2018-09-08 - Cooking Class: Pasta
| Title: Cooking Class: Pasta | |
|---|---|
| Summary: The Sister Schools are doing a randomly-drawn program where students from all three schools take a class together. This class is home ec. The second meeting of this class will be at Infinity, and its subject will be pasta. Guest teachers Mari Cherie and Jean Paris are returning. | |
| Who: Anthy Himemiya, Fuu Hououji, Kasagami Araki, Lera Camry, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Mikoto Minagi, Niramo Umokeshi, Nori Ankou, Setsuna Higashi, Usagi Tsukino, and Utena Tenjou, with a cameo by Michiru Kaioh | |
| Where: Infinity Institute | |
| OOC - IC Date: Sat Sept 8, 2018 - shortly before Reckoning happens | |
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Like the first cooking class (pancakes), this one isn't voluntary per se, but it feels a little less voluntold; word has spread about the good eating to be had in these experimental, cross-Sister-Schools culinary courses.
In the spirit of that collaboration it seems that the venue has changed. Infinity Institute has really, really fancy and high level culinary workspaces, but this is not that -- it is much more the sort of home ec room for, say, their violin or ballet prodigies. Which is to say that everything is a lot more sparkling and clean and relatively lightly used. Each station has a broad counter, a stovetop range, an oven underneath and space for plenty of students to crowd around.
The teaching station at the front is being shot on video, and the real-time feed is piped into near-holographic screens beside each cooking station in exquisite, 4K detail.
Jean Paris, the slightly heavyset, salt-and-pepper-haired celebrity instructor, is standing off to one side with his signature vague, knowing smirk and his arms folded over his blue button-down shirt, as he watches smaller, sweeter (though not always kinder), and much older grandma-like Mari Cherie whisk eggs and olive oil into flour with a fork.
"So you see," she says crisply, "Pasta, too, comes from dough. Though we will not be baking it -- at least, not right away! Flour, salt, eggs and high-quality oil makes for a fine pasta indeed. If you want to flavor your pasta with dried herbs or spices, or wet ingredients like tomato paste, pesto or squid ink, they are mixed with flour and salt before adding the eggs."
"There are a lot of options here for your dough," observes Jean, with a magician's twirl of a tablecloth off a central table. Everyone has the proper proportions of flour, salt, eggs and oil at their station, but innumerable baskets and jars of other additions await. Most are savory -- some are spicy.
...none are labeled.
"Have fun!" chortles Marie, clapping her hands twice and letting the hordes surge forward to collect their goodies.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
In the last cooking class, Lera Camry didn't do that well. Partnered with Usagi Tsukino, she didn't use all of the right ingredients. And while she loves cooking pasta, she usually does the store-bought, pre-cooked kind, and then boils it to be just right. She stands next to her girlfriend, hands resting on the counter. Her apron is tugged on, tied behind her back. Her eyes are looking forward at Jean.
She opens her mouth; then she closes it, and looks down at the mixture of ingredients. Her lips purse, before she looks sideways at Setsuna Higashi with slightly wide eyes.
"...I-It's not in a box," she says. It is not the first time.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Nori Ankou has found something out. She likes* to cook.
(* - outcome highly dependent on supportive words and recipe provision from an otter)
But it's fun, when it's not too heavy, and it is something that feels grounded, something real, something natural. Not something that she has to worry about, not something rooted in death or suffering or the fraught tension of interlocking heart strings between people. You take a food, and you prepare it; either you eat it, or you throw it in the garbage and accept the karmic deficit of goofing it up.
Nori Ankou has a black hair net on to handle her glossy mane of ebon, raven-esque hair. She is wearing a mandarin-collar shirt that is otherwise kind of T-shirty and, like much of her casual wear, was probably a one-off from AkaMira that did not end up becoming a line item. She is also wearing slacks and an apron.
She has been listening to the narrative and nodding along with it. "Dough really is astonishing... I never thought this much about it," she says. Then they are permitted!
Nori opens jars and starts looking for "The squid ink... I've had squid ink pasta, it's astonishing. And it looks so striking. Have you ever had it, Usagi? - I think this is the squid ink. It certainly seems salty, from the smell of it." Nori sloshes around the jar of what is actually Korean aged soy sauce, thoughtfully, looking to her squadmates on the question of: HOW MUCH.
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Setsuna Higashi was not at the last--but is game to try this out. The screens she's comfortable with; in point of fact, Infinity is in some ways very familiar to her despite her being a Juuban student. ...Though, the making of pasta..
Setsuna tilts her head at the explanation, looking thoughtfully at Mari. She has a certain wide-eyed curiousity about her that might be strange to some, or might be encouraging! But... The ingredients...
Setsuna turns to Lera again. The /first/ time Lera mentioned the box, Setsuna asked if they should request one. /Now/...
"It's not in a box," Setsuna says to her girlfriend more flatly, sighs once. ...She's not really that mad.
"But what is the pasta going to be made with...?" the purple-haired girl asks, tilting her head. She is in uniform of course, though aproned appropriately. "Oh," she says, "We should get..."
Setsuna limps up, moving quickly despite that, and looks to the jars. "Lera," she says, "What about..." She considers. They aren't labelled. Are they supposed to be labelled? Frowning, she looks.
"Um..." She considers, and starts collecting jars that are red and orange. Creativity! "...Is this right...?" she wonders to herself.
It's fine. Spice is great, right?
<Pose Tracker> Anthy Himemiya [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Oh, pasta can come out so many different ways depending on how you prepare it."
A lavender apron, frills and all, dresses up the front of Anthy Himemiya's high school uniform. She's at her roommate's elbow with a wooden spoon in hand, and her head tilted up to the other girl. All the requisite ingredients array before them, arranged as if for a still life painting -- it would almost be a shame to pour out that olive oil, to break those eggs.
"Different amounts of water, and heat, and time..."
Purple curls peek out from beneath a white hair cover. She trails off... not to pay attention to the instructors, lord no, not Anthy Himemiya. No, she's distracted by the tugging of a baker-attired Chu-Chu at the bag of flour. He's of the opinion that the sooner they begin cooking, the sooner he can stuff himself to roly poly status. Anthy covers her mouth with her hand, and green eyes still dance when she looks back up to the taller girl, continuing.
"Why, it's not so different from growing roses, really, Utena-sama."
A sweet smile. Does everything come back to roses for this girl? Maybe so. She pours the olive oil into the bowl, but the eggs are an awkward reach from where she's at -- more on Utena's side. She doesn't ask, her hand and gaze just flutter in their direction and she returns to stirring the olive oil.
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Whatever teasing and taunts she might give about Infinity as a whole, it houses multiple things she has a distinct fondness for. Moreso than usual on this day, as the duo of cooking instructors Jean and Marie once again descend upon the Sister Schools to share the love of delicious food.
Kasagami is amongst the cooking station clad in her Ohtori uniform, coat neatly at the door and apron applied with just enough give that she can make a good dramatic flutter with the right movements. Her hair has been carefully done back in a long ponytail, and her black gloves a little more worn and even spice soaked with a minor sniff.
This particular set of gloves have been worn at the Meioh Tower more than once. As she stands before the burners and eyes the ingredients, she takes a moment to gather a meditative breath and to tug at the hems of her handwear for a moment to calm herself as she's wont to do just before cooking. A smile comes to her face, and she's nodding to those she recognizes. The usual competitive edge is there in her eye, but she seems just a bit more focused today.
Kasagami has already wrangled the basics: salt, flour, et cetera, and has pulled over some red pepper, sage, and other spices just in case. This is a young woman on a mission. She can count on half of a hand how many times she's been able to do pasta from absolute scratch. It's exciting, and maybe just a hint of terror along with it given her plans. She makes a welcoming, flamboyant gesture to those without a partner. Her mind is awash in a certain shade of emerald.
