Casita Party!

[nonmagical]

WHO: The Madrigals and EVERYONE
WHERE: Casita
WHEN: March 11th
WHAT: A big party mingle!!
WARNINGS: It's the Madrigals that's a warning in itself

[There's a network text that goes out early on the 11th. It's from Mirabel! This time with no embarrassing pictures included.]

🥳 Party at la Casa Madrigal!! 🥳 🥳

Come on over! Everyone's invited! We've got food and music and lots of dancing!



[CASITA MINGLE]

[If you choose to accept Mirabel's invitation (don't worry she'll give directions), you'll find a hard-to-miss house next to a coffee shop. It looks definitely out of place, and it only gets stranger as you enter. The building itself is three stories tall, with the kitchen and dining room being on the ground floor.

The main event is being held in the courtyard, which has been decorated with hanging flag banners, flowers, and a variety of plants. No matter where you choose to explore, you can always hear the sound of lively party music coming from somewhere. Out in the courtyard, there's a spread of Colombian food. Arepas, empanadas, ajiaco, tamales, guacamole, roasted corn, coconut rice, fried dough are among the selection you can find spread out on the table. There's a variety of drinks for the adults too! Occasionally, you might catch a Madrigal carrying out food to the table, because there can never be enough food!

But more interesting enough is the second floor. On the second floor are rows of glowing doors, each with a Madrigal and their Gift engraved on it (Mirabel's is not there, of course). Each room leads to one of the Madrigal's bedrooms - a special, very large room tailored to them and their Gift. There is one plain door - that leads to Mirabel's room, the Nursery.

The third floor leads to Bruno's Tower. Enjoy all the stairs and sand if you choose to enter it.

Regardless if you chose to explore or not, you may notice something... weirder, with this already weird house. Like the shutters waving at you as you pass by, or you might find yourself pushed forward by the floor tiles themselves as they shuffle and move you. You might even find the house trying to hang up your coat for you as you come in! And if you're doing anything Casita doesn't approve of? You might find yourself ejected out of the house itself. It would take a lot for that to happen, so explore and party away!

OOC: Feel free to make your own top levels and mingle with each other!]

Comments

Kitchen

[neverbreaks]

[ Luisa, of course, is always happy to help her mother, which usually consisted of bringing the trays of food out where people can get them. She's returning to the kitchen to grab another when she glances up at Julieta, and pauses for a moment. ]

No, I think we're all good, Mami. [ Instead of grabbing the tray, though, she instead grabs a glass and a bottle of wine. ] Have you had a chance to take a break, though?

[pan_acea]

Ay, no. I'll take a break as soon as these arepas are off the stove. [She waved a hand, still not looking at Luisa as she scoops up the ones that are ready onto a plate.]

Luisa, mi amor, will you get me down the chilis drying above the oven? I want to make one more dip that has a bit more of a kick for later. Help wake everyone up as the night goes on, you know? [She gestures above her head and to the left where said chilis are hanging, the ingredients for another dip lying on her cutting board near her cooking mortar and pestle.

She gets the last arepa off and wipes her hands on her apron before turning to Luisa, smiling up at her.]

Alright! [When she sees the wine, she tilts her head.] Ay no, are we already out of drinks?

[neverbreaks]

[ By the time Julieta turns around, Luisa has opened the bottle and filled the wine glass halfway. With a small smile, she shakes her head. ]

No, Mamí, we're good on drinks. [ Leaning closer, she slips the cooking utensil from Julieta's hand and replaces it with the wine glass. ] We're good on food too. But people are asking about who made it all, so you should go meet them.

[pan_acea]

[She paused and took the glass as her daughter offered it to her, trying to remember she needed to play hostess as much as she had to be the cook. Mamá wasn't here to be the head of the family, which meant it fell on her.]

I did not mean to be rude to our guests. [She sniffed the wine and closed her eyes in thought before taking a sip.]

You haven't been working the whole time, right?

[neverbreaks]

[ That hadn't really been Luisa's intention, but it would be a start if it got her mother out of the kitchen. Corking the wine bottle again, she sets it aside. ]

No, Mamá. I've gotten to talk with people too.

[ Usually as she was...setting down food on the tables. But that counts, right? ]

[pan_acea]

Ay, sí, and I am sure they are amazed by your beauty and gentleness, just like I always am. [She pats the spot beside her, wanting to have Luisa near.]

[neverbreaks]

[ Luisa rubs her arm as she goes to join Julieta, an embarrassed flush dusting her cheeks and ears. ] Well, I don't know about that...

[pan_acea]

Oh, you're not? I can be sure for the both of us then. [She chuckled, shifting her drink to her other hand while she moved to wrap her arm around Luisa's arm.]

How are things out there, hm? [Julieta made a small gesture with her chin towards the kitchen entrance and the guests just beyond.]

[neverbreaks]

[ Though still a little embarrassed, she smiled and placed her free hand over her mother's, just enjoying the simple contact and warm presence. ]

It's going pretty well, I think. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Casita is a big hit, as always.

