(open) where have you been?

[forethinking]

Who: Ren Amamiya + Bonnie's Flophouse residents + ADI visitors!
When: July 29th
Where: Bonnie's kitchen
Summary: Just Ren being homely, making food for everyone! Curry night! Feel free to make your own top-level, you don't have to interact only with Ren!
Warnings: None aside from the gentle reminder that he was indeed a seal and everything that happened in there. Also mentions of P5 spoilers!


(Being in his body feels strange from time to time. It feels a little concerning to have fingers when you once had a fin, to be able to hold objects in your palm, super weird to have toes, so on. He's been a rat before, but it was for much less time than he had been a seal, and it wasn't traumatizing then. It was actually pretty fun! He remembers hopping around, flamboyantly, eating cheese, doing what he does best! Being a seal, it wasn't so great.

But at least he's always looking forth, with a smile that never wavers, so instead of dwelling on what happened, Ren can make himself useful around the house by doing what he does best. Nevermind him adding a little chocolate to it! It's a family trade!)

Could you stir this for me for a second?

Comments

Meredith Idlewild - OC

[henchgal]

Meredith has come from ADI housing for dinner with a couple batches of brownies in tow, homemade just for this occasion. She lays them out quietly, and turns to looks around the rest of the room and note who's here. Part of her is doing a casual tally--how many from the ADI apartments came over? After all, allowing the housing situation to create a rift in the team would be less than ideal.

After a moment of counting, she puts on a smile, moving over to find a place to sit, resting her cane against her chair before smiling at someone nearby.

"I don't think I've ever had Japanese-style curry before. Have you?"

[simulatio]

The young man seated nearby glances up from scrolling through his phone. A look would reveal that he's browsing the Wikipedia page on Massachusetts, but he's quick to press the lock button with his thumb. It would be quite rude to stare at his phone while someone's talking to him, after all.

He laughs into a gloved fist at the question, though. "I have. Ren's, in fact." He nods toward the boy preparing the meal before giving her a friendly smile and leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper, "If you've never had Japanese curry before, you'll be in for a treat. Don't tell him I said so, though."

No need to inflate Ren's ego further. He's certain there will be more than enough compliments coming his way without Akechi adding to them.

[henchgal]

Meredith laughs softly, nodding at Akechi. "I promise I won't tell, don't worry. I'm good with secrets."

Which she is, but usually there's slightly higher stakes involved.

"I'm Meredith, by the way. I'm staying at ADI, so this is actually my first time here at Bonnie's."

[simulatio]

"Akechi. A pleasure." He offers his right hand for a handshake. His impulse is to offer his dominant hand, his left, just to see if she'll take the odd gesture in stride. He'd done that to Ren when they'd first met, after all. But no need to do something like that here. "I'm also in ADI's apartments, but he asked me to stop by."

And he's nothing if not a sucker for joining someone for a meal. He just hadn't anticipated Ren leaving it an open invitation for literally anyone coming by.

"I considered staying here myself, but, well. I don't mean to sound rude -- I'm certain Miss Bonnie works very hard with the resources she has -- but I believe the apartments might be a tad nicer, in spite of their restrictions."

[henchgal]

Meredith's wearing silver ring splints on every finger but her thumb (which is in a more sturdy brace), and her handshake isn't very strong, but she tries to make up for that with a polite mask-like smile.

"Yes, I agree. Though I admit, given the circumstances, living with roommates sounded appealing. Something about communal living in circumstances where you have no friends or family around to look out for you seemed better."

toji fushiguro | jujutsu kaisen | ota.

[heavenchained]

( Toji isn't especially social, but he has reasons for being here among the other displaced. They just might be seen as a bit strange if he tried to explain them.

He's so not used to this kind of thing. )

Fuck, am I supposed to help, or something?

[forethinking]

You don't have to.

(Ren's decided to do it, Ren takes full responsibility for the kitchen, from cooking and cleaning to doing the dishes afterward. It's fine!)

I'm Ren, by the way.

[bigporkenergy]

Uh... sure.

[Galliard has just wandered down into the kitchen to try and find something to eat, he didn't expect to get pulled into cooking! But hey, if someone else is doing all the work and he gets to possibly eat the rewards, he's willing to stir for his supper.]

What're you making?

[It's definitely not something Galliard has had before!]

[forethinking]

(The kettle whistling being the reason why Ren stepped away from the stove, reducing the fire a little just in case it's another Gojou Situation. He's got a large thermal bottle for the coffee he's about to filter in, a smile on his lips as he takes in the two aromas together.

Ah, home can be anywhere as long as you take it with you, isn't it?)

Curry and coffee. Have you ever tried?

[bigporkenergy]

I've had coffee.

[But he's never smelled coffee quite like this. The stuff Galliard is used to has the consistency of motor oil, and he watches with interest.]

Never heard of curry before, though.

[forethinking]

It's very common where I'm from.

(With coffee, not so much, but he used to live in a cafe that sold the two together. It's a little different, sure, but when you know how to play the flavors, the two complement each other so well.

A good idea he has is to splurge a little when he has money for some gourmet coffee for the house. It'd be nice.)

Do you like spice?

[bigporkenergy]

[Once Galliard tries gourmet coffee, he'll be totally in on this plan to get some of the fancy stuff for the house. There will be no going back.]

