Late Night Cooking Class

[Crystal]

People always say that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy - well, to be fair: no one says that anymore. Still, Crystal felt that the opposite was also true to an extend. That's why he signed up for the late-night cooking class at some community center in downtown-Sacramento. What made him chose this class wasn't only the late starting time, but also the workshop-esque set-up: you paid a fee, were provided with a workstation (plus tools), recipes, and raw ingredients and were free to try out some stuff. Plus, as long as there was still capacity you didn't have to be on time or stay until the end. And since it wasn't a complete 101 you didn't have to hold hands with some teacher. Win-win-win.

Tonight the focus was sushi and the instructor hovering around the room to give advice was a stocky Mexican man. That's globalization for you.
Since this wasn't a social event per se he was dressed untypically low-key: a light blue lose t-shirt and simple jeans had to do today, especially since kitchen accidents couldn't be completely ruled out. Crystal just got set up at his table and started reading the instructions. That looked simple. Ish.

Well, the evening was comparatively young and judging by the amount of rice provided they expected some failed attempts.

[Moira]

The secret to sushi was doing the rice correctly, and not dying from whatever raw fish you chose to fucking eat! Luckily. Being in California the ocean was close. Sushi grade meant that they froze the fish to make sure it killed any parasites that might be in the fish. That's literally it. Eaters beware!

Moira was interested in learning to make sushi because frankly it seemed easier than some other stuff, and certainly cheaper to make for yourself than the prices they wanted to eat out. So like any other self respecting person wanting to truly be proficient in something she took a class!

Moira breezed in wearing something that made her feel confident. Black skinny jeans, a white collared dress shirt with a gold colored vest over it, and a black military inspired suit jacket, with the sleeves rolled to the elbow. Her hair was a mass of spiky excellence that completed the spunky look.

Seeing Crystal also trying to learn the subtle art of sushi making she took a spot up beside him grinning. "What a small world," she said with a grin. "I didn't figure you for someone who wanted to fix his own stuff!" She paused a moment and looked at her station and the components. "Here's to hoping I don't cut my finger off..." That was a really sharp knife they provided!

[Crystal]

A small world indeed. That'll teach him the lesson to not dress down like that when going out. "Hey," the shortest pause, bridged by a bright smile, "Allegra." Good thing she had a Sleeper name, lest he had to use her much more unusual Shadow Name. He spread his hands (which were sticky with rice) in a flourish and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Guess I'm full of surprises, huh. Long story short, I've dated this guy and thought I'd impress him with some cooking." Of course two dates barely counted as 'dating', but who really cared about semantics?

"What about you? Just exploring your new home's possibilities or are you as multi-talented as you are stylish?" She really was rocking her outfit. Crystal made a mental note to shop for something showstopping before the next official meeting came around.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-03-10 04:56:52	Crystal rolls 2 to make sushi (Dex 2 + Craft 2 - Quality 2) (10 Again)	10, 10, 7, 4	2 successes

He took a sheet of algae and spread some rice and cucumber onto it. He was kinda shooting from the hip, but it didn't look all too bad. Moira's comment about cutting her finger off made him look up though. "You got any experience with that?" Because if not he'd have to take a step away from her.

[Moira]

Moira literally sniffed the rice and realized she'd have to season it. Luckily it was already cooked and cold to work with. That was a boon in and of itself. She shifted some of the rice into a bowl and seasoned it with the vinegar, sugar, and furikaki mix, and some black sesame seeds since she loved that in her sushi rice. Using that little white paddle to get it all mixed in. She just eyeballed the amounts, except for the vinegar and sugar. That she measured.

She looked over at him and smiled warmly. "Look at you being all romantic and shit! My reasons are.... selfish. Making this will be pretty quick if I get pre-cut veggies and one of these nifty rolling mats. I bet I can even get the fish counter to slice the fish for me too." Acanthi laziness came through loud and clear in moments like this. I mean when you pretty much trusted in fate and timing for things, pre-planning took more spoons than it should. "The idea of having something quick and delicious that I can assemble at a moments notice would be great for me. Cut down on eating out, so I can afford the ridiculous cost of models for my side projects." She paused a moment, and realized he called her stylish. Allegra Cole was a lot more stylish than Moira, and certainly much more interested in fashion than her true identity.

