Nah, remember—the first gang ever established is the police. How else did the rich keep the helpless masses in check throughout America’s violent history?
[That’s a rhetorical question at best, especially since Johnny doesn’t want to get into the murky history of America itself.]
Hokey but genuine. She sounds like a keeper despite the weird chakra stuff.
[While Johnny doesn’t quite believe in that esoterica mumbo jumbo, he is oddly fascinated with those who do. It’s like watching animals at the zoo for him. Amusing.]
Hmm, okay. [He lets out a quiet little hum as Kai keeps stroking his palm like that. Yeah, he likes it judging from how he gives Kaidan another gentle squeeze. However, he starts pulling Kai towards the kitchen once he mentions food.]
As if I would ever decline good food but I wanna help.
I'm Canadian. [ Which is so not the point, but he's trying to redirect Johnny away from this conversation they've had a thousand times before. Sweetheart, it's not midnight yet, you can't rant about capitalism. ]
Yeah. I hope she finds someone good. I'll ca—have stern words with anyone who tries to hurt her.
[ No easy feat when Kaidan's a solid wall of muscle, but he goes against his own inertia to be pulled into the kitchen. ] Alright so, against my better judgment, I'll grant you the greatest honor there is in my kitchen—holding my chef's knife. [ Fancy steel number bought on a trip to Japan. Artisanal-folded metal with beautiful hamon inlaid into a polished wood handle. The blade sings when it's removed from its sheath. ] Think you can chop up herbs for me? For the salad dressing.
Canadian. [He repeats, chuckling. God, he keeps forgetting that.] Right, right. However, Canada has its own skeletons.
[Johnny says in an attempt to save face here. It’s a failed attempt because he appears embarrassed, but it is a valiant effort. Anyway, his little rant against capitalism can wait until after dinner. He’s hungry and is currently on kitchen duty.]
Stern words or do you mean you would “beat up” anyone who hurts little miss fairy dust and tarot cards?
[He teases before looking around the kitchen for the cutting board. Yeah, Johnny went to town cleaning this place up. The kitchen is virtually spotless minus a few pots and pans in the sink. The amount of effort he put into cleaning is apartment is astonishing, really. It’s all thanks to his sudden sobriety as of late and his whole need to make the place where he lays his head into his personal little haven from the rest of the world.
Of course, Kaidan also has a very positive influence on him too. While Johnny is bound to drink a can of beer eventually, at least he can do so someplace clean and green. Yes, he placed those miniature cacti near the sink cause he thought they look pretty there.]
Hell yeah! [He says before reaching to the handle of that fancy Japanese knife. Truth be told, Johnny been itching for Kai to let him use it. It looks so cool.]
Not going to deny that. [ But hoping this doesn't lead into a monologue on the capitalistic evils of said nation. Yes, Canada blows too, but at least it has farms. And hockey.
Luckily, nothing comes of it. Johnny's probably too hungry to argue. Kaidan knows he is. ]
Is it police brutality and if me and my buddies 'drop in' with some much needed advice? [ It's practically benevolent in comparison to what MaxTac usually gets up to. Both could be seen as charity work, from a certain point of view, but Kaidan is all too aware of the organization's public persona.
No one wants MaxTac to drop on them.
But that's work Kaidan does because no one else can, soul-sucking as it is. Johnny, if he can be called 'work', is work he enjoys—it feels good to stand in a clean apartment, to know not only that it represents the mental and physical improvement of the person who stands in front of him, but it's also balm to the soul.
Love. Rare as it is in Night City, and all the more precious for it. ] Know proper knife technique? Won't make fun of you if you don't. Most people in Night City don't cook. For obvious reasons.
Not exactly, but it would be an abuse of authority and resources.
[Johnny jokes as he takes the herbs and vegetables out of the fridge. Yes, there are real groceries in there. It’s most likely stuff that Kai picked out for them before. Johnny has a pretty good memory, so he probably just memorized what Kaidan picked out before and brought it. Be damned if Johnny knows how to cook all this stuff. He’s been a little too busy to learn.]
