Thornpunk: Created page with "'''Log: An Impromptu Cooking Lesson''' '''Cast:''' Fuuka Yamagishi, Shinjiro Aragaki '''Where:''' Iwatodai Dormitory, Iwatodai '''OOC Date:''' October 07, 2025 '''IC Date:''' July 22, 2012 '''Summary''': ''Fuuka struggles while making bentos, and Shinjiro steps in to help.'' ---- Fuuka Yamagishi has posed. It's the last day before final exams begin, and the last ''night''. Where most inhabitants of the dorm are either in their room..."

2025-10-08T04:41:24Z

Created page with "*'''Log: An Impromptu Cooking Lesson''' *'''Cast:''' Fuuka Yamagishi, Shinjiro Aragaki *'''Where:''' Iwatodai Dormitory, Iwatodai *'''OOC Date:''' October 07, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' July 22, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Fuuka struggles while making bentos, and Shinjiro steps in to help.'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed. <poem> It's the last day before final exams begin, and the last ''night''. Where most inhabitants of the dorm are either in their room..."

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*'''Log: An Impromptu Cooking Lesson'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Fuuka Yamagishi]], [[Shinjiro Aragaki]]
*'''Where:''' Iwatodai Dormitory, Iwatodai
*'''OOC Date:''' October 07, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' July 22, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Fuuka struggles while making bentos, and Shinjiro steps in to help.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
It's the last day before final exams begin, and the last ''night''. Where most inhabitants of the dorm are either in their room studying or doing whatever otherwise... tonight, Fuuka finds herself in the kitchen when she expects everyone else to be occupied. She's already wrapped up her studies for the night, so she decides to turn that leftover nervous energy into something useful to everyone.

...Or, at least... that was the ''plan''...

...But right now, she's trying to juggle several metaphorical plates at once and they're all falling to the floor.

"...I should've known this was a bad idea..." Fuuka mutters to herself. She's already given up on making something good - right now, she's just aiming for ''edible''.

To the eye of an experienced cook, it's clear that she's trying to prepare the contents of an average high-schooler's bento - and there's a couple of failed specimens already as proof.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro is a night owl. He was going to head out for a walk, maybe talk to some delinquents for information. But as he's stepping downstairs, heading towards the front door, he smells the scent of cooking... and chooses to investigate.

He's in his new red leather coat with fake wolf fur trim, fingerless leather gloves, and his beanie. He walks over to Fuuka without asking to come in, because he can sense DANGER, though she'll probably hear him before he enters.

"What's going on in here?" He looks over the mess... "You trying to make a bento?"

He could just leave, but his inner chef is like 'oh my god this offends my sensibilities I should do SOMETHING for the sake of the kitchen'. And also his inner softie is screaming at him to help her.

"Tch, lemme take a look," Shinjiro finally says, peering over the bentos closely, even touching the failed specimens if he sees it as necessary to figure out what went wrong. He's trying to see exactly where and how she's messing up, so he can give advice.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro enters the kitchen, and Fuuka stands bolt upright as he asks what's going on. She looks briefly embarrassed. She knows he cooks - so getting caught by someone with actual experience.

"...Yes." She answers after a moment, because it's not like there's any point in trying to hide it. He says to take a look, then goes over to the failed specimens... And it doesn't take long to figure out that it's probably easier to list what went ''right''.

It becomes obvious fairly quickly that she knows just enough to get herself in trouble - she knows how to use the equipment and the general ingredients that go into it, but somewhere the steps to actual convert it into a proper meal just don't ''mesh''. It reaches a point where it deviates from known standards and into pure improvisation without proper theory to back it up.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro sighs at Fuuka's embarassment, but is focused on what went wrong, or went right in this case. The answer: basically nothing went right.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You didn't burn the kitchen down," he tries to reassure. She didn't burn it down... yet. Instead, he considers, tossing into his head. He can't ask her to give up on her cooking...

"I'm willing to help, if you want. Least I can do to make sure our food stays edible and that you don't give up on cooking." A pause. "Are you following a recipe, by any chance?"

