the_zone | [OPEN LOG] New Year's Cultural Exchange!

Enjoy a cup of expertly prepared tea and some light snacks. Tea ceremony experts can demonstrate their art here.

The monthly reports were done and had been sent off, and most of the office was still in a holiday mood, so Yanagi found himself with some free time. Wandering into the rec room, he immediately made a beeline for the tea.

Light snacks? You know Marui had no say in the food when. Still, he poked at the available offerings, silently judging-- silently being the keyword, because for once he was being respectful enough to mind his own business.

The judging would have to be cut short though, when he saw Yanagi approaching. Marui piled his plate with biscuits, hurrying to get out of there before he was spotted by Big Brother.

As if Marui could escape Yanagi's notice.

"Hello, Mr. Marui," he greeted, leisurely measuring out some matcha. "Won't you sit down for some tea?"

Curse his fun and fashionable red-pink hair. Marui looked visibly uncomfortable as he turned, giving Yanagi a lame nod. "Heeey, Yanagi. Tea's not really my thing, so..." He trailed off, not quite brave enough to just say no.

Yanagi nonchalantly continued his preparation, pouring the freshly boiled water into the bowl without spilling a drop.

"That's because you've never had it prepared the right way," he said, with a calibrated note of challenge in his tone.

Marui tilted his head. Was this guy trying to pick a fight over tea? What a weird, old man thing to do. "I've tried a lot of tea in my life, it's sort of part of my job. But let me guess, your tea is different, right?" That's what they all said.

Yanagi actually chuckled a little at that.

"No, actually," he explained, evenly distributing the powder in the hot water before expertly whisking the tea into a froth. "This is a superior grade of matcha, and there is a proper method to prepare it, but the ritual is perhaps more important. Now, you are my guest, so please sit down."

Sigh, he should have run while he could. Marui sat down, visibly sulking but compliant for now. At least he had snacks while he waited.

"You know they pay the people at Teavana minimum wage to do the same thing, right."

Yanagi's unwavering bland smile told Marui everything he thought about Teavana.

"A true tea ceremony takes hours to perform, and years of training," he said, still whisking away with a vigor and consistency that even bakers could appreciate. "Of course, we don't have the means nor time here, but we have good tea, and reverse osmosis purified water, which is not as good as spring water, but we make do..." Yanagi could give a whole lecture, if pressed.

Marui could absolutely appreciate a good whisk, but that was about all he appreciated about this situation. He stopped with a cracker halfway to his mouth when Yanagi mentioned the length of the tea ceremony, because oh god, what if he expected him to sit around that long. Horror.

"Doesn't, uh, reverse osmosis take away the minerals that give spring water its flavour though? That's gotta effect it somehow..." As much as Marui was not interested in tea, he was a foodie at heart and this sort of thing was important.

"Yes," Yanagi affirmed, finally setting the whisk down. How wonderful, they were having a normal conversation. "Mountain spring water is the best, followed by well water, then Earth tap water, depending on source, then distilled or purified water. In matcha, particularly, it affects how long the foam from whisking can last. However, because of potential hidden dangers and unusual mineral composition in exoplanet water sources, all water supplied on base is processed with great care. I have been meaning to ask Sadaharu to devise a means of supplementation to mimic spring water back home."

He turned the tea bowl, set it down in front of Marui and bowed. "Still, I hope you enjoy the tea."

Huh... made sense. It wasn't something that came up often in his line of work, but it was a useful food fact to know anyhow, so Marui tucked that bit of knowledge away for later.

Marui hesitated-- he'd done this for a video a few years ago, how did it go again? He picked up the cup, went to take a sip-- wait, no, turn it first, right-- then a sip. The tea was clearly high quality, as was the preparation, and while Marui could appreciate that in its own way, it lacked in what his own palate personally leaned towards-- that is, sugar.

He finished the bowl politely, setting it down (and remembered to turn it this time, not interested in looking at the bowl, thanks.)

"It'd taste good in a cake."

Yanagi was pleased enough that Marui had some knowledge of the practice and had finished his tea.

"If you can afford it, I certainly recommend this type of ceremonial-grade matcha," he agreed. "It will keep its vivid colour even after cooking, and is less bitter than the lesser grades of matcha."

