Varric Tethras | Dragon Age (taleweaver) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-04-06 08:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, montgomery scott, varric tethras |
"Maybe I'm getting too old for telling stories"
Who: Varric and Scotty
What: Discussing atom smashers and writing
When: Couple of days ago
Where: Mad Monty's
Status: Complete
Rating PG-13
Varric had decided to take the day off. It was his prerogative, after all. He was the boss!
It was nice being the boss. Of course, though, the only thing that Scotty was the boss of, was a garage that was filled with a small gutted submarine, as well as some suspicious parts and cooling contraptions which were going to soon be part of a devious scientific plan, to prove or disapprove a theory. Eyedart. He's happily tinkering away with some plans and outlines nearby. He is in total mad scientist engineer mode.
Scotty's phone rang!
Varric was on the other end, sipping wine of all things while lounging in a big red lazy boy chair.
Plop went one hand down onto the phone, which had been laying on the worktable. He gave it a cursory glancing at, to see who it was and where his finger needed to press, then it was right back to tinkering as he answered.
"...'ullooo, short and hairy. Tae what dae I owe the pleasure?" he said, snipping a length of wire he'd just measured out.
"I'm bored, Tinker. Want to come over to my apartment? Free drinks and we can MST badly acted dramas."
Scotty wrinkled his nose up and sounded genuinely apologetic, "Actually, I cannae right now. I'm working on a few things. Ye want tae pop over here, yer perfectly welcome. But ye know how I get when there's things tae be done."
Buried nose deep in things, like a man enthusiastically obsessed who won't come up for air unless there's threat of bodily harm or planetary explosions. That'd about cover it.
"That would mean I'd have to get dressed," Varric complained, good naturedly. "I'll be over in five."
"Brilliant. See ye then!"
He hung up, and hopped out of his chair, pulling on a silk shirt and loafers. As always he made sure he looked impeccable. Then he headed out of his apartment, and drove down to Scotty's shop. He came in, dropping a cask of whiskey - yes, a cask - on the workbench, "How's it going?"
"Aww, ye brought gifts. Ye shouldnae have." Scotty grinned and stopped what he was doing, to give his short and hairy-chested friend a pat on the back. "Bringing me whisky? I think yer tryin' tae get me wankered and have yer wicked way with me. Otherwise, it's goin' well enough. I think I might be onto something, here. Aye. Just goin' tae run a test or two, once I get this all sorted oot and put together."
"Yes," He replied, dryly. "I'm going to have my wicked way with you." He wandered around the shop a bit, and pulled a tarp off of an odd contraption, "What's thi..oh my." The man burst out laughing.
The tarp was quickly put back on and nothing further will be mentioned about that contraption.
"Work in progress. Shuttup! Ye didnae see a thing." Glare!
"My god, I had no idea you and Cass were into that sort of thing. She must be a nympho!" Varric sounded impressed, "Tell me more. I'll change the names of course."
Glower! Of Scottish stubbornness. He is not budging in the giving of the information or any other thing, and some people should not be so nosy.
"Not. A bloody. WORD." Squint. And Scotty went back to wrapping some copper wire around some tubing, with a vengeance.
Varric followed him back, moving his hands as he tried to figure out how that contraption could possibly work. Oh.. OH. Okay that was kind of awesome. The big question was - how would Captain Sal power such a thing to "interrogate" her british archrival/lover.
If Scotty ever found out that he ever used that in any sort of story, they would quickly become unfriends. So he'd best leave it be and let it go. Grumble grumble went the Scotsman, as he affixed the wire wrapped coils to some magnetic bits.
Oh, he'd change the design. Use a hand crank. Varric had seen those sort of things before in fetish porn so he could easily point to any number of videos. It would be even more effective with a rare fade to black. He poked at one of the magnets, "This is...advanced."
Thwap went one of Scotty's hands onto Varric’s, like ‘no touchy!’ He gave Varric a stare like he couldn't believe he just did that!
"Get aff! Keep yer hands aff me wee bairns, since ye know better! The wiring is fragile, ye know. Ye bloody brute." He did a check of that piece to make sure nothing was jarred out of place, since he was having to be very careful this go around. Especially since this was meant to be a tabletop version, and nothing that was going to be underground or in concrete. Slightest mishap could result in shrapnel or melting. "It's something I'm not supposed tae be playing with, but that's all I'm goin' tae say. For now. Just need this for number crunching, but it's got tae be very carefully constructed."
"What's it supposed to do?" He tilted his head at Scotty, then griiiinnnnnned, "I see."
"Why are ye grinning like that? It's for...not exploding." There, his eyes darted and he hoped that was true. Because it'd be nice for once, if something he built from scratch didn't end up exploding. "Aye, but if yer asked, ye never saw this. I'm tryin' tae be careful. Honest."
He put the piece he’d been working on off to the side, and appeared suddenly thoughtful.
"About that land in Wyoming, Varric? Ye still have that?"
"I never sold it, if that's what you mean," The writer replied. "Even have a nice, abandoned missile silo, just waiting to be used. With reinforced concrete."
