Cho's open log for October (and September, if desired)

[tenuefarfalla]

WHO: Cho, with a few starters for specific people. Also open prompts for anyone else.
WHAT: meal prep/serving/clean-up, walking various random animals through the city, morning five mile runs, reflection on just how flipping weird life is now, and misc.
WHERE: all over, really
WHEN: I'm fine backdating anything into the month of September, as I kind of vanished, and also doing anything through October. Basically, it's a two month spanning open log.

NOTES: I can't stand writing in action spam (takes my head right out of the writing), but I don't mind reading it. (Just please don't use tiny text for your brackets.) So if you only write brackets, and don't mind our styles not matching, you can write brackets and I'll write prose and we can still have some awesome CR.


A - mess hall kitchen
Being a cafeteria cook on an alien planet had never been any part of her ten year plan, but life has a funny way of turning tables on you. Cho has had the rug pulled out from under her often enough to know that the only way to survive it is to adapt. In that regard, her family has done her a huge favour with their neglect and disregard. She knows how to adapt. It's not always easy, mind you, but she can do it.

Making food for her fellow displaced refugees, it gives her a very concrete and tangible purpose. People are hungry, she feeds them. It's simple. It's easy. It's also yielding far more immediate and gratifying results than her work in the fish hatchery and bio-lad with Annie and Finnick, which is incredibly slow going, getting the place even functional.

This work is also putting her in the path of new people. Even if it's only to greet them in the mornings and evenings and ask them which of the hot food selections they'd like. She's learning to put names to faces, and feeling accomplished and appreciated, and it's wonderful. Doubly so when someone offers their time to hep her out, and triply so when they don't just want to clean and chop and fetch and carry, but are interested in learning. She loves teaching. She misses it. And while cooking is a far cry from biology, it's still some form of wisdom that she can impart.

[[OOC: If you want to assume that your character and Cho have seen each other enough to know names and bare basics about one another, feel free. If you would like to assume that they've already been helping her with meal prep and stuff, also feel free to do that. Or have them meet for the first time. Whatever works.]]

B - walkways - exercising animals or running (mornings only)
Cho's various trips to the upper levels while the power was out and her subsequent experiments have not netted her much useful information. What she has ended up with is a menagerie of various random animals who have all become far too comfortable with the idea of being brought their food and kept safe from predators for her to ever feel anything but guilty about releasing them back into the upper levels.

So they are her responsibility now, and while some of them are perfectly content to just stay in their little makeshift enclosures, some of them get fed up with her room, and want space. Which she provides in the form of walks. She really wishes that she had a dog. It would at least be something vaguely normal. Instead, she can be found at random hours of the day with varying combinations of cat, hedgehogs, sugar glider, chinchilla, lizard, and quite a few random bits of fur and fluff that don't quite match up with anything she's used to. High energy, though, hence the excursions at random times of the day, when they seem particularly restless.

---

The animals are not the only ones that need exercising. This place wears and grates and it ends up driving Cho kind of nuts sometimes. She's made a promise to not wander off without a buddy, but that doesn't mean she can't go anywhere.

So, sometimes, there are on animals with her while she goes wandering around the walkways on the safe levels. Instead, it's just her and her earphones, her feet eating up the miles as she hurtles herself through the concrete maze that's becoming depressingly familiar. While she might prefer to work out her excess energy someplace a little more private, she won't break her word, and so her morning runs end up taking her back and forth along the residential walkway, as she racks up the miles by retracing her footsteps over and over again in front of the common areas. At least, this early in the morning, it's fairly deserted.

Of course, if she does ever come across someone doing the same thing, well, they would qualify as not going anywhere alone, and would open up a lot of the rest of Anchor as an option for her workouts.

C - spa
It's not a patch on the ocean, but having a functional and clean large body of water to swim in is still doing wonders for Cho's sense of well-being. Not to mention, getting her hair properly cleaned, and the occasional mani-pedi when she allows herself that much time. She favors the area that looks like a Japanese hot spring, doing a lot of floating silently in the large communal area, her hair fanning out around her, floating on the surface of the water like an oil slick. it almost feels like being home, which usually ends up with a tight prickling in her chest and a lump in her throat, but she fights through that. It's good to miss something. It's far better than having nothing you care about.

