one night of magic rush

[blyat]

WHO: Cain, Prompto, Hideki Maeda, and you!
WHERE: The popular Asylum club.
WHEN: Night of October 26.
WHAT: Cain and Prompto's joint birthdays!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Beyond drinking/smoking, general wild party behavior, and fake friendship, there shouldn't be much. Will update as needed.


[Set deep in the downtown of New Amsterdam's entertainment district is Asylum, arguably the most popular club in the city. The exterior is cool steel beams and tasteful futuristic architecture with a long line down the corridor, suited bouncers posed at the entrance all armed with a virtual guest list. Its interior is fashioned with bright, colorful lighting dynamic to the music of the infamous DJ Semicolon, high ceilings and acoustic sounds to lend that feeling of a constant full-body hum. Any partygoers on the guest list for this event will be funneled toward the VIP section. They will have received an invitation a few days prior via their Cooltalk profiles. Jason is specifically blacklisted, sorry buddy.

DANCE YOUR HEART OUT. Nearly impossible to book without deep pockets or wide-reaching connections, Semicolon is at the top of their game mixing popular contemporary hits with Whitney Houston's classics. From song to song, Semicolon provides a unique and talented contrast of the slow to the energetic, so no matter your dancing style, you'll find something to move you on the dance floor.

DROWN YOUR... LIVER. Courtesy of the party's host, Hideki Maeda, the VIP section's private bar will provide an ever-flowing river of your favorite expensive high-proof alcohol. Pick your poison.

CHILL OUT. Tired on your feet from too much dancing, or just need a break from the packed atmosphere? There are plenty of comfortable areas where you can relax and take it easy until you're ready to get back out there. The lights around this area cycle through different colors in reflection of Semicolon's performance set, so a slower song might lend toward romantic shades of red while a faster-paced song is brighter blue.

SMOKE, EAT & MINGLE. Asylum will be serving real, fresh meat at this party, so enjoy that luxury while it lasts. There is also an outdoor area with a beautiful view over the city itself if you want to take your vape pen out there for a smoke, just get some air, or see who's around for a chat.]

Comments

[mercurio]

[prompto indulges in a myriad of text conversations through his neural implant, ditzy and all over the place as he usually is, and suddenly picks up onto what's going on. he grins up at cain.]

Yeah, Cain. Make a guess!

[998]

[jon raises his eyebrows at sansa--he doesn't know where she heard that, but it certainly wasn't winterfell, and grins at prompto, he slides into the seat next to him.]

I told you, my real gift for you isn't ready yet. These are just for the party. [maybe not SO prepared...] Sansa's quicker than me.

[it doesn't help that she makes clothes for fun and profit, and jon is relying on an overworked gadgeteer genius for his gift. look forward to your longbow sometime next month, prompto.]

[998]

[jon casts a sidelong glance at cain. he's closer with prompto, but he thought they were all 'invite each other to parties' friends. perhaps buddies means something different than he thought it meant?]

Aye, we're friends.

[he nods back towards the table where the waffles are.]

Sansa and I picked up Sweetwaffel for the two of you. Careful your Cooltalk followers don't eat them all before you do.

[a small, weary smile.]

[mercurio]

[the fact that she's here at all makes prompto burst with surprise—a look n his face, indescribable, until a smile solidifies itself, cheeks pushing upwards warm and content.]

Gaby!

[she may not be the same gaby that he remembers, who came together with him, unloaded from that van at the same time, three months ago. the gaby that sat with him until late at night, talking about their worlds and discussing the different delicious recipes both germany and lucis had to offer (until they couldn't hold back anymore and had to go and get the ingredients to make their own), the one who comforted him when he was at his lowest and thought he had no more a place to call home amongst his friends.]

[but now he's by himself, and she's back — different, but the same.]

[he stops at the box and holds it, looking at it and turning it over carefully.]

—can I open it?

[mercurio]

You're looking very pretty! I mean, you usually do—! Just, more so than usual!

[loads up the compliments, attempting to say all this amidst the crowd's cheers and the singing and the music from the speakers all around them.]

[dancing and moving along with the bear in the crowd]

Glad you made it!

[laozu]

[ he holds up both hands, clearly cycling visibly through something - the permissions to it are locked down for his eyes only - but after a moment, he opens up part of his address book and sends prompto two business cards: one for a masseuse ( tagged with "#treatyourself" by wei wuxian himself ) and the other for a shop called "cherry's charms" and it's very obviously an adult store, judging by the risque logo of an open mouth juggling cherries on tongue tip. HOW LEWD. ]

I won a gift basket from them in a drinking contest, mostly jewelry. Very tame but tasteful pieces, I was thinking of stopping by to see what else they had at some point - you look like you enjoy some good accessories!

