They try to take all your dreams; but you can't allow it [Catchall, ota]

[hurt_comforting]

Who: Merry Baker, Kyoko, Harriet, and OTA.
What: Merry Baking; trying to survey the kitchens; setting up her offers of tea and therapy; relaxing where she can; and generally being a useful lesbian
When: The week after wrapping up Incendia
Where: Mostly the station, with a brief dip into the beach
Warnings: Child soldiers, child neglect and abuse, and whatever the people who come to her with problems have to deal with are likely in some of the prompts - as well as Merry's age-appropriate thirst.



1: Quartermaster (Kitchens, farms, infirmary, storage)

There's a new arrival walking around in flowing skirts and bright-colored tops at the base, clipboard in hand and armed with a mighty pen, taking stock of everything of use she can find in her new magitek principality - keeping a close tally, and adjusting it over time.

She counts it all. Every egg and every chicken, too. Every pill, if the doctors let her. Certainly the contents of cupboards and fridges.

She takes the job seriously, even if she finds her fun.

2: Anchor (commons)

A sign has gone up over a room in the commons:

Anchor Meredith Baker's Tea and Sympathy
Cognitive-Behavioral and Jungian Analysis provided
Drop-in hours at 2-5 PM
Message username "HangarPrincess" to make an appointment

Dare you talk about your problems like a rational adult?

3: Cook (Kitchens and dining area)

Meredith never forgets a promise, especially promises involving pie.

It's not all she cooks - and she livestreams some of it, to assuage the folks for whom maybe offers of food ought to be on the SHITlist. Tania's Market put her in mind of the Calimex she fell back on at base - she makes black beans, red rice, sauteed peppers, and carnitas made from a pork shoulder, marinated in cumin-spiced orange juice, too, all over grilled flour tortillas. (From a one-gross package she then froze. She's not insane, just generous.) All the extra is bound mostly for the kitchen fridge (with a "free to take" sign stickied on each sealed container) and in a small part for her own.

But the centerpiece is an apple pie, with cute little leaves made from dough scraps working double duty as portion size markers. The sugar on top and within melted into gorgeous, delicious cinnamon-caramel. It's one of her top five pies - the better ingredients help.

Then she sends the picture to the intranet, labeled: "One slice has Kyoko's name on it, and I invoke the Chef Tax. Everyone else, first come, first served."

4: Princess (library, Beaches, hot tub, her room,)

"All work and no play makes an Anchor liable to rust away" is how the Treasure Island Resistance couplet went, and Merry has a very playful streak to her.

Early in the week, and in the evenings, she reads her mysteries and romances and even a few comic books - including the Hound of the Baskervilles (no doubt to Watson's amusement), some sappy shoujo offerings (like the wonderfully queer science fantasy Beautiful Cyborg Princess Silicon), and her brain candy standby of All The Pretty Little Horses: The Magical Adventures (Skybiscuit remains, of course, Best Pegasus).

With the heat, she's itching to try Girl!Akira's generous offerings in the nearby beaches - and she invites Harriet to come at least once, as well as making the offer to others in groups.

And the hot tubs when it's relatively cool, too, because standing for too long, extra pounds up top and all around, and the Resistance's sorry excuses for real beds were never kind to her back and neck. They're a blessed relief for her - especially with iced tea easily to hand. Lightly sweetened, she's not from Georgia.

Finally, she spends some time chilling out in her room, literally and metaphorically, with water and her chocolates and her own personal library. Occasionally she's amenable to guests, if it's not too late.

Comments

Cook

[redmeguca]

[Kyoko comes to claim her slice almost immediately, her eyes shining as she does so.]

Thank you for the food!

[She takes a bite of the pie and closes her eyes for a moment.]

Mmm, this is definitely at least as good as Mami-senpai's baking, maybe even better... Uh, if she ever shows up here, don't tell her I said that?

Re: Cook

[hurt_comforting]

Won't breathe a word of it.

[She laughs as she talks, the cadence bubbling.]

This Mami of yours - did she do apple pie? American-born-German food?

[redmeguca]

She did all sorts of stuff. Pies, cakes, you name it. She always went all out whenever she had guests.

[This is all said with a fond smile. It's clear that she's thinking about happy memories for once.]

It would be great if she ever did show up here. Mami-senpai was like a big sister to me. Even if she did get a bit too excited over "special attacks."

[hurt_comforting]

"Special attacks?"

[Her tone is desolate for a second. She recovers smoothly, but there's a tinge of worry now.]

She looked out for you, then? Kept you fed and watered... and ready when you needed to be?

[She hopes, pleads she's wrong about her hunch. (She is not wrong about her hunch.)]

The beach

[thecompletionofthings]

Harriet shows up to the beach wearing a daringly cut dark brown halter-top bikini. She smiles when she sees Merry, and runs to embrace her. "Hey you," she says when they're done hugging, "you look yummy like an apple pie."

