deercountry | February Catrchall

The most important part of science is experimentation. And sure, this is magic, but the same principle applies. And it especially applies when you're messing with a force as pervasive and fundamental as gravity.

He gets himself on the ceiling at first. Gravity reverses slowly compared to last time, leading him to hit the ceiling with only a mild thump. Last time he'd done this it was like flipping the switch, leading him to hit the ceiling with enough force to make half the house shake. But he learned his lesson! Gently this time, and not even hard enough to shake dust down on Robert, who watches placidly while he munches away on a bag of Doritos. Now that Ford's not immediately nursing a headache he can actually get some work done.

His goal here is to test the bounds of the reversed gravity field, which he does at first by reaching up (or... down?) towards Robert and stealing his bag of Doritos. That earns a confused Iii? from Robert. Then the gravity field of Ford's spell kicks in and the bag is suddenly upside down - at least, it is from Ford's perspective. Chips come pouring out of it, leave the influence of Ford's spell, and then reverse and shower down on Robert, who lets out a properly irritated Litwick! in response this time.

That's the scene Mabel walks in on: Ford on the ceiling, a furious Robert on the table, and Doritos scattered all over the kitchen. Ford, of course, doesn't react like this is the slightest bit strange. He sees Mabel and perks right up, greeting her with a cheery wave.

"Mabel! You're just in time. Could you help Robert collect his chips?"

( a. FREE COFFEE )
[ In the south-west part of Gaze, near the forest that borders the town, is a house with a sign reading 'FREE COFFEE' in front of it, complete with a little arrow indicating that one should take a path towards a detached greenhouse-and-barn combination that sits on the property. Given that the front yard is thoroughly decorated with chevaux de frise that appear to be made of bone, maybe following the suspicious sign isn't the best idea.

But those that do will find nothing bad waiting for them when they step through the greenhouse door. Inside there's only a tall pile of coffee-stuffed paper bags, an even taller pile of loose coffee beans, and a single man working to convert the latter into the former. When he sees that he has a guest he stops his work and lifts his hand in a wave. ]

Hello! Are you here for the coffee?

( b. results )
[ Those that don't have coffee pots of their own, or don't know how to make coffee, aren't left out in the cold, however. Ford's happy to make a cup for anyone that asks. It's no fancy cafe, but there's a few places to sit and the whole greenhouse smells pleasantly of... well, coffee. Ford has sugar and cream and a collection of mismatched little mugs (an alarming number of which are decorated with glitter), so once his latest ~~test subject~~ guest has had a sip, he doesn't hesitate to jump in with a question. ]

Well, how is it?

( OOC )
This is a companion log to my network post! Feel free to comment to one, the other, or both! You can also hit up my inbox if you want to skip right to reporting the results.

The beans are much, much weaker than normal beans in terms of taste and caffeine content. It'll take 3x-5x as many beans to get a cup that tastes right. This batch will be free of side effects.

Edited 2022-02-01 18:15 (UTC)

[ with a nod, acknowledging both the wave in greeting and the question: ] Is it permitted to acquire multiple bags of free coffee instead of one?

[ albedo has yet to collect a bag for himself; he decides to stay put until he receives the green light to do so. ]

I am also curious about the spell you've used to produce the coffee beans... You've mentioned to someone in the network that it was one you've discovered in the Archives. Was it possible due to the blood type you've been bestowed with upon arrival or have you always been magically inclined?

[ so many questions already... ]

Oh, hey, I know you! Love to get free coffee from a guy I met in a back alley, this is great.

[ Says Gideon, with absolutely no trace of irony in her voice. This is great. She's used to bone decor, after all. Nothing can tank her mood now. ]

So do I just pour a cup, or what?

Of course!

[ He gestures to the pile, still quite sizeable despite having set here for several hours already. ]

Please, help yourself. They'll only go to waste if left here too long.

[ Ford's in a good enough mood already, but then Albedo asks about the spell and his good cheer ratchets up further, stopping just shy of 'manic'. ]

I believe it's both! I did my share of magic and tinkering with spells before I was brought to Deerington, but Darkblood has given me access to a much greater degree of flexibility than I ever had back home.

Oh-- hello again!

[ Ford definitely remembers Gideon. Casually discussing necromancy and cults while possibly being stalked by a dullahan makes for a memorable evening. ]

Actually, have a seat for now. I've been brewing each cup fresh for the sake of consistent feedback.

