video, un; dustywolf

[softmouth]

[Look who's finally using the video function! It's seriously tripping him out, but he's doing it!

The video shows Dusty standing at one of the big counters in the mess hall area, and he smiles warmly at the 'camera' before talking, a little hesitantly at first and then more confidently.]

Hi guys!

I know there's been a lot of messages with information for all the new arrivals, but I thought I'd add one to the flood.

My name is Dusty, and I've been mostly in charge of the kitchen. With help, obviously! A lot of really great people have volunteered to help with cooking and rationing and cleaning and all sorts of things.

But we can always use more help, so just a couple quick food and kitchen related things...

[He takes a little breath and looks a bit awkward for a moment, a hand coming up to the back of his head so he can rub blunt nails against his scalp.]

So, first, if anyone is good at cooking or other general kitchen work, I'd love if you'd be willing to help out. We need people to help meal prep, do the actual cooking, share recipes, all of that. Viv promised me a little smokehouse on the next supply drop, and while I know the basics, it'd be great if anyone has particular skill with preserving meat or other supplies in one.

[A pause, and he's visibly trying to word what he's going to say next.]

Okay, and second, just some general questions. I'd like to know if anyone has any special dietary needs. I'm a werewolf, myself-

[For a second, he looks surprised at himself, then he carries on with obviously forced confidence. Still not used to just saying that.]

I'm a werewolf, have been since I was five, and even though I have it totally under control, I know how it is to need something like raw meat or something else to keep sane. So no judgement if it's weird, I promise. If you don't want everyone to know, you can send it locked here or drop me a private message.

Also, I'd love to know what people's favorite foods are! I can't promise anything, but I like to cook what makes people happy, so if I run across the ingredients, I'll do my best to do it justice. Just let me know what it is. And uh, if you have any questions feel free!

[OOC: I know Sims 4 icons aren't for everyone, I have an opt-out here if you'd rather my little picrew cartoon icons.]

Comments

video; un: alenko

[majorbiotic]

[Kaidan smiles back at the image. He has no problem hitting the ground running, so to speak]

Hi, Dusty. My name's Kaidan. I'd say I'm fairly decent at cooking, so I'd be willing to come in and make a few meals every now and then.

[The next part of this video has his brows knitting in thought]

I'm not sure what a werewolf is, but it sounds like you're a meat-eater? Me too; I love steak sandwiches, especially.

[softmouth]

Nice to meet you Kaidan!

[The smile in return is bright and genuine.]

I'd love to have you come join me in the kitchen sometime. And uh, a werewolf is a type of supernatural creature, someone who turns into a wolf, especially on full moons. Most people consider them monsters, I guess, but I've been one since I was five and I have the wolf totally under control, so I wouldn't consider myself a monster or anything.

[God, it's still so weird being able to talk about this stuff openly.]

[majorbiotic]

Oh, I think I heard of that. Yeah, I think stories about those kinds of creatures were really popular a long time ago. I was more into space adventures as a kid, though, so I didn't really read them.

How did you become a werewolf? Ah, that is, if you're comfortable talking about it.

audio; un: hgottlieb

[bijective]

Ah, yes, good! I was hoping you’d make some sort of announcement about kitchen prep.

[Someone is legit excited about peeling carrots.]

Now I may lack in the culinary department, but I would like to help in some manner. It’s only fair to do my part to keep operations running as smooth as possible.

audio,

[softmouth]

Oh! Well, you can always send me a message privately! I don't mind.

And I'd be grateful for the help even if you're not the best at cooking. There's always food prep and cleaning to do, and if you want, I can teach you some of the basics. And if you're good at keeping operations running smooth, wow, I could sure use some help with that!

audio; un: stark

[arc_reactor]

Hey Dusty, I'm Tony.

( Werewolves are legit. Alright, filing that one away... )

I'm a stay at home dad and successfully didn't poison my four year old; I think I can offer up some recipes and preservation know-how.

( Just homesteader things 💗 )

audio,

[softmouth]

Nice to meet you, Tony! Successfully not poisoning a four-year-old is absolutely grounds to be considered a decent cook.

[He can't help but laugh when he says it, but it's a warm laugh.]

If you know food preservation, especially anything we could use while we're on planets so we can bring back extra supplies, I'd be totally thrilled.

private audio. un: barnes.

[starer]

There's another person that turned up who's gonna need a high calorie diet. Gonna need to double up for them.

