05 - week five

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FIVE

Come Sunday morning, the portals around Estelline fade away, but not all of the oddities hanging around disappear so quickly. The recreations of your dreams and memories are still around, ever changing and shifting. Whatever it is that brought these things here hasn’t ended, not yet.

You don’t have time to worry about all of that, though, even if you know you should exercise caution once two of you found yourselves on the bad end of a monster’s claws. The course still isn’t over, though, even if the portals changed lesson plans. Everything continues on, with new places to explore as the fog pushes back once again. This week still feels a little more like what you’re familiar with, though, after Saturday’s lack of lessons.

...For now.


SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

CYOA SIGNUPS
Due Saturday at 8pm EST

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[partymagician]

[ At some point late in the afternoon and early in the evening, when most people have finished up at the town hall, Fai sends out a text: ]

I've got some cookies for everyone in the common area!ヾ(^▽^*)))

Chocolate chip, shortbread, and sugar cookies! I have some bread I made from scratch too, for those of us who don't like sweets! (。・∀・)ノ

[ Sure he's giving out cookies on his own birthday, but he thinks everyone deserves a treat after a couple of tough weekends. Besides, he had to use up some of those ingredients in the cafe before they went bad!

Fai can be found sitting in the common room, messing around on his tablet on one of the couches. On the table in front of him are several plates with said cookies, and a plate for a baguette with a knife next to it. He'll gesture to the table when anyone approaches. ]

Take your pick~

[selfconcept]

[ Some time after their birthday celebration, Hien walks into the common room because something smells good and looks down at the table. ]

Can I have the knife.

[partymagician]

[ Fai looks up from his tablet. ]

You know, Hien, there are plenty of knives still in the kitchen.

[selfconcept]

There's one in the room too.

[ Anyway. ]

I'm just kidding... you can't cut the bread well otherwise.

[catarou]

My, you've gone all out, haven't you?

[ He's amused, but at the same time, it's nice. Gentaro thinks this might be a way of taking care of people, and while he doesn't have a huge sweet tooth, he can definitely appreciate the bread and shortbread along with a cup of tea or coffee. ]

How long did it take you to make all of this?

[partymagician]

[ He looks up from his table, smiling over at Gentaro. ]

Well, I needed something to keep myself occupied, and baking was a good way to go about it. [ He laughs. ] It took me most of the day yesterday.

[catarou]

Would you happen to be a stress baker, Fai?

[ He chuckles softly and pulls up a chair. ]

Everything looks wonderful. May I trouble you for some bread?

[sicklysweet]

[Unsurprisingly, Owen is here, lurking.

He seems a bit wary of Fai after the whole... bingo and memory thing, but. He is here to snatch a cookie or twelve. The baguette is irrelevant. It's unlikely he can make an escape without being noticed, but.

He can try.]

[partymagician]

[ Unfortunately for Owen, Fai can tell that he’s in here. It’s easy to sense another presence when you’ve done a lot of comber training.

As he’s trying to escape, Fai speaks up. ]

You really don’t want a cookie, Owen?

[sicklysweet]

[busted]

It depends.

[On what? Who knows.

Owen skulks closer, frowning at the cookies on display.]

Why did you even make so much?

[totaltrashfire]

[Free cookies, huh? Mae will absolutely show up for that.

There's an impressive amount! She snags a chocolate chip and stuffs half of it in her mouth before saying anything.]

So what's the occasion?

[partymagician]

[ When she comes in, he looks up from his tablet and smiles at her. ]

I just thought that everyone could use something sweet!

[ Especially after all they've been through. ]

[totaltrashfire]

Is that all? You're so nice.

[In goes the rest of the cookie. Nom nom nom.]

Eating stuff that's bad for me definitely helps me feel better after a bad week.

[vedr]

So many...

[ He knows for sure the chocolate chip cookies would be good, but they all look nice, even the bread! ]

That's really nice of you... Do you like cookies, Fai?

[partymagician]

I do! I really like sweets in general.

[ He smiles. After all, it’s listed on his profile. ]

Do you?

[vedr]

Mm-hm! Sweets require a good amount of skill to bake from scratch. Precise measurements, adjustments based on factors like temperature and tools...

[ Takes a bite. ]

They're also pretty good to taste! I don't have to worry about the downsides of eating too many sweets either.

[undertakings]

[Naturally, he'll just go for the bread because he doesn't care for sweets, but he will pause in front of the spread and tilt his head at Fai.]

...What brought this on?

[partymagician]

Well, I wanted something to occupy myself with yesterday.

[ He was exhausted Sunday, especially after the whole Kyle thing… Then he was bored on Monday and his thoughts were too loud. ]

I thought everyone could use a treat, so I decided baking was the best option.

[undertakings]

[There's a lot of other ways someone could occupy their time with, and cooking for everyone strikes him as something a busybody would do, which reminds him of someone just a bit.

So, as he slices that baguette, a question idly slips from his mouth.]

Do people call you Mom often?

[tosa]

(You say free food and a wild Mutsunokami will always appear,)

Ya made all of this by yourself? (He's helping himself!) 'S more than I thought it was gonna be...

[partymagician]

[ He nods. ]

I did! I spent most of the day yesterday making it.

[ignihidden]

[There's a vague memory itching in the back of Idia's head that wasn't there a few weeks ago. It's a little scary, to think that their traipsing into people's memories had created some version of reality. There were some big ripples and some little, little ripples but...]

[The little ripples were easier to deal with.]

[So, when Idia shows up to the common room, he has a big styrofoam cup from the cafeteria. He sets it down on the table, on Fai's side.]

... i- it's only from a mix, so don't get super excited.

[... it's hot chocolate! Even from a mix, there's some hiccups in it being prepared, like maybe Idia didn't stir it as thoroughly as he should, but it's a clear sign he remembers their talk in his world.]

I did take the marshamllows from two extra packages, though!

[sorry to the people who get those ones]

[partymagician]

[ Fai looks at the cup in surprise before taking it. There sure are a lot of marshmallows and the hot chocolate isn't stirred perfectly, but... that makes it better anyway.

There was effort and thought put into this. He smiles warmly at Idia. ]

Thanks, Idia. I'm glad you could grant my wish.

[ He takes a sip. ]

It tastes great.

[totalcatastrophe]

[ Luci, predictably, doesn't wait for the gesture as he scampers over to grab a chocolate chip cookie with an excited little sound. He's been a bit desensitized by all the options around here, but this is the result of someone else's birthday time that he is about to carelessly consume. ]

What, no croissants?

[ Right before eating half of his cookie in one bite. ]

[partymagician]

Sorry, no croissants this time! Although I could probably make some…

[ They sound so good right now. ]