Breakfast At Bonnibel's
Date: Sunday May 25 AU 22
Cast: Princess Bubblegum, Frederica, Alicia T. Harlaown, Karima
Location: The Land of Ooo
Summary: Princess Bubblegum sets out to demonstrate that she can, in fact, create the greatest bowl of cereal possible under multiversal laws. A true Breakfast of Champions awaits!
Princess Bubblegum's laboratory is located deep in the heart of the Candy Castle. The Princess herself is wearing her labcoat and goggles, and her visitors are guided to the lab by her Banana Guards. The Princess stands next to a huge red switch, though, there's really nothing else of note visible in the lab - tables and whiteboards covered with complicated equations, yes, but nothing that looks like it might be ... breakfasty at all! Other than the banana guards, but it would be bad form to nibble on them.
Alicia arrives soon enough, wearing her Dimensional Navy uniform. A nice little professional getup. She's been to some pretty weird places both before and after unifying, but she has to admit this place is pretty darn weird! Just look at those guards! Alicia enters the lab, looking around with interest for a moment at the whiteboards. She then focuses on Princess Bubblegum and smiles, "Hi! We've not actually be introduced. I'm Alicia Testarossa Harlaown, Mage for the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Thanks for inviting me!"
Frederica is perhaps a little worried about entering the Candy Kingdom, considering what happened last time she was here. Oh, not to her. She had a quite wonderful time really... but there's always the possibility of a visit from the Lumpy Space Princess and gaining her full attention, right? Scary thought!
Perhaps only the lure of chocolate breakfast cereal is enough to persuade the 'crimson princess' to come. In truth though, she likes company and there's something very appealing about the mix of whimsy and seriousness of this place. It's a lot like her own playful dignity, though she'd never admit it.
Frederica is dressed typically for her, wearing comfortably fashionable clothing rather than dignified wear. She treats the guards with reserve, which probably means snobbery, but ends up in the right place eventually. "Princess!" she greets. "And Alicia, dear. You look wonderful." she says cheerfully.
Princess Bubblegum is pretty odd-looking herself, being pink and composed of bubblegum. She smiles to the guests, and nods her head. "A pleasure to meet you, Alicia. I'm Bonnibel Bubblegum, Princess of the Candy Kingdom, but, please, there's no need to stand on formality."
Clearing her throat, she straightens, and puts her hands on her hips, "We stand at the dawning of a momentous occasion! Today, we make Breakfast HISTORY! MWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Flipping the switch, there's a brilliant CRACK of electricity, and the wall of the laboratory parts with a grinding noise to reveal glass, behind which shimmering golden grain grows in rich earth. At least, until a brilliant red laser sweeps across the room, and parts the grain from the stalks in an instant, and a large sucking tube descends from the ceiling to draw it all up.
"Come come, into the next room!" The Princess ushers, running towards a door at the far end of the lab.
Alicia grins as Frederica shows up too, "Hi, Frederica! You look well yourself!" She then turns to Princess Bubblegum, "Nice to meet you!"
Alicia can't help but laugh happily at Bubblegum's little speech. A biiiit over the top, but perhaps appropriate considering what they're actually doing here! Alicia watches with interest as the switch is flipped. The auto-harvesting tech seems to get Alicia's attention, "Impressive!" Alicia then moves to follow Bubblegum into the next room, thought she doesn't run. More walks at a fast pace.
Frederica smothers a delighted laugh at the dramatic reveal. The whole campy mad-scientist thing definitely fits her mood and is not at all creepy. Much. She might, somewhere in the back of her mind, start to worry about what she's getting into here... but that little hint of worry is far from her conscious mind.
She runs along with Princess Bubblegum, following slightly as they go to the next room. "Do you need the grain toasted at all?" she offers, grinning manically. Then she abruptly reconsiders. "Actually no, I'd probably burn it and ruin .... I mean, this is YOUR special creation and you surely have everything well in hand. It would be inappropriate for me to interfere with your experiment!" she claims, neatly dodging what might be an awkward reveal of her own lack of culinary skills. Safe!
The next room contains ... a cow? He's sat up at a table, eating a bowl of finely chopped grass. He looks a little startled by the sudden intrusion, but smiles when he sees Bubblegum. Really, given he has a prominent udder, you wouldn't think he's a he, but his voice is undeniably male as he says, "Oh, hey Princess. Thanks for this grass its--"
And then he's cut off as Bubblegum wheels around, "No! I'm sorry, but I don't need any help. Everything has to go exactly right, I've got it down to the last detail, so, just stand back, and let me handle it!"
The cow now looks somewhat uncertain, "Uh, what do you mean..."
And then Bubblegum presses a button on a controller from her pocket, and the cow is locked down tight to the table. Milking tubes descend from the ceiling, and he looks a little menaced. "Oh... oh dear..."
Alicia follows the other two in and grins at Frederica, "Well as this is a scientific experiment, the idea is to negate personal interaction as much as possible! Nothing more contaminating to accurate results than a person!" Of course that's when the talking cow draws Alicia's attention and she blinks. A talking cow? A sapient cow! Wow, that opens up so many ethical questions about milk...
