April & Forge | First Impressions
Aug. 11th, 2022 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsForge runs into April while she's working in one of the labs, and they end up talking a bit of science as a form of introduction.
“Dammit,” April muttered to herself as she shoved her notebook and a pile of notes to the side in annoyance. She’d been working on a pet project of hers, but every block she’d gotten around just shoved another problem into the path and she was annoyed. “Okay self, step back. Take a break, you’re not going to solve this in just a few days.”
She looked around the small lab she’d taken over, eyes lighting up at the clay and wheel in the corner. The wheel itself wasn’t an interest in her already frustrated state, but a little shape and hammer time with the clay itself might be just the thing to work that mood out. She dropped a hunk on the table and started forming it, hands and arms becoming swirling black and blue as tendrils around her head swayed to the rhythmic beats coming from the phone docked behind her.
She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t notice the newcomer appearing at her door, the tingle at the base of her neck almost non-existent this far into the mansion’s grounds and security.
Forge poked his head in the door, recognizing a lab when he saw one. Although it may have also doubled as a pottery crafting station, so maybe this was some place he was gonna need to get some explanation for. "Hello." he said, trying to remember his manners rather than just silently retreating. The more he engaged, the better off he'd be. He could practically sense Naze over his shoulder being encouraging in that infuriatingly helpful way he had.
“Sec,” April replied, a mallet shaped hand working the last bit of clay flat before morphing back. She looked up, eyes doing a toe to head assessment of the man at the door. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new or just one of the folks that’s been away for a while?” She waved him into the room, moving things off the second chair so he could take a seat if he wished.
Forge brushed his hair out of his eyes and then took the proffered seat. "I'm Forge." he said, holding out a gloved hand to her. "Just arrived here. Was taking a look around, seeing how the facilities are."
“I’m April. Welcome to the newbie club. Are you a science type?” She concentrated for a moment, hand fading back to human flesh before she gave his hand a shake. A tilt of her head followed as she analyzed the feel before dropping it. “Prosthetic, but not just a few missing fingers. How advanced is it?”
"I can answer both your questions at the same time." he said for what he was dreading was going to be roughly the ten thousandth time. "I'm a mutant, like you. I invent things." he said, in what he considered the Understatement of the Century. "The hand I had some help with initially, but this design is all me." he said, and then slapped himself on the right leg so she could hear the dull sound there. "Leg too."
“That’s rad. So is what you can build tempered by anything, or is your imagination the limit?” April was sometimes oblivious, but not enough to ask how he’d ended up needing the hand and the leg. Not on a first meeting, at least. “I’d apologize for asking, but if it was one of the clunkier models I was going to ask if you wanted some of the engineering types to take a look at it. It’s sorta my interest? Prosthetics, that is. And sustainability. Nanotech too, but well…” her eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. “There are other people to ask about that with some interesting insight.”
"Imagination's a big component of it, but it has to be physically possible to exist." he said. "I'm not Scotty and I'm not a reality-warper. Beyond those constraints, sky's the limit." he said while hazarding a smile at the young woman.
April leaned forward, making a face as her elbows landed in the clay. She gave the clay a look of faint betrayal and scooped it up, sliding out of the chair to dump it back into the bucket she’d pulled it from. “So if I were to ask if it were possible to build something, would it set your brain spinning?” She gave him a small grin as she returned to her seat, propping on her elbows and staring at Forge intently. “And how hard is it to reverse engineer something you’ve dreamed up?”
"Ranges from "Complicated, but we got this." to "I got nothin'." he said with a grin. "Have to admit, sometimes even I don't know how my stuff works. Just that it does." he said. "And I'd thank you to not try to tease my power - it works subconsciously and if I hit it too hard I tend to get a little … spacey." he said. Wow, today must be Honesty Day in the Casa del Forge. Naze would be proud of him.
