Jean & Darcy || Power Talks
Oct. 11th, 2021 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs(Backdated) In the aftermath of her powers mishap, Darcy visits Jean to ask for help. There are no instant solutions.
Darcy knocked on the partially open door to Jean's office, poking her head through the open space with an awkward smile. "Hey Doc Grey, thanks for taking the time to work on this with me." She shut the door behind her, taking a seat. "Obviously after my slip the other night I need to do more work on control to go with just trying to avoid using them."
Jean slipped off her glasses, closing the book she had been reading. "I am getting the sense that something is off," she said thoughtfully as she rose to make her way to the small kitchenette she had fashioned for herself, filling up a kettle.
"When did you first notice the change?"
"Err, when Laurie and I were having sex the other night? I.. I don't think it's been happening otherwise, at least not obviously?" The awkwardness Darcy felt was practically palpable, coating her tone and thoughts and easily read in her body language. "I haven't been having any of the issues I associate with trying to use them, and the ways I try to avoid slipping seemed to be working fine?"
Jean nodded. "Right. Sorry...I should have been more clear. I meant other than during sex. Sometimes there are things that might occur that we don't think anything of in the moment but later on realize they might be an indication for something else. Often heightened emotional activity can be a big trigger for power changes but I want to make sure I don't rule anything out," she said.
She pulled on her lab coat. "Do you mind if I take your vitals and perhaps a blood sample? See if they're different than your baseline from your previous physical," she said, gathering her supplies.
Darcy pulled her left arm free of her cardigan, holding it out obediently. "Sure, anything that might help. Stress, maybe, or hormonal changes? I think I've been adapting to not just pushing files anymore pretty well, and I haven't switched anything about my birth control. Nobody's been doing anything particularly outside the realm of normal behavior around me that I'm aware of?" She lifted her right shoulder in a shrug. "I wish I could, this would be easier."
"We'll hope for the best and prepare for the potentially complicated, "Jean said with a sympathetic laugh as she tied a band around Darcy's arm. "It could be a combination of things. But I don't like to speculate until I have a more thorough examination."
She met her eyes, then smiled. "I'd been meaning to mention that I like your glasses. I was in the market to get some new ones for when I'm reading. Where did you get them?." she said, working casually to prep the needle and draw the blood as she talked.
"Oh thanks!" Darcy reached up to touch the edges, verifying the pair she had on. "I think these are from Coastal? I like having several pairs in case of breakage or for different situations, so I get my prescription and buy them over time. My sight hadn't deteriorated any last time I got a check-up, so I can still use from that group too."
Jean blinked. "Wow, that's great. Definitely good to have a backup. I'll have to keep that in mind. I only have these right now," she said, covering the small hole she'd made with a cotton ball and wrapping it with red tape.
"There. all done," she said with a smile, writing Darcy's name and patient number down on the two vials of blood she'd drawn. "It'll take a day or two to run the blood. Depends on if someone else is using the machine."
"So... ethically, if I wanted to prevent slip-ups that could lead to disastrous results in the future.. how would I go about training that? Mind control's not really something you can just walk up to people and ask them to be a lab rat for, but I can't avoid looking people in the eyes and not giving direct commands either, especially if I'm going to be doing fieldwork."
Jean tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hard to say," she admitted. "When you are using your powers do you feel any differently?"
"Depends on how hard I'm having to push. If it's something they're inclined to do it's like spreading room temp butter on hot toast. Neutral's a bit more like spreading a chunky fruit preserve. More effort, might give me a bit of a headache with extended use, spread is a bit uneven or clumpy but overall good coverage. If they're really opposed... kinda like peanut butter on soft bread? Patchy, clumpy, might tear the bread a little. Headaches, sometimes blooms into a full migraine with nausea and light-sound sensitivity, nosebleeds. Pretty obvious and painful by that point, so I've never tried pushing harder. And the idea of.. forcing on someone without an urgent need has been bothering me, so I've just. Mostly tried to avoid it, in general. But it'll be safer for everyone else and more useful at work if I know I've got a firmer grip on what I'm doing."
"Ultimately, yes. But with the current state of your powers if you practice on someone we'll need it to be extremely controlled," Jean allowed. "I can ask Charles or some of my contacts if they've had experience with others with even remotely similar powers. Perhaps they have some tips."
"That would be fantastic. In the meantime, I guess I continue what I've been doing? Avoid doing the trifecta of touching, eye contact, and a direct command?" Darcy bit her lip, looking at the floor in concern. "I'll do my best. Thanks Doc."
