Jelly day 16

[stardustofdawn]

Who: Xingchen and you!
Where: Kitchen, dining car
When: Jelly 16, on platform day, today
What: Helping assemble a belated birthday party!

[With his vision and sight returned, Xingchen discover a simple joy of learning to cook again. To see food, working with food and utensils in the kitchen, he can feel being more useful. Wearing an apron, the kitchen is starting to smell really good, but he realized he needed help]

Hello? Hi, everyone. You know, I not good at aligning the days with the calendar, but I realized my birthday is actually last week on the 25th. While it was belated, I was exhausted from the last mission. I don't celebrate my birthday for years from where I'm from, considering I lived in poverty, so there wasn't much to eat.

I would like to assemble a lunch and dinner, a birthday party today. I haven't baked a cake yet, but this is where you can help. You can meet me in the kitchen. I'm looking to assemble ice cream as well.

If you like to eat, come a little later today to join me. It's on me and my treat.

Comments

action

[spikelet]

[ Has A-Qing ever made noodles before arriving here? No.

Has she since? Also no.

So it's honestly a little surprising that the pan she's glaring at contains something that looks half-decent, but at least there are recipes around for stuff like it. She's not had too much trouble, really, after some of the stupid stuff she's helped out with on duty.

Her Vulpix is curled up against one of the freezers in the next room, nose tucked into the fur of her wolf plush so she doesn't get either of them dirty. Her hair's tied back and out of the way, and her sleeves are rolled back. They keep unrolling, but that gives her something to do.

And she's not about to let him cook his own longevity dish, even if he's doing everything else.

She waits until he's done talking to chime in- ]

What kind of cake does daozhang want?

Action

[firewalled]

[Rich doesn't know much about who left the message, but he knows that someone shouldn't be left to make their birthday meal all on their own! So he arrives pretty quickly, sweeping in and already washing his hands.]

Okay! Hey, I'm Rich. Your chef for today. [He doesn't have time for introductions, just time for cooking.] What kind of cake were you looking to make?

[stardustofdawn]

[Xingchen is in the kitchen, reading a recipe book about how to make different kinds of cake. He looks up and smiles with a wave]

Hello, I'm Xingchen, on team blue. [He's wearing a blue hoodie] Are you here to help out? I am thinking of a chocolate cake. But if we're feeding the whole train, might as well make vanilla too.

[xue_yang]

[He has been here through mot of the cooking. Not that he has done much besides steal bites of vegetables or cut up the occasional thing that Xingchen passes to him. He isn't all that interested in cooking but he is there for moral support.]

Why are you going the cooking, daozhang? Shouldn't you have convinced someone to do this for you? It's technically red teams turn to cook.

[Which is his team but Xue Yang chooses not to do chores usually and he doesn't really know how to cook. The last time he cooked he was actually getting rid of evidence.]

[stardustofdawn]

Xingchen is getting used to seeing A-Qing and finally knowing what she looks like. She's every bit of fiery as he remembered her, her voice matched her looks. He appreciates her effort to try to cook with him, an activity he had always tried to cook when he, Xue Yang, and A-Qing used to share that house back in Yi City.

He's not minding her pokemon and her companion friend. In a cheerful upbeat, "Chocolate and vanilla, so we're making both to bake to share with the entire train."

[stardustofdawn]

"It's my special fried rice." Xue Yang is helping him with cooking...and eating, so the food wouldn't go to waste. He appreciates it. "Yes, you're on red team, so it's your turn to help with the meal preparation."

He chops up the meat, eggs, and vegetables that go into the fried rice over the pan to stir fry it and he makes a lot to cook for many. "Remember when we used to live together in that house? I always tried to cook for you two. You and A-Qing. But I can't see, so we end up hungry all the time. I had my own recipes that I wanted to share with everyone."

[xue_yang]

"I'm helping you cook so this counts." This is how Xue Yang gets away with not having to do chores. He finds the loopholes.