"Really?" Scotty looked very impressed, indeed. "That's...well, that's rather epic. May I still use it, and would we need permits? Because I have someone who's willing tae put in for the permits."
"Depends on what you're trying to do. I can smooth some palms but we might need more help..." Varric squinted, "Do you?"
"Aye, Kirk said he would. He'll try tae pull some strings. And I'm tryin' tae test something which would be a possible fuel source for a possible engine." Scotty paused and went very shifty-eyed for a moment. "Possibly."
"Does Kirk even HAVE strings?"
"Apparently, aye, he does." Scotty pointed over at the submarine, with a smile.
"How the hell did I miss that?" Varric walked over to the machine, staring at it in awe.
"I dinnae know." He shrugged, because the thing took up a ton of space in there, and it was kind of hard to miss, especially with sections of the interior in labeled containers, around it. "Are ye all right? Other things on yer mind, perhaps?"
"Some things," He replied, not wanting to divulge anything personal at this moment. He ran a hand along the side of the submarine, circling it. He sighed, wistfully, "I'm jealous."
"Well it's not really anything yet, ye now." Scotty had known Varric long enough to know when something was up, and so he was eyeing the shorter fellow, like he was very suspicious. "She will be, for certain. Just not quite yet. Say, maybe we should open what ye brought and have a wee dram."
"That sounds good." Varric walked over to the cask, taking out a pair of flasks and filling them, before offering one to Scotty, " To the Moon."
"Aye, tae the moon." He gladly accepted the flask and made a little toasting motion with it, before taking a generous drink. Since he'd started working, as was typical with him, his drinking had gone down to nearly nothing. So it was nice to take a little break and relax, even if it was just a temporary lull in production. "Och, that's lovely! Very nice. Ye didnae waste any expense on this, did ye?"
"Nope, not in this!" Varric toasted to him, and to the moon, "You ever sat down and rethink your life?"
"I don't know." Varric shrugged a shoulder, "Might just be middle age."
"All right, cut tae the bloody chase. What is it yer thinking about. Oot with it." He took another drink, but Scotty's eyes were focused entirely on Varric, like he had latched on to a target with his radar system, and was preparing to fire guidance missiles.
"Maybe I should give up writing."
"But I thought ye really enjoyed writing. Why are ye thinking of giving it up?" It was like him giving up engineering, with a side of physics. Unthinkable.
"Maybe I'm getting too old for telling stories," Varric replied, taking a long swig.
"Maybe it's the sort of stories yer telling. Ye want me tae be honest?" Too late, he barely even paused. "There's only sae much smut and finely written pornography before people tune it oot. Maybe ye should write something...ye know...entirely without smut. Something serious."
"The steampunk series has very little smut," Varric pointed out. It was the more serious of his worlds, actually, except for the one with the MP turned detective. "But that world is so..It's done."
"Aye, but it's still there, though. Maybe try...something new, without it. New world, new setting, new characters. Just...maybe ye need something new." Scotty nodded like that could be the case, and new projects often revitalized him and got him motivated. "That might be a good start."
Maybe Scotty was right. Varric needed a new setting, "Got any ideas?"
"Space? It is the final frontier. Or, ye know, maybe some undersea adventure. That could work tae. There's giant squid and all sorts of weird shite, on the ocean floor." He took a drink and waved a hand, wincing and then looking apologetic. "Sorry. I'm not a writer. I dinnae know if that sort of thing would work."
"What if I combined the two?" Varric got up and started pacing, "Space ship crash lands on a water world. Character driven story, they're stuck underwater trying to survive."
"There ye are! Sounds brilliant. Make sure there's something with tentacles but leave oot the hentai tentacle rape." He wrinkled up his nose like that might get icky. "It's not really called for. Have it kill them and eat them instead, aye."
"You know, I've never written actual tentacle rape."
"Now's not the time tae start."
"Maybe some other time." Varric grinned. "I could make it a thriller and there's only one survivor, so its all from her perspective."
"Sounds like a devastatingly good idea." Scotty gave Varric a thumbs up and looked positive that it would be a good thing, in the long run!
Varric plopped down and started to scribble in a notebook.
Well, he looked occupied. And knowing what that was like, Scotty simply turned to face the table, and began working on the magnets and cooling system again. Work-a-work-a-work.
For a while there was only the sound of working and writing. It seemed to compliment each other like an odd sort of music.
True, but that's until he actually started listening to actual music, and then there was no hope for a while of reaching him. Especially if it was after hours, late at night.
Varric had gone through three notebooks and most of the cask (shared with Scotty of course) by the time he noticed the time. 3am.
"Damn. I haven't had a writing spree like that in months!"
"Hm? Oh! Right, that's good then!" By that point, he'd finished wrapping all the internal parts and were arranging them to be slid into the copper cylinders. "Maybe that's just what ye needed, Varric."
A pause and then he had to ask, since last night, he'd had the SAME dream again, with the sci-fi convention and everyone there. Only this time, much clearer.
