(Untitled)

[neapolitan_man]

It's that time again.

The mutant President of the United States is seated at a table, singing along to the jukebox and drawing the label designs for his spring collection of ice creams. (He's actually a good artist; all those years of prison art class have served him well.)

On the table is a sign:
Free Ice Cream Samples:
Graceland

Comments

o.o Is today my birthday or something?

[whipped_weapon]

...The singing is strange. It is melodic and many of the words are impossible for the drow to understand, but he's fairly sure that it's supposed to be a love song of some sort.

The sign and the person singing catches his attention next, it is a good thing Milliways seems to have a translator spell on all the time, because otherwise Zak could not possibly understand it.

Yesterday, he had the good fortune to make an ally who offered him shared accommodations. This morning, he found a happy pair of green-skinned people, one of whom was celebrating the birth of a child... and the happy father gave him a 'chocolate cigar'. It is currently still wrapped mostly in plastic, and the drow has only taken a small piece off to taste it. It tastes rather good, and so he was heading back to the rooms to find his roommate and tell him about the strange, but very tasty substance.

And now, on his way back, he has just found more free food.
The drow is pleased. Utterly confused, curious as a cat, but pleased"What is ice cream?" The drow asks,

^_^

[neapolitan_man]

You can't beat free food. Especially when (at least some of) it is very good.

Tony is a striped guy in a bowling shirt and jeans, and probably seems a lot less official than his job would entail. He grins, doing his best not to seem startled at his sudden appearance.

"Only the best food there is," he says. "The king of desserts. Well, some people would argue gelato is better, but I'm including them under the same category... not that any of this is gelato, but just speaking in its defense."

O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

"Desserts, hm? We didn't have many of those where I came from. And I've never seen this substance before." They don't have any sweet things in giant underground caverns. The striped man is strange looking but very hospitable in his greeting, Zak likes the grin. It makes the drow feel strangely welcome. He smiles back sheepishly. "Although I'd also like to know what a gelato is, if you don't mind answering a question or two?"

Hopefully it's not one of those gelatinous cubes that absorb anything to digest them. Ah, but manners first. The drow gives him an elegant bow that's not unfitting to a medieval knight, and says quietly. "My name is Zaknafein Do'Urden."

The ears, armor, cloak and the funky name should be a tip off that Zak's an elf, and has never been to a world like Tony's before he arrived here at the Bar. Utter newbie.

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

"Desserts are some of the best parts of living," Tony says solemnly. "You've been missing out. Ice cream is frozen cream and sugar and flavors mixed together until it's nice and smooth, and gelato's the same idea but thicker and smoother."

...he's yet to make an ice cream that could eat people, but if he ever needs a secret weapon, it might be an idea...

He can't really bow from his chair, but he does nod deeply by way of greeting. "Anthony Francesco Napolitano, but you can call me Tony. Pleasure to meet you."

Oh boy. Playing with the new blood has long been one of his favorite games.

Re: O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

"That does sound very good." the drow agrees curiously. "And I suppose I have been missing out, at that. They don't have sugar, or cream in the caves my people live in. We mostly live on mushrooms, lichens, moss, hairy beasts called rothe and the occasional people-eating giant crab."

(OOC: going to be gone for two days, will try to get on earlier, but can make no promises.

OOC: edit: have returned home! :D Let the banter resume?)

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

He considers that.

"Well, if you wanted a taste of home, I could probably make you some ice cream with the lichens or moss. Don't know how well the mushrooms would go over, and in my experience most kinds of meat don't work. Except bacon. And the locusts turned out just fine."

Totally normal ice cream.

"Best thing about being here is getting exposed to new things, right?"

[ooc: welcome back! ^_^]

Re: O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

The drow looked confused for a moment. "I... no. Definitely not a taste of home. Not when many of the fungi back home are either poisonous or hallucinogenic." He shook his head ruefully. "Yes, I agree the new things I have been exposed to so far have been most.. enjoyable. I would wish to taste this 'ice-cream' that you have here, if it is.. not too much of an inconvenience for you to share some? Did you make these?"

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

"I did," he says with a grin. "It's a hobby--everybody needs a creative outlet, you know? And this is mine. And I can assure you that none of these are poisonous or hallucinogenic, but if you do like hallucinogens, I have some others that'll do the job for you."

Hey, he's a mutant originally from the '60s. His ice cream collection wouldn't be complete without some chemicals.

[ooc: finally back after work/surgery/antibiotics, though I'd totally understand if you wanted to fade, just let me know. sorry about that!]

Re: O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

"No, I do not need any hallucinogens right now, I do not feel the need to forget any woes." Zak ventures cautiously. "And the results of your art are certainly very colorful."