Darcy knocked on the partially open door to Jean's office, poking her head through the open space with an awkward smile. "Hey Doc Grey, thanks for taking the time to work on this with me." She shut the door behind her, taking a seat. "Obviously after my slip the other night I need to do more work on control to go with just trying to avoid using them."
Jean slipped off her glasses, closing the book she had been reading. "I am getting the sense that something is off," she said thoughtfully as she rose to make her way to the small kitchenette she had fashioned for herself, filling up a kettle.
"When did you first notice the change?"
"Err, when Laurie and I were having sex the other night? I.. I don't think it's been happening otherwise, at least not obviously?" The awkwardness Darcy felt was practically palpable, coating her tone and thoughts and easily read in her body language. "I haven't been having any of the issues I associate with trying to use them, and the ways I try to avoid slipping seemed to be working fine?"
Jean nodded. "Right. Sorry...I should have been more clear. I meant other than during sex. Sometimes there are things that might occur that we don't think anything of in the moment but later on realize they might be an indication for something else. Often heightened emotional activity can be a big trigger for power changes but I want to make sure I don't rule anything out," she said.
She pulled on her lab coat. "Do you mind if I take your vitals and perhaps a blood sample? See if they're different than your baseline from your previous physical," she said, gathering her supplies.
Darcy pulled her left arm free of her cardigan, holding it out obediently. "Sure, anything that might help. Stress, maybe, or hormonal changes? I think I've been adapting to not just pushing files anymore pretty well, and I haven't switched anything about my birth control. Nobody's been doing anything particularly outside the realm of normal behavior around me that I'm aware of?" She lifted her right shoulder in a shrug. "I wish I could, this would be easier."
"We'll hope for the best and prepare for the potentially complicated, "Jean said with a sympathetic laugh as she tied a band around Darcy's arm. "It could be a combination of things. But I don't like to speculate until I have a more thorough examination."
She met her eyes, then smiled. "I'd been meaning to mention that I like your glasses. I was in the market to get some new ones for when I'm reading. Where did you get them?." she said, working casually to prep the needle and draw the blood as she talked.
"Oh thanks!" Darcy reached up to touch the edges, verifying the pair she had on. "I think these are from Coastal? I like having several pairs in case of breakage or for different situations, so I get my prescription and buy them over time. My sight hadn't deteriorated any last time I got a check-up, so I can still use from that group too."
Jean blinked. "Wow, that's great. Definitely good to have a backup. I'll have to keep that in mind. I only have these right now," she said, covering the small hole she'd made with a cotton ball and wrapping it with red tape.
"There. all done," she said with a smile, writing Darcy's name and patient number down on the two vials of blood she'd drawn. "It'll take a day or two to run the blood. Depends on if someone else is using the machine."
"So... ethically, if I wanted to prevent slip-ups that could lead to disastrous results in the future.. how would I go about training that? Mind control's not really something you can just walk up to people and ask them to be a lab rat for, but I can't avoid looking people in the eyes and not giving direct commands either, especially if I'm going to be doing fieldwork."
Jean tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hard to say," she admitted. "When you are using your powers do you feel any differently?"
"Depends on how hard I'm having to push. If it's something they're inclined to do it's like spreading room temp butter on hot toast. Neutral's a bit more like spreading a chunky fruit preserve. More effort, might give me a bit of a headache with extended use, spread is a bit uneven or clumpy but overall good coverage. If they're really opposed... kinda like peanut butter on soft bread? Patchy, clumpy, might tear the bread a little. Headaches, sometimes blooms into a full migraine with nausea and light-sound sensitivity, nosebleeds. Pretty obvious and painful by that point, so I've never tried pushing harder. And the idea of.. forcing on someone without an urgent need has been bothering me, so I've just. Mostly tried to avoid it, in general. But it'll be safer for everyone else and more useful at work if I know I've got a firmer grip on what I'm doing."
"Ultimately, yes. But with the current state of your powers if you practice on someone we'll need it to be extremely controlled," Jean allowed. "I can ask Charles or some of my contacts if they've had experience with others with even remotely similar powers. Perhaps they have some tips."
"That would be fantastic. In the meantime, I guess I continue what I've been doing? Avoid doing the trifecta of touching, eye contact, and a direct command?" Darcy bit her lip, looking at the floor in concern. "I'll do my best. Thanks Doc."
