autumn catch-all

[startraveler]

WHO: Aether and you!
WHAT: Open prompts
WHEN: Throughout autumn
WHERE: Various
WARNINGS: None for now


A. Arco Lunar
[The date with Steinbeck aside, Aether is curious to explore Arco Lunar on his own. You may see him looking at the sea while leaning against the railing, trying out different dishes in the buffet and peeking inside the spa or massage studio.

It's really rare for him to be surrounded by such luxury. He's just a traveler, after all and the best he can usually get is a comfy, but modest room in an inn... or his current home.]

B. The Dulces Sueños Resort
[Obviously, Aether wouldn't be himself if he wasn't curious about the resort. Perhaps you are the one who invited him to go, perhaps the two of you just bumped into each other and now venture into the resort together.

If you use the open bath together with Aether you will pick up that beneath the optimistic demeanour, there's actually a lot of lingering loneliness and exhaustion.

If the two of you end up spending the night in the same room, you will see one of Aether's memories. Was it a good one of fun festivals? Or was a sad memory of something lost?]

C. Chocolates
[Perhaps you are minding your own business, when suddenly someone hugs you. A sheepish voice quickly says:]

Sorry! I didn't really mean that...

[The traveler laughs softly, if not a bit awkwardly and pulls away. The chocolates he received seem to cause the person who has eaten them to want to hug others. Aether wasn't aware of that, of course, so he tried one in the morning and its effect seems to linger for the time being. It's a bit awkward, but he doesn't mind too much.

He may be giving some away depending if you're fine with such an effect or not. Or maybe he'll just decide that you need all the hugs you can get and will gift you one without an explanation.]

D. Wildcard
[If you'd like your own starter, a completely different prompt, etc feel free to contact me at discord Ashka#4609 or plurk (spiritualwhisper)! Or just go for it. Also if you'd like to do something from his bingo that's also fine! :D ]

Comments

[startraveler]

[Aether still doesn't know what to make of this guy, but he certainly doesn't seem as scary as he's trying to sound.]

That's good.

[A smile.]

So what are you up to? How is farming going for you?

[He's actually pretty curious. He Xuan doesn't seem like a person who does mundane mortal chores.]

[esurientabyss]

...Taking a walk. Perhaps seeing what else I can fulfill from one of those "squares".

[ He Xuan says with mostly the seriousness as he ever does with most things. ]

Farming's going fine. Prevented the most recent storm from being much of a nuisance to it.

[ He feels proud about that still. Preserving the hard work of a farm might sound trivial to some, but it's actually not. ]

[startraveler]

[He's silent for a moment.]

...Mind showing me your card? Maybe there's a square we both have.

[It would be mutual beneficial.]

And you're saying you prevented the storm from causing damage to your farm? [Now, hasn't he heard someone tell him something similar?]

Do you happen to be Gaku's roommate?

[esurientabyss]

[ Wordlessly, He Xuan shows Aether his card! ]

I did.

[ Though, in retrospect, he isn't quite sure how the others fared in the storm in regards to their farms. Not so bad, he thinks, because he hasn't heard too many complaints. But, who knows? ]

I am. We happen to live in the same house. Why?

[startraveler]

[Aether takes the card and blinks. He's never thought there will be so many squares already done, but it looks like this guy is just very serious.]

Hm... What are your hobbies? [He smiles.] I also have the "Try each other's hobbies" square.

[This could be interesting.]

Gaku told me about the person he lives in... but I didn't realize it was you.

[esurientabyss]

[ Very serious indeedy. ]

Not many, lately. But depending on what you've learned, there can be a proper exchange.

How decent are you at poetry?

[ To be a 'successful scholar', there were certain things one had to possess decent ability in. Music playing, poetry composition, calligraphy, painting (do not @ his current lacking skills in this arena.), among the other expected things. Anyways, that was ages ago, but at least some skills have not deteriorated.

As for the other topic... ]

Suppose it isn't too surprising you two met.

[startraveler]

I'm not quite sure... but perhaps you can teach me.

[He's always eager to learn something new, even if it's not an easy task.]

In exchange... have you ever tried cooking?

[Cooking and poetry... That may be interesting.]

I suppose I will meet almost everyone eventually. I'd like to think that I'm good at making new connections everywhere I go.

[esurientabyss]

Should be simple enough.

[ As for the cooking question... ]

...I've made a couple attempts. But, nothing has come of them so far.

[ He Xuan is, unfortunately, not so great when it comes to cooking things in the kitchen. Though, maybe Aether can help him in that regard. Perhaps mastering one dish isn't impossible (said hours before the potential disaster.) ]

Because of your personality?

