2026-06-19: A Dozen Bowls, A Dozen Eggs
- Log: A Dozen Bowls, A Dozen Eggs
- Cast: Isabeau Fontaine, Alain Wakamatsu
- Where: The Patisserie Kurayama
- OOC Date: 2026-06-19
- IC Date: Tue Nov 27 2012
- Summary: Isabeau misunderstands the instructions, except, like, no she didn't. Alain gets to know her a little better, in the process.
<Pose Tracker> Alain Wakamatsu has posed.
The Patisserie Kurayama is a much beloved location in the neighborhood of Kagurazaka. What is more French after all than the local Pastry shop?
The traffic however, was mostly at the beginning of the day, around lunch time- and just before and after five PM.
Which meant that today, around Four PM, the shop was nearly empty, other than himself and Isabeau in the back. The chime would alert them if anyone came in that needed attention for him to move to the front counter.
"Making a pastry is always about prior preparation. So every afternoon, we place the egg whites in a mixing bowl- and refrigerate them overnight."
He explains to Isabeau, with multiple cartons of eggs on the counter in front of her. "Would you mind separating the yolks and the whites, we'll need at least... forty, given our current stock? The yolks we can place in a separate mixing bowl to whisk for the Crème Brûlée."
In front of her, are two mixing bowls, and beside her is a trash can. It's simple enough work, but he explains it all the same.
In the meantime, he works across the counter near the stove, whisking flour into a recently heated saucepan of other ingredients, stirring vigorously.
"How was school today?" He asks, as if striking up conversation while they work.
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
Isabeau has a busy schedule -- but she always makes sure to make time in it to offer aid to her allies. Sometimes, that means helping Viv out at the cinema, and sometimes it means...
"Naturally!" Isabeau declares, brazenly. (And, of course, in French. Isabeau always prefers speaking French when she's not having to talk to locals.) "They tell me at school that I'm not the sort of girl to lay an egg, but it's just more of their nonsense! Of course I can handle eggs!"
She's missed the metaphor because she's not very good at Japanese, either.
There are two eggs, and so she brings the egg to the edge...
And, cri-crack...
"Perfect!" She declares, as the egg breaks in half flawlessly, and she separates the two with -- well, if not perfect technique, at least one which shows that she's been paying attention whenever she drops over to help.
Cri-crack, cri-crack...
Behind him, Isabeau cracks eggs and solves problems, as she answers his question. "Oh, horrible! They're the worst! They think I'm a moron just because I didn't score well in that last exam... it's not my fault it's all in Japanese!" Grouse, grouse, crack, crack. There's the sound of plates being rearranged. "I always hear them talking behind my back... at least they're too scared to say it to my face."
But, of course, that's how bullying works, in Japan.
Bullying isn't very direct, either.
Cri-crack, cri-crack...
"All done!" Isabeau declares, just as brazen.
And there, on the countertop...
... is plate after plate of egg white and egg yolk, perfectly separated into their own bowls...
WHERE DID SHE EVEN FIND THIS MANY BOWLS WHEN HE ONLY PUT OUT TWO!
<Pose Tracker> Alain Wakamatsu has posed.
Alain's stirring slows down suddenly, upon hearing the 'sort of girl to lay an egg'- and his eyes drift upwards, like he's trying to work through her tortured misunderstanding of the language.
"... ... ..." What a mine field he's stepped into, "Yes, of course you can handle eggs." He agrees, "They are the basics, after all."
And he's decided to sidestep that by not saying 'Of course you're not. You're not the kind of girl who would lay eggs' as that might make the girl even more confused. Who would do that!?
"Good job." He says to her statement of 'Perfect'. "Those children do not know what they are talking about." In regards to her-... ... ... handling eggs.
"Hm." He vocalizes, as she speaks of all of them. "Well, Japanese is quite difficult as a language... if it is not your first. When I came to Japan for the first time, I was awful at it. I was told I sounded worse than a toddler."
