So when life gives you lemons, make some lemonade

[notimmortal]

[So yeah, that trial was totally a thing. But if there's one thing Jansen knows, it's how to deal with crap like this. You gotta move on and try to do what you can do rather than getting upset about what just happened. Right now, they don't need to be mulling over this too much.

So he'll go around and slip some papers under the doors of everyone still alive. On each he writes the following: Let's meet in the Great Hall in about an hour. I think we could all use a good meal and some company right now.

And true to his word, he'll have some food prepared. Nothing too special, but it's warm and tasty and there is no fruit involved in its making. He cooked up some meats and also made some rolls and simple side dishes. There's enough to feed everyone so dig in!

Also, thanks to Ayumu there will be cookies and other not fruity baked goods available as well.]

Comments

[godinsolitude]

[Open]

[Ayumu had opted to pitch in with the cooking, and on top of making various foodstuffs he'll actually be willing to take requests tonight if someone asks. He seems rather determined to.... cook the evening away and avoid talking about the trial much. Maybe what they saw at the end upset him more than he wants to talk about.

But is that the smell of cookies wafting from the kitchen? It definitely is. Apparently Ayumu's idea of stress baking involves sweets: cookies and muffins, among other things, in an effort to lift the mood. People can come swipe some or try to chat him up, but he won't be joining the party much unless dragged.]

[breakingthrough]

[...Edna knows that smell. Lailah was always baking them snacks. Honestly, they smell even better than her's. She may not need food but that sure as heck doesn't mean she won't snack. She understands not wanting to talk about what happened-- so she won't.]

Not bad. [Considering who it is, that's more of a compliment than it sounds.] You'll make a great wife someday.


[Edna...]

[godinsolitude]

Thank you.... I thought people might enjoy some comfort food....

[Like cookies... or muffins. He's taking out another pan, already on his.... fourth? batch of cookies at this point. He's going to need another tray soon.]

....But I have to say I disagree on the wife bit.

[Siiiiigh. What was it with the wife comments?] I am a man, in case you haven't noticed.

[breakingthrough]

It's definitely a welcome touch. But shouldn't we be the ones making comfort food for you?

[Teasing aside, she knows he went through a lot.]

The gender isn't the important part. [SHRUG.] It's just the way you act.

[godinsolitude]

How in the world do I act like a wife?

[Utterly deadpan, though there's some irritation to it. If she says 'cooking', Ayumu has Opinions on that....]

I don't need comfort food. Doing this is relaxing enough.

[breakingthrough]

You're taking care of everyone before taking care of yourself. You're trying to be strong for the sake of others.

[See: Hiyono.]

Also, cooking is relaxing for you.

[CASE IN POINT.]

Well, I suppose you could also argue "Mom"... But it still stands.

[godinsolitude]

[Is he more irritated by 'wife' or 'mom'? It's hard to tell, really, from the grumpy scowl on his face and the firmness of his response.]

I am not a mom, either. I'm just doing what I want to do, that's all.

[And trying to help people recover from the aftermath of a long, ghastly trial, because it's better for the good of everyone that they find some equilibrium--

That wasn't really a defense, though. He starts moving the cookies to the cooling rack, still gooey warm, to set properly. They'll be the perfect level of chewy when they cool, since he already had a batch of crunchier ones.

.....Just a slightly obsessive level of detail.]

Everyone handles things like this differently. This is mine. It doesn't indicate anything whatsoever.

[breakingthrough]

What would I know, I've only lived a couple hundred thousand years longer than you.

[There are so many things here working against him here, she's just going to keep smiling at him in a knowing fashion. What she says next might come as a small surprise because it's a small bout of seriousness after a whole lot of lighthearted teasing.]

Sure. There's nothing wrong with that. But just remember-- the more you look after others, the more they'll come to rely on you. In turn, don't be surprised when they start worrying about you. Even if you think you have it all locked up in a box, people are going to look even if you don't want them too.

[Edna bites into a warm, perfect cookie and grins, seriousness finished.]

Umu's homemade cookies. You can just taste the love.

[E D N A.]

[godinsolitude]

[Unfortunately, Ayumu liked to think he was more subtle than he actually was-- a sentiment some chose to respect, but clearly Edna wasn't one of them.

He doesn't drop a cookie, he drops the entire pan on the counter. Luckily the poor cookies only get dislodged a little. He gapes at her, a telling flush of embarrassment coming to his cheeks.]

You--

[Damn it, he's speechless. It takes him a second to find the words, what even was this girl--]

....Sure are a brat, for being a couple thousand years old.

[breakingthrough]

Denial like that isn't healthy you know.

