[ open ] where I end, we'll begin

[franciscoramon]

who: cisco + anyone!
what: a catch-all post
when: january
where: various places
warnings: will add as needed

[ PROMPTS TBA or come plot with me @ platoapproved. ]

Comments

[storradr]

[He idly inspected the machine while listening, tilting his head to follow the chord to the wall. He didn't quite understand how the electricity worked, but he knew that was what it was. It was something that seemed fairly complex, something he wasn't quite ready to try to learn about yet.

He looked back to the coffee at the foreign sound of the whipped cream, eyes widening as in surprise as he peered at the concoction Cisco had made. Now, it felt rude not to accept, so he picked up the cup, letting it warm his cold fingers.]

I do not know what was in the coffee I was given. There is one of these machines in the communal housing floor, so I was offered some.

[With the dollop of whipped cream on top, he wasn't even sure how to start drinking this, so he just went for it when Cisco went searching for the next toy to show Ragnar. Naturally, he ended up with a little bit of sweetened, creamy coffee and whipped cream stuck to his mustache as he pulled the cup away. He still wasn't so sure of the taste, even with the overwhelming sweetness.] It is... better.

[While doing his best with the whipped cream clinging to his face, Cisco explained the lighter and it obviously rocked Ragnar's world. He had never seen something so completely amazing. He was speechless as he put the coffee mug down and delicately took the lighter, holding it like he'd held the grenade.

He looked to Cisco just to double check he was actually allowed to give it a try and copied the way he'd flicked it, a little flame catching on top.] This... is amazing. You made this?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco notices Ragnar somewhat struggling with the whole whipped cream plus facial hair situation, but he manages not to laugh; there's a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but he gives no other indication that he notices. ]

It's like booze. You get used to the taste. The main point of coffee is that it keeps you awake.

[ He just mentions it off-hand, in case no one has explained caffeine to Ragnar by this point. Cisco really doesn't envy the amount that Ragnar probably has to catch up on, but on the other hand, Ragnar doesn't seem to mind having a bunch of information tossed at him at once. Besides, when Cisco had first arrived here, there had been plenty that he'd needed to learn. About magic, elves, aliens, advanced tech, all manner of things that were foreign to him. Is this really all that different? ]

Naw, I got that from a grocery store. You can have it, if you want. Just don't go committing arson with it, or I'll never hear the end of it from my boyfriend.

[ Cisco is joking for the most part - Ragnar knows perfectly well how to make a fire on his own if he wants to, the lighter is simply a more efficient way of doing it. ]

The stuff I design is... a lot more complex than that. But the basic principle is always the same. You know what you want to happen - fire - and you know about some substances that can cause and sustain that effect - oil, and wicks, and flint. The trick to engineering is just arranging all the right parts for ease of use.

[ Somewhat of an oversimplification, but he really wants to emphasize that what he does isn't some kind of arcane art. ]

I've been meaning to ask - what was your job? Back in Kattegat?

[ He knows that Ragnar works for the Guard, here, but he realized at some point he hadn't asked what he used to do, before coming. Maybe he was a farmer? He'd mentioned something about being interested in farm work here... ]

[storradr]

Ah. Well. Yes. Now it makes more sense. [And suddenly it all became clear. That was why people suffered through it.

He still held the lighter like it was a sacred, precious thing, eyes going wide when Cisco simply offered it to him.] Are... Are you sure? [He gave Cisco a look of deep gratitude, smiling as he again clapped him on the shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze.] Thank you.

Job? [He pressed his lips into a thin line as he tries to figure out how to explain his place in the community where he was from.] Where I am from, people do many things. As I have told you, all strong, able men leave for the raids in the summer. I have land, close to water, so I fished and farmed. But... A little less than a year ago, I had to challenge the previous Earl of Kattegat to a fight. And I won. So... now I am also Earl. [Remember when he told you about having to kill the previous leader to assume their position, Cisco? Yep.]

[franciscoramon]

[ Ragnar's gratitude was excessive, considering Cisco had only given him a cheap plastic lighter, but he lets himself enjoy it nonetheless. Nice to be able to make someone happy, even if it is disproportionate to how happy he ought to be.

Cisco wants to encourage Ragnar's curiosity, but not let their friendship (if that's what this is becoming?) slip into a weird dynamic where him being from the future, relative to Ragnar, makes him feel superior or act patronizing. After all, it's all relative. To Eobard, 2014 had been barbaric times. The last thing Cisco wants is to do is repeat that pattern. ]

Wait, what?

[ He is surprised, but that expression quickly fades from Cisco's face, and he nods in understanding. Ragnar's phrasing is interesting, too. Had to challenge the sitting Earl. Was that a translation fluke? Or was the guy some kind of tyrant? Or maybe the two of them just had beef and it came down to kill or be killed. Either way, doesn't sound like Ragnar was job hunting and actively pursuing it. ]

Well, that explains your civic-minded questions, for sure. Um. What's an Earl, again? I mean I know it's a ruler that operates under the king. Right?

[ He ought to have been paying more attention... ]

[storradr]

The previous Earl was, um... [He paused, running his hand over his beard as he tried to figure out where to even begin.] He was a tyrant. And our paths crossed. He tortured my brother, tried to me and my family, and burnt our house and farm down. He gave me little choice. It was either challenge him to a fight and kill him or... my family and I would have had to flee Kattegat.