[pan_acea]

Casita is incredible, no? [She patted the counter and Casita's tiles clicked in thanks.]

I'm glad it's going well. I had nearly forgotten what it was like not cooking for a whole town. [She laughed.] It's been a few weeks without needing to make anything outside of the family. [She tilted her head.] It was nice but strange.

[neverbreaks]

[ With a smile, Luisa nodded. ] Of course she is. [ It's been comforting, having the magical house in this strange place.

Glancing at Julieta, she laughed a bit herself. ] Do you miss it? Cooking for hundreds of people?

[pan_acea]

[She wondered for a moment if she should lie about it but then shook her head, banishing the thought.]

I like to cook, I like seeing the people I love eat it, and enjoy it. [She closed her eyes, taking a sip of her wine.]

But no, I don't miss cooking for hundreds. I'm glad this is the only party we've had since we've gotten here. [Back home it always seemed like some sort of party or another she had to cook for then serve for, never mind just getting up every day and cooking to heal the village, to be worthy of the miracle. Cooking for twelve is already a lot, cooking for the entire encanto? She let out a breath.]

But I don't mind cooking such large amounts every once and a while.

[neverbreaks]

[ Luisa nods a little, but her mother's words do have her thinking. Even with the truth coming out about how stressful their Gifts could be, she hadn't considered the kind of pressures Julieta must have gone through. Granted, she'd never noticed how difficult things had been for Isabela either. But Julieta's gift had always been in such high demand, much like her own, and she wondered if her mother had ever worried over her gift as she had.

Luisa had to imagine that she must have, having had her gift for so much longer. But all her memories of her mother were of her being so calm and patient, even when having to face so many people injured clamoring for her attention. She remembers how much she'd wanted to be like her mother - wishing to be just as strong and just as helpful. And in many ways, she'd gotten what she'd wished for.

But carrying that much weight had been so difficult for her, even if she hadn't admitted so until Mirabel confronted her about it. And she wondered if Julieta had ever struggled that way, or how she found ways to cope and persevere. Julieta still seems so strong, but if everyone was saying that it was okay for Luisa to take it easy, than it was certainly even moreso for her mother. ]

Yeah, I am too. And it's nice that this is a smaller party than what we'd throw back home. [ With a small smile, she gently nudges Julieta with her elbow. ] You deserve to go enjoy yourself too, Mamá.

[pan_acea]

[Julieta has had her powers in high demand for years, and decades upon decades of always being on, always being available, it had taken its toll. She was the original "golden child" needing to be the good one, the one on her best behavior to "make up" for Pepa's "emotional outburst" and Bruno and his "terrible visions." She had to be the bridge between her siblings, her mother, and the people of the Encanto.

She had learned to repress her anger because she saw how it hurt mama growing up. Mama had to deal with so much as it was. She never yelled because of it. Julieta stood up for herself and her siblings, and then her daughters, but it was never a yell because she had to be the good girl. Her mama had wanted her to marry the Guzman's son when she was younger, but she had stood up for herself and picked Agustín. To Agustín, she told all her worries and concerns. And so he yelled for her, he stood by her and exclaimed in all the ways she felt like she couldn't. Mama hadn't initially liked him, there were times she still didn't.

But mama still depended on Julieta, she was the eldest. When mama wasn't around, Julieta was in charge because she was such a good girl, she was always calm and considerate, and well-behaved.

Julieta was 50, though. She was used to it.

Much too used to it.]

If my family is enjoying themselves, then I am enjoying myself. [She leaned on Luisa's arm.] But I am glad you reminded me to take a break. I forget I don't have to do too much either.

[neverbreaks]

[ Luisa smiles a little. It felt like it's been a long time since she's gotten to just enjoy her mother's attention like this.

She had always done her best to make things easier for her family growing up. Usually that meant helping out with her gift once she'd received it, but after Mirabel's own ceremony and the fallout of that, she had also tried her best not to need too much attention, so her parents could focus on taking care of Mirabel. Especially as they grew older, and Isabela and Mirabel started drifting apart, which lead to a lot of fighting between them. She had seen the strain it had put on her sisters, on her parents, and so she had done her best to be good, to not cause trouble so there would be one less thing to worry about. She made sure not to ask for much, and was always quick to do whatever was asked of her.

And while she had always known that her parents loved her, had never once doubted that, she had forgotten how nice it was to just...have them all to herself once in a while. ]

Of course, Mamí. I still usually forget too, but...maybe we can remember together?

Wrap?

[pan_acea]

We most certainly can, mi vida. [She looked back over to the entrance of the kitchen and smiled.]

I'll have a second glass of wine and then we'll head on out, hm? I'm not ready to lose the quiet just yet.

That works!

[neverbreaks]

[ With a smile of her own, Luisa nods, comfortable with the weight of her mother beside her. ]

Sounds good to me.