Melancholia

[taigastripes]

🧙 WHO: Kagami and You! A sorta mingle post, do what you want.
⚔️️ WHAT: His best friend has gone home (again) so Kagami is cooking up a storm!! He would emotionally eat but even this is a bit much. So, have a buffet, everyone.
🗺️ WHERE: His apartment. Somehow.
🕒 WHEN: Forward-dated TBD.
⚠️ WARNINGS: Food porn, ig

It wasn't until he was making his fourth loaf of bread that he realized what he was doing. But it wasn't until he was on his third hamburger patty being seasoned and molded that decided there might be a problem.

Oh, he could eat all this, but was he going to stop cooking? Probably not. And therein lied the problem. Sure, he used to joke with his friends about being a fatty when he was emotional and eating more than his usual stupid amount. But he had a feeling he really would this time and even he would end up regretting it the following day. But there was a buzz, an energy that he couldn't quell. Could he play it off? Sure, if the basketball court that Takao was trying to put together was finished, but it wasn't. So now he was left with his other talent and that was cooking.

The portable grill was heating up and he was on his seventh patty.

His home smelled like bread, it was going to soon smell like meat. And probably more. He had a lot more bread dough left, lots of ingredients in his pantry and fridge and he wanted to use them. He rested his hands on the counter, propping himself up for a moment as he thought about what to do. He could just have a veritable mountain leftovers, he could likely finish it all before they went bad but... nah. That wasn't gonna cut it. He placed each patty on the grill and then took a moment to wash his hands and grab his phone.

He sent out a quick network post, complete with video to show what he had made so far, and then left it open for requests. May as well see what others wanted that he could -- maybe -- make.

Then, he set the phone down and opened the door and kept the screen door closed. The smell of food would definitely waft out, but it would also prevent Tiger from wandering off. Byakko was off doing whatever he did when he wasn't around, so that saved on room in the otherwise small-ish apartment.

Bon Appetit, Avalon.

Comments

[milkmycattle]

[ This must be a dream! A beautiful, amazing, succulent dream! Someone was giving out free food, and he was making MORE! So Crow drops everything he's doing to follow the sweet smell of charred meat and buttery goodness of bread!

It doesn't take him long to find Taiga's place, and he sees the door wide open, but the screen is in place. It must be an invitation to come in. So Crow pushes the screen door, open peeking inside.]

Hello? I've come over for the feast!

[Don't mind the drool dripping at the corner of his mouth. The aroma of the meat and the bread just makes him salivate.]

[taigastripes]

[Kagami was pulling out the pizza when he heard Crow. He set the pizza on the counter, and nodded to the plates on the side.]

Help yourself. Pizza's fresh so be careful. I don't have any drinks, so you're on your own.

[He had some but not enough to feed many so he wasn't going to chance it. Although he could probably pull out the big jug of water and, as far as he was aware, the water from the sink was drinkable.

Okay, he'll at least provide water, then. He walked toward the pantry and pulled out the water jug that he kept in there and set it on the kitchen table. Some cups were placed next to it.]

Water's gonna have to do.

[milkmycattle]

[At the sight of the pizza, Crow nearly jumps for joy. Even from where he stands he can smell how fresh it is. Straight out of the oven, cheesy melty goodness, buttery crust.

So the singer goes over and helps himself, piling a few burgers and a few slices of pizza on his plate. Ouch! The pizza is certainly still hot. He licks at his scorched fingers as he turns to the tall host.]

Not that I'm not grateful, because I am, but what possessed you to make all of this food?

[As he waits for an answer, he starts to help himself to the slice topping his plate. His red eyes light up with awe as he's pretty impressed with the taste.]

And it's delicious! How did you learn how to cook?!

[Crow asks while trying to devour the pizza slice. Manners? What are those?]

[taigastripes]

Just wanted to.

[He went back to making a few more burgers now that a few had been taken. They were by far the easiest and quickest in his opinion.

While he knew that people would ask (it would be weird not to question the free food, right?), he was never quite prepared to answer. So he evaded it. This is the second time his friend had gone home from a situation like this, being on another world and all, and it sucked both times.]

My dad taught me a little since I had to be on my own a lot. Learned and practiced on my own after that.

