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Worldbuilding Minutiae - Specialized Food Edition
6 years ago
General
Tellisian MREs
Somehow, the Kazians figured out how to make cheese eternal and its basically The Condiment in every pack. Along with the unique, 2-compartment coffee pack that dispenses different amounts of coffee based on which side you tear it from (this one's for the wolves, this one's for the foxes). Most of the main dishes taste like chicken and are usually greasy pastries filled with chicken and sausage.
The Dinosaur MREs of Miokalia are markedly more bland than those up north and usually feature a generic form of a dish which otherwise would indicate the meat type in the name. Instead of "Chicken Tenders" its "Food Tenders" and so on. Some items might say "Chicken-Style" but it's all cultured meat product anyway, so why bother when everyone is both aware of it, and accustomed to it. There is a near total absense of cheese and almost always a side of spam or some odiferous, fermented seafood. The coffee is a single size pouch and it's basically Taster's Choice, but green because raptors like to put a blue-colored flour in their coffee for some reason.
Tinis actually puts entertaining food in their MREs, but they too tend toward bland flavors overall, albeit mildly exotic to the non-Tinisian. Where to begin? The neon-green pudding, the freeze dried salad bricks full of nuts (that taste like none of the above ingredients) or the large bag of (small) ants that have no business tasting like pepperoni but do anyway. Their coffee is coveted for its lack of tartness and abnormally long shelf life due to its accidentally high copper content, which also makes it a tad poisonous to most non-Tellisian species.
Malycho-Zoidy versions of all three also exist, with the same style of packaging but different items. The most notable being the "Mill Leavings Soup", which is just a bag of metal shavings and turnings like those collected from CNC machines. There's always grease for taste. They dont put fuel in these because the point is to give them something to do while non-zoidy comrades are eating. Its more of a social-unit thing, and zoid refueling can be off-putting during dinnertime, especially for those with weird hatches and apparatuses, or outright hazardous materials.
Somehow, the Kazians figured out how to make cheese eternal and its basically The Condiment in every pack. Along with the unique, 2-compartment coffee pack that dispenses different amounts of coffee based on which side you tear it from (this one's for the wolves, this one's for the foxes). Most of the main dishes taste like chicken and are usually greasy pastries filled with chicken and sausage.
The Dinosaur MREs of Miokalia are markedly more bland than those up north and usually feature a generic form of a dish which otherwise would indicate the meat type in the name. Instead of "Chicken Tenders" its "Food Tenders" and so on. Some items might say "Chicken-Style" but it's all cultured meat product anyway, so why bother when everyone is both aware of it, and accustomed to it. There is a near total absense of cheese and almost always a side of spam or some odiferous, fermented seafood. The coffee is a single size pouch and it's basically Taster's Choice, but green because raptors like to put a blue-colored flour in their coffee for some reason.
Tinis actually puts entertaining food in their MREs, but they too tend toward bland flavors overall, albeit mildly exotic to the non-Tinisian. Where to begin? The neon-green pudding, the freeze dried salad bricks full of nuts (that taste like none of the above ingredients) or the large bag of (small) ants that have no business tasting like pepperoni but do anyway. Their coffee is coveted for its lack of tartness and abnormally long shelf life due to its accidentally high copper content, which also makes it a tad poisonous to most non-Tellisian species.
Malycho-Zoidy versions of all three also exist, with the same style of packaging but different items. The most notable being the "Mill Leavings Soup", which is just a bag of metal shavings and turnings like those collected from CNC machines. There's always grease for taste. They dont put fuel in these because the point is to give them something to do while non-zoidy comrades are eating. Its more of a social-unit thing, and zoid refueling can be off-putting during dinnertime, especially for those with weird hatches and apparatuses, or outright hazardous materials.
After a meal, there is often time left for various activities and down time before sleep, or regeneration, or perching begins.
Kazians, in new groups often play "Hide The Pickle". Literally, this game involves selecting a seeker (usually the new guy), blind folding him, and having him sniff out a pickle or some other pungent food item hidden by the rest of the group. The rules for what happens to the 'pickle' vary, but often times it is moved around the room/barracks/area silently. Generally, no one is allowed to touch the seeker (or be touched by him) but that does not restrict their ability to tie things to the seeker's tail or wander him into "traps". The game adapts (albiet slowly) when the seeker does not have an acute sense of smell.
Miokalian troops often enjoy watching Pro Arm Wrestling recordings from the Earth 1980s and 1990s. Generally a "sage" in the group who provides the video is responsible for organizing low-stakes gambling on the outcome of the video. Some 'saurs will often awkwardly attempt to recreate scenes in ironic ways using items from around the area as headwear or clothing items. An overall winner is determined based on bets placed and adopts the nickname of ARM KING (or KING OF THE ARMS, or CZAR du FIBULA, etc) until the next round is played.
Tinisians enjoy more one-on-one games played in large groups, such as chess or checkers, staring contests, and ironically, arm wrestling. Winners of games may choose to take on different opponents in different games. Often times, players will display their favorite trinkets as an attempt to distract their opponents. They will tell jokes, joke-insult one another, and attempt to confound their opponents with ludicrous claims of grandeur or logic problems. Kazians tend to fail these games, and are urged to not take them very seriously.
Our cybernetic and malcho-zoidian colleagues will often "sing" to each other. Generally, a lower tone is emitted, either by voice emulation, percussion, electronic hardware being misused (often, dial-up modem or DTMF sounds), or make-shift instruments. Others will join in, attempting to match pitch, and vary cadence. This often leads to sympathetic vibrations and a destruction of nearby glassware. It is generally advised to use metallic mess-kits when groups contain a contingent of malcho-zoidy folk.