like a big pizza pie [Valentine's Day Date Night]

[ayes]

Who: You Watanabe (ayes) & others!
What: Valentine's matchmaking dinner
When: February 14
Where: Olympia (of the past)
Warning(s): Some mild druglike effects, and probably some NSFW stuff in threads?

On or around February 12, you get a letter in the mail. Upon opening it, you'll find that it's very, very similar to the one you got last year-- if you were here for this last year-- and it's written in that same looping, cheerful script.

Hello [YOUR NAME HERE]!
I know things are a little hard, but that doesn't mean we can't have a really great night together!
On the evening of February 14, please come join us in Olympia (even if it's this past Olympia) for a special surprise!

Your friend,
You

P.S. "You" is still my name.

There's another smiley face drawn on the letter, and an address given in the center of Olympia. Some of you may have been expecting this, since you saw or responded to her post, but perhaps others are caught off guard, since you were entered by pranksters.



[I: Arrival]

If you decide to take the plunge and check it out anyway, you'll find a restaurant that's much smaller than the dining hall she'd rented out last year. Having been thrown into an alternate past timeline of Olympia has tossed a serious wrench into her plans, and with the holiday, You has struggled to find an appropriate venue. But find one she has, and there are pink and red ribbons and balloons and lacy hearts all over the place.

Once again, there's a harried-looking young woman scurrying around, as well as other people who may look just as confused as you do.

[II: Dinner]

Inside, the restaurant is decked out in pinks and reds and hearts. Each table is set out with a white tablecloth and a pair of candlesticks, and has a nametag on it: Mr. Law, Ms. Mikumo, Ms. Janeway, and so on. There's another name tag on the seat across from your own. It looks like you've got a date?

Before long, You is along to take your food order. What are you in the mood for?

[III: Sin and Sweetness]

There's no big musical act this year like there was last year; You is mainly focusing on the event and there's also no stage to sing and dance on. She does, at some point, take a microphone in the corner and sing some cute love songs to entertain you while you eat, but it's not for long, and she's zooming off to the kitchen after three or four songs.

As your dinner wears down, your attention is directed to a cart off to the side piled high with desserts, pastries of all types and shapes. A waiter begins pushing it around from table to table.

If you went to her party last year, you'll recognize these; they seemed to be a big hit so she's done it again. You has baked them off a recipe book she'd found in the entertainment district of Olympia, and there's another handwritten sign:

Let's spice things up again this year! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
Try the pastries to feel romantic!

The various pastries themselves have similarly handwritten signs on them, notifying you (if a little obliquely) of some potentially interesting effects...

• Strudel: "Find beauty in the world!" (For whatever reason, other people look a little more attractive.)
• Baklava: "To tell them how you really feel!" (You'll feel more likely to be honest, if not overshare.)
• Cannoli: "Because love needs laughter!" (Everything other people say is somehow funnier than usual.)
• Cinnamon Roll: "The nose knows!" (The first person you look at smells oddly like your favorite smell.)
• Blueberry Scone: "For a bit of courage!" (This will make you feel bolder, intensifying emotions you already feel.)
• Mooncake: "To feel like falling in love!" (Every time you look at the first person you see, your heart beats a little faster.)
• Taiyaki: "Try to see someone else differently!" (Every time you look at the first person you see, there are little sparkles around them.)

There are, thankfully, plenty of non-magical desserts for those who just want to indulge their sweet tooth.

((OOC: As always, please label your threads if they turn NSFW, and run any pastry effects by your thread partners!))

Comments

[smithandwesson]

[Damn.

Busted.]

I can cook just fine thanks!

[Just not recently. Sanzo comes strictly from the hard-knock school of "cook just well enough that you can survive off of it". Cooking was used to survive and not so much to enjoy oneself and all that.

And so he crossed his arms with a huff. Intentionally turning away from Ren.]

... Her mooncakes are just good is all.

[They reminded him of home.]

[thedarkbond]

[Bingo. Ren tilts his head with an innocent smile, and a tone so bright it's astoundingly obvious that how defensive Sanzo got about that didn't miss him.] Oh, it certainly sounds like you can...

[The thing about mooncakes is interesting, though, and Ren quirks a brow a little. The food in general would be one thing, but the fact that it's a specific food item definitely has Ren's thoughts tilting in a particular direction here.]

I didn't take you for the nostalgic type, though. Or the type for sweets, but I guess mooncakes are pretty heavy even if they are sweet, so maybe you can pretend they're something else.

[smithandwesson]

What? Are you saying I can't enjoy food?

[One could practically feel the glare coming from across the table. His shoulders tense and his expression an outright scowl.

It was only after a second that he let out an aggravated sigh, letting the breath of air calm him before he leaned his arms on the table and continued on with his reasoning.]

It's not necessarily nostalgia as you would think per-say. But they were a fairly common food back where I was from. Although they're a bit sweet for my taste it's interesting to see them still around when you can't help but remember how the planets we were all originally on have had all life sucked from them.

It's something familiar.

[thedarkbond]

You really like not listening, don't you...? [Ren says that rather idly, as if it's an observation even the most casual viewer could make. He's spoken to Sanzo about three times now and he's seen him jump to the worst reaching conclusions based on a harmless comment in probably a dozen instances already.

Ren shrugs a little at the reasoning, though.] If the host is making them, chances are she's from somewhere that had them. I've seen Yoshiko-san running around and I know she's Japanese like me, and we certainly had them as well. And I've talked to her about takoyaki before when she made it for a party.