[whatsamada]

[While Ken was busy trying to reorganize his things to a new place, he couldn't help but stare at the food nearby. Looking at the food at then back at the door, he had to raise an eyebrow or two. While he didn't mind taking some, he had another idea.]

Uh...is anyone there?

[Although, it would be difficult to ask with so much items in his arms.]

[taigastripes]

[With the pizza cooking, Kagami had been cutting up some potatoes to make the fries. He already had the oil ready and he was bent down to dig for the basket.

He heard Ken and sat up just enough to look over the counter.]

Right here. Help yourself to whatever's available, kid.

[whatsamada]

You sure? I was planning on asking you something else.

[He said before hearing some of the other food cooking in the background. Despite the amount of things he was carrying, he had to put them down before asking them something.]

You think you can teach me whatever it is you're cooking?

[taigastripes]

I'm not cooking just one thing so you're gonna have to be specific.

[Pizza in the oven, burgers on the grill, and fries ready to be dumped into the pot of oil.

He found the basket and picked up the potatoes to dump in and then set them in the pot. The sound of oil sizzling and bubbling filled the kitchen. Kagami wiped his hands and then set them both down on the counter, looking at Ken and nodded to the stuff he had.]

What's all that?

[dvine]

[That amount of is... troubling. Kise wanted a piece from all that food, but he felt like there was something more behind it. Was this normal for Kagamicchi? To keep cooking without stopping? Kise doesn't know him apart from the basketball they play together and against each other (and that one time when they threw a party together for Kurokocchi).

Vila, Kise's familiar, is delighted and enters Kagami's apartment before Kise does, and instantly grabs an entire loaf of warm bread. Kise has to chase after her, a bit out of breath.]

You can't just charge in like that- A-hey! Kagamicchi! Sorry about this- she's acting like she never saw bread before.

[Vila gives him a stink eye and, whilst holding eye contact, chomps into the loaf without slicing it up. Then disappears. With the loaf.]

[taigastripes]

Let her take it, I got enough flour and yeast to make more.

[Not even Vila's impertinence was getting Kagami's temper riled up this time. He just went back to fishing the potatoes from the oil and set them onto a bowl with a paper towel lines inside to help soak up the excess grease. The pizza was still cooking in the oven, so he thought about what he could make next.

Anything to keep his hands moving.]

Guess I could make soup next, it's cold out still.

[What kind of soup, though? There were quite a few he knew how to make. He lacked noodles so udon and ramen were likely out. He had some left over chicken and veggies though, so many just chicken soup?]

[dvine]

[Kise's face scrunches into a frown as his eyes dart around the kitchen.]

This is... a lot of food. Huh!?

[And he's planning to make even more!?]

Wait, Kagamicchi, I think you're overdoing it. There's enough food to feed an army!

[If he starts going after ingredients, Kise will follow, take the ingredients from him and return them in the cupboards, or from wherever Kagami pulled them out.]

Is... everything okay? [He asks, after taking the box with flour to return it from where it came. He's not sure how much Kagami will open up to him, but this screams as 'coping mechanism' to Kise and he needs to help the guy switch to something else before he cooks the entire town!]

[taigastripes]

[Kagami began to open his mouth in protest, wanting to shout and tell Kise to leave it alone because he can do what he wants okay!? But instead, he deflated and sighed. He turned off the burners for now and then rested his hands on the counter, head bowed.]

Kuroko went home. Again.

[And he wasn't happy about it.]

[fooligans]

I've never made a pizza before. I'm more of a curry rice guy, actually. But if you need help, I can give you a hand.

[ Akira decided to come over after seeing Kagami's video. While he might not know him for long, he wonders if something is going on. Asking directly probably won't lead anywhere, so he settles for the safest subject—cooking. ]

Did you learn to cook everything all by yourself?

[taigastripes]

I can make curry, but I'm not sure I have the ingredients for it today.

[He made a pretty decent curry if you asked him, enough that he was able to teach his coach how to make it despite her usually being a disaster in the kitchen! But he did lean back to think for a moment, did he have ingredients?

Nope, he did not. Honestly, curry over rice did sound really good too. Ah, well.]

Guess I'll have to see if this place has the stuff needed later. I can work on another pizza if you want, I have extra dough. [He gave Akira a look, did you want to learn too like Ken did?]

