the food on your plate now belongs to the state

[huszar]

The World Meeting is set over a few days, obstinately in order to give each major topic enough time to be discussed; actually because the nations are so prone to distraction that only by giving them the better part of a week will there be a chance that anything actually does get discussed. Today's meeting is over, Hungary is tired of hotel food, and so she's ventured out to an American market—sorry, supermarket. Wow. What would you even do with an aisle full of cereal? There are about eight brands of milk! Is there even a difference? Her plan of finding a snack is quickly falling by the wayside as she's getting more and more trapped in the world of I Guess They've Never Had Food Shortages, Ever. And wow, do they not stock Paprika flavour crisps anywhere?

Comments

in which austria is suddenly my grandmother

[edle_gestalt]

Austria passes by, a few used toothpicks in hand, looking for a trash pail. He would have used the ones near the actual free sample tables, but he didn't want to take his time eating there and reveal that he'd taken more than one. No, he was discreet about it. Free samples are free samples, and if he can land himself a free lunch out of them? Even better.

Quietly he approaches her, with his tongue in his cheek looking like he's trying to remove something from a molar. He hands her a toothpick, this one not yet used. It has a small cheese cube on top.

"They have little sliced sausages, too. They're passable." He looks around, smirking flatly, making sure no one is in earshot. "Don't take any samples from the bakery, though. I feel like I've just eaten enough sugar to last me the week."

[huszar]

"Ah, thank you," she says automatically, taking the toothpick and popping the cheese into her mouth. She chews and keeps the toothpick in her mouth to chew on, as always endlessly ladylike when she isn't thinking about it. She still has an empty shopping basket hanging from one arm. She spares Austria a quick glance and then goes back to studiously examining the row of packaged, room temperature, 'ready to microwave' stews and entrees. Basically, MREs in disguise. Speaking with her mouth full of cheese and toothpick—again, totally elegant maiden—"I don't know why someone would want to eat rations if you have the choice."

[edle_gestalt]

He can't really decide if the toothpick-chewing is grating or endearing; either way, zeroing in on it in public isn't the best idea. "Ah, it's nothing. They're free." Because clearly his thoughts on giving her cheesy gifts would change if they cost money.

He pauses, then shrugs. "Reluctance to cook, I suppose. Or inability, or lack of time. When you don't associate it with a hardship, it probably feels like you're coming home to a meal that someone's cooked for you. Marginally, anyway."

He stops for a moment, thinking to himself, and lets out a small laugh under his breath. "Know what you mean, though. Took me until a decade ago to enjoy rye bread again. Did you see they have 'artisan' rye bread? Oxymoron. And the price... how droll, really."

[huszar]

"It takes ninety seconds in the microwave," she says, taking a package and flipping it over. She's not offended—she's actually sort of curious. Wants to try one. Just to see how awful it is. She kind of smiles, glancing over at Austria again, her expression almost mischievous. "Do you even know how long a real stew takes to make? Maybe you got to come home to home-cooked meals, but I was the one slaving away in the kitchens."

She can joke about it now—when not a soldier, a servant—but the reason for the almost is that, well, she was a servant to a haughty aristocrat, and some things are awkward. She was only in the kitchens because she kept trying to run off with the horses if allowed to work outside.

[edle_gestalt]

He smiles, in a sort of bittersweet way. He knows it's lighthearted, but he also knows what it's rooted in, originally. "Don't you think I ever forgot." Well. Not that he wasn't spoiled about it initially, but as time went on he did grow up to appreciate all she did. He did what he could to raise her higher, give her more rights and better treatment, but it was difficult to juggle with all of the others underneath him prodding for their rights as well. Especially since he wasn't exactly mature enough to handle everyone at once - he kept everyone placated, but not satisfied, because it was the only way he could figure out. But he always gave her special attention above the others. Always wanted to, anyway, even if some of his bosses weren't as keen.

He speaks, faux-insulted, and more or less warmly. "I know how early you used to get up to have everything in order. And don't think I've never made a stew in my life...! I have..." And the next bit is more subdued, far less indignant: "...They're just not as good."

There's a small snort before he continues. "I make the best desserts, though."

[asure]

Turkey has run out of sweet snacks and that is never an alright thing to happen. He figures that it's because this world meeting was more aggravating than the previous and he needed something to keep his mouth occupied lest he begin shouting obscenities at everyone who annoyed him. But he didn't expect the selection that was given to him the minute he stepped into the store. Is there really a need to have something this big?

