video | un: Hat Guy, forward dated to the 16th

[featheradrift]

[ The video starts focused on an empty seat in some random non-descript fast food restaurant. It's abruptly swept in blue as the sender crosses the front of the camera to sit down in an obvious harrumph of displeasure. One leg over the other, a young, beautiful man with a wide brimmed hat looks at the camera with irritation written all over his face as he waves a box of crackers in front of him. ]

Disgusting. You call the stuff this city offers food?

[ He tosses the box aside, and shifts forward to pick up his phone. The view blurs a bit, before it steadies onto a table full of a variety of food. There are nine dishes in total: tahchin, fatteh, murtabak, ratatouille, chazuke, roujiamo, stirfried vegetables, choumeiji sakura mochi, and even opera cake. It's a wide variety of dishes from various regions—a veritable banquet, and each of them have been plated carefully to be presented in the most appealing way possible. Whoever cooked them clearly cared for every aspect of the dish.

With a voice full of disdain, the Wanderer speaks up again, leaving the video trained on the food. ]

The quality of the ingredients is subpar, but this is way better than anything this place could give you.

[ He takes the phone again, and directs it to himself once more. Then he sits back, this time crossing his arms. ]

Let's make a deal. I make whatever dish you want me to, provided I know it. A recipe would suffice too. You give me information about the city.

[ And then he sits back to wait for responses. ]

Comments

video, un: junpei

[coolerjunpei]

You're not kidding, that's a real "Hat Guy" kind of hat.

[Hat Guy... this is on par with Junpei suggesting a guy with purple hair make his username "Purple Guy," so. Nicely done. An-y-way, food...]

Uh, what kind of information are you looking for, actually?

[featheradrift]

[ He should have expected a comment like that, but he rolls his eyes anyway. He wouldn't have chosen a name like that for himself, except he was given it once, and he can't bring himself to let go of it. ]

Anything is fine. You might've guessed that I'm new.

[ He's heard some stuff from Alhaitham, and the few others he's met in person, but it wouldn't hurt to verify everything with more sources. ]

So, are you willing to make a trade?

[coolerjunpei]

Sure, I can trade. Just saying though, if you ask for "anything," you're gonna get people saying dumb shit like "you wake up on a train."

[Source: he is people tempted to say dumb shit. But okay, let him think...]

How about... Have you seen the barrier at the edge of the districts? You can't go into the fog on purpose— you just get turned around. Weird, right?

[featheradrift]

I'm not an idiot and presumably, most people here aren't idiots. This isn't some contract I have to fulfill because you've given me "anything" literally.

[ Which person would actually try to con him like that, after seeing his unpleasant personality? He'd love to meet them, just to see what kind of idiot they are. ]

Are you saying you're physically turned around before you enter the fog, or somehow, a straight path leads you back into the city?

voice; un: ignis

[soupreme]

I was warned not to trust the ready-made food. Consumption often results in mysterious side-effects.

Those of us who can cook should help those who cannot-- or at least educate them well enough that they may help themselves.

I'm assuming 'this' is an example of your skills as a chef. I'm curious, what did you cook to display your expertise?

video still

[featheradrift]

[ New information already. So this was going to be a good use of his time and skills. ]

By ready-made food, you mean the kind that isn't packaged.

[ He's definitely seen some places with food out in the open—but you would have to be an idiot to touch that, so he hadn't paid it any mind.

Pointing at the dishes as he lists them out: ]

Tahchin, Fatteh and Murtabak from Sumeru. Tahchin is a rice based dish mixed with yogurt and meat. Fatteh is baked bread with beans in a yogurt sauce. Murtabak is an omelette type dish mixed with meat and vegetables.

Barbatos Ratatouille from Mondstadt. A hearty vegetable stew.

Shimi Chazuke and Sakura Mochi from Inazuma. Shimi Chazuke is a rice dish mixed with tea and topped with furikake and eel. Sakura Mochi is a sweet rice based dessert filled with red bean paste.

Mora Meat and Qingce Stir Fry from Liyue. Minced meat sandwiched between a bun, and vegetables stir fried in Liyuen style.

And, La Lettre à Focalors, from Fontaine. A sweet, layered cake with coffee syrup and chocolate ganache.

[ Quite the list of food, all utilizing various ingredients and techniques from various regions. With the spread, he makes it clear that he's got a wide range of skill in the culinary arts. ]

@keter, video

[gradenine]

[ roland rolling up to this network post like "who is this... sassy lost child" ]

Ehh. They don't look so bad at all. You an aspiring chef or somethin'?

I've been here with the first group, so I should have some info for you, depending on what you wanna know. In exchange, uh... I guess you could make me kimbap? They're these seaweed rice rolls filled with cheese, kimchi, ham, eggs, things like that.

[featheradrift]

[ Sassy, definitely. ]

Just something I picked up a long time ago.

[ Kimbap isn't a dish he's heard of, nor is kimchi, but he's not about to let a lack of knowledge stop him from trying. ]

I haven't heard of kimchi. What kind of ingredient is it?

[gradenine]

It's fermented cabbage, basically. Spicy and salty. Goes great with a lot of dishes, you should really give it a shot.

