fandomhigh | Urban Survival - The Uglier Side of City Living, Thursday, Period 2

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Urban Survival - The Uglier Side of City Living, Thursday, Period 2

"Alright. Last week we hit up a food bank and got a bit of a peek into how some people get food in order to keep from starving. This week, we're going to go over any other ways we can find. Food is, after all, pretty important. Food and water are basically going to be two of your biggest goals, really, but we'll cover water another week because it's important for reasons beyond just drinking."

"How you go about this one is going to depend pretty strongly on where you're from, or what your particular skill set is. You'll be contending with things like food spoilage, so homelessness is an awful lot of hand-to-mouth living, especially where food itself is involved. In some places, things like the food bank we visited last week are an option, to a point. Like we learned last week, there's a screening process for plenty of them, though anybody can stop by for simple things like bread and a few extras here and there. And once you get that food, a lot of it needs to be cooked. Finding places to cook food in a city can be harder than you think. A lot of cities tend to frown on people just starting fires in the middle of a park, after all. Unless it's one of those fancy park-campground deals and they have, like, fire pits set aside for exactly that. Some people, again in more technologically developed worlds, manage to get their hands on those little portable gas-powered cooking stoves or some equivalent. Great for food prep, if you have a means to keep the thing in fuel. Fuel costs money. Then you need... you know. A pot or a frying pan."

Was he rambling again? Sure he was.

"In America there are these things called food stamps, which are also great in theory, but my understanding of them is that you can only buy stuff that needs to be prepared at home in most states. So again we run into the 'how the hell do I even cook this' issue."

Did you like your Kraft Dinner crunchy? Sparkle too, sure.

"Modern cities might also have things like soup kitchens, which just... serve meals at certain times of the day. Walk in, eat. Other things to keep an eye open for are things like community picnics, church potlucks... basically any sort of big social event where you can get lost in the crowd, stuff your face, and then make off with as much of the sandwich tray contents as you can pocket so you have supper later too. I will not deny raiding outdoor wedding receptions. Or funeral receptions." He gave the class a wry smile. "I still pocket shit at the welcome picnics here. Old habits die hard."

And this was all still fairly modern stuff.

"From there, we get into, like, panhandling, which comes with its own set of problems, but might get you enough to at least buy a hot meal now and then. We'll get into that one in more detail another week, too. Other food options? Foraging - Yes, this includes through the garbage. Get hungry enough and you probably won't care, either. Gardening. Hunting. Not so much in, like, the deep freeze of winter in a super developed city, but if your particular idea of 'urban' has a few more parks and a few less skyscrapers, or if you're already living comfortably on the outskirts of town, the climate is on your side, and you have a little corner of ground that you can keep safe from being trampled or something you can make a kill with that won't bring the wrath of law enforcement down on your head for using an illegal weapon within city limits... You're still probably going to have to cook it, unless you enjoy the risk of disease and parasites, but it's an option worth considering. Keep in mind, gardening isn't generally an instant payoff deal. Not everyone can cultivate a garden instantly, and you're at the mercy of things like weather, hungry vermin, unwitting passers-by just fucking stepping on your goddamn lettuce, and even vandals. I have yet to hear of a community garden for feeding the homeless that hasn't at some point been trashed by some shithead who thought that literally taking food from people's mouths was funny."

He smiled wryly.

"After all that, the only option I have left is theft. I'm not supposed to encourage that one, but fuck it. There are these places where people leave food out neatly sorted on shelves or in market carts, labeled for freshness, and if your only other option is fucking starving to death, get good at not getting caught. Get really good at it. Depending on where you are, the punishment for theft can be way more severe than in other places. Know what it is before you commit to this one. Know what it is that you're getting yourself into if you get caught."

He took a moment to tick things off on his fingers, and then shrugged and looked back at the class.

"That's... that's kind of everything I can come up with," he admitted, "and like I said, my expertise in the area comes from a city in modern-day Canada, which has harsh winters, but plenty of options if you know where to look. Mileage is going to vary on this one. It's going to vary a lot. So... let's talk about the places you know. Let's hear if any of these options might exist for you, or what else there might be, now that you're thinking on the subject. How about any pointers for cooking for those of us not living in the Coleman portable stove era? Or foraging, for those of us who haven't ever had to do it? It's open discussion day again, so... let's discuss. Openly."

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Breq

Uma

Theron Shan

It's another one of those rambly ones. It might or might not be relevant to you, but by this point Sparkle figures you know enough about his classes that you're already thinking of alternatives for your own homes.