"Italian is the cuisine of love and family! Let's make dishes that stir the very heart and soul!" Pronounces Kasagami, her words maybe a little less of her usual bravado and more joy in what they're all about to do. A hand flicks a bowl to spinning, and she's going for the flour even as she eyes the others as well as their twin sensei.
<Pose Tracker> Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Luckily or unluckily, Marinette missed out on the last cooking class. She certainly heard rumours, though, and while some of them seemed to be kind of ridiculous - how in the world could someone make a pancake explode, seriously - the plausible ones had a certain...allure. Celebrity instructors have that little bit of gravitas, even if the knowledge imparted might otherwise be the same...and sometimes, they really do deserve their fame.
There was a permission slip, she brought it to her parents, and after cleaning coffee off the wall she was...encouraged to go for the opportunity.
So she did, and so here she is - frantically trying to take notes on anything and everything she can. The aesthetic of Infinity as a whole has been a little distraction, but she's managed to write down most of what Paris and Cherie have imparted. Probably. Kind of.
...it'll be fine.
"High-quality..." She stares at her page, and the deletriously absent noun that should have followed that particular note. "High-quality something...well, this is a lesson, so everything is high-quality, right?" Her own voice is small, and more than a little worried. But...they're here to learn, right? So there's room to experiment.
Marinette brushes at her apron a moment, cheerful polka dots covering her white top and pink pants. She glances over at Nori, still bewildered at the fact that she wound up in the same group as the Akamira model - what kind of small world is this? And...she glances at Usagi, her inner monologue becoming a quietly muttered outer monologue without her notice. "How many glamorous models do you know, anyway?"
"All right, dough. I...don't think I've ever had squid ink? But I suppose that would give it a striking colour. We might not need too much, black tends to dye strongly - but I think my mother said something about offsetting salt with sweet when baking. So we'll probably need to do that!" Cookie-baking advice in minde, she starts rummaging through the jars, searching for something like grated chocolate or candied citrus rind...
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"W-Well... it may come out spicy, but..."
Lera puts a finger to her chin, her eyes looking down at the jars. Then, at Setsuna. Then, at the jars. Setsuna might spot the way her expression shifts slowly; one that changes from a serious, intent, and slightly confused stare to a slow, playful grin. Her eyes sparkle with mischief, and then she leans in towards Setsuna.
"...Those are our colors, y'know? So of course they'll be spicy--"
She tries to wink. Except, then, her foot slips, and she tumbles backward, arms flailing, and lands flat on her rear.
<Smooth.>
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
When Fuu heard this class was going to be about making spaghetti, she kind of thought it would be a matter of cooking the noodles for eating, and focusing on the kinds of sauces you can make to serve over the pasta. She was disabused of that notion relatively easily, though - she's used to being surprised - so she's simply paying attention to the lecture and demonstration as they happen. She's glanced up occasionally to see who else is here, but up until Jean Paris reveals the "options" they can choose from, her focus has mostly been on the techniques and other information provided by the two teachers.
... of course none of the optional ingredients are labeled. Her heart actually sinks a bit as she looks at what's here - but she's considering what she might try to work with, even so. "It's going to be very easy to mess this up, isn't it?" she remarks to Kasagami. "I'm sure the quality of the individual ingredients is unimpeachable, but that doesn't mean everything will go well with everything else. Wasabi and cinnamon, for instance."
Fuu lets out a breath, washes her hands (just to be on the safe side), and goes over to pick out some seasonings. Wasabi spaghetti *might* actually be worth trying, and it's going to be hard to mistake that for anything else - but she doesn't really expect to find it among the options.
Then again. This is Infinity, and weirder things not only 'can' happen, but *do* on a passing regular basis.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Usagi Tsukino did not acquit herself well during the last pancake cooking class. Even with Makoto Kino's advice - she still created a disaster. This time she needs... an advantage.
"Moon Power - Turn Me Into a Stylish Cooking Student!"
And that is how Usagi Tsukino got a pink toque, a pink double breasted jacket, and a half-apron over a pleated poodle skirt that has a bunny emblem. Obviously such things will make her a better chef.
Crossing her arms as Jean Paris explains, she feels she definitely has this in the bag, giving a little wave to Marie after.
"Dough makes all the most delicious things Nori-chan. Bread-" She nudges Marinette, "-cookies-" Double nudges Marinette and...
Then Nori mentions squid ink.
Usagi Tsukino gets a flashback to Daimons sieging the salt fort. "Ahaha... I can't say that I have Nori-c- Oh wait-" She leans over to ask surreptitiously, "-should I call you Akamira in public?" As if being so familiar with a model was indiscrete. However... Nori sloshes that jar, and Usagi Tsukino takes one defensive step back. From this distance it smells like soy sauce however now she's imagining where it came from, "D-Do high class models really develop a taste for things like that? I mean Takoyaki is one thing but..."
Now she's imagining Adrien Agreste dabbing black ink off of his mouth delicately with a napkin. The color drains out of her.
Which is why she focuses on Marinette's question, "Oh I don't know..." She counts off on her fingers, "There's Adrien-chan, Arisugawa-san..." She puts a finger to her chin, "...Michiru-san. And then of course there's-" Usagi pats Nori on the shoulder, "Squid-cha-I mean Nori-chan of course!"
She corrects herself hastily - wishing she'd gone with Akamira but she thought the familiarity would impress her kouhai, "We're real close - so close that she's invited me over to her private loft!"
Salt and sweet...? Usagi Tsukino considers for a moment, and then picks up a jar of cinnamon, passing it to Marinette, "Will brown sugar work?"
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Utena smiles down at Anthy. It's a soft, quiet smile, a gentle expression, and she watches her roommate work the dough as though transfixed, hypnotized. Chu-Chu's disruption of her partner ultimately disrupts them both, and if she's a few paces behind in the dance of the eyes, it's only a few.
Caught daydreaming, she pinkens slightly. It's her color anyway but it looks particularly good next to the simple white apron and hair scarf she's got going. Then her hands go hastily to the eggs.
Haste and eggs are not a good combination, and there's a sort of hup-hup-hup-haaaa moment as they slip from her grasp and she catches and slips about three times towards the floor before finally getting a firm hold.
"Saaaafe," she exhales, relieved, before presenting the carton to Anthy a little less quickly and a little more carefully. "You'd better break 'em on purpose, becasue I just broke 'em on accident, like, three times."
She looks between Lera and Setsuna, who are on on side, and Nori and Usagi on the other. "Wow, you guys are sure getting elaborate," she admires. "Did you want me to get anything to add, Himemiya? Or do you want to keep it simple-- aa, Lera?! You okay?"
She eats up the space between them in a handful of steady, concerned strides, and offers a modestly floury hand. In so doing, she brushes by Setsuna, and gives her a brief, friendly look.
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Setsuna on more than one occasion so far has glanced to Chu-Chu. He's so /cute/ that she can't really help it, smiling each time, laughing softly once. It's terribly distracting, it means she hasn't made her notes very well.... But--
A beat when Utena addresses her and Setsuna nods sharply. "If the challenge is to mix mysterious ingredients into our pasta, then we won't lose!" She--at least she seems determined, though--
"Spicy...?" Setsuna tilts her head at Lera. "I'm not sure what these are--"
Lera leans in. Setsuna has a feeling of dread that she cannot explain, turning to look fully at the taller girl. This sort of grin is never good. So when Lera mentions that of course they'll be spicy--
"..."
Setsuna gives a friendly look to Utena as she passes though it has shades of 'help me' in it as she slouches and buries her face in her hands, reddening. "Lera!" she calls, scandalized. She--she needs a minute.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Yoko Kanno - The Egg and I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6N1_GJAyFw
A small sample of Sister Schools students were selected to participate in this experimental, cross-school class - and Mikoto Minagi was one of them!
... she skipped the first class, because of course she did. Trust Mikoto not to appreciate the unique opportunity she has been afforded.