"How could I forget, daozhang? We weren't that hungry. We had what we needed." Xue Yang would never complain about what they had to eat because he enjoyed that time and he always did enjoy messing with the people in the market to make sure they got the decent vegetables.

"Now you can share whatever recipes you want."

[unholyandbroken]

"I'll come by.' Jessie was off to the kitchen to get a fresh cup for the smoking car as she spoke.

action

[weifinder]

He pokes his head into the kitchen dining car that night, attracted to the scent of whatever's wafting free, and having been running on overstimulation and overwhelmed since standing on the platform earlier that day.

The blue hoodie is familiar in the sense of new familiarities, recognised as a symbol of scant meaning but some guiding purpose. He's already slipping inside with a cheerful, "I see we're on the same team, but you hardly look like you're cleaning," starting in on easy banter that doesn't have to mean anything as awareness starts to catch up. He stops, surprised in spite of himself: he'd seen Xue Yang alive and well earlier, even after having watched him achieve the opposite of either state months ago, in the haze of Yi City. This shouldn't be that different, but Xiao Xingchen had been... Xue Yang's wholeness would in some future life be probable. Xiao Xingchen's would not have been.

He hesitates, lifting a hand as if to debate if he should be holding both palms out to stave off some realisation or not, instead stumbling into a confused, unbelieving, "Xiao Xingchen?" Another pause, and an awkward addition of, "Shishu?" over that of daozhang. The fact the man wears no bandages over eyes that are certainly present is yet another layer of confusion, to the point he wonders, am I seeing things? A continuation of a question he's been asking himself all day long.

[Action]

[ayao]

[Meng Yao has made a choice - a choice that is easier to bear now that he isn't faced with Nie Mingjue daily. Lan Xichen too has aided him in finding his strength and so he is no longer moving about like a mouse, filled with guilt.]

Daozhang Xingchen... [He bows to the man and smiles.] I can help you with the ice cream if you like? And the cake?

[firewalled]

[Rich has a blue hoodie on as well, but that's only because he's stolen it from Otoha. Teams don't really matter all that much to him.]

Chocolate is good! I mean, both are good, really. I'm not going to complain about any cake I happen to get.

[spikelet]

"The entire train..." Her nose wrinkles; she's still not used to the idea that he can actually note any expressions she makes, but she's working on it. For now, though, she can't hide her doubt.

So she doesn't bother. She sighs, and folds her arms. "Daozhang is too generous. Working himself so hard to feed others..."

[stardustofdawn]

Xingchen was busy in the kitchen with volunteers and helpers, mostly people from the red team, because it's their turn for meal preparation for today.

When he noticed she's entering the kitchen. "Hello and welcome. Did you come to help?"

[stardustofdawn]

[He looks up. The man is no longer blind. He sees perfectly. He smiles cheerfully, sharing the joy. Sure, he works on preparing meals for his belated birthday, but most of the food he cooks by hand looks rather delicious]

Do you want to help? The cakes are done, so maybe you can slice up the cake into pieces and put it on paper plates. The children like to take more than seconds.

[ayao]

I can. [Picking up a knife, Meng Yao sets to work, slicing the cakes into equal pieces and placing each piece onto a plate. He keeps an eye on Xingchen as he works, holding out a sizable slice for the man when he is done.]

Since it is your birthday, Daozhang.

[stardustofdawn]

He was blind during those days, so there isn't much he can do with his disability. He relied on A-Qing's help and Xue Yang's help when he feels like it.

"When we had what we needed." Xingchen took a pause, wondering if he had what he needed it. Song Lan left more than emptiness in his eyes, but also in his heart when he turned him away.

"Besides candy and pasteries, is there any food you like?"

[stardustofdawn]

Their last encounter is tragic and unfortunate. They met once. When he was alive trying to capture the criminal delinquent Xue Yang. The last time they met, he was in a coffin in Yi City, resting forever. His soul was broken in fragments. Xue Yang has no way or any skill in his cultivation to repair it, so he seeks the help of Wei Wuxian.

