folklorist | ϡ - Chapter ThirtyFive; this is not how you bake a pretty cake [Action (for House 44)|Voice|Video]

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ϡ - Chapter ThirtyFive; this is not how you bake a pretty cake [Action (for House 44)|Voice|Video]

[ The journal feed turns on to a kitchen with a pot of something on the stove boiling, steaming, something is cooking in there but what? Who knows! ] Ah! There we go I think it’s on! Still get confused with this thing...

[ Helios will clear his throat and then pull away only for people to see one blond headmaster smiling into the video feed as he gives a slight wave. ] Yes. I think we can get started now. The sugar might burn otherwise...

I found an interesting little book in the library today. How to make various candies from my world! There’s one that I’ve always enjoyed, rather interesting these, I can't believe I actually found how to make them. They’re called Pop Rocks.

[ And then he beams. ] I’ve never done a cooking demonstration before! This is quite exciting. Oh! Yes! And my assistant will be the ever so helpful Ms. LeBlanc. [ He’ll just pan the journal camera over to Adele then. He'll keep it there so they're both in view now with the ingredients off to the side on the table. There's the rustling of pages as Helios flips through his cook book. ]

So! The first thing you'll need to do is dust a cookie sheet with the powdered sugar, and sprinkle a generous amount of the Citric Acid on the sugar.

[ Adele, dutifully, waves from where she is standing just behind Helios. She is conspicuously keeping him between her and the stove. Just in case.

She can't shake the feeling it won't end well. ]

Citric acid? That is... [ First goes down a layer of powdered sugar, and she searches the side table for the acid. ] This. Yes?

Mm yes that's it. [ Helios does not notice this at all, nope. He is just being his absentminded excited self with this. ]

And then we have to combine two cups of sugar, some water and a one third cup of corn syrup into the saucepan. Setting it over medium heat and stirring it gently. [ A slight pout. Medium heat? That just won't do. Helios can be a bit impatient when it comes to sweets, especially when cooking them, so what's a little more added heat he's done it plenty of times before! ] Hm. I think we can make it a little bit hotter. Magic comes in handy when you cook, you know? A nice controlled very hot fire. It should speed up the cooking just a little bit.

[ That is such a bad idea Helios. But still he looks over at Adele to make the appropriate measurements. ]

The instructions are as they are for a reason Helios. Medium heat is medium heat.

[ Yes, she's. Keeping him between her and the stove. But she does pour out two cups of sugar and hands it off to him. Then the water. Then...it takes some time for her to pour the syrup from the bottle. ]

...you really should follow the directions. You always impress upon me the importance of doing so elsewhere.

[ Helios waves her off. As he puts all the necessary ingredients into said pot which then he will begin to stir slowly. ] It'll be fine Adele. I do it all the time! It's not that much different, really, just a slight temperature change. It usually never hurts with the recipes I've used before.

[ Here the camera will catch Helios' eyes glowing and he'll give a small snap on his fingers. The fire underneath the pot will flare up a little but aside from that it looks normal...for now. ] See? Nothing wrong.

Then use the stove's controls instead of magic? There is a knob for it. Right there. There is no need to-

[ And he snaps his fingers anyway. Adele sighs and crosses her arms, waiting. ]

But I've been trying to perfect this way of cooking. Completely magical just to see if it can be done. I want to see if it changes anything about the food prepared. Like, like the flavoring, texture those sort of thing. I do always like to try different ways to go about things, there’s so many one can cook something after all. But, yes, the next step. [ Stirring, stirring, stirring. Helios will continue to do this and hum a little. ]

You should stir it until the syrup starts to boil. And then you place a thermometer in the pot, without it touching the sides or bottom, and let the syrup continue to boil until it gets to around three hundred and five degrees then we'll add a teaspoon of Baking Soda...

[ He will turn to go and get the candy thermometer on the table and. At this point there will be some multi-colored sparks issuing out from beneath the pot. They are not normal looking in the least and Helios will turn back around only to notice this with some well concealed alarm. ] Oh. Gods. That um...that's isn't supposed to happen.

[ And then comes the smoke...which dilutes the camera's view a considerable degree. ]

Perhaps you can try it with recipe that doesn't involve molten sugar?

[ Still. She hands over the thermometer and baking soda. She's eyeing the fire with some caution and as soon as she sees that spark she steps back. ] Helios...

[ Smoke, then? She drops, reaching up only to yank at his arm to pull him down with her. ] Merde

Yes. You might be right. M-maybe I sh-shouldn't have used sugar... [ This is going to be dreadful to get out of everything...oh good lord. Helios jumps slightly when Adele grabs his arm because that is a tension point and this is a point of great tension right now. The smoke is rather thick almost completely blotting out the journal’s camera but anyone watching can still sort of make out the headmaster and surgeon. The sparks only get more numerous and the pot they are spewing out from under rattles on the stove. ] A-Adele. I-I think we-we should-

[ Leave. And before the rest can be said there is a very loud bang which rattles the windows slightly and the camera is now covered by a thick blanket of black smoke. Cooking with magic attempt one: Unsuccessful. Oh and welcome to Luceti new feathers. This is a wonderful first impression, clearly! ]

((ooc; Blue is Adele. Green is Helios! Put down whether you want both of them to respond or just Adele/Helios! ))

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[ Helios will look up eyes widening a little. More sugar...not that it really mattered at the moment. He looks at Lupin and Adele waving his hand in a dismissive nature. ] Y-Yes! We'll take care of things here.

