Happy Thanksgiving!

[tryit]

Who: Kate Bishop and anyone interested.
What: Celebrate Thanksgiving.
When: Thursday, November 29
Where: Kate's apartment (and the kitchen of Floor 6 of the Ground Building)
Summary: Earlier in the week, Kate put out an journal message inviting people to Thanksgiving. This is the result.
Rating: PG/PG-13

It wasn't until cooking experimentation two nights before at Sam and Simon's that Kate began to suspect that cooking a Thanksgiving dinner might be a whole lot harder than she had planned. Apparently, there was a relatively big difference between cooking just one dish for yourself and cooking enough to feed a horde.

At the end of the day, though, Kate finds herself pleased with the end result. The table she dragged into her apartment is set up against the wall to act as a buffet table. People ought to be willing to help themselves to whatever food they want. And there's definitely a decent spread, thanks in part mostly to her friends.



If there's one thing Kate Bishop is thankful for this year? It's having the people she has in her life.


[ooc: open to anyone who might have seen her post!]

Comments

Pre-Dinner

[tryit]

[For all your cooking, setting up, and mingling needs.]

[relictusdeus]

[The only trouble in spending two days in bed are the brief moments of wakefulness, of forced consciousness in which it’d all come back to him in a rush and suffuse him with an ugly sense of self-awareness. He tells himself he doesn’t know why he finally willed himself to get up, to wash, to throw on his cloak and tug on his boots and face the day, but he finds himself almost enjoying his work again once it begins. It helps, having something in which he can pour his thrumming fury. If but a fraction of it.

The blade saws through the neck of a lifeless, still-warm deer, the head crammed into a bag.

He knows where to go, having caught wind of the party’s exact location. And by the time he passes through the doorway and finds a place to dump the blood-soggy, leaking bag, he’s almost feeling like himself. But there is no intent of lingering for very long. He knows his place and it isn't here, mingling with humans and laughing and struggling to remember what he had left for which he could feel grateful. It never was.]

[tryit]

Hey! Hey, you!

[Even though Kate has spent most of the night mingling, she's been keeping an eye on the door. She'd like to consider herself a good enough hostess. And part of that job is greeting any newcomers to the party, whether she knows them or not.

Besides, when it comes down to it, there's absolutely no missing a bloody bag.

As soon as she sees it land on the table, she's rushing over to the man. Her finger sticks out accusingly and she does not look at all pleased.]

What do you think you're doing?

[relictusdeus]

[Her reaction doesn’t disappoint. He glances up from the table and smiles mildly in greeting.]

Ah, and you must be the host of this lovely gathering. [He humbly presses a gloved hand to his chest.] My thanks for the invitation. I thought it best not to come empty-handed... so I offer unto you the very freshest of meat fitting of a fine pot roast.

[fashionably_strong]

[Bulla comes bearing pie. Specifically, she brought three flavours - apple, pumpkin and butterscotch. She's fairly happy with how they came out, all things considered. Bulla's cooking skills are just a little bit above average, and some of that is simply because she appreciates eating the end results.

Then there was the fact that for a while, it was just her and her father here in Luceti. He could be counted on for many things, but preparing food that tasted good wasn't amongst those things.]

Where should I put these?

[maximoff_girl]

Mmm! [Wanda will happily de-wallflower herself for Bulla. Also: Pie. ] I believe... there's a table set up over there for food. ... Unless they need to be refrigerated?

[selfhelp]

[Sneaking off to the mountains with Teddy for their anniversary was basically the best thing that could've happened to Billy this week; it's done wonders for the recovering relationship as well as his depression, so he's in much better spirits when he and Teddy arrive for Thanksgiving. And surprise, he's actually missed the first day of Hanukkah, shame on him (except he was busy and he still lit a candle up there so ha, he's not a total failure), so the first thing he does is get a candle arrangement set up somewhere in the dining area, out of the way.

After that, he makes it his goal to sneak around the kitchen and steal bits and pieces of food while it's still being sorted into serving bowls: a strip of turkey skin here, a scoop of stuffing there, basically whatever he can get his hands on. He's had a month and a half of barely eating and lousy appetite, and he's still catching up, so this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

It's the only thing he's allowed to do in this kitchen, anyway.]

[tryit]

I am so happy you guys came.

[It doesn't matter that she's already mentioned this at least once today, earlier in the afternoon when Billy and Teddy first showed up and she greeted them both with the tightest hugs possibly. She knew it was their anniversary and knew there was a very good chance that they wouldn't make it.

It wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without them.]

Happy Hanukkah, by the way.

[halfnhalf]

[When Teddy showed up with Billy, it was with his hands (four hands, actually) full of bags of food and cooking essentials. It was easy to return the hug she gave them, shapeshifter and all. But once that was over with, he leaned over to kiss her cheek and told her that he'd be right back, holding up the bags to indicate what he was going to do.

And do, he will. Teddy spends all of his time pre-dinner in the kitchen, cooking all kinds of dishes, most of them at the same time. Delicious smells come wafting in, tempting its guests, and yet Teddy will shoo away anyone who comes in wanting a piece. He certainly wouldn't mind conversation, seeing how there are some lapses between waiting for something to cook and cool.

Otherwise, he'll spend his time holed up there. There might be one or two instances where he's caught staring a bit too long at his reflection with a frown on his face, but he snaps out of it quickly enough. He's fine, and this is a happy time, after all.]

