acatalepsy_logs | Don't Skip Your Flu Shot

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Don't Skip Your Flu Shot

Who: Everyone! It's a mingle post for the first week of Struxta sickness!!
Where: All around the temple
When: During the first week of the sickness
Rating PG?? At most??
What: Curry, blankets and pillow forts, and other assorted sick things

[With the Struxta illness sweeping through the temple like a wildfire, and with so many new arrivals trying to get adjusted to temple living, it's probably no surprise that things around the Astoria's little pocket of space have gotten a little hectic. Feeling under the weather? Looking for something warm to soothe that scratchy throat? Just want to curl up underneath a pile of blankets and not move for like, seven hours or so? Never fear! A Mysterious Helper (TM) has you covered]

A. Curry in the Kitchen

[The kitchen smells extremely nice during lunchtime this week, the only meal of the day that isn't pre-prepared by the misty servants. Like the scent of coffee intermingled with complementary spices. Those who take the initiative to investigate will find something pleasant waiting for them. A few pots of fresh made curry and steamed rice; a few pots of miso soup (a. . . little on the salty side, sorry); and some freshly brewed coffee already poured into individual mugs, along with cream and sugar and whatever additives your heart desires. It's all strewn out across the counter tops with a handwritten note pinned against the wall above the stove:]

Help yourself, and get well soon.

[There isn't any sign of the mysterious chef when you enter the kitchen, and if you arrive near the end of lunch hour, some of the food and coffee miiiiight be a bit cold. But hey! This might be a good chance to mingle with some of your new coworkers who are also seeking out a warm meal to help quell some of their cold symptoms. Just please don't sneeze into the curry pot, thanks. . .]

[Lunch will be laid out in the kitchen every day at lunchtime for the entire first week of the sickness. Help yourselves!]

B. The Temple Hallways

[THERE ARE BLANKETS AND PILLOWS EVERYWHERE]

[. . . no, seriously. For some reason, it's like you can't even walk down a hallway without tripping over a bundled up blanket or a pillow. What's up with that! For the most part, they're normal bedtime accessories, although you may find a bundle of pillows and blankets stacked up into an ENTIRE PILLOW FORT if you're lucky.]

[Pinned to the walls of the hallways (not every hallway, but enough of them that it should be easy to find one of the signs without wandering for too long) are more handwritten signs:]

Whoever can build the tallest pillow fort will receive one (1) high five as a grand prize. Good luck. Blanket provider is not responsible for anyone accidentally falling asleep in the hallways and blocking your route back to your bedroom.

[Hm. Well, that's weird. Anyway! You can build a pillow fort if you want, grab some blankets to take back to your room, or. . . nap in the hallways. Or do whatever! They're all free for the taking. Maybe you could even team up with another Circle member to try and win that extremely coveted high five??]

C. Wildcard

[Don't feel like interacting with any of the above? That's okay! Make your own prompt based on the event stuff over here, or just use this post for. . . whatever you want! It's totally and completely open for mingling for new and old characters alike, so. HAVE FUN ♥]

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[ He cares a little less about being gross and sticks his tongue into the second bowl instead of sipping it proper. But he runs into the same problem with this one— the sweetness doesn't mask the bitterness, so much as they're tasted side by side and in the end, bitter is what wins out. This one isn't bad enough to make him voice his disgust, but he also makes no attempt to hide the displeasure on his face. ]

...I think bitter's just that much stronger than sweet, [ he manages after swishing some spit around his mouth in an effort to dilute the taste. Where is Akira's salty miso soup when he needs it? ]

Though there's not that many flavors stronger than bitter... Maybe spicy. So spicy it numbs your tongue and you can't taste anything. [ Pain would be easier for him to stand, he thinks, but that's also not universal and people wouldn't take the medicine if it burns going down. He gives the third bowl something of a wary look. ]

Can these not be made into pills or capsules...?

[ eliminate having to taste it altogether please ]

[Rest assured he doesn't plan to use the same bowls for multiple taste testing so Minato can be gross all he wants. It wouldn't do to spread germs further after all.

But his assessment is about what he was afraid of. He isn't sure spicy would get any better results although that is definitely a... creative suggestion. Maybe he'll try it anyway. For science.]

Hm... that I had not considered mostly because I would not know how to craft it. [He can only make due not only with what he has on hand but also with his own skill level. He isn't that much of an apothecary. Yet, anyway.]

If I could find a way to do so that would certainly eliminate the problem. 'Tis likely the only way at this rate. [There aren't many flavors he can try to use to mask bitterness...