[ Helios will just be...off to the side now, out of the way, as he starts to clean. Water from nowhere will appear and envelope a rather large glob of sugar. His eyes will glow a brilliant green as he works with his magic. Scrubbing he will just be scrubbing. ]

[Dark eyes narrow at the sudden appearnce of water, controlled by an unseen container and unseen hands. Helios knew magic. Right.

WHACK!]

[ Oh gods Lupin why would you even do that? Helios will just lose concentration. The spell abruptly ending as he flinches away from that whack. Don't do that please. Helios doesn't have a good relationship with being hit. It might be a little obvious from his reaction at least. Of course the other didn't know this so Helios can't honestly blame him for doing that. But still his body reacts faster than his mind can and he hunches over a little. ] Ah! S-Sorry.

[ Right. No magic. He can do that. ]

Helios, I wouldn't-

[And that was why. She sighs, scrubs her face with a hand and gives Lupin a little glare.]

Helios, don't use magic to clean. Lupin, don't hit Helios with the broom anymore. I am going to shower.

[She picks her way out of the kitchen and turns. One last narrow eyed glare.]

Play nice.

[Reaction noted and 'order' noted. Lupin files this away for later and tosses the broom aside. If Helios stays true to his word, it won't be needed again.

It never saw practical use anyway.]

It'll be fine~ Now--

[He retrieves the bucket and manages to uncake the sink just enough to fill it with water. Added soap makes suds, and the scrub brushes will work fine with the mess for now.

Years of cleaning up after his own messes in rentals have taught him well. It was part of the reason he chose run-down abodes half of the time (price excluded from the figuring). Nobody cared about what he did in those.

He sets the bucket down on the ground between them and passes Helios a brush.] Use this--it'll be a little safer.

[ Helios nods his lips pulled into a thin frown. His eyes flicker green before, no, right. No magic. It's hard not defaulting to magic. He uses it to clean up his own messes so...he just automatically does.

But, well, he will simply nod and take that brush. ] I-I, um, thank you.

[ He will just be scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing. It's safer but it's not as if Helios didn't have a hold on his magic. Albeit his little display was anything but telling of this. ]

...It's nothing, just be more careful next time you do any cooking. You made my skills look good today!

[It was a joke, to deflect from the irritation, the chaos, and Lupin's own lingering hypocricy. He's scrubbing as well, sleeves rolled up and hair loosening itself to hang in his face--he was hasty that morning, and the exertion wasn't going to help.]

[ Helios will chuckle. Unlike the other his sleeves are always down, never rolled up, never exposing anything. ] I suppose I made most people look quite good at cooking t-today.

[ He'll shake his head. He will not forget this mishap not at all. He always made a mess of things though. Somehow, someway. ] It never usually happens. But, yes, I'll definitely be more careful n-next time.

[ A frown. ] I was ever so looking forward to having those poprocks too.

[Those sleeves are going to get wet. Lupin doesn't comment, and instead grins at Helios.] You know, there are other methods of getting poprocks. They're not as explosive...

[Or as fun, but if it kept another sugar explosion at bay he'd gladly teach Helios the mechanics behind palming a bag of candy. Not that the shopkeepers in Luceti would care, since the lack of monetary system ruins the economic value of everything.]

If you want to make culinary explosions so badly, it shouldn't be hard to rig a hot pad up in your Boom Shack. I might try to do something like that myself, if I can find a way to put in a weather resistant extension chord from the apartments to the woods.

Edited 2012-03-31 23:39 (UTC)

[ Helios doesn't mind wet sleeves, nope. Better than the alternative at least. ] I-I know. I just...wanted to experiment a little with that recipe.

[ He'll laugh again shaking his head. Experiment alright. ] I know the shop has them. But, ah, well I wanted to see how different these would have tasted compared to those. [ He'll pause in his scrubbing smiling slightly. ] I did use to have them a lot when I was little and living in America. I just...haven't had them in so long.

[ He gives another sigh pausing to think on Lupin's suggestion. ] Perhaps I could add something like that to the shack out back. It...it would be much more cleaner for all parties involved at least.

[ He'll blink looking back at the other. ] You could probably make one with...m-magic. But, ah, I-I don't know if there's any sort of things in the shops. Weather resistant extension chords I mean.

Please. No magic.

[He waves his hand--it wasn't that he was biased against it, he just didn't trust something he couldn't replicate or pin down as factual. It broked the rules of science, and, though he liked to mess with those rules sometimes, it made him uncomfortable.]

