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]

You shouldn't get into trouble with your mom just because of us, y'know.

[hideki's always wanting some form of physical reassurance, perhaps because of his upbringing—keeping what he owns and likes at close reach. it's not entirely unflattering, but prompto wonders how much of it is him being bratty and how much of it is him being fearful of losing them.]

Dunno about others, but I'm just happy to hang out with you, Hideki.

[veer this convo towards... quiet hangouts...at his place...] Not that this party isn't incredible! It's even better cuz you went through the trouble of it at all!

[blyat]

The foxtrot?

[His turn to laugh, a brief little huff of it, sound caught on the air and lifted away by wind. It's quieter out here on the balcony, but still it's easy to hear the dull pulse of music inside the building, almost as if the structure itself has taken on a separate, rhythmic heartbeat of its own.]

Okay, so don't tell anyone, but I could probably pull that off. [His smile is slanted, a little softer around the edge.] If you taught me, I mean. My... family was kinda big on traditional dancing at one point. Uh, mostly my grandmother before she died.

[This is embarrassing, he has to raise a hand to rub his cheek and tilt dark eyes pointedly away.]

[laozu]

Difficult to play with someone, I mean.

[ cain might try to dodge it, but wei wuxian fires back without hesitation.

their entire conversation is really, really feeling like a constant attempt to set the other one off-guard, and then to maintain that advantage over them. he does consider the question at length, trying to encompass all of the things he knows about society into the simplest of terms - who actually likes hearing about cultural relations and social stratification, after all? - without missing the nuances that make it important. ]

It's not a problem, [ he emphasizes, ] as long as it's not loud. No relationships are meant to be loud, even between a man and a woman. "Restraint" is so important, and so very stupid. While I've never had a relationship - I wouldn't want to be subtle about it. I've been lucky to live three lives now, and each one does nothing to temper my desire to live it well.

[ he thinks of mo xuanyu, the young man who's reputation had been absolutely annihilated, simply because he had been a little too earnest, a little too naive. the rumors had lead him to absolute unhappiness, to ruin, to his death. ]

-- I think the future would have been far kinder to that person.

[ the words are rueful, and he takes the device when it is offered, following the instructions until he's exhaling into the air. it tastes good, like an old itch being scratched. ]

[blyat]

[Slinging a friendly arm over Hideki's shoulders as he's pulled in, Cain's grateful that Prompto's caught his drift in wanting to get somewhere quieter. A particular location, in fact. It's not something they discussed, but they've been fairly on track with everything else to do with Hideki up to this point. Prompto isn't difficult to work with.]

Yeah, anything you wanna give us is fuckin' awesome, seriously. And I've never been to a party like this before. Really outdid yourself.

[That much is true, at least.]

Gonna have to borrow someone's couch to sleep this off after.

[windowsills]

[ She takes a sigh of relief as she watches him drink the water, at least there will be some hydration going on tonight during his drinking blitz. ]

Oh! Yes, the food looks spectacular.

[ a small smile. ]

I won't lie, I was a bit excited to see real meat. Is there something you would like? I'll fetch it for you.

[ AKA she wants to spoil him a bit, but also keep him seated so no accidents happen. ]

[evite]

Alright. [ he doesn't have to ask. she's already shot illya a message via the implant to let him know. ] So we'll have one. Just let me know when.

[ and then, a beat later: ] And have fun tonight, okay? You deserve it.

[forcevisions]

You know they have food here.

[ Rey didn't expect to have to bring a present, and thus is surprised by Jon's and doesn't have a strong capacity for parsing it. Good times. She did, however, help herself to some of the meat because wow. WOW. What a treasure. ]

You didn't have to bring your own in. There's meat, too. Not just insects.

[wiccant]

( he's probably at some table somewhere shoving as much meat into his face as possible, tbh. tommy's a menace to society, and a hungry one at that.

billy laughs off the fake punches, but still raises his opposite hand up to his shoulder. )

It all looks pretty amazing, I've had some of it already! Nice party.

[998]

[jon's mouth quirks. he raises his eyebrows.]

It's a gift. For the party. A gesture of goodwill, in honor of the nameday lads. Prompto's real gift isn't ready yet, and I didn't want to turn up empty-handed. Cakes tend to go over well.

[he sighs. perhaps this was not the done thing here. he'd never had to deal with this sort of thing himself before. he tries a small conspiratorial smile.]

The cheese is real, too.

[it doesn't REALLY matter what's inside a sausage, but good cheese is harder to replicate.]

