[open]

[sweetdeath]

Who: Tsuzuki, the Tajimamori household and you!
What: Cooking misadventures and weeding with nekomata.
When: May 1
Where: Tajimamori's temple on the Far Shore
Warnings: Tsuzuki's cooking. Possibly a dirty joke or two.

burn, baby, burn (open)

[Tsuzuki's made a terrible mistake, and that mistake was trying a new recipe for dinner. It'd looked so straightforward! The sugar glaze for the fried potatoes wasn't supposed to boil over like that! The oil wasn't supposed to spatter... the potatoes probably also weren't supposed to be in the fryer that long, because they're looking worryingly black and shriveled on the plate.

Black smoke is hanging heavily in the kitchen. Even if you're just passing by the temple from the road, you might notice a smell of scorching in the air, and a worrying trickle of smoke emerging from the back window he'd thrown open to help air things out.

Worst of all: he's got a whole cutting board full of uncooked potatoes and he's about to throw those into the fryer for the next batch.

Please be the intervention he needs.]


comes a buttercup (open)

[The gardens at Tajimamori's temple are coming along nicely. Tsuzuki's cleared out some of the thickly clustered sunflower bushes in order to add a little variety, and the bitter orange trees clustered along the back wall are all in bloom at once. There's a freshly planted camellia in the shady spot in the corner, and its dark, glossy leaves suggest it's enjoying its new home.

The way those leaves occasionally rustle with no wind to explain their movement? Well, that's easy to ignore, isn't it?

Tsuzuki's elbow-deep in mud, wearing an old T-shirt and jeans and whistling happily off-key as he grubs weeds out of one of the flowerbeds in the front yard. There are eight cats, each with a pair of stubby bobtails, ranged around him watching. He tosses a dandelion down, and one of them immediately pounces, swats it a few times, tastes the edge of a leaf and looks at him reproachfully. Its meow sounds startlingly like cat-accented Japanese: It tastes bitter!]

Sorry, sorry! I'll find-- whoa!

[That's a huge mantis spreading its wings and taking flight from a well-hidden hiding place in the middle of the shrub he was reaching towards. All eight cats immediately pounce. Two of them collide, one of them claws Tsuzuki's arm, and he dives out of the way as cats and mantis and a significant chunk of his neatly organized flowerbed turn into a claw-filled melee.]

Comments

kitchen invasion

[razzledazzles]

[Well, Jae-Ha had just wanted to stop by earlier in the day to ask Tsuzuki about something before they had more company at poker, but to witness smoke like that is worrying indeed. The moment he smells it, he steps into the temple without bothering to knock (whether he has to slip in through a door or a window doesn't matter), and steps up from behind Tsuzuki before he can toss those potatoes in.

Good lord, what has happened here?? He places a hand on Tsuzuki's wrist to stop him, leaning in from behind.]

Are you trying to burn this whole place to the ground?

[sweetdeath]

Huh? -- Oh, hi, Jae-Ha! It's okay, there was just a little bit of oil that splashed out on the burner. It didn't actually catch fire.

[He laughs cheerfully, despite the fact that it's still smoky enough in the kitchen that the laugh quickly turns into a cough and he has to brace himself against the counter.]

Anyway -- [hack cough] -- it'll be fine!

[razzledazzles]

[With his free hand, he grips Tsuzuki's shoulder insistently.]

You're going to give me a heart attack, if this is how you live. [Should he be checking up on Tsuzuki more than he does?? Goodness.] Come on, set those down and clear out for a moment before your lungs are filled with smoke.

[sweetdeath]

[Okay, okay, Tsuzuki can admit when his own kitchen experiment has gone slightly less well than he'd hoped it would. He scoots the cutting board with its load of sweet potato chunks back from the edge of the counter and heads towards the back door. That must've been the way Jae-Ha came in, even if Tsuzuki hadn't see him; it lets right onto the kitchen. Maybe for bringing in sour oranges or something... hey, when they're ripe, he should try marmalade!]

Maybe it should air out a little in here before I cook anything else.

[Maybe he should've turned off the burner under the pot full of oil but he doesn't seem to have thought of that part. Jae-Ha, this might actually be how he lives.]

[razzledazzles]

[Oh god, Tsuzuki. Jae-Ha watches as he leaves, and then turns back to the mess of this kitchen. He turns off the burner, dumps those sad potatoes out (sorry bud), and grabs a towel from wherever he can find one. Once he's made sure that as many windows are open in this kitchen as there are windows, he'll swing the towel around a bit to try and encourage the smoke out.

But even after cleaning out a bit, he has to cough and follow after Tsuzuki, abandoning the towel on a counter as he does. A few more coughs makes him bring a fist to his own chest. God.]

I'm just curious, but is this your first time cooking on your own?

