Dinner and Politics

[forcegalactic]

[As promised, at 5pm on Wednesday, the dining hall is prepared for a group dinner. Along the side of a wall is a long set of tables filled with food prepared by Mordecai, Sukuyo, and all their volunteers. One end has drinks (and a bag of blood on a fancy plate for Dio), which transitions into meals and then onto desserts. Two rows of tables are arranged with twenty-five sets of plates and silverware, all on neighboring seats.

Enjoy yourselves, chat with your neighbors, and remember: we don't need McDonalds to have a happy meal!]

Comments

[forcegalactic]

[Mordecai stands proudly by the dishes he made: a seafood paella, fifteen hand-made hamburgers - his arm muscles sure are getting a bunch of exercise after all that meat grinding - and a small honey cake.

Anyone who passes by him while getting food gets the same statement:]

How you like it? If you want, we can have more meals together like this. We can always use more home-cooked meals, right? [NOT MCDONALD'S]

[rickdiculous]

We could also use some Big Macs and a few - few french fries.

[Actually not getting food at all tbh.]

[forcegalactic]

I got hamburgers if that's what you want.

[He points over to a tray of burgers with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and cheese. Real meat, real tasty.]

[icysemblance]

[She's going to try that paella, and smile brightly as she does.]

We definitely could. This is wonderful!

[forcegalactic]

[Take that, Rick!]

It's one of my favorite dishes to make for parties. But my regular dinner meals are also good. Oh, don't forget to try the cake!

[It's so exciting; it's like he's participating in a cooking contest, only there's no pressure to be the best, just smiles and happiness from the people eating.]

[ninehundredlives]

[Susan's perfectly happy to help herself to a hamburger.]

I'm really not sure the Conductor even knows what McDonald's is.

[forcegalactic]

Then Rick's petition would be all for nothin'.

[He takes a slice of cake for himself.]

Good to see his side is doin' badly already.

[announcemyvictory]

[Elise knows Mordecai hates her, but she showed up anyway, and she gives him a nod.]

Certainly better than whatever it is some people are aggressively campaigning for.

[forcegalactic]

[If someone as snobby as Elise likes it, then it's a win in his eyes.]

All the better to sign up for any other petition. You did support the one for more clothes, right?

[perpend]

I'm not about to turn down a delicious home-cooked meal.

[Cabanela eats so much fast-food fried chicken. So much fried chicken.

This looks like heaven compared to that.]

[forcegalactic]

[Durn bachelors and their lack of healthy eating lifestyles.]

Like it? My wife always says she misses my cookin' the most when she's away from home.

[nankurunaisa]

[What's Hibiki been cooking all day? Beef curry, that's what. There's a big pot of it, the biggest pot that she could find. Rice, vegetables, and a unique sauce—one with secret ingredients (instant coffee powder and melted chocolate) that give it a rich, sweet, and savory flavor.

Now, she hadn't told anyone she was going to make anything, but she still showed up and cooked her heart out. She's just as interested in chatting as she is with serving plates to people, so they can ask her to plate some up or wait until she's seated and eating to talk to her.

After yesterday's "body" discovery, this has been almost therapeutic to her.]

Hey, hey, you wanna try some curry? It's my secret recipe~!

[No arsenic added, she promises.]

[rickdiculous]

Pass.

[said as he walks by, burping loudly after he utters this.]

[icysemblance]

Sure, I'll try a little bit. We all need to keep our strength up, right?

[announcemyvictory]

Ah, really? Well, I do prefer sweet things, but it might be good to try...

[housenurse]

[so the first thing you need to know about Sukuyo's croquettes is that they might very well be the best thing you've ever tasted.

they're stacked high on a plate, fried brown lumps of diced meat. now, if they're near heavenly when they're made up of mysteriously sourced but definitely not poisonous ingredients, imagine how great they'll be when they're made of things one would definitely not be uncertain about calling food.

they don't look like much. prepare to have your mind blown.]

[rickdiculous]

These look like shit.

[Rick is totally inspecting these now.]

[crimsonchin]

[ Asuka...actually knows Sukuyo can cook, but looking at the potato croquettes, she can't help but side-eye them a bit. They just look like oddly-shaped fried onigiri, surely they can't be that special, can she..?

...When she tries one, though... ]

...Oh my God.

[ How are they this good? She feels like she can eat twenty and still have room for dessert... ]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Fun fact, Ashley looks like a year younger when swallowed up by a huge coat. Who'd've thought.]

This. Sukuyo, these are amazing.

[But uh she hasn't been paying attention this week why is mom dressed like a stripper]

[charcoalfeather]

[It was already knowledge to Rakka that Sukuyo could cook. But she still can't help but look enthralled and impressed by the small mountain of food stacked on that plate. It's only better when she takes her first bite.

Rakka's eyes light up.]

Sukuyo...! This is amazing!

[icysemblance]

[How did she not burn herself making these in that outfit, that's the question. But it's forgotten the second Weiss tries one of the croquettes.]

That is one of the best things I have ever tasted. Ever.

[forcegalactic]

[Now that he's not frantically finishing up his dishes, Mordecai takes one of those "Sukuyo specialty" croquettes and...]

You weren't kiddin'! These are good! [nom nom] You go a secret recipe?

[perpend]

[Those... sure don't look special. They look a little dicey, actually.

But then Cabanela takes a bite out of one of them and--]

Goodness! This is deeelicious!

[Seriously, he's a fan now.]

[zomgboom]

[DID YOU WANT FRENCH FRIES, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT TABBY MADE.

Like, no joke. There are about five pounds of potatos cut into different kinds of fries. Waffle fries? Got you covered. Steak fries? How could we forget. Shoestring potatoes? Uh, obviously. Curly fries? Are you kidding, she wasn't gonna do that shit.

And there is, for some reason, a little plate of fries that has a sign that says "suck on this, ." Those are for Rick and they are a near perfect imitation of McDonald's french fries. Try harder.]

THE DEBATE...?

[rickdiculous]

[Unbeknownst to everyone, outside of a few prying eyes, Rick has set up four of the chairs at the end of the room. They're each marked with 4 different papers: "MCDONALDS", "MORE CLOTHES", "SHIRTLESS DIO", "KNOWING WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING". Once he's satisfied with the setup, Rick stands up on the McDonalds chair and calls out to the room.]

Alright, mo-[eerrghhh]-fos! Some people here, some people...th-th-they just don't believe in the democratic process. So, what we're gonna - what we're gonna do is have a friggin' DEBATE. You know, like how they - how they have 'im on TV, and they're set up more like sports games and entertainment then...actual politics. So, what you guys are gonna do...what you're gonna do...

["Why won't you let yourself love them?"

"Ugh, why-- why didn't they just kill you instead!?"]

...Huh.

[Rick steps off the chair, staring at it for a brief moment.]

Fuck it.

[He nudges the back of it slightly with his foot, causing it to fall forward.]

I'm out.

[Rick just kinda digs his hands into his pockets and walks out of the dining hall.]