Still... sweet may still work if he used other types of sugar instead of the pure kind. Maybe...?

He chuckles,] If only Astoria had gift one of us with such an oddly specific ability.

[ Hm... Minato looks at his hands for a second, flexing his fingers. The oddly specific ability he's gotten, he's pretty sure it can do something like changing this medicine into something small and compact like a pill; the problem would be changing it back, so the medicine can have its effect.

That does make him think of something else, though, and it'll save his taste buds in the process. ]

I think I can do something about that. Got to see what's in the kitchen, though. If changing the flavor doesn't work out, come find me later.

[Well that catches his attention. He'd been joking and yet maybe... Minato had a power that could help? He feels frustration about his own power well inside him but quells it quickly. There was no point dwelling on that right now.]

I fear chances are it will not with bitterness this great. [He tried sweet flavors in all of them but if two have already failed then he suspects so will the others.]

If you have a means that can help then can I in turn help you with it?

[He mentioned the kitchen so Alphinaud glances back towards it. He can search for anything Minato wants in there, if need be.]

[ Minato makes to shake his head, but at the last moment just shrugs. It's not that Alphinaud can't be of help, it's just that something like this isn't something he needs very much help for in the first place. ]

If the right ingredient is there, it's a simple process. Kinda messy, though. If you really want to help, I'd welcome it.

I'd be glad to. It's the least I can do if you intend to find a method to distribute this medicine more effectively. [He wants to give to those who are suffering from the illness but perhaps also to those who aren't yet. Perhaps it can help prevent it too, somehow.

But he can't do either of those things unless he cures the bitterness problem first.]

What are we looking for?

Rice flour, and water.

[ The rice flour is the one he's not sure of, since he can't really tell the difference between the multitude of white powders that's found in any usual pantry, but it's easy enough to tell if it's the right one after adding some warm water. ]

I was thinking we'd make something like mochi. Fill it up with medicine and swallow it whole- it'll release in the stomach, and nobody will have to taste it.

[Mochi....? ..... Oh. It takes him a moment to recall what that is but he vaguely remembers it from Kugane. A delicacy of some sort, wasn't it? Or perhaps just a sweet treat. He can't entirely remember except that it'd been very different than the food he was use to it.]

From what I can recall of it that would work quite well.

[Anyway, it sounds like a good a plan as any! He will head into the kitchen then to begin the search...]

Although it takes a bit of effort to make, does it not? [Although if Minato is suggesting this maybe he has a plan for that.]

I haven't made it since I was four or five, but...

[ He hopes he can remember well enough, even though he didn't actually make it so much as he sat by his parents while they did, and let him knead the dough from time to time. But it seemed easy, from a child's point of view, and there are so few ingredients he thinks he'll be able to throw together some sort of working recipe. ]

The part that takes the longest is getting the dough flattened after it's mixed. We'll have to roll it thinly so it won't be too large to swallow whole.

[ But not too thin, that the medicine would leak out. Hmm... They can troubleshoot when the time comes. In the meanwhile, he rummages around in cupboards and pulls out five different sized bags of white/off-white powder. One of these must be the right one. ]

[That sounds like a challenge all right but something worth working on. Certainly a better method than trying to dampen the taste itself.

He makes sure there are no other similar bags hidden before he gathers some room temperature water in a measuring cup and comes over.]

... It seems unwise to have not labeled these. [But then he supposes Astoria couldn't have thought of everything?

Okay well... maybe if they figure out what each bag is he'll label it for the future.

He sets the water down.] Trial and error then. [Hopefully they're all cooking ingredients...]

Trial and error.

[ If they don't end up with mochi, they can at least make flat bread or noodles or whatever so nothing gets wasted, so Minato gets out five bowls and sets them side by side, just as Alphinaud had done with his cups of medicine.

...He has no idea about measurements either, but a cup of flour in each bowl sounds okay to start with, right? ]

We just... add water until it looks like dough. And then cook it. I don't think it took very long, less than ten minutes.

[Sounds reasonable. He never thought he'd have to attempt culinary skills in addition to his newly practiced alchemy skills but here we are.]

I'll warn you I am terribly useless when it comes to cooking of any kind but I shall do what I can. [It's at least not that hard to figure out measurements based on simple logic. A proper chef would probably say he gets it not quite right with the amount of water he adds to each bowl but it's close enough that no near disasters will occur. Presumably.]

And you will be able to tell which is rice flour based on what it becomes? [Will it really look so different? He already forgets what flour went into which bowl...]