[ there was more in the gift basket than that, but he's being gentle since it's prompto's birthday

also he's just flashed this on a crowded dance floor so maybe teach him the meaning of RESTRAINT ]

[mercurio]

[it takes him a moment to really notice who it is that he has walked into, and it's only when prompto sees who it is that he shows some mild apprehension on his face. connor. he hadn't realized he had come back, and—even then—it's not like it was a bad thing at all.]

Uh...

[for all that his drunk-adled brain can process right now, this is not quite it. he stares a while, the warm hand on his shoulder helping him settle a bit.]

Yeah, hey. Long time no see. [his face has settled on uncertainty.] It's, uh, a blue jacket, like I said and it... It's kinda big.

[helpful descriptions. let him have a second.]

[evite]

He's in overprotective hover mode.

[ after her fight with kovacs, after gaby's arrival. it had been a minor miracle that he'd let her out of his sight long enough to chat up prompto... but then again, it wasn't like there were likely to be assassins lurking behind dancing girls here. ]

You can wear your suit if you want. I'm sure he'd like to see it. [ but it wasn't a requirement. ] I just meant we could have, like, a nice birthday dinner for you when there aren't fifty million people everywhere.

[ if that's something prompto even wants to do! with her! ]

[windowsills]

[ Alex smiles at him, fond and happy at his comment. ]

It’s just a lovely night, I didn’t want to take away the view if you were enjoying it.

[ Alex watches him tear at the package, wishing she didn’t have to hand it over because she feels odd without something to fidget with. She’s glad he seems sober enough now, she would hate to have to explain this to a drunk Cain.

Packaging falls away to reveal a palm sized red and sweet smelling cube. ]

Um, it’s wax. Like the kind you described before, I hope it looks similar.

[ And because absolutely no one wants just wax on their birthday, Alex rambles a bit more. ]

To make your house a real home.

[mercurio]

[these are the words that give him pause, ultimately. he sits here, seemingly sobered up as soon as her words register. a nice birthday dinner for you. it brings a lot of things up: growing up mostly by himself, raised by parents who were really nice people but who—for several reasons—were not around much at all. his birthdays were filled with apologetic calls and rushed well-wishes, later on just text messages, the emptiness of a home attempted to be cushioned by the gift of clothes and a camera and whatever other fancy prompto had growing up.]

[celebrating his birthday like this, with a party so loud and so big he couldn't really discern who knew him and who didn't, is so cheap in comparison to the value of having a nice birthday dinner.]

Can we have that? Please?

[when the words register, his heart's racing and he feels it urgent to ask for it—not quite fathoming that it's already an offer for something to happen.]

[his foster parents were good people, they tried their best, but there were things that prompto—at age 21—wishes he had had, as a child.]

[laozu]

[ his toes curl in his shoes, tension inching into his calves - he's never really been on the receiving end of such a pursuit, not even from nie huaisang, with his lackadaisical attitude hiding the cunning underneath. he had been one of wei wuxian's childhood friends, however; cain was a stranger, one that he didn't begrudge. and how could he, when he had held his stomach when it had bled and bled and threatened his life, and he had later learned of cain's injuries from abel. abel, who had been so scared for him. how could he begrudge someone who another cared for so deeply? ]

Maybe you're the only one who's noticed - so, how do you respond when someone flirts with you?

[ it's easier to play, when he's not relying on the written word. wei wuxian has a thick face, the acting ability of an entire theater performance - it was enough to fool the man who was his sworn brother, once. it should be enough to play off of cain's movement, the way he would play off of a horse and cannon with a chariot of his own. ]

Well, no matter how, you needn't worry, mister Cain - I'm no homewrecker.

[ movement one. ]

[evite]

[ prompto already knows all about how daisy grew up, even if she hadn't intentionally shared all of it with him. she doesn't need to tell him that she knows how much a small, simple moment can mean. ]

Yeah, of course. [ she's happy enough to reassure him, a quiet smile warming her features. the first in a few days. ] Think about what you want to have, and then just let us know.

[ there's a brief pause as she looks back towards the bar, as if considering. ]

We can always order in if you don't want meat and potatoes.

[motivation]

Like the leather, hm?

[ even shouted over the music, the teasing in her tone comes across easily. her expression sells it, too, lips curled into a smirk.

she moves easily to the music - dutch was trained as a dancer in the harem she grew up in, next to all the assassin training she got as an extra curricular. she likes dancing; of all the things she learned in the harem, it's her favourite. ]

'course I did.

[covertness]

Sounds like a deal.

