Jayce spent the rest of the week after the request for help actually going to Libertas and directly assisting with the reconstruction conversations, although they're very early and he is just a helper at this point. It is a difficult tightrope for the two of them to walk, helping as much as they can within boundaries that don't make them stand out too much. They could probably create things that will make it go faster, but at what cost? Either way, it's easy to stay busy around here, and the rest of his time is spent on finishing projects and then focusing on the new metal.
Typical blacksmith mentality that Jayce is absolutely fascinated by the Luna metal. He hopes some day if they ever get to go to Luna that he can learn more about where they get it. He will probably end up nerding out over that, some day. He and Lee have had multiple conversations about it, so at least he has a fellow blacksmith to gush at. From there it was coming up with ideas on how to use it.
After seeing Sam's shield for the first time, Jayce was obviously low key obsessed with it. The metal is not something he has ever seen replicated and so he did his absolute best to give Steve something strong and capable. Jayce always puts his heart and soul into what he makes, including the 250th knife asked of him. But still. This is new. Maybe not ever vibranium, but it's something.
He glances up when Steve enters and his smile is immediate and genuine. He is very energetic and one of those obnoxious morning people, he likes keeping busy. He did a different type of working out at dawn, in the forge, so he is a little dressed down without his usual tie and vest for once.
"Morning!" The shield hasn't just been finished, he's been working on multiple projects, but it is the one he's been experimenting on the most. "V, Steve's here." He says toward the back room where yes, Viktor is hiding away.
"Do you need me to clean up the shield? I actually made you something that might be helpful if the two shield thing works out, a double back harness, although you can use it for that one if you like it." Jayce has a tendency to just make things when they come to him.
He sure is hiding! Viktor is somewhere in the back, hidden behind stacks of books and unfinished projects, only sticking his head out once he’s addressed directly. Even then, he doesn’t stand, peeking over the stack as if to make sure that it is, in fact, Steve, before he goes any further. Only after he confirms the visitor does he emerge, looking generally rumpled but otherwise ready to get to work.
“Thank you for coming in,” he says, like he and Jayce aren’t about to give Steve a bunch of new fun toys. “You’ll have to forgive Jayce. He’s getting ahead of himself.”
Steve isn't at all put off by Jayce's energetic greeting, but that comes down to the fact that he's also a morning person. He and Sam are usually already running around the city when the sky starts to lighten, and after a workout, he's more than ready to face what the day brings.
A double back harness? He inclines his head, eyes widening slightly with interest, but then his attention shifts over to Viktor as he appears. Or V, as Jayce calls him. Cute. Steve nods to him in greeting.
"It's all right. I have all day." He doesn't have any jobs awaiting him, having made sure to leave his schedule open because he had no idea how long this might take. Jayce seems to want to try a whole variety of things.
"Here." He unstraps the plain metal shield from his arm so that he can hand it over to Jayce. "Sorry, when I was fighting off the undead last month, it got exposed to a lot of heat." He doesn't elaborate on where the heat came from, but won't hesitate to do so if they're curious. No fire-breathing zombies were involved, thankfully. "I'm not sure it was really designed to withstand that kind of thing, so..."
Some repairs might be in order. The shield definitely looks a bit charred at the edges.
Jayce rarely uses his familiar nickname of V around other people, but it sometimes slips when around friends. He scrunches his nose up at his partner at the 'getting ahead of himself' but only to be playful, since they both know his enthusiasm is what gets ahead of him. He likes making things for people who actually will use them.
He takes the shield and hums thoughtfully as he looks it over. Nothing that can't be easily repaired and he spins it around, setting it on his desk with a pointed look at Viktor. "Easy to update, and also fire protection is one of those enchantments we've been working on." Jayce pointed out that Viktor could be strengthening his enchantment practice by doing them, and this is one of those obvious examples.
"But, even more relevant, the metal that Luna sent can withstand extremely high temperatures without melting and is resistant to corrosion." This is when Jayce gets into that mode of his enthusiasm really taking over, animated as he talks, because of course for nerds like them, new metal can be particularly thrilling to play with. He scoops up the new shield he made for Steve and offers it to him.
This one is very light-weight, it would feel almost too light compared to the heavier metal of the other. "Braerium is physically brittle but magically significant, so I had to test it out with some alloy options to keep the magic absorption without shattering at the first serious punch it would take." Do not underestimate how many times Jayce tested things out before making one he liked.
"Yes, if you trust my abilities, I'm happy to apply the enchantment. " What he does not say is that he's still kind of practicing all of this, but Jayce will assist if necessary. That's what this is supposed to be about, after all. Viktor shuffles closer so that he can peer over Jayce's shoulder to get a look at the shield, assessing the damage and nodding in agreement.