Proper knife technique? The hell? You think I can’t use a knife?
[He asks with a slight huff. Honestly, he’s better with guns more so than knives. However, Johnny knows a thing or two about slicing people up. But trying to gouge out some poor fuck’s eyes is vastly different than cutting veggies.]
It’s not like I’m gonna cut my fingers off, ya know.
[He raises his chrome hand and wiggles his fingers with a smirk.]
Japanese steel is sharp and all, but it ain’t that sharp!
[ Impressed at the grocery shopping, but shakes his head at that huffing. Johnny, please. All of this is said matter-of-factly, avoiding an accusatory tone. ] No, but using a knife to fight is different from using a knife to cook.
I'm more worried about my knife, actually. You don't cut on metal because it dulls it. And a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife. Leaves a worse wound, harder to heal. [ Or reattach, in the case of amputations. ] In this case, my knife would take all of the damage. Rather avoid that. [ Because who has time to go to Japan again? ]
[Dramatic eye-rolling aside, Johnny doesn’t want to fuck up Kai’s fancy knife. However, he feels a bit silly about having to undergo a tutorial about proper knife handling. After all, he’s Johnny Fucking Silverhand! He’s the moment, the most influential rocker to grace the stage of the Rainbow Cadenza, the poster boy of the anti-corpo movement. Johnny would be a laughing stock if people knew he couldn’t use a knife properly. It would ruin all of his street cred as a tough as nails rockstar with a penchant for danger.]
Okay so, we need somethin’ non-metal to cut the herbs on?
[He glances around the kitchen idly after yanking out a few fresh veggies from the bottom shelf in the fridge. That poor fridge is packed. It’s probably the first time that fridge is packed with something other than beer and condoms—yeah, sometimes Johnny would accidentally leave a pack of condoms in the fridge. Don’t even ask why. The man was probably drunk as fuck and thought the fridge would keep them fresh. No one really knows what the fuck goes through Johnny’s mind sometimes.]
Oh, what about this—[He says while yanking out a plastic cutting board out of the cabinets above. It would’ve almost looked brand new if it wasn’t for the deep cuts and scratches on it. It seems Johnny tried his hand at cooking before.]
Let’s give it a rinse—[He turns on the faucet to clean off the surface with water. What’s the point of eating healthy if you accidentally contaminate your food with dirty appliances?]
Okay so, we got a couple of spring onions, cloves of garlic, red onions, and like…I think that shit over there is parsley.
[Johnny mumbles while investigating what he pulled out the fridge.]
[ Hard not to let out a chuckle. To Kaidan's defense, he does try to stifle it so it comes out more like a giggle snort. He knows Johnny doesn't want to ruin his knife, that the frustration comes from there. So he doesn't hold the outburst against him. You get used to them with Johnny. ]
Yeah, but, what are we making? [ No point in chopping up a bunch of ingredients they won't use at all. Meal prep is one thing, but they have no plan here—hence no prep. ] Uh, we said steak, right? [ That was supposed to be a surprise, actually. Real beef, from actual cows, is stupidly expensive. Yet Kaidan managed it, hid a somewhat ice burnt tenderloin he got after calling in some favors. Hidden somewhere in the back of the fridge, where the condoms would've been.
But then again he doesn't want to discourage Johnny. So he watches as Johnny gets to work, the rarity of him being the one with a plan a novel experience. ] Could make garlic and onion butter for the steaks. Which was supposed to be a surprise, but what the hell, they need to be cooked.
[Johnny's eyes brighten in surprise. He did not expect steak for dinner, but he is glad they are eating it. A nice juicy steak is becoming increasingly rare in a world dominated by Biotechinca's GMO-laced lab meat. So imagine his surprise to learn that they are having a full-fledged steak dinner tonight. This explains why Johnny is cheering like he just won the fucking lotto.]
