crescentview | January/Summer catch-all

January/Summer catch-all

WHO: M-21 and anyone
WHAT: Open + catchall
WHEN: All summer
WHERE: All over the island
WARNINGS: none, TBA if needed. Plotting here!

i. message in a bottle (beginning of month)

[ M-21 can be found at the memo board leaving his incredibly compelling self-advertisement-slash-transparent attempt at cheating. He's also lingering a little over the response to another one before he takes it with him. Catch him in the act, or take him up on his proposition!

Threads using the "compelled to speak the truth" event happen before Jan 7. ]

ii. rain on the beach (Jan 10)

[ Possibly M-21 did not understand the assignment to exercise with a partner. Possibly he's just getting in his laps industriously, proving why he counts for the "works out five times a week" scavenger hunt option. Either way, a little rain isn't going to slow him down any. He's jogging contentedly along the beach with absolutely no regard to how annoying running in sand is, or the rain that should be soaking him.

Probably because there's a localized sunbeam around just him. The smugger he gets about this, the brighter it seems to shine. Does this mean the goddess made up with him? He has no idea, but he's going to bask in it while it lasts. Anyone approaching will get a relatively good-natured nod. ]

You coming?

iii. wildcard

[ Catch me on my planning/PM/discord if you want a starter! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of course not. First harvest didn't come in for two weeks.

[ Is that making the situation better? Don't worry about it. In point of fact, their kitchen now also contains a handful of other staples! ...It's mostly rice. And some eggs.

He continues, in tones of unassailable self-defense: ]

There's a lot of different ramen flavors.

[ She just looks... concerned. Very concerned. She understands that proper meals aren't always possible, especially having lived the life of an adventurer, but... ]

... Show me to the kitchen?

[ He's got the sneaking suspicion he perceives judgment in that look, so he trots a little ahead of her to show the way. If he doesn't see it, it can't reach him. ]

Alright. Things were a mess when the goddess first brought us here.

[ Translation: this represents an improvement. The kitchen itself is now clean and upgraded, complete with nice fridge and oven and counter space. Even if some of said counter space is taken up by the threatened bowls of harvested apples and pears. And--of course--the instant ramen. ]

[ She will, of course, follow dutifully! ]

Is that so? You've been hard at work, then!

[ Only that when they arrive to the kitchen, she sees a giant box there. Which is to say, she walks up to the fridge. It almost looks like an icebox, but? ]

What is this?

[ And then she opens it. What does she find!? ]

[ Praise? That was definitely praise. M-21 perks up a little, almost imperceptibly. He's a good boy. ]

Your world doesn't have this kind of technology? I can show you how it works. It's mostly just the fridge and the stove. And the TV.

[ She finds... produce! A menacing amount of potatoes and turnips. Some cabbage. Strawberries and cherries, eggs (he doesn't know if they go in the fridge but they do now), milk. There's also a bowl of leftover dumpling filling that he miraculously rolled a 19 for, meaning: very edible, and some lumpy dough for dumpling wrappers that he did not roll a 19 for, jammed to the back like he's hiding his sins. ]

[ So he likes to be praised... noted ]

Oh, I mean, we have iceboxes like this, but... I don't see the ice? Is it being powered by magic? The stove looks familiar, though...

[ Oh, this is actually more than she thought there would be, given what he'd said earlier. Unfortunately, she rolled a 6 for investigating and the sinful dumpling wrappers remain undetected (for now). Carefully, she takes the eggs and a potato out, as well as some milk. ]

Let's make an omelette! By the way, what's a "teevee?" More kitchen technology?

[ M-21's sins live another day. Will he remember to dispose of them before she gets a another chance? An adventure for next time. ]

Electricity. I think. Unless the goddess is running all of this.

[ Given direction, he rolls up his sleeves and starts retrieving things from the cupboards for her. An omelette probably needs a pan, right? A bowl. A cutting board. He can make some reasonable guesses. ]

She really pulls people from all over. TV's for watching things on. Movies... uh, like plays?

[ Or will it turn into a tiny monstrosity in their fridge? Only time will tell!

Those reasonable guesses are right on the money, and incredibly appreciated especially for anything that might be stored somewhere... higher up...

She sets their ingredients down on a counter, and then retrieves... a knife! ]

That sounds like fun. I really like watching plays, so I suppose I would enjoy watching TV, too!

[ Just gonna wash this potato quick and then start peeling it... ]

Would you like to beat the eggs?

[ Place bets now on whether M-21 will realize he might need to rearrange the cabinets. Maybe if he catches her climbing them. ]

There's not much on it, but...

[ Ah, a task! That's better than standing around uselessly watching her wield a knife. He nods and grabs the bowl. ]

Alright. How many you need?

[ Hopefully "whipped into absolute foam" is the way to go, because moderating his strength is still a work in progress. ]

[ Either that, or he suddenly finds a flowery bear in the kitchen trying to get to the top shelves... ]

Hmm, let's go with four eggs.

[ In the meantime, she's doing her peeling the potato thing, after which she starts slicing them into chunks. But she can't help but peer at M-21 working on the eggs because, if he is actually whipping them at max speed she's going to quickly put the knife down and try to still his hand. ]

H—Hold on, that's a bit aggressive, don't you think?

[ This isn't even his max speed! But he goes guiltily still the second she reaches for him, and looks between the eggs and her hand with a question in his eyes. ]

...How hard am I supposed to do it?

[ Maybe he should have preemptively volunteered for the chopping. Although she's pretty quick with a knife. ]

Like this...

