astrid for her, or antagonize either woman...

No. No. N̫͙̪ͣ͊ͪ̾ͮ̽̏͌͠͡_̸̢̨͚͙̪̫̣̼͎̓̓͗̾͑̆ͪͦ͂ͨ̄͑̆̃̽͠͠O̶̸̧̢̡̡̖͎̜̻̖̝͉̞̗͕͗͌̑́̎̔̅ͭͬ̊̀ͧͨ̊͋ͤ͌ͬ͑͘͢͞

That's NOT the story I'm telling.

It was AND STILL IS crucial to me that their split stems entirely from their fundamental differences, not because of the Reader.

(FMC is out there just minding her business, trying not to die. She is not even present. 😂)

You add a tattoo over the heart to this escalating tragedy, as both their flaws rise to the surface. Oh... This is going to hurt.

I cannot begin to describe to you the dichotomy of those two. The way it smacks me upside the head whenever I'm writing.

Hiccup is being consumed. Slowly, quietly, and then all at once, by something that looks like anger but feels more like exhaustion. It’s the kind of resentment that only festers in people who once cared too deeply. He’s given and given and given—his body, his future, his peace of mind—and the world just keeps asking for more. There’s no end to it. No moment of rest. And the more he tries to hold onto what little he has left, the more it slips through his fingers. He’s tired of being the better man. Tired of compromise. Tired of carrying the weight of everyone’s hopes on shoulders that were never meant to bear this much. So, piece by piece, the boy who tried to change the world becomes the man who wants to own it—because maybe then, finally, he won’t have to lose anything else.

Whereas Astrid feels flayed to the bone by the helplessness of it all (and certain things I haven't revealed yet). Watching the person she loves slip further and further from the path she once believed unshakable. There’s nothing she can do to stop it, no battle she can fight to bring him back. He is still Hiccup, but only in shape and memory. The man before her is becoming someone she can’t follow, someone she can’t even recognize. And that knowing, that quiet ache of witnessing love rot from the inside out, cuts deeper than any wound she’s ever taken in battle.

My personal take on Astrid, the reason I love her so damn much, is that yes, she can come across as rigid, even ruthless. She’s every bit the wildfire people fear her to be. But that fire? It comes from feeling more than anyone else around her. It’s not a lack of emotion, it’s too much of it. She burns with it, and the only way she knows how to survive is to lock it behind steel. A wall. A desperate defense against being overwhelmed by how deeply she cares. We saw that wall breaking down briefly in Chapter 8.

At her core Astrid Hofferson is pure unfettered vulnerability, devotion, helpless in the fact that she is incapable of NOT giving her all to those she cares about. This is why she guards it so fiercely.

She will never love freely, never gift it to everyone who crosses her path. But the few she does care for… Astrid would shred the world apart for them and then shred herself apart for them.

Losing Hiccup to the corrupted version of himself, all while knowing there was once a time when he etched her name above his heart with ink that would never fade...

While Hiccup, throughout the story, is forced to carry a constant reminder of this epic, tragic love...

SOMEBODY SEDATE ME.

And let me say this right now, no amount of hatred or grief or heartache would ever make him remove that tattoo.

Not because he still longs for "what was", or because he "doesn't get over her and wants to get together with her again", NO, certain things are forever severed after they separate. BUT I want to portray the fact that love doesn’t always have to vanish to transform. Astrid Hofferson is a chapter etched into the very skin of Hiccup's story, one that shaped him, built him, taught him.

It’s no longer romantic—and never will be again—but it remains undeniably real.

"Astrid, you and I have been through everything together. You don't think we can handle this? Astrid, you have me, no matter what. Okay, whatever that means, whatever you want it to mean. I am with you. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always." - A quote from RTTE that is CARVED into my frontal lobe.

Which leads me to my final point. This isn’t merely “his ex’s name” inked onto his skin, it’s a permanent mark honoring someone who played a pivotal role in shaping who he is, emotionally, physically, and mentally. It speaks more to his journey than to any lingering attachment.

So after they both survive the grief, after the FMC becomes romantically involved with Hiccup, he will carry that tattoo like a scar that doesn't ache anymore. Because I firmly believe you can hold space in your heart for both past and future loves—honoring what built you, without betraying what’s to come.

In short, that tattoo is a symbol of YEARNING and LOVE and LOSS and LIKE FUCK am I missing out on it.

I am going to destroy ya'll.

And myself, don't fret, I'm right there with you, I know I'm evil.😭

Okay, byeeee~

[h3lfaerie]

"Okay, but characters who have every right to become a villain but don't. Characters who try so hard to be good and to stay sane, but when you read/see their backstory you go: oh I wanna see you go completely off the rails actually."

Me: *Will-Smith-pointing at Hiccup*

[h3lfaerie]

Guys, the Hiccup TikTok Cult is sending me, please send help-

I'm crying on the toilet. I wish I was joking.

[h3lfaerie]

Natural Evolution

Pre-HTTYD 2 Hiccup: I'll die for you.

Post-HTTYD 2 Hiccup: I'll kill for you.

Path of Alfheim Hiccup: ... *Elden Ring Boss Music*

[h3lfaerie]

Why is this unironically something Hiccup would actually say?

(Original Tiktok Creator -> @sonamburkeva)