“Oh, I’ll make sure to ask before teasing then,” April replied. The moment stretched out as she realized what she’d said, cheeks turning a pale pink while a tendril flopped over her eyes. She groaned in embarrassment, but continued. “Your powers, obviously. No promises if you overhear something or see me spitballing with people on the journals, but spacing out sounds… unideal? Potentially dangerous, even. And I may take a shot at reverse engineering your work sometime, if you’re okay with it.”
"Depends on what it is you want to try to figure out. Some of my stuff can be dangerous if mishandled." he said cautiously. "Hate to have you accidentally rupture a dense fusion bottle and have the reaction erupt in your face before it dies completely." he said. "But some of the smaller stuff, the less-hazardous stuff, sure. Knock yourself out." he said. Ah, the eagerness of the engineering student. Or, given her apparent age, the inexperienced engineering graduate. "I should also warn you, I have a degree in math." he smirked.
“That knowledge can’t hurt me because I have a graphing calculator,” she smirked back. “And no, just… I like to know what makes things work. Getting my hands dirty. I’d ask you before dissembling something specific, that was just more wondering if it was worth the ask at all. Some people are very tetchy about their tech and mechanics.”
"That was me up until about five minutes ago. But if I'm going to come in here and offer my tech, it's only fair that you guys get a shot at reverse-engineering it. I mean, DARPA's been hopeless about it, may as well give the mutants a shot, right?" he said with a teasing look. "Also, I've got to ask. Shapeshifter or illusionist?" he asked, gesturing towards her claws and her visible bits of symbiote.
“Ah… shapeshifter?” April held her arm out. “You can touch, it’s not as slick of a consistency as it looks,” she offered. “I call it monster form, but I don’t have full control of it yet. Wasn’t aware I had a full body form until right before I ended up here, and that was… beginning of the year?” Her smile faded into something a little sheepish. “I can make spider-webs too, and some enhan–” she cut off abruptly, eyes lighting up. “I do have a request, when you’re settled in and ready to do some engineering magic.”
Forge reached out with his left hand, somewhat awkwardly, to touch the symbiotic bits. "Interesting." he said as he sat there and processed what he was touching. "And that didn't take long. Not here a full day and someone already wants me to make something. What is it you want?" he asked.
April pulled a case from the small purse next to her pile of notes. “This universe doesn’t make these, and well. They’re the best option I’ve ever found for filtering noise to keep from getting overwhelmed while still being able to focus on someone actually talking to me or noise close to me.” Her voice was a little sheepish as she explained, hand curving around the back of her neck. “I’ve got enhanced hearing, so even the subway can be a bit much without them. I wasn’t expecting to end up here, so my spares weren’t in my bag. Having some sort of backup would be really useful, since they’re not really meant to be worn constantly for months without swapping.” She slid the case across the table gently. “They’re clean, I don’t generally need them in the mansion. We’ve got excellent soundproofing.”
"Medical gear usually isn't in my wheelhouse, but you're not asking me to rebuild your ears, you just want better mobile soundproofing?" he asked, to clarify the parameters of the request.
“Yeah. They’re basically fancy stage earplugs, no interfacing with my bones or nerves or anything like that,” April agreed. “And I’ll pay you back somehow. I’d offer to cook for you, but my skills are still mostly uh… college cooking for one? Grilled cheese, spaghetti, basic stuff. There are much better cooks around here. But if there’s something you want or need and I can help, I’d be happy to do it.”
Forge waved that off. "Should be easy enough. Give me a day or so and I'll see what I can come up with for you." he said. At least she wasn't asking for things that go Boom or something weirdly outre and science-fictional.
“I appreciate it, but I also insist on paying you back somehow.” Her voice was firm. “And maybe we can do some collaborative work down the road. Molly’s an engineer too, so y’know. You’ve landed somewhere with plenty of science and adjacent types that enjoy making new things and upgrading the wheel.”
"Historically I do not play well with others." he said wryly. "But part of being here is a chance to improve myself so … we'll see how things develop." he said, then paused for a moment. "You said this dimension. I take it you're not native to here and are from … somewhere else?" he asked. Now they were firmly into Weird Shit territory, but it's not like he wasn't covered in Weird Shit in his life.