His estranged father did not like trying to work through his son's terrible Japanese at the time, so he spoke out of practice French instead.
"You are hardly stupid for having a difficult time- as a non-native speaker. If you'd like, we can set up flash cards to pass the time with your Kanji. I wouldn't mind assisting."
It's only natural to offer to help with homework. He was good at that kind of thing in his youth, and remains good at it now.
"You are- alright with them saying such things behind your back?" He asks, as if wondering if she's really addressed her feelings. He goes back to stirring, before he'd ruin the batch. There would be nothing worse than misshapen choux pastry dough.
'All done!'
"Well-" He looks across, at the countertop full of bowls. "-done...?" Pause-
That is basically every mixing bowl in the entire bakery, laid out in front of them. "Ah- ma cherie... there's no need to fret, but- I'd like the whites in a single bowl, the yolks in another. There's not enough refrigeration space for overnight, for that many."
He corrects (or clarifies, depending upon temperament), gently. It is more washing, but that's fine- he can be patient when it comes to the actions of a child.
"It is fine, they'll slide right out into another bowl, and with just egg- the clean up is a simple matter."
He can be upset about such things, but usually it would take repeat offenses, obvious malice- things such as that. Not a simple mistake.
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
"Right? What kind of child do they think I am! Honestly!" Crack, cri-crack...
Isabeau, of course, doesn't think she's a child. She'd be horrified if she got a glimpse into Alain's internal dialogue. Instead, she affirms: "They really don't!" They're children, of course. She just grew up.
"I'm not that bad," Isabeau insists, grumpily, when Alain talks about how he sounded worse than a toddler -- because, of course, she's remembering what people used to say about her back in Inaba. "I did all that stuff with flashcards all by myself when I moved back to Japan, so..."
Well, that might explain why her Japanese is still so stilted, if she fixed it on her own.
"Of course it doesn't bother me," she grumbles, about being alright with it. "Simple people talk about all sorts of irrelevant things. So long as they fear me, they can say what they like." They say, after all, that the foreigner is a pale witch; she'll curse you if you piss her off.
Isabeau blinks -- and then her cheeks flush, a moment of panic washing over her round face, as she realises she mixed up the instructions. Unfortunately, she can't very well tell Alain he gave them wrong, so she just has to stumble over, "oh -- well -- obviously! I-it was just a joke!"
She'd never be so stupid as to -- completely misinterpret a set of instructions.
No she wouldn't.
Shut up.
"I got you good!" She huffs, as she gets to putting the whites all into one mixing bowl.
<Pose Tracker> Alain Wakamatsu has posed.
"Yes- you are a young woman, of course, not a child."
It's a distinction that he makes, while of course understanding that she is in fact- also a child. However, it is best to allow teenagers that space wherein they are given enough independence in this way- while also letting them understand that they have support when they stumble.
That's at least, what he has learned in his own experiences as a father. "Ah no, it was not meant to say that you were. Merely that I was that bad." He clarifies, in a way to appease that grumpiness. "It is difficult, to master it to the same level of the native speakers. I am close, though I'm still told my dialect is off at times."
He's also had you know, like sixteen years to master it, and the benefit of living in this country this long.
"Mmm." He vocalizes again at her dismissing it, "I see." He does not think Isabeau has such thin skin in truth, nor that she ought to. It is difficult to be a young woman in a foreign country.
It is difficult to take on that burden of being bullied for the impression people have of you at a glance, the snap judgment.
He knows that first hand. "Well. Even if it is irrelevant, it bothers me to hear they treat you like that. I had a tutor once in France, who said far worse to my face about being half-Japanese." He says, mildly, "But at the time, I didn't have the courage to speak up for myself."
He remembers Xavier- his transformation, that wicked Quarry he became, of cursed blood. The idea that he himself tried to beat out of others what he saw in himself.
"I know you have more than enough courage to bear their slingstones and arrows, ma cherie- but all the same- it is upsetting."