... But then Alicia reminds herself that his is a different world, a different culture. It's not her place to judge or anything, unless someone is obviously in pain, in which case it's perfectly alright to judge. Alicia looks a little uncertain, just like the poor cow, but she still watches.
Karima makes her way into the Candy Kingdom, seeming to be..thoroughly and completely confused by just about everything that was going here. The guards lead her down to the lab with few problems, but she couldn't help but stare at the...particular shape of said men. Once they had gone, she stands in the empty foyer of the lab, looking around curiously at the various sciency things strewn about.
The sound of voices draw her into the next room and even then, she only pokes her head in. "What...kind of weird place is this anyway? Hello? Is anyone here?"
Frederica certainly didn't mean to interfere in the experiment, she'd just gotten caught up in the excitement. She's not, after all, the most scientific of people. Far more whimsical than scientific really. She nods to Alicia, gathering her dignity. "Of course." she agrees. "This is for science after all. And for chocolate." she adds, not quite under her breath.
Frederica looks more than a little dubious however when a cow is introduced. Her mind simply refuses to process the cow as a 'he', which is probably for the best. Just a girl cow with a really deep voice, that's all. Because if she is a he, then udders... become shudders.
Deciding to let things be for now, to not attempt to understand the local weirdness, Frederica instead turns back towards Karima. She waves cheerfully. "We're here. Welcome, Karima. This is Princess Bubblegum and Alicia Harlaown. And a ..." she pauses, looking around suddenly worried. A cow. Oh dear. "... Um, you know how I joke around about not-food? Well, the cow here really does talk. In this kingdom, I'd suspect it's probably a bad idea to eat anything that isn't served to you." she says nervously. "It's a very unusual place, even with the rest of the multiverse in mind." she adds, probably understating the case.
Princess Bubblegum doesn't seem too concerned that a dragon has wandered into her castle. Occupational hazard, really. "Welcome to the Candy Kingdom." She says, cheerfully, "We're making breakfast."
She moves on to the next room as the milking machine gets to its /dark work/, and she ushers everyone else to move along with her. Here, a large block of crystal stands suspended in a yellow column of light. Princess Bubblegum clears her throat, and then begins to hum. Narrowing her eyes, the humming takes on a far deeper, more vibrant pitch as she focuses, and the crystal begins to shake as it matches the frequency of her humming... and then shatters! Tiny crystal shards fall to the floor, leaving behind a perfectly sculpted bowl, and a spoon.
There's a 'ding', and a hermetically sealed door set into the far wall hisses. "Excellent, the wheat is ready for the next stage! Would one of you mind bringing the bowl? My hands are going to be full."
As Karima enters Alicia turns to her and smiles, waving, "Hi. Nice to meet you." Oh, no time for more pleasantries now, they're being guided into the next room! Alicia gladly follows along, not particularly interested in watching what was about to happen in the current.
Alicia looks in interest at the large crystal, "Oooh, I love crystals. Their molecular structure is just so beautiful!" She watches on as the crystal shatters, leaving behind a bowl and spoon. Alicia hahs, "You're certainly not taking this experiment lightly!" She's fairly certain she's not met anyone who went so far to make the 'Ultimate Breakfast'.
Alicia sticks close to Bubblegum, "So did you do all this work yourself, or do you have a bunch of assistants to help you?"
Karima holds up a finger towards Fred when she brings up the...weird but still tasty looking bovine that is very lovingly 'donating' it's milk to breakfasty science. "Huh. Well see now, there you go changing the rules again. Not that I was going to do anything, because I wasn't."
She turns towards hte Princess and the other girl, offering them both friendly waves. She does take a moment to answer Bubblegum directly though.
"Ah...I think you should let one of the humans with the soft hands handle..uhm..whatever it is that you just did. What...did you just do?"
"I'm not changing the rules!" insists Frederica. "Honestly. It talks!" she claims. There's a certain playfulness in the girl's tone, a hint that this is a game between them, but also just enough uncertainty that it might be clear Frederica's not entirely sure it's not more than a game.
Still, Frederica's at least reasonably sure of the dragon-woman. Slightly wary, but extending trust nonetheless. She gestures inclusively, inviting Karima to come with them. "Ah, even making the perfect bowl and spoon." Frederica marvels. Well, she's not sure they're perfect, but then it was Princess Bubblegum herself who insisted she was making perfection and who is Frederica to claim otherwise? "I'll get the bowl." she volunteers, still caught up in the 'experiment' enough to be quite willing to help.
"Oh, its just a simple property of harmonics." Bubblegum says, dismissively, to the question. Then, she looks to Alicia. "I never take science lightly! Even something as trivial as breakfast can push the boundaries of knowledge and open up whole new possibilities for the glory of all sentient life!"
She... is utterly and completely sincere, smiling cheerfully as she opens the door to the next room. "I had the banana guards help with construction and logistics, but I handle all the design and implementation myself... if something goes wrong, I don't want anyone to blame it on other than me."
