FEBRUARY 2021 EVENT: PART ONE

CHAPTER TWO, PART 1: A LIGHT LUNCH

Good times, great olives, Uliveto's.

INVITES AND INSISTENCES | BISQUE AND BREADSTICKS | FONTINA AND FOCACCIA | MUNDANITY AND MISHAPS

INVITES AND INSISTENCES

After a fairly low-key January, you start hearing the buzz on February 1st: The Happy Homes Association is inviting you to a luncheon on Friday! Stylishly dressed women in coats and hats are inviting everyone they know in the neighborhood, coming up and knocking on your door to invite you personally to come along. “Noon on Friday at Uliveto’s,” one of them tells you with a bright smile. “There’ll be food and drinks, and the whole community can get together and mingle a bit!”

Whether you’re home to answer the door or not, you’ll receive a small card advertising the event — it’s a fundraiser, after all, and they need your help! Pay just $3 and your food and as much as you’d like to drink are covered.

But some of the HHA members are a little more insistent, roving the neighborhood in search of anyone who’s just moved to Santa Rosita in the past few months. Their almost too-wide smiles and slightly-vacant eyes are a dead giveaway that these neighbors aren’t all at home, and they aren’t willing to take anything less than a “Yes” when they ask you if you’re coming. You’ve got to wash your hair? They know a hairdresser over at the salon on Main Street who can fit you in today. Groceries? Why, their daughter can take care of that for you in a jiffy! No excuse will fly with these Robbies; they’ve always got an answer and a way for you to make an appearance.

It won’t end once you’ve agreed, either (even if you just agree to get them off your back!). With the promise of another guest at the luncheon, the Robbies are quick to suggest that you should help them! There are so many people in the town, after all, and with more people volunteering to spread the word, they can make this the most successful fundraiser ever! (Or, well, at least the most successful since last year’s Little League candy sales!) Look, there’s another of your new neighbors over there — why don’t you go and invite them now? Your new friends from the HHA will be right here to support you and help you out!

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BISQUE AND BREADSTICKS

On Friday, February 5th, Uliveto’s is easy to find — just follow the train of cars headed to North Santa Rosita, where the restaurant sits just off of Main Street with a parking lot that’s packed full. Hopefully you’re willing to walk, because it looks like the luncheon is in full swing! But as you get closer, you see that the ladies of the HHA have things down to a science as they welcome neighbors, invite them to join one of the many tables set up in the half of the restaurant they’ve taken over, and integrate newcomers into conversation.

“Oh, hello!” one of the ladies gushes as she spots you. “I’m so glad you could make it! It’s a little cold today, but you should try the tomato bisque — it always warms me right up! Come with me and Betty can get you all set up with your meal voucher; have you ever been to Uliveto’s before? It’s just divine; the salad and breadsticks are all you can eat and the pasta — golly, my mother never even tried to outdo it. We’d just come here instead!”

Before you know it, you’ve paid your entrance and have been shown to one of the large party tables (or maybe they’re multiple tables pushed together? What restaurant normally has tables that seat 20 people?), a waitress offering you the drinks menu and asking if you’d like to start with a glass of (nonalcoholic, of course!) wine. Once she’s gone, you’ll finally get a chance to look around the interior of the restaurant. The walls are a warm yellowed beige, and fluted columns break up the space with clinging ivy and grapes hanging from planters near the top. A mural is painted on the far wall of a terrace looking out over rolling hills and vineyards, and the soft music of an accordion reaches your ears…

“You all right, hon?”

One of the ladies at your table is looking at you expectantly. Don’t forget, you’re here to mingle and socialize! Time to break out that small talk!

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FONTINA AND FOCACCIA

As the luncheon continues, you may be able to notice some of the HHA volunteers scurrying back and forth, taking turns manning the doors and the small table where Betty’s taking donations and issuing meal vouchers. Watch long enough and you’ll be able to see that all of them are ultimately reporting to three ladies who confer at a smaller table set back from all the mingling, talking amongst themselves and from time to time making notes in a small ledger.

At about half past noon, one of the women stands, calling out, “May I have your attention, please?” She has to repeat it a couple times to be heard, but after a minute or two everybody settles down. The woman nods toward all of the guests, then turns back to the table, allowing one of the women to stand and make herself known. Tall, graceful, and neat, she takes a look around the room as she speaks — does her gaze linger a moment on you?