"Say, now that I’m thinking on it? Have ye had anything strange happen lately, or any strange...ye know...dreams?" Better to get an idea if it was a more common occurrence, extending beyond and outside the circle it had been happening in. "Just wondering. That's all."
"Strange? No, nothing weirder than usual. Why?" He hopped down and walked over to Scotty. Little did he know he was going to have things whapping him soon. As soon as his mun stops being lazy.
"Nae reason. I was just wondering." Scotty held up both hands and waved them around, smiling all the while, not divulging any information. It was best to keep any potential space time related foul ups from other hims, under wraps. That way things might not leak over. "I was just reading some strange thing on the internet, about ye know...ohhh it's the end of the world, people having strange dreams, Nostra-whats-it. Mayan calendars. Ye know, general bollocks. Gets one thinking, is all."
"You don't normally go for this sort of thing, Tinker. Something happen?"
"Nae, why would ye think that? It's just that I’d heard somethin’ about it and looked it up. Food for thought, ye know!" He grinned and shrugged like it was no big deal. "I mean, otherwise, life's been rather grand, lately. I've got nae complaints, really."
Someone was protesting too much. Varric squinted at him, but mercifully let the subject drop, "Where's the wife, anyway?" Smirk.
"She's not the wifey, what's wrong with ye?!" Now he simply looked deeply offended that there'd be any mention of the M word or the W title being bandied around like that. "She was upstairs last I knew, but she could've walked past and said she was stepping oot, and I probably said okay, and she might be back shortly. I dinnae know. She's me girlfriend but we're not attached at the hips every moment of every day, contrary tae popular belief. Hmph."
"Close enough? Has she moved in, has her clothing exploded in your living space, do you even have a dresser drawer left?" Varric was grinning wider and wider, "Her shampoo in your shower. Pink curtains yet?"
Varric? Made a <3 shape with his fingers.
Scotty was already leaning back so far, he looked like he was going to fall over backwards off the stool, and probably hit his head again. That would be third third time that month, if he didn't watch it. Sadly as well, all of those things were true, except for her moving in, because this was only a temporary stay, meant to give her a bit of some normality so she wasn't alone while getting used to her new incredibly green state of being.
As for the pink curtains? He never took down the joke ones she put up, so there's pink curtains anyway. But they were only a JOKE. That was all! Nothing serious!
"I dinnae know what yer talking about," he said, defensively, then leaned forward and slapped Varric's hands, scowling at him, like that was quite enough of that. "It's not like that, and ye know it!"
Varric would tell Scotty that temporary? Was never temporary, "It is like that and I DO Know it, because I've BEEN there, Tinker." He grinned. He'd seen the pink curtains. He KNEW. Oh he KNEW, "You're screwed. Beautifully, heroically screwed."
"I am not! Get bent!" He was so not screwed, because it was just a girlfriend boyfriend casual hanging out type of no pressure situation, that was all there was to it. She'd never undermine him like that, not when he'd been so wonderfully honest with her the whole time, and they had such a good time before, also. That'd be a terrible travesty and a slight against him and...he just spilled all that out of his mouth, didn't he?
"She doesn't have to knowingly undermine you, Tinker. Sometimes it sneaks up on you without you realizing it!"
"Well then it's not undermining, if it's not done on purpose. It dinnae just SNEAK like that. Why are we even talking about this?" He held up one hand and waved it like OH NO NOT GOING THERE while turning back to his work again. "It's nothing. She's just the girlfriend, aye, we're comfortable with that and that's the way it's goin' tae stay."
Varric held up his hands, "I'm teasing you. Relax. Everything'll be fine."
"Well why'd ye have tae try tae stir things up, then?! It's not like I gae about, stirring things up with ye, dae I? Nae, I dinnae." At least when he got worked up a bit, he started to work faster. Which was the case right now. Grawrr!
Mission accomplished! Varric grinned at him.
Which he did not see, for Scotty was 100% focused on his work and piecing together his latest project very quickly, indeed.
Varric glanced at the time again, "I should get going. Thanks for the...inspiration."
"Hm? Ooooh." Scotty looked as though his thought bubble had popped and he glanced over at Varric, with a steadily declining grumpy expression. "Right. Dinnae mention it. If ye need anythin’, though, just let me know."
"Try to get some sleep, it'll be dawn soon." He nodded at Scotty, "I'll make some calls this afternoon."
"Really?" He checked the time on his phone, and apparently this was the first notice he'd really taken of it, all day. It even made him stifle a yawn, when it dawned on him that it was so late. "Aye, I'll dae that. Cheers, for that and the whisky, and let me know how it goes."
Amazing how yawns work like that, "I'll text you."
"That'd be gooood," he said, stretching both arms up over his head and arching his back a little bit. "Ye know where tae find me."
"Underneath Cass?" Varric ducked out of the garage, quickly!
"Ye short, hairy ARSE!" And there went a wrench, hurled toward the closing door. That he had to go get also, because the wrench did not belong on the floor. Safety hazard! He eye-darted, put the wrench into his pocket, and locked up for the night.