After a gentle dressing-down from her guardian Mashiro, who was /very/ familiar with how difficult this was to set up, Mikoto... remained utterly unconvinced about its importance. But then Mai heard about it, mysteriously, and that was much more effective. Her bribery, that is.
So here she is at Infinity, that school which is entirely encased in /one building/ and which is therefore much more difficult to climb. She's in her Ohtori uniform, a pink apron tied around it to protect the autumn colours from stains and spills. She scrunches up her face in concentration as she considers Kasagami's spread of ingredients. "Italian..."
That's food like spaghetti, right?
Is that much different to ramen? Mikoto has seen Mai cooking ramen a lot. Sometimes she makes the noodles too. She's seen it done a lot, so she's sure it can't be that different. Just mix everything up, and then cut it, and...
Yeah, it can't be that hard. "Don't worry, Fuu!" Mikoto chirps, in her confidence.
That reassurance given, she hums concentration as she tries to remember how it goes. Never mind the /very/ illustrious instructors they have right there. Mikoto doesn't know who they are and doesn't really care.
Lera slipping and falling utterly breaks that concentration, and she huffs a breath through puffed cheeks as she looks out over the stations in her distraction. There, she sees - Utena rescuing an egg.
Oh! Right! To make pasta, you need eggs! Mikoto's face brightens as she turns to Fuu and Kasagami again, grabbing a bowl and an egg and cracking it perfectly in.
Anyone who attended Midori's remedial cake disaster knows where this is going. But can Fuu prevent disaster...?
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The atmosphere of the home ec room was very different from Ohtori's. The stations didn't seem to be impossibly clean and free of worn and tear from those learning their way around a kitchen, but it also didn't have the homely feel of Juuban's cooking stations either. It was more like a newly opened resturant, one that is just barely starting to get into the groove of cooking.
The fact that each station has almost futuristic video feed so you don't have to look at the front is another example of just how different Infinity truly was.
Niramo watches nerviously as Mari Cherie goes into detail about the dough and how it should be seasoned. Dressed in dark blue pants, a green top, a white apron and her long black hair in a hairnet, the short ravenette was quickly realizing just how much more complicated this was going to be compared the western pancakes she made last time.
"Squid ink? I mean, I heard of it being used in certain dishes, but I never tried cooking anything with it before..." The small jar that Nori sloshes around certainly has a distinct smell, but...maybe squid ink smells like soy sauce? "Maybe we should, but not too much! We don't want to completely overpower the pasta."
The tall upper-classman mentions knowing quite a few models, and the fact that apparently Nori is a model herself...well, the pressure is on now!
Hey, it's hard to keep track of what fashion models are the most popular when your fashion talents go as far as listen to a friend's recommendations!
"I imagine when you're popular as a model, you can enjoy foods that you normally don't expect. Maybe strange foods is a requirement for being a model?"
Marinette starts to search through the jars and with Usagi holds up a container of brown sugar, Niramo is wondering if missing labels were the cause to the exploding pancakes. "I-I don't think sugar goes well with noodles, and we're just trying to get them ready to cook. Maybe if we find some basil or...hmmm, is there grated cheese in there? Gooey squid ink spaghetti should be a good start, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
At the declaration of the King, Nori Ankou glances towards Heaven, which gives her no reply. "It adds the essence of the sea to the pasta," Nori tells Marinette, reaching for a ladle. "It's really very good and it makes it a rich, gorgeous, natural black."
Nori glances towards Usagi then with a wan smile. "Oh my; do I have a competitor?" She leans forwards, tilting her head as she says to Usagi, "You can call me whatever you want, ma petit lapin. Just do not call me too late for dinner." When DID Nori manage to get so tall anyway.
Her brow furrows for a moment at the reference to squid. As she sloshes around the jar of what is absolutely not squid ink, she wonders: do I resemble a squid? I do have soulful eyes. She then gets the ladle and dumps a generous bit into the bowl. "Mm. With pasta this rich we may not even need much of a sauce!"
"We often have to dine at odd hours, but sometimes it is a gourmet occasion... so," Nori asserts to Niramo, "it's kind of correct, but the operation is the other way around."
<Pose Tracker> Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
A rhetorical question should generally not receive an answer - and yet, the question Marinette had intended to ask only herself gets a direct response. She trips over air, flailing her arms before catching herself on the counter's edge, and turns to stare at Usagi as she comes up with an honest-to-goodness list. A couple she knew about, a couple she didn't - though being a fashion devotee means knowing of some names, at least. "How well connected..."
...wait. Private loft. She turns to Nori, and hears her call Usagi by that little term of endearment...maybe an uncommon one when applied to a girl, admittedly, but...
She looks between the two of them, jaw slowly falling agape, and almost absent-mindedly takes the jar from Usagi. "That...that would be fine, probably..."
Niramo raises a concern, and Marinette frowns. "There is that - though I think it's just a bit, to bring out the taste of the other ingredients. I'd worry about the consistency, but..." She shakes the jar. "I think this must already be powdered. A bit of basil couldn't hurt - this, right?" She reaches, half-distracted, and shakes dried green seasoning into the bowl of forming dough - along with the cloud of brown powder from the purported sugar. Brown sugar and basil, cinnamon and mint, it's probably the same thing.
Probably. The same. Her eyes are kind of flitting between Usagi and Nori, and she can't help but speak up. "I'm surprised you're using endearments like that in the middle of class-"
A station over, Lera and Setsuna have their...incredibly awkward moment.
"...or maybe I shouldn't worry about a model's spare time! Never mind!" Yup. Smooth.
<Pose Tracker> Anthy Himemiya [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Anthy goes from silent laughter to a flutter of blinking. Utena's display of flush to egg-endangering fluster gets its little audience of one (Chu-Chu's still insistent on getting the whole flour thing going). She accepts the shaken-not-stirred carton, owl-eyed, then smiles again and gets to it! "Only on purpose, I promise, Utena-sama."
Under those knowing hands, the proper ingredients commingle in the proper quantities. Utena asks about additives, and Anthy returns a question to her roommate. "We could add thyme, or rosemary, or even saffron if it's here, would you like any of those? Oh...!"
That last is for her heroics on Lera's behalf, though Anthy's spoon never slows its stir. Chu-Chu peers that way too, charcoal-button eyes scrutinizing Lera, then Setsuna. Then he starts surveying the different stations to see whose pasta is the furthest along, strutting like a little inspector.
Infinity stocks rosemary and thyme both as it turns out; perhaps another night Anthy can make saffron noodles. She adds both available seasonings in subtle amounts and then offers the spoon up to Utena for stirring.
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Kasagami crosses her arms, and nods in agreement with her bespectacled partner. "Just the slightest wrong mixture, a few degrees of heat off, and everything is ruined. It's easy to overpower flavor with spices. And worse still..."
A pause, and her good eye turn to eye Fuu with utter importance! As if their souls are on the line! "You have to account for the demon of personal taste, Fuu-chan! But that's why I'm glad I have you as my partner! You're beautiful, intelligent, and most of all..." She lightly bumps one of Fuu's shoulders with an elbow.
"You understand what it is to be green, something I admit that in all of my many, many skills I woefully lack. Help me pull this off and I will owe you." Her gaze sparkles in amusement at the Wind Knight.
Kasagami can't help but shoot Lera and Setsuna a look that's...well, partially laughing at Lera's misfortune, and partially appreciating the duo. Mostly the latter though, and she rubs her temple. A sigh leaves her that's just a little happy.
"I really do think that the best cooking comes when making things for others. Let's not fall behind, huh, Fuu-chan?" She mutters, even as she winces.
Kasagami does her level best to ignore Anthy's entire existance spitefully, never /quite/ seeming to look her way and yet the pang of something lost makes her right hand tense. Utena gets a far more curious look. Just /what/ kind of pasta making is the Prince capable of!? Kasagami flicks a slightly awkward wave and tries not to wince too much at each near-death of an egg.