Good afternoon, everyone. For those of you who may not know me yet, my name is Rosemary Craven, and I’m the head of our local Happy Homes Association.

A small wave of applause breaks out from some of the ladies; Rosemary seems to indulge them for just a moment before she lifts a gloved hand to quell it.

Please. I can only manage what I’m given, and the fine women of the association give me plenty to work with. Their efforts to organize this luncheon for all of us today showcase the dedication we should all strive for. Ladies, please stand and be recognized.

Today’s fundraiser is to benefit our town as Founder’s Day approaches in April. We’ve got big plans for the funds we raise — who knows? Perhaps we’ll be able to afford some yummy treats for the children. Who doesn’t love an ice cream cake?

Your generosity today makes all of this possible. You’ll forgive me for not giving you hard numbers, but I’d hate to be so gauche in such a lovely restaurant. Let me assure you, though, that the Happy Homes Association is here to help you in whatever way we can, whether that’s by helping you redecorate your homes, bringing over home-cooked meals, or teaching you some new skills — and speaking of new skills, I’d like to invite all of our new neighbors to talk with me personally if you think you might be interested in helping us out from time to time. Sewing might not be your forte, but everybody’s got something they’re good at, and we can always use the extra hands.

I’ll let you all get back to your meals. If you have any questions for me, please seek me out. I’ll be sitting just over here with Maude.

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MUNDANITY AND MISHAPS

After the luncheon, things in Santa Rosita continue on as normal. The weekend comes and goes, the work week begins, and the cold February wind blows…

But when you wake up on February 10th, some of you are missing.

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OOC INFO

Welcome to the first part of February’s event! You can use this entry to top-level for the event, but feel free to utilize the log and network communities as well. Sign-ups to have your character abducted are located here; please fill out the form provided along with any other pertinent details.

You may play with the townsfolk NPCs as necessary in your threads; non-Robbied neighbors will be cordial and happy to make small talk and will try to maintain the pleasant atmosphere. Robbies will, as always, be mindlessly optimistic and complimentary about everything—you may find that most of the Robbies have congregated at their own table and are bubbling with excitement over just about anything.

There will be a top-level posted for Rosemary below. If you would like to have your character interact with her, comment with your starter there. The mods will respond to tags for Rosemary until February 15th.

Any questions can go in our FAQ thread below. Try to check and see if your question has already been answered on the plotting thread first here.

Remember — part 2 of this event is coming February 15th!

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[ rather patiently, ]

It is not a matter of convenience.

You do not dedicate yourself to be who you should be, unless you have a purpose you are willing to commit yourself to out of necessity.

[ angelo sounds like he's paraphrasing someone; perhaps he is. ]

You're free to accompany me.

Huaisang makes a soft grunt noise of disagreement at Angelo's argument. This place is a nightmare. The advantages are far outweighed by the horrors. His 'son' will learn that soon enough. "I don't think staying is a choice."

As far as he knows, they'd all leave if they could. Locals included, though for many of them the thing that traps them is the inability to acknowledge the horror of their existence.

It's the lead-in to more existential philosophy than Huaisang wants to explore. Ignorance is surely a trap, and almost anyone in any life would want to escape it if they learned that there was an option for something more.

"Please." Huaisang drains the last of his mediocre grape juice and sets it down with a sigh. "I'll participate in my own pretending and imagine that it's something actually palatable."

[ She chuckled. That was the intention. But then came his comment about feeling ordinary. Hmm. If he said that, it was fair to say he wasn't ordinary back home. Probably rich or of noble lineage. ]

It's nice, isn't it...

[ That tangent earned Claude a break from her incessant nagging and questioning. She could relate to the feeling oh-so well. Not that she was special back home for any good reason. She wasn't rich, she wasn't of noble lineage, she wasn't a genius or anything like that. No, she just was a sentient video game character forever stuck in a fake reality. ]

Not that I don't like not being "normal," but-- [Well, she can't go revealing too much, can she?] It can be so... Lonely.

