video; un: stanford

[cryptograms]

Greetings, Trench!

[ Ford offers the feed a friendly wave. Behind him, a considerable pule of beans sits on his workshop table. ]

Those of you that have been here for some time might remember a coffee bean duplication project I started a couple of months ago. At the time the results were rather underwhelming, and the beans I managed to produce had approximately a third of the efficacy of normal beans.

It's taken some tinkering, but I believe I've finally perfected the process! I'm looking for volunteers to help confirm that this batch is indeed true to life. You can stop by my workshop to retrieve a bag like last time, though the Prosperitea House cafe has also requested a batch if you'd prefer a single serving.

Help yourself, and please be sure to tell me how it tastes!

EDIT six hours later

[ The feed clicks back on and this time Ford looks a little frazzled, but also a little excited. ]

Hello again! If you retrieved some coffee beans from me earlier and you haven't already used them, I strongly suggest that you do not use them and instead return them to me immediately.

[ And now excitement wins out as he adds: ]

However, if you have tried them since then I'd appreciate it if you could inform me of what happened when you did!

( OOC )
This is the IC companion post to the player plot I'm running! Click here for more details.

Comments

video | un: ichimonji

[secondtyphoon]

You've done a great service to the city, and I salute you. I'll be by as soon as possible to pick some up.

[He has actually used some of Ford's first batch sad!beans and it's ...really not the same. He's been jonesing for something better for a while.]

yoink (un: cyclone)

[encyclonepedia]

Oh, are you getting some, Hayato? Grab some for me too, would you?

[And hope he isn't tempted to just eat the beans plain. Not that it will be worth it either way.]

video | un: ichimonji

[secondtyphoon]

Sure thing! I'll be home soon so we can both try it out!

[Is watching Philip crunch on straight up coffee beans even that strange?]

[cryptograms]

Are the two of you are living together? I'll make sure to give him a double batch, in that case.

[cryptograms]

[ This response gets a chuckle out of Ford. ]

Happy to help! It's a frustrating resource to be short on, the the supply for it is more inconsistent than most.

video; un: v

[mehanizovati]

[hey, show and tell, right? viktor was so immediately on board for this he went to get a bag right away, took it to his lab, etc. jury rigged a coffee machine of sorts, made a glorious cup.

as ford can see from the video there's uh. some stuff just floating in the air. machine parts and scrap mostly, and honestly viktor looks pretty nonplussed by it. he's been trying to decide if this is worth having coffee sometimes. if it wears off quickly enough, well...]

It seems as though it's created an area of effect centering on my person and spreading about three feet out in all directions. Ah, watch-

[he moves a little to the side and one of the floating wrenches gets out of range and falls.] The flavor was good.

[this is a lie, he got the tastes like cream and sugar thing but he's the unfortunate type who puts too much of that anyway so. he didn't even notice.]

[cryptograms]

[ Oh. Well, that's new. It's good to hear that the flavor is new, but the floating is worth investigating. ]

Interesting... how soon after you had a drink did it start? And are you a Darkblood, by any chance?

video; un: Hadron

[terribibble]

[Viktor is visible in the background; Fiddleford wound up taking the man up on the offer of a place to sleep, so unfortunately when Viktor brought home the beans he became a casualty of a shared batch.]

I think you might need to head on back to the drawing board, Stanford. The coffee came out of the pot lukewarm and still burnt my tongue.

[cryptograms]

[ Ford would be surprised that Fiddleford elected to try the coffee beans, but he remembers the alien cow milk incident. ]

You've had trouble with the temperature?

[ He... doesn't sound concerned about this even slightly. ]

What about things floating? I spoke to V-- [ He gestures to Viktor in the background, since he only has his display name to go off of otherwise. ] --a few moments ago and he said that's what he's been dealing with.

[Audio]

[hearthebell]

[This one is slow to trust, while being highly, intensely addicted to caffeine. The notion that he could spend a little less of his limited funds on Trenchbux every day is very appealing to him.

Does "true to life" mean that the coffee is more potent, stronger, and more able to sustain and invigorate one who has perhaps exhausted his reliance on the more typical iteration of the substance?