If she indicates anything but a 'no thank you' to helping, he'll go to remove his gloves and wash his hands. Only proper to maintain kitchen hygiene!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
She didn't burn the kitchen down. Fuuka smiles awkwardly at that. She... appreciates the ''effort'', at least, even if it doesn't provide much in the way of actual reassurance to her.

He says he's willing to help - and she looks interested for a second, but then a conflicted expression crosses her face.

...She knows she needs the help after how poorly this went. But what would people say if they found out...?

...Then again, she's already caught herself in a lose-lose situation.

"I don't want to impose, but if you're not busy..." She starts awkwardly. He asks if she's following a recipe. She hesitates, and grimaces. "...No. I'm not."

It's said in the tone of someone who knows how something sounds, even though it makes perfect sense to them.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
"Look, I mean it. When I started out, I was making all sorts of mistakes. Chef would yell at me all the time, but only experience makes you better." Better reassurance from Shinjiro, at least!

As she accepts, though, he dries his hands. "It's not an imposition," he says calmly, before taking a look again.

"Alright, what were you trying to make? I assume there'll be rice, but that should be pretty easy to start, I think." A pause, and a soft grimace. "You really should start with recipes at your skill level. No one starts with three-course meals made from scratch while cooking blind."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro explains that even he made all sorts of mistakes while starting out, and only experience makes you better. She nods - and that, at least, seems to help a little. He insists, too, that it isn't an imposition - so she nods again.

"Yes, that's right... I wanted to start with rice, chicken, and some mixed vegetables..." She explains - and winces, just a little. "I know. I just..."

She hesitates. How does she explain it...? Would he even get it?

"...I'm supposed to be good at this. People expect me to be good at this." She murmurs, looking away briefly.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
"That sounds good," Shinjiro says about the ingredients. But as Fuuka hesitates and reveals her expectations...

He smiles softly, instead of frowning. "Hey. I get it, a little. It's hard being told what you need to be and have to do. There's people you look up to, or have power over you, who expect you to be capable, right?" He thinks a little bit to Mitsuru, who expects him to attend school which he doesn't deserve; Aki, who expects him to remain strong even when he's at his weakest; the role models he looks up to who would want him to succeed. At the least, he has one healthy adult relationship with Myunghon, but even then, he does want to do his best for them.

"Alright, we're going to take this slow, then. Don't rush yourself. If we can get one bento done tonight, we'll call that a success."

He goes to prep the rice, taking a minute to do so, and letting Fuuka watch him do so carefully, before continuing. "We're going to do teriyaki chicken. The vegetables can wait a minute, one thing at a time. I've got some more skin-on boneless thighs in the fridge... how are you at knifework? Would you rather perform or watch for the first time?"

He'll move to start taking out the chicken and various sauce ingredients she didn't already have out, slowly showing Fuuka each one.

"Where'd you get interested in cooking?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
Fuuka nods - and looks briefly surprised when he understands.

"...Yes." Fuuka agrees quietly. "There's... a lot of things I'm expected to know, or be able to do..."

He says they'll take this slow, and she nods.

"...Alright." She decides. One bento... it's not quite what she was aiming for, but at this point, accomplishing even that might be a miracle.

Fuuka watches carefully - she tries to keep track of what he's doing, then listens as he explains the next step.

"Um... I'm good with tools, but... maybe it would be better for me to watch, at first." She admits. It takes a lot of effort to admit that much, even when she feels like she would be trying it.

He asks the question, though, and she considers for a moment how to answer.

"Mm... well, finals are coming up. I just thought... everyone's already going to be under a lot of stress. If I could at least make lunch for everyone, that'd be one thing off their mind." Fuuka explains. "And we don't have a lot of opportunities for home cooking around here, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
"Well, at the least, I don't think we expect that from you. So be kinder to yourself," Shinjiro attempts to reassure, before moving to take the sake, mirin, and soy sauce and pour them into a bowl. He adds some sugar, mixing them all together with a skill that definitely shows he knows what he's doing. It's so casual, like he's barely thinking about it and just *doing*.

Once the sauce is made, he sets it aside, preheating the pan and then preparing the chicken on the cutting board. "We want even thickness so we're gonna score it first," he says, taking shallow cuts once she says she'll watch. "This will allow the sauce to marinade in it better and for the texture to be more even, as I said."

