13thcommander | Labrynthum Inbox

Dolph is a quick study in the kitchen. I'm glad he's been showing more interest in it.

I'm not even going to ask who sounded cannibalistic.

[Tell him anyway.]

He has. It sounds like where he came from before really sucked. It doesn't sound like he had a lot of people to call friend.

[ Jean hasn't unlocked the Alex story yet. ]

Goes by CountryMouse on the phone, mentioned something about sucking out energy if they touched me. Haven't got a name yet.

[ A moment later. ]

Maybe I should just offer meals out of the kitchen.

It's funny; most of the people I've met here, when talking about their worlds, seem to have come from somewhere better than ours. Dolph is the rare exception. It's good to see him making friends.

I haven't spoken to that person yet. I'll keep my eyes open.

I think that's an excellent idea, Jean. It sounds like you'd have plenty of customers.

He's got more advanced technology, but it seems like everyone lost their sense of justice where he's from.

Maybe? I don't want to deal with people coming into the house, though. I don't want to run a whole shop on my own, either, and none of the other places wanted a cook.

From what I've heard, it sounds like our world didn't do too well on the justice side of things either. And yes, I absolutely count myself in the anti-justice column.

[Just casual talking points with Erwin Smith, nothing to see here!]

[There's a pause before he responds.]

How do you feel about baking, rather than making full meals?

No, it didn't. Deciding whether or not I was okay trying to shoot at a child was a fucking hell of a thing to deal with in the middle of battle.

[ He can't even blame that one on Eren. Eren put him in that situation, but Jean still thought about it.

As for the second text: ]

I feel find about it. Why?

[Erwin is just not going to ask if Jean actually shot the kid or not. He figures if Jean is bringing it up, he probably didn't. He seems like he'd be far more haunted by the decision if he had.]

Levi has been complaining for months now that there aren't any teahouses here that meet his standards. It seems to me that most of the coffee shops here also have baked goods.

Perhaps it's something we could all work on together.

[ He's a little glad he doesn't ask, because Jean to this day isn't sure if he missed because of Pieck's steam, or as a last minute decision his brain made. ]

You want to open a teahouse?

[ That's mostly what he takes from what Erwin said, though. Of course Levi has exacting standards and Erwin would want to dabble in doing something like that. ]

I'd be interested. I just got hired at the bathhouse, but if I have to smile politely at people all day I'd rather do it somewhere you guys are.

I've been thinking about it. It would be something to do, and it would be a new challenge with lower stakes.

[No one is going to die over tea, unless someone is foolish enough to admit preferring coffee in front of Levi.]

I'll speak with Levi about it, then. I doubt he'll need much persuasion but it should be me doing the talking regardless.

You sure those stakes are lower? Businessmen are some of the most cutthroat guys I've ever known.

[ He's joking, though. No one here is going to die over tea, Erwin's right. ]

I'll leave it in your capable hands, but if you need any backup, let me know. I guess I'll check out the coffee shop to see the kinds of things they offer.

We should offer soup too, though. It's a good way to sell bread.

Maybe it's time to master a new form of battle.

[ERWIN NO]

Thank you. Let me know what you find; it's important to know what the competition is offering so you can fill a niche they haven't.

And yes, I agree. Perhaps some sandwiches as well? Perhaps it's just the cold weather getting to me, but a bowl of soup and a sandwich sounds very nice.

If anyone can, it'd be you.

That's the plan - either fill in the gaps, or figure out what I can definitely do better.

Soups and sandwiches are always a classic. Plus, you can make a lot of soup and have it feed plenty of people. The dining out options here aren't exactly the nicest, either, so cornering part of the savory side of things could work to your advantage.

Thank you for your vote of confidence.

I agree. There aren't many options, which is why I've been learning how to cook since my arrival. If other people aren't willing to learn, perhaps we should give them options to part with their shards rather than learning themselves.