April waved her hand vaguely behind her, hopefully in the direction of the chapel. “Yeah, there’s a whole… unstable dimensional portal that I got blown through,” she offered, face scrunching at the memory. “You’d have to talk to Clint about it, physics is not my jam. If you haven’t met him yet, I can walk you to the chapel, but I’m still a bit hesitant about going near the thing.”
"Don't worry about it." he said as reassuringly as he could. "I'll get Clint to show me the whole thing, as physics is just one of my jams." he said. "Assuming he's taken a shower and gotten cleaned up first. When I first met him, he fell out of a tree."
April cracked up, covering her face with her hands as her body shook with laughter. “He’s brilliant,” she finally got out once she’d calmed down, voice muffled slightly by her hands. “But I get the impression from people that’ve known him much longer that he can be a bit of a disaster sometimes. Falling out of a tree is just more evidence of that. The man’s graceful as a ballet dancer when he wants to be.”
"He did land on his feet…" he mused. "And given how he smelled, he'd been pretty hammered the day before. That's … almost impressive." he said. "Anyway, let me borrow these plugs so I can get your measurements and then I'll see what I can whip up for you. Assuming this place has a half-decent fab somewhere…"
“I’m sure it does,” she replied easily. “And hey, I’m used to doing the alone thing too, so if you ever want company that can just chill quietly in the same room as you to avoid louder people, you’re welcome to come find me. Sometimes a room full of people is overwhelming, even when you like them well enough. We’ve got a pretty decent library too, and plenty of yard and wood if you want the fresh air.”
Forge snorted at that. "Had my fill of nice clean air, fresh food, clean living. I'm ready to go back to existing on junk food and Red Bull and make some really cool stuff for people to use," he said with a laugh. "But don't worry. I should be able to whip you up something nifty," he promised.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s all Cheeto dust and energy drinks until you can hear colors, I get it,” April agreed with a laugh. “It’s been nice meeting you, Forge.”
"Same. It's just not the same unless you can taste the rainbow." he joked. Then he stood up to make his way back into the Mansion.
“Dammit,” April muttered to herself as she shoved her notebook and a pile of notes to the side in annoyance. She’d been working on a pet project of hers, but every block she’d gotten around just shoved another problem into the path and she was annoyed. “Okay self, step back. Take a break, you’re not going to solve this in just a few days.”
She looked around the small lab she’d taken over, eyes lighting up at the clay and wheel in the corner. The wheel itself wasn’t an interest in her already frustrated state, but a little shape and hammer time with the clay itself might be just the thing to work that mood out. She dropped a hunk on the table and started forming it, hands and arms becoming swirling black and blue as tendrils around her head swayed to the rhythmic beats coming from the phone docked behind her.
She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t notice the newcomer appearing at her door, the tingle at the base of her neck almost non-existent this far into the mansion’s grounds and security.
Forge poked his head in the door, recognizing a lab when he saw one. Although it may have also doubled as a pottery crafting station, so maybe this was some place he was gonna need to get some explanation for. "Hello." he said, trying to remember his manners rather than just silently retreating. The more he engaged, the better off he'd be. He could practically sense Naze over his shoulder being encouraging in that infuriatingly helpful way he had.
“Sec,” April replied, a mallet shaped hand working the last bit of clay flat before morphing back. She looked up, eyes doing a toe to head assessment of the man at the door. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new or just one of the folks that’s been away for a while?” She waved him into the room, moving things off the second chair so he could take a seat if he wished.
Forge brushed his hair out of his eyes and then took the proffered seat. "I'm Forge." he said, holding out a gloved hand to her. "Just arrived here. Was taking a look around, seeing how the facilities are."
“I’m April. Welcome to the newbie club. Are you a science type?” She concentrated for a moment, hand fading back to human flesh before she gave his hand a shake. A tilt of her head followed as she analyzed the feel before dropping it. “Prosthetic, but not just a few missing fingers. How advanced is it?”