Huaisang is glad to agree to their arranged date, eager to befriend Rosemary and find out more about who--and perhaps what--she is. Not just another of the locals, not just another of the robbies, and certainly the only one outside of the new neighbors who has offered any kind of indication that she might enjoy if things were different than the accepted standard. Huaisang's very curious about her, and he's been charmed by her as well. He hopes to be able to develop the friendship further.

Not this specifically, but... you could say that.

[ he glances around, surveying the room. no, this was... new. almost refreshingly so, given his last multiversal event, but that didn't mean he could let his guard down any time soon. who knew what could happen next. ]

And Bruce is my given name. In the west, we usually refer to each other that way.

I've had some experience with these kinds of things, but to answer your question...

[ he sighs, pinching his brow for a moment. even his world sounds ridiculous to him, he's not sure why he's trying to get anybody else to believe in it. ]

He's a seven foot tall god dressed in magical armor who can divine weapons at will and conjure flames that can burn souls. He's not your average crackpot. I'm familiar with those too, unfortunately.

Maybe she is.

[ a startling idea, but one that's crossed his mind before. ]

If you bring up any of the strangeness in this city to any of the people here they'll eventually suffer from a psychotic break. Maybe she's just been here long enough to know how to play the game. There's power in that, too.

[Rapunzel isn't someone who particularly enjoys negativity, whether it's feeling it herself or seeing others become consumed by it. But she's learned now that you can't just ignore someone's misgivings or frustration on a situation just because they're bad feelings. Sometimes it can help to let it all out, in one way or another. And this place? She absolutely understands why some people don't want to play along.]

If you want to, yeah. [Wait don't just give him free reign-] Um... you're a military man like Erwin, right? Your suspicions might be helpful here.

Sometimes, yeah. Putting on a brave or a happy face when bad things are happening can help a lot with keeping others calm.

[It's how she tried to keep everyone's spirits up, when the looming threat of Cass returning still hung heavy over Corona. In cases like that it's fine, but this whole feeling of manipulation is completely different.]

But acting like nothing happened when a lot of people were hurt in December feels kind of... bad. It's like the people here don't even care that a lot of their own turned up dead.

Reassured by her confidence, Huaisang nods, glad to believe anyone who tells him it'll all be all right. "I hope so. It must be an awful fate to be trapped like that."

Sucking on his lip briefly, Huaisang draws himself up and fluffs his skirt to bolster his own courage. "Shall we go inside? I can tell you more of what I know. I've been here since December, technically, but I have memories of October before that. Whoever runs this place has the ability to alter reality itself, and to manipulate our perception of it."

Sounds like it's worth a try.

[ She pauses to light a cigarette. It's the silver lining to this whole mess, that smoking was once again widely accepted. Ashtrays on tables and everything. ]

How long have you been in Santa Rosita?

Being asked for my skills? God no, that's been going on for years. I can't say I'm used to being kidnapped, though.

[ If anything, she falls more on the 'kidnapper' end of the spectrum. ]

How often are you getting kidnapped, exactly?

"Yes, of course!"

Right, with all that she'd forgotten to open the door. She quickly opened it and let him in, safe and away from any potential neighbor.

"They can alter reality...?"

Why did that sound so familiar? Probably because she'd altered the reality of her world and manipulated her friends's senses. Well, perhaps there was no relation. It wasn't a power particularly unique in fiction. Heh, in fiction... Odds of this place being real were getting worse by the second.

"Theoretically, we could have had this conversation a thousand times and never remember it then."

Not that she believed it happened, but that was one of the many possible things if someone did truly possess such powers.

[Diana's gaze drops down to the shoes as well, and she has to hold back a sigh. Kitten heels are not anywhere near the top of her list of preferred footwear, but it seems that they are all the rage here in Santa Rosita at the moment. She turns her attention to the woman again, considering her given options for a moment.]

A jacket would be my choice. It's more versatile. Are you sewing it yourself?

[Aside from quick repairs more appropriate for the battlefield than anything else, Diana has never had much skill with a needle.]

[ Levi's reflexes are good enough to see this coming, but it's unavoidable right about at that point. Bad enough he's stuck here, now he's wearing someone's soup. His chair screeches loud against the floor as he shoves it back, and now there's someone in his space with napkins.

