There’s one pirate out there who has never been caught, who has a flair for the dramatic, some improbably advanced weapons, and is very skilled at hijacking the merchantmen ships laden with coffee and sugar for the mainland.
So the governors send out their best pirate-hunter, Astrid ‘The General’ Hofferson to track him down. And when she does confront him in a duel on the deck of his ship, she loses–because how else can you react except in surprise to the pirate saying the words that have been on your wrist since birth, words you expected to hear at a formal ball, and not punctuated by cannons?
“I suppose that this dance is ours, milady, but you may lead.”
—Fanfic synopsis
The Savage Seas is an How to Train Your Dragon fanfic written by the same author of A Thing of Vikings. Unlike A Thing of Vikings though instead of taking place in an Alternate History version of The Viking Age this fic takes place in a fantasy version of the Age of Sail.
It can be read at Archive of Our Own here
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It also has an explicit version which can also be read at Archive of Our Own here.
This fic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: In canon Drago Bludvist was a normal human, here he is a ice sorcerer.
- Adaptational Sexuality:
- In canon Heather showed no signs of being interested in women, here she does.
- In canon Mala showed no signs of being interested in women, here she does.
- Alternate Universe: This fic is a combination of three popular AU elements for HTTYD fanfics, coffee house AU, pirate AU, and soulmate AU.
- Coffee Shop AU Fic: While they aren’t a primary focus coffee shops do appear frequently.
- Content Warnings: Chapter 8: Revelations: Chapter Trigger Warnings: Explicit In-Universe Racism and Discussion Thereof.
- Crossover: Downplayed example; Elements from Frozen and Tangled appear in this fic but they aren't as central to the story as the HTTYD elements.
- Crossover Couple: Fishlegs is in a relationship with Elsa.
- Death by Adaptation: In canon Savage's fate post-TV show is unknown; here he is killed in a sea battle against Hiccup.
- Friends with Benefits: Mala has this kind of relationship with Hiccup and Heather.
- Polyamory: The tags confirm that Hiccup x Astrid x Eret x Heather will eventually happen.
- Soulmate AU Fic: Soulmates have the first words they speak to each other marked on their wrists. Astrid's mark says “Well. I suppose this dance is ours, milady, but you may lead.” She always assumed she would hear those words at a dance so she is surprised to hear them spoken by a pirate (Hiccup) she’s about to fight. Her reaction to this is “Oh fucking Hel, no! You fucking have to be fucking kidding me!? You!?” which are the words marked on the pirates wrist.
