003 - Tinkering - Action at 729 Anderson Lane

[worstvikingever]

[It's a nice day, and Hiccup's in the garage with the door open. He's working on a pretty strange looking device, which turns out to be the tail replacement harness for Toothless. It's got two fins instead of just the one he had to make back home, so it's turning out to be a mite trickier than he's used to.

But he's doing pretty well. He might actually be finished with the thing soon. Or, you know. Finished enough for preliminary testing.

Any and all walk-ups are welcome. Hiccup will be so excited to tell everyone what he's doing.]

Comments

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

It's an ergaleomancer's duty to society to serve the people.

With...England beyond my reach at the moment, I'm glad to simply be able to be useful.

[worstvikingever]

Well uh, good job with the duty thing, then. [He means it. He's really grateful for the help.]

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[Her smile goes awkward at that. She's been having major morality shifts lately as her baser instincts lead her to immoral and outright violent pursuits of 'fun', meanwhile her friends try to pull her morality upright and help her become a better person.

At first, she'd come in here to indulge her nastier side once again, to be openly cruel and petty towards him and make herself feel better by being nasty. Then she'd discovered that she really could help him, and it stirred a warm and long-forgotten feeling within her.

Now, she's fallen back on rhetoric, the oft-quoted in her world line about an ergaleomancer's duty to society. She can't think of herself as being genuinely interested in helping someone. Part of her fall from grace had been rooted in thinking too highly of herself, as being too good to need to bother with morality. Now, though she is still freakishly arrogant about her skills, she is trying to remind herself that, morally, at least, she is not inherently better than anyone else.]]

I...can't help it. It's how I was raised.

[worstvikingever]

Well. I guess in some cases that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

No...I suppose everyone is a product of their upbringing in the end...

[[She moves to lean against his worktable. Her leg's starting to hurt.]]

What is it like in your world? Your family..?

[worstvikingever]

[He shrugs and starts fiddling with a screwdriver.]

Well I live in this viking village. Everybody knows each other, and everybody knows me because my dad's the chief of the tribe. Also because right up until recently I was the biggest failure the village ever produced.

[He... doesn't really like talking about it, but it's not like it's a secret or anything.]

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

Vikings?

[[She looks from the tail fins on the table to the drawings he'd made, then back to him. She repeats the sweep of her gaze again, and then she moves to try to backhand him.]]

[worstvikingever]

Yeah wh... [His question is interrupted by the fact that she's hit him. He quickly moves back and away.] OW WHOA hey what was that for?

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[She doesn't yell, but she doesn't need to yell to convey her level of outrage.]]

You created this and you're from a Viking village?! This level of technology from a people known for their achievements in killing other people and nothing else, and you created this?!

And you have the nerve to stand there and sheepishly call yourself anything remotely relating to a failure??!?  This level of technology won't be achieved again for close to a thousand years!

You stand up straight and hold your head high and you say that the others in your village are idiots! If I had proper strength and the balance for it, I'd grab you and shake you! Are you blind?!? Or have they just worn you down so far you can't even see?

[worstvikingever]

[Hiccup's totally in shock. He just gapes at her. When he finally gets his voice back, he's still having trouble being cohesive with his thoughts.]

I... wait. It's not... Okay look. First of all they're not idiots, and... well... it's not really their fault! There were... bigger problems... and... [and there goes his train of thought.]

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[That...seems to be the reaction Theta was going for--press buttons till he talks back. She's surprised it worked so quickly, actually.  She smiles and her smile is proud.]]

It's always someone's fault when they're acting like an idiot. But it's admirable of you to forgive them.

Now. Take a breath. People will always try to interrupt you, especially if you have something important to say. Think what you want to say first, and then say it, even if it means speaking over someone else.

[worstvikingever]

[He does take a deep breath but now he's confused again. Wait. She goes from berating him to trying to tell him how to talk? What?]

If I'm talking over them then they're not listening, though. [He's had plenty of experience with that.]

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[According to Theta, this whiplash-inducing process is known as 'helping'. YMMV.]]

Clever~. Very clever. But I'll listen, just take your time to tell me clearly~. You don't want anyone misquoting you, do you?

[worstvikingever]

Uh... no?

[Misquoting? That's not really something he's ever had a problem with. Just a complete lack of communication in general.]

Okay. Anyway. What I'm trying to say is that for... I dunno, for generations the village had to deal with dragons attacking, and so the only thing that was important was being able to defend yourself and the village from them. And... I wasn't ever good at any of that. I only got in the way, the things I made didn't always work, and when they did they usually ended up making things worse.

But all that's different now. I... guess I'm just still getting used to being a valuable member of society.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[Theta's used to being a media darling. Or, more specifically, one of the hate targets of the tabloids. It's certainly come out in her overblown, dramatic personality, as well as her fear of being misquoted. She gets into enough trouble with the things she does say, she doesn't need to add misunderstandings on top of it.]]

Very good. Much better. True scientific genius isn't always recognised until late...I suppose I've been very lucky in my head start...

Hopefully by the time we make it out of here, you'll have even greater confidence in your abilities and be able to hold your own as one of the most important types of people in the world--an inventor.

If ergaleomancy existed in your world...I'm sure that you would be one to wield that power.

[worstvikingever]

[To be honest she's kind of starting to creep him out a little, with all the power talk. He's never been the sort to think that way, and he doesn't want to.]

Uh. Thanks.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[She's actually doing pretty well that she hasn't veered into creepy until now. Usually she hits that line long before.]]

You're sounding uncertain again~. Just relax~!

[worstvikingever]

Well, talking about being more important than everyone else is kinda doing the opposite of that.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

Ergaleomancers are more important than everyone else. And in the case of your world, which doesn't have them, then surely an inventor of your calibre must be on par.

[worstvikingever]

But I'm not. Everybody's important. We couldn't have done it without any of them.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

You're naive. You'll grow out of that~.

[worstvikingever]

[He just. Gives her a look. Then he rolls his eyes.]

Whatever.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

You'll see~. Anyway. I need to work more critically on these designs. [[She shuffles through the papers and hands him back his and the pencil, and takes hers to take home with herself.]]

I'll start designing you a leg as well, in case the town takes that from you. Where was it cut?

[worstvikingever]

[He hesitates. He kind of likes doing this sort of thing himself, but he does appreciate the help.

Hiccup gestures at his left leg, just below the knee.]

There.

[ergaleomancer.livejournal.com]

[[She nods and folds up the papers she's drawn on to stick them in her coat pocket.]]

I'll see if I can't make you something special. You can modify my designs, of course.