Video

[by_candlelight]

[ There is a very tired Ruby. She's wearing an apron over some ratty clothes, and also looks a little confused. She's in her assigned housing in DeChima, and it would be correct to assume this is being recorded in the kitchen. ]

Are turkeys a symbol of the apocalypse? I can't find anything on it any search engine. I'm not even sure it's a turkey, but there are a lot of decorations of the bird all over the place. Any time I ask someone offline about it they laugh and walk away. ... Okay, one person looked uncomfortable and walked away, but no one is being helpful and I have more important things to occupy my mind, but this is taking up a large portion of my thinking room, and it's stupid

[ She finally takes a breath, then turns the recording off. ]

Comments

[helpdesk_hero]

It's a bird Americans and Canadians usually eat, roasted, at Thanksgiving, which for America is late November. It's a celebration, a feast, that is meant to speak to our gratitude to all the good that has come in the year.

[by_candlelight]

[ When she replies she looks very, very embarrassed. ] I- Well. I didn't think to look up American holidays. I just- This is my first year in America and for some reason I assumed it was, you know, related to the current events. With all the Christmas decorations going up I didn't know there was any other large holiday between now and then.

So uh... I guess I'm trying to say sorry for not looking at something way more obvious first?

[helpdesk_hero]

Yeah, the Christmas Creep. There's a serious overwhelm on the Thanksgiving season, and technically the first day after Thanksgiving is considered the biggest Christmas shopping day of the year. Which is sick. But the history of it is weirder, Black Friday that is.

Thanksgiving is nice, though.

Don't apologize. Cultural norms are often very strange and unnerving.

[by_candlelight]

Black Friday sounds like a day remembering a plague. Why would someone go shopping on a day like that? That's also a really unfortunate day to be put after a day of thanks. "Thanks for all the good that has happened this year!" followed swiftly by "Hey remember that plague?"

You said it's a feast. What all is entailed in that? Is it between families, communities, or is it something that the government holds? What type of food is eaten besides turkey? Is there an age limit?

Cultural norms can also be interesting. Though they're almost always weird somehow. Like the portion sizes America has! I'm not complaining, but they're huge and it took a lot to get used to. Totally makes it easy to get up to a decent weight without using all of your money though.

[helpdesk_hero]

It's called that because the idea is that the sales that day push a company from in the red, where they are losing money, into the black, where they're gaining money. It's really stupid. It definitely feels like a plague.

Thanksgiving is...

You know what? It's easier to experience it than it is to explain it. I'm going to be making a bit Thanksgiving thing for imPorts I'm friends with and younger ones who can't so it themselves. I would like to invite you. You can enjoy the turkey and all the side dishes and the enjoying time with other people.

[by_candlelight]

[ There is a small pause as she tries to decide whether she wants to go into that more, and in the end carefully chooses her words. ] Coming from someone whose society is being ruined primarily by billionaires... That is definitely a plague.

[ And then, at the invitation she can't help but be surprised, and openly so. ]

For real? I'd love that! Is there some way I can help? I can cook from a recipe. I just don't feel confident in deep frying anything. But everything else that seems to be doable with a standard kitchen here is so far not a problem! I can also help with setting things up. I might be small, but I'm pretty good at manual labor.

i could not generate 'mashed' and wanted to call them 'smashed potatoes'

[helpdesk_hero]

We can do something simple. Like glazed yams. Or mashed potatoes.

video;

[fireandhoney]

It's an Earth feast thing this time of the month. I thought they were weird chickens when I first saw them.

Re: video;

[by_candlelight]

Truth be told, I had to ask what they were to find out. We don't really have turkeys in Japan. I'm sure you can import them, or get them at specialty stores, but probably not live ones.

[fireandhoney]

We certainly don't have them in Morrowind or Skyrim, nor do I think they exist anywhere in Tamriel.

[by_candlelight]

I know just enough about birds to realise that they weren't chickens. Probably. But I had no idea what else they were because all the decorations with them look so weird. Also they are often wearing hats? I think that is probably just for the cute factor though.

[fireandhoney]

Most likely. Apparently they're also what one traditionally cooks and eats for the large feast. Though, last year I just had a meal with my boyfriend and a mutual friend of our's, and none of us knew how to cook turkey.

[by_candlelight]

The turkeys I see in the stores are huge. If I'd never seen an American oven before I'd wonder how they cooked them at all. Unless you cut all the meat off and then grill it individually?

video;

[atypically]

[ Caleb looks tired, too, but that's mostly just because he's...not sleeping well considering he's pretty convinced at this point that he's about to die in the end of a world he doesn't even come from with a bunch of strangers and the last thing he said to Adam was "you're so stupid, good night." And yeah, they were messing around and it was a joke and they were both laughing, but still. What kind of last words to his boyfriend are "you're so stupid, goodnight," anyway?

So he's in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt that does nothing to show off his bulk or tone because, really? Why bother? ]

No, it's because Thanksgiving is apparently right around the corner.