Meat is back on the menu, boys!
[He laughs as he chops the spring onions next, after dicing the garlic. Johnny is not a chef, but he does know how to dice things into bite-sized pieces.]
Fuck yes! I was thinking we were going to have ramen tonight, but this much better.
[Once done with the garlic, Johnny moseys his way back to the fridge to look for the good butter, not the cheap ass margarine he usually keeps.]
What’s the occasion, Kai? Or is the occasion just an afterthought?
Could make ramen with the steaks if you want. [ Steak ramen. Kaidan knows that's a thing...somewhere. But might be worth it to keep it traditionally western. Steak and mashed potatoes? Yeah, that'd be simple enough.
One more thing though. ] Just wanted to do something special, no real occasion. [ He reaches for the back of a kitchen drawer, taking out something wrapped in brown paper. ] They sold me this too. [ A brown glass bottle with an image of the historic state of Texas as its logo in gold. ] Since I'm not the one from there you'll have to tell me if this the real deal. [ It's steak sauce. Texas style steak sauce to be precise. ] "The perfect balance between boldness, smokiness, and depth of flavor." That's usually code for garlic, onion and vinegar, plus other stuff.
Ramen steaks? [Despite how odd that sounds, it's really easy to replace a protein with steak. All they have to do is fry up the steaks before putting it in the broth, and bam—ramen steaks.]
Shit, sign me up! That sounds damn good.
[Johnny is all for this zany concept, as evidenced by the eager sparkle in his eyes. As for Kaidan's following words, they catch the rockerboy off guard.]
You just wanted to do this for the hell of it? [To be honest, he's having trouble making sense of Kaidan. Typically, when someone wants something, they do something "nice" for him, such as a favor or whatever. No one in this city ever does anything just for shits and giggles. So, Johnny is a little astonished, especially when Kaidan brings out the fancy steak sauce.]
Holy--IS THAT REAL TEXAN STEAK SAUCE?!
[He virtually snatches the bottle from Kaidan's grasp, quickly unwrapping the plastic around it before removing the cap for a quick taste.]
Mhm! Yep, this is good. [He lets out a hum of approval.] It's probably not the real deal because it contains a little too much vinegar, but you can still taste the spiciness.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tfln —> cyberpunk au??? | @bigplace
Date: 2025-04-10 04:20 am (UTC)[That’s a rhetorical question at best, especially since Johnny doesn’t want to get into the murky history of America itself.]
Hokey but genuine. She sounds like a keeper despite the weird chakra stuff.
[While Johnny doesn’t quite believe in that esoterica mumbo jumbo, he is oddly fascinated with those who do. It’s like watching animals at the zoo for him. Amusing.]
Hmm, okay. [He lets out a quiet little hum as Kai keeps stroking his palm like that. Yeah, he likes it judging from how he gives Kaidan another gentle squeeze. However, he starts pulling Kai towards the kitchen once he mentions food.]
As if I would ever decline good food but I wanna help.
cyberpunk au
Date: 2025-04-10 04:50 am (UTC)Sweetheart, it's not midnight yet, you can't rant about capitalism.]Yeah. I hope she finds someone good. I'll ca—have stern words with anyone who tries to hurt her.
[ No easy feat when Kaidan's a solid wall of muscle, but he goes against his own inertia to be pulled into the kitchen. ] Alright so, against my better judgment, I'll grant you the greatest honor there is in my kitchen—holding my chef's knife. [ Fancy steel number bought on a trip to Japan. Artisanal-folded metal with beautiful hamon inlaid into a polished wood handle. The blade sings when it's removed from its sheath. ] Think you can chop up herbs for me? For the salad dressing.
Nova!
Date: 2025-04-11 01:18 pm (UTC)[Johnny says in an attempt to save face here. It’s a failed attempt because he appears embarrassed, but it is a valiant effort. Anyway, his little rant against capitalism can wait until after dinner. He’s hungry and is currently on kitchen duty.]