[startraveler]

That sounds like you may need some special cooking lessons.

[Though some people never learn. Even gods (looking at Ei).]

Hm... I'm just trying to be approachable. It's better to make friends than enemies anyway, especially if you have a long journey ahead of you.

[esurientabyss]

Then I'll see if your cooking lessons will be enough. Should we start this at my house or yours? My farmhouse is over nearby the beach.

[ He Xuan doesn't particularly care where they decide to go, to be quite honest. ]

I suppose I can see why you would care about that sort of thing.

[ Then again, He Xuan can't say he hasn't ... 'approached' people, but it can be dubious at times whether he'd be considered approachable (still not quite.) ]

[startraveler]

We can start at yours.

[He sees no problem with that.]

I've been travelling for a very long time already. I speak from the experience.

[You have no idea how long his journey actually was.]

[esurientabyss]

[ He Xuan simply nods, and then begins to lead them there. ]

Experience that clearly helps in ensuring your survival as well.

[ Anyway, it shouldn't take them that long, and their arrival means that they're also soon in the kitchen, and there's a bunch of ingredients to pick with. ]

What would be something you would consider simple to start with?

[startraveler]

I can't deny that. As I said, having friends makes life easier.

[He follows He Xuan and once they're in the kitchen, Aether takes a look at the available ingredients.]

Hmm... how about an egg roll? It's an easy dish with few ingredients. Good enough to start with.

[esurientabyss]

Mm. In the end, I suppose they're not bad to have around.

[ By suppose, He Xuan means he's actually learning more about the value of having them. As for the subject to begin with, he also concludes that it will definitely be a good choice.

In retrospect, perhaps he hadn't learned properly because he had no interest. But now, it is genuine. No cooking book will suffice, as for him direct experience is best.

He will also procure a notebook and a pen he carries handedly wherever he goes. ]

...It's decided, then. Whatever direction you give, I'll follow.

[startraveler]

You should try making some.

[He can definitely recommend.]

We'll start with cracking the eggs into a bowl... Do you know how to do that or should I demonstrate?

[It may sound like a very basic thing, but who knows, maybe He Xuan has Raiden level of skill when it comes to kitchen?!]

[esurientabyss]

...I have. Made some, that is.

[ It sounds like he'd rather eat sand than say the sentence, but. It's out there. ]

I've done it before, with mixed results.

...Give me a demonstration.

[ He's cracked an egg in his hand by gripping it too hard once, also by smashing it up against the table too hard, and then he cracked an entire egg over a bowl and all the shells were in there...it's been a disaster, yeah. ]

[startraveler]

[Aw. Well, at least he's doing better than Aether thought.]

I'm glad to hear that.

[He gives him a brilliant smile.]

As for cracking an egg... It may be a bit tricky and require some practice, but don't worry.

[He Aether grabs an egg and then breaks its shell against the table, just enough to form cracks, but not strong enough to make it fall apart right away.]

The key is controlling your strength.

[He shows the egg to He Xuan, before gently splitting the eggshell over the bowl. That's a perfectly cracked egg here.]

[esurientabyss]

[ Simpler to do anywhere else but preparing food, it seems...then again, there is even less applied force for other daily activities.

But he's had enough mistakes that it should be easier to follow by now. Should be is the key word (lmao) ]

A simple matter.

[ He'll grab a hold of another egg, and then follow suit. Two egg shells rudely fall in.

He glares at the offending little pieces. Fishing those out are going to be a pain. ]

...How many eggs are we supposed to be adding to this?

[startraveler]

[Have no fear, there is an easy to trick to get the shell pieces out and Aether will demonstrate!]

Two is more than enough, don't worry! In fact, it's enough for two dishes. We just have to add a bit of sugar and salt and mix.

[Aether, then shows He Xuan how to fry the eggs, first layer, then rolling it, then another layer and so on until half of the mixture is gone. Once the presentation is over, he allows the other to give it a try.]

Think we can actually just wrap it up here!

[esurientabyss]

[ ...At least that'll be simple enough.

Anyway, He Xuan's going to manage to at least be able to do the same. Like this, the rest of the mixture is gone, and it's at least practically ready. Except for the last step. ]

Now that we're done, it's edible like this?

[ Some things don't change. This including his appetite.

Whenever Aether decides to show him, though, he can be certain that He Xuan will follow up with a lesson on how to write poems. And with a suggestion to share the results with whomever he so chooses. ]