You have my gratitude. [ he moves to collect two bags worth of coffee beans, his original intent for the visit wholly satisfied now. but albedo does not move to depart; ford's reply is enough to keep him rooted with interest. ]

I see. And how did you come to discover the limitations of your Darkblood capabilities? ... This is quite the phenomenon for me, something that did not exist in the world where I've come from.

[ there's also corruption as an added bonus to worry about; he didn't care to shed too much in exchange for even a modicum of his sanity. a safer method in assessing these profound abilities may be recorded in the archives somewhere, but no harm in asking for the personal account of a long time resident. or so he assumes of ford based on how he speaks comfortably about this place, the magic it seems to bring about to its populace. ]

[ Gideon takes a seat and watches alley-guy at work with what she hopes is an approving and understanding gaze. You know, from one bari-star to another. ]

Love the dedication to quality and freshness, man. [ that's how bari-stars talk, right? ] I'm guessing you want a review from me, then? That's cool, I've got great opinions. [ and everyone loves hearing about them, naturally. ]

[ Long-term isn't entirely inaccurate, but it's more that Ford is just used to adapting to really weird circumstances. ]

Through trial and error, mostly. I've been experimenting both with spells I knew before I arrived here and others I've discovered since arriving in order to pinpoint my strengths and weaknesses.

[ The coffee beans are actually part of that, as it turns out. ]

I can't say conclusively whether the limitations I've discovered are due to my blood or my own methods, however.

[ Quality and freshness... Ford actually chuckles at that. ]

I could get similarly consistent results with day old coffee if I wanted. I just thought this would net me more respondents.

[ Turns out Ford's way more of a scientist than a bari-star. He does, at least, know how to make coffee and sets the latest batch to brewing in the little 4-cup coffee maker he has in the greenhouse. ]

That's right! Primarily on taste, though any assessment you can give me on the effects of caffeine would be appreciated as well.

[ He's expecting those results to be much more imprecise, however. ]

[ Respondents, customers... at the end of the day, is there really a difference? Gideon doesn't think so. Also, she barely knows what science is, beyond "nerd stuff," so. ]

Okay, perfect. It's supposed to give you a ton of energy, right? I can do a little workout here [ in a stranger's house, no big deal ] and let you know if I notice any difference.

But why do you wanna know? I thought most people already knew what caffeine does.

[ If there's anything odd about a near-stranger doing a workout routine in his coffee-filled greenhouse, Ford gives no indication that he realizes as much. ]

Caffeine gives you energy, and coffee ground to a certain coarseness and brewed in a certain ways contains predictable amounts of caffeine.

But this is coffee created via magic. Even if it looks the same, even if it tastes the same, it might not be anything more than hot flavored water. I can't know how successful the spell ways unless I know how much caffeine the replicated beans have, and since I don't have any machinery that can determine that for me I have to rely on second-hand information.

[ Ford rattles this information off like he's said it a thousand times before, and like he doesn't realize Gideon might not care about receiving such a thorough explanation. ]

"Heya, Grunkle Ford."

Quite frankly, this isn't the slightest bit strange, and Mabel waves right back at him. Ford has always been up to shenanigans in the background. All that has changed is the specific flavor, and -- well, now he does things like this in the kitchen sometimes instead of holing himself away in his lab forever. Mabel is happy about that. Even if Ford is still doing his own thing, he's doing it more with the rest of them than he used to, and it is companionable and good.

"How'd you get up there?" she asks, giving Robert a pat as she starts gathering up the scattered Doritos. The Litwick's little flame doesn't cause her pain, she's discovered since Dipper's death last month, and so long as she doesn't let her fingers linger there they won't have time to burn or blister, so the Pokemon has been getting plenty of affection from her lately. "Are you building science stuff, or is it blood magic?"

"Blood magic, this time."

Robert lets out a chirping little affirmation when Mabel pats him on the head, glad that someone in this house knows how to treat a candle with respect. He holds out his tiny little arms for each of the chips Mabel passes him, eagerly stuffing them in his mouth and munching away.

"Darkbloods have an inherent ability to manipulate gravity - or at least, some of us do. I wanted to see if it would be able to convert that ability into a spell using my own blood as a reagent."

Given that he's standing on the ceiling, he seems to have had some success.

"I know a girl who floats! Her name is Alice. She lives in that haunted house brobro visits all the time. I guess she must be a darkblood, too."

She mindlessly munches one of the chips. Robert glowers, but decides not to make a fuss. Mabel is an agent of chaos, to be sure, but she is also very sweet and gets away with a lot for this reason. He will allow a limited amount of Dorito theft if it is her. Limited.