[ she'll get him something dark and good and he'll save her a waffle. she gets a cocktail from the bar and the ale, mind already working. ]

if by all this you mean the party
i think it's a good thing someone's getting along with maeda's son
she's got her hand in a lot of pies and she's connected to a lot of things that have been going on, at least on paper
no clue how just yet

[998]

[maeda's son is the influencer. good to know? except who's maeda.]

What is it Maeda supposed to do? At least on paper.

[verselet]

[He lifts a brow. He's quickly losing Prompto to sleep, heard in his voice and seen in the way his body language is curling inwards to repose.]

Trust me with your sleep as much as you can trust me with your jacket.

[Another lean onto the railing, the breeze carrying away his words. His meaning purposefully goes both ways.]

[verselet]

[Just one more thing that makes V stand out among the party, despite his casual clothes done-up in all black. His demeanor is more placid, more subdued than most here; even as he speaks to Cain, he has to pitch his tone up a notch so that he can be heard over a group's rambunctious laughter nearby.

Even his huff of laughter dies in the swell of all the noise.]

I'm used to a quiet corner, a book in hand and a fireplace crackling beside me.

[It's a stretch of a truth, but it was a truth, once -- long ago, through barely measured time. The rest of his experiences are not quite what the other is seeking, not in the confines of this particular conversation.]

i'm glad

[wiccant]

( whatever "yeah" works in this context it's fine. prompto keeps moving, and billy follows along to the beat. laughs a bit at the question. )

He didn't come here with me, but Tommy's never one to miss out on a party! I'm sure he'll show his face soon. ( a grin, ) Got here a bit ago!

[mercurio]

[he laughs at that, but he's known dutch for the necessary amount of time as to know what her sense of humor sounds like. he may not be able to pick up on the sarcasm most times—but it's different in person!]

I'm twenty-one since yesterday!

[congratulate him for existing]

[mercurio]

[or he'll be busy stuffing his face with all the food]

[prompto points at tommy enthusiastically]

Yo! We got lucky we got to run into each other at all, then!

[here be some mock punches to tommy's arm]

Have you seen the food in this place?!

[mercurio]

[he's seeing all this and his mind blanks for a moment, all the while his face turns bright red (this is most likely just as expected). that sure is an adult store, and maybe prompto's staring at the business card for longer than what is necessary.]

Hey! Don't just — talk about it so openly!

[never say anything about what this says about prompto, okay. but he's still morbidly curious despite his better judgement, leaning in close to wwx and shout-whispering:]

What kind of jewelry can you even find in a place like that??

[mercurio]

[prompto is quick to shake his head no, his eagerness showing in how he's shifting in his seat and moving his hands about in quick motions.]

Meat and potatoes would be fine! Maybe a salad on the side, I mean, but...! It— It'd be more than perfect.

[this is so important to him, even if it hasn't happened yet.]

[adsero]

You're weaving a little bit, I'm afraid you're liable to tip over. [He's glad that Prompto is at least drinking the water without needing encouragement, that near spill at the bar was worrying. Though in addition to being a little uncoordinated, Prompto's being a little honest too, isn't he?]

What do you mean it's not that great? There's this famous DJ here, an open bar, dozens of your adoring Cooltalk fans...

[This is most people's dream, right?]

[adsero]

[God. If that's 'corporate culture', Abel's happy to be working in the public sector. Well. Sort of, at this point.]

[But despite how truly bizarre some of the things Angel describes are though, the sentiments are the same. This is the city Hideki built for Cain, full of flashing lights and booze and endless music. The thing Abel has built isn't real, but he's put his heart into it. Maybe that makes it real enough.]

I'd give him a town if I could, if I thought he'd want it. [He smiles and pulls his drink over as the bartender sets it in front of him.] Maybe the difference is that I know he wouldn't.

[mercurio]

[he seems to get some sense of what he's saying, and so, instead, just grins and shrugs his shoulders.]

Everyone's here for a fun party. I don't blame them, I wouldn't wanna miss out on a party thrown by Hideki either. It's all everyone'll talk about for weeks before the next cool thing comes around.

[it's most people's dream, but prompto has never had a dreams (that he can remember) until he came here. besides, his feet have always been so, so heavy, anchored to the ground, never having any wings to push up.]

[he wishes he were in a cheap hotel with his friends, terrified and hiding behind gladio because of a spider in the bathroom, concerned over why the sheets smelled the way they did and getting dared to wrap them around himself for a few minutes, having a violent pillow fight until ignis walked in with a disapproving face.]

[it'd beat this kind of party a hundred times over, with too many people he can't put a name to, boosting himself into a sense of fun through liquid courage.]

But— it's pretty great!

[how about not being a downer in his own birthday?? closing his eyes, he finishes up the rest of the water on the glass]

—phew!