Buttercup

[birdstheword]

You've got your hands full today, Tsuzu-kun~!

[Hajime calls to him in a cheery sing-song tune. She flashes a sympathetic smile to him before making her way over. She had come to drop by since it had been awhile. Anytime she made any sweets, Tsuzuki came to mind. That's also why she's carrying a small colorfully decorated bag in hand.

But this wasn't how she expected to find the sweets god]

Are you okay?

Re: Buttercup

[sweetdeath]

Hajime! Yeah, I'm fine.

[The scratch has already sealed itself up; he pushes himself up from the dirt, brushing at smears of mulch on his knees. It's not helping at all, mostly because his hands are dirtier than his pants, and he's leaving new dirty stripes wherever his fingers touch fabric.]

Hey -- I've been meaning to drop by and see you. You beat me! How are you doing?

[The catfight is still happening. It looks like there are too many paws involved for the number of cats that jumped in, and too much dust and wind for a normal catfight, for that matter.

Nekomata are well-known to be a little bit magical, though! So Tsuzuki's not particularly concerned.]

[birdstheword]

It's been awhile so I wanted to stop by! I was making cookies and you're always the first to come to mind, ya know? The sweetest god of them all~! I had to bring you some!

[Hajime giggles, holding up and waving the bag in a teasing manner as she winks at him. The only answer his question gets is a small smile. That is before she leans to the side, to look behind him.]

They're really going at it!

[sweetdeath]

Oh boy, they are, aren't they?

[There's a fine mist of cat hair emanating from the fight now. Okay: maybe he should be slightly worried.]

Hey, guys! Break it up! It was an accident!

[He glances back at Hajime, and smiles weakly. Sweet? He hasn't even gotten around to visiting her. Man, he's a jerk. He can see she's not really okay.

All he can do is try his hardest to figure out what's really going on, though. Then they'll have a chance at finding the gods and shinki who've disappeared. Ni's research might have a good shot at that.]

[birdstheword]

[She's doing her best to either not think about her own concerns or not show them. Tsuzuki is the center of her attention today---along with his feline friends]

They're not regular cats right? Maybe they like cookies?

[She knows better then to feed cats and dogs sweets like this but for nekomata, would it be the same? She takes a few bouncy steps forward so she can stand next to Tsuzuki and get a better look at them.]

buuuurrrrnnnnn

[zenzendameda]

[It's hard NOT to notice all of this burning smell when you live in the same place as the terrible cook. In fact, Battler thinks it's something MORE than just bad cooking as he comes running into the kitchen, his face screwed up against the smell.]

Tsuzuki-san! Are you o...

[He stares between the burned potatoes, the destroyed pot with the 'glaze', and Tsuzuki himself.]

...kay???

[What the hell is happening here?!]

[sweetdeath]

Oh, hey, Battler!

[This is fine. Anyway, nothing is actively on fire! At the moment! It's just that a couple of burners are smoking and the big pot of oil is smoking and there's more sugar glaze on the outside of the pot than the inside.

He sets down the cutting board and beams cheerfully.]

Yeah, everything's fine! Well... okay, that first batch might have to go. I think they got overcooked.

[They may be actual charcoal.]

[zenzendameda]

[This is probably the most horrifying thing Battler has ever seen. Those poor potatoes did nothing to deserve this! He feels tears welling up in his eyes, but he forces them back down, taking a deep breath...

...which just causes him to cough with all the smoke in the air, uh..]

T-Tsuzuki-san, please, let me just...

[He goes to take everything off of whatever burners they're on and turn everything off, whether Tsuzuki likes it or not.]

You're going to destroy the kitchen like this...!

[sweetdeath]

I guess it is a little smoky in here... but it'll clear up! I'll just open a window.

[He's just going to go open a window! It'll be fine. And while Battler's moving those pots, he'll add, a bit anxiously:]

Careful, that's hot.

[zenzendameda]

I think you just need to stop cooking!

[Battler seems more than a little Concerned about his god's well-being. He's careful to wrap his hand up in a towel before he grabs the hot pots, moving them off of the flames and immediately into the sink.]

Did someone dare you to mess up so badly??

CLAWS EVERYWHERE

[diehardreaper]

[ He'd wandered in just to appreciate the flowers, really. It's a good view and enough to remind him of home in a way. Also, it's a good way to practice this shadow-teleportation stint he's been given, clumsy as he can be with it. He shows up out of the shadow of a tree, peering curiously as Tsuzuki tends to his weeds.

He's about to wave and say hello when.... that happens.

He'll wait for the cats and the mantis decide to run off somewhere else before approaching, offering Tsuzuki a hand in case he needs to get up. ]

You alright, mate?

[sweetdeath]

Oh hey, Ron!