[This isn't really a new thing for him, encountering someone else from a recognisable country making food he's familiar with in this world.] Maybe you're just not as unique as you think you are, right~?

[smithandwesson]

[That... Had definitely gotten to him more than he thought it would for some reason. His body tensing as he rolled his hands into fists against the table. His frown seeming to sink a little more as he responded through grated teeth.]

Funny.

I would think it's you who doesn't seem to be listening.

Did I once even say I enjoyed them simply because they made me feel special? I could give a single flying fuck if there are Japanese people running around here. For all, I know someone here could be from the fucking moon itself and still know what mooncakes are.

I enjoy them because they are something I grew up eating. And something I have very little access to now. And just because there are other people from our continent here doesn't mean that every single one knows how to make some decent fucking food from our culture. So, for once, shut the fuck up and let me just enjoy this moment.

[With that he stood up from his chair, flung towards the waitress and shouted out.]

A mooncake over here, and the strongest alcohol you have!

[Like hell he was going to let Ren ruin this moment for him.]

[thedarkbond]

[Ren leans back, taking in Sanzo's reaction with a calm, unerring smile that only gets more satisfied the longer the response goes on. It's pretty obvious at this point that he's thrown any idea of making this evening amicable to the wind in favour of relishing in what reactions he can get out of it, though honestly, he'd figured that idea was out the window as soon as he saw Sanzo's name on that card. There was no way this guy was going to stay reasonable enough to save his own evening, even without the entire point of not having been here to meet anyone.

There's a disappointed sigh at what it leads into, though, Ren waving a hand dismissively even as his smile lingers at the overreaction.] My, you're even rude to the waitstaff...but I'm just following your lead, right? Or does it suddenly matter if someone's evening gets ruined for someone else's whims when it's you who's getting their evening ruined?

[Ren is apparently the ghost of Valentines' past, present and/or future this evening, though he honestly sounds like he's having a delightful time here himself, judging by the soft, dancing amusement in his tone.] I'd almost be impressed at how badly you can react to a little light teasing, if you weren't letting it spill all over the place.

[smithandwesson]

Tch'. I could care less about how you're getting you're kicks. I'm just here to get what I want and then continue on with my night. So please, continue with your sarcastic cerebral bullshit if you wish.

[Knowing he got the waitresses attention he plopped back down in his seat with a huff. Folding his hands into his sleeves as he resigned himself to his fate for at least the next couple of minutes.]

I can handle teasing from someone I trust perhaps-- [No. Not really.] but I am not going to tolerate it from some pretentious brat who seems to get joy purely from making others around him miserable.

Although I am amused that that now seems to be your intention. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.

[thedarkbond]

[Ren puts a hand to his heart delicately at the insults, in exactly the correct way to convey that he doesn't give a single damn but he's pretending to be offended for his own continued amusement.]

Oh, I'm hurt...but you just being here to get what you want was the problem from the start, wasn't it~? [Ren puts that rather lightly, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs as he taps his fingers against the table in a sort of fidget, as if he has difficulty staying still for too long.] It's no fun if you don't deserve it, after all, some people just need a good ruffling. That's all it would be if you weren't insisting on making it worse for yourself at every turn.

[Ren punctuates that with a wink and a rather playful pointing gesture towards Sanzo before he curls his fingers back under his chin, as if he needs to prepare for the inevitable further amusement coming.]

[smithandwesson]

I see. So your sense of entitlement is fueled by your bias self-justification.

[As poor You passes by with his request he is quick to snag at it, almost immediately downing the glass of champagne with barely a pause.]

... Thanks.

[And only then, upon placing the glass back on the tray did he take the small plate of mooncakes and put them on the table between the both of them.]

Retorting is only going to bring us around full circle. As I said, your intention to join this event only to emotionally cuckold others is equally problematic. So you putting me down is simply reminding me how insufferable of a person you are.

Or, putting it simply, an asshole shouldn't be criticizing other assholes. It only makes you seem like the shittier one here.

[He says, trying his damnedest to keep from reaching out and breaking that smarmy smile with his fist.]

[thedarkbond]

[Ren actually has to actively stifle a laugh at the "emotionally cuckolding" remark, but he at least lets Sanzo finish talking before he breaks into a proper chuckle, one nail against his lip in a thin attempt to make it look politer.]

Mmm, I think that just makes it sound like you don't want to be criticised. Anyone can find a problem with anyone else. [He crosses his legs, somehow, while still sitting on the seat, leaning an elbow on one knee so he can lean his cheek on it in turn.]

I'm curious to hear what you think first dates are for, though. Do you think people bear their inner hearts at the very first dinner together? That's just awkward and offputting...a first date is for getting to know the other person, finding out if you have stuff in common and if you even could get on with them normally. And I came here with every intention of doing that, like I already said~

[It's actually kind of amusing how romanticised the image of some dramatic, emotionally groundbreaking first date is, but he keeps that part to himself for now.]

[smithandwesson]

First dates are for those who are actively seeking to enter relationships to get to know someone who they are potentially seeking as a partner. The prologue into the tumultuous process of courting.

[Reaching out he grabbed one of the mooncakes from the platter.]

And the last I recall, although willing to consider it if a person catches your fancy, you most certainly did not come here with that intention.

Placing us in much the same situation if you ask me.

[And with that he takes a quick bite of the small cake. His shoulders slacking as he took a second to just enjoy the lightly sweet taste of lotus seed filling.]