hadriel | three ❀ video

[It looks like Adam has taken one of the mopeds to pieces. There are engine bits carefully arranged around him, his hands still have traces of grease on them, and there are tools nearby. He generally doesn't use the network much, but - this seemed relevant.]

I guess these are the vehicles we were promised. They seem all right - probably won't go more than 25, but it's not like there's a real need for speed here. They run pretty well, though they're electric, so they'll need charging. And they're not too complicated, so if something breaks it should be easy to fix - I'd be fine showing anyone who wants to learn.

[He pauses for a moment, shrugs.]

Or doing it for you, I guess. But there's some... weird stuff.

[Adam picks up the carburetor, unscrews part of the covering, and pulls it off. Rather than what would be expected to be inside - normal moped parts, necessary to running it - out pops a spring-loaded, fake-looking snake, like something you'd hide in a can for a shitty prank.

Expecting this, Adam does not seem surprised, only vaguely tired and maybe a tiny bit amused.]

All the ones I looked at have something like this. They run fine, though.

[And, totally deadpan, as a service to those who might be unfamiliar with this kind of thing:]

They really shouldn't.

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I guess it's just there to surprise whoever opens it up. It doesn't seem to have any actual function.

[He picks it up, a flimsy construction of plastic and paper.]

Maybe it's supposed to be funny.

Then how does the machine function? I can see no gears; no fire. (He cannot help his curiosity.) Jokes are oft amusing, yes, but rarely functional.

The rest of the parts all work the way they should, as far as I can tell. I guess it's magic, or whatever power the gods here have.

Magic is indeed...strange. I am not skilled in it, though I have seen great feats. (Great feats of destruction.) Forgive me, I am Celebrimbor. I work the Forge.

Edited 2016-12-29 08:37 (UTC)

We have a forge? [He doesn't always keep up on the network, especially when other things are happening in the city. But he remember his manners, at least.] Nice to meet you. I'm Adam Parrish. I work at the clinic sometimes.

We do now. (He didn't really broadcast it; he set it up a day or so after he first arrived, though the process had been slower than he liked thanks to his injuries.) I was in the clinic for a short while. I owe the Healers.

That's useful. [He has questions - like where the materials are supposed to come from - but it seems a little rude to ask things like that when they've only just met.] The people there are all very dedicated. What happened?

So a fellow member of the Guard informed me. (Anything metal is useful and Celebrimbor is good at making many weapons in various shapes and sizes.) I was extensively injured upon arrival.

(By a powerful being who did not know empathy or pity.)

You came here that way? Or was it someone here?

[Normally Adam wouldn't ask that, either - it's a little too personal. But if there's someone here who would do something like that, he'd rather know.]

You needn't worry; I came that way. (He lifts his shirt to show the large scars on his abdomen and chest.) This world is like paradise compared to my last accommodations.

[Sure, today's a great day to get flashed by an elf.]

I guess that's good. It's not an improvement for most of us, but at least it is for some.

(He works shirtless in his forge. This is nothing. If he wished to flash him, he would get rid of his pants too.)

Should we not work on making this world more...suitable?

Some of us have. The clinic is a good example, and other people have started shops and the guard and things like that. We're doing what we can.

Then do not sound so hopeless. We are doing what can be done and this will not last for eternity.

I've been here for more than a year now. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be hoping for.

Release might suit you unless you are returning to a dreary existence. (Or a lack of one.)

I would like to go home, it's true. But there's no way to force that to happen - even the gods don't know how.

Isn't that hard to believe? I thought the gods were like the Valar.

What are the Valar?

They are the beings who give order to Arda, my home world.

So they're your versions of gods. All-powerful, all-knowing?

Eru is all-powerful and I assume all-knowing. The Valar are powerful and they know much, but they are not Eru.

Maybe more like gods and demi-gods, then. Or some other sort of magical creature.

I think that is more correct. (Though Tolkien had more of a monotheistic approach to it - where Eru is god and the Valar/Maiar are angels.) I am descended from the first Elves, who walked amongst the Valar and the Maiar.

Did more come later? Or are you all descended from those?

(Video)

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