Crunch, I'll Add it to the Heap

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((March 5th, 1622. Anyone welcome.))

Quinn groaned and threw a large scrap of paper out his door, then slumped forward on his desk, his arms crossed beneath his head. He'd not had a big hit with inventing since he'd made the folding boomerang a few months ago. He'd heard about these dry spells, but why? Why did he have to feel like a mere tinkerer?

"Oh for the love of crap, why does inventing have to be so hard? Have I pissed off some sort of god of some sort who stole away my creativity in a blind rage? Is it that I'm not worthy of my inventor title after all? What in the name of a thousand gears and springs is wrong with me?" He lamented, bringing his hands up to clutch to his oil-smudged blond hair in frustration.

He looked around his shop. Think, Quinn, think! There had to be something he could make. Flying pitchfork? No! That'd already been done! A wooden stove? Ah, heck no. That'd just burn to the ground! A hovering trouser press? ...no no. That'd never catch on. Not to mention it was impossible to make things hover!

So many ideas, and all of them were useless. He groaned and wailed more. Why? Why did he have to feel like a failure?

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Peter stuck his head around the corner and looked at his father in silence, listening to him lament aloud. He glanced down to Clank, who was sticking his optics out of his shirt pocket and looking at Quinn as well. After a moment, Peter began to think too. Maybe an idea to help his father along...?

Hmm. What to suggest...?

...
......

Now he saw where his father was coming from.

As Peter focused on his thoughts, he didn't notice Clank crawling out of his pocket and hopping onto a shelf he was beside, running along it until he managed to hop from his perch and onto the desk in which Quinn sat. It wasn't until the Mini-Clockwork was looking up at Quinn that Peter realized that his creation had moved. He kept himself hidden around the corner, curious. Maybe seeing Clank would give him some ideas?

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Quinn sighed heavily. Was the folding boomerang really the extent of his abilities? There had to be more! He was sure of it! He'd created a fully functioning puppet-type clockwork. But he had no idea what the heck he wanted to do with any new inventions that weren't already made.

He heard small click noises, though he was unsure of the source until he saw the Mini-Clockwork that Speedy had built, little Clank, looking up at him. Perhaps some sort of beast clockwork? What hadn't he seen before and what purpose could he make it for? Perhaps he'd make a clockwork kitty. He would have made a puppy, but he knew Matthew was terrified of them ever since that time he'd been bitten by another inventor's clockwork dog.

He reached a hand to gently pat Clank and smiled. "Thank you for the idea. Can you get Peter if he's not nearby? I'm going to need a little help with this."

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Clank let out a few clicks and whirrs, pointing to the doorway where Peter was loitering. Ah, you silly Clockwork, ratting out your creator like that!

Stepping out from behind the door frame, the blind haired boy walked up to his father with a shy smile. "You have an idea?" He asked, hopeful. He didn't like it when his father didn't have ideas, he got sort of depressed; it made him feel depressed too. "What can I do?"

While they were talking, Clank waddled to the edge of the desk and let himself be picked up and tucked back into Peter's shirt pocket.

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Quinn chuckled and glanced to the doorway with a sly smile. He wasn't surprised that Peter was so nearby. If his little Mini-Clockwork was here, Peter usually wasn't too far himself. He chuckled softly.

Quinn then nodded firmly and grinned brightly. "And it's thanks to this little fella. You know? He's almost like a little friend, right? Could almost have been misconstrued as a pet? Well, that's sort of how he inspired me." Quinn couldn't help but yammer excitedly. "I'll need you to find what scrap metal we have around here so that I can try to make a prototype of the little kitty that came to my mind. I know it's kind of silly but it sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?"

He seemed almost chipper and eager right now. He finally had a good idea--or, at least he thought so. He hoped it was workable. He most certainly hoped it was workable.

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Quinn had that right. Clank was Peter's best friend! Of course they were rarely far apart. He walked over and, after reclaiming his little creation, looked up at his father and listened. A....pet? Clank wasn't a pet! He'd not speak up though, it would be rude to interrupt, and clearly his father was going towards a point.

Wait...A...kitty? "S-Sure!" Brightening up, Peter nodded excitedly and darted from the room to the shed, where he kept most of the scrap that he collected when digging.

Grabbing his rather tattered messenger bag, he started stuffing it with whatever looked useful, or even whatever he could carry. There was a small amount, but he wasn't sure if there was enough...maybe he should go to the scrapyard tomorrow? Yea. He'd go do that!

Grabbing all he could, Peter then took off from the shed and ran back into the house, bringing the slightly bulging back back and setting it on the corner of his father's work desk. "Is there enough? Anything you think you need? I can go to the scrap yard tomorrow!~"

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Oh, Quinn knew Clank wasn't a pet. But Clank's small size and friendliness had given him the idea. "I hoped as much. I'm going to call it the Tango Kitten. A little kitty that can do tricks like dancing." He smiled. He then brightened up when his son made a bolt for the shed.

He waited patiently, quickly starting to draw the blueprints. A little cat powered by clockwork and steamwork, meant to be a buddy and a companion. Maybe also make it a good mouser to make it useful around houses. Yes! So many ideas were flowing through his mind.

He perked up when Peter returned, giving a bright smile. "Yes, that'll be enough for now. I'll probably need more clockwork parts to make it move, but we'll be able to at least make the framework for Tango Kitten. Maybe even the body."