"I can answer both your questions at the same time." he said for what he was dreading was going to be roughly the ten thousandth time. "I'm a mutant, like you. I invent things." he said, in what he considered the Understatement of the Century. "The hand I had some help with initially, but this design is all me." he said, and then slapped himself on the right leg so she could hear the dull sound there. "Leg too."
“That’s rad. So is what you can build tempered by anything, or is your imagination the limit?” April was sometimes oblivious, but not enough to ask how he’d ended up needing the hand and the leg. Not on a first meeting, at least. “I’d apologize for asking, but if it was one of the clunkier models I was going to ask if you wanted some of the engineering types to take a look at it. It’s sorta my interest? Prosthetics, that is. And sustainability. Nanotech too, but well…” her eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. “There are other people to ask about that with some interesting insight.”
"Imagination's a big component of it, but it has to be physically possible to exist." he said. "I'm not Scotty and I'm not a reality-warper. Beyond those constraints, sky's the limit." he said while hazarding a smile at the young woman.
April leaned forward, making a face as her elbows landed in the clay. She gave the clay a look of faint betrayal and scooped it up, sliding out of the chair to dump it back into the bucket she’d pulled it from. “So if I were to ask if it were possible to build something, would it set your brain spinning?” She gave him a small grin as she returned to her seat, propping on her elbows and staring at Forge intently. “And how hard is it to reverse engineer something you’ve dreamed up?”
"Ranges from "Complicated, but we got this." to "I got nothin'." he said with a grin. "Have to admit, sometimes even I don't know how my stuff works. Just that it does." he said. "And I'd thank you to not try to tease my power - it works subconsciously and if I hit it too hard I tend to get a little … spacey." he said. Wow, today must be Honesty Day in the Casa del Forge. Naze would be proud of him.
“Oh, I’ll make sure to ask before teasing then,” April replied. The moment stretched out as she realized what she’d said, cheeks turning a pale pink while a tendril flopped over her eyes. She groaned in embarrassment, but continued. “Your powers, obviously. No promises if you overhear something or see me spitballing with people on the journals, but spacing out sounds… unideal? Potentially dangerous, even. And I may take a shot at reverse engineering your work sometime, if you’re okay with it.”
"Depends on what it is you want to try to figure out. Some of my stuff can be dangerous if mishandled." he said cautiously. "Hate to have you accidentally rupture a dense fusion bottle and have the reaction erupt in your face before it dies completely." he said. "But some of the smaller stuff, the less-hazardous stuff, sure. Knock yourself out." he said. Ah, the eagerness of the engineering student. Or, given her apparent age, the inexperienced engineering graduate. "I should also warn you, I have a degree in math." he smirked.
“That knowledge can’t hurt me because I have a graphing calculator,” she smirked back. “And no, just… I like to know what makes things work. Getting my hands dirty. I’d ask you before dissembling something specific, that was just more wondering if it was worth the ask at all. Some people are very tetchy about their tech and mechanics.”
"That was me up until about five minutes ago. But if I'm going to come in here and offer my tech, it's only fair that you guys get a shot at reverse-engineering it. I mean, DARPA's been hopeless about it, may as well give the mutants a shot, right?" he said with a teasing look. "Also, I've got to ask. Shapeshifter or illusionist?" he asked, gesturing towards her claws and her visible bits of symbiote.
“Ah… shapeshifter?” April held her arm out. “You can touch, it’s not as slick of a consistency as it looks,” she offered. “I call it monster form, but I don’t have full control of it yet. Wasn’t aware I had a full body form until right before I ended up here, and that was… beginning of the year?” Her smile faded into something a little sheepish. “I can make spider-webs too, and some enhan–” she cut off abruptly, eyes lighting up. “I do have a request, when you’re settled in and ready to do some engineering magic.”
Forge reached out with his left hand, somewhat awkwardly, to touch the symbiotic bits. "Interesting." he said as he sat there and processed what he was touching. "And that didn't take long. Not here a full day and someone already wants me to make something. What is it you want?" he asked.