Most of the time, she's silent, and anyone else arriving might not notice her for a while. Especially if she's tucked herself away in some corner, sitting in water that's shallow enough for it, but deep enough to leave only her nose and above out of the water. She can definitely see the appeal of this place for fun and relaxation, but most of the time, she's either steaming herself in slightly too hot water for homesickness, or swimming laps with the setting as cold as it will go... not that lukewarm is particularly cold.

D - observation deck
The more random detritus from random worlds that shows up to populate the landscape, the more Cho finds herself inexplicably drawn to the observation decks that look out over the desert. She doesn't have a desire to go and see most of it up close, and not just because she'd be on her own in a dangerous place, but viewing it from this distance is strangely compelling.

So she does, settling herself on a bench, or on the floor with her back leaning against a bench, almost always with the animal carrier containing a cat and a giant caterpillar. Sometimes she lets them out to wander, though the most the caterpillar ever seems to do is hang from the edge of her seat, viewing the world from his strange upside down vantage point.

! WILDCARD

Wandering around in general, hanging out in her room, any other location or activity that you're interested in that I haven't talked about. Feel free to either come poke me to plan something, or to just go for it here and we'll make it work on the fly.

Comments

for Kabal and Peter, backdated like you would not believe, end of August

[tenuefarfalla]

As soon as Cho has finished her conversation with Peter and left the note on her door, she starts heading for the nearest staircase. When she reaches it, however, she blows right past it. She'll grab some water from the mess all kitchen, first. If he's high, he might be dehydrated. Water will be a good thing. She stuffs a few bottles into her bag and, as almost an afterthought, puts a little paper wrapped package of crackers into the pocket of her scrubs. Eating might also do him some good? Maybe?

She's heading for the stairs again when she hears it, the grumbling sort of moan coming from one of the little offshoots that lead to the hallway behind the mess hall. It's a person, sounds like they're in distress, and of course it derails her. She's not expecting the fungus this close to where they eat, that's disturbing. She's also not expecting to find Kabal. She's glad for it, of course, but somehow she'd expected it to take much longer.

She takes her phone out of her pocket to shoot off a quick message to Peter, telling him that she's found their errant giant, and then clears her throat, hoping to get his attention. "Kabal? It's Cho. Do you remember me?" She has no idea how high he is, or what these spores might be doing to him.

[itsnotaonesie]

As soon as Peter gets Cho's text, he takes off to find her location. It doesn't take him very long to get there. By now he's gotten a good feel for the station's layout, and also he cheats by just goddamn jumping and swinging everywhere. When he arrives he approaches silently, deciding that it's probably best if Cho tries to talk to the idiot first since Peter himself is actually quite irritated right now.

So, he hangs back a bit and crosses his arms, keeping a close eye on Kabal just in case. In case of what, he isn't quite sure, but who knows how unpredictable this fungus junk is.

[kaballin]

Kabal is having himself a grand time, he's sitting down against the wall, head leaned back with his eyes closed thoroughly enjoying being high as balls. He half opens his eyes and looks at Cho who he can already tell is here to harsh his buzz.

"I know who you are. Go away." He hasn't seen Mr. Boyscout back there yet, but his day of happily sitting here and not thinking about literally anything is about to come to a sad ending soon. "I'm fine and I'm not dying. Just let me enjoy myself for once."

He tries to shove her away even though she's out of reach, nearly falling over in the process.

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho nods at Peter when he arrives. This place has way too much fungus for her liking, and Kabal is obviously impaired. She reaches into her bag and takes out a face mask, not a completely self contained breathing system, because that would be incredibly heavy and bulky, but it is a firm molded mask meant to form a tight seal with a person's face, with a small air intake port fitted with a filter. She tosses it to him, and then gets another one and puts it on her own face. Hopefully it will give them some small defense against whatever is in the air around here.

"Kabal, come on." Cho takes a few steps closer, reaching out her hand so that he can make physical contact with her. She's not sure if he is having depth perception problems, or if it's an altered reality thing making him believe that his arms are twelve feet long? "We don't know what long term damage this stuff might do. It's not worth the risk just to get high, is it?"