Of course, Braerium is what's most relevant to this conversation, and though Viktor isn't as openly thrilled as Jayce, the intensity of his interest is the biggest indicator that he's just as excited about it, even if he wasn't the one to do the smithing.
"There's room for improvement, of course." Which is why Steve is here. "Though if I may ask, why a shield?"
He hopes that the implication is clear--it's not necessarily just about the shield, but rather, the fact that Steve seems interested in only a shield. He hasn't asked for knives, or swords, or anything else like that. Viktor finds that curious in itself.
It's a relief to hear that the two of them think that they can repair and even improve on the shield that Steve's already been using. He knows that it's never going to be able to ricochet around in a perfect trajectory to return to his hands like his own shield would, but he isn't about to complain about that. It's not a failure on the part of either Jayce or Viktor, as vibranium isn't something that can just be recreated like it's nothing.
"I'd appreciate that," Steve says to Viktor with a nod before he takes the new shield that Jayce hands over. Braerium, huh? It's notably lightweight and Steve's eyebrows lift up in surprise as he turns the disc over in his hands, inspecting it. "If you can figure out a way to make sure that it can handle brute force, that would be great."
Otherwise, it's going to take quite an adjustment for him to learn to use it in way that isn't going to just break it apart the first time he tries it out. To use it solely as a shield, rather than as a weapon in its own right. If Jayce's idea for a pack that can hold two shields works, he could shift between them as needed, though.
Then comes Viktor's question, and Steve smiles wryly as he sets the shield down on the closest counter for now. He'll be happy to test it out for them in any way that they want, but doesn't want to accidentally do any harm before they get to that.
"I've always been the most comfortable using one over knives or guns," he explains with a one-armed shrug. "The one I had back home was made of something called vibranium, and I could throw it in such a way that it would hit multiple targets before returning to me. Sometimes a good defense is the best offense."
"It might not be possible to make one with the strength of a full shield and also have the magical properties, which is why having a magic shield and a combat shield could be one approach." Jayce wants to be honest, the way braerium is made up, you can't have both perfectly. But he understands having two shields instead of just one fantastic vibranium one isn't an ideal situation. The point is this is a work in progress, they only started being able to work with the metal. "I'm still working on it though." He doesn't give up easily.
"I can't even tell you what I'd do to use vibranium. It sounds like ... the perfect metal." And of course for someone like him that's a damn miracle. Also Jayce is a rock collector and while vibranium is not a rock (maybe), it still sounds like something he'd want to treasure. "Have you considered learning some magic? A telekinesis spell in combat could help you do something similar."
Jayce is a mage now, something he still can't believe on a daily basis, so despite much of his work being physical, magical takes its place in his heart when he thinks about it. He problem solves. "We actually have an area we can test out the shield."
“Ideally we’ll be able to fortify braerium to provide both physical and magical defense.”
But they aren’t there yet. In the meantime, it seems like all three of them are perfectly fine with this arrangement—Viktor and Jayce developing equipment for Steve to test, and Steve gets a cool toy, and brings his notes back to the workshop. Viktor's in agreement that two shields is overkill, but they've only just started to work with this material. Optimizing it is going to take some time.
Jayce might want to swoon over vibranium, but Viktor is more practical. Yes, it might be nice to have. Yes, he'd probably do quite a lot to get his hands on some, but they all know such a thing isn't possible. The next best thing will be to alter braerium to achieve similar effects. That's something he and Jayce could be good at. When Jayce mentions actually testing it out, Viktor lights up.
"Yes, out back in the alley. If you're amenable, of course."
As both of them work to manage Steve's expectations, he's quick to nod. "I get that I'm going to probably have to switch between the two, at least for now." That's going to be an adjustment, he won't claim otherwise, but he's pretty sure that he'll learn how to manage it for lack of a better option. This is more than he ever could have expected when he first arrived here, so he's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth either. Jayce and Viktor are being more than accommodating.
He nods at the comment about vibranium, because it is the perfect metal and something that's highly sought after back home too. To the point that Wakanda has done a great deal to keep it safely in their hands, rather than allowing people like Ulysses Klaw to get a hold of it.
Though it's the suggestion about magic that really catches his attention, because it's a workable solution that he hadn't ever thought about until now. Realization dawns on him as he stares off for a few moments. "Huh. You know, that isn't a bad idea. I have no experience with magic back home, that was always Wanda's area, so... I just never thought about trying to learn it here, even though I know it's an option." If he could figure out a way to use magic to propel the shield the way that he wants, that would be extremely useful, and he feels a little silly that he's overlooked this for so long.