And then- 'oh -- well -- obviously! I-it was just a joke!'
Obviously it was not. "-Oh I see." He chuckles, as if to play along with her attempt to save face, "You did. An egg-cellent joke, ma cherie. You have- how should I put it? Cracked me up."
Laurent will never be a true Dad until he masters the art of DAD JOKES! GET ON ALAIN'S LEVEL LAURENT!
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
"I'm much more mature than them," Isabeau scoffs. "They didn't need to grow up so quickly. It really shows."
She pouts, as she adds: "Well, I guess that's understandable... it's harder to learn as you get older. That's why mom taught me English when I was younger... people made fun of me for that, too, but she wants me to be able to travel." 'Wants'. Sss. That's a present tense sound.
That's probably fine.
"... so it happens to you even when you're Japanese?" She asks, with a bit of a frown. "Mm... I guess people back home can be judgemental, too. Well... maybe it's like... there's a certain kind of ass," DON'T SWEAR AROUND YOUR FATHER'S FRIENDS ISABEAU, she reminds herself, as she truncates the word with a grunt. "As--asthaenic person who can't stand people who don't look like them sitting next to them on the bus... whether it's in France or Japan."
Perfect save. He won't suspect a thing. Isabeau is a proper young lady, she'd never call someone an asshole.
Or a skank.
Shut up, Kanae.
(Really, the impressive thing is that she pulled up a complicated concept like 'asthaenia' off the top of her head... but she's only bad at academics in Japanese, you know. In French, she has to stay on top of her game to keep up with Joy...)
"Well," she sniffs, "if someone gives you trouble like that again -- I'll really make him pay for it!" Is she even thinking about a man being hounded by a Quarry? Isabeau's vengeance is for all hours of the day...
Luckily, she doesn't have to swear vengeance against Alain this day. Because he rolls with her excuse with wordplay of his own, and she looks to him --
And she manages to keep her face straight for the first pun --
But then he makes another one, and she breaks down giggling, and she won't destroy anyone today. "Alaaaain! That's so lame!" She chastises him, even as she doubles over with the force of her merriment. "Heheheheh...!"
<Pose Tracker> Alain Wakamatsu has posed.
"Yes, that certainly tracks Ma Cherie."
Not that he buys it. Not really. She is immature- just in different ways from how other children are immature. If a child is truly mature, then one must ask what the problem was that drove them to be that way.
And she is not. Not yet. He would not wish for her to live on her own, unsupported by their network of people.
'Wants'. Alain cocks his head slightly, like he's wondering if he misheard. "Well, I'm certain your English is much better than theirs. If you ever wish to see a Japanese person panic, have them speak in English."
Was her tense just off? Or...
"Ah yes. Most certainly. You see, the Far Right's greatest foothold in France, is on the subject of immigration."
He watches her as he explains, letting the whole 'ass' thing slide. Given the way he curses on their missions sometimes- did in the fight against that 'Skull'- he'd be a hypocrite to call her on it, "It is a shameful thing, but we French are proud, and unfortunately- have exacting standards. It is easy to say that someone who has only half our blood, does not meet them. That they are not 'truly' French. In a way- Japan is even worse in this regard. With the idea of 'Gaikokujin'. It is baked into the culture that a 'hafu' will never be truly Japanese. Whereas in France- it is not universally accepted to be so. Most of France would say I am French- for growing up French, in France- with a French mother. Though some would disagree."
He shakes his head, with a bitter smile. "There are differences, but it is still quite ugly." The way she offers to defend him, it makes him smile, "Do not worry yourself, ma cherie. I am quite accustomed to defending myself. Few Japanese have any complaint with me being in this country- after they try one of my choux pastries."
And the fact is, Alain can pass much better than Isabeau. He looks 'Japanese enough' and can speak the language. It's in France that he would have trouble, still- despite having been born there.
