Closed Post: Ink

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet's been doing a lot of research. No, seriously -- a lot. She's a good magician, but she's not the best magician she knows. She was a good student at Brakebills, but she wasn't the best student at Brakebills. She was a stellar queen, but a lot of that was bluffing and expecting other people to follow her orders. She's certainly never been a fucking tattoo artist before.

What she's come up with is an abomination that would make half her professors faint dead away. She's cobbled together a modified Cavaleri Animation, about two and three-quarters of the principles that go into making a Reed's Mark, and a whole lot of bullshit that she sincerely hopes is going to hang together.

With a significantly bizarre assortment of items assembled in a tote bag, she goes on the hunt for Galahad, hoping he's somewhere that Claudius isn't.

Comments

[sorrowandsorrow]

"They're not boasting about having hundreds. There's just hundreds that exist in the entire world. Baskin-Robbins is really clear about the thirty-one thing."

[onthewillowsthere]

"I know. I think they ought not boast about having thirty-one if there are hundreds in the world. If their freezers are so small."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Tell you what." Noticing Galahad isn't quite at her level of power-walking, Janet slows down so he can keep up. "If I ever make it to Earth again, I'll call up their marketing department and let them know."

[onthewillowsthere]

"You should. It's sinful."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet grins. "Hugely. Isn't that a commandment? Thou shalt not act like having thirty-one flavors of ice cream is such a big fucking deal."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Pride goeth before destruction. What are the thirty-one flavors?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

"You think I have them all memorized? Anyway, I think they rotate them. Uh, cookies and cream. Mint chocolate chip. Birthday cake."

[onthewillowsthere]

"What kind of birthday cake? There are so many kinds."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"The standard, regular kind, I guess? White cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles." They've probably hit a kitchen by now. Janet goes straight for the freezer.

[onthewillowsthere]

"Claudius rated that one a seven," he says, as if this makes it acceptable (of course, Claudius also didn't particularly care for ice cream). He follows her to the freezer.

[sorrowandsorrow]

"That's a C-," Janet points out. "But hey, Cs get degrees." She slides the freezer out and looks down into it. Options include: moose tracks, strawberry cheesecake, dulce de leche, and butter pecan.

[onthewillowsthere]

"What does that mean?" although he is almost immediately distracted by the bounty of ice creams. "Will you taste and rate them with me?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Why the hell not? I like judging things." Janet hauls all four tubs out of the freezer, lining them up on the counter while she talks. "A C is a grade you can get in school. An A is the best and an F is the worst."

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad fetches spoons. "That is not a very good scientific instrument. A, C, F."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"There's a B and a D in the middle, too. And if you do a really, really good job, you can get an A+." She brings down a stack of little bowls from a cupboard

[onthewillowsthere]

It's still a bad instrument. "A Likert item is better," he informs her. "The quantitive values are symmetrical and balanced. Susan would prefer that."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet has to laugh. This fucking kid. "I didn't make it up," she says, "but you're definitely right. You must know her pretty well."

[onthewillowsthere]

"We're both scientists." There is the tiniest hint of pride in his voice.

[sorrowandsorrow]

Oh, he's cute. "Are you two doing experiments? Hey," she says as something occurs to her. Maybe it's all the talk of school and grades. "We should have a science fair."

[onthewillowsthere]

"We're studying the soil biota. Explain science fair."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Everybody does some kind of science experiment. Making a volcano, balloon-powered car, potato battery, whatever. Then you make a poster explaining your experiment and everyone shows them off." She dishes out a scoop of butter pecan for each of them.

[onthewillowsthere]

"I think I would like that," seriously. "You've done it?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Not since I was a kid, but yep, I've done it." She slides a bowl down the counter to Galahad. "Butter pecan. Go."

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad takes a spoonful, closing his eyes so he can concentrate. He likes the richness and saltiness of the ice cream base, and the way the pecans have both crunch and give.

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet's in the middle of her own taste test. She can't remember the last time she had butter pecan ice cream. It's pretty good. She takes a second bite before she says anything else. "What's the verdict? Are we still doing a scale of one to ten?"