"I can throw together a decent outfit from the thrift store, with a few more expensive pieces mixed in. My height definitely helps me pull it all off. My artistic background helps me visualize things." She stood at 5'8 in flats. If she put on actual high heels (to be fair she couldn't function over 3 inches in those bad boys) she was almost six foot. Some men liked that, others..... not so much. It was a relief that she had pre-gamed with an edible. She felt calm and focused. Something she couldn't achieve sober unless she meditated, and that was like... work. She was to scared to go to an actual doctor. Allegra Cole didn't have ADHD. She was just brilliant with a non stop-hole-in-the-head-imagination. Heh.

She looked at the knife and then back to Crystal and nodded. "Yeah, actually. I do. Different type of class though..." She said softly, and something approaching a serious look crept over her features before she continued on to see just how crappily she rolled this sucker for a first time.

She was absolutely terrible with rolling this stuff. She overstuffed it, and now had to back track. Of course she was really trying to be prissy about it instead of just getting it done, so there was that. Ugh...what a mess!

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-03-10 13:53:31	Moira rolls 2 to Make that sushi(Dex 2 + Craft 2 -Quality 2) (10 Again)	1, 4	failure

[Crystal]

Whoa, what. "Wouldn't it be easier to order delivery and maybe skimp on the models? And while we're at it: models? You've got my full attention." Though with all the steps involved he wouldn't call sushi especially easy. Then again, it wasn't like he had to worry about the cost of constantly eating out either so his priorities might be different here.

"Well, I know from experience that you can't really buy taste so kudos for that." And going by his time in college it was those 'artists' who sometimes just dressed like clowns. "You're quick to sell yourself short, huh?" Not as quick as he was with dishing out uncomfortable questions, but this Warlock was all for capable people acting the fact. "I mean I guess being tall makes it a bit harder to proportionize properly, so it's not all fun and games for us ridiculously good looking people. Give yourself some props." He gave her a shit eating grin and carried on with rolling maki.

When Moira explained her history with - what Crystal assumed - armed combat his eyebrows went up. "I see. Is there a reason for taking those classes or have you just been branching out a bit?" It seemed like every Awakened and their mother came with combat experience of some sort. Well, except for Corn. And Crystal. Was he really that sheltered? "Because I haven't been in a situation where I had to defend myself like that. Then again, I'm speaking out of a position of male privilege, so there's that."

[Moira]

Moira laughed nodding a bit. If she didn't need to create art the way she did, perhaps. You would think her job was enough of a creative outlet, but it wasn't. She loved painting and was trying to get better at it. "That would sound like wisdom if it wasn't for the fact that I am working on an art show for my passion. I love to paint. I use models as muses and inspiration, cause I'm more of a surrealist or abstract artist than actually painting them, if that makes sense. It's easier working with professional models because they understand artistic direction and are used to unreasonable demands." She said with a grin. "Normal people usually can't hold in their presence or personality back enough to let me see past them to let my imagination go nuts. Which for me is where the art happens. It's my process!"

She laughed a little at that. "I'm not trying to be modest, just explaining what I think creates my signature looks." She paused a moment and grinned, with a bit of that unseelie light in those brown eyes. "At least you compliment me on things I choose, and not things I have no control over like my actual looks. Like when a man comes up to you and is like, 'OMG dude...you have the sexiest blue eyes I've ever seeeeen.' You're like... ummm... gee...thanks. Heh." She nodded a bit, watching him. "Big difference between that approach and someone being like 'Dang...those jeans are dope!' In my case, those jeans probably cost more than my entire outfit...but you know.." She said with a teasing laugh. Was she giving him a little shit? Yeah.