"I thought you old guys liked bitter tasting things." Yanagi may not have been old physically, but he was still effectively a grandpa. Marui reached for the tin, checking out the label. "Earth, should've figured. The stuff grown on the colonies is never as good."

Yanagi took no offence, as he wholly considered Marui "one of those kids".

"The nuance of flavour is important," Yanagi explained. "Sugar hides a multitude of sins, but often masks the subtler flavours." He watched as Marui scrutinised the tin. "Sadly, the Earth harvest grows smaller each year, and the price keeps going up."

"True... but have you considered, sugar tastes great." Marui knew exactly what Yanagi meant by sugar being overwhelming, and he knew how to work with delicate flavours, but on the other hand........ sugar.

"There's gotta be a way to match the conditions on Earth better. If you could figure that out and make a good quality product off-planet you'd make serious bank." And think of all the delicious things you could grow.

"In suitable amounts, I have no objections to sugar," Yanagi replied. Wagashi and other Japanese sweets were very pleasant, after all, as were fluffy chiffon cakes. "With regards to growing conditions, I believe Dr. Yukimura might be the one to speak to."

"Yeah, no offense to this place but I dunno if we have that sort of money in our budget. Kind of seems more like a 'grow food that's edible before worrying about things tasting good' sort of operation." At this stage, at very least. "Then again, maybe one of you tea maniacs could push it through." Hint hint, Renji.

"Perhaps the endeavour is best supported by some sort of crowdfunding, especially with the right kind of spokesperson," Yanagi replied, putting the ball back in Marui's court.

'Better supported by crowdfunding', or in other words, 'you're never getting official funding for this ever'. Marui knew how to read between the lines. But he wasn't actually that invested in the idea, so he just shrugged. "Yeah, probably. Whatever. Matcha isn't the only flavour in the galaxy."

"True. Dr. Yukimura is at the top of his field, however, so you may wish to speak with him should you have a special project."

Marui's response was more or less expected, but Yanagi didn't mind. He was not above selling Sanada's abs to fund this tea research himself.

Showcase your musical/dramatic talents! Sing together! Try a dramatic poetry reading!

Gather to discuss your favourite books! ... Yu Murakami especially.

Try your hand at arranging flowers! Well, whatever scant flowers we have. Pretty herb springs work as well I guess.

Yeah all the old man activities were confined to one area. Try not to spill ink on the Go board. Other traditional games such as Hanafuda etc may also be played here.

Edited 2022-12-31 02:20 (UTC)

It may be a little early on the first day of the new year, but no time like the present, right? So here was Hiyoshi, painstakingly writing out his first calligraphy of the new year. He knew paper was a precious resource here, so he was making the most of his sheet, copying out a poem he'd committed to heart for this exact purpose.

Since his boyfriend was a bit of an old man, Mizuki decided to head to the "heritage hobbies" corner to ... educate himself. From afar, he spotted Hiyoshi working hard at some calligraphy.

Now, this was something Mizuki had encountered only in passing at school, so he decided to take a closer look.

"Hello, Hiyoshi-kun," he greeted, voice low so as not to startle Hiyoshi. "Do you mind if I watch you work?"

Hiyoshi finished his stroke as if Mizuki weren't there, then placing his brush down safely, gave the man a nod of greeting. "Mizuki-san, happy new year. It's not that exciting, but yes, you're welcome to watch." He took the moment to shake out his hand and crack his neck, shaking out some of the tension that had come with focusing so hard on his work.

As far as Mizuki could tell, Hiyoshi was doing an excellent job.

"Thank you," he replied appreciatively. "Happy New Year to you too, Hiyoshi-kun! I'll just seat myself somewhere where I won't be a bother."

... so he said, but he still thought to ask, "What are you writing today?"

Hiyoshi dipped his brush, then paused again at Mizuki's question. "It's a haiku from the 1700s. Your first calligraphy is supposed to be your wish for the new year, and this one felt... appropriate." His cheeks tinged just barely pink, and he quickly focused on adding the next words to distract from it.

Oh, was Hiyoshi blushing? How cute!