[Thankfully, the last drop has already accounted for Steve's arrival. But with Dusty and the team managing the rations, it's probably worth pointing it out.]

private audio,

[softmouth]

Thanks for the heads up, James. Seriously. What's the person's name? Maybe I'll send a private message so I can ask what kind of stuff they like to eat, you know? Make sure to have double rations of that.

Audio; un: belova

[laviny]

My name is Yelena. I don’t have any special dietary needs, but I am curious.

Do we ever get to try space food?

[Super important question. Earth food is nice and comforting and everything but what about interplanetary cuisine.]

audio,

[softmouth]

Hi Yelena, nice to meet you!

[The question has him laughing, and the quiver of it is still in his voice when he speaks again.]

Yes. We had some space food on the last planet we went to, but it was really similar to Asian foods I've had before. Similar taste profile and all. I hope the next place has something...weirder. I love weird food.

voice; un: stargirl

[bossily]

I'm hoping that we'll be able to get our hydroponic garden up and running soon. It's wonderful to have the drops, but it'll be better to have a plan in motion in case we ever can't depend upon them.

There's a group of us working on the project and it's still in the beginning phases, but if there's anything you'd like to try and grow let me know and I'll see about getting some seeds or starts on our next mission or from Viveca.

voice,

[softmouth]

Oh man, a hydroponic garden would be great. I don't know anything about tech, but I've got a bit of gardening experience, because farm. Not my top specialty, but if I can help out, I'd love to! And I'll have to think of some fruit and veggies that'd be good.

[A pause.]

The first thing that pops to mind is strawberries.

audio; un: mafioso

[essenceofdeadlybeasts]

Yo, Dusty-kun. If the kitchen has the ingredients for Asian staples I'll help ya out with cooking them. Specialty's Chinese and Japanese.

But I know my way around a kitchen fairly well so if you need the extra help otherwise guess I can do anything. I practically grew up in a restaurant kitchen so, yeah.

audio,

[softmouth]

Yo!

[It's said with some level of humor because Dusty isn't the type to say things like 'yo' very often.]

We don't have nearly enough Asian staples. Lots of rice and noodles, but not a lot of other things that would work. Some of the spices could be finagled into it, and I'm sure if you're really good at Chinese and Japanese you could get something together with what we have. We can always look for more on planets, too. I've been trying to work out how to preserve stuff we find when we're on missions so we can supplement the supply drops.

Restaurant experience would be super helpful. You could honestly probably teach me a few things about working a kitchen.

text | un: shen.qingqiu

[peerlesscucumber]

( there's so much to unpack here, and he does not even know where to start. cool points, that have his eyes widening a fraction: werewolf! lifetime werewolf, of a kind that contracts the condition like a disease.

also: special dietary needs. that makes a whole different kind of sense, and when he thinks on what words to send, they come across more or less as planned. )

This one, called Shen Qingqiu, doesn't have the same needs for nutrition as most individuals would have. I appreciate eating, but don't require food on a daily basis. I would enjoy tea, on the other hand, but when it comes to accounting for limited supplies, I can offer that in compromise.

To kitchen talents, mine lack in most notable ways. What assistance I can offer won't reflect mastery, but will reflect better communal interests.

( as in: he can help with food prep, but he's not had to cook for himself in years and unless it's easy meals, he has no memory of how to make most things sorry.

but.

he knows someone who does... should he. should he recommend luo binghe, or just wait to see if his disciple recommends himself? he hates him, sure, but binghe could make anything delectable, and he could... parade that past shen qingqiu and feed everyone else? )

text,

[softmouth]

[Oh, this is pretty formal. The reply takes slightly longer than usual because Dusty is trying his best to address the person in return just as respectfully.]

It's good to meet you, Shen Qingquiu. Thank you for letting me know about that. I'd be more than glad to check into getting tea for you on a regular basis, do you have any preferred kinds?

I would appreciate any kind of help you'd be willing to offer, and if you'd like to improve your talents I'd be glad to help teach you some things. There's no obligation for that, though, and I'd be happy with help doing food prep or anything else.

audio; un: s.wilson

[unclesam]

Glad to see you taking to this so well, man. Thanks again for taking this entire operation on. Listen, ain't gonna be full time, but I'm still happy to pitch in the occasional large batch of southern comfort food. You just gotta promise to use a generous amount of spices on the rest of whatever you guys are serving up, too.