[tryit]

[So much for doing most of the cooking herself. But as soon as Teddy walks in to the kitchen, she happily steps back. As it turns out, cooking a Thanksgiving dinner is a lot more difficult than she thought. What are friends for if not to save the day?

But Kate's still doing her best to help out and play hostess to any other guests who arrive early. So this really only makes it her fourth trip checking in on him so far this afternoon.]

How are things going in here?

the backest of backtags

[dickmoves]

[ He's there good and early, just like he promised. So, okay - he might not be a turkey genius. So this could totally end badly, who cares? He's got this.

There's rapidfire knocking on her door. ]

better late than never

[tryit]

It's open!

[Sure, she's not standing all that far away from the door herself. But her hands are full with her glass of wine, there's only one person she knows who ever knocks on a door that fast.

She's pleased he showed up. Just like he promised.]

Dinner

[tryit]

[Grab a plate, grab some food, and enjoy.]

[maximoff_girl]

[Did someone say food? Because it is HELLA eating time. Wanda may or may not have a small amount of food-aggression that comes from living at the Brotherhood house with four teenaged vacuums boys as kitchen-mates. With that in mind, it shouldn't be surprising how high she's piled her plate, even given her trim figure. Will she make it through all of that, or are her eyes bigger than her stomach? Only time will tell. It's a challenge she's well and truly looking forward to.

So far, she's opted to stay mostly quiet, only speaking when spoken too. There are a lot of people here! She's more than happy to chit-chat with anyone who approaches, though.]

[dickmoves]

You need to try the cranberries. [ Yep, that's how he's starting it off. Tommy's restraining his usual eating habits to a polite speedy, rather than the over the top gromming that he usually does. ] They're sweet.

[wildbluevagner]

[Gobble gobble! Unless anyone else has dibs, Kurt takes care of grace. And throughout the dinner, there will occasionally be a cloud that smells of brimstone as he bamfs back and forth between the two Thanksgivings. Kurt will sometimes even return with food from both parties.

And eventually, he puts together his masterpiece. A large mound of mashed potatoes from both Thanksgivings, with a crater filled with gravy.]

Check it out! It's Mashed Volcano Mountain! Totally righteous!

[tickle_me]

[Revy didn't bring anything, because she doesn't cook and she's not a generous-minded soul to think of picking up something from the grocery store. But she would like some home-cooked food, and if she has to be honest she's a little curious as to what a "normal Thanksgiving" dinner might look like in person. She was lucky if she got food most days when she was a kid. A full-out Thanksgiving dinner was the stuff of fairy tales.

While she's appreciative of the food, Revy is less thrilled with the company, keeping to herself wherever she can find space. In fact, she probably won't even stay all that long -- just long enough to taste everything on the table.]

After-Dinner

[tryit]

[Too stuffed to move? Come hang out for a little bit before heading home. Don't forget to take some leftovers with you!]

After-Dinner

[tryit]

It's definitely been a while since Kate's felt this exhausted. Between cooking and hosting and cleaning, she almost feels as if she's ran a marathon today. Guests have come and gone by now and even though there's still some hanging around, she's ready for a break.

Absolutely unceremoniously, Kate collapses on her couch. At least it's the good kind of exhaustion, the kind that's leaving her with a smile on her face as she tucks her hands behind her head and watches everyone still left.

Re: After-Dinner

[voiceinthedark]

Sam had ended up sticking around the help clean up. He doesn't really mind. He'd hate to leave Kate to clear everything away and do the washing up after other people and besides, it's been a really nice day. He doesn't really want it to end. Been ages since he could eat as much as he wants and not have that niggle of worry about where tomorrow's food is coming from.

He sits down next to Kate, hands cupped around a mug of tea. "So, that went well."

Re: After-Dinner

[luckynumberthree]

Simon had come early, took one look at the kitchen, and decided it was probably best to stay out of everyone's way, although he'd happily pitched in whenever anyone needed any help. Dinner had been delicious and filling and full of fun conversations and afterwards, he really wanted a nap. But he wasn't going to leave the worst of the mess for Kate to deal with, especially after she'd put so much effort into the preparation.

Instead, he starts grabbing dishes to clean up, stacking them and carrying them to the sink while he waited for it to fill.

[wildbluevagner]

[Catch Kurt in one of two post-dinner phases:

One is the food coma. He's spread out on the couch, groaning as he's so stuffed with food. He even went as far as to bamf a pillow over from the X-House to bury his face in.

And two is after he's regained his energy. He waves around a football before preparing to head outside.]

Alright! Who wants to throw around the old pigskin?

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy had taken a half-asleep nap nearby during Kurt's coma, having been tired from both the food and making a lot of said food. But what really catches his interest is when he's conscious again, and Kurt starts waving the football around. Teddy grins, stops his cleanup for the moment and follows after him.]

I'm in!

[250mhzwabl]

Jack is not, intrinsically, a very tidy person. However, cohabitating with someone who both cooks a fair amount and has standards regarding his living space has done wonders for that, to the point where once dinner is over, he'll be happily manning the take-home-container brigade, packing up portions for the attendees with the goal of leaving minimal leftovers in the fridge. It's kind of fun, actually, in a puzzle-solving-game kind of way, and also absolutely compatible with hanging out and continuing to drink wine.

[tryit]

With everyone helping out, the cleaning portion of the night goes by rather quickly. Which is kind of nice, because she's all ready to collapse on the couch with her bottle of wine and some good company.

Kate smiles when she sees Jack already there and holds up the bottle of Shiraz. "Want a refill?"