Did someone say food?

[skjalf]

CHARACTERS: Elizabeth of York and EVERYONE
LOCATION: 1st floor kitchen + lounge room
WARNINGS: Nothing afaik, but this will be edited should anything arise!
SUMMARY: Last week, Lizzie issued the ship a formal invitation to a feast meant to lift their spirits after the events of the last few months. She's making good on her promise.
NOTES: I will be making sub-threads for food prep, the meal itself, and post-dinner hanging out and/or shenanigans.


( this occasion sees elizabeth in her natural element for a change, planning and organizing a social gathering. the familiarity is awesome and welcome, as much of a needed break from the angst of the past several jump cycles (months? years?) as she hopes the occasion itself will be for everyone attending. she can be found working hard in the first floor's kitchen from early in the day until the moment the meal is served; and then seated amongst friends while they eat. afterward, she will flit about and generally socialize with any and all who do not immediately leave after they have eaten.

where anyone might sit and how long they stay is entirely up to the character/player. if you would like anything specific involving elizabeth during or post-feast, let me know! )

Comments

FOOD PREP

[skjalf]

[skjalf]

( elizabeth may be found in the kitchens throughout the entirety of the day to prepare the meal, along with the kind volunteers she managed to find last week. her gown is plain, her brow sweaty and her face likely smudged with flour, but she is merry, singing to herself quietly while she works. it has been too long since she has cooked for more than herself or one or two others, and this is just wonderful in her opinion.

and the bonus is that now she knows more or less how to operate both the range and oven, so she will not be starting any fires. )

[sophically]

[Hermione makes herself useful at Elizabeth's side. She has written down the directions she remembers for various dishes and she is going about putting them together. Half the fun of cooking is getting dirty and worn out.

It makes enjoying the meal all the better.]

Have you attended many court feasts?

[skjalf]

( indeed! becoming covered in flour and sundry other things is precisely what she enjoys the most. if flour had not been so precious, she might have once been tempted to toss some at her sister cecily's hair at one point or another. the way she'd have shrieked makes her grin, even now.

she is currently combining some wine, spices and broth in a saucepan while her chicken is boiling away in another pot; and once what she is working on cools, she will venture over to join hermione to learn some french cuisine while also working on her pastry shells. she is making blancmanger and custard tarts at the moment; and the kitchen currently smells so much like home that if she closes her eyes, she can picture her sisters gathering around.

elizabeth releases a soft breath to steady her composure, and smiles over at hermione. )

Oh, yes. His Grace, my father was well-known for his love of feasting and dancing. During the dozen years he and my mother reigned in peace, there were many such occasions.

How are meals conducted in the future? At home, we sit together for five hours or more, talking and making merriment through each course.

[kneaded]

[ Peeta still remembers the princess thing, how he'd assumed it meant she had more than a few things in common with the citizens of the Capitol. If he had to guess, he'd say they had no idea how to cook their own meals — Lizzie's already proven the comparison false, on that front.

She's got half a dozen things going by the time he shows up and gets started, falling easily into routine. There are a few brief moments where his memories serve as obstacle rather than reference, but they pass quickly. ]

Is this how you did it at home? Ten courses?

[ He's exaggerating. Probably. If he's got the same criticism for this indulgence as he does for the Capitol's, it's buried deep. He sounds lightly teasing, maybe, but entirely good-natured. ]

[skjalf]

( she pauses to look up from her work, and smile at him once she sees him. elizabeth nods her head slowly to answer his question, and has the grace to look a bit sheepish. it is quite as opulent as it sounds, after all. )

At court, yes. But we have no electronic sources of entertainment; it centres all around social interaction. Dinners in particular might last up to seven hours or more, and then there is often music or dancing afterward.

( she brushes a smudge of flour from her cheek. )

Not in Sanctuary, however. My sisters and I ate rather simply during those times. I can imagine this might seem extravagant to many here. It is simply that we have all been through much that I believe it has been well-earned by us all.

[newnova]

[ Sam barges into the kitchen kind of loudly, arms full with a carton of eggs, a bag of shredded cheese product™, and a container that says it contains something that Sam thinks looks and smells (and hopefully tastes) a lot like chicken. The lady organizing the dinner said she'd ask her friend about getting the chile peppers, but Sam wasn't sure whether it was on him to get the rest or not, so he figured he'd bring it anyway. That's what his mom would say to do, he figured.

He heads over to the counter where he sees her working, and drops his pile of stuff. ]

Hey! It's me, Sam. --Though I'm not sure I actually introduced myself before. Anyway, did you have any luck getting those chiles?

[skjalf]

( she looks up from her current task, and pauses to smile at him. quickly, she moves around the kitchen island in order to take some of the supplies out of his arms for him, and set them upon the counter.

and to that, she nods, with a triumphant look on her face. )

We are well-met Sam, I am Elizabeth. And I have! They are small, but I have been warned not to use too many, as they are apparently very hot. Are they?

[inafadingcrown]

[It's been quite a while since Galadriel has spent this much time in the kitchen, but she has to admit, it can be rather fun. So in addition to being smudged with flour, she's in remarkably good humor.]

What is it that you are singing, pinig?