I haven't had a lot of it.

[Spices are expensive, and no one wants to waste good spice on soldiers.]

It smells good, though. Do you eat this with coffee?

[emptyvessel]

[ Marcus wanders into the Flophouse kitchen with the intention of making something quick for himself, but is greeted by the scent of food already. There's quite a large pot going, too... and then the young man tending it asks him to stir and. Well. He can be helpful.

The... stew? inside is bubbling thickly, and seems to be heavily spiced. ]

Is this for everyone? It smells interesting.

[forethinking]

(Ren just wants to add a little more spice, but he had already put it away by now, so he's tiptoeing to grab it from the cabinet. There's a smile on his lips as he nods.)

For everyone. Do you live here too?

[emptyvessel]

I do, I'm just upstairs.

[ It seemed like a better choice for him than ADI headquarters. ]

What is this?

[forethinking]

I'm on the first floor.

(Ren spends a good chunk of his time busy around the house, fixing, cooking, helping, sometimes he forgets to check the new faces... And another bigger chunk he spends outside, at ADI. A shame he hasn't gotten to meet his housemates, but he's fixing that now.)

Japanese curry. Have you ever tried?

[emptyvessel]

I haven't, no. Japan is one of the few places I haven't been to yet, but I hear wonderful things.

[ He keeps stirring, curious what else the young man is putting in. ]

What's your name?

satoru gojou | jujutsu kaisen

[120vision]

open prompt

[ Gojou wants to help with the cooking but there's very specific reasons he should not be allowed. In the end, someone put him to work on a basic thing, hoping he wouldn't mess it up. He's supposed to be chopping up ingredients for a salad. He's following this instruction... sort of. He's doing it with so much energy that far too many ingredients are landing on the floor.

Floor salad, anyone? ]

closed to ren

[ Gojou is being pushy about his excitement. Drawing in close to Ren, he keeps attempting to examine everything that's put in the pot and he's commenting on all of it. The chatter is pretty much like a hyperactive child. But he stops at one point and backs off, taking the time to seriously consider the other. ]

How did you learn how to do all this, anyway? You seem too young for it.

[forethinking]

(It's okay to be pushy - Ren is glad that he can teach Gojou a little bit as he's doing them, it draws some laughter out of him every now and then. Perhaps eventually Ren can let him cook himself, only watching as he does as a backup. Progress!)

My legal guardian has a cafe. I used to work there.

[120vision]

You must have gotten a lot of practice, then.

[ Is Ren an orphan? Gojou could ask, but even he knows that would distasteful. Too abrupt and not showing enough awareness of others. ]

Was it fun working in a cafe?

[simulatio]

[There's a moment where Akechi looks at the spoon as if it might bite him, but it's quickly wiped from his face as he stands up. He'd already admitted to Ren in the past that he can't cook, but he certainly isn't going to imply that something as simple as stirring a pot is beyond him. Never mind all the times he'd managed to badly burn something to the bottom of a pot.]

I wasn't aware that making curry was a two-man event, [he remarks as he takes the spoon. It does smell delicious, and he can feel his traitorous stomach growling in anticipation. He hadn't eaten since the bagel he'd bought for breakfast, after all, and then the apple for lunch. Old habits die hard.]

[forethinking]

One second only.

(More like a few seconds, to be honest. He had already put away the spices, but he'd like for the food to have a little bit more of a kick to it. So he'll add more black pepper! It's on the top shelf, so it requires him to tiptoe to grab it before he takes over the stove again, adding a generous amount of the powder before he goes back to stirring it.

Of course he hears that grumble, so he laughs a little bit. Good thing he can still provide food for Akechi, because he does know that he eats so poorly on a daily basis. With a fork, he takes a piece of meat, tapping the edge of the pot to remove excess sauce before Ren offers it to the other boy.)

Taste test.

[simulatio]

[Is that pepper? he doesn't ask, even as the Takoyaki Incident springs unbidden to the forefront of his mind. Sojiro's curry was an intriguing blend of complex spices, a subtle heat enhancing the depths of flavor instead of obfuscating it. Or, well, that's what he'd have said if pressed to give a review like he would have for one of his food blogs. Fortunately, he never had to resort to that. And hopefully, Ren isn't an utter spice hound.

He doesn't know what kind of look to give Ren as he offers the spoon, so he simply doesn't give him any at all, expression unreadable as he takes the offered spoon in his left hand. He blows on it once before testing it, wary of the amount of spice. If this is an attempt to make a fool of him again...]

What am I supposed to be tasting for, exactly?

[forethinking]

To see if you like it.

(That's really all Ren would like to know, he is not giving him curry specifics! Those are secrets that go to him to the grave. He's not leaving Akechi alone in his tasting adventure, taking a small quantity of sauce and tapping the spoon on the palm of his hand before he licks it.

If he looks like he's in heaven, it's because he is. It's just spicy enough.)

[simulatio]

Would you throw out the pot if I said I didn't?

[What difference does it make, whether he likes it or not? Admittedly, as much as the question is a rhetorical one, he is just a tad curious. Would Ren abandon all his hard work on Akechi's word? Certainly not for something like this.

He pauses when Ren licks his palm, lip curling in derision.]

What are you, an animal? Next you'll just dip your finger directly in the pot.