post palace hot pot party (week 7)

[townmusician]

[Yoon's Palace has faded away, but the fact the God of Conflict decided to show up and intervene again...

Well, that's! Not a good sign! To say the least! But there's nothing to be done about that right now, and Haruka isn't of the mind to really sit and wonder about divine conflicts and grandstanding and all of that, anyways. It's not his problem. The people who deal with that sort of thing on the regular can be in charge of all of that.

What he's in charge of (by virtue of being annoying) is... hot pot. Specifically rounding up everyone and dragging them out to a hot pot restaurant in the city.

He'll miss having money but... he'll just have to work hard to earn it back... Have fun, everyone. (Or maybe he can find a way to charge Mina for this?)]

Comments

[supherb]

[Arven's also in good spirits at the party. He's obviously not on cooking duty, but he happily gives out ingredient suggestions for hotpot newcomers to try.]

This cut of meat is like, the hot pot go-to. Go on, try it! All it takes is a dunk in the broth for a couple seconds and it'll be nice and cooked! Then you can try it with these sauces...

[When he's not helping out, he's chowing down and chatting. This is the liveliest he's ever been among the group. Maybe it's just how he naturally is when he's not bogged down by the stress of palaces and whatnot. It's so satisfying to have seen the God of Conflict be chased off for a change!

...and, of course, every so often he'll be sneaking some bites to Mabosstiff. How did he manage to fit that huge dog under the table? Is that even allowed here?]

[cirquedesang]

[Help he can't eat food so he's bringing his own snacks to another poor establishment--

But with how excited and in his element Arven is, he absolutely pulls up a spot next to him, reaching under the table for the requisite scritches tax to Mabosstiff.

...And fully assuming this is one of those hot pot places where you get individual pots and such--]

If you would like to use my place to order for our dear friend denied a chair, you are more than welcome.

[aka: go ahead and use his hotpot spot to make a doggy safe hotpot for Mabosstiff.]

[supherb]

[Mabosstiff appreciates the scritches!! He's getting special doggy-friendly food and scritches...today is truly blessed.

Arven, meanwhile, is surprised by the offer.]

Wait, really? You don't want anything here?

[He doesn't know.]

[cirquedesang]

[Only the best for the bestest boy!!

And oh. Oh Arven. You gonna find out. Probably.]

Hm?

[He thought Arven had figured something out so far! Ah well, it's not like he's been hiding much, and it's not like he minds Arven knowing.]

It's not so much a matter of want... I simply can't.

[supherb]

How come...?

[He has figured something out, but it's just that Celeste probably isn't...human. He doesn't know anything about vampires and their dietary needs.]

[cirquedesang]

[...Sorry for the incoming tragic revelation, masterchef.]

I'm certain you've determined I'm not exactly human... but what I am makes it so on the rare occasion I can keep food down, it tastes only of ash.

[A pause.]

So I keep to blood.

[beathollow]

( she's just quietly handing him things as he cooks occasionally, not unlike an assistant to a surgeon... for the fun analogy. )

... You're having fun.

[supherb]

[That sure is an analogy. Arven appreciates it all the same. It's fun to share the hot pot experience with Mafuyu! He often returns the cooked goodies to Mafuyu for her to try.]

Yeah. It's nice to have a reason to celebrate- and with food, too! Perfect combo.

Are you enjoying yourself too, Mafuyu?

[It was harrowing in there, and they did have a pretty serious talk... He hopes she's feeling better now.]

[beathollow]

When my group releases a new song, we go to a family diner together.

( so, she gets it!

at his question, she hums thoughtfully. )

I like seeing everyone else relax.

[emptyself]

Is that how it works?

[ with his shift being as quiet as it is, soujuurou has decided to be be bad! and rebellious!

and by that, i mean he’s pulled a chair to sit with people. he’s still in uniform, but he has his own chopsticks, and is picking up a piece of the meat pointed out. ]

And then I put it in the broth, like this?

[ soujuurou dips the meat in the broth, and counts the time in his head— and with clock-like precision, he pulls it out and puts it in his mouth. after a bit of chewing, his reaction is clear on his face. ]

Woah.

[metagame]

Aren't you on the clock..?

[check this bad boy out over here]

[emptyself]

I can rebel too, sometimes. It’s not fun when I’m missing out.

[ hmph!

but more importantly: ]

I’m on a 15 minute break.

[ he isn’t even rebelling. ]

[supherb]

[Arven's thrilled that Soujuurou's decided to sit while he has an opportunity. His reaction to the magic of hot pot is all the better.]

Right? It's cool that this place has a hot pot restaurant. They're not super common in Paldea, so I only get to have it every once in a while.

[emptyself]

Huh... I think we might have something like this in Misaki Town, but I've never tried it.

[ never really had the chance to, at least. ]

Is it always something you eat with lots of people?

[supherb]

I think so, yeah. I heard that they're good for at home parties too, 'cause you can bring your own ingredients to throw into the pot.

[emptyself]

Home parties... huh, that might be useful to keep in mind.

[ or maybe not? a part of him wonders if that would make their grocery expenses go up. and with how particular alice is about things that are "hers".... ]

Actually, never mind. That might just be asking for danger. [ pushing his home hot pot dreams aside, he puts another piece in for the required amount of seconds and pulls it out. this one, he doesn't eat, however. he'll offer it to mabosstiff instead. ]

But it does kind of feel like that, huh? Like a party.

[ between friends? a small part of him hopes that's what they can all call each other. ]

[metagame]

Ahhh. I'll have to pass on the meat.

[It's not quite festive enough for him to indulge, so he waves it away a little awkwardly.]

How long should I cook the enoki mushroom?

[supherb]

Oh! No worries.

[He knows not everyone eats meat, so he doesn't find it awkward at all.]

Mushrooms take about a minute, but they get better the longer you leave 'em in since they absorb the broth well.

[metagame]

So they're like lotus root..?

[He sits up more to peer into the pot better and let those mushrooms simmer!]

And what about this sauce?

[Points his chopsticks to the szechuan mixture. It's quite an appetizing red!!]

[supherb]

Yep, pretty similar. I'd say mushrooms just have a different texture to 'em.

[He follows Atem's pointing to the sauce.]

That's a spicy sauce. I don't actually know what the name for it here is, but I know it's made with chili peppers.

[metagame]

You sure know a lot about food.

[It's nice to see many people excited about their apparent interests, and so willing to share them with others. Arven's a pretty cool guy...

A minute's up so he plucks the mushroom to dip in the spicy sauce to try.

he might have gotten too much]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise is following Arven's suggestion, and taking quite a bit of time to chew on the meat... ]

Is he having fun?

[ Mabosstiff, she means. ]

[supherb]

He's getting special food, so I'd say so.

[Mabosstiff's tail is wagging for further confirmation, thwapping against the legs of those in his vicinity.]

How's the texture on that meat for you?

[He remembers Sunrise having texture preferences.]

[cleansewithfire]

That is good.

[ She might be reaching under the table to try and give Mabosstiff some headpats... ]

The meat is quite tender. [ And she supposes this is a nice change of pace. ] And the soup smells very nice.

[supherb]

[Headpats!!! When Mabosstiff feels Sunrise's hand on him, he re-positions himself so she can properly pet him. He can forego the food for now. It's headpat time!]

It's so tender. It just melts in your mouth! It tastes especially good when you dip it in a little sauce.

[He motions to the sauce trays.]

You should try it!