April pulled a case from the small purse next to her pile of notes. “This universe doesn’t make these, and well. They’re the best option I’ve ever found for filtering noise to keep from getting overwhelmed while still being able to focus on someone actually talking to me or noise close to me.” Her voice was a little sheepish as she explained, hand curving around the back of her neck. “I’ve got enhanced hearing, so even the subway can be a bit much without them. I wasn’t expecting to end up here, so my spares weren’t in my bag. Having some sort of backup would be really useful, since they’re not really meant to be worn constantly for months without swapping.” She slid the case across the table gently. “They’re clean, I don’t generally need them in the mansion. We’ve got excellent soundproofing.”
"Medical gear usually isn't in my wheelhouse, but you're not asking me to rebuild your ears, you just want better mobile soundproofing?" he asked, to clarify the parameters of the request.
“Yeah. They’re basically fancy stage earplugs, no interfacing with my bones or nerves or anything like that,” April agreed. “And I’ll pay you back somehow. I’d offer to cook for you, but my skills are still mostly uh… college cooking for one? Grilled cheese, spaghetti, basic stuff. There are much better cooks around here. But if there’s something you want or need and I can help, I’d be happy to do it.”
Forge waved that off. "Should be easy enough. Give me a day or so and I'll see what I can come up with for you." he said. At least she wasn't asking for things that go Boom or something weirdly outre and science-fictional.
“I appreciate it, but I also insist on paying you back somehow.” Her voice was firm. “And maybe we can do some collaborative work down the road. Molly’s an engineer too, so y’know. You’ve landed somewhere with plenty of science and adjacent types that enjoy making new things and upgrading the wheel.”
"Historically I do not play well with others." he said wryly. "But part of being here is a chance to improve myself so … we'll see how things develop." he said, then paused for a moment. "You said this dimension. I take it you're not native to here and are from … somewhere else?" he asked. Now they were firmly into Weird Shit territory, but it's not like he wasn't covered in Weird Shit in his life.
April waved her hand vaguely behind her, hopefully in the direction of the chapel. “Yeah, there’s a whole… unstable dimensional portal that I got blown through,” she offered, face scrunching at the memory. “You’d have to talk to Clint about it, physics is not my jam. If you haven’t met him yet, I can walk you to the chapel, but I’m still a bit hesitant about going near the thing.”
"Don't worry about it." he said as reassuringly as he could. "I'll get Clint to show me the whole thing, as physics is just one of my jams." he said. "Assuming he's taken a shower and gotten cleaned up first. When I first met him, he fell out of a tree."
April cracked up, covering her face with her hands as her body shook with laughter. “He’s brilliant,” she finally got out once she’d calmed down, voice muffled slightly by her hands. “But I get the impression from people that’ve known him much longer that he can be a bit of a disaster sometimes. Falling out of a tree is just more evidence of that. The man’s graceful as a ballet dancer when he wants to be.”
"He did land on his feet…" he mused. "And given how he smelled, he'd been pretty hammered the day before. That's … almost impressive." he said. "Anyway, let me borrow these plugs so I can get your measurements and then I'll see what I can whip up for you. Assuming this place has a half-decent fab somewhere…"
“I’m sure it does,” she replied easily. “And hey, I’m used to doing the alone thing too, so if you ever want company that can just chill quietly in the same room as you to avoid louder people, you’re welcome to come find me. Sometimes a room full of people is overwhelming, even when you like them well enough. We’ve got a pretty decent library too, and plenty of yard and wood if you want the fresh air.”
Forge snorted at that. "Had my fill of nice clean air, fresh food, clean living. I'm ready to go back to existing on junk food and Red Bull and make some really cool stuff for people to use," he said with a laugh. "But don't worry. I should be able to whip you up something nifty," he promised.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s all Cheeto dust and energy drinks until you can hear colors, I get it,” April agreed with a laugh. “It’s been nice meeting you, Forge.”
"Same. It's just not the same unless you can taste the rainbow." he joked. Then he stood up to make his way back into the Mansion.