That's something to file away for later, though. When they explain that they actually have a testing area, he straightens and gives a firm nod, reaching out to grab the prototype shield again. "Of course, that's what I'm here for. Lead the way."
They will keep working on the combination of metals until something comes out perfect. There's no way to rush it, and neither of them are the kind to do that anyway. They like their final drafts to be perfect, that is why they have a lot of testing round slike now first. He does smile when Steve seems surprised at the idea of combining magic with the rest. Jayce always thinks about ways to combine his magic with everything else.
"Telekinesis spells are probably a good way to start so you can direct the shield anywhere you want and then back again. Maybe aerokinesis as a backup to use the wind. Both also can be useful as defensive magic to put up fast shields." Jayce can talk as enthusiastically about magic ideas as he can about anything else. More so, to be honest, because it is a dream come true.
"If you train in the Horizon, it actually makes it faster. Easier. Have Wanda show you a few things, I'm sure she'd like that." Wanda has communicated to him that she was somewhat of the new kid in the Avengers at one point, and trained by them. Maybe she'd love the shoe being on the other foot so she can be the knowledgeable one.
"Okay so what we're going to practice with is throwing spells at the shield and seeing how it is on your end. And then...." Jayce talks as they walk out to the back alley.
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zvi
no subject
Date: 2022-11-28 09:33 pm (UTC)Typical blacksmith mentality that Jayce is absolutely fascinated by the Luna metal. He hopes some day if they ever get to go to Luna that he can learn more about where they get it. He will probably end up nerding out over that, some day. He and Lee have had multiple conversations about it, so at least he has a fellow blacksmith to gush at. From there it was coming up with ideas on how to use it.
After seeing Sam's shield for the first time, Jayce was obviously low key obsessed with it. The metal is not something he has ever seen replicated and so he did his absolute best to give Steve something strong and capable. Jayce always puts his heart and soul into what he makes, including the 250th knife asked of him. But still. This is new. Maybe not ever vibranium, but it's something.
He glances up when Steve enters and his smile is immediate and genuine. He is very energetic and one of those obnoxious morning people, he likes keeping busy. He did a different type of working out at dawn, in the forge, so he is a little dressed down without his usual tie and vest for once.
"Morning!" The shield hasn't just been finished, he's been working on multiple projects, but it is the one he's been experimenting on the most. "V, Steve's here." He says toward the back room where yes, Viktor is hiding away.
"Do you need me to clean up the shield? I actually made you something that might be helpful if the two shield thing works out, a double back harness, although you can use it for that one if you like it." Jayce has a tendency to just make things when they come to him.
no subject
Date: 2022-11-30 09:33 pm (UTC)“Thank you for coming in,” he says, like he and Jayce aren’t about to give Steve a bunch of new fun toys. “You’ll have to forgive Jayce. He’s getting ahead of himself.”
One thing at a time!
“What would you like to start with?”
no subject
Date: 2022-12-02 12:23 am (UTC)A double back harness? He inclines his head, eyes widening slightly with interest, but then his attention shifts over to Viktor as he appears. Or V, as Jayce calls him. Cute. Steve nods to him in greeting.
"It's all right. I have all day." He doesn't have any jobs awaiting him, having made sure to leave his schedule open because he had no idea how long this might take. Jayce seems to want to try a whole variety of things.
"Here." He unstraps the plain metal shield from his arm so that he can hand it over to Jayce. "Sorry, when I was fighting off the undead last month, it got exposed to a lot of heat." He doesn't elaborate on where the heat came from, but won't hesitate to do so if they're curious. No fire-breathing zombies were involved, thankfully. "I'm not sure it was really designed to withstand that kind of thing, so..."
Some repairs might be in order. The shield definitely looks a bit charred at the edges.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-05 02:10 am (UTC)He takes the shield and hums thoughtfully as he looks it over. Nothing that can't be easily repaired and he spins it around, setting it on his desk with a pointed look at Viktor. "Easy to update, and also fire protection is one of those enchantments we've been working on." Jayce pointed out that Viktor could be strengthening his enchantment practice by doing them, and this is one of those obvious examples.
"But, even more relevant, the metal that Luna sent can withstand extremely high temperatures without melting and is resistant to corrosion." This is when Jayce gets into that mode of his enthusiasm really taking over, animated as he talks, because of course for nerds like them, new metal can be particularly thrilling to play with. He scoops up the new shield he made for Steve and offers it to him.
This one is very light-weight, it would feel almost too light compared to the heavier metal of the other. "Braerium is physically brittle but magically significant, so I had to test it out with some alloy options to keep the magic absorption without shattering at the first serious punch it would take." Do not underestimate how many times Jayce tested things out before making one he liked.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-08 06:08 pm (UTC)Of course, Braerium is what's most relevant to this conversation, and though Viktor isn't as openly thrilled as Jayce, the intensity of his interest is the biggest indicator that he's just as excited about it, even if he wasn't the one to do the smithing.
