>>@ALKOHEIST | @ALL

[frogfractions]

Does anyone have need of lipstick? I've been able to create a few tubes' worth, but I don't use much makeup myself. The benefits of eternal youth, basically. I should be able to manufacture nail polish as well, and perhaps a few other things. We can discuss based on your needs.

In news that I promise is highly, and in fact, completely unrelated, I've finished my research on the Shaper specimen. As I'm sure most of you are aware - unless we've picked up some new recruits in the past week - we had a pest problem. Basically, I dissected one.

[What follows is just straight-up a picture of a shaper's brain. There's a vial of blue blood to the left, and a plastic container full of small bones to the right of it. Off-camera, there's a few other internal organs she's separated and tucked away, but mercifully she hasn't decided to show everything to the camera.]

Would anyone like to enjoy foreign cuisine with me? The brain is supposed to be a delicacy, so we might as well give it a try. It's unlikely I'll be able to get a hold of another specimen, so it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, in a way.

And if you'd like access to my research notes, I can text them over to you. Knowledge is meant to be shared, after all. They mostly concern the creature's biology, since understandably I did not want an annoyed psychic creature bouncing around my room, and thus could not leave it alive to study its behavior. In layman's terms, I like being conscious.

Incidentally, any and all moral or ecological complaints can be forwarded to my secretary, @MODERATUS. Thank you for your time.

Comments

[frogfractions]

I'd quite appreciate that.

Though I'm disappointed you aren't up for a dinner date. Too rich for your blood?

[fernbeleafer]

well i mean, it's tempting but i tried to make friends with one and it went about as bad as it could

[frogfractions]

Oh?

Maybe it was just shy. They do seem like rather skittish creatures, even when you aren't trying to dissect them.

[fernbeleafer]

they're so skittish! and powerful. the one i spooked knocked me out for a good chunk of the day.

[frogfractions]

Any creature that skittish would need a good defense mechanism to survive, I suppose.

They're fascinating creatures, but it's basically for the best that we're rid of them.

[fernbeleafer]

i'm honestly still curious about where they come from that their preferred diet is such specific chemicals. i really wish i'd gotten that spell off.

they kind of remind me of a creature i met deep underground once. not as aggressively malicious, at least.

[frogfractions]

Either somewhere with those chemicals in abundance, or somewhere that used to have those chemicals. They might have gone far afield after they ran out of food, basically.

Though I wonder how long a single meal can sustain them. I wasn't able to figure out that much by just dissecitng one.

[fernbeleafer]

it honestly might not be that much? a little of my beast sense worked, and i could feel their presence when i woke up. i think there were a lot of them.
then again i had a slammer of a headache when i came to so my estimates are probably off.
has anyone taken you up on the taste test?

[frogfractions]

At least two people. It's not a very large portion. Basically, I might have to cap it there.

Would you like to be put on the waiting list for if I ever get my hands on another? Once I'm more familiar with the taste and texture, I might be able to make an actual course of it. Think of it as a chance to properly enjoy it.

[fernbeleafer]

sure!
i mostly didn't want you to not have a snack buddy.

[frogfractions]

Refreshingly kind.

I may try cooking at a later date, I have some experience. And it gives me something to do. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, or so they say.

If I come up with anything edible, you're more than welcome to join me.

[fernbeleafer]

ooh you make the meal and i'll bring the wine!!
if i can find the wine i mean

[frogfractions]

I could make the wine, also.

Though I don't drink. I prefer to have an unclouded mind, basically.

[fernbeleafer]

oh ok scratch the booze then. i can whip up some goodberries and make dessert instead!

[frogfractions]

You're free to bring wine for yourself.

Though desserts do sound enjoyable. I'm very fond of gelato. Have you ever had any? It's not a very complicated thing, so I should be able to basically reproduce it.