[ Because it's not enough to get stuck in this weirdo place, he also had to hop over a year into the future. At least he's not so far in the future as Richie is, Jesus... ]

Usually, we...Americans? Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. It's some shit about the pilgrims and when they came to America, breaking bread with the Native Americans and whatever. The history books leave out the part where we were so "thankful" for their kindness that we proceeded to commit genocide to call the land ours. But yeah, uh. Thanksgiving, last Thursday in November, people get together and eat a shitload of food together, give thanks, and then laze around watching football before getting up at an ungodly hour the following morning to trample each other at shopping malls for the best sales on Christmas presents. It's stupid.

...kinda bummed I'm going to miss out on my mom's stuffing and green bean casserole for the first time ever, though...

Re: video;

[by_candlelight]

[ She notices how dishevelled he looks and makes a mental note of it. A lot of people are being run ragged right now. ]

I didn't even know what a Turkey was until I asked, so stuff like this is really new to me. Uh, I'm from Japan, for the record.

Is Black Friday - that's what David called it I think - a battle royale or something? Because everyone is acting like it's really screwed up, and I'd like to know if I'm going to have to fend for my life in the park or something, or if I work that day.

Is stuffing and green bean casserole a traditional Thanksgiving food?

[atypically]

Oh, gotcha. Cool.

[ In spite of himself, he laughs a little, running a hand through his disheveled curls. ]

No. Uh, no...some people get kind of out of hand when they're shopping for Christmas presents and, I mean, yeah, some people do literally get trampled but if you just stay away from shopping centers and stick with shopping online or just..not shopping that day, you'll be fine. If you work retail, holy shit, I'm so sorry. You're going to be exhausted and people will probably be in terrible moods. I would be, if I had to wake up before the sun to get an X-Box on sale.

Uhhh... [ He hesitates. Is it or is it just traditional in his family? ] It is at my house, anyway. Our staples at my house are turkey, mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, baked yam, and cranberry sauce. I don't know about other people's, but I think where I came from that was pretty across the board.

[by_candlelight]

Oh, okay. That is a relief. I'm in fast food. Pearl's Diner here in De Chima, to be specific. I always get up before the sun, so it's probably less likely to affect me badly if Pearl's is open that day and I'm on shift. I'm also used to dealing with belligerent people to some degree, so I won't be all that bothered by everyone else being an angry mess.

Oh! Yams! Those are sweet potatoes, right? We have sweet potatoes in Japan, and they look really similar. Ours are purple. Yaki imo. I should probably learn how to cook them so I can make something that tastes familiar here. [ Poor Ruby when she finds out the taste and texture are different... ] I hope to find more things as fall progresses. I'm especially hoping to find the right type of chestnuts. I'd be happy to find pumpkin croquettes though. I don't think I've really mastered frying things yet, and I'm not nearly as good at putting out fires as I am starting them. [ She laughs at that point. ]

[atypically]

Me too. I'm at Burger Lord in Nonah. I don't mind the work, so far, but I'm also mostly out in the back so I don't have to deal with people that much. Just my coworkers.

[ Which is a challenge of its own, actually, considering how stressed out or irritated everyone seems to be all the time. It's why he specifies that he doesn't mind the work rather than saying he doesn't mind the job. ]

Yeah, exactly, My mom used to bake them with a layer of mini marshmallows on top and season them with like brown sugar and cinnamon and stuff. They're orange, though. Purple sounds kinda cooler. I don't know what croquettes are...they sound fancy.

[by_candlelight]

I'm a waitress. Which is probably for the best, because I'm still learning how to cook things. Apparently America has way more lax food standards here so you have to treat your chicken and seafood like it's radioactive or people will get sick. [ She is absolutely exaggerating. ] Then again, your seafood in general doesn't seem to be held to great standards.

Marshmallows is an interesting choice. I'll never get used to how much more sugar there is in everything here. As for croquettes, they're not fancy at all. Elementary school children learn how to make them in school. [ She continues to brighten the more they talk about food. ] They're really just a breaded and fried foodstuff. Usually made with potatoes and meat, but you can make them out of just about anything if you try hard enough. Croquettes are really popular with kids, and even with the oddity of my upbringing I got to eat them, so it's sort of nostalgic!

audio.

[marxionette]

I think it has something to do with a holiday?

[ is it a turkey worshipping holiday who eve knows ]

Re: audio.

[by_candlelight]

Some others have pointed out that it's an animal eaten for a holiday called 'Thanksgiving'. Which... Well I didn't realise there was another holiday between Halloween and Christmas because of all of the Santa-san decorations and stuff on sale. Apparently it's a feast holiday!

audio.

[marxionette]

A feast?

[ people are so weird. ]

It's a whole holiday for eating?

Re: audio.

[by_candlelight]

Well, I think that the eating is just a part of the celebration? It's for thankfulness, but I don't know the exacts.

Video

[namesaquestion]

[brb yahoogling it.]

No. Just some holiday with turkeys.

I don't get what's so good about turkeys they need a whole holiday about it.

Re: Video

[by_candlelight]

After a few others answering, I think the turkey is just what they eat? Kind of like how we have special foods that we eat during certain holidays. It's just a part of the marketing. I think.