We fought. And the gods fortuned me. [He recounted everything in a surprisingly calm and level tone.]

An Earl? Right. There is a King whom the Earls in the area answer to. I oversee Kattegat and the surrounding farmland, settle disputes and organize the raids.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco comes from a world that is far less violent, than Ragnar's; even within that context, he is someone who abhors violence, who would always rather help bring in a criminal than kill them. The list of people who he would willingly hurt is short - only Eobard Thawne got that special privilege, and even for him, Cisco might not have the stomach for it.

But he does understand that sometimes there's no other way. Self-defense, and all of that. So when Ragnar tells Cisco what the previous Earl had been like, his usual cheerful expression falls away, revealing something a little harder underneath. His own brother had been tortured, once. It had been brief, been reversible, but Cisco remembers the helplessness he'd felt at the time all too vividly. He's sure whatever shit Vikings got up to what ten times worse, at least.]

Sounds like he left you no choice. I'm glad you won.

[ Which does, he know, translate to being glad someone had been killed, but that tyranny shit didn't fly with Cisco. He takes a long drink of his coffee, thinking about how hard it must have been. Ragnar had had to do what he did, for his family's survival, and because of the system in place, that meant he had to rule, afterwards. ]

That's an awful lot of responsibility.

[ He says it neutrally, just an observation, rather than sympathy or congratulations. ]

[storradr]

No. He did not.

[Lagertha had suggested they simply try to leave, but that would mean forfeiting their home, their land, potentially their friends, his brother, and there was still no guarantee that Earl Haraldson would stop just because they left. There was no knowing now though. He'd made his choice. And he'd won.

He smirked a little when Cisco told him he was glad.] As am I. He fought well. He was... not a good man, but he was a good warrior.

[Ragnar sort of shrugged, though it was obviously in agreement.] Unfortunately, I was not left much choice.

[He glanced around the workshop again.] Show me something else. Have you made anything... that is not a weapon? And you said this was the sort of thing you did before you came here, yes? For your...mmm... president? [Ha! He'd remembered the title given to the king where Cisco was from.] For his army?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco thinks that it's good Ragnar at least can have a break from all that, in this place. That he can hang out with his daughter, his son, and relax a little bit without the burden of ruling. ]

Oh, yeah. Honestly, most of the stuff I make isn't weapons. The bad thing about making weapons is, well, anybody can use 'em. Nothing quite as insulting as one of your enemies gets their hands on something you made and uses it against you, on you or the people you care about. Shitty, shitty situation. So I mostly stick to the defensive stuff.

[ He heads towards a different cabinet, opening it with considerably less reluctance. Ragnar's mistake amuses him, and he laughs, good-natured and loud. ]

No, no no no, I don't work for the president. Or the army. Or anything that official. I made gear for superheroes. People with powers - either... superpowers, or just really well-trained warriors - who operate on their own, stopping crime, saving people from disasters. They're less like soldiers and more like... like the heroes you'd hear about in an epic poem. There are only a few of them, but they don't answer to anybody, and they make the world a better place.

[ Cisco taps a finger to his chin, but goes for the item that he thinks will probably impress Ragnar the easiest. It looks like a standard-issue riot shield that has been altered, covered in geometrical patterns of copper and gold. There are a few softly blinking lights that come on along the side when Cisco presses a button on the inside of the shield. ]

Looks like a regular shield, right? Maybe it'll stop an arrow, or a sword or whatever. But!

[ He hands the shield to Ragnar and walks off, fishing around and then coming back with a small vial. He holds it gingerly, picking a scrap of extra fabric off the table and folding it up. Making sure Ragnar is looking, he opens the vial and pours just a few drops of the acid onto the fabric, which burns with a loud hissing and popping, acrid smoke coming up from it as the acid eats away at the fabric. ]

Acid.

[ Cisco beckons for Ragnar to hold up the shield and, when he's ready, tosses the rest of the contents onto the shield. It not only does not burn, but it absorbs them, so that only one or two drops hit the floor. ]

Acid-proof shield. Good for the out past the wall, there's definitely some monsters out there that spit it. And that's not all! Hang on...

[ He wanders off towards his mini fridge, to get some ice cubes. It'll all make sense in a minute... ]

[storradr]

[He nodded, half understanding what Cisco meant. They had plenty of tales like that. Great heroes who fought and vanquished even more impressive sounding beasts.

He took the shield, his fingers running over the glass portion with obvious curiosity. He also seemed distracted by the gold inlaid in it.] I... guess. Ordinary enough... [His own shield was nothing but wood and paint.

When Cisco turns back around, Ragnar is trying it out, testing out the weight and shape. It was bulkier than what he was used to, but lighter. He looks over at Cisco, brow furrowing slightly as he watches him. He had no idea what he was holding, something molten?]

Acid? [Still, he holds up the shield, turning it to look at what effect the acid had had on it.] Acid proof... but it can still block a sword strike without breaking? [He didn't sound completely convinced.] It is very... light. [He'd pulled his axe out, tapping it against the front of the shield experimentally.]