video | un: stanford

[cryptograms]

[ The video feed cuts on to reveal one Ford Pines, who looks a little frazzled but mostly just incredibly excited. ]

Greetings, Trench! I'm sure we've all noticed the difficulty of growing and acquiring plant-based foods in Trench - including coffee. I know some people have manages to cultivate their own crops, but I was hoping to come up with something that might work on a larger scale. I tried a spell to replicate some coffee beans I acquired last month and...

[ Ford rotates the camera, revealing that he's in the middle of some sort of laboratory-slash-workshop - and that in the middle of said workshop is a massive pile of coffee beans, about as tall as Ford himself. ]

It may have worked! But I need help testing this batch to make sure they're the correct flavor and free of any side-effects. Anyone who'd like to assist can stop by and grab a bag whenever they like - I'll be here all day!

[ And he'll include a link with directions to his house. ]

( OOC )
This is a companion network post to my log! 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.

Comments

[cryptograms]

[ Ford doesn't exactly miss the judgemental tone, but he's excited enough that he doesn't really parse or pay attention to it. ]

Of course! I knew a bit of spellcraft before, but my new blood type has augmented my capabilities considerably.

[ Nothing wrong with warping a little reality to get his way, right? ]

Traditional methods are ideal for producing the original product, but given our experiences in Deerington it's going to be beneficial if we can easily replicate large quantities of necessary supplies.

[ Coffee is, of course, a 'necessary supply'. ]

[droptheious]

[Sorry, Ford, one day he'll get over his prejudice. Probably. Maybe. ]

Oh right. Yeah, I've noticed that with my blood too. I've been trying to work out how to use it to augment weapons.

[It's fine, totally safe to just gently lean on the walls of reality. It's A-OK totally safe. ]

That makes sense. I mean, things got real bad in the last few months there. I'd rather we not be caught out again, either.

[It's SUPER neseccary, anyone who says otherwise is a liar. ]

[cryptograms]

Exactly. Trench may not be a dream like Deerington, but I don't want to assume that we won't suddenly be transported somewhere else one day.

[ As for blood experimentation: ]

Have you had much luck on that front? I've tried a few things with Mabel and Stanley's blood, but I've mostly just come across fairly orthodox methods.

[droptheious]

That's smart. It happened once before, there's nothing to say it won't happen again. Not when Pthumerians are still around.

[Being assholes.]

I've been working on it. I haven't quite managed to make a fully functioning weapon yet, but Orpheus got me in touch with some people who knew the craft. I understand the fundamentals, it's just putting it into practice.

[cryptograms]

Particularly not with more of them around. They might not be as vicious as Mother Superior or as unhinged as Roderick but...

[ Well, he's pretty sure Dorothea and Never Mind actively causing problems are bound to be worse in their own ways, even if they might be less outwardly malicious. ]

Would you mind passing along your notes once you've landed on something?

[droptheious]

Exactly. And they all seem to have their own personal wants and needs. It's like being surrounded by gods who might just flip out and smite us at any given moment for no particular reason. Or even just cause weird things to happen while thinking they're helping us.

[Their lives have so many unknown factors now. He can't believe the dream was simpler.]

Of course, I'm always happy to share my notes with you, Ford. You might catch something I missed.