deercountry | late bloomer jokes [feb catchall

Entry tags:

late bloomer jokes [feb catchall - open & closed prompts]

Who: Manabu & others
What: Misc hijinks
When: February
Where: Misc locations

Content Warnings: Will be marked in tls/comments as needed

February is weird. Manabu feels...weird. He's always an impatient kind of person, needing to always be moving somewhere or doing something, but this is a different kind of impatience. More and more, he's noticing the way couples interact, double-taking at public displays of affection which he'd typically fluster and look the other way at. He pines for a lot of things here in Trench: his family, his coworkers, his job... but he's not used to pining for things like...y'know, hand-holding.

So goes Manabu Yuuki's 24-year old awakening to romantic pining; it's going to be coloring a lot of the month for him! And that's weird and confusing for him, so you bet this'll be coloring the way he interacts with folks he runs into! Lots of word spaghetti, lots of hair frizzing with static, and some apple-red cheeks...at least he has the cold weather to blame for that.

...Even if he's a coldblood.

Shut up. It's nothing!!!

open prompts

o1. Willful Machine: Errands and Odd Jobs
[regardless of these roiling, blood-based feelings throwing him off his game, Manabu still throws himself into work of all sorts. he does errands and handiwork around the Roost for Diluc, but also picks up the occasional odd job for locals - Sleepers and natives alike. he's a jack of many trades and definitely master of none, but what he lacks in expertise he makes up with patience and determination.

perhaps you see him replacing tiles on a store's roof, or maybe he's hauling a wagon full of winter supplies, or part of a small squad lifting some heavy furniture by pulley up to a second floor, or simply carrying someone's groceries! either way, prime encounter opportunity.

also, Magnet is always there: that little mutt's noisy, but friendly, and always apt to bounding away from Manabu to sniff out a friend or potential friend...or at least some pets.]

o2.The Gate: Gunswordplay
[maybe it's too much to bank on, but smacking around the unsnake last month's given Manabu a boost of combat confidence (never mind the concussions)! that said, he definitely needs to get better at this gravity saber business; swords are really archaic, but seem to be quite a common thing here! and look, he wouldn't admit it, but he wants to be cool with the swords, too.

here Manabu can be found a couple hours before sundown after busy workdays, stretching and then trying to master balanced, repeated strikes on dummies with slashes or sparks of flame...boring stuff, but he knows it builds results. still, if anyone's itching to spar, he'll jump at that.]

o3. Gaze: Research
[if things are too slow as far as work goes, Manabu will veer off and go to the Archives - a place he actually hasn't made a point to visit much before! he's not a big studying kind of guy, but he knows the plans he has in mind require a lot more research and thought than just running on hunches and rumors.

also? he wants maps. an atlas feels like a reach, but if he can cobble together some maps...

so that's what he's up to: cringing and veering away from ickier aisles of oddities, picking at the spines of assorted books in increasingly lessening hope.

what's it take to find a map of the world around this place...!?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Manabu's knocking is punctuated by a couple barks. Magnet stands at his feet, almost tippy-tapping in excitement to see two of his favorite young people. it's not his first time visiting, either! though it is Manabu's...

he's got an armful of supplies - noodles he premade, spices from Ariadne's shop, and some extra odds n' ends he didn't need for the dish, but just thought would be nice to pass along. Fern was on duty to find some soup stocks.

cooking...culinary science...it's happening here.]

[The house is definitely fucking weird - what's with that tower, even? Not that Varian is going to draw attention to it as he opens the door, smiling. He's looking a lot healthier now, the greyness of his skin from his corruption has gone completely. ]

Oh, hey Manabu. And hey Magnet!! [He's gonna bend down to give BEST BOY all the pets, before standing up, gesturing with his thumb as he enters the house.] C'mon in. We're pretty much all set up for you.

[Fern has, thankfully, been responsible and gone ahead and acquired a whole bunch of different soup stock. Vegetable, beef, fish, chicken - he wasn't totally sure which Manabu would prefer for their cooking adventures, so the stocks are sitting in the fridge, ready to be used.

He's in the kitchen when Manabu and Magnet arrive, and he pokes his head out, giving them a wave.]

Yeah, we're totally ready to cook!

[Magnet is thrilled with the pets, and Varian gets some face-licks in exchange before Fern's voice hits his little ears and sends him darting between Varian's legs to go get some Fern-attention.

Manabu nods up in greeting over to the green kid before stepping inside, leaning against the wall so he can take his boots off one by one.]

Awesome. Oh--you guys have extra containers for leftovers, right? Just in case. Forgot to ask. It's okay if not! We'll just...share the wealth a bit more so it doesn't go to waste.