And then...Mikoto. At first Kasagami beams at her Not-Little-Sister, gesticulating wildly just as she formulates a good, animated greeting. She doesn't /quite/ get to give it out though. Very much unaware of Mikoto's skills in that department, she stops whatever she was going for and simply nods to the sword-catte, with absolute trust.
"I could think of few others I'd rather cook with. Let's work together, and dazzle everyone!!" Encourages Kassie to her compatriots even as she's working on mixing up the beginnings of dough.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Elaborate? Usagi Tsukino pokes her fingers together and separates them a few times with this shy look, "Well since we have a model as our partner today we have to make pasta fit for..." Usagi Tsukino stops pulling her fingers apart, keeping the tips together as she says, "... royalty." The only way she could be less subtle is if she actually said 'Prince'.
Perhaps she'll end up regretting that word choice with Kasagami in the room.
Niramo however suggests they not overpower the cooking and suddenly all of her insecurities of something gross despite being exotic fade away, "I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean we should be bold with our cooking shouldn't we?"
That sounds like something Makoto Kino would say. In her head at least.
The reality is though that she'd probably tell Usagi she needs to master the basics before trying something like that.
However Nori then starts speaking French and Usagi puts a hand over her mouth, uncertain what's happening. Was Nori flirting with her? That's what she associates the French language with... either that or Haruka doing angry karaoke.
Rubbing in her cheeks as they start to heat up, suddenly the fact that she messed up and called Nori 'Squid-chan' doesn't sound like such an error after being told call her what she wants. "W-Well it's not a competition... I mean... being... beautiful... that is."
As far as Usagi Tsukino is concerned, there's room enough in her life for every pretty girl.
"I'm sure it's okay Marinette-chan, after all... she's a model." As if beautiful people didn't have to follow the same rules as everyone else. Before looking over at Lera's predicament and starts to titter. Nudging Marinette, "Those two lovebirds are like that /all/ the time." She whispers, in complete approval of those two being like that.
Niramo focuses her back on task... "Really? You think? Hmmm..." She looks to Marinette for confirmation, then puts the jar back... "Oh I know! What about sundried tomatoes or something?" Leaning over, Usagi rummages down below. After a moment she triumphantly places a jar of dehydrated wrinkled red things on the station. "Ta~da~"
The label is faded so much as to be unreadable...
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Finish kneading your dough!" Marie calls over the din. "It will need to rest for a half hour, to let the gluten develop, and while that's happening, you're all going to be making sauce!"
"I like it when you get saucy," smirks Jean, wandering up to the blackboard at the front -- which is really transparent, and echoed onto everyone's screens -- and starts writing down a dubiously-legible list of some kind. 'Puttanesca' 'Primavera'... they're pasta preparations.
COIN FLIP: Nori Ankou flips a coin. It lands on tails! <Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Nori picks up another spoon to fish out a little bit of the 'tomato' Usagi added and raises it to her lips to taste.
She goofs it up because the spoon wasn't meant for this. "Hm! It's a little bland," she says. "But I think that will be a good balance~."
Her eyes return to Marinette. "You will have to forgive me - I have to match my counterpart in deliquency." She winks, to show it is a Joke, and she is not in fact fundamentally trying to out-delinquent the Blue Princess.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Freshly encouraged by her comrade(s) in cookery, Fuu explores the seasonings, spices, and other flavorful ingredients provided. One little jar gets her attention, containing something which seems rather like wasabi paste - maybe a bit too dark, but a quick whiff of its contents doesn't convince her that she's wrong. She collects a couple of other little jars, then returns to the cooking station she'll be sharing with Kasagami and Mikoto.
"Oh, Mikoto-san! You're quite good at cracking eggs," she says with a smile, setting her jars down. "We need ..." She checks her notes (of course she was taking notes!) "... two eggs for a batch, it looks like." She reaches for another bowl so she can start mixing the flavorings.
... hopefully there isn't already an egg in that one.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Y-Yep!" Lera calls back to Utena, thrusting a hand up into the air and making the rather obvious thumbs-up sign.
Then, she turns her head, and looks up at Setsuna. She flashes her a big, bright grin -- for a moment, she looks truly and utterly happy. She stands up with the help of Utena, though, and dusts herself off. She looks at the pink-haired girl, with a little bounce to her step as she stands up. "S-See?" she asks her friend. "Totally!"
She brushes a hand through her hair. "Nothing bruised except my pride. And tailbone. Yep. Definitely my tailbone," she says.
She coughs. Then she looks at Anthy. "Sorry to distract your partner!"
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Setsuna knows some models, too!
...But with Lera just looking so /happy/, Setsuna relents more of less immediately, giggling softly for a moment before she nods brightly and grabs her things. "Oh, yes..."
A beat, "Thanks," she says to Utena, and then rolls her eyes lightly at Lera, "You should be more careful..." And at that, she guides Lera back towards their table, where--there's--
Well, along the way, Setsuna waves again at Chu-Chu, a tiny wave for a tiny figure.
"Ah, this way..." Setsuna, for her part, starts looking around--she counts the eggs, then the other ingredients, and, "This goes into the flour..." She measures carefully! ...And takes her eyes off of the eggs.
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Utena gives Setsuna the privacy she's clearly seeking -- she herself has completely missed any innuendo whatsoever, it's flown right over her head -- and focuses on Lera instead. "Ooh, that's no good, when you get home you should put a nice gel on it so it doesn't get all swollen. And, um, your guys' pasta looks really pretty, for what it's worth?"
Returning to her partner's side, she gamely accepts Anthy's spoon and starts stirring. Her nose twitches. "Wow, this smells really good. What did you put in here? Is that... basil?"
She is guessing hopelessly.
A dimple forms in one cheek as her grin widens. "Maybe... caramel? Chocolate?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
There are a lot of things to worry about, Kasagami replies to Fuu, and Mikoto frowns, with a noise of consideration. Well... it is true that last time she tried to make ramen they were finding noodles in the corners of the dorm for a week afterward...
"It's hard?!" Mikoto realises, all ashock. Even though Mai makes it look so easy--!
Luckily, Kasagami is there to reassure her that they'll dazzle everyone, and Mikoto nods firmly. It was a while since she last tried it. She's probably much better at it now!
One thing she is inarguably good at is /cracking eggs./ Luckily, as if forseeing tragedy, the celebrity chefs have already properly proportioned each ingredient at the cooking station.
Unluckily, Setsuna and Lera are distracted, and because their station is /right there,/ Mikoto just kind of reaches over and grabs them. She doesn't really think of it as stealing. They're supposed to be cooking, and these are cooking ingredients, right? She's cooking.
It means that there are double the amount of eggs in the bowls provided, when Fuu returns, and there /is indeed/ an egg in the mixing bowl, because there were never supposed to be this amount of eggs. Mikoto beams at Fuu's praise, only to cant her head as Fuu specifies two eggs.
"Two...?" There are four eggs. "It's okay!" Mikoto declares, brightly. "Eggs are delicious!"
At least being reminded of the recipe means that she won't go and embezzle any more eggs. She sets to kneading, instead! Surely her compatriots are totally trustworthy with the sauce, and will not create anything painful.
<Pose Tracker> Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
At Usagi's nudge, Marinette glances back towards Lera and Setsuna, blinking rapidly. "All the time? That's...got to be distracting." Approval or disapproval, she belatedly realizes that the instructor is calling out instructions again. "Really distracting - okay, models or not, we need to figure out what we're doing! "
The story of a generation, maybe.
She nods at Usagi's tomato-ish suggestion, not paying close attention, and fumbles for her notebook. The instructor's speaking, and she's got to take notes...as best she can. Rapidly scribbling down something that's dubiously legible to begin with might have a few...transcription errors. Maybe a few more than that.