The tri-colored human's interest in hallucinogens is strange, but perhaps Zak can ask him why he would use such a thing later? If they get along.

And if he gets to like the fellow, well, he might just get him a decanter of spiderblood wine to play with. That always has.. interesting results.

(ooc: hey, it's ok. :D I looked forward to your ic. Sorry I'm late replying. XD offer Zak-pup some ice cream?)

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

"I like color," he says. "I'm an artist too--well, I do the labels for the ice creams, but I do regular art sometimes, painting mostly. But food should look as good as it tastes, even if it's not fancy. Do you have a preference for flavors? We got sweet, strong or 'exotic,' your choice."

Re: O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

"Cooking seems to be an art, here on the surface. It's very strange to me, but a very welcome change from what I'm used to." Zak says, mildly, completely serious. "And I'd prefer 'sweet', please." He finds Tony's viewpoint of the appearance of food being as good as it tastes to be very interesting indeed. And something he'd agree with.

The ice cream labels look interesting too, though Zak has the nagging feeling the woman in the strange robe-thing (labcoat) is a mage.
(OOC:Welcome back.)

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

"My mother's a great cook, and what she makes always looks good, but it's not really fancy, not for everyday meals. Not like when you go to restaurants and they serve you up a tiny plate of food but it's got tomatoes cut up to look like flowers, and swirls of sauces all over the place. Looks can't make up for bad food."

Mage, mad scientist, basically the same thing. Tony doesn't understand how Queen Faraday does what she does, so it could just as well be magic...

He serves up a small dish of the very pink Graceland ice cream, and offers it over. Can't go wrong with peanut butter and banana, right?

"You'll love it," he says.

Re: O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

"I've not gone to restaurants." Zak says, quietly. "We only have inns, pubs and taverns as far as I've known. But I can't think of any tavern or inn that's ever survived serving up nothing but tiny, ornamental plates of food to a customer. Particularly not if the food is as bad as you imply it is. The customers would go of and find another tavern as fast as they could."

Tony is right. Zak does love the peanut butter and banana ice cream. It is wonderful. It is the first time he's ever tasted ice cream. It's also quite possibly the best dessert he's tasted since he got here, and he says as much. "It's absolutely delicious. It must be very hard to make, too."

You don't get ice cream in the Realms. Not unless you have a mage willing to cast 'cone of cold' on your concoction to freeze it solid and keep it frozen.

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

"See, that's the difference between where you're from and where I'm from," Tony explains. "Where I'm from, people are set on thinking they're better or smarter or more cultured than anybody else, so they'll pay huge amounts of money for tiny plates of pretty but boring food, if they think it'll make other people think they're better. You can spend hundreds of dollars, thousands even, getting a fancy meal at some famous restaurant, but it's not as good as what you can cook for yourself at home."

He is very proud of his accomplishments, and he knows he's damn good at making ice cream.

"Basic ice cream's not too hard to make, but it takes a lot of practice to get it just right. What flavors go well together, how to make it the right texture, things like that."

Re: O HAI.

[whipped_weapon]

"That seems strange to me. If someone is better, or smarter than anyone else, then they claw their way up the social heirarchy one way or the other. Food has nothing to do with such things, unless it's used as a tool of assassination. Spending that much money on food that is not even enjoyable to eat is a waste of resources." Zak admitted. "And I do not know what you mean by 'cultured'." The drow added. "But from the way you imply such restaurants advertise their ornamental food, I think it may involve some sort of scheme to swindle people out of their money."

Zaknafein finished the ice cream, and carefully put the dish away. He would totally agree that Tony is damn good at making ice cream.
"Where I come from, one would need a mage to take part in making such a thing, and keeping it cold and solid. It's very unusual, and very good. Thank you for sharing it with me."

One of the labels caught the drow's eye again. The one with the woman in the strange robe. "That image looks like a mage. Except their robes are often closed in front

Re: O HAI.

[neapolitan_man]

"Well, of course it's a scheme. Everything's about either money or power, and since you can use the one to get the other--first, you convince people that they really need something. That they'll be more popular, get more women, look smarter, whatever, if only they have this particular thing; and if they don't have it, they'll never get laid, people will laugh at them behind their backs, they'll just be hopeless. Then you control the supply."

Not that his ice cream business works that way... usually. It's on a whole separate system of economics.

"We've got machines to keep food cold, and ice is pretty cheap and easy to get. My people have been making ice cream for a very long time, though."

Depending on how one interprets 'his people.'

"Queen Faraday... yeah, I could see her as a mage. She likes zapping people. You'll be minding your own business and she'll get annoyed at something and bam, lightning."