food glorious food [open]

[drewthetower]

WHO: August, his aunts, and Literally Everyone
WHERE: August's very small house
WHEN: Early February
WHAT: His aunts are in town, that means food, which means his aunts told August to invite people over, which means he is inviting folks from the Zodiac app
WARNINGS: August swears? Like a lot?

aunts are here. if you can see this you're invited to food. feel free to bring your own dishes, Marianne'll love that


actually if you're veg or gluten-free you might wanna bring something, Marriane never met a meat she didn't like and this kitchen ain't GF-friendly by virtue of me loving bread

August's place looks about like you'd expect a college kid's rental to look: small, not the newest, and hilariously crowded. It does have two bedrooms, but only technically. The second bedroom is tiny, and is also where August technically sleeps.

What? Did you think he wasn't going to turn the master bedroom into his craft room? Please.

When you arrive, you'll be greeted by one of three things:

-Julian cawing happily and landing on your head (if he knows you personally)

-Marianne (small, a bit rowdy, always eager to embarrass August or Cat) calling out to August in French, August replying in French, and then Catherine (taller, calmer, and always ready to bemoan why both her wife and nephew-son are wimps) sighing and turning to you with a "hi, you must be friends of August!"

-the above, but with loud and colorful swearing from the kitchen instead of Marianne and August bickering. Listen long enough and you'll probably learn to swear in another three languages!

If you brought food, Cat'll take it and set it on August's tiny table or the card table they brought because they know their son. If you didn't, Cat will point out the stuff already laid out--and there is a lot. On top of the typical relish tray and other snack-y foods, there's already three types of salad, two kinds of soup, a pot of chili, a crockpot full of very fancy cheese dip, another crockpot full of hot cider, a third that seems to be full of some kind of bean dish, and whatever else Marianne is making.

If asked why they brought so much food for what was likely going to be just August, August will say "they're empty-nesters" before dodging whatever Cat is throwing at him for that pun while Marianne cackles in the background.

Comments

[drewthetower]

[When he's not harassing Marianne in the kitchen, August will have his tarot cards out to do a reading, only to frown, put his cards back in their deck, shuffle them, and do another reading while Julian watches from his perch nearby with mild corvid concern. If he spots you, he'll flag you over.]

Hey, come here, I need to check something.

[Or you can approach him for a reading on your own! Or just generally harass him, he deserves it.]

[nonmagical]

[Mirabel feels a bit awkward - family gatherings are something she’s very familiar with but… it’s not her family, it’s someone else’s.

Still an invite is an invite and she’d like to meet her costume maker friend in person.]

Me? Okay. What do you need to check?

[drewthetower]

So, I do tarot? For myself, for my family, also just in general aside from whatever I do for like, other people who pay me. Except my reading and the general reading keep coming up with the same card. Is it cool if I do a reading for you and see if the same thing happens?

[nonmagical]

[Is this kind of what her uncle does...?]

Oh uh, sure! I don't mind. What do you need me to do?

[kokaiwanai]

[Well, Kakyoin wanted to swing by August's anyway, and now's as good a time as any. He even brought a cake with him! He's just setting that on a table when he's flagged down.]

Yes? What is it?

[drewthetower]

Is it okay if I do a reading for you? I need to see something.

[kokaiwanai]

Ah! Of course.

[Tarot's cool! He doesn't know much about it, mind, but his preferred username came from a reading he got in the past!]

[nefilim]

[Family gatherings are nostalgic for Ana - not her own family, but one she had stayed with for a time. Maybe that's why she's curious enough to follow this invite, even if she doesn't even know the guy sending it out.

At least she's polite enough to bring food, bringing along Gateau de Savoie and some jam to go with it (because what is not cooking something herself) - passing it along to Cat when she swoops in, before blinking over at August.]

Yeaaaaah, what's up?

[drewthetower]

I need to check something, so do you mind if I do a tarot reading for you? Just a past, present, future deal.

[nefilim]

Tarot?

[Wait, she has heard of this before... Vaguely. So cue a shrug and a nod.]

Sure, go ahead. Do I need to do anything?