She's distracted from a key instruction from Nori's comment - but oddly enough, panic turns to laughter from Marinette. "I've had a couple of good conversations with KOZUE - she's not all that bad. Gave me some good career advice, too! ...besides, there aren't any cars in this classroom for you to lounge on, so that part won't be much of a contest." She flashes a grin, and turns back to- aaand she's missed the last three steps of one recipe.
Okay. Fine. "Uh, let's see. I missed out on some of the primavera ingredients, but the puttanesca doesn't seem too hard. I think my grandmama said it was a favourite of hers..." Marinette trails off, and her face turns pale. "...her favourite. If we make that, then I'd have learned one of her favourite dishes..."
She starts rapidly mumbling to herself in a panic, notebook falling to the floor as she puts her hands to her head. "...and that means that if I mess it up, she'll fly back from whatever part of South America she's visiting just to tell me how disappointed she is, and I'll be banished from the family kitchen for all time, and I'll flunk out of home economics and be forced to repeat junior high eternally..." ...she might be a while.
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
As Nori explains to Marinette what squid ink does to a dish, Niramo is wishing that she brought a notepad in with her. She does seem to know what she's talking about, so that makes the Juuban student feel like the pasta was going to come out fine. But then Nori gives out a snippet of what it's like to be a model, and Niramo has to resist the urge to duck her head as she feels embarrased about prying into Nori's lifestyle. "O-oh, I didn't realize that you could only eat at certain times. I guess you can't exactly eat whenever you are posing off new clothing?"
Marinette almost trips into the bowl, and it's with a sigh of relief when their preparing noodles doesn't go flying to collide with another station's creation. "Maybe just a little, to off-set it." It's hard to tell exactly what Marinette is shaking onto the noodles, but it was green and dried. It has to be basil! "Not too much of the sugar, we shouldn't try to turn these into candied noodles...though I might have to try something like that later." Niramo eyes her bookbag resting safely against a wall and shakes her head. So close yet so far away.
The overtones of Usagi and Nori seems to be going over Niramo's head at the moment as she tries to figure out how to temper her partners. Besides, they must be good friends!
Bold cooking seems to be the course of the day, and Niramo is quickly realizing that she won't be able to keep these noodles from being simple and easy to boil. "Well, I guess so. I mean, this is just experimentating, right? As long as we're careful, i'm sure we can make something wonderful!" Besides, Usagi certainly seems to be well dressed for the occasion, so maybe she's feeling confident in her cooking talents now? "Sundried tomatoes? They must be really diced, but that sounds perfect for spaghetti. Good find, Usagi-san!"
Even with the extra-high quality of the viewing screens, the list that Jean was writing out seems to be nothing more than squibbles to her. "P...priwawora? Is that something we need to add to the sauce?" Priwawora certainly doesn't sound familiar, but it must be important if Jean is writing it out for them. Looking through the jars and at barely readable labels, the ravenette pulls out a jar tucked away in a corner and holds it up. "This should be it, right?" Opening it up, she starts to pour a bit of yellow liquid to the squid ink and pauses, before pouring in a little more.
Corn syrup is fine, right?
<Pose Tracker> Anthy Himemiya [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Anthy Himemiya has, herself, no trouble at all ignoring Kasagami Araki. Her ignoring is absolute, bereft of any betraying sidelong glances.
Upon receiving an apology, Anthy returns a polite little smile. "It was only a brief distraction after all, Camry-san," she says. "But don't let us keep you." Chu-Chu wanders up and pokes at one of Setsuna and Lera's unguarded eggs; they're of a size. The egg wobbles, and the monkey-mouse could not be more suspicious.
Then it leaves the table entirely under Mikoto-power, and Chu-Chu shakes his fist at the departing oval as if to say, I showed you!
"Basil, Utena-sama? Chocolate...?" An innocent echoing at first (either Anthy does not get it or she is pretending not to, and who could tell but Anthy?) as green eyes go from blue to dough and back again to blue.
Then, a bright soap-bubble of an "Oh!" follows.
"Maybe your taste buds will guess better than your nose will, Utena-sama," she suggests with a chirp in her voice. "Do you want a hearty sauce?"
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Kasagami Araki slowly peers over at Usagi. She pauses. And blinks just a moment.
"What other way is there to make pasta, Usagi Tsukino!?" Consider her distracted.
Twitch. Marie interrupts before she can go on any ambitious rants, and Kasagami snaps to Fuu so fast it almost hurts. She eyes the container that Fuu has, considers. For a second she seems unsure, but goes with her gutt. Also her stomach, which might be mildly growling right now. "Interesting choice Fuu-chan." She doesn't seem to be against it. Kassie helps out with some kneading, even as she flicks her gaze between her partners.
But then, Mikoto adds so many extra eggs. So. Many. All of that confidence, all of that trust in skill drains from her face in a look of absolute horror. Everything she's learned of cooking makes her brain hurt. Her eyes go wide. She can /feel/ it in her heart.
"M...Miko-chan!" Gulp. It hurts inside! "Cooking is about balance! All things in equal measure!" She offers as way of advice. Surely this can be salvaged. Or will they be awash in naught but egg noodlery!?
With her grand romantic pasta-filled dreams shattering before her, she's gathering more spices. Maybe some primavera to go with the 'wasabi' and 'egg' creation? With another calming breath, she's adding spices with a flourish and heating up sauce pans with a little prayer inside. One hand tugs her gloves again.
"...I think we should make a strong sauce, everyone. An expertly crafted sauce can improve anything." She adds, solemnly. Maybe with a little prayer inside.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Ehehe," Nori says to herself when the name of pasta puttanesca is revealed. She doesn't elaborate.
Instead she says to Marinette, "Eh?"
Nori brushes flour off her hand and reaches over to rest that hand on Marinette's shoulder. She then shifts into another language. One that Nori thinks they have in common.
"<Marinette, you OK are? You need to sit down, it's extremely good. Your grantante will be excelsior proud of you, I bet. Believe it!>"
"We should get this blended up," Nori muses to the other two. "Have any of you ever mixed dough like this before? Do we use our hands?"
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Marie and Jean break down a number of sauce recipes by ingredient and some vague but not useless instructions. Enough to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. They also unveil more ingredients, and give a brief lecture on safety when handling raw meat.
OOC: It's time for a montage! Please prepare your sauces (which takes about a half hour) through a brief selection of hijincks, one pose each!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Y-Yeah," Lera answers Utena. She directs another thumbs-up in her direction. "I don't wanna have that be uncomfortable all week! And... thanks, y'know? Yours and Himemiya's also looks really great!"
She winks.
Then, she turns, and looks back at Setsuna. "I-I know," Lera says with a sheepish grin. She scratches the back of her head, and then she looks down. Her eyes widen as she looks down at the bowl where their eggs had been. She does not notice the movements of one Mikoto Minagi.
Instead, her jaw hangs open--
--and she ducks her head under the table, before she stands up. She looks at Setsuna, then leans over, and very seriously asks (in a hoarse whisper):
"Did... did they hatch?"
<Pose Tracker> Utena Tenjou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Actually, something light sounds nice," Utena replies after a moment's thought that leaves a floury fingerprint on her cheek. "So it doesn't overpower your really nice noodles."
She grabs Chu-Chu by the tail -- gently -- and transfers him up to her shoulder where he will have a better view and get into less trouble. Probably. Hopefully.
"Um, here," she offers a spare bowl of eggs from an unused station to Setsuna and the gobsmacked Lera. "Looks like we have a little thief... have you two met Chu-Chu? He's Himemiya's friend."
She beams over at Anthy, then looks back at the others. "What flavors are you using, anyway?"
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Now that she's recovered herself, at least, Setsuna says to Utena--perhaps a little late--"Thank you! I like these colors..."