(sighs as we reset the Vore counter)

[hurt_comforting]

That results in a particularly effervescent laugh, followed by a second squeeze tight. She's sliding away without breaking contact, twining her fingers with Harriets for a moment before letting go.

"Daring as usual," she says. She's worn the two-peice for this, the bright blue striking against her skin, the blue flower earpiece stark against her hair.

"Swimming alone is a bad idea," she says, "but there's tidepools and shallow spots. Stunning views all around," she adds - before her eyes slide up, and meet Harriet's, and she smiles bright and crooked.

Re: (sighs as we reset the Vore counter)

[thecompletionofthings]

Harriet grins back. "Let's find somewhere to get our toes wet, then," she says. "We can enjoy the sun and the waves and what breeze there is. And just…chill."

Anchor (Likely TW: child abuse/neglect, parental abandonment, murder, suicide discussion)

[foolishjustice]

[Goro had been...highly uncertain about making an appointment, but some encouragement had convinced him to at least try to talk about the issues that weren't likely to get him branded a dangerous criminal. A lot of his problems, after all, are rooted in things that have nothing to do with his crimes and, and are fairly typical of a Japanese orphan.

When he arrives, he's still looking distinctly nervous. Maybe it could be attributed to the crossdressing, as he's wearing a frilled shirt and tiered skirt, along with a nice pair of sandals and...honestly, far more red and gold jewelry than any one person needs, but he's been similarly dressed since returning from the Fissure and hasn't seemed nearly so hesitant. No, it's really just because he's never even come close to seeking professional help for his traumatic experiences, and the idea of it has his anxiety skyrocketing. Still, a deep breath and he manages...a pretty good attempt at sounding less nervous than he looks.]

I'm here for my appointment. Goro Akechi?

Noted.

[hurt_comforting]

Glad to see you dropping by. That's a good look on you, by the way.

[She means it, and offers her hand to shake. Her hands are both callused and cared for.]

I've got black tea and a tin of cookies - and the couch is for you while the chair's for me. Lying on the couch is cliche for a reason - I've seen folk open up lying down when they wouldn't sitting.

[Meredith retrieves a notepad after greeting, looks up his SHITlist (which is to say the Reaper's Game list), and nods.]

Jung would have it that you're between Wake and Dream, that way. I'm pretty sure he was onto something. Are you familiar with Carl Jung?

[foolishjustice]

Thank you, this is actually a new outfit.

[He manages a faint, if nervous, smile as he accepts the handshake. His own hands are similar, soft enough despite the callouses to indicate he picked up some moisturizer in the city.

When he settles down on the couch and reaches for one of the cookies, Meredith might notice that he does so with his left hand.]

And I've actually studied it a little...not much in application, but some of it is a little relevant to my powers.

kitchens, inventory

[founderinglight]

[Which kitchen? It doesn't ultimately matter, though the fact that Izunia only needs to share the doubles floor kitchen with Yuuri - who hates him but is competent - has been a surprising source of relaxation for him. Chances are, Merry will come across him setting up a magical rice cooker from Incendia with all the stops, reading over the instructions for the devices. There's a giant bag of rice on the counter next to him.

But when he realizes what she's doing, well...]

I respect the effort, Meredith, but I'm afraid it's mostly pointless. There's no real way to get an accurate count of supplies in a place with two Armiger users and whatever other list of similar powers.

[hurt_comforting]

[She stops, to consider him, and the advice. It's... not comforting advice, for her.]

That would be the - pardon the term, we watched a great deal of anime at the base - hammerspace you use?

I can see why that might make things difficult...

[She looks almost frightened at the thought]

I'd like to keep track of what I can, anyway. Common supplies if not everyone's caches, magical or otherwise...

[founderinglight]

I've heard the term thrown around here, thankfully enough. Yes, that's correct - in particular, my brother's family uses almost exclusively their own supplies.

[By now she has seen the Shitlist, it's not hard to figure out why they do that given Ardyn's issues.]

...On the other hand, to make your job a bit easier, the cupboards share a magically common pool for the most part. The only things that vary are whatever's been left on the counters.

anchor (likely TW for trauma, PTSD, some abuse, and murder stuff...

[beguiledcard]

[ Soooo... he managed to convince Goro it was a good idea. He'd be a total hypocrite to just... not give it a try of his own? Not to mention, he kind of... does want to learn a thing or three about this stuff.

Which is why he sends her a message to make an appointment. He looks... fairly relaxed when he arrives. ]

Hey.... [ small smile and wave ] I'm Akira Kurusu, and I'm here for the appointment.

cw: persona 5 and bliss stage, sounds like

[hurt_comforting]

A pleasure, mister Kurusu.