Stern words or do you mean you would “beat up” anyone who hurts little miss fairy dust and tarot cards?
[He teases before looking around the kitchen for the cutting board. Yeah, Johnny went to town cleaning this place up. The kitchen is virtually spotless minus a few pots and pans in the sink. The amount of effort he put into cleaning is apartment is astonishing, really. It’s all thanks to his sudden sobriety as of late and his whole need to make the place where he lays his head into his personal little haven from the rest of the world.
Of course, Kaidan also has a very positive influence on him too. While Johnny is bound to drink a can of beer eventually, at least he can do so someplace clean and green. Yes, he placed those miniature cacti near the sink cause he thought they look pretty there.]
Hell yeah! [He says before reaching to the handle of that fancy Japanese knife. Truth be told, Johnny been itching for Kai to let him use it. It looks so cool.]
This will be a piece of cake with this baby.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 12:53 am (UTC)Luckily, nothing comes of it. Johnny's probably too hungry to argue. Kaidan knows he is. ]
Is it police brutality and if me and my buddies 'drop in' with some much needed advice? [ It's practically benevolent in comparison to what MaxTac usually gets up to. Both could be seen as charity work, from a certain point of view, but Kaidan is all too aware of the organization's public persona.
No one wants MaxTac to drop on them.
But that's work Kaidan does because no one else can, soul-sucking as it is. Johnny, if he can be called 'work', is work he enjoys—it feels good to stand in a clean apartment, to know not only that it represents the mental and physical improvement of the person who stands in front of him, but it's also balm to the soul.
Love. Rare as it is in Night City, and all the more precious for it. ] Know proper knife technique? Won't make fun of you if you don't. Most people in Night City don't cook. For obvious reasons.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 02:54 am (UTC)[Johnny jokes as he takes the herbs and vegetables out of the fridge. Yes, there are real groceries in there. It’s most likely stuff that Kai picked out for them before. Johnny has a pretty good memory, so he probably just memorized what Kaidan picked out before and brought it. Be damned if Johnny knows how to cook all this stuff. He’s been a little too busy to learn.]
Proper knife technique? The hell? You think I can’t use a knife?
[He asks with a slight huff. Honestly, he’s better with guns more so than knives. However, Johnny knows a thing or two about slicing people up. But trying to gouge out some poor fuck’s eyes is vastly different than cutting veggies.]
It’s not like I’m gonna cut my fingers off, ya know.
[He raises his chrome hand and wiggles his fingers with a smirk.]
Japanese steel is sharp and all, but it ain’t that sharp!
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 03:55 am (UTC)[ Impressed at the grocery shopping, but shakes his head at that huffing. Johnny, please. All of this is said matter-of-factly, avoiding an accusatory tone. ] No, but using a knife to fight is different from using a knife to cook.
I'm more worried about my knife, actually. You don't cut on metal because it dulls it. And a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife. Leaves a worse wound, harder to heal. [ Or reattach, in the case of amputations. ] In this case, my knife would take all of the damage. Rather avoid that. [ Because who has time to go to Japan again? ]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 04:20 am (UTC)[Dramatic eye-rolling aside, Johnny doesn’t want to fuck up Kai’s fancy knife. However, he feels a bit silly about having to undergo a tutorial about proper knife handling. After all, he’s Johnny Fucking Silverhand! He’s the moment, the most influential rocker to grace the stage of the Rainbow Cadenza, the poster boy of the anti-corpo movement. Johnny would be a laughing stock if people knew he couldn’t use a knife properly. It would ruin all of his street cred as a tough as nails rockstar with a penchant for danger.]
Okay so, we need somethin’ non-metal to cut the herbs on?