[Magnet is the BEST BOY and deserves all this fuss. He chuckles as Magnet races into the house, following at a much more leisurely pace. Sorry, Fern, he's gonna let you get mauled by an adorable pupper today. He knows it's how you'd want to go. ]

Oh yeah, don't worry, we have a tone of those. Fern got loads of them for when I was last sick and he filled them with about six thousand gallons of chicken soup.

[He had so much soup, Manabu, you don't understand. And trying to explain to your non-human boyfriend that you can't actually consume that much soup is a challenge. ]

[Oh noooo, death by pupper, how awful!!!

Even though this probably isn't the most hygienic thing in the world to be doing he's happily scooping Magnet up in his arms, so that he can get all the scratches. He only pauses to flush a little at Varian's comment.]

Having a lot of soup around is important if you wanna get better, okay. That's what mom did.

[And best mom Margaret was never wrong!!!]

To be fair, [Manabu flashes Varian a lopsided grin as he enters the kitchen behind him, shrugging his satchel off his shoulders and setting it on an open table or counter.] that's not too far what my mom would do for me when I was a kid. But I think that was more to keep me fed and sleepy than, you know, how medicine works, eheh...

[he starts pulling items out and laying them out - little cannisters of spices and some wrapped bowls of noodles and things.]

Did you pick what kinda meat you want? If you were gonna go with any, that is. We'll tailor it to that flavor. Aa, and-- [he glances over to Fern and the dog basking in all the attention.] You're gonna have to put him down and wash your hands. Dog hair isn't a good flavor.

Hah yeah, I mean, it did help to have something easy to eat while I was recovering. Even if there was...so much of it.

[Manabu, you don't understand JUST HOW MUCH SOUP Fern made him. He watches Manabu work, canting his head.]

Uh, well we have some...probably beef? Like the person at the stall told me it was beef. Maybe. [Why is food like this here? ]

Hah, that's you told. [That's directed at Fern.] No dog hair meat for us.

[Fern grins a bit at Manabu backing him up. Sort of. It's close enough and he'll take it!! He also nods at the question about meat - it doesn't matter too much to him, and beef is what they (supposedly) have in the fridge so it'll work.

He does, however, frown at having to put Magnet down. Wow guys, rude. Setting the omen down, he looks at his hands before moving to the sink to wash them.]

I don't have dog hair on my hands. [He totally does, stuck in between his grass.]

Edited 2022-02-12 19:22 (UTC)

[with supplies un-bagged, Manabu shrugs his coat off and drapes it on a chair, rolling his sleeves up on his way to the sink for his turn to wash, giving Fern a small smile.]

If we're doing beef, go ahead and grab the beef stock you picked up and put that in a big pot on the burner, okay? [over his shoulder.] Varian, come wash up, too! We'll have our hands on ingredients to sort and mix. [and he doesn't trust him to not always be lightly coated in some dangerous-to-consume chemical substance; guilty until proven innocent, bucko.]

Aa...a cutting board would be ideal, but we can get by stretching out some fresh towels or napkins on the table to spread everything out. [he withdraws his wet hands a bit, looking around for a towel to dry off with.]

[Varian opens his mouth to argue, just in Fern, that his hands are perfectly clean thank you, that's why he wears GLOVES, except...you know, Manabu is 100% right and there's probably something toxic on them at any given time. Still, he'll give Fewrn a playful nudge which his shoulder as he goes to the sink with him.]

Okay, okay, handwashing.

[He's gonna do that while directing Manabu to where those things live in their weird hodge-podge kitchen which is exactly the sort of chaos you would expect when six people live under the same roof as he does that.

Once his own hands are dry, he grabs the beef stock. ]

Okay- that's done!

[Fern snorts quietly and gives Varian a little elbow in return. Hah!! He isn't the only one with dirty hands - his are probably less toxic than whatever Varian has on his.
He finishes up and grabs a pot for the stock, setting it on the burner before going to grab a cutting board from one of the cupboards.]

We got some cutting boards. Luz's been real good at making sure the kitchen has everything a kitchen needs.

[Since they're disasters and Luca and Ahiru are babies.]

Okay, next. [he'll walk back over to the table and the ingredients, rearranging a few things into two different groups.

pointing to each in turn:] These we mix in with the broth while it's heating up. These we mix in after. And those are for the meat. We gotta coat the meat in these with some eggs and sear it on a skillet.

Got it?

[you better. 'cause it's time to pick a seasoner and a searer! he'll help, of course, making sure any pinching or dashing is reasonable and no meat gets too scorched.]

[Fern absolutely has way less toxic hands than Varian. He chuckles at the little elbowing, before heading over, nodding.]

Yeah she's been really good at helping this place out.

