[Open]

[yokunaru]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Vkusno! Shaved Ice in the Shopping Centre
WHEN: 2/10 afternoon
WHAT: Valentine's Day Chocolate Workshop
WARNINGS: None so far


[After a handful of people expressed interest in learning how to make Valentine's Day chocolates, somehow what had started as tentative plans between a couple friends turned into a full on workshop.

The prep took a couple days, but in the end things were ready! The kitchens of Vkusno! Shaved Ice were secured for melting down the chocolates. The tables and chairs in the shop proper were all equipped with chocolate molds, decoration toppings, and other tools for anyone who stopped by to use. All that was left was to send out the invites via network:]

Chocolate making workshop at Vkusno! Shaved Ice is open now. We're on the 4th floor of the Shopping Centre if you want to join in.


(ooc: Please feel free to make your own top levels!)

Comments

[winscenario]

Not the exact same thing, but... close enough, yes. It's never an easy thing to deal with. [ But conflict, in whatever form, will always be an issue, no matter how peaceful a good portion of the galaxy might be. Accidents can happen too, and some natural phenomena are impossible to predict, stop or contain. So yes, things like this can happen, for a myriad of different reasons. ]

Yeah? [ Jim smiles, watching Yuuri a moment before making an educated guess. ] Japan and Russia, or am I too off the mark?

[yokunaru]

[The blush spreads on his face before he can't try to stop it. Aha, considering how often he and Viktor have been seen together, Yuuri shouldn't be surprised that people are making that assumption at all.]

Close. [Yuuri's hands fidget with his sleeve as he keeps half an eye on the chocolate that's melting on the stove now.] Japan and America, actually. I was in Detroit for training and university for a few years.

[winscenario]

[ Actually Jim is drawing this conclusion from his first talk with Victor alone, not so much from having seen them together. Although Yuuri's reaction is sort of cute, and Jim can't help a small knowing smile, even if he doesn't say anything. ]

Not sure I'd call Russia and America 'close' but... well, it was just a guess. After talking to Victor and all. My bad. [ He shrugs a little, eyeing the chocolate too and moving to stir it so it won't burn like the last time. ] How are Valentine's traditions in both places different?

[yokunaru]

You got one out of two right. [Yuuri laughs a little, leaning back against the counter.]

Mmm well, in both, they're a big deal, but I guess the biggest difference is who gives the gifts. In Japan, there's a whole tradition for the girls. In America, I got the impression it was the men who did most of the giving that day.

[winscenario]

Really? Huh. Didn't realize things were like that back in your century.

[ He'd watched movies and some shows from the late 20th and early 21st century, granted, but he hadn't gotten enough out of it to notice that kind of pattern. ]

I think it doesn't matter who gives the gifts, right? What matters is the feeling behind it. Or else Valentine's would be a thing for straight monogamous couples only. That's not very inclusive, and it takes the whole fun out of it. [ Says the guy who literally never celebrated a single Valentine's day with anyone. But anyway. ]

[yokunaru]

It's not so bad. Even though there's a lot of traditions like that, no one really bats an eye if you handle the chocolates differently in Japan now.

You're right, though. It should be the thought that counts. [Yuuri smiles at Jim, then glances at the chocolate melting in the pan again.] Ah, you should probably stir that and even it out.

[winscenario]

Yeah, I figured as much. Or hoped as much, anyway.

[ It was the 21st century after all, not the middle ages.

He looks at the pan when Yuuri brings it up, eyebrows raising. ] Oh. [ He promptly reaches for the spoon and starts stirring again, huffing a chuckle. ] I really wasn't made for this kind of stuff. But it is pretty fun.

[yokunaru]

[While Jim's stirring, Yuuri leans through the doorway to check on the rest of the workshop attendees. Things on that end are as quiet as a shop filled with people can be, so he feels safe to return to Jim's side after a second. Mostly.]

I'm okay in the kitchen because I grew up in a hot springs resort. I used to help my mom with the cooking until I got busier with my training. [Yuuri tilts his head.] I didn't get to ask earlier, who're you making the chocolate for?

[winscenario]

You can check up on the others, if you want. [ He offers when he notices Yuuri leaning through the door. As long as he's paying attention to the chocolate, he won't let it burn again. Probably. ]

That's neat. Stoves are a rarity where I come from, most people don't really know how to cook anymore. [ Replicators just made everything easier like that, even if it feels like something's lost when sticking to replicator food. ]

Oh. No one, really. [ He shrugs, smiling at Yuuri. ] I just wanted to give it a try. Guess I'll give them to Bones. Sorry, Dr. McCoy.

[yokunaru]

Really? [That's a little surprising, given the way Eluvio has so many cafes and eateries.] How do you and your crew cook anything to eat?

[Yuuri smiles when the doctor's brought up.] I never asked how he got that nickname.

[winscenario]

We don't. We use replicators. [ And because he's gotten some puzzled looks to that before, he goes on to explain. ] They can recycle, transform and materialize just about anything you might need. Food, among those things.

[ Jim's smile is fond at the memory of how that nickname came to be. And how much hell Bones gave him for rolling with it. ] It's... just something he said when we first met. Sort of our thing, really. No one else calls him that.