Yeah, I did. I'm on my own a lot these days but my dad taught me a bit while we were in America.

[fooligans]

I can bring the ingredients some other day. They're not too hard to get, I can tell you where to look.

[ Mostly because curry is pretty much the only thing he can cook without a recipe and dare to experiment with the ingredients, texture, and taste. ]

I can help so you don't have to do all the hard work. You've made a ton of burgers already.

[ Unless he wants to, that is. ]

Your dad is a cook?

[taigastripes]

[Well, that was good to know. Curry was practically a Japanese staple at this point.]

Sure, knead this for a bit longer and then spread it out. The size is up to you. The pizza I made was just cheese, but I should have some meats and vegetables if you want to add any other toppings.

[He gave Ren a look then.]

I'm not doing pineapple.

[Just. No.]

No, but he and mom know how and when we moved, I had to be on my own a lot. So they taught me basics just in case they ever got home late. I learned the rest on my own.

[disasdeer]

He saw the network post then decided that there would be no harm in seeing if there was something he'd eat. It smelled nice. Really nice to him. Like baking bread more than anything and he liked it. He takes a moment seeing the screen, and recalled that it said the door was open. He stepped inside.

"This is the right place, isn't it?"

It's very obvious that he's never really stepped into someone else's house offering food, but it smelled good and sounded good. And he'd be dumb to not accept something like this.

[taigastripes]

"Yeah," He heard Louis come in and aside from the brief double take because wow, deer-man, he went back to what he was doing. And then paused. Hm. If he was a deer and likely still had the diet of one...

"I think the pizza is all I have for you right now," Kagami replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can probably fix something up specific for you though. Unless you're not a normal deer."

[disasdeer]

"Pizza is fine. I don't need you to make anything special." The answer comes easily. He's not really a normal deer, not by human standards, at least. But his diet is similar to the ones here, he's learned. He hasn't had pizza for quiet some time, if he thinks on it. Certainly it was long before he ever got here. It wasn't like it was often served at home.

"By not normal deer do you mean one that can eat meat?" It's the only conclusion he can draw from that.

[prismatically]

[ Stella's been feeding herself pretty much exclusively on free hotel food and convenience store garbage since she got here, out of a combined lack of money and absolute dearth of culinary expertise. So a post on the network offering a whole mountain of free, homecooked food? It's like a dream come true. She actually pinches herself like, three times before she heads out to claim some of it for herself.

The door's wide open, but it feels a little rude to just step right in, so Stella hovers at the entrance and calls through. ]

Helloooooo! Anybody home? I'm here for the food!

[ At least she's honest... ]

[taigastripes]

[Honesty was the best policy! Besides, it sounds like she might not ask a thousand questions like the others have so far. Maybe. And simply called out from the kitchen.]

Door's open. Foods on the table, just go straight and look right.

[The kitchen and dining area where basically next to each other, so Kagami was easily seen from the dining area where the food was laid out just in front of the counter separating the two areas. He didn't have much in the way of heat sources, but if the food got cold, he had a microwave and some room in the oven for reheating if need be.]

[prismatically]

Aaah! Thanks so much!

[ Like a polite houseguest, Stella hastily steps out of her shoes and comes skittering into the house in her socks. She's in such a hurry to find the food that she gets herself turned around for a second but finally... finally... she finds her goldmine. It really is like a dream come true. ]

Holy crap, you really cooked all this food? This looks amazing!

[arf]

[ To be honest he would've shown up anyway, but Taichi got excited about food and it was faster to text and get more excited than it was to actually get to the apartment!

As soon as he's within range, he gives up on following directions and starts sniffing the air, following his nose with his eyes closed until he's in the right place. ]

This has to be it! Hello?

[taigastripes]

In here.

[He called out, already setting a couple hot dogs into some buns on a plate. He didn't know how much the guy was going to eat, but hot dogs were probably the easiest things ever. He already had a bottle of ketchup and mustard out too. He set them the counter. The grill was still in use for some more burgers, so he'd opted to cook the hot dogs via boiling in water.]

[arf]

Hello! I'm Taichi Nanao, and it smells amazing here!

[ He comes in where he was called. If his eyes could drool, they would. He licks his lips. ]