[cryptograms]

That's correct! The last batch I came up with was only passable if you used about three times the usual amount of grounds to water. This latest batch tastes much closer, in my opinion.

But I've also been creating, brewing, and testing beans over and over again for months. I'd like a larger sample size before I declare this a success.

video; un: jk21a

[hearuthinking]

Sure, why the fuck not? Hope this batch doesn't require me to drink six cups before I even feel it start to work.

video (sent after Ford's second video)

[hearuthinking]

This shit is even weirder than the last stuff. So I found this old couch for my place, and it ain't real comfortable, right? I was thinkin' about how much I wished I could relax on it, and now it's like sittin' on a cloud.

And the taste... It's so fuckin' random. Kinda tastes like wood?

[Time to spray for termites?]

video: un; an.observer

[thisislife]

[coffee! coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee! yes please, give her all the coffee]

I would love to volunteer. This place's coffee is so bad, I'm even missing Starbucks. So you know I'm desperate. Where should I go to pick some up?

[cryptograms]

Happy to hear it! You can stop by my workshop if you like.

[ And he'll provide directions here, though he's a little curious about one thing: ]

What's Starbucks?

video | un: agentmothman

[zib]

[Zib had decided to partake because he could use something to keep him awake rather than sleeping so much like he had been doing after his beasthood incident last month, but...]

I tried it, but it for some reason it was super weird. Like... it felt like the equivalent of drinking playdoh?

[It should probably be noted that for some reason, despite his face being close to the screen, for some reason his voice sounds like it's being shouted from somewhere farther away? Weird.]

[cryptograms]

Like... playdoh?

[ That's weird even by the standards of the effects Ford has witnessed thus far, and so he diligently notes it down. Though first... ]

Is there something wrong with your Omni? You sound muffled.

un: UNOWEN, audio

[forwantofahorse]

Ford.

[Ruh roh. That's the tone Sayo usually only breaks out in-character for when her Vengeance paladin is about to go on a rampage.

[cryptograms]

[ Uh oh. Ford knows that tone, and he's had enough responses by now to guess why Shannon might be using said familiar tone on him. For the first time all day he sounds appropriately (if still mildly) contrite over the situation. ]

Good afternoon, Sayo. I take it the coffee had an unusual effect on you as well?

video; un: TripleJ

[kyley_b]

Dude, unless it actually kills me, I think I'll risk whatever the side effects are.

[cryptograms]

[ That comment gets a laugh from Ford. ]

I don't think there's a risk of that, though it seems like some strange things are happening all the same. I can give you some of the weaker but side-effect free batch as well, if you like.

video | un: perell

[frogiturgy]

I'm interested.

[Says the bespectacled man who has spent the last month literally hunkered down in the tent in Michael's living room with a pile of books and an even bigger pile of notepads. Perell peered at the feed, beaming with the peculiar curiosity that was typical of birds and kids who liked stuffing frogs into their pockets.]

I need to stretch my legs anyway. Can you put enough aside for... definitely four people. Maybe six?

hmm. Do Michael and Manabu even drink coffee?

[cryptograms]

[ Six is a lot, but... ]

I've got that much to spare. I do think Michael drinks coffee, though I'm not sure if it does anything for him.

Video UN: ClickClickBloom

[onekindsoul]

[The feed opens up with Ruby sleeping like a rock.
There's loud snoring and drooling.

And then after a minute her semblance activates and she's completely covered in ice.

And then a few minutes later it melts off and it's just her sleeping again.

And then she immediately ignites into flame.

And then the flames die out and it's just her snoring.

And then there's a sudden surge of electricity and a few items around her catch fire.

It's fine. She's fine.]

[cryptograms]

[ ... Ah. Well. Normally Ford would say that a sleeping Ruby is a Ruby that's not getting into trouble, but it occurs to him there's a very good chance she might burn the entire house down around her. He's not sure who else is home but... well, the Remnant house isn't too far from the Pines house. By the time he figures out who else might be present to check on her he could be over there himself, so...

Within 10 minutes there comes a tapping at Ruby's window. Will that be enough to wake her up to see Castor perched on her window sill, or is Ford going to have to actually go wake her up the hard way? ]