[ he just really likes korean food... hold on, he's going to leave the camera for a moment to get a jar full of the stuff. ]

They look like this. You can buy them in stores, but homemade kimchi tastes better in my opinion.

[featheradrift]

[ Fermented cabbage. It doesn't sound too hard to make. And the other man has given him something to use as a point of reference. ]

I'll figure it out soon enough, but it might take me a few days to make what you've requested.

It's up to you if you want to give me your information first, or wait until then.

video; un: mightiest

[fanstheflames]

You've probably got a lot more information now, right? Anything you're still wondering about?

[ Dang though, this beautiful young man can cook! Maybe they should recruit him for the diner-- ]

[featheradrift]

I'd prefer to hear the same thing from multiple sources, so if you want something to say, let's hear it.

[ You never know who might be trying to lie to you, after all. ]

[fanstheflames]

[ Wow, what an open-minded guy!

(No.) ]

Sure! Um... if you actively try to go against the City's plans, it'll try to mess with you in return. Double its efforts to get you to go to whatever the big plan is or make you miserable or both.

video. @kaveh

[fussiest]

[ kaveh looks. ]

Fatteh. [ the word is said with equal parts admiration, fascination and unbridled excitement. ] And here I thought I was the only one who would know the recipe to it. The look of the dish is exquisite as well. You've a hidden talent to you. Though I suppose I ought not be surprised; you are Lesser Lord Kusanali's right hand, after all. Does she like that dish?

[featheradrift]

[ Did Alhaitham not say anything to this man? He figured they must have been communicating, especially when the drifter had asked if the scribe wanted him to keep an eye out for certain ingredients.

Whatever. Not his business. ]

The Scribe gave me his recipe when I asked, with all the modifications he made for this place. I just tweaked it a little more.

[ How does he figure that the Wanderer cooks for Nahida? He doesn't—on most days. Only when he deigns to cook at all does he usually treat the Dendro Archon to food. ]

If she has a preference for it, she hasn't told me.

[fussiest]

[ the events of the last three hours catches up to him. kaveh looks, and then: ]

His recipe? Please, [ kaveh laughs, ] he doesn't have a recipe for fatteh. Alhaitham wouldn't even bother knowing how to soak chickpeas for the right amount of time, let alone season the yoghurt. No, that fatteh recipe was mine, and before it was mine, it belonged to my late father. [ it's funny, how kaveh has gone six months without mentioning him, and now - it's as if a cork in the grief has been pulled, and all the nostalgia rushes in with it. both the sorrow and the guilt - but also the good. so much of the good. kaveh misses him. he's letting himself miss him. he says: ] You've tasted the recipe for yourself, right? What do you think?

video; un: yesod

[wordchain]

[ If the spread on display is any indication, perhaps Roland has a cooking rival now... This does lead Yesod (who unfortunately didn't make his username "Purple Guy") to consider his own limited skills combined with his reluctance to rely on this city's restaurants at all. ]

Would you share your own knowledge in exchange for information? Though I am willing to supplement what you've learned thus far regardless.

[featheradrift]

Depends on the kind of knowledge you're looking for.

[wordchain]

Your culinary expertise.

[ Truthfully, he has been contemplating approaching Roland for the same reason, sooner or later, but one thing at a time. ]

In any event, I can confirm that the rate at which supplies are restocked has changed over time. The following past exchange includes a number of observations regarding the matter when it was first noted. At the time, some discussion also took place to plan ahead, should resources become noticeably scarce.

[ Here, Yesod adds the network conversations mentioned, although there may be gaps where people have since disappeared. ]

un: deku

[fullgauntlet]

[He's a bit late on this. But he wants to put in something too. He might be drooling a little at the look of all that food.]

Did you really make all of that food? That's amazing...

I'm not sure what you've gotten for information so far but I do know that... If you try to leave the city via the train station, by the train or walking down the tunnels yourself... It doesn't work. You'll walk for as long as you want to but eventually you'll find yourself back at the train station. It somehow loops you or turns you around. So we can't escape that way at all.

That and... All of the shelves in the stores seem to replenish overnight. Even the boxed goods and instant ramen. I've seen it.

Re: un: deku

[featheradrift]

Hah. This amount of food is nothing.

[ It's only something he picked up throughout his long journey, that's all. But he knows food is important to humans, and good food even more so. ]

I see. I've heard both of these from other people, but I've also heard the food supply is replenishing at a slower rate over time.

Know anything else?

[fullgauntlet]

Ah. I see... This is the first time that I've heard that the food is starting to replenish at a slower rate now.

[He frowns...]

I've been trapped inside places about twice now. Every time it happens it seems like the buildings warp or change to make us lost or trap us for longer. So ... Just be careful of how long you stay in buildings, also.

text; un: dynamight

[apshot]

Mappo tofu. Just see if you can make it right.

[ Just because Katsuki agrees with this guy doesn't mean he's not an ass! ]

[featheradrift]

[ It's just text, but there's attitude oozing from it. Alright then, he can handle that easily. ]

Oh, a challenge right off the bat? Don't you have the decency to share your information first?

[apshot]

Why should I give you information if you're going to make something subpar? The quality of your work equals the quality of the information received.