[itsnotaonesie]

Peter slaps that face mask right onto his, y'know, face, but for the time being he's going to continue to hang back and let Cho try the diplomacy approach to the Kabal problem. If things start to turn ugly he won't hesitate to step in, but things seem pretty chill for the time being.

for Ben

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho realizes, after she leaves, that she does not actually know what time Ben meant when he said "tomorrow" during their last conversation. So she just turns up at the same time, exactly twenty four hours later, and realizes far too late that calling would have been the better option. He's made public posts. She's seen them. She knows when they went up. Would have been the work of a moment to go back and actually check for the network ID on them. Not that it matters.

She's here now, in another round of workout gear, this time heavily pink and mildly teal, with an empty gym bag slung over her shoulder. Hopefully the creatures are just as slow as the last time she went, and her only responsibility will be to run when she's told to. She can't defend herself, it's true, but she's good at running.

So she knocks, and then she waits, shifting subtly from foot to foot. It's not nervous fidgeting. More like light stretching. She's still not entirely sure how Ben intends to protect her if things take a turn, she hasn't seen any weapons on him, but she trusts him. If he says she'll be safe with him, she believes it.

[benhargreeves]

[ He also didn't know when Cho was going to turn up at his door for their little shopping expedition, but it isn't as if he's got anything that can't be rescheduled. So he waits around in the apartment, nose buried in an old hardback copy of some extremely long Russian novel. He's still got it in one hand when he opens the door, giving her a nod of greeting before he tosses the heft volume onto a chair, scooping up an empty backpack and shutting the door behind him.

Cho's ensemble is very... bright, and very her, based on the little Ben has seen of her. He's still in his usual of black hoodie and black jeans and black jacket, and that's not about to change any time soon.

What is going to change? Is the first impression he had made, of being this overemotional basket case. God, he can't believe he'd burst into tears the first time they ever met. Just absolutely mortifying. He is going to be so competent and sane and chill on this trip and hopefully it'll just erase all of that nonsense from her memory, thanks. ]

Got a big grocery list from Klaus and a couple other folks. You know what you're looking for, too?

[ He slings on the backpack as he's speaking, leading the way towards the stairs that will take them up to the surface. ]

[tenuefarfalla]

Every time Cho has seen Ben so far, including her brief encounter with him yesterday when they made plans to venture out to the Whole Foods together today, she's been prepared to run for her life. Her running gear all follows a pattern - it's coordinated, usually cute, and very bright. Helps to keep from being run over by a stray taxi in the gloomy pre-dawn. Doesn't help so much for stealth, but you can't have it all. She has to work with what she's got on hand.

"More or less. I know what things I want to get again. I didn't have a ton of time on my first trip there, and I didn't really know what to expect. Now I do." The zombies had thrown her for a loop. She's not sure why, looking back on it. Ridiculous and terrifying things happen here all the time. Why not zombies? But they'd thrown her off of her game, and it was only later, in the safety of the city, that she'd thought of dozens of things she should have gotten. "I'll try to be quick and efficient." She assumes that's his concern.

Ben is right that her first impression of him has been made, but it's not as bad as he might be thinking. Cho thinks that he's a kind person, with a big heart, and a desire to take care of others. She thinks more of him for his willingness to show emotion, and for the things he's overcome in his life, not less. Though she would definitely not call him chill, she also wouldn't call him insane. She finds his presence very calming already.

[benhargreeves]

Ben figures that she is saying she'll be quick because she thinks this is some inconvenience to him, going with her in . But it isn't any trouble in the least - he'd been meaning to go back soon, himself - and so he gives a loose shrug.

"Doesn't matter to me how much time we take, seriously. Just as long as you stick close by me. That's my only rule. I can't protect you if you wander off."

It might be common sense, but he just wants to get it out there right now. He is responsible for her safety, for the next hour or so, and that's something that Ben takes very seriously. He's died before and it's no fun and he'd rather not be even partly responsible for Cho dying.

The trip up the levels is passed mostly in small talk, catching up on the goings-on in the Anchor, new arrivals and people who have left and the work that is being done to make the place more livable. It's easy speaking to Cho on these topics, and Ben is bolstered by it, feels his normal awkwardness and hesitation around speaking gradually ebbing. By the time they're in the radiation suits and headed out the door, he's feeling glad that he was around to agree to help her with this.