I've only cooked with a recipe, [ Minato admits, before Alphinaud drums up the expectations of him being a master chef or something. ]

But this should be alright. If we add too much water— [ as this one does, he sees as he plunges a hand into the bowl and brings it back runny ] all we have to do is add more flour. Same if it's too dry- just add a little more water.

[ This is how you go from a little ball of dough to quickly too much dough, but somebody other than them would be able to use the leftovers. Presumably. In either case, they all mix similarly, and look pretty similar once they're kneaded, so he's starting to doubt himself, but... ]

Huh. I'm not really sure. I guess if we just cook all of them, as long as it holds liquid inside them alright, they're fine to use.

[He has a point. If they were small enough to swallow whole would it matter what encased them? Then again something like bread may absorb the liquid and then the flavor would still be noticeable.

Well, only one way to find out! They got this far okay and Alphinaud has at least taught himself how to properly use the oven. He and his sister both are terribly useless with domestic skills, being the fancy rich kids that they were growing up, but they were quick learners.

After putting the dough on the baking sheets, evenly spreading them out. Then into the oven they go.

Eventually they start to look more like actual pieces of food! They can kind of be seen through the door there.]

Well? Does anything look like what you're hoping for? [It all looks like dough to him.......]

[ Hm... He can't really tell by looking either, but he tentatively opens the oven door and—-

very nearly pokes one of the mounds of dough with his finger, before remembering that that's a stupid idea, and goes to fetch a knife instead. Upon his return, he pokes each of them in turn, some of them sliced neatly through like soft bread, some he can only tap on because they're as hard as cracker, some that lift off the sheet like paste when he pulls the knife away. ]

Let's take this one out. It'll be soft and sticky even after it cools. We flatten it out as thin as possible, and then sort of... [ He makes a cupping gesture with both hands, clasped together as if to hold something inside. ]

[He watches curiously. When he sees the one Minato IDs as what he wants to use he understands more fully the idea behind this venture.]

I see. Although I suppose too then and it may leak through. [Hmm.....

Or maybe....

He goes to collect and find the necessary tools as he thinks.]

Perhaps I can thicken the medicine a bit to prevent that. For now, let us work on this part. [If it has be nearly paper thing though he'll definitely have to.]

[ Minato clears off the counter. And by clear off I mean he brushes the surface off with the back of his hand, not that he actually cleans it. ]

The thicker the better. You can put all sorts of stuff in here... strawberries, or sesame paste, or ice cream. I'll make you a non-medicine version sometime, if you'd like.

[ —There's an idea, though. If Alphinaud can't figure out how to make the medicine thicker, maybe they can freeze it into little droplets and then wrap them in mochi. ]

[Hey man whatever works.]

That sounds like something more suited for my sister to eat but I would not mind trying it. [He could just probably only tolerate like three bites before he'd have to quit. His sweet tooth is just not as strong.]

But that case perhaps I will try to freeze it. I must thank you for this idea. I would have never thought of it had you not come up with this. [Even if this particular idea doesn't quite work out... he can definitely work with it. And now has this new idea to play with too.

Surely he will figure out something now...]

Freezing's a good backup plan. I can bounce ideas with you whenever, so...

[ Please save them from the illness. Minato will believe that the only reason why he improved so quickly is because he'd sampled Alphinaud's medicine, not that he was late to catch it and thus it hadn't progressed as far.

He doesn't speak as he rolls out the first of the mochi, not wanting to distract, but eventually- ]

What's your sister like? Older or younger?

[ Speaking as if she's not here ]

This will suffice for now. [He's given him plenty of ideas to play with! Now and in the future should something like this ever occur again. Although he hopes it will not...

He'll help with the task although he isn't really sure what he's doing. But he gets the basic idea from the concept and from watching Minato do it.]

Neither. She is my twin and so we are the same age. She is here too and I'd presume you'd know her when you saw her. [Because of the whole twin thing.]

Should you think of it, sharing any sweets with her certainly improves her mood. [Haha... he suffers...]

[ A twin... Minato doesn't know anybody with siblings and doesn't have any himself, so that sort of dynamic is something he takes interest in- and twins are even closer to each other than normal siblings, aren't they? ]

I'll remember that, but hopefully I won't need a stock on hand to pacify her.

[ The girls that he knows... yeah, scary, keeping candies in his pocket should've become a habit by now. ]

If this test batch works out, maybe she'd like to help us mass produce the rest? Maybe you could ask her for me.

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Don't Skip Your Flu Shot

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