Entry tags:
- !event,
- ahs: the countess,
- archer: sterling archer,
- asoiaf: theon greyjoy,
- attack on titan: erwin smith,
- attack on titan: falco grice,
- attack on titan: levi ackerman,
- bbc dracula: agatha van helsing,
- carmilla (webseries): carmilla karnstein,
- dc comics: bruce wayne,
- dceu: diana prince,
- ddlc: monika,
- ddlc: sayori,
- dirk gently: amanda brotzman,
- fate/grand order: kiara sessyoin,
- ffxiv: takame kesi,
- fire emblem: claude von riegan,
- good omens: aziraphale,
- gundam: angelo sauper,
- jjba: okuyasu nijimura,
- original character: daylight vis lornlit,
- original character: noelle rosas,
- original character: vasiliy y ardankin,
- tangled: rapunzel,
- tasm: peter parker,
- the untamed: huaisang nie,
- the untamed: wei wuxian,
- tua: number five,
- world of warcraft: wrathion
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

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

“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?
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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!
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!
Nie Huaisang | OTA!
Huaisang’s brightly cheerful when he greets the HHA representative. He’s learned that it’s a survival skill here, and it’s something that he’s always been good at. Eager as he is to agree to the lunch, the Robbie quickly tries to get him to help encourage others among the new neighbors, and Huaisang already knows she isn’t going to take no for an answer.
Heading over to the neighbor that she indicates, Huaisang smiles brightly and waves as he approaches. “Oh, are you coming to the fundraiser luncheon? Ethel was just telling me all about it, and I really can’t wait.”
Bisque and Biscuits
Eager to agree to the wine, Huaisang grimaces once he tastes it. It’s essentially just very dry grape juice, and he really doesn’t know why he let himself get his hopes up even for a moment. Bewildered by all the strange terms on the menu, Huaisang leans over to whisper behind his menu, eyebrows tugged together in concern. “What is ra-volly?”
( prompt: bisque and biscuits! )
Daylight also leans over to give his reply, "It's basically pasta that's been stuffed with more sauce and filling inside it. It's pretty tasty most of the time." Depending on who was cooking it and, alas, Uncle Roderic was not one of those cooks.
Now Daylight pauses, trying to find an analogy that they might have common grounds on. Maybe... "Think of it as, like, pasta buns? Pasta rolls? Maybe?"
Somehow he made it suddenly sound a lot less appetising Daylight how.
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Because, well, Daylight never got to eat pasta while growing up. Way too messy and finicky for his filtering systems.
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Leaning toward his friend, Huaisang beams up at him. "I'm glad that I have you here to explain things for me."
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Daylight is still reeling from the fact tomatoes are not only fruits but considered berries and he learned that information almost a hundred years ago. Perhaps for the best-Daylight grins back, trying to slide further down his chair so poor Huasiang doesn't need to crane his neck too far up to meet his gaze. The perils of being the only eight-foot guy in town, alas. "Happy to help, buddy. Got any thoughts so far about this shindig? Been keeping my eyes and ears open for anything of interest but so far, the only notable thing is the breadsticks."
They're pretty good! Definitely stuff he'll be taking later when he leaves with Agatha.
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//slides in here, apologising for the delay!
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Invites and Insistences
Ah, a normal person! Well, as "normal" as any of them were. Now to discreetly try and see if he's a complex human being or a bunch of tropes stitched together by a programmer. Not a Robbie, that was a good start.
"I am, yes! I'm excited to see what's gonna happen. Hrm, who's Ethel though?"
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Since Ethel is behind and beside him, Huaisang risks a tiny grimace to communicate to Monika that Ethel's creations are really not edible. "She couldn't bear the thought of you missing the luncheon, and I agreed completely. Perhaps we can go together."
He casts a smile over at Ethel, brightly cheerful. "What fun!"
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Or maybe she's just grasping at straws.
"Oh, I see!"
Well, it looks like he might need freedom. Going by the assumptions those Robbies are NPC-like... It's a simple matter of manipulating the script to write them out.
"I would be happy to, yes! Actually, why don't you come over to my house? I'm new here and I'm going to need assistance to be ready. It would be very bad if I wasn't properly ready in time." She looks at Ethel, "Can you continue passing on the message to pass on the message while he helps me get ready please? That's the most efficient way, ahaha!"
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Once they're safely away from Ethel, Huaisang lets out a breath of relief, giving his new friend a conspiratorial grin. "That was masterfully done. I'm grateful. Though still delighted to help you with your outfit for the party. Or cocktails, if you don't need the fashion help. I'm Huaisang, by the way. Nie Huaisang of Qinghe."
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"Ahaha, don't worry. I'm used to dealing with people like that."
She then shook her head.
"I'll probably be fine, I already have a few ideas when it comes to outfits." No no, she hadn't put too much thought into it. It's not like she's vain or anything. "I'm Monika. Just Monika. It's a pleasure meeting you, Huisang!"
She looked back. The "robbie" was really gone.
"Does it happen often? Our, er, neighbors stalking us?"
