[Video — Both Accidental and Not]

[heritrix]

[Backdated to March 2, early afternoon.]

—n't be right. [A mumbled voice, scarcely heard. A flash of... Something red, it's hard to tell.] Wasn't it thi—?

[The video blinks out as soon as it started, nothing but a static feed. It stays like that, too, for a good 12 minutes: a video entry to the network of absolutely no substance.]

---

[—until unexpectedly it turns on again! Rin's face is visible in the frame this time, too close and blurry. Her head bobs away slowly, seemingly looking at something on her phone but not directly into the camera.]

Steady. Steadyyyy... Just like that— [The angle slides and loses her, topples towards a stone surface.] Ah!

[Thunk, crack! The feed cuts again, whoops.]

---

Hi, hi. Rin Tohsaka here.

[Third time's the charm? Framed perfectly in the shot and wearing a yellow apron, Rin stands behind a countertop in the kitchen. Hands on her hips, she beams at the camera.]

It's been a boring, uneventful couple of days, hasn't it? Normally, this time of month we'd be welcoming a fresh batch of soldiers into our ranks, but as of today, no new faces have shown up yet. It's strange for sure.

[But not too strange. New arrivals were late by a few days in January, after all, so this isn't the first time the routine has been broken. Head turned and tapping her cheek innocently, Rin considers saying as much, or asking if there have been other weird incidents like that, but...

No, that isn't what she meant to do today. Pressing that finger a little more deeply into her cheek, it creates an artificial dimple when she smiles brightly again.]

Strange, and more importantly than that: dull! Which is why I'll be in the kitchen all day today. [She snaps her fingers, pointing at the camera.] That's where you come in!

I'm challenging myself. Name a food or ingredient, or even several, and I'll try to make something yummy that incorporates all of them. Anything in stock in the kitchen goes!

[With this she grabs her phone, so she can turn it and record all the various different foods and ingredients they have here, both what she's laid out on the counters (eggs, frosting, butter, strawberries, among other things), as well as what's in the fridge and pantries. FEEL FREE TO MAKE UP WHATEVER YOU WANT YOUR CHARACTERS TO SEE HERE.]

Bonus! [She turns the camera back on herself.] Anything I make you can stop by and help yourself to eating, too. Sounds fun, right? So fire away or come visit. You know where to find me.

[A little wave, and video end.]

Comments

[justribbing]

Heh, she doesn't get out much? Good thing you're keepin' an eye on her.

[ Isolation can mean nobody notices if you disappear without a trace. That's a horrible thought that Sans kinda regrets having. ]

No thanks. I already took a shower, last thing I need is to spend an hour pickin' frosting outta my vertebrae.

But hey, I appreciate the thought.

[ A little while longer as he eats in silence, and he looks up. ]

So, you cook, got any other hobbies? Gardening?

1/2

[heritrix]

[...Yeah.

Good thing.]

[heritrix]

[She neatly avoids that compliment, pretending to be too absorbed with her meal until Sans moves on to the next subject.]

Gardening?

[She makes a face, and leans back from her bowl.]

That's a chore, not a hobby. There's a greenhouse in my home's backyard that I see to, but that's primarily to cultivate certain herbs. Ingredients I need for spells and the like.

[And her medicine. Luckily the day she arrived Ozuma had been in the mood to grant free favors. A particular plant had been the very first thing she requested.]

As for actual hobbies, I don't have many, come to think of it. There's nothing more enjoyable to me than magecraft is, so the bulk of my free time is devoted to those studies.

[Hmm. She ponders the ceiling.] If I had to pick something beyond that, I guess I would say physical exercise. And school.

1/2

[justribbing]

[ So they're not hers.

Huh. ]

2/2

[justribbing]

[ He puts the gardening set out of mind. Seemed a little young for her, anyway. ]

Eh, wild guess.

And better you than me, I was never really into gym or-- magic practicals. Bullet Patterns 101 kinda stuff.

[ He rolls his shoulders in a shrug, chuckling. ]

I gotta feeling you'd probably sit in on one of those classes, just outta academic curiosity.