[He glances around the kitchen idly after yanking out a few fresh veggies from the bottom shelf in the fridge. That poor fridge is packed. It’s probably the first time that fridge is packed with something other than beer and condoms—yeah, sometimes Johnny would accidentally leave a pack of condoms in the fridge. Don’t even ask why. The man was probably drunk as fuck and thought the fridge would keep them fresh. No one really knows what the fuck goes through Johnny’s mind sometimes.]
Oh, what about this—[He says while yanking out a plastic cutting board out of the cabinets above. It would’ve almost looked brand new if it wasn’t for the deep cuts and scratches on it. It seems Johnny tried his hand at cooking before.]
Let’s give it a rinse—[He turns on the faucet to clean off the surface with water. What’s the point of eating healthy if you accidentally contaminate your food with dirty appliances?]
Okay so, we got a couple of spring onions, cloves of garlic, red onions, and like…I think that shit over there is parsley.
[Johnny mumbles while investigating what he pulled out the fridge.]
no subject
Date: 2025-04-12 03:19 pm (UTC)Yeah, but, what are we making? [ No point in chopping up a bunch of ingredients they won't use at all. Meal prep is one thing, but they have no plan here—hence no prep. ] Uh, we said steak, right? [ That was supposed to be a surprise, actually. Real beef, from actual cows, is stupidly expensive. Yet Kaidan managed it, hid a somewhat ice burnt tenderloin he got after calling in some favors. Hidden somewhere in the back of the fridge, where the condoms would've been.
But then again he doesn't want to discourage Johnny. So he watches as Johnny gets to work, the rarity of him being the one with a plan a novel experience. ] Could make garlic and onion butter for the steaks. Which was supposed to be a surprise, but what the hell, they need to be cooked.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-13 01:44 am (UTC)[Johnny's eyes brighten in surprise. He did not expect steak for dinner, but he is glad they are eating it. A nice juicy steak is becoming increasingly rare in a world dominated by Biotechinca's GMO-laced lab meat. So imagine his surprise to learn that they are having a full-fledged steak dinner tonight. This explains why Johnny is cheering like he just won the fucking lotto.]
Meat is back on the menu, boys!
[He laughs as he chops the spring onions next, after dicing the garlic. Johnny is not a chef, but he does know how to dice things into bite-sized pieces.]
Fuck yes! I was thinking we were going to have ramen tonight, but this much better.
[Once done with the garlic, Johnny moseys his way back to the fridge to look for the good butter, not the cheap ass margarine he usually keeps.]
What’s the occasion, Kai? Or is the occasion just an afterthought?
no subject
Date: 2025-04-24 02:42 am (UTC)One more thing though. ] Just wanted to do something special, no real occasion. [ He reaches for the back of a kitchen drawer, taking out something wrapped in brown paper. ] They sold me this too. [ A brown glass bottle with an image of the historic state of Texas as its logo in gold. ] Since I'm not the one from there you'll have to tell me if this the real deal. [ It's steak sauce. Texas style steak sauce to be precise. ] "The perfect balance between boldness, smokiness, and depth of flavor." That's usually code for garlic, onion and vinegar, plus other stuff.
no subject
Date: 2025-04-27 12:07 am (UTC)Shit, sign me up! That sounds damn good.
[Johnny is all for this zany concept, as evidenced by the eager sparkle in his eyes. As for Kaidan's following words, they catch the rockerboy off guard.]
You just wanted to do this for the hell of it? [To be honest, he's having trouble making sense of Kaidan. Typically, when someone wants something, they do something "nice" for him, such as a favor or whatever. No one in this city ever does anything just for shits and giggles. So, Johnny is a little astonished, especially when Kaidan brings out the fancy steak sauce.]
Holy--IS THAT REAL TEXAN STEAK SAUCE?!
[He virtually snatches the bottle from Kaidan's grasp, quickly unwrapping the plastic around it before removing the cap for a quick taste.]
Mhm! Yep, this is good. [He lets out a hum of approval.] It's probably not the real deal because it contains a little too much vinegar, but you can still taste the spiciness.