"There's room for improvement, of course." Which is why Steve is here. "Though if I may ask, why a shield?"
He hopes that the implication is clear--it's not necessarily just about the shield, but rather, the fact that Steve seems interested in only a shield. He hasn't asked for knives, or swords, or anything else like that. Viktor finds that curious in itself.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-13 02:28 am (UTC)"I'd appreciate that," Steve says to Viktor with a nod before he takes the new shield that Jayce hands over. Braerium, huh? It's notably lightweight and Steve's eyebrows lift up in surprise as he turns the disc over in his hands, inspecting it. "If you can figure out a way to make sure that it can handle brute force, that would be great."
Otherwise, it's going to take quite an adjustment for him to learn to use it in way that isn't going to just break it apart the first time he tries it out. To use it solely as a shield, rather than as a weapon in its own right. If Jayce's idea for a pack that can hold two shields works, he could shift between them as needed, though.
Then comes Viktor's question, and Steve smiles wryly as he sets the shield down on the closest counter for now. He'll be happy to test it out for them in any way that they want, but doesn't want to accidentally do any harm before they get to that.
"I've always been the most comfortable using one over knives or guns," he explains with a one-armed shrug. "The one I had back home was made of something called vibranium, and I could throw it in such a way that it would hit multiple targets before returning to me. Sometimes a good defense is the best offense."
no subject
Date: 2022-12-17 03:17 am (UTC)"I can't even tell you what I'd do to use vibranium. It sounds like ... the perfect metal." And of course for someone like him that's a damn miracle. Also Jayce is a rock collector and while vibranium is not a rock (maybe), it still sounds like something he'd want to treasure. "Have you considered learning some magic? A telekinesis spell in combat could help you do something similar."
Jayce is a mage now, something he still can't believe on a daily basis, so despite much of his work being physical, magical takes its place in his heart when he thinks about it. He problem solves. "We actually have an area we can test out the shield."
no subject
Date: 2022-12-22 04:30 pm (UTC)But they aren’t there yet. In the meantime, it seems like all three of them are perfectly fine with this arrangement—Viktor and Jayce developing equipment for Steve to test, and Steve gets a cool toy, and brings his notes back to the workshop. Viktor's in agreement that two shields is overkill, but they've only just started to work with this material. Optimizing it is going to take some time.
Jayce might want to swoon over vibranium, but Viktor is more practical. Yes, it might be nice to have. Yes, he'd probably do quite a lot to get his hands on some, but they all know such a thing isn't possible. The next best thing will be to alter braerium to achieve similar effects. That's something he and Jayce could be good at. When Jayce mentions actually testing it out, Viktor lights up.
"Yes, out back in the alley. If you're amenable, of course."
no subject
Date: 2022-12-29 03:20 am (UTC)He nods at the comment about vibranium, because it is the perfect metal and something that's highly sought after back home too. To the point that Wakanda has done a great deal to keep it safely in their hands, rather than allowing people like Ulysses Klaw to get a hold of it.
Though it's the suggestion about magic that really catches his attention, because it's a workable solution that he hadn't ever thought about until now. Realization dawns on him as he stares off for a few moments. "Huh. You know, that isn't a bad idea. I have no experience with magic back home, that was always Wanda's area, so... I just never thought about trying to learn it here, even though I know it's an option." If he could figure out a way to use magic to propel the shield the way that he wants, that would be extremely useful, and he feels a little silly that he's overlooked this for so long.
That's something to file away for later, though. When they explain that they actually have a testing area, he straightens and gives a firm nod, reaching out to grab the prototype shield again. "Of course, that's what I'm here for. Lead the way."
I think we can wrap on this one if it's coolio, practicing was fun, Steve has cool shield!
Date: 2023-01-01 02:13 am (UTC)"Telekinesis spells are probably a good way to start so you can direct the shield anywhere you want and then back again. Maybe aerokinesis as a backup to use the wind. Both also can be useful as defensive magic to put up fast shields." Jayce can talk as enthusiastically about magic ideas as he can about anything else. More so, to be honest, because it is a dream come true.
"If you train in the Horizon, it actually makes it faster. Easier. Have Wanda show you a few things, I'm sure she'd like that." Wanda has communicated to him that she was somewhat of the new kid in the Avengers at one point, and trained by them. Maybe she'd love the shoe being on the other foot so she can be the knowledgeable one.
"Okay so what we're going to practice with is throwing spells at the shield and seeing how it is on your end. And then...." Jayce talks as they walk out to the back alley.