It was surreal to someone once dead alive again and doing well. When he sees his nephew approach, making eye contact, he has easily taken him for the other one who accompanies his husband.

He smiles brightly with a look of recognition. "No, I'm not cleaning, but I am on team blue with you. My dear nephew are you here? I'm cooking and baking a cake to make up for my birthday. If you like to help, you could, but I heard you weren't good at cooking."

With the gift of sight, he can also see his expression of confusion. "Yes? Is something the matter? Are you all right? Do you need to talk?"

[stardustofdawn]

He can see that and he kept on smiling, not wanting her to be displeased with him. "Yes, the entire train with the passengers and crew members. I would like the children to enjoy the cake. It's not often I get to be surrounded like this."

It seems his past back in the house they shared in Yi City is behind them, but the loneliness remains. But he won't tell he felt very lonely and that's the reason for his generosity.

Finding the energy to be cheerful, "We don't have cakes and ice cream back home, so I'm happy there's plenty to share."

[stardustofdawn]

[No matter what color team everyone is on, they're in this together]

All right, you start with chocolate and then vanilla. We just have to mix the ingredients together to make it into a batter and then put it into the oven to bake it.

[There's ingredients from milk, eggs, sugar, a bowl, and a whisk to get started and mix]

I never baked a cake before, so this is my first one and I'm going to bake two to start it off. Hopefully, the cake will come out well.

[stardustofdawn]

[He takes the plate of the sizeable slice from him]

Thank you for the help. Do you know what would be good with the cake? A cup of tea.

[ayao]

[Xingchen is sweetness personified! Meng Yao reaches for a teapot, chuckling.]

Tea with honey? Or is that too much sugar?

[xue_yang]

"I'll eat whatever you cook, daozhang. I'm not picky." Xue Yang was used to eating very little at all or whatever was available. It's not like he really cares if he has a small meal or a buffet.

He just likes sweets because he was denied them for so long. A sign of wealth that he didn't figure he would ever have. Now he gets to indulge as much as he wants to.

[weifinder]

One meeting, then an extended view of his corpse or his life through A-Qing's eyes, when she still could see, is something else altogether. Seeing him hale here and so... so something, what words was he supposed to use? It wasn't like he even knew his martial uncle well, only by reputation and technicality. The whole of circumstances around his kindness being part of his undoing was tragic; and he'd seen it all from that outside perspective, A-Qing not innocent herself, per say, but no harm visited and Xue Yang...

"... No, no! I'm fine, it's just been an eventful day, hahaha..." His laughter is weak as it trails off, and he shrugs past the confusion of it all, latching onto: "Ah, celebrating your birth? That's--" Nothing he can say is common to him, but it's a nicer thought, celebrating one's life over one's death. "That's nice. Really nice."

It's not his story, either way. He shakes his head, finally moving further inside the kitchen car. "I have no idea how to bake, and I can cook... if anyone's been poisoned lately!" Not reassuring, but exactly true for the time being.

action

[blitzcheer]

Xiao, happy late birthday! How's it going?

[ Tidus speaks as soon as he enters the kitchen and sees the other guy - and actually, the question of sight on Tidus's mind. He has a suspicion; a suspicion that's more or less been confirmed, but also, there's some things you need confirmation on.

Such as, did I totally miss you being able to see for a month?

But first: kitchen stuff. He walks into the room, the smells of cooking continuing to linger in the air. ]

[spikelet]

She's halfway through turning to check the noodles when she notes his dropping mood - or rather, the forced cheer - in the tone of his voice. Crap.

"If that's what you want, of course we'll do it, ah," she says, as quickly as possible. Alarm transmutes into fresh determination, and she rolls up her sleeves for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Chocolate and vanilla... I don't know how to make it, but daozhang can direct me and I'll be his assistant. And I bet a lot of people will want to help!"

If they don't, she'll be doing some recruiting, goes unspoken.