"However, it would be unwise for those children to say such about you- in front of me." He says, with a mild tone. A gentleness. He speaks softly-
-but Isabeau knows there is a large stick behind it, when he needs to defend his.
"I know you can fight your own battles as well, but- such shameful behavior will not make me a bystander."
Tacitly accepting such language around you, in his eyes- is the same as enabling others. He will not stay silent.
Perhaps he should apply that in different ways, but in this- he will not.
"Haha- I cannot help it ma cherie." He says, grinning so wide as she doubles over with laughter, "Your yolk made me smile, which was egg-actly what I needed."
Oh no, he can do this all day.
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
Living on her own in an unsupportive network probably made Isabeau into the bitch that she is today, honestly.
(Not that her stepfather wasn't trying, but, well... his parents didn't approve of his late wife's daughter, and familial piety being what it is, Isabeau was the one expected to bend until she convinced them she was worthy. ... which she might have even done, if she'd been raised in the culture.)
"They're hopeless," Isabeau agrees, haughtily. "Hmph! ... though... it's not like the kids back in France were much better... at least Japanese people realise it's useful to be able to get along on the world stage. Back home, everyone's so stubborn, saying things like 'they should just go back to using French for everything', and 'why should I have to learn a crude language like that', and 'there's no point in talking to tourists'..."
... she's awfully mean about Japan, but if she actually has to examine it for more than five seconds, it's not like France is some kind of enlightened haven either.
After all, Kanae was...
"Mm," Isabeau hums, rubbing at a bicep with her other hand. (She's quite built, for a highschooler, under that layer of fat.) "It's hard for you in France, too, huh...? I mean, mom's always saying how RIF is the backing track for total losers," rock identitaire français, that is, a genre defined by its far-right prejudices, "but I guess I never thought about how it is for you if you're not, like... French enough."
She sighs, scowling. "Guess it shouldn't be a big surprise... mom hated paperwork, or whatever, so it turned out the whole time I wasn't even technically her kid." Until relatively recently, the laws for bastards were that they needed to be actively claimed, even by the mother... which raises a few questions about just how many cracks Isabeau fell through. (IS SHE VACCINATED --) "She really made it a pain in my neck when she left... no one wanted the weirdo's kid if she wasn't gonna inherit her money, so I just got left with Yutaka." Yutaka Taikou is that stepfather of hers -- and Isabeau's disdain for him is really outsized from the way he actually behaved when Laurent stepped up. He was quite happy to facilitate him taking custody of his daughter, and, indeed, relieved she'd be able to live with someone she wanted to be associated with.
In this, too, is the strange way Isabeau speaks of her mother. Past tense, present tense, saying she 'left'...
"But don't worry!" Isabeau insists, brave as ever. "I can take care of myself! Those brats at school are terrified of me, so there's nothing to worry about...!" Isabeau seems completely unaware of how many worrying things she's said in the span of five minutes alone. Ah, youth.
"Well --" she's at least able to laugh, still, as she finishes combining all the yolks into one bowl, and all the egg whites into another. "Shell I get to cleaning this up? I'm certainly not chicken!"
OH NO SHE'S TRYING TO DO DAD JOKES NOW TOO
<Pose Tracker> Alain Wakamatsu has posed.
"Yes. That's true." Though, Japan only learned that through a complicated history of isolation as a result of Western Power and a stint with Imperialism themselves. However, he's not going to completely go into that right now. "France is... quite judgmental, I would agree. Japan at least makes allowances for tourists who respect the culture."
Yet, you will never be truly Japanese. The same is true for both Alain and Isabeau.
Yes indeed, that is what he is trying to do with Isabeau, to force her to self-examine, rather than to say 'You're right' or 'You're wrong'. He wants to teach her not what to think, but how to think.
The former is what he grew up on, and he hated it so. If Isabeau is rough, and hard to get along with- then it is their job to coax her to think her mindset through.
If they punish her constantly for her stubborn single-minded independent streak, then she'll only lean into that mindset all the more.