He has a basket full of fruit snacks (that's healthy, right?) and is just sort of meandering around, trying to see what else is there in market that he may want. He is running low on juice as well... Turkey sees Hungary looking around as well and amicably makes his way towards her.

"Oi, quite a selection they got, huh?"

[huszar]

She gives him a suspicious look, but mostly out of habit. It's not like she really dislikes Turkey… just, you know, she doesn't want him to get the wrong idea or anything. "They don't have paprika flavored chips," she says, which also clearly means they have a terrible selection. Her own basket is empty except for some beer.

[asure]

He just keeps smiling at her, not deterred at all by her look. He's gotten used to it and it never means anything bad, unless she has her frying pan with her, then Turkey's looking for the closest person to put in between him and that frying pan. He lets a small snort of laughter at her displeasure of not finding paprika chips in the store. "A travesty, I'm sure," he says as he sees the contents of her basket.

[huszar]

"They have every other kind!" she says, clearly not appreciating the snort. "They have pickle and sandwich flavor, why wouldn't they have paprika? Look, man, this is a serious matter, and she doesn't appreciate your lack of sympathy.

[asure]

"America eatin' strange things had to come from somewhere... Wait really, there's a pickle and sandwich flavor? Why not just eat a pickle and sandwich?" Turkey is seriously questioning American diets. And possibly Hungarian too.

[huszar]

She misunderstands that slightly. "I don't remember Britain having weird flavored chips last time we had a meeting in his house." She points out the bags of pickle and BLT flavored chips and gives Turkey a questioning look.

[asure]

"Well, his cooking had to factor in there somewhere." And then he proceeds to stare at those bags of chips. There are so many things wrong here...

[huszar]

"You should buy it!" she says, smiling sweetly at him once she catches his staring. "I bet you'd love them!"

[asure]

"Why don't ya?" he says back, "Since ya can't find the chips ya want. And it looks like ya might need something besides that to tide ya over." He emphasizes this by pointing at her basket's contents..

[huszar]

"Like I have the money to waste on unimportant things?" Hungary scoffs, switching the basket to the other hand so it's slightly hidden from view. "My boss gave me barely any spending money for this trip, you know!"

[asure]

"If ya want some snacks, I'm willin' to share," Turkey replies. He's being a little honest here, he's quite alright with sharing some of his snacks, but only if Hungary asks politely.

[huszar]

"Really?" She sounds and looks pretty surprised. First because she hadn't expected something like that of Turkey, and second because with half her life spent living with Austria, frugality is something she's come to expect in general. "Ah, in that case, please get both of these, and I saw some interesting looking ice-cream flavors in the next aisle…"

[asure]

"Of course, I'm a sharin' kind of guy," Turkey says, but as soon as Hungary starts talking about ice cream, he raises an eyebrow. "Oi, how many flavors we talkin' about here?"

[huszar]

"Three or four," she says, with a slightly mischievous glint in her eye. She bites her lip to keep from smiling. "Ah, and what do you think about those weird looking green cakes in the bakery?"

[asure]

"There's a limit to my generosity, remember?" Never mind the fact that Turkey is already walking towards the ice cream freezers, grabbing those bags of chips. If he buys, you definitely have to share that beer!

[huszar]

A single beer seems a fair price for the number of snacks she's trying to force on him, really. She follows him cheerfully, keeping pace. "Don't be silly, you definitely owe me."

[asure]

"What do I owe ya for?" he asks. He looks at the ice cream, figuring if there's anything he wants. He'll deal with ice cream, it's not like he can find any dondurma around their area.

[huszar]

"The battle of Mohács," Hungary says simply, and without much resentment. She'll say one thing for her partitioning, it was so long ago and so many worse things have happened since, that in retrospect, not such a huge deal. She opens up the freezer door, takes a pint of red velvet cake icecream, and drops it into Turkey's basket.

[asure]

Turkey gives her a look that says "Come on, really?" but doesn't say anything out loud. Like it was so bad being part of the Ottoman Empire for a century. He just silently grabs some sherbet and drops it into his basket.

[huszar]

"You try it!" she retorts, getting the implication, more or less, even if her argument doesn't really make sense. Truth be told, no, it wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to her… but Hungary has a long, long history of rising up in (failed) revolution against her oppressors.

[asure]

He shrugs in response. History is like that, but it's what makes them... well, them. "Any more ice cream you'd like?"

[huszar]

In reply she picks up a big tub of the most sickeningly sweet flavor she can find and dumps it in the basket. "What's the difference between red velvet cake and normal cake?"

[asure]

"Besides the fact that it's red?" Turkey asks as he shifts the basket in his hand so he can have a better grip on it.