more of httyd cowboys AU (I will never shut up about it <33)
(yap below the cut)
Harold Hickok (AKA Hiccup) befriends a wild black stallion which he names Toothless
Set in a romanticised & fictional Old West.
Here's a bit about the Gang and the story!
Fishlegs is Hiccup’s best friend. The Ingermans are a wealthy family. They paid for Fishlegs’ tutoring as a kid, so he grew up to be a scholar, feeding his fascination with botany and animals. Fishlegs has a pet pony named Meatlug, who he adores. Fishlegs is the one to urge Hiccup to talk to Astrid and her group when they first arrive in town because he needed a wingman after laying eyes on Ruffnut and being enamoured with her. Later on Hiccup drags him and Meatlug along on their cowboy adventure.
Astrid and Hiccup were friends in their childhood. Astrid’s family was not well off, and realising her only option for things to improve in her hometown was marriage, she left the town of Berk when she was 13 to earn money as a cowgirl. She returns for a job in Berk years later, with her new band of cowboys (Ruff, Tuff and Lout). Hiccup, ecstatic on her return, is about to tell her about his new horse, when they hear of Drago Bludvist, a man who wreaks havoc across the country in search of the legendary Night Fury. It is said that the one who tames the Night Fury has tamed the spirit of the west itself.
At first Hiccup tries to hide Toothless from the newcomers in a barn, but Astrid catches him in the act. She runs off to tell her gang but Hiccup and Toothless catch up to her and Hiccup, after sharing a trail ride with Astrid on Toothless, convinces Astrid to escort them to Drago to change his mind about capturing Toothless.
The other cowboys are reluctant about the whole idea. With Hiccup only having one leg, a long day of horse riding would require frequent breaks, and the group doesn’t want him to slow them down. But Astrid insists on him coming, and defends him if they push too far.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut make a lot of meta western movie jokes (I suspect they’re aware they’re in a western AU). They also have a lot of useless random knowledge amongst their ramblings that jumpscares Fishlegs many times. They enjoy wreaking havoc when they can, wearing disguises and scamming random travellers for extra coin (they have sold many people Thorston&Thorston miracle snake oil). They have been known to cross dress, using the fact that they are twins to confuse people, which doesn’t help people mistaking them for each other. Astrid and Snotlout can tell them apart and know not to fall for their tricks, but Hiccup and Fishlegs are more gullible. The twins are in charge of the chuckwagon. Barf & Belch are their quarter horses that pull their wagon. Ruff & Tuff often fight over who is the actual boss of the wagon (they still haven’t decided).
Snotlout is a cowboy purist. He idolises the Vaqueros and leans more into their fashion, and the stereotypical Hollywood ideal of what a cowboy should be. In this AU his mother is also Mexican, and growing up he learned a little bit of Spanish. (This helps the cowboy gang a lot make trades and take on more jobs) He was the first to accompany Astrid on her cowgirl adventures. Before Hiccup came along, Snotlout considered himself very close to getting with Astrid (delusional). He gets jealous and defensive when Astrid finds Hiccup in her hometown, but denies it. Hookfang is very hot blooded and enjoys annoying/not listening to Snotlout.
While on the trail to find Drago they encounter many familiar faces such as Dagur, Heather and Eret!
Since I started the AU I’ve been down so many rabbit holes, learning about cowboys, horses and history. As someone who does not live in America it’s been really fascinating to learn about the old west. For me the goal with these redesigns is to make the characters seem more believable within the realms of a cowboy story, not just riding off of stereotypes from movies. It’s also helped me learn the limitations of the setting but at the same time given me so many new ideas for how to better fit the characters in an old west setting. While I have done a lot of research, this is by far nowhere near a historically accurate setting. I know I will get certain things wrong, tbh I'm just having fun with this.
