TEXT; USER: JT

[hexrot]

If there are any other engineers or tech-savvy Drifters among us that aren't waterbound, Viktor and I won't dismiss the assistance with the generator. We're doing our best to get it running, or at least construct temporary vehicle augumentations to reinforce our defenses in the mean time. They'll be bare bones and have a short life span, but it's better than nothing. That being said, my current projects will be temporarily postponed until further notice. If I'm not working parts, I'm gathering wood, and I can only step outside at dusk.

[ or if he snows in the damn place but uhhhh no thank you! ]

Donnie and Danse, you'll hear back from me when your respective requests are finished. I haven't forgotten any of them.

In the meantime, if you come across any generator parts, bring them to us as soon as possible, please. Any remnants of metal, elements, chemicals or hands to help with the wood would be valued if you can find or offer— I'll trade my work for it, if you have the patience for a queue. I can do minor fixes where needed.

Any questions, you can ask them here or come to the forge. It's hard to miss.

[ it's the only lisa frank pick up for miles. the thing is hard to miss, especially when jayce is working the little cargo bed forge he's built over the last two months. characters are welcome to come visit directly while he's working at night; smoke signals and his hammer (hand sized, not the big one) pounds throughout the late hours, while he's asleep or within the convoy from sunrise to sunset. ]

— JT

Comments

no worries at all!

[propatriamori]

[Edward perks up at Jayce's response.]

Tongs, yes. I know what tongs are.

[This is going better than he'd hoped.]

Where can I lend my assistance?

[hexrot]

[ that is indeed a good sign; jayce nods to himself. ]

Come forward, three paces. [ and once that's done, ] We're going to familiarize with the space first. Know where everything is, and you're way around it.

[ that way, he could gauge what edward could do in the future— besides organize. ]

My forge consists of four compartments. [ after a moment, jayce considers, ] Can I take your hand?

[propatriamori]

[How is it that people in this world know exactly what to do to accommodate Edward's blindness, with none of the awkwardness of his own world? Edward follows Jayce's directions and waits for further ones, blinking when Jayce asks for his hand.]

Of course.

[He offers it.]

Thank you for asking. Sometimes people don't, and it startles me.

[It isn't done maliciously, Edward knows, but it's still very, very nice to be around someone who has so flawlessly picked up on exactly what he needs.]

May I ask, do you know anyone else who is blind? You seem as though you've met someone like me before.

[hexrot]

[ with the approval to act, jayce gently takes edward's hand by the wrist; it's a firm grip, gloved in leather. while he speaks,he leads them to the first box. ]

My partner has a condition, and, [ a pause; a little metal click where his leg is, ] I might need a cane soon, myself.

[ emphasis on the might— because jayce is going to drag out the need for it as long as he could. donnie's new brace is going to do wonders for him, so certainlyhe can procrastinate on actually making himself a cane. ]

—I've just seen a lot of assumptions made. You're more than capable of making your own choices. [ and they shouldn't be made. doesn't make them any less capable of doing things themselves, and now, more than ever, did jayce resent the sentiment. he feels shitty as is, to see how he's withered away. it did not make him any less strong. if he needs help, he's going to ask. that goes for anyone. edward's hand will soon find the top of a metalic crate. ] What you're touching is the tool box. Feel free to open it.

[ get to know it, feel it. there are general tools in there. different sized tongs, spanners, screwdrivers— everything he had managed to pull from the garages in passing. ]

cw: 1910s language regarding disability

[propatriamori]

I understand.

[And the knowledge has cheered him up quite a bit. Two other people here, who also aren't whole and sound, surviving and even thriving if they've built a forge. It is a breath of fresh air, and Edward finds himself warming to Jayce immediately.]

[It also helps when Jayce directs his hands and then lets Edward explore on his own, without trying to over-explain or guide him. That, in Edward's opinion, has been the worst thing about being blinded: people back home treat him like he's mentally defective, when there's nothing wrong with his mind at all. He opens the tool box and starts digging around in it, carefully taking tools out and then organising them according to type across the bench.]

I recognise most of these.

[There are a few he's unclear on--is this a left-handed monkey wrench?--but most are familiar.]

I believe... do you have a small engine about? Something I could attempt to disassemble that won't be too great a loss if I'm unable to complete the task?

[hexrot]

[ jayce goes quiet, both in watching edward feel around as well as when he requests something to pick apart. lucky for them, he has an entire harvest of cyborg parts for the forge's scrap metal stock. you'll never know when you need iron here or there. that also came with the perks of robot hearts, turbine engines for lungs, and so on. with a few hoofbeats, a drawer's loud slide and metalic clattering, jayce eventually returns with some sort of pump mechanism, pried from the chest cavity of one of the raiders and missing a few tubes. ]

See if this works for you. [ he holds it close to edward, only bumping his hand with it so he knows its there. ] They're all spare parts, and I've got plenty.