And then she looks between Lera and Setsuna for an instant while she's mixing dry ingredients. "Yes," she agrees about a way for Lera to take care of herself, and gets back to mixing. Before--she pauses. She paaaauses and looks to the bowl, then up to Lera.
"H-hatch...?" Setsuna blinks. "They don't--I mean, that doesn't..." She frowns. "Does it...?"
A glance to Utena and then a smile. "Ah! There they are, thank you!" She pauses, and leans down. "So that's your name. Hello, Chu-Chu. My name is Setsuna." Setsuna brings out one floury finger for Chu-Chu to shake. Then she beams back.
"Oh um..." Setsuna nudges forward the little bowls of spice. It... looks like cayenne powder, chili powder, more... powerful curry powder...
"I'm not sure," Setsuna says. "But these looked nice." She seems entirely innocent about this. Though at that point, "Lera says they're spicy..."
"Ah--we have to hurry!"
Setsuna mixes in the wet ingredients, with the spicy mix already prepared, so that they can start to get to their sauce. Too late now!!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Lera's eyes are on Setsuna's and wide. She nods, slowly, to her conclusion. She knows, of the two of them, one is a little smarter than the other. Her mouth opens, though, at the question. She shakes her head, quickly--
Utena to the rescue. "Eggs!" she declares. "Those look great! You're the best, Utena!"
She grins. "Awww," Lera murmurs, leaning over to look at Chu-Chu. "He's cute! I've never quite seen a mouse -- I think? -- like him!"
She stands up straighter, though, and then she looks down at the sauce. "I think that the orange is pepper and the red is... extra pepper?" she asks. "So, um. Spicy! And--oh, yeesh, the sauce! Um--um--what sort of sauce?! Aaaah--CREAM."
She grabs cream and begins pouring it into a hot skillet. "We got this!!"
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
"Well, we could make twice as much pasta," Fuu admits. "Double the amounts of flour and the other ingredients ..."
Or, if the excess of eggs had been caught before they got mixed in with other ingredients, they could have offered the expertly cracked eggs back to the team from whom they'd been purloined in the first place. For now, Fuu attempts to gauge how much of the seasonings will be required - or, she realizes, they could do one batch of plain and one batch of flavored, or something.
Well. For all that it's best to learn a recipe *according* to recipe, the art of cooking also includes adapting as you go to make up for any missteps along the way, right? "... actually," Fuu says quietly as she eyes the dark green contents of that one jar, "I'm not sure if this is wasabi. Or maybe it's concentrated more than we usually see it alongside sushi ... but does wasabi have this kind of oil in it normally?"
She looks to Kasagami, then to Mikoto.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"Pasta for normal people of course!" Usagi Tsukino quickly says back to Kasagami. Wait is she saying Kasagami is abnormal or royalty?
Usagi clasps her hands together in delight as Nori thinks it'll be a good balance, "Right? I think so too!" However upon mentioning her counterpart, Usagi crosses her arms, "I'm a loyal Akamira all the way but I could tell you a thing or two about people who get an unfair reputation for that..."
She's never met Aohime but she's certainly met Makoto Kino.
"Her favorite?" Usagi Tsukino marvels, as if Marinette's grandmother must have exquisite taste to like something so exotic. However then Marinette starts mumbling.
And Usagi Tsukino doesn't really pay attention at first, however eventually it starts to sink in and... she puts her hand over Marinette's and pats her on the shoulder lowering her voice, "Marinette-chan it's like you're getting caught up in your own sprint- except in your head and it's twisting you up in knots. The worst that could happen is you'll get a make-up class and then you'll absolutely manage to do it! I fail all the time at cooking and my family still hasn't banned me from the kitchen...!"
Chibi-Usa probably just /wishes/ she's been.
Luckily Nori's on the other end of her, calming her down in what Usagi assumes is flawless advice in French.
And so Usagi cedes the effort to her at that point, and moves over to the dough. "That's how the best bakers do it right?"
Usagi Tsukino begins trying with her bare hands. Though it's quickly becoming a gooey mess. Eventually the group rallies...
-=-=-
>i'm so jealous you're making pasta with Akamira >i know <3 <3 <3 it's so great >the prince is here too!!! >... >which one? >oh come on you should know which one >its hard to keep track with you!!! >she'll be the one saying delicious before we're done >if he survives eating yours you'll know hes an impasta >that's so mean! >wait a second >SHE? >gotta go!!! >you won't escape me that easily!!!
-=-=-
Usagi Tsukino has been mostly texting not so surreptitiously while the others prepare the sauce. However she comes back to it to add...
The 'sundried tomatoes'.
<Pose Tracker> Niramo Umokeshi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
A list of sauce recipes are revealed, and Niramo points a finger out to the screen towards the recipes. Depending on where you were, her finger could be pointing out at several recipes on the small screen. "Oh, let's go with that one there. It should go well with the whole 'essence of the sea' we want to do with our spaghetti!"
Thankfully, Nori is quick to the rescue as she attempts to calm down Marinette, though it was curious she wasn't speaking in Japanese or English. Did Nori and Marinette travel the world? "Usagi-san is right. This isn't for a grade, and I think we're doing things differently from what your grandmother does, so she shouldn't mind it if you have taken a few liberties. Let's just try following the recipe!"
Heading over to get ground beef and cloves of garlic, Niramo starts to cut the garlic into small chunks, then mixes in bits of ground beef before sliding it into the sauce pot. Seems like surf and turf is Niramo's game plan, and with clearly written recipes, everything should be fine here, right?
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto meets Chu-Chu's eyes for just a moment. There really ought to be a crackle of electricity as the screen splits between them, but they're not in Ohtori, so it's just a moment of intensity. She breaks the standoff in an instant by snatching up the egg he's wobbling.
It's hers now.
See how /he/ likes it.
Unintentionally, she leaves him to be blamed for her horrible crimes. (Luckily, there's a gallant Prince on hand to save the day.)
Mikoto makes a curious noise, as Kasagami exclaims her name, tilting her head. "Equal..?" She turns to their cooking station, examining it with a serious expression. "... it's okay! Four is equal!" She reassures her friend, in that moment cheerfully mixing up 'equal' and 'even' and mistaking Kasagami's advice for it.
Once the dough is thoroughly kneaded - perhaps a little too kneaded, because Mikoto has found something else she is good at and needs to be reminded that she has to stop eventually - she joins her compatriots in their quest to make a strong sauce. It's good when things are strong, so surely that counts for sauce, too.
There are no labels on the spices, so Mikoto just sniffs at them to try and figure out what they are. There's a brown one which smells good, so she helpfully hands it over to Kasagami, most likely at a critical spice-requesting juncture.
She blinks as she considers Fuu's jar. "... it's kitchen, so must be, right?" She doesn't recognise the word 'wasabi' immediately, and so there is no alarm to her. The jar doesn't /smell/ bad, after all. That might just be because it is contained in a jar and is therefore more difficult to smell.
From the station beside her she hears Lera exclaiming about how their pasta is /spicy,/ and Mikoto huffs, because of /course/ they'd make painful spaghetti.
Unlike their batch, which will never, ever betray her.
<Pose Tracker> Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Caught in a spiral of despair and panic, Marinette is momentarily lost. Stern words from a friend are often needed - kind ones easily lost in the panic, reasonable ones utterly ignored. Utterly bizarre words, though...it's jarring enough that Marinette does a double-take, blinking rapidly in the middle of her description of her future doomed career as a part-time summer janitor for a tourist trap in Hokkaido. "<What...what was that?>"
It's confusing, and she's left blinking in utter stupefaction at Nori's back as she takes a seat on a stool. For a moment, she's safely not being allowed anywhere near that truly incredible and terrific dough.
For some meaning of those words, anyway.
"I...think I'd better sit down for a minute. I'm sure it won't be exactly the same, I just...don't want to disappoint her. Whenever I do see her, anyway..." She mutters darkly for a moment, but lets out a sigh. "Try, and try again..."
