InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "May the Force be with you."

hopalongcharlie (hopalongcharlie) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2015-02-26 00:51:00

Entry tags:

character: charlie weasley, character: dominic chambers

RP: Modifications
Who: Charlie & Dominic

What: Discussing possible modifications to Wingbeat

Where: Wingbeat!

When: Wednesday 25th Feb

Rating: NSFW - Language (because Charlie)

Between being first on the afternoon delivery list for once and efficiency with the books, by the time three o'clock was rolling around Charlie was once again alone in the club. It was always a bit of a weird thing when it happened, but he sort of liked it. He liked the proof of his success, even if it was a bit echoing and empty at the moment.

In the end he had grabbed himself a Gillywater from the back, written a note for whoever opened the till tomorrow to put it through so they didn't lose track and was perched on a stool enjoying the music he'd stuck on. He was resisting the urge to yank off his prosthetic and itch his stump, which was apparently very irritating today, but it wasn't a good look business-wise so instead he was concentrating on the beat with his head tipped back against the wall, bottle in hand, waiting for Dominic to show up.

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knowhow
2015-03-10 03:40 pm UTC (link)

"Finnigan's does the same," Dominic said. "Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to work some kind of cushioning charm over the floor. Then you'd only need to respell one thing, rather than dozens..." He paused, lost in consideration of that idea for a while. The major downside was that adding another layer of magic to a building was fiddly - and having got all the spells just right so that none interfered with any other he was reluctant to go back in and try tinkering all over again. It could easily take weeks to fix if he got it wrong. If ever he was involved in the very early stages of building a pub, club or restaurant, though, he was going to suggest it.

He snapped back to attention as Charlie started to talk about the stairs. "The problem with levitating platforms is timing," he said. He'd learned that while working at Hogwarts - there was a reason most wizarding establishments still used stairs, and it wasn't just traditionalism. "If you set it to lift every time someone stands on it, you risk whisking unsuspecting people off their feet - not to mention what does someone do at the top if it's down at the bottom? You can't just put a button in like you can with muggle electricity. On the other hand, if you set it to lift every minute - or whatever - you have to work out the ideal timing, which is a pain." He crossed his arms, tapping his wand lightly against his shoulder, sending a few stray bronze sparks up as he did. "If you want it just for you I can probably work something out, but if you want something more general I don't think a platform will work." Could he fashion a magical equivalent to a stair lift? That might get in the way of other people even more, though...

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hopalongcharlie
2015-03-12 01:22 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, I think it's pretty common, but I'm guessing you can't change that now," he said. He'd got the tip from a couple of the publicans he'd asked for tips when he was setting up.

Charlie sighed, he hated that his disability made things more complicated, even if coped with almost everything he needed to do with almost no problems. "Yeah, I didn't think it would be exactly easy, but I was really hoping that I could have it for other people too. I mean I can't be the only fucker around who has mobility problems. I've not noticed anyone, but I want us to be as welcoming as possible, you know?" he said. He knew he hadn't done everything right straight away but he was trying to improve all the time, like how he'd quietly re-labelled the single stall toilet on each floor as 'disabled and gender neutral' instead of just disabled.

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knowhow
2015-03-12 05:09 pm UTC (link)

Dominic shrugged slightly, one eyebrow raised. "I could, but you'd have to shut for a few days - especially if you wanted me to do it alone. Maybe longer, depending on what the security spells are like." He gave Charlie a considering look, remembering that he'd worked with dragons and had a brother who worked as a curse-breaker (a profession Dominic wished it were possible to get into on practical experience rather than pure academics). "I'm guessing pretty good - so make that up to a week. Probably not worth it to save yourself a glass every couple of months." Finnigan's would be even more complicated, what with the layers of magic in the Roost.

"It's a good aim," he said, nodding as he walked up a few of the stairs, hoping the new perspective would give him some inspiration. "And people don't always look like they have issues, but stairs can still be a struggle." He walked up a few more stairs, approaching the doors to the upper floor. "We could put in two platforms, set so one goes up when the other goes down. That solves one of our problems." He wondered if it would be possible to set it so one platform could be summoned or levitated - with an automatic sympathetic response in the other. "Drunk people should probably not be expected to rely on their wands..." he mused aloud. "Would you be okay with a password? You could print it up so it's not actually secret or anything." That might actually remove the need for two platforms, if it could be set so that one word meant 'up' and another meant 'down'. "I'm just not sure how noise from the club would interfere... Hogwarts has loads of passwords, but not in noisy areas."