[Tsuzuki grins, sitting up and brushing off the dirt on his knees. His hands are dirtier than his jeans, so this isn't doing him much good. The cat scuffle has moved on to one of his bushes; he cups his hands around his mouth and calls towards them.]

Don't pull up any of the plants!

-- Anyway, how've you been doing? Sorry I'm all muddy, you know how it goes.

[diehardreaper]

No worries! Good to see you're alright despite the scuffle though.

[ He seems alright at least so hand stuffed in his pocket. ]

Was just wandering about, decided to call on the neighbors when I found meself popping out of one of your trees. Fancy little spot you've made for yourself here, haven't you?

[sweetdeath]

Haha, do you like it? I haven't had a chance to do too much yet, but it could turn out okay!

[He glances around his garden, proud smile giving away the fact that he's already pretty proud of it.

Wait, though, that was a little weird...]

You popped out of my tree?

[diehardreaper]

It's got a nice touch of home. You've done a bleeding good job with the flowers.

[ Hey, with a look like that, you can tell there's a lot of work that's been put into it. Though he has to admit, that sentence did sound funny when he finally heard it. ]

Ah... yeah. That's what I've been able to do since I got here. If anything's got a shadow, I can sort of.. hang on.

[ Give him a second, he's going to try and demonstrate instead. With that, he heads back to the tree, pressing one hand against it before he just... melts right into the shadowy side. He disappears completely before practically stumbling out of the shadows of a nearby bush with a soft 'oof' when he reappears completely. ]

That. Course, it's a bugger to get right.

Comes a buttercup

[volksdaemon]

[[OOC: I'll ignore thoughts for now.]]

[For obvious reasons, he isn't on friendly terms with many gods at all, mainly because he doesn't do friends but also because he's enjoying the low profile while he can to scope out the other gods. It's hard not to take note of a whole pride of cats taking over a man - and he's rather amused by cats in general given his previous occupation's primary targets.]

What's all this then - a catnip garden?

[He chuckles, not feeling a need to be helpful, just sitting atop the 5' wall. One wonders how he got there - teleport or a jump?]

[sweetdeath]

I don't think there's any catnip in here!

[He laughs, cheerfully, and sits up, brushing at the mud stains on his pants. They're not going anywhere anytime soon, though, and he gives up after a few fruitless swipes. He doesn't recognize the redheaded stranger perched on his garden wall.

It would've been way easier to come in through the front gate, but it's not like Tsuzuki particularly minds; company's welcome regardless. Weeding's a pleasantly meditative kind of activity, and it's put him in a good mood.]

You know, maybe I should plant some. I bet they'd like it.

[The brawl over the mantis has turned into a bizarrely cartoonish dust-cloud over one of the flowerbeds; there seem to be too many clawed paws visible for the number of cats that went in, and bits of badly clawed leaf and stem are hailing down across the walkway. Tsuzuki winces. He'd liked that bed. It had had some pretty poppies in it.]

[volksdaemon]

[If he were any sort of charitable man, he'd have sent Weiss in this man's direction to sort out his gardening woes. He wasn't, of course. A quick passing glance at the man's superficial thoughts told him all about how not-put-out he was by having that much feline attention.

How unfortunate - another kind soul that is enjoying a simple life here. He keeps hoping he'll run into more people like himself and Ukoku, or at least find out about them through types like this. Oh well, recon time.]

I don't know much about gardening, myself. Just enough to look things up later. Catnip's easy to remember though.

[But he makes a show of looking around at the variety.]

You'd think with all of these types that the God who lived here had something to do with plants or springtime.

[He was fairly certain that the lack of a melancholy shield over past thoughts meant this guy was a God, but better to pretend he wasn't a good guesser sometimes.]

[sweetdeath]

Candy, actually. [Tsuzuki tips a wink at the stranger, smiling cheerfully, and gets to his feet, scooping up the armful of discarded weeds. He'd started a compost pile in the back, and there were enough here to drop off on top of it. And maybe he can bring the rake back to take care of the shredded bits of plant the cats are spreading around.]

But there's this story about him bringing ornamental oranges back from the Eternal Land, so hey, I guess gardening, too! I'm Tsuzuki Asato. You?

[volksdaemon]

[Candy? There's a God of... Candy? It sounds like a children's book! Even more than terrifying storm gods that would ruin your crops, anyway. Candy - what would these Far Shore people come up with next?]

Ah ha, so you're one of those types interested in the reincarnation side of being here. Good to know.

[Which doesn't answer the question, and he doesn't mind being coy, but which name would this guy lean on more? Hmm - they were discussing the god side anyway. And he didn't like handing out his real name to anyone outside of Weiss, after all.

So he smiles a bit more sincerely.]

It's Loki now. About as well known as a god of candy and oranges, though. Nothing nearly as extravagant as this place.