Today is a special kind of hell. ] Hey, hey, what the hell are you doing--

Uh huh. [he'd believe it if he saw it - literally. lots of people like to tell him about all the stuff they've seen and done, but why would he believe them when there's nothing?] Right? Yeah, me too.

[the slight implication that he's talking about bruce himself hangs there, but archer never confirms it.

suddenly, like a tangent:] What do you do? Cop?

[He wanted to assure Claude in some way. It's what his sister would do, look on the 'bright side'. Say something like "I've settled in fine" or "It isn't so bad". They would be lies. Lies that could endanger him when he learns the hard truth. But he didn't want to concern Claude either, he feared he already has just by that reaction alone.

But surely there was something to say. He's silent for a moment, racking his brain for the right words.]

I am used to adapting. [Not good at it, but used to it.]

Pretty often. Occupational hazards of being the world's greatest secret agent, I guess. [he says that airily, genuinely, glancing over and clearly expecting her to be impressed. some things never change.] I always break out, though.

"I trust you'll have something better later." Other than this fake wine, anyway, which they will partake in, because what else is there to drink here. Angelo pours him a generous amount. He wishes this was made more interesting with actual wine, but that's not the kind of company they have here.

As for staying, Angelo shrugs. "Anything can be your choice if the circumstance allows for it, and you let it."

What difference does it make? Whether in a place full of supernatural horror, or a place filled with the realities of war - sometimes people choose to stay in a place they will die and be tormented in because there is nowhere else to be at home in. Though Angelo can only speak in such terms because he doesn't live on his own time; he lives on his Captain's time, and even far away from him everything he does is done with the consideration of how his Captain would react to it.

"Have you any plans after? I might meet up with some of my classmates and see what they're up to."

Edited 2021-02-17 23:04 (UTC)

[ She... does not look impressed. If anything, she looks vaguely concerned, like maybe he's suffering from delusions and she's considering the likelihood that they're violent. ] Perhaps you would be kidnapped less often if you didn't tell strangers that you're the world's greatest secret agent.

After all, it seems like a bit of a misnomer to call yourself a secret agent if everyone knows about it.

(Wow, don't call him out like that, Monika. Though, being a noble has less to do with the feeling than one might think. His background might be privileged but it isn't exactly luxurious.

Finished with his explanations for now and sensing a bit of a break, he helps himself to one of the breadsticks from the basket. It's kind of dry, a little bland, and they'd probably be better warm but hey, he's not complaining.)

Being special or being normal... How it feels depends on your perspective.

(And he shrugs. Likewise, he can't go revealing too much. Being "ordinary" has certainly been less lonely than being "different" but he's never liked the idea of being "the same as everyone else" either.

On the topic of loneliness though... )

Have you made any friends here?

(he frowns and runs a hand through his hair before responding right away. It's exactly what he was getting at and he wonders if she's referring to herself specifically or others generally when she asks "as well.")

Something, yes.

(But he doesn't elaborate. He's a talker by nature but there are some things he prefers to keep to himself until the right time.)

(Wrathion, you gotta work on your smiles. Get on Claude's level of being fake.)

That makes the two of us. It's completely different from my last school.

(An elite military academy for only the most privileged and talented individuals in the continent.)

Most of the things I'd usually be good at aren't offered here.

(Please, Noelle... don't act so genuinely surprised. It's very convincing!!)

Ah, I was thinking of trying for one of the teams here.

(Where, again, a lot of teens will get together and talk? Add in that extra element of team spirit and how the town seems to really support the sports teams here... he's more or less expecting the same thing as Noelle. As for getting an actual job? That part gets him to make a face, bringing his eyebrows together and a frown,)

Don't take this the wrong way but I've never really had to get a job before and most of the options here are... well, different from what I'm used to.

(Where are the horses and wyvern to take care of? The weapons to help make??)

Sometimes you have to try things for yourself.

(Sate that curiosity before it drives you completely insane. He'll let her take the glass! )

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Page 19 of 26

FEBRUARY 2021 EVENT: PART ONE

CHAPTER TWO, PART 1: A LIGHT LUNCH

Good times, great olives, Uliveto's.

INVITES AND INSISTENCES

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BISQUE AND BREADSTICKS

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FONTINA AND FOCACCIA

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MUNDANITY AND MISHAPS

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OOC INFO

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