How would you go about getting food, if you found yourself without nothing? Would any of Sparkle's suggestions work for you? Are there any you might avoid? Is there anything he just flat-out left out?

"If you would be eligible for food if you could pass for someone else, like someone of higher status, that might help," Breq said. "Of course, those things we've talked about before might make that difficult. I'm from a place where every citizen is entitled to room and food, so if you can pass as that at least you won't starve."

"Theft might be more efficient though, depending on the laws where you are."

Sparkle nodded a little, and then tilted his head.

"What are the consequences if you aren't a citizen and you get caught impersonating one?"

He suspected he'd hate the answer, but he couldn't help but ask.

"That depends on where you are and what the political circumstances are. And to be honest, I don't think it happens that often."

Breq paused, giving it some consideration.

"I don't think it would be easy to keep up for longer periods of time unless you're very good at it. Maybe if you could pretend to be from a people recently given citizenship. The authorities might not notice unless someone told them. I think you'd be assumed to be a spy and shot."

She paused again.

"That was a bad idea. "Stealing might be easier to get away with."

Sparkle grimaced a little.

"Yeah, I'd go with stealing," he agreed. "I'm allergic to being shot."

"There are worse ways to day."

Breq knew.

"I there anything you would suggest besides stealing if people where you are are unlikely to give away food for free?"

"Well," Sparkle said, shrugging his shoulders. "Like I said in the lecture, there are usually at least a few options. Panhandling, foraging, trying to grow your own food. There's trading for food, if you have anything that anybody might think is worthwhile. Don't go into any situation assuming that you'll be able to survive on the generosity of others."

She was silent for a while.

"All I can think of is how much this depends on where you are. Which you said at the beginning of the lecture. And how likely people are to care about your situation, which is relevant to every class here."

"Pretty much," Sparkle agreed. "So... you might want to think about where you're going to end up. Think about everything from how people usually get food to what they do with waste if there's extra. Think about the weather, or if there's somewhere that you can grow your own, or something that you can hunt. Think about if you have any personal belongings that you can trade if you get desperate. Just because I said it here doesn't mean it's going to be relevant, but hopefully at least it's a start."

"And some flexibility if you plan to move around," Breq said.

"But really, flexibility is important even if you plan on staying put," Sparkle agreed.

"That's true," Breq said. "Not paying attention to new opportunities isn't going to be helpful. I think we've mentioned it before, but teaming up with someone?"

"So long as it's somebody you can trust," Sparkle agreed. "The last thing you need out there is to rely on food from somebody who'll just as soon sell you out for their own gain when you're not paying attention."

"Or be prepared that they will and keep an eye on them."

Or beat them up badly if they tried to sell you out.

Sparkle totally leaned toward that last option, yeah.

"Really, can't hurt to be prepared for that anyway, just in case. Getting screwed over is bad enough when you do know where your next meal is coming from."

"So make sure they aren't the kind of people who would easily be able to fool you."

Or beat you up.

"Not a bad idea to surround yourself with people who can't easily fool you anyway," Sparkle agreed. And then shrugged. "As a general rule."

"Sadly, they might not be as helpful," Breq added. "Or good company."

"Maybe not," Sparkle allowed, "so you're going to have to decide where your priorities lie, there, too. There's a lot of that, when you have nothing. Picking what's more important to you and making do without the rest."

"Yes." Breq said. "I suppose eating is more important than good friends.

Her face was blank, then she smiled.

Sparkle smiled faintly, himself.

"And here I thought they weren't good company," he noted. "But either way, that isn't my call to make. Food, friends. Friends that you can trust to make certain you have food. In the end, it's all up to you."

"You can eat rotten food if you have to."

Wow. Look at all that extra information she was not offering!

"You can," Sparkle agreed. "It isn't pleasant, but pleasant isn't exactly necessary for survival, either."

Hey, look who else had experience there!

"Of course, when you're eating rotten food, there's also a chance that you'll get sick," Sparkle noted. "Maybe not if you've been building an immunity for a while, but definitely if you're new to it. So that's a risk that you want to take into consideration before going that route."

... Guess who also had experience there.

Here he is, if you have anything you want to say to him but not the class.

If she's around!

Breq was here, hoping that she would be able to avoid starvation in the future.

I was sick as a dog yesterday, so you get a mostly recycled class again.

I'm BETTER and there's no work for me today at the studio, so I'm also around.

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Urban Survival - The Uglier Side of City Living, Thursday, Period 2

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