riverview | video, @hiccup

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video, @hiccup

[When the video clicks on, Hiccup comes into focus, leaning back from where he was propping up his phone on the table. He's softly casual in a loose t-shirt bearing the logo of one of the Riverview University science clubs, probably biology or engineering, but it's difficult to make it out. He's sitting at the table in the communal kitchen of Floor One, with one of those small, round layer cakes so ubiquitous in grocery stores in front of him. A birthday cake for one, with swirls of white frosting and colorful sprinkles, and 'Happy Birthday' written in red icing across the top.]

So, the nice lady at the grocery store seemed amazed I'd never had a birthday cake. I had to tell her we don't have this kind of thing on Berk. [He laughs a little, quietly, and a black blur from the side indicates Toothless slipping into the frame, seating himself on the floor next to Hiccup and planting his head on the edge of the table to peer at the camera. The dragon purrs out an inquisitive noise as Hiccup cuts himself a thin slice of cake and tries it.

He's immediately making a face, setting it back down on the plastic tray.] Oh, wow, that's- sugary? That's so sweet. [His palate is accustomed to sparing amounts of honey as sweetener, not modern processed white sugar. Toothless leans in a little more and sniffs at the sliver of cake, then wrinkles his nose.] Yeah, I probably won't finish this. It'll be in the icebox if anyone on my floor wants it, though!

What kinds of birthday traditions do you have in your worlds? Anything fun? Something better than cake, hopefully.

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[Toothless jumps when Dum-E comes out to meet him, hopping about a foot in the air on all four feet like a cat, and then he approaches cautiously, sniffing at the robot's claw and letting out a curious little purr.

Hiccup barely looks up when he says, distracted,] Toothless, don't break anything, we're guests. [The dragon just barks out a few short, mocking sounds, gaze flattening as he looks at his rider, and then goes back to circling Dum-E.]

That's what I'm hoping. Back home, I don't have- you know, nearly this variety of materials to work with. I did build one tail-fin with gronckle iron, to withstand the heat of an active volcano, but it was pretty stiff and not great for maneuvering.

[Dum-E's arm spins a full 360 degrees to keep the dragon in sight, but he seems satisfied just watching for the moment.

For his part, Tony's a lot more distracted making thoughtful noises.]

How flexible do you need? Are we talking like stretchy or just not immobile?

[He's not exactly sure what kind of maneuvering the dragon actually does, okay, even having flown with them once. He had other things on his mind.]

[Toothless circles Dum-E a few more times, curiously, and then plants himself on his behind, raised up and head tilted. After a moment, he reaches out with one clawed foot and bats gently at the end of the robot's claw.]

Mm, not just one stiff piece. We'll still use the leather design for day to day flight, but it still needs to change positions- [He trails off as he digs through a couple of papers to pull out something resembling his old cheat sheet.] -like this, sort of. Otherwise we can't get height and we'll be mostly stuck at a glide.

[Dum-E's entire arm twitches back, then edges forward again to mimic the motion. He doesn't have much of a swing, but he does try.]

Riiight, okay. [Tony draws the words out as he studies the design.] Are you sold on leather? Because I can probably get you a carbon fiber-based fabric or two.

[It only occurs to him a moment or so later that he might have to explain that.]

It's significantly higher tensile strength. If you get a good mix, it can still be plenty flexible, too.

Not sold on leather if there's something stronger. A fabric with a higher tensile strength would be perfect, actually. And I was thinking a steel alloy or titanium for the pins and connecting rod, to lighten up the design. [He traces over the parts in question on his sketch to point them out. This is honestly Hiccup in his element, and he's clearly enjoying himself talking about specs and ideas.

Toothless pulls his mouth into a gummy 'smile' as he crouches, wiggling his tail, and then bounds across the workshop. Evidently he's decided Dum-E is going to play with him. God help this dragon, he misses being around other dragons.]

Titanium is going to be a little harder to get ahold of but we can probably alloy it to stretch it out. I'll check my stores and a couple of my sources.