[skjalf]

( elizabeth is also in high spirits, and she grins over at galadriel once her song is done and she has caught her breath again. )

"The Riddle Song", they call it. I heard it sung often through the windows while my family was sequestered in Sanctuary.

[notmarieanymore]

[Behold! Lasagna! Or, what would eventually be lasagna, once Rogue finished boiling the noodles and working on the sauce.] SO how much cheese are you gonna want, Lizzie?

[skjalf]

( the way that sauce is smelling, she wonders if she has died and gone to heaven; it's that incredible. her grin is enthusiastic, as she replies: )

The more, the better!

[notmarieanymore]

A girl- er, queen after my own heart. [So, that means mostly cheese]

THE FEAST

[skjalf]

[skjalf]

( edgeworth said he wanted a medieval feast, and by and large, this is what elizabeth has delivered. there is, thanks to the help and kindness of rogue, hermione, alexis, galadriel and others, a decent variety of dishes as well, ranging from mexican to french desserts.

the tables in the lounge are arranged in a great rectangle, and are laden with trenchers of bread peeta has made, and cups of beer and pitchers of wine. as for the medieval fare? custard tarts, blancmanger, etc. lots of meat, rich sauces, grains, vegetables, heavy creams and fruits.

everyone is free to sit where they please, though elizabeth has set herself in the centre, the better to mingle and socialize with any and all who might come. showered and dressed in one of the gowns her mother left behind, she awaits her guests with a smile on her lips and a flush of pride in her cheeks. this, she hopes, will lift the spirits of many. )

[striking]

[ the food is nothing compared to what she'd had in the capitol as a tribute, but at the same time it's better because she knows nothing on this ship comes without effort. all of these meals were carefully prepared from the food available on board, both fresh and stored. for the first time since she started getting sick, katniss feels her appetite roar to life as she looks at it all. ]

[ she wants to try everything — which means she takes it slow. a little soup, a tasting of pie, merely a few forkfuls of perfectly roasted vegetables. still, while she tries to savor it, she's just so hungry, and she wolfs it down in a way she knows Effie trinkets would disapprove of if she saw. but at least she's using cutlery? ]

[skjalf]

( noticing katniss' healthy appetite, elizabeth quietly spoons some blancmanger into a bowl. thankfully, the other girl is seated near-enough to her that lizzie might hand it across the space between them with a small smile. )

This is a staple, rice and chicken casserole. You may like it.

[striking]

[ katniss takes it gratefully. ]

Thank you.

[ she tries a spoonful and hums thoughtfully. it tastes a little like something she might have at home — not in the capitol, but the districts. but sweeter, maybe, and the grain is different from anything she's used to. and she's never had a casserole before, but it's not too different from a stew. ]

Mm. It's familiar but different at the same time.

[ she smiles. ]

But it's good.

[newnova]

[ Sam, being a growing teenager, has what you might call a healthy appetite. So healthy, in fact, that he's grabbing two full plates of food before sitting down. (Hey, it wasn't too long ago he was puking his guts out nonstop, he's lost a lot of body mass!)

He'll be eager for conversation, if you can understand what he's saying through a mouth full of food. ]

AFTER-DINNER HANGING OUT/SOCIALIZING/ETC

[skjalf]

[skjalf]

( everybody has been invited to stay, and for those who do, elizabeth has brought her viola. she sits down, eyes closed while she plays, and later sings. she will entertain for some time before mingling with people.

however, there are games set up, for those who might prefer playing over listening or speaking with each other. once she is finished with her music, she will set down her instrument, take up a glass of wine and talk and laugh with her friends. it is wonderful to be back in her element.

eventually, elizabeth will approach either a wallflower or a friend, and boldly offer her hand with a little grin. )

Would you care to dance?

[newnova]

[ Sam is definitely a wallflower. This is not his sort of party-- not that he gets invited to a ton of them back home-- and he's not even sure how to dance to this kind of music, or even if you're supposed to, so he just stands in the corner and bops along awkwardly.

Until Elizabeth comes up to him and invites him to dance. ]

...Me? You're sure?

[skjalf]

( she laughs good-naturedly. )

But of course.

captain swan (ha) + ota!!

[capsize]

[ Hook and Emma show up late to the feast, and for the most part they stick together throughout it. It's more a case of gently mocking formalities (him gesturing for her to enter first, pulling out her chair) than intense discussion or attention spent between them, however, and they break off throughout in order to make conversation with other guests.

The entertainment following the dinner is dull, by pirate standards, but he still more or less dares Emma into staying. The music's playing in the background as he settles at one of the now quiet tables, pulling a pair of crude, wooden dice from his pocket and tossing them on the table before looking across it to Emma. ]

Have you ever played hazard? The game, not the lifestyle.

[ Just to be clear. ]


( OOC: Default is 3-person threads with Hook & Emma and you, or specify Hook or Emma in the subject if you want to stick to one! Feel free to interrupt throughout the party/make stuff up. )

[uncurse]

Funny.

[ Her remark makes it clear that she does not find his color commentary funny in the slightest. Plucking one of the dice up off the table, she turns it over to examine it between her pointer finger and thumb, then closes it into her palm. ]

No, but I get the feeling you're about to tell me how.

[ Because really, anything from the fairytale world can be assumed a rhetorical question as to whether she knows it or not. Or really anything pre-20th century because, well. Emma's educational history and family life. ]