[wedonttalkabout]

[Bruno's largely here because Mirabel dragged him out, otherwise he'd avoid a social function like the literal plague. He's been doing his best to become one with the wall when August calls him over and...ah, he has his cards. There's a sort of kinship here- both of them having the pretty weighty lift of being able to glimpse ahead. Though it's not quite the same, it's closer than anyone has gotten to understanding him and so he doesn't turn this request away.

He'll nervously wander over, drumming his knuckles on the table as he gets there, muttering a soft knock on wood to himself as he does so. ]

Uh- sure...sure, okay. What do you need?

[drewthetower]

[Oh, geez, Bruno looks like he'd rather die. Poor guy.]

Are you okay if I do a reading for you real quick? Every single other person I've done one for today has gotten the same card in the same position, and I'm starting to worry.

[wedonttalkabout]

[He sure would rather avoid all of this. This is an excessive amount of people-ing for someone who is not used to it. He sits down, passing the cards a furtive glance. The last time he saw them they dropped the Hermit on him which was heckin' rude.]

Okay, yeah. I've noticed my uh- gift is kinda- well, it's not what it usually is here, so maybe it's the same for you? Like this place is running interference or something?

[thavnairian]

[Amal's been happily eating free food, but more importantly, those are tarot cards.]

Whoa, hey! Are those tarot cards? Can I see them?

[drewthetower]

Do you want to see them, or are you going to want to touch them? Because part of the whole thing with this deck is I'm the only one who touches them.

[Superstitions yay]

The last deck I had, Marianne picked them up out of their bag and I could never get a reliable anything out of them ever again. [A beat.] That might just be her, though.

[thavnairian]

[He holds up his hands.]

No, no, I understand how that part works—I wouldn't touch them unless you wanted me to impart my aether for something.

I just wanted to see what your arcana look like. We have something like this at home, and it's something people use to channel power directly from the heavens. It's similar to something I can—er, could do. At one point. So I know a little...

[higanbana]

[This really isn't her usual scene... but it's free food and an excuse to get out of the house. Maybe see some of these people from the app she doesn't normally see, get a "lay of the land" so to speak.

Being as she can't cook worth a damn, she hasn't brought anything homemade, but she did pick up a fairly nice cake on the way over. She was raised to be polite, she just almost never makes use of that training. Being a guest in a stranger's home, though... she wouldn't feel right if she didn't.

That got whisked away quickly enough, and she's been pretty quiet otherwise, mostly just snacking and watching the others. She is, in fact, on her way to go take even more snacks when August calls out, and she blinks wide-eyed in his direction for a second, pointing at herself. Once she gets confirmation, she'll come over.]

Check something? What is it?

[drewthetower]

Do you mind if I do a tarot reading for you? There is something weird going on and I want to test it against as many people as I can. Nothing that'll hurt you, you just gotta sit there.

[higanbana]

[...Huh. Well, all sorts of other magic bullshit is turning out to be real, why not tarot readings?]

Sure, I don't see why not. I've never actually seen one done, so if nothing else it'll be interesting.

[She'll take a seat, crossing her hands in her lap in her best facsimile of a proper lady.]

[whiteshroud]

[Jun said he'd be here, and so he's here. He even made the caramel pudding like he promised he would.

He does raise an eyebrow at the tarot deck, approaching]

Are you doing a tarot reading for everyone?

[drewthetower]

Just about, because something is up. Everyone, no matter who, is getting the same card in their future spot when I draw.

[whiteshroud]

Really? Even when you shuffle the cards?

[Do you shuffle tarot cards? Jun has no idea]

[motiv8]

[Rean's here! It would be wrong of him not to meet up with his newfound extended family, after all.

...And, being the gofer he is, he's almost definitely been roped into helping out his aunts.

When he finally gets a chance, he's quick to escape into the party area for a moment, grabbing a drink and leaning against a wall somewhere to try to catch his breath.

> Engage?]

[drewthetower]

[The second Rean gets a chance to escape, August finds him and drags him into his craft room.]

Sit. Cat and Marianne won't come in, so you can escape being their errand boy for a bit.

[motiv8]

[Oh. Well. This is a thing that's happening at him now? Once they've stopped moving, Rean blinks owlishly for a second before quietly obeying and taking a seat.

Once he's managed to comprehend what's happened, which takes another second, he replies.]

Ha... some first meeting, huh? [He sighs.] Guess I should have expected it, though. That's pretty much how it goes at home whenever Mom's planning a party.