"So, okay. Let's just - go over this, real quick. Hopefully we can sneak around and it won't be necessary, but... if any of them come at us, get behind me. Don't go too far, but - give me some space. Don't run for it unless it's looking real bad or unless I tell you to, alright?"

A ❄ just after breakfast

[scowlish]

Without the regular routine of being in the military, Onni has started to go back to a few habits from his childhood and adolescence - in this case, it's that when he's left to his own devices, Onni likes to sleep. A lot. Since arriving in Anchor, his sleep schedule has slowly shifted, night by night, until he's gone from his usual military 21:00 to 05:00 sleep schedule to something much more obscenely late, in both the going to bed and getting out of it sense. Usually he can't drag himself out of his room before noon, even if he wakes up earlier, and so he misses seeing anyone who comes by for breakfast. Not that it bothers him, he's not particularly a social person.

This day, he's out of his room surprisingly early, mostly because of a bad dream about Lalli that had left him tossing and turning too much to get back to sleep. So it's only around 10:00 when he shows up at the kitchen with breakfast on his mind.

At first, he intends to just have some oatmeal porridge with whatever he can find to sweeten it up, but once he's actually facing down the ingredients cupboard, with thoughts of Lalli still in the back of his mind, he decides on something else. By the time he realizes there's someone else in and out of the kitchen, he's warming milk and sugar together and humming under his breath, just some old Finnish folk tune, and when he does realize that there's someone else present, tidying up after breakfast still, he jumps a bit, looking over his shoulder.

It's probably a very strange image - a man in a fur cape with the hood up, humming to himself surrounded by baking ingredients, peering wide-eyed over his shoulder as if he's had a troll come up behind him.

"Ah."

That's all he manages to get out.

[tenuefarfalla]

Onni slips in while Cho is replenishing the packed lunches for the stragglers. Well, the stragglers and Kabal. He doesn’t seem to like just asking for them, so she tries to guess when he’ll be back for a restock and have a container full of boxes waiting for him to grab while she’s occupied elsewhere. Writing “if found, please return to dining hall” on the bottom has netted her some mild success in getting the containers back, at least. So it’s after spending ten minutes hiding behind a counter until said container vanishes that she finds Onni.

Cho assumes that he sees her long before he actually does. She’s small and quiet, yes, but she’s not really trying to sneak around. So when he jumps at the sight of her, serving dish of frittata in one hand, and container to store the leftovers in the other, she just smiles at him. Must be really absorbed in what he’s doing.

“Ah?” Is it a greeting? She repeats it like it might be. Complete with a little wave of her hand once she sets down the space age Tupperware. Then she holds up the pan of eggs. “Would you like some? It’s vegetarian. Do you eat eggs?”

[scowlish]

Usually, Onni would've heard her the moment she moved, or sensed her presence much earlier than he does, but he's still groggy and tired, and so he doesn't. As he registers what the person behind him looks like, gets the sense of her, and she holds out a serving container full of what looks like scrambled eggs to offer her some, he lifts a hand to his chest unconsciously. His heart is racing from being startled so thoroughly and the uncomfortable realization that he'd allowed himself to be that startled.

It's because he's still groggy and sleepy, he knows, but it's still...concerning. Noting it away in the back of his mind, he sighs and shrugs.

"I eat eggs." he says, a brow raising, and he leans over to peer at what she's holding, then turns his attention back to the pan he has heating over the stove, stirring it quickly with a wooden spoon before glancing back at her.

"Maybe, I just have to keep an eye on this."

[tenuefarfalla]

"Oh, good." Cho's smile gets, if possible, even brighter. Marmalade was particularly affectionate this morning, Twee actually wanted a little cuddle, she had a good run, found a large sketch pad and some dried out pastels in one of those little shops on the way back from gathering herbs with Cole, so it's been a good day so far. "I haven't had a chance to eat yet. Been a busy morning for a lot of people, I guess. Usually there's at least one person to help me clean up." She's not upset, just making conversation. She takes down two plates, and dishes up portions of the eggs onto each one, humming a few bars of Onni's folk tune without realizing what she's doing.