"How wonderful," Mizuki commented, quite sincerely. "I do hope your wish comes true." He continued trying to surreptitiously look over Hiyoshi's shoulder.

"Thank you. Me too."

It was a large piece of paper, and he HAD agreed to let Mizuki watch, so it wasn't like he could hide it from him. The poem was about two cranes playing in the clouds together on new years day, and the meaning was clear enough to anyone even passingly familiar with Japanese symbolism. Cranes, of course, mated for life.

Hiyoshi finished up the last line and placed his brush down again, looking over the still glistening ink, satisfied.

The writing was stylised, of course, but still interpretable.

"What lovely calligraphy, and how romantic!" he commented, smiling. "I'm sure Gakuto-san returns your sentiments."

Hiyoshi wasn't sure he'd ever get used to people congratulating him on his relationship. Or mentioning it at all, really. He fought back the deepening blush as best he could, clearing his throat in an attempt to regain composure.

"I think he does. ...are you going to write one, Mizuki-san? There's more paper on the table over there."

Aww. Mizuki smiled to himself and considerately turned to evaluate the calligraphy materials, giving Hiyoshi some time to gather himself.

"Hmm, I haven't done this since grade school," he said, rolling up his sleeves.

Thanks for the reprieve Mizuki, Hiyoshi'll gladly take it.

"Then you already know everything you need to know. Luckily there haven't been any big revolutions in calligraphy in the last few hundred years." Oh, his humour was so dry.

Mizuki found it mildly amusing anyway.

"You and I both know that calligraphy needs lots of discipline and hard work!" Any kind of art needed constant practice. He laid out a piece of paper and picked out a brush, thinking about what he wanted to write.

Not being quite as familiar with Japanese literature, Mizuki wrote "Spring Greetings" in decently formed, but slightly wobbly characters.

Well of course, but Hiyoshi was nothing if not polite. He watched Mizuki work, carefully silent so as not to disturb, only speaking once he was sure he wouldn't interrupt Mizuki's (already somewhat shaky) work.

"Discipline and hard work are important, but there's value in any attempt that's approached earnestly."

(Thanks for the words of wisdom Grandfather, Hiyoshi's stealing them now.)

"Thank you for the encouragement," said Mizuki, reasonably satisfied with himself. "It's quite nice to experience this new year custom again!" Habitually tidy, he started to clean up after himself.

... Possibly, he needed some help washing the brush effectively.

Pretty hands shouldn't have to do things like washing brushes, Mizuki. Hiyoshi held his hand out for the brush, planning on taking over and doing both of theirs at the same time. "I can do it. You planned the events, you should enjoy them."

"Oh! Thank you," Mizuki said gratefully, appreciative of Hiyoshi's gentlemanly manners. He would have to be sure to congratulate Gakuto on his catch. "If you're sure! I hope you are enjoying the activities, too."

He'd been raised well, despite being such a sassy little shit.

Hiyoshi nodded as he cleaned. "It keeps things from getting too repetitive around here. It's good for everyone."

"I"m glad you think so!" Mizuki was pleased that people appreciated his event, and preened a little. "I'll be sure to suggest more activities to Ohtori-san."

"Input always helps. Living here is a communal effort." The had mentioned something like that in the advertisements for this place, if Hiyoshi remembered correctly. "If nothing else, it lets him know what people are interested in, which means a better result for everyone."

"That's very true!" agreed Mizuki, already full of plans for the rest of the year. They probably wouldn't have time or funding for them all, but it was always good to just brainstorm! "What are you interested in, in particular, Hiyoshi-kun?"

"...you mean for holiday events?" Don't say aliens. Don't. Say. Aliens.

Of course, there may be those who are not content with such sedate ways of celebrating the New Year ....

Gakuto was super excited to help make sure there were plenty of fireworks and sparklers for anyone who ventured outside. He was setting off some cracklers, watching them explode in a powdery, pink explosion.

[OPEN LOG] New Year's Cultural Exchange!

[TEA & LIGHT REFRESHMENTS]

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[MUSIC, DANCE & THEATRE]

[BOOK CLUB]

[FLOWER ARRANGEMENT]

[CALLIGRAPHY, SHOGI & GO]

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[OUTSIDE] [FIREWORKS & SPARKLERS]

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