[heritrix]

[Bullet Patterns? Was that compulsory or higher education, she wonders...]

At least one. Maybe more if it was worth my time.

[She'd actually be curious to know what it even means, given the connotations between bullets to guns in her world. Modern weaponry isn't in such high favor with mage society. But if it was one of those magic practicals he mentioned, it would have to be something else, right? That's interesting.

She's still hung up more than she should be on the fact Sakura and Sans haven't met yet, though. Which, really, is stupid. When she thinks about it, she's not sure why she got Sakura a private room at all. At the time, it was because she felt better about her being so close to Sans and Wade, but why would she do that? She wanted someone she trusted to look after or get to know Sakura, but those two are middle-aged weirdos with nothing in common with an introverted teenage girl.

She did put Sakura on that floor for a very certain reason, however. Maybe Sans and Wade just weren't it.]

It was probably them.

[justribbing]

'Them'?

[ Sans isn't so sure he follows. Does she mean Sakura? This girl from her class, back home, the one she set up an alliance with?

Which, heh. Reminds him that he'd told himself not to think too much about the child-sized gardening set and booklet under his bed anymore.

(Don't think about this anymore.)

Applies to too many things in his life these days, things that feel like they might be important if he just tried to challenge that boundary a little. ]

Whaddya mean?

[heritrix]

Your classmates, right? That's why it wasn't fun.

[She transitions smoothly, to cover up her blunder. Pretends like this was what she meant all along, and wasn't thinking about the nearly finished skates she's been working on again, stashed in that chest in her room. Rin smiles mischievously, and looks up from her bowl back to him.]

Bullet patterns sounds like it would be to a monster what dodgeball would be to humans. I bet they pegged you for an easy target and ganged up on you.

[justribbing]

[ ...Huh?

Oh. Yeah. Yeah, sure that's what this is about. Geez, Sans, don't let your mind wander in the middle of a conversation. ]

Heh, guess you could say that. Team-ups were more for the, uh, advanced placement kids.

I was an underperformer from the start, but my brother, he's great at that stuff. Never gives an opponent more than they can handle.

He's so cool.

[ Prodding at his bowl with a slightly softer grin, he looks at her. ]

Guessin' you've played dodgeball? Man, I'd love to see the look on the face of the sucker who took you on.

[ He's seen her during missions, and, yeah, at first he was surprised too. For all his suspicions about human mages, he still underestimated her. ]

[heritrix]

[Again, that's pretty cute. She's not sure why she doesn't mind when two out of every three conversations with Sans loops back to Papyrus, but gets annoyed when Masaomi talks about Luceti just as often, but she likes it.

Well, to an extent. But she laughs.]

It's been... [She counts on her fingers before seemingly giving up.] Geez, years by this point. I haven't played since I was in primary school.

My team won every time we played, of course. I always give my opponents more than they can handle and get revenge for my fallen allies, so as a result only the brave kids or the stupid kids would challenge me.

[GOOD TIMES, MAN. She laughs again with a boastful air, recalling this.]

I'd hold just enough back from making them cry! There were some close calls, though.

[justribbing]

[ Sweet heavens, or, as Sans likes to put it-- holy moly. There's a chuff of breathy laughter surprised at him by the sheer pluck of her. ]

[ Every time he thinks he's got her figured out, she reminds him that he doesn't, not really. Maybe... he's too lazy in trying to get the perfect bead on her? Hell if he knows.

But the image his imagination provides, invoked by her description, amuses as much as it suits her. It manifests in rattling bones, shaking shoulders in mirth, wheezy laughter, brighter eye lights, and for a moment, she's shaved off a year of weariness in this place. ]

Ever think about doin' it again? Betcha loads of people would be down for a game. Heck--you could even convince Zuko it's combat trainin'.

[heritrix]

[You know, Rin's vaguely pleased with how many times she's heard Sans laugh throughout this conversation. She was worried about his mood before, but maybe she had been overthinking things. He seems happier now.

And a game of dodgeball in the castle...]

I bet there are people in this castle who would need to learn the rules first.

[Slurping up a mouthful of noodles before continuing, her eyes are bright however as she considers this. She finishes chewing, letting out a satisfied hum.]

