R1 DEADLAND PT2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

[lockdownmods]

[it’s strange, for the people who were already dead, the shift in scenery is sudden and complete. For those who have just arrived? It’s like you’re back where you left?

How strange.

But if you ever need her, you can always reach out to the guardian of this place.]

LOCATIONS
Note: locations lag a week behind the living counterparts

Comments

SATURDAY MORNING, NOT NECESSARILY FOR ALL YOUR SATURDAY MORNING NEEDS

[lovedanime]

((cw accidental self-harm in last paragraph))

[Mitarai couldn't sleep after everything that happened. So of course he went back to the computer lab at first. Still nothing. In all likelihood nothing would change before the conclusion of the final exam on Saturday at the very earliest. Which was so many hours away. Twelve hours... Maybe fourteen hours... Thirteen hours... Where had he heard about something that took that amount of time? Mitarai got an... idea, that took him to the library.

When the sun is high in the simulated sky, there are signs in about three key locations: the dormitory, the main building entrance, and the computer lab.]

RAMEN LUNCH IN CAFETERIA TODAY

[The cafeteria really does contain several types of ramen bowls set up on a long table. The main offering is tonkotsu broth that does seem to have really been brewed from pork bones all night. Some bowls contain eggs, chashu pork, or both. There's a healthy assortment of toppings like bean sprouts and scallions mixed in, along with little bowls for extra helpings of these toppings. There's vegetarian broth to the side that was made from a powdered mix, and a platter with lightly garnished cuttings of unmitigated pork.

The kitchen upon further examination has plenty of evidence that deep cleaning occurred here - nearly half the floor is shiny from mop swipes, and the disposal in the sink is full of noodles, and the trash cans are full of imprecisely chopped vegetables, and the shelves in the refrigerator boast huge gaps because he moved things around to store other things in here for a while and then never moved the preexisting items back. Three closed cookbooks are neatly stacked on a dry countertop.

Mitarai is on the side, behind a bowl of ramen containing chopsticks showing it's been touched, but the current level of broth only slightly lower than the higher traces of wetness on the edges of the bowl. "Resting his eyes", head on his folded arms. He's still wearing an apron over a school store T-shirt and gym shorts that he usually reserved for sleeping. His arms are covered up and down with small white bandaids over little knife cuts and occasional traces of hot water or other burns.]

cw: hand injury, goblin eating practices

[sendintheclown]

[Surprisingly, Gogol sits down in the cafeteria and eat like...a normal person. No parlour tricks, no obtrusiveness. He's oddly self-restrained. Perhaps, finally, Rebecca's threats of both physical and psychological repercussions have gotten through to him, though his eyes do wander towards the smaller bowls of garnishes with a look of mischief.

Once finished, Gogol ends up creeping into the kitchens in the search of scraps like some kind of scavenger animal, curious for what offerings he might find as an alternative to what's laid out in the table. Sure enough, he does find something in the sink. Tasty drain noodles. How could he resist?

He just reaches a hand in there -

-and too late realizes that this is one of those American death sinks, as screams and sounds of pained rubber squeaking erupt from the kitchen.]

[supportrole]

[ All right, he's still not hungry, but he guesses he'll check out this ramen since someone went to the trouble of--

Holy crap, that is one of the worst combinations of sounds he's ever heard. ]

What the hell did you-- is your hand in the garbage disposal??

[ Well, this is not how he wanted to spend this day, but you know what, it's still better than it could be. That is saying something. ]

[sendintheclown]

GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!

[A resounding yes. Dressing the way he does, it's no surprise that something's got caught on the blades and keeping him stuck there.]

I DON'T WANT TO DIE AGAIN!

[supportrole]

I don't... know if that's even a thing, but-- calm down and stop moving so much!

[ He comes over closer, and specifically stands in front of the switch to make sure no one gets by him to turn it on. He's pretty sure that the people here (mostly) aren't fucked up enough to try that, but ALSO... a lot of them really hate this guy, so...

SIGH. ]

What's the blade stuck to? Like, is it actually piercing your hand, or is it just stuck on your sleeve or something?

cw: the mildest of hand injuries actually

[sendintheclown]

[Gogol tries his best to be still but that's something he is incapable of on a fundamental level. He doesn't jerk away, but stands there twitching like a rat.]

It got my finger! I think my glove's stuck!

[Could it be he's making a big deal out of a very minor injury? That's just another puzzle to solve.]

[supportrole]

[ God, why are you such an idiot!!! ]

Okay, just... try sticking something down there, and push it against your finger while you try to move your hand toward the center away from the blade. I think that should give you a little extra force and help unstick the glove. Probably.

[ If that makes any sense at all. He doesn't know how the hell to explain this without a diagram or something.

He looks to see what's around nearby on the counter for a moment and settles on a wooden spoon, which he hands over handle first. ]

Here. And move carefully! Don't just yank your hand away from one blade and into the one on the other side!

[sendintheclown]

Don't wh-AAAAAAAAAAAAH

[Gogol's capacity for staying still reached it's limit before Mishima could really get his warning out, and he does that exact thing he told him not to.

He makes a desperate grab for the spoon with his other hand, flapping uselessly at it like an inflatable decoration they put outside car dealerships until he manages to grab a hold of it and just jams it in there a little.]

It's not working!

[supportrole]

It's not working because you just did exactly what I said not to!!

[lovedanime]

NIKOLAI-SAN?

[A good few minutes later Mitarai has gotten a hold of himself and is in the doorway wringing his hands. Mishima has the situation under control and that's a huge relief but it makes sense to wonder what could be happening to a Gogol wandered off on his own in general.]