If he has to stay by the pot of... stuff, then she'll bring the food to him. "Here we go. Mushroom, wild garlic, spring onion, I have white pepper now." Thank goodness for Whole Foods. "It's amazing what fresh pepper can do." She puts one plate down next to Onni's free hand, and sets the other one about a foot away from it, for herself. "What are you making?"

b [before Garrus' arrival]

[queenofthegirlscouts]

Shepard also runs. Everyday she runs, often combining it with other exercise because her body is a weapon she'll be dammed if she lets it get soft here. She runs, and she varies the routes.

No one has told her to stick to safe places, after all. And she'd scoff if anyone did.

But she'd stressed her leg too much yesterday after a miscalculated flip, so this morning she's not planning on something exciting. Just the residential corridor on a loop. And it's here, as she exits her room, that she sees Cho. She knows Cho from the kitchens where Shepard pitches in to the other woman's organisation, although she doesn't know her too well.

"Off for a run, too?"

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho is stretching out her hamstring against a railing, dressed in head to toe matching pink and purple and even shorter than Shepard without her habitual high heels, making them a very mis-matched pair. Still, she smiles at the taller woman, nodding her head. "I am. I go most mornings. Would you like to-- together?"

It'd be nice to have the company, and Cho has noticed that Shepard has a very calming presence. She finds herself very at ease whenever she stays to help out in the kitchen. Hoping for an acceptance of her invitation, Cho slips her ipod and her ear buds into her pocket, trying to be casual and subtle about it. Some actual company beats her workout playlist any day of the week.

[queenofthegirlscouts]

Don't worry, Cho, you're still not the shortest adult Shepard's ever talked to. This is what happens when there is a whole species of aliens who don't even come up to her hip. Cho's far more perky than any volus she's ever come across, though.

And part of her is aware that they make a faintly ridiculous pair, Cho in all of that colour and Shepard in her military black and grey, but that kind of thing has never fazed her for long.

"If you're offering, yeah it'd be nice to have company. I run every morning, get's a bit lonely by myself."

[tenuefarfalla]

"I would love that!" Too enthusiastic? Maybe. Too late. "I used to go running with my best friend in graduate school every morning. It was so nice to have the company. Five miles can get lonely on your own."

She takes her leg down from the railing, and shifts from foot to foot keeping herself loose. "Do you want to stretch out, or are you ready?" She knows that all runners have their own routines. She and Gabriel used to use one another for resistance and work through all their stiffness after the run, before they drove back to their apartment building. Cho's just happy to have the company again. How has she not seen Shepard running before? Not that she has the consistency in her routine that she used to, but still, seems like she should have seen her at least once, right? "Do you always run down here?"

A

[livingdeadgirl]

Ami's had a lot on her mind lately, between the creepy cameras and the weird shit she apparently scribbled all over her walls (which she still can't see), not to mention the more general dangerous weirdness one has to contend with as an Anchor resident. But she's still determined to throw her meet-and-greet party, and she's determined to make it a success. She may be losing control of her life, but at least she can make that happen, right?

She's already at the communal breakfasts most days, and often sticks around to help Cho clean up and wash dishes, so she's gotten fairly familiar with the kitchen. That said, she doesn't actually know that much about cooking. She's grown up helping her mom with it from time to time, and even made a few dishes herself, with help, but she's still not very confident with anything more complex than boxed mac and cheese.

God, she misses her mom so much.

... Anyway. Inexperienced or no, she doesn't want the party snacks to consist solely of chips and dried fruit, because that would be the shittiest spread ever. So she's decided to try her hand at making cookies. Nothing elaborate, just good ol' chocolate chip. She's found a recipe for them most of the way through a thick cookbook, but she's struggling a bit, largely because she did not have her mise en place ready before she started mixing, and now she's running into ingredients she didn't expect.

"Butter, chocolate chips... packed brown sugar. Oh, geez, do we have brown sugar?" She scurries back to the pantry to look, but of course the cookbook pages are not content to stay where she left them, and the book flips closed. She hears the cover slap shut (again) and looks back with a groan.

Baking is hard!