But I like the idea. It sounds fun.

Oh! [Perking up suddenly, she twirls her chopsticks in her hand, pointing at Sans.] You should be the referee!

[justribbing]

[ Does she know the role encouragement, comfort food, and time with friends and family has in monster health? How closely hope is tied to health? These moments, these treasured respites spent with friends who care enough about each other to talk, to spend some time, maybe sometimes to even ask questions -- they're a kind of medicine of their own.

Sans gets by on cheap laughs and cheaper drink, pulling whatever bottom shelf anesthetic he can from bad humor. Perhaps unwittingly, with a good meal and good conversation, Rin has done for Sans what a doctor can't. ]

Heh heh, me?

[ He looks like he's about to refuse. Considering how little he likes responsibility, that might be expected, too.

But there's a glimmer of something like mischief in his eye lights. ]

No promises, but that might be kinda fun.

[ Especially if it means trolling the players. ]

[heritrix]

[Bro, she doesn't even know how meaningful and important several of those things are to human health.

In another world and another time, while receiving a scolding, a boy once thought to himself that Rin Tohsaka is the sort of person who can make others feel at ease just by being around them. It's not something she's aware of, or tries to do. While deep down she's a kind and caring person, she's also a selfish girl who has difficulty relating to others and seeing things from a different point of view.

More often than not, she's as happy with her life as she's come to be because she actively decided to be, and made it happen on her own. She didn't have anyone beside her to lift her up through companionship, so she never relied on others. And regardless of the fact that most people should have friends or family, as a result she's assumed everyone else would naturally be capable of the same.

It's only natural, then, she'd fail to realize the impact she's having here. If she knew, she'd be as shocked as flattered.

But she doesn't, so she can only grin.]

Yes, you. Who better?

[That wasn't a no, so to Rin it might as well be a yes. She pumps a fist.]

Then it's settled. I have other things planned, so it won't happen right away, but I'll fetch you when I've managed to throw something together. Maybe later this month!

[justribbing]

[ It's been people like Rin, who have challenged Sans's overall biases about humans, who have introduced a much more nuanced grasp of what makes a good person good, and what he thinks makes them bad, who have been the catalysts of much change.

That boy had been right; had Rin not been someone who could make even a monster like Sans feel a little at ease, they might never have become friends. ]

Uh, pretty sure there's a lot more qualified people, but ok. I'm willin' to overlook your obvious favoritism.

[ Since they're pals. That, and she seems pretty fired up about this. It'll be a shame when he probably lets her down, knowing him. ]

Ok.

[ In before he forgets entirely. This utterly undependable asshole. ]

[heritrix]

[Given the events to come of Mid-March, at least he will have an entirely reasonable excuse. As will Rin, actually. Uh. Did she say later this month? Looking ahead in the crystal ball, it might be more like the middle of May.]

It's not favoritism when I'm right.

[She nods sagely at this, and flips her hairs. How many other people here could anyone trust to be objective? Better to pick a judge who will catch things and be fair to both sides (when he's not napping) than call in someone who would whip out 200 space house rules.]

Since I already have your consensus, I won't explain it to you. Just enjoy your meal with the assurance that I'm never wrong about these things, and look forward to having fun.

[justribbing]

[ Fair, but Sans might also troll the players.

Oh, who are we kidding, Sans hasn't really had any urges to troll people to indulge in for... a real long time. Months? Not even the slightest interest in participating in Pranksgiving, either. Just feels like a huge waste of time. Turns out to be a good thing, because by then, he's recovering from those aforementioned events. ]

Yes, ma'am.

[ In an unsurprising display of poor manners, Sans 'salutes' -- but with his spoon, spilling drips over his sleeve and the table like the classy guy he is. ]

[heritrix]

[She makes an unimpressed face before shrugging. WELP, so long as it didn't get on her! She just shakes her head with a smirk and pushes a tray of napkins over to the center of the table.

And from there, they continue to eat and chat about little things together. There's nothing really special about it, but in a way that's what makes it stand out as a nice time. Quality time, spent with a friend.]