"Hey, if it's gonna be a spell, that means anybody can use it, right?" she asks, in a very unsubtle and leading tone. Depending on how much attention he's been paying to the kids lately, Ford may have noticed Mabel spending more time with her brother -- or rather, spending more time doing things with him, rather than simply doing her own thing in his company. Her attentions have been shifting, since his death last December.

So there's something Ford needs to discuss. Something he's needed to discuss for quite some time now. Something he really should have brought up months ago, in November, and is really only bringing up now because...

Well, it's kind of embarrassing. Kind of really embarrassing. Kind of so embarrassing that he's still strongly considering not saying anything at all, even though he knows that's not an option. When pacing around his room fails to settle him down, he instead takes a seat at his desk and starts working on one of the numerous projects he has laying around. A few minutes of fiddling around with a soldering iron and he...

Completely forgets that he was only supposed to be doing this to settle himself. It doesn't take long for Castor to realize what's happened, and when she does she takes matters into her own hands. Ford doesn't notices when she takes to the air, leaving her free to flutter through the house until she locates Stan.

Castor doesn't talk much - never to people outside the family, and only rarely and in single word snatches to Dipper and Mabel. Stan is the sole exception to this; he gets full sentences, and today the sentence that Castor delivers in her soft, barely there voice is, "You should check on Stanford."

She doesn't sound worried, just a touch exasperated, and with her message delivered she does nothing more than settle down next to Pollux and make herself cozy. She doesn't bother informing Ford of what she just did; let him be surprised.

Alice registers as a name that Ford is passingly familiar with - probably from Dipper reporting back about his haunted house adventures.

Mabel's question is unsubtle and leading, but fortunately even Ford could have gotten it without that much. He grins at Mabel's question and digs into his pocket, withdrawing another talisman. It's a plain stripe of journal paper inscribed with Darkblood ink, though not in any sort of coherent language. He reaches 'up' to pass the talisman to Mabel.

"Just rip it in half and get ready to flip over, though it should reverse slowly enough to not be an issue."

As for the change in Mabel's habits, it's the sort of thing Ford has noticed without being consciously aware of it - but he doesn't seem taken aback that Mabel is interested in his work, just pleased to be able to share.

Mabel immediately licks dorito dust from her fingers and then wipes them clean somewhere in the midst of her ruffle pile, and reaches properly up to take the little paper. In the past, she would have ripped it without even looking at it, and everyone would have had to deal with her frenetic cackling as she went rampaging around on the ceiling. Now, she sits and examines it properly, taking stock of whether the marks look more writerly or like one of Dipper's weird ghost sigils and tilting the paper back and forth to get an idea of how the ink reacts to the light.

"I gotta learn to make this sort of stuff," she says. Not in the way she might express a "need" to make this or that style of dress in such and such color, but in the same way she might say she had homework to do. "You guys can't be the only people who know how to do this around here."

Ford is, in fact, expecting a flurry of activity from Mabel. At the very least he's prepared for her to rip the talisman in half without a shred of hesitation, and he's half expecting he might need to step forward to catch her.

But instead she slows down and stops to study it, and Ford pauses as well. The talisman is inscribed with sigils rather than writing. Or rather, a single large sigil unique to trench, with a meaning somewhere between 'air' and 'sky'. It's scrawled across the whole of the talisman in the blue-black, slightly glittery ink indicative of a Darkblood-based reagent.

Ford is a little surprised when Mabel slows down to take interest, and surprised to the point of being almost excited when she mentions wanting to learn some magic of her own.

"Oh-- it's similar to the magic Dipper and I used in Gravity Falls! In execution and practice, at least. On a theoretical and mechanical level they operate very differently, though that's to be expected given the transition into a different universe."

The video comes across of a nervous-looking young woman with wavy, brown hair and big brown eyes.

she's currently holding a coffee cup limp in her hand with a dejected look on her face]

...um. Sir? I tried your coffee, but it kind of turned into Folger's Crystals. Even when I added cream and sugar.

I tried to eat it, I really did, but the texture was weird and I couldn't do it! The extra weird part is that when I tried to dump the cup out in the sink, it all of a sudden became coffee! So it's like a coffee-tease? Do you know what might have, you know, caused this?

February Catrchall

Open Threads

Closed Threads

( mabel )

( early february )

free coffee.

free coffee

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

swans in with broadway musical starbucks

no subject

no subject

( stan )

no subject

no subject

no subject

free coffee! /sobs