"Yes. Or at least it was. I haven't been back in sixteen years. My mother has to come to visit once... when Yuri was born."
And his Father wants nothing to do with him. They are 'family' but in name only- his presence on the Family Register is only because it was the only thing Alain asked of him, when he could have demanded far more to upend his life.
"Indeed- the current 'Boogeyman' are the Muslims from what I understand- it was the same back then, but moreso now with the 'War on Terror' by the Americans." He takes on a sour note there. He's not a fan.
"If you can convince the public that someone of a different color is 'a potential terrorist' then often- that is all it takes. Suddenly, no one that looks different from you is acceptable. They are all potential threats. And threats are to be dealt with."
France has a proud history of left wing political thought, but it didn't actually take that much for them to gain a foothold with good old fashioned Xenophobia.
He sniffs, then- "You were. No matter what the law says." To try to be reassuring, even if he knows it's cold comfort when an institution tries to negate part of who you are.
However, that has Alain thinking- 'wait, if she's not legal then-' and his mind is whirling around these possibilities. Oh no. He has to talk to Laurent.
Note to self: TEXT LAURENT
"I am sorry. Not all parents are so forward-thinking when it comes to their children's future." He says, as he puts down the bowl. It can wait to be put on the heat in a minute. "Some parents never grow out of the phase- where you think you are immortal- or that death- the memento mori, is too far away to be even entertained as a thought."
He can't even claim he would have taken her in to a certainty. He'd like to. The reality is though, that Eve- Yuri and him were barely getting by at some points. And the schedule he had to work was crushing him.
There was no opportunity to make more money, to take in another child. So something would have to give. Eve would have to give up her dream. Then- what was all that work he did for?
'Terrified.'
"Nothing at all." He agrees, knowing he disagrees, "Still. I wish you would find some friends, ma cherie. Even if you can endure it on your own- school is still unpleasant when you are on your own. I know this from experience."
It was miserable for him, until he met the others. Several years of happiness- broken up by its tragic end.
At her pun, there's a smile that tugs on his expression, before- "Well, so long as you let me help the egg-spert. We'll have a shell of a time."
Yep he makes the joke purely because of her 'ass' faux pas earlier, to at least let her know it's not fully off limits.
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
"Japan's pretty judgemental too, though..." Isabeau grumbles, sullenly. "Eh... I guess everywhere sucks."
Is... is that progress??? It's... something!
"We moved to Inaba when I was, like... ten?" Isabeau supposes, with a shrug of a shoulder. "It's this rural village out in the middle of nowhere... they were mad at Yutaka for not being born there, so it's not like... someone like me ever had a shot. Just, mom got bored, so she hauled us out to Hawaii... uh, not like we stayed there long," she glosses over the brutal reality, and if Alain didn't know better she'd just sound uncomfortable about living in Hawaii.
Isabeau's prejudices are really kind of force magnified by the way she won't just be honest about what's really bothering her, huh?
She frowns, though, hearing Alain point out that Islam is in France's crosshairs now. "... yeah, but there's, like... French people with dark skin, too, right...?" Isabeau, who has never meditated all that hard on colonialism, always just classified Kanae as French. "... it always sucked, huh?"
Well, maybe that explains how Kanae was raised in Japan.
"Whatever," Isabeau dismisses the whole line of concern, reminding herself, firmly, that she does not care about Kanae because she doesn't need friends.
"... maybe people like mom are just born irresponsible," she shrugs, grumpy again.
Worse, though, is the way she shuts down and refutes Alain's wish for her social circle, flatly: "I'm not that weak."
... perhaps that's why Alain plies her with humour. Isabeau does giggle, again, hearing Alain make more egg jokes.
"Come onnnn," she says, her tone lighter, "that's so lame..."
There's enough dishes that Isabeau can go through all sorts of egg wordplay, by the time they're finished, protesting every lame pun despite laughing at them all.