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hopalongcharlie
2015-03-12 08:26 pm UTC (link)

Charlie snorted, his security spells were both stringent and rather finicky. They also had some rather unusual effects when triggered thanks to them being somewhat designed for dragons. "Yeah, I'll deal with a few glasses lost a year, closing for a week isn't going to save me that much in the long run," he said. "And no, my wards aren't very friendly."

Setting one shoulder to the wall and crossing his arms to watch Dominic climb the stairs. Clearly he thought on the move. "Passwords would be good. I mean I want to discourage people abusing whatever you do, but I'd rather put up with a little abuse than not have something for people who need it. We already have posters up about the rules, a couple by the stairs for a platform will be just fine," he said. "Just nothing too hard to say for anyone who can't talk well once they get even vaguely pissed. No idea how it'll work with sound levels though." His spellwork was good, but not what you might call creative or much based in theory.

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knowhow
2015-03-13 05:21 pm UTC (link)

"Noted," Dominic said with a smile, his gaze drifting back to Charlie's arms crossed over his muscular chest. This was definitely a sign it was too long since he'd been with anyone new and he made a mental note to come back for LGBTQ night tomorrow. Maybe he'd find a Charlie look-alike who wouldn't mind taking him home. He grinned a little wider. "Neither are mine." The wards on Finnigan's were a little more standard - but Dominic's private words on his flat were some of his more creative work, and updated when he fancied toying around with security spells for any reason.

Dominic hadn't considered slurring - or accents. "I wonder if Krum had any trouble with passwords at Hogwarts," he mused. "Portraits aren't sentient but -" He trailed off, an idea having struck him. "They're not sentient, but you can set them to work within certain parameters. I have no idea how that works." The tone of his last words indicated this was an exciting prospect, rather than a frustrating one. He had to shake himself back to the present after a moment with an apologetic glance at Charlie. "Probably not practical. Too expensive, for a start, and fuck knows how long it would take me to work out the details." But Dominic knew it would be preying on his mind. The lack of information sharing in the artistic community was not going to help at all... "If I have a breakthrough in six months I'll let you know."

His mind was suddenly whirring, jumping from one idea to the next and back again in a way that wasn't really conducive to conversation. "Give me a couple of days to think," Dominic suggested. "Then I'll owl you my best suggestions and a quote and you can agree or make changes and we'll set a date for me to start work."

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hopalongcharlie
2015-03-14 03:28 pm UTC (link)

Charlie smiled and nodded, chuckling slightly. He could only imagine that the wards of someone who played around with spells for a living could only be slightly alarming.

"I could ask my sister-in-law, but Fleur's English was always pretty understandable," he said, shrugging. He'd always thought magic could be pretty accommodating if it was spelled sympathetically, but that wasn't always the case. "Sure, you have fun investigating. You're always welcome to come down and fiddle with whatever you do if you think some discovery will really improve how it works."

He could see that Dominic's mind was busy and moving. "Of course, no problem at all. I'll update the staff on the situation. Thanks for coming down, it was good to see you again," he said, shifting himself back off the wall and adjusting. Maybe he could go and have the dancefloor to himself for a while before he went home. It was always better if he didn't to worry about making an arse of himself when his balance wavered too much, plus he loved to fling himself around like an idiot sometimes.

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knowhow
2015-03-16 02:17 pm UTC (link)

Dominic nodded, adding 'Fleur' to a mental list of possible avenues for exploration. He'd make a real list at some point, probably as soon as he got home so it was all fresh in his mind. "Careful, I'll take you up on that," he warned, still smiling. He was better with paid projects, but he did have a habit of going back to his personal ideas and tinkering with them beyond the point it was really useful.

He offered Charlie his hand once more. "No need to show me out, I can find the way. I'll get that owl to you as soon as and we'll work out a schedule for how long it's likely to take before you can announce the changes." He was heading to Ireland for Mother's Day, but that shouldn't interfere too much. Besides, sometimes a day or two of just thinking, instead of heading straight for experimentation, actually improved matters. After shaking Charlie's hand to seal the deal, Dominic gave a cheery wave and headed for home.

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