(no subject)
Character Name: Forge (technically Jeremy LaForge, but he never goes by anything but Forge)
PB: Nathaniel Arcand
Age: 21
Personality: For the most part Forge is a friendly, laid-back guy. He can be absentminded, especially when working on a project, and has a confusing knack for being a brilliant inventive genius one moment and a total dope the next. Likes people, gets along well with them, and doesn't understand a damn thing about how they tick, so when the going gets emotionally difficult, he will be in his workshop (machines, now; there's something he understands and knows how to fix). Doesn't believe in destiny, and can get really ticked off if someone suggests that there's only one option in a given situation; Forge is a huge proponent of there always being a Plan B. Can be extremely stubborn. Can be touchy about the subject of his prosthetic leg (which occasionally requires maintenance and makes his footsteps unusually heavy and irregular-sounding), but only when he feels people are singling him out as "crippled" because of it.
History: Forge is a Southern Cheyenne, born and raised in Oklahoma. Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by Naze, an older cousin of his father's who Forge considered to be his mentor until fairly recently. Naze was also a mutant, with the power to channel "spirit energy" and use it to work various forms of "magic" -- an ability common in their shared family tree, since Forge had it as well (although to a lesser degree). Family and tribal legend said that this meant Forge was meant to eventually take Naze's place as a protector and mediator, destined to fight "The Adversary", a mythical spirit enemy that would someday return to destroy reality.
Young Forge honestly found this epic-destiny thing to be a huge drag, although he mostly went along with Naze's training of his mild secondary mutant ability. It was his primary ability Forge was interested in; an intuitive technopath, he had an inborn understanding of all things mechanical and as a result loved tinkering with engines, machinery, and his own numerous inventions. Naze did his best to discourage this path, seeing it as secondary to Forge's true purpose; the rising friction between them led Forge to become something of a thrillseeker in his teen years, and when he was seventeen he lost his right leg in a motorcycle crash. Naze thought that would show Forge the error of his ways, but instead the young man spent the next two years researching, designing, and building his own cybernetic prosthesis to replace the lost limb. In the process, he came to a decision: he was no longer going to use his "spirit abilities", nor was he going to take Naze's place as the opponent of The Adversary.
He kept this decision to himself for a few years, quietly gathering money and working on honing his natural talents through study; then he surreptitiously applied to an engineering program at a university in Upstate New York, packed his bags, and left -- after an enormous falling-out with Naze. Forge hopes that the rift between them can eventually be mended, but only if that involves his mentor accepting the path he's chosen; epic destiny or no epic destiny, Forge intends to live his own life.
Power: Forge's primary ability is technopathic intuition; he can "see" mechanical energy at work and instinctively knows the function and use of any machine he examines. He uses this talent to create various inventions as well as improving existing technology, but his inventive genius does have some drawbacks. Where a regular inventor works out how their invention works as they design and build it, Forge often hits "cruise control" and lets his powers take over; as a result, he is not only capable of building something which he doesn't entirely understand the workings of, in rare cases he's designed and built inventions only to realize he has no damn idea of what they are. Usually he has to disassemble an invention when this happens, and learn from that how his own creation functions. Nor are his inventions entirely foolproof: he's still honing his skills in construction techniques and other disciplines, not least of all by studying mechanical and electrical engineering at university.
His secondary mutation is essentially an ability to harness the latent psychic energy in his immediate surroundings and use it to affect reality and probability; to an outside observer, this looks more or less like "magic". However, Forge has sworn not to use this talent, a promise he's extremely serious about keeping -- to the point that he's not going to tell people he has it unless and until lives are in danger; even then, he's most likely going to try and solve things his way first. He's hardheaded like that.
What bring them to Fortes?: Forge is currently enrolled as a student in mechanical and electrical engineering at a university close to Fortes; when he heard about the house it seemed to him like a perfect opportunity to live with others like himself while simultaneously pursuing the studies that he hopes will help him further improve his ability. There’s also the fact that he spent a lot of his meager savings getting to New York and a lot more of them paying the tuition not covered by his partial scholarships, so a place to live that doesn’t cut further into his finances is appreciated. Plus, he figures a house full of other mutants must be a house that won't look too askance at the occasional crackpot invention, right?