---
Five minutes into the sauce-making, Marinette's breathing is under control enough that she can gather her wits and her notes. "Sorry about that, everyone, I'll...try to get to work now!" She rapidly skims through her notes, trying to figure out what's under control and what isn't. Some ingredients already look like they're in the pot, so she can just grab the ones her teammates haven't yet!
It doesn't take long before she's darting in to add a handful of capers to the sauce-in-progress - a crucial ingredient for puttanesca sauce that no one had added yet. Indubitably helpful...if the group had been making puttanesca.
---
"All right, this word is..." She squints at the notebook. "...click the anchovies? What does that even mean...maybe it's some elaborate high cuisine thing." Looking around for advice that will never arrive, she shrugs, slaps the anchovies together to shake off a bit of the oil, and tosses them in whole.
---
"Olives again?" Marinette looks over at the ingredient table - but it's late enough that the jar's nowhere to be seen. "I should have moved faster...now what are we going to do?..." A pause - and then inspiration strikes. "Top-quality ingredients, I remember now. It'll be even better if we use the good stuff!"
'Fortunately' the bottle of high-quality olive oil is close at hand.
It doesn't take long to add some more liquid to the pot.
Everything under control.
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Yes, eggs! Utena is their savior. Setsuna, for her part, smiles again at Chu-Chu before she rushes their pasta to wrapping and resting, looking down at the little orb of dough pleasantly. ...Well, not quite an orb. Close enough.
"Umm, okay," Setsuna answers Lera about cream, "Lera's a really good cook," Setsuna explains brightly to Utena in the meantime. And now--well--
As Lera is making sauce, Setsuna gets distracted by Chu-Chu again before--"Oh oh let me know--"
A delightful set of events happens next. Setsuna gathers up ingredients, tilts her head at Lera, and generally tries to help. ...Tries.
"Should we put something solid in it...?"
"Oh oh is this the right color?"
"Hmm..."
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"In a way," Nori muses to support Usagi - even though she had been paying attention to the report on how to avoid giving everyone the raw beef cobbles by washing your hands - "the normal people are the real heroes. After all, they lack so many advantages."
She considers as she gathers up ingredients - mostly fresh clam meat with some fresh minced garlic - and soon enough she is returning to the station.
-=-=-
"Maybe it means to push them with your finger? You know, to squash them up," Nori says about the anchovies.
To Niramo Nori says, "<It is our French! Marinette and me, we both have been come from abroad. So, we both speak our French.>" The 'our French' part may tip Marinette off in hindsight if not explicitly in this moment.
-=-=-
"Are we overcomplicating things to add so many tomatoes...? Eh," Nori says, tilting her sauce pan to catch the 'tomatoes.' "Worst case, it'll be a little bit of a mess."
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Fuu, as ever, is wise and calm. Kassie sucks in a breath and takes a step back from her own dramatics. A finger goes to her forehead thoughtfully. "...Right. You're absolutely right! We'll simply have to double our efforts!"
Yeah, she's basically trying to double ingredients before pasta is let sit. She'll let Miko handle the kneading. She's good at it! Here Kasagami looks far appreciative of her cate-like friend. "Close enough Miko-chan! Together we will succeed!" Arms reach for both girls, and she's throwing them around the pair to try to haul them into a quick hug if they don't get out of the way! Then she's reaching for the rest of the spices as Pesto and other ingredients are up. What's Kassie going for to add?
Well, a combination of pesto, and some kind of cream base alongside something...red. Lots of red. Cayenne. Peppers. All of those hot things.
"Fuu-chan, Miko-chan, these are our combined talents, our combined LOVES given together! No matter what results, let us partake and show the world our creation as the height of cullinary power!" Pause. There's a /second/ sauce container. This one doesn't have those hot things. Except...the spices that Mikoto hands over. It's heavily shoved into both.
Obviously Mikoto likes those.
She looks back to Usagi finally as she stirs sauce, and starts cutting and cooking chicken with an expert hand. Something the girl said has her nodding.
"You're pretty nice when you want to be. Hmm. Maybe I've misjudged you." Kassie sounds....genuinely complimented!?
With luck, the combined Team King-Knight-Cat dish will not be an unholy terror of gastronomic insanity.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"Beats me." Usagi responds when Marinette mentions 'click' as a cooking term, "Unless it's like beats... so like eggs maybe?" Beating the anchovies like eggs is thankfully not something she actually does.
-=-=-
Usagi Tsukino had been trying to follow Nori's French. Wondering if she's now flirting with Niramo... but then she cants her head towards Kasagami, "Uh... thanks?" Before she adds, "... I think?"
Usagi Tsukino shakes her head, "I don't think so? All those anchovies and clams need something to balance them out Nori-chan!"
However she picks up a wooden spoon, and ladles up a small amount, "You know what? Let's get an expert opinion."
And she definitely knows who the biggest food lover in the classroom is besides herself.
She then marches across the cooking station, "Mikoto-chan do you mind trying this out? We're not sure if it's working out..."
The proferred spoon of the sauce is held out for her.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
True enough, Fuu's culinary instincts are at something of a loss without properly labeled ingredients; it's not wasabi paste she found ... but still something rather potent in its own right.
But it shouldn't be deadly, even on the small scale of taste buds. Even when combined with Mikoto's and Kasagami's helpful contributions. Fuu had thought to contain some of the damage by making one batch of unflavored pasta, but apparently that's not to be the case; the blend of greenish and reddish seasonings is soon mixed into the whole mass of noodle dough.
Which might dilute the flavor somewhat. Probably. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, who can tell until the final tasting? Either way, thinks Fuu, Kasagami may not be wrong about their combined 'culinary power' surpassing everyone else's ...
Soon enough, it's time to roll out the dough and start cutting noodles - although in this case, it's 'spinning' rather than rolling flat as for cookies. Draw it out, twirl the strands apart, loop back together, draw out ... it's actually kind of fun, and given the unexpected doubling, there's enough dough for all three girls to work on 'spinning' noodles aplenty.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
This is the moment that an a large emu in the Infinity high school girl's uniform walks up to eye the group of team Clamchovy's station.
Noone thinks this student from Gold Crown Town is a strange sight at all.
It nudges Marinette with a wing.
"Hey. Why is your group breaking into my secret snack stash? There's not a recipe that calls for ghost peppers right...?"
It's avian face looms over Marinette as if expectant for answers, "You're not just snacking right?" Before she turns outright derisive, "Vous ne pouvez pas gérer ce niveau de chaleur, petite fille."
Unfortunately it's far too late to call out in warning because Mikoto Minagi has already...
<Pose Tracker> Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Nori's French is certainly...distinctive to Marinette's ears. It's not the worst she's heard, admittedly, but it's certainly...something. On the bright side, illusions about all models being perfect paragons are being further disassembled. "That's...not quite accurate, senpai, but...c'est rien. It's nothing."
The sauce is as ready as it will ever be, and Marinette turns her attention to the dough. It should have had long enough to rest - and so shaping becomes the next order of business. She carves off a piece to roll out, and to begin shaping - but pauses to take in the appearance. The green has been worked in well enough that it doesn't show, but the crimson of Usagi's addition stands out in the pitch-black of the dough itself. "Red spots on black...I wonder if that's good luck?"
With attention on the sauce, one of the extra attendees is able to poke her head out of Marinette's bag, curious. She looks at the dough, sniffs the air, and stares openly for a long few seconds - all unbeknownst to Marinette herself. At last, Tikki renders judgment.
"It isn't. It really, truly isn't." With those quiet words to herself, she ducks back into the bag to hide as deep as she can manage.
