murder at disneyland!! ok no not really ... well maybe

[cutefaced]

Comments

[cutefaced]

How hard will it be to get stuff like this for her?

[Maybe they can do a fundraiser...]

[zerotohiro]

Depends. If I can get a closer look...I might be able to make some of it. We'll see. [They reach the bottom of the stairs and he takes her hand to pull her along.] This way. It gets really crowded down here sometimes.

[cutefaced]

Can I help?

[does she know shit about machinery? no. but there's no one better than Hiro to teach her.]

[zerotohiro]

[A blink.] You want me to teach you about robotics and technology?

[cutefaced]

...yes?

[is it really that weird for her to be asking...]

We don't have anything like it in Kouka, so I'm sure there's a lot I'll need to learn... but if you like it that much, I'm sure it's fascinating! And it would be a lot of fun to do things together, don't you think?

[zerotohiro]

...yeah, it would. [He grins because that idea's actually pretty nice.] It's a lot to learn and a lot to explain, and you might not get all of it right away just because of how things are in Kouka...but you're a fast learner. It'd be cool to see what you can do.

[cutefaced]

Great!

[She beams at him, then tugs him over to point out a fancy-looking stove with a lot of bells and whistles.]

Let's start now. Tell me how that works!

[zerotohiro]

Okay. So you know how a normal oven works, right? Heat traveling through coils that warm up and are trapped in an enclosed space so that the temperature circulates and cooks things. This one looks like it's bigger, so more energy should be needed. But the design means it's a shorter distance and the energy needed is less.

[cutefaced]

So you're able to do more cooking with less energy...

[She... sort of gets it? There may be a lot of nuances that she doesn't understand, but she kind of gets it.]

If you were building it, how would you improve it?

[zerotohiro]

Shorter circuits and faster output. Mostly it'd be a way to get things moving at a quicker speed so less energy's wasted especially in the preheating phase. That seems to be where most time is wasted...but doing that is tricky. Especially if you don't want the oven to blow up.

[cutefaced]

Blow up-- do ovens do that often?

[because y i k e s]

[zerotohiro]

Only if they're not built right or you overheat them. [Or if you're Hiro, I guess.]

[cutefaced]

[Definitely if you're Hiro.]

Cooking things over a fire seems a lot simpler.

[zerotohiro]

Simpler but also less effective. You can't always tell the temperature of what you're cooking over an open flame, can you?

[cutefaced]

I don't know. I don't really cook.

[like... understatement of the century.]

[zerotohiro]

...how is it that I know how to cook and you don't? [Microwave meals maybe don't count but whatever.]

[cutefaced]

Your aunt is a chef!

[And her aunt is. ... Dead. Okay, she's not getting into that.]

It's in your blood!

[zerotohiro]

I don't think that's how that works.

[cutefaced]

But isn't that why the child of a blacksmith will usually end up becoming a blacksmith?

[no yona it's because usually they don't get other opportunities]

[zerotohiro]

...I don't know. I've never met a blacksmith. I don't think Varian counts either.

[cutefaced]

Oh... I always figured that's what it was so I never really thought about it much before.

[in other words, she's just stupid]

[zerotohiro]

Well no, by that logic that would also mean Varian would turn into a rock because of his dad? [No it wouldn't, and stop bringing up Varian.] The only time that's really always true is, well, with royalty.

[cutefaced]

...oh.

[Well. That sure explains why she thought that, at least.]

Um, well, anyway. You should teach me to cook! And if there's things we can't figure out on our own we can ask your aunt for help.

[zerotohiro]

[That at least gets his attention and he pauses to give her a critical, examining look.]

You really want to learn? I can teach you a lot to get you started, but it's not going to be easy.

[cutefaced]

Yes!

[She says this immediately and eagerly.]

I can't just keep relying on your aunt to keep me fed forever. Even if she is really good at cooking. I should learn to do it for myself!