Okay. I was inspired. LittleMissWolfie's 'The Village's Boy, Asher' was the very first genderbent HTTYD fanfic I ever read, and I've never been able to accept Astrid's male name as anything other than Asher (Because Aster is for the Easter Bunny).
I've been meaning to write a genderbent version of HTTYD, where Asher is in love with Hiccup from the beginning (sorry MissWolfie, may I borrow your idea? Thanks).
So I'll write this but the dialogue will not (definitely not) be the same, because I'm doing this from memory.
I love Hiccup & Fishlegs friendship, have I ever mentioned that? In the Modern!HTTYD I'm writing (32 pages and still no sign of Hiccup meeting the alien-cat-thing that is actually a dragon cursed to look like a Lilo&Stitch/cat creature. I'm just gonna restart it later, but definitely keeping the Legs and Hiccup are best friends bit.) Fishlegs and him are like secret besties because Stoick owns [all of DreamWorks in a world where DreamWorks characters are all real and interact in the same timeline and universe] and Haddocks often meet with the Ingermans. They like video games... :)
But...this story will have to do without it. Dammit.
Without further ado, I present my genderbent version of 'How To Train Your Dragon'!
In a village lived a girl.
That girl was strange.
She was probably insane.
She preferred the term crazy, though no one knows why, except maybe her boyfriend.
This girl has a beast at her side.
The girl and the beast may as well be soulmates.
Meet Hiccup, Berk's resident screw-up.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III shared a name with two boys. They were dead however, so her name was currently considered a girl's only. When she grows up and gets married (if she ever gets the chance) she's going to convince her husband to destroy the name Hiccup and let her be the last village runt ever to be seen on Berk.
Then she would be less ashamed of her name.
Currently, however, she was the village runt, as well as screw-up, accident waiting to happen, insane girl and the list went on. Useless was her cousin's favorite.
Also, currently, she was running through the village barely avoiding fists, legs and elbows by the skin of her teeth. All around her, Vikings (big, brute, butt-ugly and brainless depending on who you talked to) ran and yelled.
You see, the island of Berk had a special hobby, as do most Viking civilizations in the archipelago. They hunted dragons.
Or attacked back, because the chief has most definitely not found the dragons' nest, but the dragons sure as Hel have found their village. As well as supplies. And her front door which was probably gone by now, now that she thought about it.
Why did a village that got attacked by dragons frequently have wooden everything, again?
She's not allowed to ponder it as the giant man with the ever stoic posture and resilience lifts her off her feet.
"What are you doing out he- What is she doing out here!?" He looks at the crowd running around him accusingly, as if it was their job to take care of a single girl during a dragon raid.
"I was-"
"Get inside, Hiccup," he shoves her forward brusquely, but it's a gentle as you get with a Viking, especially one called Stoick the Vast.
Rumour had it, he'd killed a dragon when he was a baby. Popped its head out clean! She would always admire such a Viking, a total opposite to her.
She walked into the smith's shop, where Gobber the Belch, her mentor since she was little- littler- was working on a sword.
"About time you showed up! I was beginning to think you'd been carried off!" His voice would forever carry an exclamation mark in each sentence. He had the loudest voice in the archipelago.
"What! Who, me? Nah. No dragon could take...this," Hiccup struggled to show muscle. Satisfied with a tiny lump that appeared as she flexed, she started to work on weapons as well.
"They need toothpicks, don't they?"
She ignored his usual snark, mostly amused.
Hiccup only happened to glance out the window (caught in her usual daydreams. Killing dragons and such) when she saw the teenagers she both admired and loathed.
Well, loathe is a strong word, she thought.
Snotlout, her dear dear bully of a cousin was running ahead, always ready to show the other teenagers up. He carried a bucket of water.
The wonder twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, were right behind him, each carrying a bucket of water as well.
Fishlegs, the only person she wasn't afraid to speak to, was behind them, also carrying a bucket. Two, in fact. His mom also made a mean potato pie.
But, where's-
There he was.
Asher Hofferson. Perfect in every way. He had two buckets of water as well, but unlike Fishlegs, he didn't let it slow him down. He ran ahead of Snotlout, barely breaking a sweat.
She definitely did not loathe him...
Hiccup let a love-struck sigh escape her lips, leaning out the window as they passed the shop window.
She was immediately pulled back by her mentor.
Okay, maybe she'd meant to escape the shop and not only ogle at Asher, but come on!
"Please Gobber! Give me a chance. Let me get out there! I just need this raid and I'll finally get to catch a break. I'll be considered a hero and hey! I may even get a boyfriend!"
"Hiccup. You can't lift and ax, can't swing a hammer," he lifted a pair of bolas from the counter, "You can't even use one of these!"
Oh no, she was ready for this.
