[OPEN/MINGLE] it's the cafe log and we're hiring

[forwander]

Who: Passenger & You
What: Cafe log
When: Early month after getting back to the Grove
Where: The Magic Lamp
Warnings: hopefully none because we're making baklava


[Now that everyone is back at the Grove, Passenger has returned to his usual routine of (checks notes) being kind of a cryptid, aka he stops lurking and straight up just goes back to the cafe to resume work there. He needs something to do before his own boredom kills him, after all.

So, welcome back to the Magic Lamp! If you're in need of snacks and drinks, his full menu is sitting framed by the door, but there's a larger menu written in chalk above the counter. It isn't very artsy, but maybe one of his new employees can help make it look nicer? I'm looking at you Fel—

Passenger will be there all day to serve people, and he takes requests too if you don't see something you want — you might have to explain a certain item to him if he's unfamiliar, though, so be prepared for that. He can generally pull off any American-styled deserts, but anything else requires some handholding.

For those of you seeking employment: He is hiring, and the job interview process involves a simple question: Are you willing to work with spice, and do you have a nut allergy? Sargonians are fond of both of those things, so being able to handle both is a must.

Welcome back to the Grove, everyone. Enjoy your coffee! Feel free to mingle a little, too.]

Comments

i forgot i wanted to include DOING HENNA in here so now you get a separate tl for that

[forwander]

[When Passenger isn't behind the counter, he's sitting out on the patio and letting others and/or the spirit that helps him out run the place, blending some sort of ink together and holding a device that looks like a pen. If you make eye contact, he'll wave you over and show the back of his hand, which has intricate henna blooming from his skin in the shape of a flower.]

If you're interested, I'd like more practice. It isn't permanent, but it will last for a number of weeks.

[Come sit down and let him draw on your hands/arms/back/etc. He will not do faces sorry.]

HENNA

[amethystic]

( she's been studying the recipes all day and is getting ready to take a break when she looks over curiously. you can practically see her eyes dilate like- well, a cat's. )

Absolutely.

[forwander]

Sit, and tell me where you'd like it.

[He will get the pen filled in the meantime.]

[amethystic]

Maybe... my arm? So I can still use my hand while it's all drying.

( she's going to take a seat and get comfortable- it's a long process she needs to be still for, after all. )

... How're you liking having your cafe?

[forwander]

[Alright! In that case, he scoots over and has her set her arm up on the low table a certain way, bent at the elbow, and then starts to draw. He does not use stencils, he does this to his own whims, so Fel will have something unique by the end.]

It's something to do. I used to cook for Old Isin, my caretaker, as I grew up. He was something of an insane man thanks to the visions he had as a soothsayer... I do not know what he was eating before I came around.

[Hums.]

I do like to tend my own coffee beans, so this is a logical next step.

Hiring

[ghostharasser]

[Frankly he's a little surprised by how simple the interview seemed. It's not like he's ever had a real job, other than working at his uncle's tourist trap, but that didn't have an interview either. He also didn't get paid?? Anyway.]

So, you don't want me to like, I dunno, bake you something as a test?

[Because he came prepared to do that. He has like three recipes in his brain right now that he is Ready To Throw Down.]

[forwander]

I am prepared to teach you. What would the point be otherwise? I imagine many of these recipes are unfamiliar, as you are not Terran nor Sargonian, so I would have to instruct you anyway.

[Though if Dipper knows middle eastern foods like, at all, a lot of it is mixed culturally between Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt, so maybe? Either way—]

But should you wish to bake something, I will not have hold your hand while teaching you, if it's good enough. You may have run of the kitchens.

1/3

[ghostharasser]

[He does not, though he has made a lot of different things by virtue of getting his pool of recipes from a network post made in a fairly large horror game, so he is at least not afraid to try something new.]

Really?

[Oh! Okay, he is going to do his best. He has to impress his new boss?]

Awesome! I'll uh, I'll blow your socks off just you wai-

[ghostharasser]

[Dipper crashes into the corner of one of the kitchen counters and nearly completely eats shit.]

3/3 done

[ghostharasser]

I'm fine!

[He shakes it off and just. Carries on!! He is going to bake the shit out of something just you watch.]

[forwander]

[Just. Sitting there in AWE of what he just witnessed...]

...do be careful within the kitchen, Dipper. There are sharp objects within.

[He won't hover over the boy, of course. Let him cook as he wants to without stress. Passenger will sit out here and wait patiently.

...Little Elliot in his brain just asks "You're sure he'll be okay in there?" and Passenger nods at his childhood spectre. Yeah, he'll be fine. If he dies he'll probably just come back.]

[ghostharasser]

Got it!

[He calls back, but then pauses as he hears ...another voice? Someone younger? That he responds to? He ...actually pokes his head out for a moment as if looking, but when he sees no one he just shrugs and goes back to the kitchen. Weird. Maybe he heard a ghost.]

[But okay, okay. Dipper will get to work. He has been turning over recipes in his head for some time trying to decide which one would be the best to do. He can't do anything that takes too long, or else he might try Passenger's patience. It can't be anything too simple either, because then it won't make a good impression.]

[He opts for something that requires a little finesse, but shouldn't take him a hundred years to put together. He decides to make the fruit hand pies he made in the bake-off. The ones he learned from Alice back in Trench.]

[Baking is both an art and a science, and Dipper is nothing if not meticulous in details. He works pretty hard on making sure they look just right. Despite what a mess he is, when he takes something seriously, he comes through. There might have been a little bit of ...clattering here and there. He is still a clumsy teenager. BUT, after some time, he will present a few on a plate for Passenger.]