[ Gently, she tries to guide his hand that's holding the whisk in a much slower movement... ]

See? The eggs become dense if you beat them too much. Just do this for a little bit more, and I think it'll be good.

[ And with that, she smiles and then gets back to the potatoes! ]

Edited 2023-01-12 05:28 (UTC)

[ More handholding... He's gotten a lot more used to people touching him since he arrived here, so he's only staring a little. He's absorbing her teaching, anyway. ]

Alright. Got it. [ Maybe he even does got it. He's being very careful now. ] You cook a lot?

[ The "more than him" threshold is so low. ]

[ Exactly, it's for science!! But she smiles as she watches him take her direction. ]

I do, but rarely in an actual kitchen like this... I'm usually on the road traveling, so most of the time I'm cooking over a bonfire!

[ But wait, hold on. There is something... that is somewhere that it shouldn't be. She puts both potato and knife down before. Um. Reaching down—

she pulls her bingo card out of her cleavage. ]

...Um? What is this?

Traveling? What for?

[ He's staring intently at the eggs to make sure he doesn't overdo it this time, but he looks up when she puts the knife down--is he doing it wrong again?--just in time to watch her fishing stuff out of

uh

werewolf.exe is rebooting. ]

Uh. [ Don't say 'cleavage,' don't say 'cleavage'. Definitely not what she was asking. ] B... B-bingo card. From the goddess.

[ Alas, maybe we'll never get to hear Ori's would-be answer to M-21's question about her traveling. She is completely unaware of his rebooting, too, because she's just scanning all of her squares on the card. ]

From the goddess...? Are we supposed to complete these activities, then? Oh, look, we're already cooking together!

[ However, she's not even sure what some of these mean. She's never heard of a "Twister" game. And more than that— ]

Ph— Phone sex!? [ followed soon by: ] What is a "phone!?"

You've got that one? Good. Maybe your card is—

[ "An easy one"? M-21 is leaning over to check, full of innocent hope that she has a smut-free card and he's not once more on the hook to explain "VCR and chill."

...He hasn't even gotten there yet when she makes the discovery for herself and he jerks back almost guiltily. Oh no. At least his shaggy hair will cover his ears turning red. ]

Uh, that's... [ He pauses. Mentally pages through the number of questions he could answer, and ones she hasn't asked. And finally helpfully points towards the living room. ] ...Phone's over there.

[ Poor M-21, he was safe from another 'VCR and chill' card, only for 'phone sex' to come with a steel chair...

Her own face flushing intensely, she's more than happy to avoid looking at him by glancing at the phone. ]

I... I'm supposed to have sex with that...!?

No!

[ The half-assed explanations always come back to bite him. He coughs into his fist, just once. ]

No. [ Just again. Firmly. For good measure. What does he add to that? Don't tell me if you do? Do tell me if you do? ] It's for talking through. Like a sending stone.

[ The recognition that flashes across her features is immediate when he compares it to a sending stone. ]

S-So, then...

[ If it's like a sending stone, which she's definitely used to communicate over long distances, then that means "phone sex" must be like...

Oh. Oh.

She drops her bingo card entirely, her hands coming up to cover her very, very red face. And in the smallest, quietest voice ever: ]

T-Thanks for telling me. I'm sorry. This is so embarrassing...

[ That worked? It's a minor miracle that that worked. He doesn't even remember whose world has sending stones, but he's going to tell them thank you if it comes back to him.

He bends to retrieve the card, taking his time in the hopes that his own face looks normal again by the time he straightens. He's not blushing, right... ...It kind of helps that she is, actually. ]

Not your fault. I'll take it up with the goddess. ...Anyway, they're like bribes. You don't have to do them.

[ He's also lucky because she remains covering her face for another moment or two, until she finally just takes a deep breath and then sighs, lowering her hands. Somehow, the realization of what "phone sex" is was more embarrassing than the fact that her bingo card spawned in her cleavage, but it's fine, probably. ]

...R—Right. Some of them looked alright, or doable from what I could tell briefly. I don't mind doing things like cooking or watching a sunset, or even giving a hug...

[ Ahem. ]

Shall we finish cooking?

[ M-21 glances down to scan her card without thinking about it. Plenty of safe things on here. ...They sure do both have "mirrors (smut)." He puts the card face-down on the counter quickly. ]

...Yeah. A lot of them are easy, usually. If there's any you don't know, I can explain. This world's a lot like mine.

[ Back to food! By happy mutual agreement, even if her blushing is extremely cute. He picks up the bowl of eggs again to show her. ]

This look about right?

[ Thank goodness he seems relatively (?) calm about all of this, most of all that he hasn't once laughed at or poked fun at her for needing to ask so many questions, even offering to keep explaining. If she has to do this all with seemingly no choice, she's glad that at least she has M-21 as her roommate.

As for the food, she glances over when he shows her the bowl, having managed to regain a bit of her composure, and nods. ]

That's good! Why don't you go ahead and pour the eggs into the pan and put it over a low heat for now? Ah, and maybe melt some butter in there first if we have some...

[ She will finish slicing the potato! And whenever the egg mixture is all situated in the pan, she'll carefully add the potatoes to the pan, making sure the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the soon-to-be omelet. ]

[ M-21: screaming strictly internally, face growing more stoic by the moment.

But they have something else to focus on now, and that's a mercy. Especially because cooking really does take a lot of attention for him to not do something atrocious. ]

Yeah, we've got that.

[ He can follow the directions to the letter, safe enough if he's not winging it. He hovers behind her to watch in curiosity over her shoulder at the next steps. ]

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i'm so sorry about this

NEVER BE SORRY I'M STILL LAUGHING

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