[tenuefarfalla]

"We don't," Cho says, a touch of apology in her voice. She's just drying off some of the large serving platters and putting them away, but she's pretty much finished, and a water spot of two never hurt anyone. "But I can make you a substitute. Cake or cookies?" She's already reaching for containers in what she's come to think of as her baking cupboard. Not that it's not free for everyone to use, but she keeps the things she uses most often in a cupboard that's low enough for her to reach without a step-stool. "And how much does the recipe call for?"

Ami seems pretty focused, but Cho assumes that the question is directed at her. If Ami is just talking out loud to hear herself speak, and wants to work through it on her own, she has always seemed to Cho like a bold enough girl to say so.

[livingdeadgirl]

Technically, Ami was just talking it out on her own, but she appears to welcome Cho's help without a second thought, coming back to the counter where she's been working.

"Um, cookies. Chocolate chip cookies," she says. "Ugh, this stupid book." She flips through the pages for a few seconds, trying to find her recipe again. "It calls... for......... aha. One cup!"

[tenuefarfalla]

Cho measures out a cup of white sugar, then removes some with a spoon, seemingly doing that measurement by sight and feel. She has a small jar of molasses so rich and concentrated that it looks like tar, and she holds it over the bowl she's just dumped the white sugar into. The goo inside pours out incredibly slowly, and when she's added about a tablespoon, she tips the jar back up and runs a fork along the rim to sever the sticky thread. "All right," she says, holding out the fork toward Ami. "Mix it together, as quickly as you can, while I put this away."

c

[fishermansweater]

Cho is not the only person to be excited to have another place to swim.

Finnick's been swimming in the lake before, but the toxic algal bloom was enough to deter even him for a while. So when whatever it is that suddenly opens up parts of the city that had previously been closed -- or even hidden -- opens up a spa with hot springs and pools Finnick of course intends to spend as much time as he can there. It had been a long time since he'd been able to be in water, living underground in District Thirteen far from the coast with only water for basic necessities. He hadn't needed the luxury of his victor's mansion, but being away from the ocean has deprived him of one of his main sources of calm.

Another luxury is the ability to get out of the same military uniform he's been wearing since he got here and wrap himself up in one of the luxurious robes that are provided. He's going to steal it, and steal one for Annie too.

He's exploring the hot spring, completely unfamiliar with the style and architecture but enjoying it, when he realizes he's not alone. For a moment he tenses a little, but then he recognizes who it is, and saunters over to her.

"Not really surprised to see you here. Hi."

[tenuefarfalla]

"Finnick!" She surges up out of waist high water, where she's been floating, and a series of little waves start to ripple out from her as she begins wading over to him. He's caught her on one of her more positive days, and seeing a friend improves her mood even more. Not only a friend, but someone who might understand a little bit of what she's feeling when she comes down here.

Strangely, while seeing him shirtless for his fishing adventure ruffled her, being the one in the water means she's not at all flustered to be wearing only a teal and black bikini and a huge smile. "How great is this place? Kind of sad, but still good, you know? It makes me miss home, but it couldn't do that if it didn't remind me of what I'm missing."

[fishermansweater]

He misses luxury here. Sure, he's a kid from the districts, and he was a poor kid from the districts before he won the Hunger Games, but he's gotten used to being rich and all the luxury that brings to him in the districts. The robe is a luxury like he hasn't experienced since he was back in the Capitol preparing for the Quarter Quell all those months ago. There'd been few comforts in Thirteen.

Few comforts and no swimming.

"You have places like this where you're from?" he asks with a curious tilt of the head, but there's no pressure or judgment in his expression, only a smile that suggests a friendly sort of interest. (Genuine, unlike many such smiles he's produced over the years for the bores in the Capitol.)

"We just swam in the ocean."

It was there and it was free. Oh, there were places in the Capitol, of course, but he'd always tried to avoid letting anything there feel too normal.

[tenuefarfalla]

"Yes. Well, sort of." She's reached the edge of the manufactured hot spring closest to Finnick, and leans herself on one of the large smooth rocks, arms folded under her chin. "Not in a spa like this. They occur naturally. Some of them have had spas built up around them... so I suppose there actually are places like this back home. The water comes from the Earth, though, and it's been geothermally heated. People didn't really swim in them so much as soak in them, but there's no ocean to swim in here. I wish I knew how to fix the pool. This is nice, though. It's almost right. Are you coming swimming?"