"Yes. But this," Hiccup stepped back and brought forward her newest invention, the Mangler, "will throw it for me!"
"Oh no. Every time you take one of those out-"
"But I fixed it! It-" she patted the device. Big mistake. Turns out, she hadn't fixed it...
"S-Sorry!" She yelled at the fallen Viking.
"See this, this is what I'm talking about."
"Mild calibration issue-"
"Hiccup, if you ever want to be allowed out there, you've gotta stop...this." He lifted his hands towards her.
"You just gestured to all of me," she says. How rude, and what an annoying guy he was, how dare he-
"Exactly. Stop being all of you."
That son of a half-troll!
"Oh, I see. You're taunting me."
"Taunting?"
Nope, he was being completely honest, which only hurt more.
"You, my dear not-uncle Gobber are playing a dangerous game; keeping this much...Viking-ness contained. There will be consequences!"
"I'll take my chances," he deadpanned, dropping a sword in her arms.
She gaped incredulously, before opening her mouth to retort.
He cut her off. "Sword. Sharpened. Now."
Hiccup really hated her job. She glared at her mentor, all the while muttering curses at him and praying for him to wake up with a troll (because they exist, honest!) stealing his left socks.
She continued to daydream about killing dragons, sharpening the sword with ease...
Asher. That's a great name for a future Viking warrior- no. Hero!
Asher Hofferson knew that. He knew he was destined to be a hero. He had to be great and live up to the Hofferson name.
That meant a lot of things for him. Strict schedule, overachieving, maybe a bit of a case of OCD. Of course, no one could blame him for wanting everything in order, could they? Nah.
Asher had wanted to be chief when he was younger, actually. He figured he was the best chance this village had. Snotlout was an idiot, Tuffnut more so, and Fishlegs would never speak to Hiccup at that age.
Hiccup was undesirable at best, but she was the only way to become a chief. More specifically, marrying her was the only way to become a chief.
Of course, he was ten when he'd thought that.
Now, as a fourteen - almost fifteen - year old, he still wanted to become chief.
For completely different reasons...
Asher would never admit it. He would deny it til the depths of Hel's realm. He was not in love with Hiccup Haddock. He was not. He barely noticed her when she wasn't being the usual screw-up.
Then again, she was always being an awfully clumsy screw-up, so no one could blame him for staring every once in a while, right?
No one could blame him for entering the woods every once in awhile to "practice" knowing very well Hiccup had just recently left to draw there.
Okay, he liked her a bit. But he was not in love. She was a disgrace to Vikings! She was thin, weak, disrespectful, insane, clumsy, quiet, but a loudmouth, sarcastic, funny, graceful, cute...
Shut up!
Asher, a bit angry at himself for daydreaming on the job, grabbed two buckets of water and started to run ahead. Nothing like extra work to calm his nerves and hide his blush.
He tried to ignore the thin figure looking at him from the smithie's window.
She's not looking at you, big guy, he thought almost sorrowfully. Everyone knew Hiccup wanted to get out and conquer a dragon. She probably wanted to help during the raid, but she was stuck in the blacksmith's.
Personally, he was glad Stoick kept her inside where no dragon could harm her.
Another ball of fire struck the house.
Asher maintained his firmness, not letting the constant attack dissuade him. He would continue this for a while.
A few moments later he made his way to get another two buckets of water to calm down the damn house. He avoided a Viking's ax by the skin of his teeth, ducking out of the way.
Gobber.
Automatically, Asher turned to the shop, only to find it empty.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Oh no.
Nothing could have described Hiccup's happiness when she heard the crack and dying moan of the dragon she'd just shot at.
A Night Fury, specifically.
A NIGHT FURY!
"Did anybody see that!?" She looked around, hoping somebody - anybody - had. A growl behind her. She turned slowly to find a giant Monstrous Nightmare staring at her like dinner was served.
"Except for you," she said meekly, before turning on her heels and running because hello! It was a Monstrous Nightmare!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
She didn't care that her invention had probably been crushed underneath the dragon; didn't care if she seemed like a coward running away and screaming; didn't even mind the small burn that had reached her elbow. She had to. Get. Away!
She slid out of the way of a fire, tripping, but immediately on her feet again because she's running for her life and- oh look! A pole! Boy is she glad she's a freaking runt or else the dragon would- Oh hi sir, how are you!?
She starts running again, only just getting out of its jaw's way before a weapon is thrown at it and a fierce man is upon the beast.
Her dad. Watching as he fought against the terrible creature, she found herself mouthing the words, "Stoick the Vast," because her father was awesome.
Unlike her, but she'd rather focus on the chief of Berk that's saving her life right now.
The fight was over before she even knew it and her father was soon delivering the little homily that broke her ego and maybe even a little of her heart...again.