-So! It's obviously not the style of cuisine you serve here, since that is new to me, but ...they got me to the final round of a baking competition.

[forwander]

The style, for now, does not matter. You will learn.

[This almost? sounds vaguely threatening because Passenger is so flat in tone overall, but he doesn't mean for it to be that way. Little Elliot chirps that the pies are "really cute" at the same time Passenger verbally says they "look nice". His brain is split down the middle, but the reception is positive overall.

He gives them another once over, taps the crust on the pies with the side of a fork to test how crispy they are... seems cooked! Satisfied, he cuts into it and takes a bite while they're still fresh and warm.

Well, even if his face doesn't betray much emotion, his headwings do, and they stick up and fluff and settle back down after. Very good!]

I can see why. They are delicious.

CRASHES THROUGH THE DOOR IM HERE

[sesa]

[Sesa, naturally, is here. He has been Elliot's prime "here try this" subject ever since the cafe opened, and he is Fucking Loving It. He knows he's going to get fat if this keeps up, but maybe it will all go to his tail and he won't have to worry about it too much. As it stands, he's sitting on one of the cushions on the floor as his boyfriend (I almost typed husband on accident and I'm writing this solely to shame myself) serves the others who visit, munching on Kanafeh and looking very, very happy.

He is so happy. This will not be so in a week or two, so for now his happiness is at a peak.]

SO AM I FIVE DAYS LATER

[forwander]

[Aww his cute not-husband :) Elliot will make him whatever he wants, of course. He's a Vouivre, it'll probably go to his tail? Sesa works out anyway so it's fine he'll burn all that off.

Meanwhile, chinhands from over the counter where there's flour on his cheek:]

I take it it's good?

[sesa]

[Happy tail wags]

Mmhm! [Hang on give him a minute he's going to try to actually swallow before he speaks.] Wonderful, just wonderful. Though you'll have to be careful and watch me close, otherwise I may just eat everything before the customers get it.

[forwander]

I shall only cut you off if my expected stock starts to run too low. [Or if his shell income goes negative suddenly.] The Shopkeeper has plenty for me to bake with, so I am not overly concerned.

[And as much as he tends toward being a heavy sleeper, he doesn't have to be up early to bake anyway; the ghost of that Cautus from Rim Billiton will get it all done by the time he actually rolls out of bed to do the rest. Elliot does not claim to be a real up-before-dawn baker, he's just here to make things.]

Tell me — what is your favourite? Unlike me, you were actually born within Sargon proper, were you not?

[sesa]

[Sesa nods, once again his mouth full like a chipmunk between words, so pardon him while he chews...]

I was! I've had all of these dishes more than a handful of times in my lifetime...though I would have to say I am torn between Kanafeh and Babka. I tend to prefer more bitter flavors like dark chocolate...but one cannot deny the allure of hot, melted cheese.

[Zahliya approaches their location rapidly]

[forwander]

[He has, on multiple occasions, had the gargoyle come in with shells and stones and ask for the kanafeh, yeah.]

Did you know Babka originally hails from Kazdel? [aka it's a Jewish recipe that the Middle East adopted] That is the history I learned, in any case. Though Kazdel has a reputation that proceeds it, food may be the one thing we can share without much judgement.

[diplomaticimmewnity]

[ Enciodes is often out and about, either letting Tenzin spread his wings or babysitting Unci to make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble or even just doing a patrol. Usually some combination of these, really, since Enciodes it known to be watchful. This time, he does have a purpose, though. Which is why he's in the cafe, and not for the purpose of procuring anything, though he will politely ask for a coffee. You know, while he's here. ]

Operator Passenger? If you have a moment, I'd like to discuss something with you.

[forwander]

[Sliding the coffee over the counter to him... it's spiced. Enjoy it, snow boy.]

I do have a moment, if you don't mind me shuffling around to clean display cases and the sort.

[diplomaticimmewnity]

Of course not. I would never expect you to cease what you're doing for a simple chat.

[ He won't immediately take a sip, but he does bow his head a bit as thanks. ]

With the... hectic nature of things lately and the amount of information that's been circulating and the alarming amount of newcomers to the Grove, I would like to set up another Town Hall. I find that doing it here may prove more beneficial than the inn's lobby, both because of any food you would be able to provide, as well as the fact that the fireplace in the inn both is too hot for summer and proves harmful to the Seaborn in our midst.

Would you be alright with it being here again?

[forwander]

I would not mind it, no. The inn feels rather stuffy, considering the limited amount of seating, and I do not think it has been conducive to productive meetings in the past.

[At least at the cafe, people can storm off onto the patio or out the front doors, versus the awkward trek of the walk upstairs further into the inn and then realising "wait shit I have to go back down there".]

Aside from a few spats, it went rather well last time.

[diplomaticimmewnity]

Given recent revelations, I fear this time may not be as smooth, but I intend to handle any spats personally as they crop up. I don’t intend to turn your cafe into a fight club after all.

I just thought I would talk to you before hand in case of any preparations you may need help with, or the heads up that you may have to prepare a higher volume of food for the event. I didn’t want to just spring something like this on you, after all.

And especially so, when you may not be amiable with some of the residents.

[forwander]

I'm positive that Sesa will be more than willing to remove anyone who acts out.

[He's polishing a mug as he speaks, holding it upside-down and scrubbing the inside with a hand towel.]

...though, yes, I do appreciate it. Rest assured, I will not blame you if a fight does break out. At this point, I have to wonder how many of the troublemakers may skip, given everything?