voice; un: hiccup haddock

[thisisamazing]

[That's a distinctive nasally tone coming in over the voice channel this fine morning.] Hi. Hey. It's Hiccup. I'm, uh- Hello to the newest arrivals. This is partly to uh- sometimes we don't always, show up with everything we'd like to have, so if you plan to go past the wall and don't have weapons or armor, I run the Forge just outside town with Percy. We're both smiths and we do commission work, so- you know. If you need anything. We also do enchantments! Mostly me.

But-! That's not, really what I'm here for today. [He has more important priorities right now than advertising the Forge.] I thought I'd try asking around, since- Well. I need to find a Bond, or potential Bond, for my friend. Preferably a Monster, but uh, at this point even a Witch would be better than nothing. My friend is- a little irritable sometimes, but he's a really good guy, and he's very talented and smart, and has some pretty neat hobbies. They should be patient and have a sense of humor, and be willing to keep him from working too hard once in a while. To- to be a friend.

So, um. Let me know, and I can set you up to see if things work out! [A pause.] This really is for a friend, by the way, not... not me. [Yeah that's convincing. He manages to tell the truth and still sound like he's being avoidant of the truth somehow.]

Comments

[gunsmithed]

I'm not going to explode.

[ Probably. ]

I'm managing fine.

[thisisamazing]

maybe, but shouldn't the goal be to do more than just manage? i've been through this, though not nearly as bad, and it was exhausting for me.

[gunsmithed]

[ 'Managing' has been about all Percy ever aims for so no, that sounds about right. ]

I'm not sure how having someone bound to me is supposed to be less exhausting.

[thisisamazing]

there are ways to block it off so you aren't feeling everything. and it really does help, right away. all that magic build-up could actually kill you.

i don't want to lose my friend.

[gunsmithed]

[ Does it help if he's already dead? Probably not. ]

I do appreciate the concern, but have we ever actually seen it kill anyone?

[thisisamazing]

that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. isn't that why plays are banned? a witch exploded during one while he was on stage? there's no way that was fake.

[gunsmithed]

...this is the first I've heard of it.

[ Is this why you should avoid the theater?? ]

[thisisamazing]

i think it happened before we actually showed up. but they wouldn't make something up just to ban plays, of all things. so people do blow up and it is dangerous.

[I mean you should also avoid the theater because it's the theater. Hiccup isn't sad about the ban or anything - he has too much childhood trauma from Snoggletog pageants.]

[gunsmithed]

I've managed this far. I've never had much to do with magic anyway.

[thisisamazing]

and that's part of the problem! the less you use it the more it's going to keep building up. you've managed this far but how much longer will that go on?

[gunsmithed]

I promise to tell you if I feel any issues coming on, alright?

[thisisamazing]

do you actually promise or are you just trying to make me shut up?

also hey, how do you feel about vampires?

[gunsmithed]

Both.

[ No, he's not going to be even a little ashamed about that one. ]

In general or?

[thisisamazing]

well that's rude

in general. in specific. if you're not okay with vampires, and i totally get that because this one mentioned biting and that seemed a little too forward, someone else said their friend who just arrived might want to meet you?

[gunsmithed]

Definitely no biting.

[ There's a brief pause. ]

Let's say I haven't had the best of experiences with vampires.

[thisisamazing]

that's about what i thought. no vampires, got it!

this sylvia sounds nice though. no mention of biting! i could arrange a meeting?

[gunsmithed]

I'd really rather you didn't.

[thisisamazing]

c'mon, just one? just to see if you hit it off, no pressure!

[gunsmithed]

This is starting to sound uncomfortably like some of those debutante balls my siblings had to deal with.

[thisisamazing]

i don't know what a debutante ball is but it's definitely not one of those. this would just be a meeting!

[gunsmithed]

I'm sure.

[ But he's not going to let this go, Percy can already tell. ]

Fine. Meeting. Not being set up for anything at all.

[thisisamazing]

[Has he ever known Hiccup to not go all-in on something? Including friendship.]

it's not a set up! it's just a friendly little chat! i'll get the other one's information but if you can look past the whole vampire thing (i already said no biting so don't worry!) this one is a smith too, so that's something easy to talk about right away! even if it doesn't lead to anything you can still talk shop.

[And he slides in the info for another respondent.]

[gunsmithed]

Amazing how not a set up sounds exactly like a matchmaking aunt.

[ Can you feel his sigh over text? Can you? ]

No promises.

[thisisamazing]

if i was a matchmaking aunt i'd have a lot more points to shove at you besides a shared interest and i'd tell you to be nice. look at me, not telling you you have to be nice.

[He absolutely can. He's worked alongside Percy long enough.]

no promises needed! if it doesn't lead to anything it doesn't, and that's fine, but you know, it doesn't hurt to try.

[gunsmithed]

It might.

[ He's just being contrary now. And he knows it. ]