Once he's done with that, Shinjiro flattens the chicken with the pan gently, showing Fuuka every step.

"...that's really kind of you," Shinjiro smiles at that. It's a nice smile. "But the thing I've been learning lately is that you don't gotta do it all on your own. I'm the same way, so I get it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
"...Thank you." Fuuka replies. It does help a little, and she can tell he means it. That societal pressure is still there... but it helps. She watches him add the ingredients, and she's a little impressed - but it also makes her feel a little self-conscious, too.

He does it so instinctually, like he barely even has to think about it... How much time does it take to actually reach that level? Is it even possible for her?

And now, for the chicken. Scoring it first...

"...I wouldn't have thought about that..." Fuuka admits. She would've just gone straight to cutting it up... Maybe it's a good thing she decided to watch first. "...Alright."

Shinjiro says it's kind of her - and actually smiles. She manages a small smile back.

"Thank you. And... yes. It's... difficult to remember that, sometimes." Fuuka replies with a nod. It's something they both struggle with. "I just... wanted to do something nice for everyone."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro places the chicken into the pan as Fuuka watches, INSTEAD of cutting it up directly, as she might have expected. He lets the chicken sit for a bit, turning to talk to Fuuka with it watched in his peripheral vision.

"Right. It's kinda like... have you ever ridden a bicycle? You need training wheels first. That's why we use recipes before we improvise, or use precooked ingredients before we use the fresh stuff. If you jump right into the deep end, you're gonna make mistakes. I mean, you might make them either way... but that's just how you learn. Do you feel you learned anything today, before I came in? Are you gonna remember *why* it didn't work? If so, it wasn't worthless."

After a few minutes, he grabs the spatula, sears the meat by pushing it down, and then flips it. After searing it again, he covers the lid.

"About three more minutes to steam, then we just add the sauce for a few minutes. It seems complex when you don't know how to do it, but it's really easy once you get the hang of it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
"No, I haven't..." Fuuka admits - but that doesn't make his point any less accurate. You have to start at the beginning, rather than trying to jump right into the hard stuff... But mistakes are how you learn. She nods quietly.

Did she learn anything before he came in? She considers it.

"...I'm not sure. It felt like I was doing damage control more than anything..." She admits. "...But... I'll try to think more about what happened. And... watching you has helped, a little."

She watches as he continues. She tries to commit it to memory. It's really easy once you get the hang of it... How long will that take? ...She tries to chase that thought away, though, and nods.

"Okay. I'll remember that..." She says with a thoughtful nod.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>
Once the chicken is done steaming, he spoons in the sauce, coating the chicken. He waits for it to cook fully before turning off the heat, removing it from the pan.

"Good. I don't normally give lessons... but if that's your reason to cook, I don't mind helping once in a while," Shinjiro says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Then, he takes his knife...

And finally stats cutting the chicken. Once he has bite-sized pieces, he turns to Fuuka. "Now, I'd normally sear it with a burner here, but I don't want you trying to repeat that just yet, okay?" Then, he steps away, allowing her to see the chicken. It's perfectly cooked.

"That's how you make teriyaki chicken. If you're ever struggling or need advice, let me know." They'll go to vegetables next!

It will probably go pretty well, Shinjiro thinks, but he'll want her to cut some of it herself, so she isn't solely watching... might give her more confidence in the kitchen.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>
He says he doesn't normally give lessons... Fuuka nods.

"Um... Then, thank you, for making an exception this time..." She replies. If that's the case, then she'll have to make sure she really takes something from this.

Searing... Fuuka nods thoughtfully.

"...Yes, I can see that, um... going poorly." She agrees with his decision. The last thing she needs is to burn herself the day before finals, trying to pull off something that's too advanced for her right now...

"I see... Thank you." She says. ...She probably will need to ask in the future, at least when she can work up the courage to.

They proceed to the vegetables, though - and this Fuuka will gladly agree to participate in cutting them.

...True to her word, she ''does'' seem to be good with tools, at least. Her cuts are methodical and precise - perhaps a bit more than they need to be...

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-10-07: An Impromptu Cooking Lesson - Revision history