The heat which hits the group as they follow is... intense. Magma, hot and piped straight from the superplanet's core, is clearly visible beneath the toughened glass floor of the specially constructed lab room, and the gathered wheat is being toasted by being shot across the space by high-pressure air and caught in a trough at the far end of the room. "Okay! We've just got the quantum choco-entanglement to go, and then we're done!" Bubblegum shouts over the pop-pop-pop, guiding the group across a precarious walkway over the impressive, some might say excessive, sight.
Karima isn't terribly affected by the sudden heat spike as they continue walking through the laboratory, though the sight certainly catches her offguard. She gives a low whistle towards the sight and tucks her wings in close as she replies to Fred.
"Uh huh. I've got my eye on you lady." She turns her attention next towards the Princess and...looks her over once more.
"Oh...you are really, really pink. I've seen beige humans, brown humans, kinda weird yellowy humans, reddish humans and now I can add pink humans. It's like a box of inks or something. Weird."
Frederica flashes a grin at the dragon. "I'm used to being watched~" she coos playfully. Probably she's not truly serious about the statement. She IS a little full of herself at times, but she doesn't seem to really take it all that seriously.
In the next room, hit by the wave of heat, Frederica blinks. She's one who might - just might - call this excessive. This room, at least. She's no stranger to obsession and to wanting things to be just right, but she likes her comfort too. For a fire-user, she isn't particularly comfortable in the heat.
Frederica tosses back her hood with a gesture, sweeping out her hair and settling herself more comfortably. "Qauntum choco-what?" she asks, not entirely hearing things straight... or perhaps not understanding the technical aspects. "You need to add the chocolate, right?" she asks, clearly eager. To get to the chocolate perhaps, or perhaps to get out of the heat.
"I'm not a human. I'm a person made out of candy biomass." Bubblegum explains, in a semi-distracted kind of way. Most people don't make that mistake! What with the squishy hair and solid black eyes... but she is humanoid, so, it isn't totally unforgivable.
If Frederica is expecting chocolate, she might be disappointed. The final room is dominated by a large computer and a pedastal. "If you could just set the bowl down on there, please." The Princess says, nodding, and, after that is done, she starts tapping at the keyboard, eyes narrowing. Incredibly complex matrices and graphs flash up on the monitor, and over there's a sound much like static electricity emanating from the center of the bowl.
"Almost... almost..."
A 'chocification' progress bar builds along the bottom of the monitor, and when it finally reaches one hundred per cent, there's a blinding flash of brown light, and the toasted cereal - now a rich, chocolatey brown - is resting in the bowl, along with creamy milk. "At last! The work is complete!" Bubblegum declares, sounding... absolutely exhausted. "The most perfect bowl of cereal possible within the constraints of the physical laws of this part of the multiverse!"
Karima rolls her eyes towards Frederica, but before she could comment, the wonderous computer makes itself known. The dragon stares at it blankly as the princess expertly works the buttons to bend it to her will.
"What..the....What kinda thing is that? And furthermore...what did you just say? Does all chocolate like, take this much energy to make? Or is this some kinda special one?"
The pyro girl seems to take a perverse pleasure in the dragon-girl's eye rolling. Frederica grins in unselfconscious amusement, but doesn't directly respond. This... this is the good part right?
She is however disappointed when it comes to the chocofication process. Stopping abruptly she stares at the computer. After prompting she does put the crystal bowl numbly into place, standing back to watch the magic. Er, science. Whichever. She's not sure what she was expecting, but this is definitely bizarre beyond her expectations!
"This is..." Frederica muses, considering. "This is quite unusual, I believe." she says. She doesn't really know how chocolate is made, but is quite sure it's not normally like this. Still, the end result looks suitable. Toasted cereal with a chocolatey coating? Milk so fresh the cow is likely still grumbling about it? And a bowl of fresh-cut crystal... not to mention the grains scythed by laser mere minutes before and roasted in the fires of the Earth. No, it's hard to imagine anything that could be done more quickly or elaborately. Perfection, in short.
Frederica simply stares at the wondrous cereal for a moment, awed. Then she starts. "Ah, what now?" she asks, possibly spoiling the mood. "I mean, there's one bowl and spoon, right?" she clarifies. "I- I suppose it's your wondrous creation..."
Princess Bubblegum shakes her head to the dragon, "No, chocolate is merely a bean product used for sweet flavoring. This cereal is a work of art."
And with that, she hands the bowl to Frederica, smiling easily. "Please. Feel free, I didn't make it for myself, I made it because the universe /deserves/ at least one perfect breakfast."
A work of art? Frederica, momentarily speechless, would have to agree. In truth though it's as much a work of science. MAD science! Insert cackle at your peril.
Wordlessly, Frederica approaches the perfect cereal with an air about her that would be appropriate for a shrine. Reaching out with careful fingers, she picks up the spoon and delicately wields it like an instrument of surgery.
As she quietly tastes the cereal, it's possible to notice the sparkle of moisture in her eyes. Tears of joy, one would hope. She remains silent, savouring the breakfast perfection. Finally, choked up, she turns to Princess Bubblegum.
"Princess..." Frederica says, her voice rough with emotion. "You are a genius. True perfection..." she states, obviously overcome with something that could only poorly be called delight.