I've been working on stews since I got here, trying to recreate some of my mother's old recipes. So far, I haven't been able to get the spices quite right.

Exactly. And we're a hell of a lot nicer than whatever the Cask and Anvil has going on, even if you hired Eren for some reason.

[ Which is also something that lingers on Jean's mind - giving Eren reasons to connect to this place, a reason to not try and fistfight Vaeros or whatever harebrained scheme he keeps wanting to come up with.

That second statement, though... ]

If you'd ever like any help with that, let me know. I'm no spice expert but sometimes two heads are better than one.

[ He also thinks it might be a personal endeavor Erwin doesn't necessarily want help with. ]

I'm sure Eren would be very useful when it was time to punch the rising dough. Otherwise, perhaps his needs would be best met in the back of the establishment.

[Calling it now: Eren is the dishwasher.]

I would enjoy that. If nothing else, we can compare our mother's recipes, see if there are any regional differences?

[ Jean laughs a bit to himself about Erwin's very diplomatic response but doesn't comment on it otherwise. He does employ Eren to help out with bread from time to time, so he can't argue that. ]

I'd like that. I'm guessing you didn't grow up within Wall Rose?

Technically, I suppose I did. But we were in a small community that butted up close to Wall Sina, similar to how Trost butts up against Wall Rose. My family's house was close to the gate into Sina, so I spent some time in the city as a child.

I consider myself more from Sina than Rose, although I know those who grew up in Sina proper would take offence at that notion.

They would. Hell, I used to be one of those people who would get shitty about people further out from Rose than us in Trost.

[ He's an adult, he can admit his various failings. ]

For soup, that's a good thing to know, though - we would have had access to the same spices. Though maybe your mother had access to some interior exclusive stuff since you were so close to them.

As did I, when I was much younger. Anyone who wasn't right next to Sina was clearly beneath me, in my youthful, foolish mind.

She did, but she was also a thrifty woman. She'd talk about the fancy interior spices with longing, and then get angry with my father when he bought some for her.

With age comes wisdom, and all that, right?

[ JEAN YOU ARE NINETEEN. ]

Someone once gifted my mother some of the interior spices. I asked her if we were going to hold onto them for special meals, and she told me keeping them and never using them was a mistake a lot of people make with things like that.

But to tell you the truth I don't think I ever noticed a difference in how it tasted as a kid, haha.

[Child, you have so much wisdom left to learn! Erwin isn't going to comment on it, though; he knows Jean won't believe him. Erwin didn't believe his own elders at Jean's age, so he knows how it goes. Some things just need time to marinate.]

Likewise with my mother. She kept those spices in jars and never used them. I found the jars when she passed away and I was cleaning out her house.

The Survey Corps cooks were delighted to have them, and the stews were exceptional after the next few missions.

That seems like a good use of them, honestly. But, that gives us a good starting point - she probably used what would have been readily available.

[ Jean's also mature enough now to know sometimes there's an element of nostalgia you can't quite recreate. But it'll be a fun project to share with the Commander - with Erwin. With a man he knows the shape and forward face of but not too much else besides.

Something else crosses his mind when he spots them hanging up in the living room. ]

We have our ODM gear now, too. I have the new variant, if you ever wanted to check it out.

You do?

[RECORD SCRATCH, subject change!]

I would. Very much, in fact. I know the Corps switched over to them, but I never saw them.

For obvious reasons.

Well - let me know when I should bring it over and we can look at it. With your new arm, it might be easier for you to use, or harder. The biggest adjustment for me was not needing to use my hips to adjust the grapples, since it's housed on the arms.

[ Jean knows how to set up the gear for both versions, though - the updated gear even has a version that just uses the hip housing. ]

I imagine it would be a considerable challenge with the new arm. I’m getting faster, but I still have to concentrate to move it.

I wonder if it’s possible to make a hybrid, one that uses both hips and arms.

Labrynthum Inbox

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)