[And giving them actually useful household objects instead of just...dangerous chemicals or literal skeletons. ]

Okay, I'll do the searing. Probably best to keep Fern as far away from open flames as we can.

[Bless Luz, they need her in their lives.

Fern opens his mouth to argue that pfft, he can handle some basic cooking on the stove, buuuut... yeah, he's a plant. There has been more than one incident where he wasn't being attentive enough and scorched himself. So he promptly shuts his mouth and nods, because none of them need him being irresponsible and setting himself on fire.]

Alriiight, I'm on seasoning duty, then. [He lifts his hands and makes a show of cracking his knuckles, even though he doesn't actually have bones to crack.]

Let's do it, then!

[EDITOR, CUE THE MONTAGE!

behold: Manabu having Varian break a couple eggs and dip strips of meat in it, roll it in some seasonings, and sear. he entrusts the kid to that before going over to help grasslad mix up the remaining spices and chopped-up greens (is that offensive? Manabu doesn't think about this, and he sure isn't thinking about it now) before checking on the broth.

he grabs hold of the pot bare-handed (coldblood has made him stupid about this, but also coldblood has seen fit to not punish him for it, either), moving the boiling contents over to a clear spot on the cutting board, having Varian sprinkle in and stir in his spice piles, and it's not long at all before the kitchen's smelling really, really good.]

[Such a good montage! Such amazing music behind it! So inspiring!!!

Varian is about to say something about the whole POT GRABBING - mostly because he's a dumbass coldblood who genuinely forgets he can do that. Also, he wears thick alchemy gloves 98% of the time. The fact his bare hands are making an appearance here is a rare treat for everyone.

But hey, they manage it without setting anything on fire or cutting pieces off themselves! What a miracle!! ]

Hey, this looks pretty great! You're a good teacher, Manabu

[Best montage ever!!!

Fern does pretty well with the spices and greens. He's excellent at chopping, and as long as he follow Manabu's directions he doesn't completely mess up the spices. Huzzah!

He does, however, realize that grabbing the pot without a potholder is probably a bad idea, so as they start finishing up the broth he looks over.]

Yeah, it smells great. Is your hand okay?

Hm? What do you--

[Manabu double-takes, gawking.]

Gih-!! Oh! Uh! [he actually takes a moment to check, but after a look-over and some hesitant poking and fist-clenching:] ...Huh...I guess so...

[...]

...Don't...don't pick up hot dishes without gloves on... [like him, an idiot.]

[Varian's just casting him the flatest of looks. So flat.]

Oh gee, thanks Manabu, we never would have been aware of that important life skill before right at this moment.

[Still, that gentle roasting done, he moves to sniff at the dish.]

Regardless, we do appreciate this life skill. It looks really good, and I bet if we made a big enough batch we could feed the whole house with it.

[Fern meets Varian's look, and snickers a bit since Manabu doesn't look hurt or anything, just embarrassed.]

We're learning so much.

[This is what happens when you cook with teen boys.]

Yeah! No one's gonna starve here.

I'll pack up the remainder of the spices and leave it with you guys, then; I think you can handle this on your own next time around, right? Just gotta trade up for some noodles down in Willful Machine.

[he'll grab one of the empty bowls, shaking out some of those aforementioned noodles out of its container.] So, you can eat this with noodles like this, or you can heat these up separate. [while pouring some of the broth into another, smaller bowl:] I like it like this, since the broth is already hot enough.

Then you grab a utensil, dunk your noodles in the broth to soak a bit, then you slurp! Easy.

We can definitely handle this- and we do appreciate the lesson.

[Despite them being shitty teenage boys, he is glad for this, and he DOES pay attention as Manabu goes through the steps needed. He does follow Manabu's instructions, carefully to try and not spill any. ]

Oh wow, so it's like soup! But yeah...obviously a broth, that's great!

Uh huh! This was fun!

[With Manabu having shown them everything it really feels idiot proof. They've got this, they aren't complete disasters in the kitchen most of the time!

He'll do the same as Varian and follow Manabu - if he had a stomach it'd be growling by now.]

Soup, but way fancier. Kinda reminds me of the food my brother's girlfriend would make back home.

[Manabu stops just so he can divvy out the seared and seasoned meat into each of their dishes.] Try it now - the noodles. The taste changes even with this much. And if we had some other greens and carrots...! [he sighs, maybe pining just a bit for some decent carrots. oh well. this is still good.]

It's called tsukemen, back where I'm from. My mom would make it from leftovers after she finished up working in her restaurant...but you'd never call it leftovers, eheh. It's just as good!

Sometimes we'd get more like...a...kitchen-sink soup. Which is: Put everything but the kitchen sink in there!

closed to fern & varian

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