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Bisque and Biscuits
Big mistake. Huge. Anyway, her nose wrinkles at the uncertainty. "Ravioli." She turns to properly look at her company, sending a discerning eye from head to toe. "How do you not know what ravioli is?" It's not as mean-spirited a question as it could have been (considering who is asking it). She's just genuinely dumbfounded.
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Alcohol is hard to come by in this place, but certainly possible. At this rate, he's going to start brewing his own.
Blinking innocently at her doubt over his ignorance, Huaisang regards her in return. He certainly looks out of place in the cheery environs of Uliveto's. His long black hair is topped with a crown-like hairpiece and an intricate braided bun, while his bell-skirted dress makes him distinctly androgynous, especially in the strictly-gendered world of Santa Rosita. "I'm from Ancient China," he explains, completely earnest.
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"Oh," she muses, going right back to pushing her salad around her plate. Perhaps there should have been more astonishment or bewilderment there, but her sister is from the 1700s, so she's used to ageless and endless. She's at least used to magical and ridiculous shenanigans, which would have to be involved with a sudden transplant of ancient cultures into a sleepy stepford in California.
Carmilla is fittingly dressed, though she's less inclined to smile and laugh to blend in. It's not to say she can't. She just doesn't want to. "It's noodles with stuffing inside, like a ... shui jaio? Only they put a tomato sauce on it."
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Lighting up brilliantly when she names a food he recognizes, Huaisang practically bounces with grateful excitement. He's glad to have one of his friends from home here as of this week, but he's been longing for people who actually speak his language--or at least enough to know the names of some food. "Wo ai shui jaio!"
His enthusiasm is only slightly dampened by one thing, and his brow furrows in confusion. "What is tomato?"
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Carmilla speaks a lot of languages, even some dead ones. In her second century she'd decided to become her own google translate, long before google translate even existed. Chinese isn't her strongest — it's a complicated language and depending on the area it changed a lot. Hundreds of dialects are a lot for even an ageless vampire to keep up with. But she knows enough to travel comfortably, which means she understands his fondness for dumplings.
"It's alike but not the same. Besides, this isn't going to be real Italian, so not worth bothering." Please note that she also has not needed to consume food for three centuries and that has resulted in ridiculous opinions. As for tomato, "Red fruit. Acidic. Americans love it as long as they can dump salt and mayonnaise on it." Which implies she's not American, but she doesn't offer any more details.
"How long have you been stuck here?" Carmilla is already tired of talking about food she doesn't like to eat. She's more interested in someone else being trapped here and what their experience has been. She at least lowers her voice a little, considering how many party goers are noshing around them.
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mb we can throw it on my open?? i'll link you a starter in a bit!!
bisque
And some of them he doesn't even want to try. "We should choose one of everything, so we can try it out and see. Especially the desserts."
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Shooting a playful wink at his 'son', Huaisang turns to the dessert portion of the menu, but he doesn't understand it any better. "What's 'tiramisu'?"
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It was highly popular amongst the politicians that he and the Captain were forced to entertain on a regular basis. Angelo doesn't care much for sweets, though he's content to leave that to his 'mother'. "You can try it with tea or coffee."
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"Whether she's under a spell or not, you can't deny that this town offers a place that's good enough to settle. And if settling takes the form of being in charge of such a committee to smooth things over with new neighbours and guests, I suppose that's good enough for some. How difficult is it to be the head of the Happy Homes Association? She certainly seems to have the drive for it and she's organized enough. As far as I can tell the association isn't anything like a political party. I'm sure one needs only to ask for the position and be dedicated to it."
In any case there's not enough to make an assessment about her. And it is difficult to make assessments on someone who is deft in niceties, with all inquiries deflecting off her like water on a duck's back.
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Invites and Insistences
He begins undoing the top two frog fastenings, hoping the indication he is going inside shortly might dissuade any lengthy conversation out in the cold. The coat is knee length, black with what might be embroidered scale patterns around the cuffs, a gold ribbon trim all around the edges and a geometric pattern around the bottom. It's certainly not something that fits with the local style, since Wrathion made it himself.
"A fundraiser?" he inquires, "what are we raising funds for?"
After all, he's curious despite himself.
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Ethel echoes some more cheerful and empty explanations about the fundraiser and the lunch before Huaisang chirps up again. "Our families should plan to go together! You and my son Angelo are just about the same age, after all, and it would be good for both of you to make more friends."
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Wrathion has no idea, but pastes on a pleasant smile regardless. The more he plays along, he suspects, the quicker it will be over.
"I'd be delighted," he enthuses, "I'm sure it would be all the more enjoyable to be there in your company."
He glances toward Ethel, then back to Huaisang. Ethel seems... to be particularly cheerful, in a way that indicates to Wrathion she might be local.
"I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, of course, when you're both so busy, so I suppose planning will have to wait..."
Unless, of course, Huaisang desires to get away immediately. In which case, perhaps now is the right time to plan.
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Huaisang has rarely seen any fashion he hates more than the hideous yellow flower splatters printed on Ethel's current dress, but what matters is the way that Ethel coos and preens under the flattery, and goes on her way, leaving Huaisang alone with his friend. "Shall we head inside before anyone else makes sure we've received our invitations?"
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