[ He's tempted to make a joke about not putting raisins and mayo in everything - but he's a little worried about the outcome of that, truth be told. ]

audio,

[softmouth]

Hah, thanks! I feel pretty comfortable in a kitchen but there's a lot more people here than I'm used to feeding, so I've been really glad for the help people have been offering. It's really cool to interact with so many different people who have different skills and specialties!

[A laugh, at that last bit though.]

I would love if you made up some southern comfort food. And don't worry, I'm not afraid of spices. I'm always learning new recipes and stuff, our pack gets a lot of stragglers from other places and I've learned to make a few really interesting favorite foods for people.

[Don't worry, Sam. Dusty wouldn't put raisins in anything but cookies, mostly. Maybe a bit of mayo, to taste!]

video; un: luobinghe

[devilmancrybaby]

[ Luo Binghe is torn: volunteering to help in the kitchen would be an easy way to ingratiate himself here... But also, he had always dreamed of cooking only for his teacher. Of that being something he offered only to his most important and beloved person.

Of course, if his reason for being here comes into fruition that will no longer apply at all. Those emotions will no longer haunt him. And Shen Qingqiu is here too, in person -- perhaps it would bring him a moment of real remorse to be reminded of what he's missing. Perhaps, Luo Binghe thinks bitterly, if his master sees he is helping to cook here, he will assume the food is being tampered with by demonic forces, and force himself to abstain.

The thought doesn't make him feel better, somehow. But he decides to go ahead with it anyway; it's important to make a good impression, after all, and it's hardly as though he needs to approach this with the same dedication he used to bring to his master's daily meals.

He takes a moment to compose himself before he records, so that when the message starts his voice and expression are both cheerful. ]

I am untalented, [ this is absolutely a lie, ] and I confess I'm not familiar with all of the equipment in your kitchen, but if I can offer my assistance I would be happy to help. I used to cook for my mother sometimes, so I can make some basic dishes.

video,

[softmouth]

[Dusty's not sure, but thinks maybe it's humbleness? Either way, if he even has a bit of experience and skill, he'll be helpful. With such a huge influx of people, the cooking is looking to get more daunting than it's been so far, and even that has been kind of intimidating since his pack is much smaller than even the original number of people here.]

I'd have no problem walking you through how the equipment works. I've already helped at least one person with learning how to work the stove and oven and everything else, and once you get the hang of it I'm sure you'll make great stuff with them. What kind of dishes do you cook?

text. un: parkour

[webdesigned]

whoa you're a werewolf? that's crazy. like, bit by a wolf and everything? what are full moons like in space cuz earths moon is so far away? are you sensitive to silver? oh no that sounds like i want to hurt you i really don't my bad

( so, Peter is really trying to learn how to use his earpiece effectively, but it's a work in progress trying to slow his thoughts down enough. they sort of come out and go all over the place right now. )

um i can't cook but i eat lots so if you tell me what to do i can help out maybe sorry i sounded creepy just now

text,

[softmouth]

[Well, this is adorable. Dusty has never had the opportunity to comfort someone worried about offending him on werewolf topics, and it feels kind of...nice. Novel.]

yep, like bit by a wolf and everything! I'm still working on full moons in space. technically, according to the space people I've talked to, there isn't really one, but I'm looking into whether I still get a moon cycle here. I can only turn people on full moons, so better safe than sorry, I don't want to turn anyone without meaning to!

and don't worry, it didn't come across that way at all. I'm not sensitive to silver in the traditional folklore sense. werewolves from my world are really just kind of obsessed with it. it's distracting in a very hard to describe way

[Mostly hard to describe because it's almost like an aphrodisiac. Whoops.]

I'd be happy to have your help! don't worry, you're not creepy, it's totally fine

video | un: andy

[oiorpata]

[ andy's doing her best to take the whole space thing in stride, but there is definitely one single word in this entire video that draws her attention. and she'll get to it, eventually. ]

So what are the cooking supplies actually like? I'm from Earth, if that's a good baseline for standard ingredients.

[ a beat. ]

Werewolf, huh? [ oh it turns out she is getting to it now. ]

video,

[softmouth]

Oh! It's not bad. There's a pretty decent array, Viv keeps us stocked just well enough that we're all gonna be fed and stuff. I'm from Earth too, though apparently there's a lot of different versions of it that people come from. I'm originally from the Pacific Northwest in North America. Where were you from?

[And that gets a broad smile and a little laugh.]

Yeah. Since I was five. Don't worry at all, though, I don't get bitey unless there's really extenuating circumstances.