[Nothing says she's right more than the look on his face. It's incredibly satisfying.

Is this the power of a Seraph? Maybe. Or maybe this is just the sign of what over a thousand years of watching humanity will do to you. In reality, they're more alike than he probably realizes. Edna shrugs, smiling wryly.]

Spending a few hundred years alone on a mountain will do that to you.

[gyakusatsu]

[Misora wanders into the kitchen eventually, if only because that is where the coffee is. Truthfully, she didn't think Ayumu was a baking type, but she's... actually not in the mood for her usual lighthearted teasing.]

Did you get any kind of warning about being a suspect?

[Translation: Hi, Ayumu, how are you feeling after that shitshow?]

[godinsolitude]

....No, I didn't.

[Hi Miss Misora, want a cookie? Feel free to help yourself, there's already several dozen set out to cool at this point due to Ayumu's obsessive baking. If that's not to her taste, apparently Ayumu made muffins, too.

He's.... okay. Really.]

It was a complete surprise, honestly.

[And not a pleasant one. Nothing about the trial.... or the aftermath, was very pleasant really, but up until the end Ayumu dealt with it through his usual compartmentalization of emotions.]

[gyakusatsu]

[She eyes the cookies and the muffins, but ignores them for the moment as she looks back at Ayumu.]

It was ridiculous that you were chosen in the first place.

[A beat.]

Does stress baking actually help?

[godinsolitude]

The height criteria fit, at least.

[A pause, as he moves cooled cookies to a plate to make room on the cooling rack.]

Stress baking?

[He gives Misora a sharp look, unimpressed and maybe a little defensive.]

I just thought that sweets might help provide a small boost to everyone's energy after such an exhausting trial.

[You know, a little sugar when you're feeling like crap helped sometimes. He was normally prone to more healthy cooking, but occasions like these.....

Ok he might be stress baking, but like hell will he admit it.]

I just needed something to do with my hands. There's nothing else I can occupy them with, here.

[gyakusatsu]

Zero would have been more convincing than you, if the height criteria were the only thing that mattered.

[,small>Just saying. But that look he shoots her just rolls off her back like it's nothing at this point. She goes and fills a cup from the cabinet with some pre-made coffee in the fridge.]

Training is one alternative.

[But ok, she'll help herself to a cookie.]

[godinsolitude]

After that trial? I'm too tired and wound up for it to do much good, I think. I'd probably make more mistakes than progress.

[An admittance that he wasn't as ok as he was acting. Honestly... he was really missing the piano right now, not that he'd mention that. Sometimes he could spend hours playing just to sort his thoughts out. He lets out a sigh.]

Though on a slightly different topic.... I wish we had some decent tea.

[That would be relaxing.]

holy crap i butchered that html

[gyakusatsu]

Sounds like you need a hug.

[Which is not an offer by the way, but she can think of candidates who would be more than happy to provide. Cough.

She has a bite of cookie though, and ... well.]

These are good.

whoops, I'll notify next time. XD

[godinsolitude]

[Aaaand there he goes, dropping a cookie mid transfer to the plate. That totally had nothing to do with the mention of needing hugs, not at all.]

Ah... what a waste.

[He'll pick it up, tossing it in the trash.]

Thank you for the compliment. I thought many people might enjoy cookies, since it's a basic comfort food.

haha, it's ok! I was just laughing at the awful

[gyakusatsu]

[Misora is just going to eyebrow raise at this display of dexterity.]

So you're not going to deny that you'd like a hug, I see. Should I call her over or.....?

[fedorascout]

You don't have to force yourself to work so much. Look at all this, can we really eat it all?

[...he understands this may be his way to relieve stress, but still...getting exhausted isn't going to help anyone]

[godinsolitude]

I'm not forcing anything. Baked goods will keep awhile-- there's.... 28 of us, of course we can eat it all.

[He's not doing anything weird shhhh.

....He missed the piano.]

[fedorascout]

I don't know, at this pace we'll have more than we can deal with. [But if you say, so, Ayumu!] Will you be okay? Being a suspect for something like the trial can be quite the burden, you know.

[godinsolitude]

I'm fine. Most of the suspicion wasn't on me, anyway.

[Really, they'd mostly focused on two individuals during the trial.]

[fedorascout]

And you're lucky for that.

[Who knows, it could happen again in the future]

Just in case, are you sharing a room already with Yuizaki-chan?

[godinsolitude]

I know I am.

[It could, unfortunately.]

And as we both said during the trial, we've been doing so since day one. It's the safer option.

[Really, they're both high schoolers and some of the people here have skills listed in things like torture and murder. It's the only sane option, in Ayumu's opinion.]