She nodded a bit, and sobered with a sigh. "Yeah, we had an issue of stabbings happening in the last community I lived in. So the town council decided we should all learn how to handle ourselves with a weapon of choice so if we were attacked in a place where we couldn't fully defend ourselves, we wouldn't be as helpless. Like a fall back plan, you know. Until we caught the bastards. Which we did. So I learned to defend myself in not so normal situations when you have to use violence as a means to an end." Their end, naturally. It was a not so subtle hint that she refused to use magic in certain situations. She took secrecy seriously, as should all the wise.

She watched him a moment. "You would think with my art background I would be better at rolling this stuff?!" She said with a laugh, looking down at the sad, lumpy, cigar shape she made. She sucked it up and cut that motherfucker into pieces and ate a bite. "It tastes great, looks like crap..." she said with a laugh.

[Crystal]

Crystal wasn't easy to impress - but this girl that just barged into Sacramento kinda did. "Wow, an art show? Gotta respect your hustle. Ignoring the fact that you're basically looking for servants willing to follow.. uh, 'unreasonable demands'." He gave her a shit eating grin. It's not that he hadn't been there himself - but his adventure into the realms of BDSM had been short and unsatisfying. "I'd be definitely interested in seeing your work someday. To be honest, it sounds really out there and I'm all here for that." He looked at his roll and started cutting it - definitely not as nimble with the knife than Moira, but with how she rolled her food it probably evened out.

When she went on about men and her experience with them Crystal actually groaned and rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Tell me about it. It's like people lose all the wit they've probably never had as soon as their dicks do the thinking." Not that he wasn't guilty of thinking with his groin, but he took pride in the fact that he at least stayed witty while doing so.
Ugh. He kinda forgot where he was for a moment. When he continued he lowered his voice a little bit. "Sorry. Just a pet peeve of mine. Where the fuck did all the interesting men go?" Her teasing and general vibe was much appreciated so far. Which in turn reaffirmed his decision to broaden his horizon. Go, Crystal!

He started another set of rolls while listening to Moira's explanation. Yup, seemed like he was just an especially sheltered snowflake.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-03-15 05:51:12	Crystal rolls 2 to make more sushi (Dex 2 + Craft 2 - Quality 2) (10 Again)	6, 2	failure

And completely misjudged the size of the salmon he just cut. Ugh. He created a small mess as he tried to salvage the fish and cut it again. When he answered the Acanthus he still focused on his fingers, lest he lost one of them. "I can get behind that way of thinking. Also, I'm glad things worked out for you in that regard." Of course that was a pretty hollow statement considering that he hasn't really been in real danger. If you don't count the times the Guardians were after him.

"And you'd think my appreciation for phallic items would make me better at this, but here we are." He chuckled and licked a bit of the rice off his fingers when she ate her creation. A weird toast between two wannabe chefs.

[Moira]

"I need enough art for that, because the pieces that make it to the art show usually also are approved by the gallery as well. So you have to have a lot of stuff to show and impress with, and of course they are going to get their cut of that." She grinned right back at him, and caught what he was putting down with that grin and held up rice hands in a surrender gesture. "Okay, unreasonable as in holding a pose past what's comfortable, willing to put themselves back into poses I found inspiring and of course sitting for as many sessions as it takes to complete the work." She explained with a grin. Though she wasn't about to bash something she'd never tried before, but she highly doubted BDSM to be her thing. "Some of it is, some of it isn't. I decided I wanna try for a portrait series. They are more popular right now, so might as well start small and work for that."

"I was wondering the same shit when the guy I was test driving suggested a strip club for our second date. I mean, I definitely was interested in seeing what I was working with, even though I couldn't quite pull the trigger on the first date. I didn't see that one coming. Male strip clubs are a lot different than ones with women dancing." She paused and gave him a slightly annoyed look. "Women are fucking savages! I mean all this man was doing was bobbing up and down. I felt like I was on the pause screen for Mario Brothers only a really naughty version with a gold thong!" To help with the visual she did the motion, which was like basically doing a seated squat over and over only he had on a gold thong!She decided to roll this next one with zero try for pretty and just get a functional roll in. With enough practice, she knew the form and function would come with time. Annnnd she was gunna have to re-roll it. To much avocado. Damnit.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-03-16 12:40:06	Moira rolls 4 to Sushi Roll! Dex 2 + Crafts 2 (10 Again)	1, 2, 3, 1	failure