Watching the girl you're in love with run for her life is not a pleasant thing. Watching as she barely escapes a dragon's jaws is maddening, so Asher has little choice but to throw his weapon.
Damn. It was his mothers!
But Hiccup got out of it alive and her father was soon battling the dragon. Obviously, Stoick won.
Wait, did he say love? No no no, back up. He didn't. He said the chief's daughter, not 'the girl you're in love with'.
Unless you're in love with her, in which case you better back off.
Asher lets out a breath, walking towards Hiccup before thinking better of it. He takes several steps back the second she says something.
"Okay, but I shot a Night Fury!"
Yeah right. Hiccup was as much clumsy as she was a liar. A bad liar, but still a liar.
They berated for a while - a time Asher used to go get his ax back - before Stoick finally delivered a closing sentence.
"Hiccup, I can't deal with this right now."
"I'm sorry Dad. I can't just stop it. It's- it's in my blood you know? Gotta kill those dragons," she twisted some invisible dragon's neck.
"Hiccup, you are many things. A dragon killer is not one of them."
Hiccup stilled. Asher knew what that meant, and he hated it, but this was Hiccup's battle, her own father! He couldn't intervene and tell Stoick how hurt Hiccup was.
"Gobber, take her home. I've got her mess to take care of."
Hiccup walked forward on her own, staring at her own feet. Gobber caught up to her and patted her roughly, a usual punishment for Hiccup.
Asher, who'd taken a spot behind the teenagers to look at his recovered ax, barely glances up.
She'd hit it. She'd heard the moan. The Night Fury was dead or would be dead the moment she got to it. She won't let it escape.
She tells this to Gobber, who is annoyingly calm and uninterested in what she says but she doesn't mind.
"I really did hit it."
"Sure you did Hiccup."
"But he never listens."
"It runs in the family."
"And when he does he looks at me like- like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich! 'Excuse me barmaid! I believe you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered and extra large boy with beefy arm; extra guts and glory on the side! This here, this is a talking fishbone!'"
"Hiccup, just because you're a girl-"
"I know, I know. I should be proud of my femininity, sure."
"Good. But you're still looking at it all wrong. It's not so much what you look like; it's what's inside he can't stand."
Ouch. Was he serious? He was. "Thank you, for summing that up."
"Hiccup. You've just got to stop trying to be someone you aren't."
Hiccup sighed. "I just want to be one of you guys..." And she entered the burnt door.
Gobber looked at the door a while before muttering something about father/daughter issues and walking away with a sour look on his face.
Hiccup, in turn, ran out the back door.
Asher took his time to get to the healer's house. It wasn't like it was a serious burn or anything.
Had she even noticed it herself? Probably not, so yeah. Not serious.
Unless she was trying to be strong and keep it in. Was she actually in pain?
His steps increased in speed.
He barely glanced up at Hiccup after one of her little mistakes, but this time, he'd glanced up to see her elbow bare and red.
I guess that's what you get for playing with a dragon, he thought bitterly.
The healer didn't ask much. She didn't even check for burns on him, instead giving him a small container and ushering him out. That was to be expected after a dragon raid where she was at her busiest.
There was a big house on the very top of the hill at one of the highest livable points in Berk. That was the chief's house and in turn, Hiccup's house. Asher made his way there, because Hiccup should be home.
Though she was known for escaping out the back-
-should be home.
He knocked once.
Gods this was embarrassing...
Twice.
Maybe she did get out.
Three times.
Was she avoiding him? Maybe she didn't like him?
Four...
No answer.
Maybe he should look for her? Out in the very large woods after who knows how long... Hiccup was a speed walker and a fast runner, whether she knew that or not. He'd have no chance catching up.
Instead he sighed and put the container in his pocket. Hiccup was crazy but not stupid. She'd get the elbow checked if it really hurt.
He walked away.
Hiccup opened her eyes...
and saw nothing.
No dragon. No bola. No nothing!
She'd calculated every possible place it could have fallen and even added one here and there just in case. She'd scaled almost every single bit of the woods and come out with nothing!
"The gods hate me," she complained to herself, "Any other Viking loses their mug or knife. Me? Oh no, I manage to lose an entire dragon!"
She slapped a branch out of her way in anger only to receive a blow from it in retaliation.
Loki must be playing with her...
She turned to glare at the treacherous branch before taking a step back in shock. The tree was mangled! Torn apart. It looked like a hurricane had fallen down on the sole plant.
She followed the wreckage and realized it made a trail. It was deep, and must've been made by a fairly big thing going at a fairly fast speed.
Maybe...maybe a Night Fury sized thing going at a falling Night Fury speed?
Oh please oh please oh please oh please...
She neared the destination point of the object and found...
The Night Fury!