[Tony taps his fingers against his lips thoughtfully, leaning back a little to let Hiccup stretch out as much as he wants. He knows this level excitement when it comes to projects, and mostly he's trying not to get in the way.

Somewhere in the background, Dum-E makes a faint whirring sound of alarm, then goes charging off after Toothless.]

Do not knock anything over. [Tony calls over his shoulder without look, then just lets out a sigh when he immediately hears something crash to the ground.]

If you know someone who sells it, I can buy my own no problem. I just heard it was lighter, and pretty strong. Anything is going to be better than iron, though. [Vikings are still a little in the stone age as far as materials go.] And any weight I can shave off the design will help our speed.

[Toothless is delighted, bounding forward a little bit before letting Dum-E 'catch' him, and then trotting in another direction with a playful swat. Hiccup pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs when he hears the crash.] I'm sorry about him. Toothless, walking speed! Tail to yourself, bud.

It's fine, he'd probably do it by himself anyway.

[Of course now he currently has a dragon and a robot playing tag in his workshop. But it seems to be keeping them out of trouble, so he's just going to ignore it. JARVIS will keep an eye out to make sure they don't start getting into anything really worrisome.]

It is definitely lighter than iron, no worries there. And easier to work with, if you know what you're doing. [Which Tony does. And will happily share.] How are you in terms of aerodynamics?

Normally he'd get all this energy out playing with Stormfly. [Hiccup exhales. Well. At least they're having fun. Toothless has taken the warning to heart and has slowed down some, to exaggeratedly sneak around the workshop on the tips of his toes like a cat through water. Still playing tag with the fun robot though.

Hiccup brightens slightly.] That sounds perfect, then. I think we're pretty good there? I've been working on the saddle and tail design for a few years now, trying to keep things as natural and close to the body as possible for Toothless. I've even built a working flight-suit kind of based off his shape. It's nowhere near as impressive as yours though.

[Dum-E has nothing like Toothless' delicacy, but he also has the advantage of knowing the workshop. And the fact that Tony is more than used to him careening around. It won't stop him from running directly into things, but nothing does.

Tony's just going to continue to not pay attention for the sake of his own sanity. What Hiccup has going on is way more interesting anyway.]

Flight suit, like a just in case you guys get separated thing? [He nods once in reference to his own suit, but it's a thoughtful thing. A guy who's been stuck working with just iron wasn't going to be building rockets, that's not exactly a surprise. Though he does give Hiccup a slightly knowing look.] Or just an 'I feel like flying on my own' thing?

[They're a handful. Big, heavy handfuls of trouble. But if Tony is fine with it, Hiccup is too, even if he'll occasionally glance up to make sure a crash wasn't his dragon, who really should know better.]

Yeah, exactly. The back fin is spring-loaded and the wings fold up into my armor when I'm not using them. It's easy to get out in the air in an emergency, or just for fun,- [Because of course the adrenaline junkie viking likes skydiving.] -but it's still hard to make these tight turns, and since it's more gliding than actual flight, it's hard to redirect. It's nothing like an actual suit of armor that can really fly. [He's still incredibly impressed by Iron Man.]

[Gliding suit, huh? There's still a fair amount they can do with that, even if the hinting at the end does make him smile slightly.]

Tell you what, after we work out everything else, we can see about getting you rocket powered.

[At least some little ones. He's not going to harsh on anyone else's need to fly.]

Really? That would be incredible! [If Stoick the Vast were here, he would be groaning very loudly at the thought of his son with rocket propulsion. No one needs to give this boy rockets.] Are you sure? I mean, I know you've probably got your own projects to work on.

It's not that hard to do. [At least not the way Tony does it.] And I usually have a ton of projects going at once, keeps me from getting bored.

[A bit of a simplification, but Tony just shoots Hiccup a grin. He likes the kid, what can he say.]

So we'll put it on the backburner and play around with it when we've got downtime. Sound good?

You say that, but this is all so far outside of anything I ever could have imagined before Riverview. "Rocket propulsion, yeah, so easy." [He laughs, shaking his head.]

That sounds great.

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video, @hiccup

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