[wiccant]

( he's gotten used to the empathy bonds; with a twin brother who's attached at the hip, it makes it hard not to. but billy has never been one to hide how he's feeling, anyway; he's loud about his feelings, how he's dealing with things, what upsets him and what doesn't. being buzzed helps keep him loose, too; where the club might have had him a little more anxious than usual due to how noisy it is, the set up, the crowd--he's doing alright for now.

billy gives a soft laugh, reaches to take abel's covered hand with his own. takes a step ahead to lead him towards the center of the dance floor. )

We're definitely covered. Follow me?

[blyat]

[Three separate lives. Is it a figure of speech? Dark eyes follow him through the motions, that exhalation an opaque cloud of vapor over the air. The wind soon scatters it.

Which person is it he means, Xuanyu Mo? Spoken as if someone entirely separate from Wei Wuxian, not the same flesh, not the same bones, not the same identity. He doesn't understand it, but that must be as intended. Nothing's been given to him straight out except the names, the little insinuations of something more.]

You know, I like you better like this. [A gesture toward all of him, one sweep of a hand.] When you're not fucking around with me.

[Maybe he hasn't, this whole time. Still feels like it. The teasing, the flighty energy, all of it working to get under his skin. This wears more honesty.]

Three lives, and you've never been in a relationship?

[revlon]

[ This time the surprise does ripple across her face. For all that they've gone to hell and back with and for each other, Peggy doesn't know too much about Cain — just as he doesn't know much about her. It hasn't impeded their friendship any; she would still dive deeper into the unknown hell of a dreamscape and pull him back out, would still fight at his side. Combat forms bonds, it's the oldest kind of friendship she's known.

But it's nice, she thinks, to get a glimpse of a life off the field. ]

I didn't realise there was much call for ballroom dancing on Mars.

[ It's teasingly said. Her smile softens some as she remembers, with a dull pang, another man entrenched in war who asked her for a dance lesson. Different time, different circumstances. The sentiment remains; it's a sweet thing to know how to do — for yourself and others, too. ]

I'd be happy to show you a few steps. What sort of dancing did your grandmother like to do?

[dragonwarder]

[Her eyes flicker toward Sansa, a smile flickering across her lips. She isn't quite comfortable enough to jest about how swift Jon would find himself at the bottom of his cup -- but she makes a go of it anyway.]

Lady Stark makes a sound proposal -- it would make certain you remembered to partake in the variety.

[Her glass is pulled to her lips to disguise the return of her smile, which is only slightly unkind.]

Perhaps Prompto will even be so kind as to escort you to your bedchambers when you are through.

[laozu]

[ he turns the electronic item over in his hands ( it's been ages, a decade and three, since he's smoked - he prefers to perform such a task at the desk, etching his studies and notes into a stack of papers the thickness of his wrist by the time of his first death -- yiling's manifesto, yiling's studies of demonic cultivation -- ), while cain remarks on his manner. it's less obtuse, like this.

his brows are softer, his expression a little more suitable for a man in his mid-thirties than the flush of youth that mo xuanyu had been in. it makes him look like he's trying hard, as he draws one last time on cain's strange little smoking stick and then hands it back. ]

It's all me, [ he offers, as if the knowledge that his high-octane joviality and the coiled spring of severity that overcomes him being one-in-the-same is a thing that eludes most: ] But, if it makes you happier, how can I resist? I'm surprised you find this "me" more soothing than the other, most people I knew found me threatening.

[ three lives, he counts them as. his first, the second that "ended" at koi tower, and this one, in new amsterdam: the third. ]

I didn't really have time for such things. Like you and Abel, I was also fighting a war before my first life's end. My second was - oh, barely a year long, I was so clumsy with it. This one doesn't seem to have room for love or sex either, I'm a nobody here, yet beholden to a great many. I can't let you outshine me, after all.

[998]

[jon scoffs--he's much too old and practiced to get drunk off beer--but that proposal sounds nauseating. sansa, what. also did dany just call him out for flirting with prompto. he looks between the two of them, feigning a wounded manner.]

You ladies turn my stomach, not my head. Seems a shame to waste food like this making ourselves sick for the sake of a game.

[laozu]

[ the scowl on abel's face could kill a corpse, and seeing it - while not a shock - is still enough to force a reaction from wei wuxian. the cup of ice tucked into abel's hands, he reaches up to palm the man's face and turn it away from line of sight with 'that fellow'. even the brief contact is enough to spark blue between them: easy easy easy, it's a tender little thing from him, to abel. ]

You don't like him very much.