"All right, shapes. I feel like spaghetti might be a little boring...let me try a few things." She starts rolling, readying a knife to try out various patterns. This, at least, has a hope of decent aesthetics - it's not so far removed from working with cloth or clay, and she's got some creative ideas in mind. It's just a bit of a distraction-
And then an emu jars her. "Your...snack stash? Wait, ghost..."
She looks down at her dough, at the fragments of 'sun-dried tomato' peeking out at her.
She looks at the sauce, that Usagi contributed so much to, that had an oddly powerful aroma.
She looks out into open space, staring into the abyss without seeing anything at all, merely nodding at the derisive French. "...nous avons commis une erreur terrible."
It's too late to stop this disaster. Too late to shout a warning. With resignation, she takes the dough before her, and honestly shapes it into a little black pasta skull.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Capascin has a certain sort of smell which Mikoto knows to avoid.
The spice she picked up smells nothing like that, so Mikoto is confident it must be safe.
Surely, pouring it in at such high volumes won't cause any issues..!
"Usagi's a good person," Mikoto chirps to Kasagami when she second-guesses her judgement, as they prepare their sauce.
She continues examining the many spices they have available as they finish up their sauce and Fuu starts on the noodles - and accidentally breathes one in just a little too deeply. She tosses the shaker of fennel aside, sneezing as she is /brutally assaulted/ by the spicy scent.
She can't smell anything now!!
She rubs at her face, scrunching it up in her consternation - and this is where Usagi finds her. Mikoto looks over to her, blinking big yellow eyes as she offers her a taste of the sauce they're making. "I'll help!" She volunteers instantly, with a big smile.
And it's a pity, really.
Because if Mikoto could smell what's on that spoon...
... but any offensive smells must just be the fennel, right?
Totally unaware of the dangers, Mikoto takes the spoon and shoves it into her mouth.
She's still looking at Usagi as it happens. As eyes water, and face draws back from pain. It is a breath of an instant of demanding, wordlessly: /why would Usagi do this to her?/
And then she leaps.
And a terrible dark creature lands on Setsuna's cooking station, taking off in a moment to alight /right in front of Marinette and Nori./ Its eyes burn red as its gaping maw, smoke leaking from the edges. It howls agony as it takes off again, ruffling Niramo's raven hair as it passes over her, to crash through the doors and into the hall.
"What /is/ that?!" Cries an Infinity student in the distance.
"It's the fire-mouthed cat demon-!!" Replies a visiting Ohtori student, with equal alarm. "But why is it HERE?!"
And it's been let loose indoors...
... luckily, Infinity students are clever, and one will think to douse the fiery demon with a bucket of water before it throws itself out a window. It leaves a trail of devastation in its wake. Follow the knocked-over students and scattered books and doors slammed open and chairs forlornly on their sides, and one will eventually find Mikoto Minagi, draining a water fountain with the fury of a thousand suns, which is approximately the amount of heat on her poor, tortured tongue.
What just happened?!
She was making pasta, and then her world became pain and now she's here..?
Everything hurts too much to think about it!
<Pose Tracker> Kasagami Araki [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Kasagami whistles as she works, seeming more and more enjoying her work in cooking chicken and helping make their odd meal come together. She smiles to Mikoto and Fuu alike, slowly starting to relax a bit and generally just seems to be in a good mood. Her knife slices swiftly, her hand shakes a pan to help brown chicken. And then she's adding things to the pot.
All so dragged to the work, that she misses Usagi offering the Spoon of Doom, and then she feels a horrific wind blow past her. Only through a glance does she spy the legendary fire-mouthed cat demon! Slamming her knife into the cutting board, Kassie's apron fluttering off from the sheer force of retreating death-kitties.
Her hair flutters. "Legendary demon....you won't disturb our pasta!"
Pause. She turns about, and gets back to cooking as she smoothes down her hair.
"Demon or eccentric cooking, I won't let this dish be anything less than worthy of the beauty that blots out even the stars!" She mutters to herself, nodding to Fuu and...
"...Miko?"
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Usagi Tsukino is still smiling as Mikoto takes a bite, her eyes watering - and Usagi starts to notice it, "It's... you're not saying anything... are you- are you okay?"
And that's when Mikoto leaps so suddenly that Usagi Tsukino is knocked on her backside. "Mikoto-chan!? Wait!" Hearing the distant screaming, Usagi Tsukino just has this thousand yard stare of complete and utter horror.
-=-=-
Later
>well did she say delicious? >i don't wanna talk about it!
Even Later Than That.
>how do you apologize for someone getting hurt for a cooking disaster? >Oh Usagi-chan. >Don't worry. I've got this!
The Next Day
>mai-chan which dorm is yours again i need to leave an apology gift for Mikoto-chan >i promise i didn't bake the gift myself
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Is my pronounciation a bit off? I have been practicing alone for a while," Nori tells Marinette, thoughtfully.
"Since when," Nori says when the talk of balancing out clams and anchovies comes up, but she defers to Usagi's opinion. She says, during the cooking, "My - it reminds me of home... I can feel myself tearing up a little..."
Especially since, with red on black, it's a very AkaMira dish.
An emu comes up. Nori looks up at her. "Oi," she says to her. "N'insult pas mon camarade, zoiseau grande." A moment passes. "Wait, what did you say? Ghost peppers?"
SHORTLY THEREAFTER: The JSS Miko-to-Minagi rockets out in flame. ("Oh," Nori says, "that's what you meant." Nori grimaces, somehow managing to make it fetching, out of guilt at the probable agony that Mikoto is experiencing. But, as Minako might say: Sailor V.)
- Except that theparenthetical is burned away as the great screaming cat lands on her station! "!!" Nori leaps back, that fetching grimace coming back to her face even as Mikoto vacates the area.
SOON:
BGM SHIFT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx178XZ7_gA
"Oh - Mikoto - what a surprise. But I see you're in a little distress."
An extremely feminine hand comes down. "I had been taking this downstairs... but you can have it, if you want." The hand is carrying a long shallow bowl that seems to be full of...
Milk?
Soft, almost liquid light seems to highlight the immaculate form of Michiru Kaioh, in her uniform and smiling with that serene and slightly-detached expression that Mikoto has known so many times.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Waaah..!" Wails Mikoto, plaintive and pitiful, as she hears Michiru's voice. She's heard it before. She was the one serving her a drink, then.
Now Michiru is offering /her/ something and Mikoto grabs the bowl and chugs it down in an instant. Gulp - gulp - gulp - she doesn't even bother coming up for air until it's all gone, and then she fills her lungs in a great big gasp. Somehow, it seems to help..?!
She only places the taste as /milk/ a moment later, and it all makes sense. Mai gives her milk when she accidentally puts something spicy in a dish and doesn't realise it.
Mikoto latches about Michiru's waist without a single care for propriety. Even though she doesn't know her well - she feels perfectly safe around her. Surely it is because: "/Michiru saved me..!/"
She has saved Mikoto from the multiplex agonies of a pepper so strong it brings even normal girls to their knees, and for this she has so clearly incurred a debt of gratitude and so much instant loyalty.
The world isn't ready for that, Usagi. What have you done?!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
One moment, Mikoto was right there, recuperating from a sudden concentrated inhalation of fennel; Fuu would have attempted to help, but she had her hands full of spaghetti. "Are you sure you're all right, Mikoto-san ... ?" she asks, albeit with only mild concern.
Then, Mikoto goes to help Usagi's team wtith some taste testing. This happens at a moment when Fuu's attention is more on trying not to keep her spaghetti strands from re-tangling or sticking together, and keeping them reasonably straight takes the bulk of her attention. By the time she can look ... the damage is done.
"A demon here and now?" she complains to Kasagami. "You'd think they'd at least wait until the finished spaghetti is ready to eat ... or to steal."
Unbeknownst to Fuu, though, the rampage of the legendary fire-cat demon is brought to a swift and elegant halt before she can carve her terrible legend into Infinity's own mythology. At least, unbeknownst for now. She may find out eventually.