I'll figure out something when the time comes, and it will probably involve a generator or batteries, but it's not important. It should be less messy if you follow the instructions. Cooking is a lot like chemistry, if you look at it properly.

[The fact that he was trying to recreate a favored sweet from his childhood was oddly endearing, not that Lupin would ever say such a thing.]

Edited 2012-04-01 00:12 (UTC)

O-oh! I-I apologize. I forget s-sometimes that s-some people...are uncomfortable with it.

[ He's really gotten so used to magic being a commonly spoken of and used subject that Helios' fears of ever using it in public have been all but washed away. It's the constant exposure really and he can't say he minds it. But, yes, there were still people in this world who didn't necessarily like the concept and he did need to be more conscientious towards them. ] Yes it is. I have to admit I do usually follow them, I just...wanted to speed up the process. P-Probably not the best of ideas, cutting corners I mean. I guess I was just a bit...excited. [ He'll look a touch embarrassed at that. Just a bit excited yep. ]

Magic is much the same...well in a way. Certain steps and certain runes have to be used in the right ways in order to get results. It's...n-not science but the whole using materials to get a product are somewhat the same. Al-alchemy is more along those lines, which I do admit, alchemy isn't one of my strong suits. But sigils and runes I can do quite well. Putting them together and taking them apart and adding or subtracting things from them. But it's all going to end up the same if you apply them wrong.

[ He just...motions with the brush in his hand at the kitchen a small chuckle escaping him. ]

[Lupin is just...going to stare for a moment. He hadn't expected a correspondence course from the random little commentary, and is reminded once more of why school was never a good fit for him, despite having gone onto the college level.]

Well. I'm not one to tell you what to do or what not to do...was just pointing it out is all.

[He returns to cleaning, digesting the little dissertation that Helios gave him, and speaking carefully.] Magic...doesn't exist like this where I'm from. The only 'magic' there is is tricks that can be replicated by anyone with enough funds and brains. Floating in the air? Glass panes. Fire summons? Cleverly hidden flamethrowers in the sleeves.

Magic like this? It's a little beyond me, and probably wouldn't work at home. I mean, mermaids probably existed at one point in some way, but they don't anymore. By your standards? It's pretty not-magicky.

Oh yes of course! I do appreciate it. I sometimes get a little in over my head. It's...a good reminder when it comes to these sorts of things. [ He's used to getting it from Ra in a not so kind way. He appreciates that no one has lit his pant legs on fire or anything else for that matter.

Helios listens and nods fully understanding where the other is coming from. Maybe not in the sense of his own world not having magic but his best friend back home was a normal human being incapable of it. ] Not all people in my world can use it. A very good friend...he's, ah, non-magicky as you put it- [ just a smirk ] --but...he's the only friend I have back there. [ Helios stops and stares at the partially cleaned floor. ] I sometimes wonder what it's actually like to not have any magic.

[ Maybe Elise wouldn't be gone if he didn't. Maybe he would have good friends and a decent life too. There's so many possibilities and pros and cons to such a thing as well. ] Maybe in another parallel universe I don't. It's always interesting to think upon.

[Even if he doesn't take their advice 8 times out of 10, Lupin also appreciates it when his friends do the same. It was a counterbalance to his apparent maddness, and it was an alternate perspective that he sometimes needed.]

...You're welcome then. Everyone needs some honesty every once in a while. [From a notoriously dishonest man, those were quite some words to say.

The sugar was becoming unstuck from the floor already, by grace of their fast action. Hopefully they would have most of it up before the kitchen became coated in candy. Doing it without magic, though slower, added to the reality of it.]

It's still fun, without magic. Probably in a different way, but I've always been one to make my own fun. Asking a question like that, though, is like asking what it's like being able to scratch your ear with your toes if you wanted. How do you describe a persimmon to someone who's never tasted one?

[Philosophy wasn't his strong suit. He was a man who acted, not a man who thought. He preferred to live in the moment, actually act out his dreams instead of just dreaming. The times he did fantasize were always interesting.]

I've wondered stuff like that too, but I like what I have at home too much to want anything else. Give me my Mercedes and the Autobahn on a quiet day and I'm happy.

Edited 2012-04-01 19:44 (UTC)

[ Helios will listen and nod as he scrubs the floor and then moves on to a nearby counter, stretching his back as he does gets up. He's getting too old for this! ] I suppose you have a point. There's always the basic, fundamental things like, like texture and consistency. But it is different from everyone's individual perspective. Trying new things and being exposed to it a certain way can, can change one's mind on how they perceive such things.

[ Helios will turn then looking curiously back at Lupin. ] Autobahn? That's in...Germany, isn't it?

Germany. That's right. [He smiles, mostly at the memory as he takes a short break from the scrubbing.] It's a freeway, one that has no speed limit. My Mercedes SSK has no top to it, so riding full speed down that road feels almost like flying. There's no risk of being pulled over, so even people who do have problems with breaking the law can have fun if they time it properly.

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ϡ - Chapter ThirtyFive; this is not how you bake a pretty cake [Action (for House 44)|Voice|Video]

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