Startled by the sight - because she is the first Viking to have seen a Night Fury and live, but the living part doesn't count yet and that's too bad - Hiccup hides behind a rock.
She takes a deep shaky breath before bringing up the courage to take out her dagger and scowl like the Viking warrior she should feel like right now. Right now, she feels scared, but maybe the sight of a dead dragon will fix that. It was the dragon she was afraid of after all.
She took a few tentative steps towards it, before realizing it was there and it was real and she'd done it herself!
"Yes! Oh my gosh, this-this fixes everything! I have brought down this mighty beast," she puts a leg on it grinning like the hero she felt like.
Then the thing grumbled, shook and looked at her. She yelped before taking several steps back, shaking like a rabbit.
Okay, not dead. But it wouldn't be alive for long...
She took a few more shallow breaths, calming her heart rate before clenching her hand around the dagger and gathering her courage.
"I'm gonna kill you dragon," she tried to make her voice as menacing as possible despite the shaking, "I'm gonna- I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father," because that didn't sound gruesome at all, but she was a Viking and she wasn't supposed to not be gruesome.
Just to prove that, she told it, "I'm a Viking."
Just to prove it further more, she yelled at it, because why the Hel not? This thing had terrorized her village for years and the thought of finally catching it had been her dream for most of those years.
She stared down at the sleek black dragon, getting ready to aim for something vital and it...
It looked at her.
Most dragons would thrash and never give up until they were dead. This one didn't. It didn't even bother to plead, beg or whimper like she'd expected a scared animal to. Not that she could compare this to a sentient being like an animal. This was a dragon...
She readied her dagger once more.
The dragon held her gaze once more, before closing its eyes with a look of resignation. It was prepared to die.
She tried. She tried twice, maybe three times to bring down the dagger and kill it. She wanted to, so bad. She wanted it to end. The teasing, the bullying, the fawning for a guy out of her league, the glares she received from adult Vikings in her daily life and the looks of disappointment every single time her father even glanced at her.
She was willing to do anything.
But not kill. No, she was not willing to kill the dragon. Nobody should feel resigned to death. She couldn't kill the Night Fury.
Hiccup let out a heartbreaking breath, because she had failed. She had failed the village and her father and she was not a dragon killer. Oh gods, what was she then? Every Viking was a dragon killer, so if she wasn't, then what was she?
She walked away, hating the Night Fury more than anything in the world.
Then she took one last glance at the treasure she'd let go before guilt swarmed her.
That must be painful, she thought, glancing at the bolas holding the poor creature down. It already looked dead, and she couldn't stand the thought of it dying of starvation or in pain or-
What is wrong with me?
"I did this," she finally convinced herself before taking responsibility. She cut the ropes.
Snip.
Snip.
Snip.
And it pounced.
Ow! Some raw skin on her elbow that she hadn't noticed before and her head hit the rock behind her, but she couldn't focus too much on that. The Night Fury was on her, claws digging into her collarbone and it was glaring down at her with slit eyes.
Green green eyes that made her realize this thing had eyes and only living things had eyes so she'd been about to kill a living thing and no matter what, a living thing was born to live and she'd been about to kill it.
The realization struck so deep that along with the knowledge of her betrayal to the village, she couldn't help but think this was it and maybe she deserved this. She was going to die and no one would would know. She was going to die, scared and hyperventilating so hard it hurt, but at least she knew she was going to die.
It took a deep deep breath, and she knew it was going to burn her alive. To a crisp. Bye bye Hiccup. Please be quick.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
It shrieked at her and flew away.
Hiccup stared at the creature - the terrifying Night Fury, ohmigods and I, alive? - before spluttering out the breaths she been trying to take.
She shook to her core because she'd just barely avoided death, and she really just feels tired now. She wants to go to her safe home and sleep in her safe bed where no dragons will terrorized her and so she stands.
She grabs her dagger, stands, takes three steps and promptly faints.
She did not see that coming.
Yess! The first chapter. I have no idea if this was all meant to go together originally, because I wrote this entire story as a oneshot. I'm only just getting to separate it into chapters. Can you guys believe I started this not only because LittleMissWolfie's story was awesome, but because I don't want to finish the Legend of the Boneknapper thing? I'm so lazy that I wrote a whole other story Xd
Anyways, this is ony about...35000 words? The entire thing, I mean. The first chapter is only 3573, I think...
So, tell me if you like, or something...yeah, or something.
I'll do my little chapter naming then. Erm:
Chapter Name: Useless Girl Perfect Boy. A comparison of Hiccup and Asher. Hee hee, i used the name. I used The name. heehee...
I was gonna go with Good Morning, but I think I already used it for WYFC, so yeah. It took me hours to come up with the acronym for 'Watching Your Fate Change' :P
See ya, I guess