[She would ask after his 'sister' with the cute taste in swimwear, but according to the list that comparison is a piece of Seemingly Harmless or Innocuous Things, so that can wait. Instead, a handshake and a gesture to the couch.]

Meredith Odetta Baker. You can call me Merry, if you'd like, or my first name if you'd prefer that. We've got green tea today, and crackers if you want them - and the stereotypical analyst's couch is for you. Something about lying down being a liminal space, I believe; it does help.

Before you begin, would you mind if I took confidential notes? The act of writing helps my memory.

YEP... + murdergame CRAU :'>

[beguiledcard]

[ Fortunately, that's something he's already actively working on, so that's something he's getting better on, bit by bit. He's going to nod in response to her greeting, the small smile lingering a bit. Since she made a point of mentioning "Merry" .... ]

It's nice to meet you, Merry-san. [ glancing at the couch, then back to her at the question ] I don't mind, at all.

[ Notes are something he can understand being needed.

First, he'll take her up on the offer of tea and crackers; he only grabs a couple of the latter. After that, he makes his way over to the couch. He... isn't going to succeed in feeling comfortable enough with lying down for this (maybe, hopefully next time). For now, he's going to sit. ]

So... how long have you been doing this?

food

[bloodyashes]

[Merry might find someone curiously watching over her shoulders a bit while she's working on that - ]

Huh.

[Well, at least he... announced himself?]

[hurt_comforting]

[Honestly, she heard him before he announced himself, and it's hard to be scared of someone who's cooked for you in a kitchen.]

Trust me, all the jokes about my last name have been made.

And, yes, the ice water is absolutely necessary for this dough. Working butter into it means you need to keep it as cold as possible.

[bloodyashes]

What? Oh, no, I was more interested in -

[He gestures at the Calimex pile.]

I'm familiar with the pie, that's what Auldrant doesn't have an equivalent to.

Cooking

[thecompletionofthings]

Given her age, gender and background, one might imagine that Harriet had helped her mother cook often enough to be at least moderately competent in the kitchen.

One would be wrong. Mrs. Miller rarely cooks—she's just too busy, too tired. When she does, it's not mother-daughter bonding and instruction in vital life skills, it's working out frustration by chopping vegetables, then making something with leftovers to last half the week. Mrs. Miller is honestly a little scary in the kitchen.

As a result, when Harriet asks what she can do to help Merry make dinner, and Merry passes her some of the dwindling stock of fresh vegetables raided from Incendia to chop, Harriet is uselessly slow—until her temper reaches the boiling point and she materializes a non-light construct of whirling blades, drops a bell pepper into it and watches the pepper fly apart in chunks of appropriate size. If fewer than 10% of the chunks had wound up strewn over half the kitchen, it might have counted as a successful maneuver.

Like hell she is after that. Sorry Harriet.

[hurt_comforting]

Yeah, nope. Merry actually glares at her.

"Harriet," she says, very softly, "I wouldn't mind teaching you how to cook - knifework, how to time cooking, the right temperatures and textures and seasoning, all of it - but the only two things keeping me from grabbing you and shoving you into the hallway while I work is that you haven't cleaned up your mess yet, and you're cute. Please get the dustpan and the broom and get that off the kitchen floor and into the garbage - the five second rule is bullshit, by the way - and then wait for dinner, outside."

She flexes her hands; when did she ball them into fists?

"...I got enough of this at TIR. Please don't do this when I'm trying to do something elaborate."

Re: Like hell she is after that. Sorry Harriet.

[thecompletionofthings]

Harriet droops.

"Sorry, Merry," she says softly, and goes about cleaning up, even sponging up the bits that landed on the counter or the fronts of the cabinets without being told. She's at least good at cleaning.

When she's done, she takes up a position that's technically outside the kitchen, and definitely out of Merry's way, and watches silently.

1 (infirmary)

[dubiouslychthonic]

[Jetshard arrives at the medbay late afternoon, cup of coffee in hand, in her usual clean but slightly mismatched blacks aesthetic and a set of rimless, purple-tinted glasses because let's be honest, a nontrival amount of GAZEMAKER'S stock of sunglasses had found its way into her inventory. She watches for a moment from the doorway - surprised to find Merry already poking through the cabinets, but honestly, it's too early in her day for the troll to really work up to being shocked by it.]

Looking for something?

Re: 1 (infirmary)

[hurt_comforting]

Just... running inventory. Keeping stock. Dropping things off.

Unless you keep your own tally. Do you keep your own tally? We could compare notes.

[dubiouslychthonic]

We do, in fact, have records. [Dry, but more than a little amused. She's found herself in unfamiliar medical facilities with absolutely no indication of what's on hand in the past, herself.] If you'd like to check against our lists you're welcome to, though.

Also if you're dropping things off I'd like to get them on my accounting.