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Hmm, Tango Kitten?Totally not a ripoff from a preexisting franchise this entire site is shamelessly ripping off. Sounded cool! Maybe they could make the front page of 'Inventions monthly'!

After returning with the parts, Peter grabbed a stool and drug it over, hopping on it so he could better see the table and blueprints. "I'll go tomorrow, just tell me what you need!" Yay setting up for other threads that are already in progress!~

He watched his father work in a little bit of silence, Clank peering out of his pocket to watch too, letting out soft clicks and whirrs as he did so.

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Now with less kitty-to-alien combat! But also with more shameless ripping off of internets. Haha, the RPer was so inspired by the Steamworks Feli on Subeta. Yes, the Tango Kitten. Quinn had derived the name of it from one of Matthew's favorite dance styles, as he hoped it could somewhat be a companion to his dear clockwork son. Of course, he would make more, but the first was the most special, for it was just for their family.

Quinn set about drafting the blueprints carefully, giving a dopey grin. "I'll definitely need any thin bars you can find to make the internal framework. I'll also need small metal rings of some sort...something I can use for the feline spinal column of the framework. Oh! And we'll need wind-up keys." Huzzah!

Quinn carefully continued his work, still drawing up those blueprints. Had to make everything perfect. Or would he say--purr-fect? After all, he couldn't just purchase the plans from Purveyors of Plans!

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"What about optics?" Peter asked, looking at the pile of scrap. He didn't see any lenses... He was making a mental list in his head of what they would need, as well as items they already have but would be wise to have extra of. You never know, and you can never have too many cogs on hand!

Keeping his nose above the table, Peter watched his father work. Nine times out of ten, he'd remain very silent while the man worked, though sometimes he couldn't help but speak up and offer suggestions or observations on how to improve something or how something might cause problems later down the line. He never pushed unless he thought it really important, and would normally only mention the suggestion once unless Quinn showed an interest in it.

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"We'll definitely need lenses..." Quinn nodded. "Can't have a little kitty going around blindly. And we'll definitely need something that conducts sound so our little dancing clockwork kitty can hear the music he'll dance to." Quinn gave a cheerful tone. He just couldn't help it.

Quinn continued to sketch the blueprints hastily, occasionally casting a glance at his son to see how much the boy would approve or disapprove of the blueprints he was making. After all, he loved to include his son in on the design process. The little guy had quite the head on his shoulders--mostly because he was the son of a crazy genius.

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Nodding, Peter listened attentively and made a mental list of everything they'd need to build the kitty. His father's cheerful tone made the blond haired boy equally cheery as he gave his opinions on parts of the blueprints.

Yes, he was a smart one, there was very little doubt that one day he'd be at the forefront of the latest technology. Or, at least, that's what he wanted to do.

To have one of his inventions advertised in the invention corner of the newspaper, that would be fantastic!

"Oh, we should try to use ball bearings in place of cogs in some places, for more movement." He pointed out. "And we shouldn't let the ears be on a fixed axis. they should be able to move like a real cat's."

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Quinn couldn't help but smile. The more opinions his son gave, the prouder he was getting. This boy had the makings of a great inventor--always paying attention to the world around him.

Quinn himself had no doubt his son would one day be a genius inventor. After all, he was Peter Klacking Williams, the son of Quinn Motherklacking Williams, the unknown brilliant mind who would burst onto the scene like his folding boomerang, which had once gotten into the invention corner of the newspaper.

"You know, that's a pretty good idea. Perhaps use ball bearings in several of the joints? I know we'll have to keep the main body with a few cogs, but not an extreme amount--what can be replaced by ball bearings should be. So it can move like a natural cat." Quinn gave a proud smile. "Ah! I didn't even catch that in my sketches. Good pointing out! So, do you think retractible claws or stationary claws?"

The ideas were just flowing now, like oil from that little blue oil can into Matthew's mouth the first day that Quinn had activated Matthew. "And while we're thinking about it, should we use wire whiskers with weighted bearings for good night navigation?"

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Peter was every bit like his father. Sharp as a tack, quick thinking, and inventive. "Yea! We'd need to find a way to keep the lubricant from leaking everywhere, though." He said. "Maybe, at the joints, we can install sealed rubber covers that will go over the bearings, keeping the fluid inside."

The claws...? "Retractable, like a real cat's. And it'll also keep it from shredding the couch." He chuckled. "I think so, yea. I don't think it would hurt to install some small lights though. Maybe we can make the whisker's light up so it can guide the way for people like us so we don't find the end table with our shins?"

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Quinn listened to his son, waiting for an answer; he carefully tapped his pencil against his right temple. Once he heard the answer he was looking for, he perked up. "That's my boy! You've learned well from our previous endeavors, namely in the making of your brother." Quinn would always be quick to point out that his son had learned from an experience.

He then nodded to the answer about the claws. "Now, making a feline will definitely be a real test of our skills. Do you suggest the claws be controlled by small cogs? Or do you have another mechanism in mind?" Testing, always testing. Quinn always had to make sure his mind and his son's mind were rather sharp, like his folding-boomerang.

He gave a rather sharply surprised look when Peter suggested lights. "I would not have thought of that. How quick you are to excell even a genius mind. You may just be a prodigy yourself." He then chewed on the pencil slightly, musing more. "Perhaps we should also consider lighting the eyes in case?"