[ he doesn't need to be in contact OR a detective to know that ]

[myownwoman]

Of course.

[ inside he will find a neatly rolled tie, green with a gold tie bar -- to go with whatever suits he may choose with illya and daisy -- and gaby manages so sent her little e-card at much the same time. it's simple and bright, happy birthday in a spray on confetti, and inside she has added the recipe for schichttorte that she remembers from her childhood. it may not be the cake he'd made before but she has a feeling he will appreciate it all the same.

she weirdly hope he likes it, which is a strange sensation. the last time she gave a gift was to her foster father. ]

[amstrdm]

Wow, did I give that out? [ A disgusted sound. ] Well, I guess you can stay, but don't assume you'll be included in anything in the future! We don't want anyone pitying you because they misjudged your appearance.

[ Does he even know that he did that just now? ]

[amstrdm]

Fine, fine, you got me! First — my couch is your couch, my friend! Why would I ever leave you to return to ... whatever it is you normally have? [ The casual assumption that what Cain has is bad. That's what that is. ]

Secondly — your gifts are arriving right ... about ... now!

[ Two people walk up — one beautiful man and one beautiful woman — with a tray with the gifts. They're each topped with a red cloth bow. Hideki leans in to take the tray and set it in his lap. The gifts are positioned so that each person's gift is closest to them, as if Hideki wanted them to check on that before they showed up.

On Cain's end, there is a very, very nice vape. It interfaces with his neural implant, letting him know of its current conditions, as well as checking the reading on any "toxins" put into it. It's top of the line — and very nice.

On Prompto's end, there is a very nice camera — one that's fitting for the year 2511. Better than any neural implant camera technology, it's meant to be worn externally. It offers great digital pictures, videos and has a slot for film, along with a note about where to get film and have it processed. ]

You like?

[laozu]

Don't be ashamed, we're both adults here!

[ prompto leaning closer is encouragement enough for him to slide the digitized catalog, earmarked pages and all, across his dms. it's the tamer side of the jewelry section: interesting collars, layered bracelets, leather and metal being a key theme, since it is "adult" -- and then, the lower he drags the catalog, the more harnesses there are, especially the kind that criss-cross over the torso. they actually look really cool, some of them more statement piece than fetish piece. ]

These kinds. Some of them look very sharp over a fashionable shirt and pants!

[ oh my god is this happening is it really happening ]

[verselet]

Prompto said I was welcome to attend.

[There’s the lingering feeling that arguing with Hideki will amount to nothing more than wasted time. Irritation abates only by a slight amount, and only because V allows himself a gesture.

Raising his cane and bumping its grip against Hideki’s shoulder in a prodding way—]

You mean like you just did?

[adsero]

[Abel's irate expression smooths into surprise when he feels Xuanyu turning his face away. The flare of irritation flickers out almost immediately and is replaced with curious nerves-- he's not used to having his cheeks touched by someone other than Cain.]

[Looking guiltily into his cup of ice, Abel sighs.] I don't like people who use their influence for selfish reasons. I lived with that for most of my life, and while Hideki is nothing like my father, the idea is too similar.

[adsero]

Right behind you. [It does feel better to be with someone on the floor instead of by himself. He's been alone at this party for the majority of it, and it's definitely made him more self-conscious and awkward by the second. This is like a massive weight off his shoulders.]

[He's pretty good at following and anticipating the beat, but what he doesn't have is the ability to not think and just move. He thinks way too much and it shows in his stiff movements and how his eyes are constantly scanning how everyone else is dancing.]

[adsero]

I thought we might, if it struck your fancy. [He smiles, swaying a little from the soft nudge. This is a gift for Cain of course, but Abel finds that every time he sees Cain taking in part of the environment-- running his fingers across the bike-- he feels a thrill go up to his cheeks. This is a gift for Cain, how is Abel finding this much joy in it too? If this is what it was like to give someone you cared deeply about a gift, Abel would give Cain anything and everything.]

[He tips his head towards the bike, indicating Cain should get on the back as Abel climbs up into the front. No helmets necessary, apparently-- why program them when the physics engine prevented the bike from tipping?] There's a rest for your feet back there, do you see it?

[mutriarchy]

[ He's 'fashionably late' to this whole affair, practically skidding into the party and slinging an arm around Prompto the second he spies him, minding any skin to skin contact, to shove a box into his hand. ]

Happy birthday dude!

[ the box is empty, sorry. but there's a scrap of paper that says 'check cooltalk' and he'll find a bunch of filters in there, some novelty and some actually useful ones. ]