She ate some more of her last failed roll, and using some chopsticks she offered a piece of her Unagi/cucumber roll to him with a smile. "I'll trade you some of my unagi for some of your salmon!" She waggled her brows at him playfully and eyeballed his sushi, clearly she wanted some of that salmon roll now! She wasn't about to let him slide into her doing all the talking either.

"I recently had a friend basically kick me in the ass to start doing something about my sexless existence, and I finally gave in. Was a man who took me to a male strip club to pre game me someone I intend to see again? Hell no! At least I can honestly say after a year of run, read, relax and work and a mountain of self help books I'm over my last relationship and managed to have my cake and eat it too with someone new, so milestone achieved. It still took me two dates to get there though, and a really fucking obvious one, but I finally can say I have had a uh two date stand?"

She paused and looked at him. "What about you? What amazing man is inspiring you to try to be all fancy with the sushi?"

[Crystal]

Somewhere between Moira's explanation and rolling Maki Crystal had a flash of genius. "So have you already managed to get connected here? I know someone who's thinking about opening an Art Gallery. Soon. Ish. Maybe I can hook you guys up when it comes to it?" He didn't really know much about art, so maybe the combination of genres she talked about didn't immediately make sense to him. "Surreal portraits? That require precise model poses? Hard to imagine. I think I'll have to skip the line to see those soon."

Her take on strip clubs was almost endearing. Cute. He wasn't one to patronize, but he couldn't quite hide his smirk. "Oh trust me, there are plenty of savages to be found all along the gender-spectrum. Something about Sex just brings out the reptilian brains in us." And he was certainly guilty of that as well.
Though dating in strip clubs seemed really tacky, even for him. That was what bathhouses were for, for God's sake.

He took a small step away from his station. "Hey, all yours. I'm not super hungry anyway." Moira certainly liked her snacks. Or her food in general - although her figure wouldn't show that. Some people were just blessed with a good metabolism.

"Congratulations on your milestone. You're obviously a shining beacon of hope for all those undersexed singles out there." He gave her a shit-eating grin. Like, he was happy for her, especially since she had apparently seen the light now. "That guy wasn't all that amazing. Nor is he a topic anymore. You know, I think I'm not made for going steady - probably got our book club to blame on that one was well." Fuck yeah, what better excuse to not have a private life than their Awakened but isolated existence?

[Moira]

"No I have not, and any connections you wanna throw my way I will take. If they aren't fully set up yet, that works too honestly. I still have to build up my piece collection after all!" She informed him with a grin. She laughed a little and nodded. "I think that can be arranged! Art is super subjective though to how others experience it. You might think my art is amazing, while someone else doesn't like it."

She nodded and gave him a piece of hers to try on his tray, and snagged a piece of his, trying it and nodding. It was good. Not that she expected it not to be though. Thank goodness for controlled environments right? "It's nice to be able to explore different fish and methods of putting flavor into the rice and drizzles so you can figure out what to make when you go home!" She liked that a lot. She was already figuring out what would work well for her and what wouldn't. "The vinegar they use for the sushi rice, is way better than whatever vinegar I have at home. Will have to make a grocery list when I get out of here!"

She made an aww shucks face when he explained the guy wasn't around anymore. "My last relationship was a big one. It's been a year, and I feel like myself again. As far as dating goes, I'm open to it. May be a bit more open to the physical side of things, than matters of the deep heart, but I know eventually I would like to be with someone again. Just not sure when or who or how that will all play out, and I'm fine with that. It's not a priority. I'm happy by myself, and my own company is still my favorite!" She said the last with a big grin and she stuck out her tongue at him a little bit.

"So being independently wealthy....what's that like? I mean, what do you do to fill your time, other than book club?"