Thank goodness you're okay... I'm sorry I was [YAWN] so late.

[sendintheclown]

It's okay!

[He gives a thumbs up with his good hand. Both hands are perfectly fine and functional, but relatively good.]

Did you have a good rest, little bird?

[Truly, Gogol hadn't intentionally made himself known to Mitarai in his usual loud way out of wanting to let him get some sleep.]

[lovedanime]

Yep, I think so!

[His entire body, more visible than usual behind the apron, relaxes right away.]

It's been a while since I pushed myself to work on a project off and on like that, I'd forgotten how hard it can be... I'll make sure I go straight to bed tonight.

[sendintheclown]

Get a rewarding night's sleep!

[He's not sure if sleep is really something they need to do like this, but if Mitarai managed to exhaust himself like that, perhaps it was something he should be concerned about.]

Did you stay up all night preparing this?

[lovedanime]

[He shakes his head.]

Not exactly. I got everything started when the night was young, and then I'd wake back up every so often to work a little more...

[It's more mental exhaustion to push himself to concentrate continuously. He looks up at Gogol.]

How about yourself?

[sendintheclown]

Well enough.

[Truthfully, though he didn't really think he needed it all that much, Gogol's been spending his nights sleeping a good many hours. To have his brain shut off eventually was worth the inactivity, and the time taken exhausting himself to actually get there.]

If you'd only asked, I would've helped you out!

[lovedanime]

It's all working out well... [Including Gogol getting enough sleep!

Mitarai cracks a deliberate thin smile.]

Oh. I see, you would have heard more about this kind of food than I realized, from Golyadkin-kun.

[devotingly]

[ is waver petty enough to laugh?

yeah he's ridiculously petty and he's gonna laugh like he's heard the best joke of his life. ]

[starswink]

[Well, Yoosung can take the hint that Mitarai wants to do the cooking this time, but the cafeteria stuff has been so part of his daily schedule that he winds up showing up fairly early regardless, in time to wait for Mitarai to make the first helpings and to enjoy the novelty of being on this side of the counter for once - general friendly greeting to let him know he's popped in, but after that he lets him work. He'll try and see the kitchen from where he's sitting but since he doesn't moon in the same way, by the time it's done he's gotten absorbed in trying to "copy and paste" any little objects around him on the table, an intermediary step between Connor's stunt where he created the glasses from thin air. He's making a little stack of the excess coasters by the time he resurfaces.]

It smells pretty good! How's it going?

[lovedanime]

[Mitarai has never before thought about having a pretty boy in the background of his display progressing on an innocuous task like a mobage loading screen but this is in fact fantastic and he wants twenty. Every time he starts to regret his life and his choices to carry the weight of an entire bowl in each of his two hands, there's his inspiration in the corner of his eye, and he adjusts his posture! 3D people are so underrated. ...were. ...by Mitarai specifically. Most other people got the menu on humanity not meriting total destruction.

The last bowl goes on the countertop and Mitarai lets both of his forearms rest on the surface, tilting his head significantly to make eye contact at this angle.]

Enough to go around for everyone came out nice... I'm happy about that.

[starswink]

Right, it's pretty satisfying to finish your work, especially when it's tasty food...

[He reaches for one curiously, but he can't help but notice all the band-aids after the bowl is set down.]

How'd you get so banged up?

[lovedanime]

[Wow, a guy's voice gently asking that question? Not familiar, Mitarai had to bask in this for a moment, which makes up for the wincing as he realizes putting the pressure of his weight on the dinged parts of his skin was actually not the best long term idea. He picks up one arm and puts that elbow against the table instead while his chin rests in his hand.]

It wasn't any one big thing that would actually hurt; please don't worry about me, Kim-kun. I would just keep picking up a little too much of this or that, is all.

[starswink]

[That sounds pretty damn vague. He's definitely not sure it's normal either.]

...Have you ever cooked anything before?

[lovedanime]

...

When—

I—

[Mitarai opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, getting increasingly uncomfortable with himself for not having another answer. He curls his hand defensively, his chin resting on the knuckles.]

No. Not like this, I guess.

[starswink]

Wait, seriously? [He wasn't expecting a straight up confirmation. What kind of maniac tries to make something this complicated on his own, taking so much time, and with no experience, to the point of getting constantly nicked... But this is honestly so like him, the astonishment only lasts for a couple of seconds and he literally shrugs.]

Don't half ass anything, do you?

[But the surface has cooled a bit by now so he thinks it would be time to dig in. He's a little more nervous than he was a second ago about trying this, and Mitarai's dreading face isn't helping his confidence. Just after he picks up the chopsticks (he looked around for a spoon first, but then, none of this is metal) Yoosunng looks down at him and his resting face again. He never knew anyone could look so tired within the simulation. He's gotta respect the gesture, at least. So for now, he just picks up a good pinch of noodles to slurp.

Moment of truth. What's this taste sensation like?]

[lovedanime]

Out of the question, Kim-kun. [His tone isn't even bragging or showboating, if anything he's almost slightly offended there was a question in the first place, though still in a friendly and not confrontational manner. After all it was really a rhetorical question. Mitarai interlaces his hands below his chin as he's watching the actors move into place. Nerves seep into his shrill voice.]

How is it?

[Watery broth relative to the other helpings closer to the bottom of the pot that was low and heavy to stir. Noodles are too soft - they already were, but more so since they'd been soaking in the hot water all this time, although by now it's getting cold, there weren't heat lamps he bothered to bring out. The toppings are proportioned well because this was before he realized he had dropped too much and put less into each bowl, though this actually works against the dish by aggravating the dilution of the broth. The pork is great, at least, really picturesque marbled slices.]