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

[blyat]

You've done your research into the shit we've gone through, huh?

[Not all of which Cain was present to experience.]

It's bad, but at least we're free to do what we want most days. There's independence and enough money to eat and pay the bills on time. [Something that couldn't be said for the state of his life if he'd returned home, assuming he wasn't thrown directly into prison.]

Wouldn't call it trouble. [It's definitely trouble.] Just a worse situation. So, I'm fine with it here. Doesn't mean I don't wanna know what happened to us.

[He studies V - noting the differences between him and Prompto, from looks to manner of speech. Interesting how they wound up roommates, but then, he and Giovanni were also unalike.]

[revlon]

[ She's never been operated on in her life. Sure, she's had bullets pulled out of her shoulder and been impaled, but that all seems relatively tame in comparison to technology being threaded through your mind. Peggy parts her lips to reply — not with such intimately morbid details, but to ask another question — when she's cut off by the crowd at the party.

Duty calls, her sympathetic smile seems to say. She knew their little respite together would be short-lived, but it was good to have, all the same. Peggy nods in understanding then catches his arm with a fleeting touch (barely enough to elicit the bond, but there is a flicker of warmth). ]

Before you go...

[ She polishes off the last slip of whiskey in her glass then sets it aside on spindly table. Hands now free, Peggy opens her evening bag and pulls out her gift: a single piece of chocolate. It's small — in her day, it would be one bonbon in a box of many — but that's not possible in this future. Still, she wonders if a young man brought up on Mars would have had chocolate at all. It's why she picked it. Chocolate was precious during the war, too. ]

It's not another drink, [ she's saying, as she holds it out to him. ] But happy birthday, Cain.

[verselet]

[It would definitely be viewing the equivalent of night and day. Enthusiasm versus control. Impulse versus contemplation.]

Fair enough. We won't get every far in unravelling the mysteries of this world without... putting all of our heads together, so to speak.

[He flashes him a lopsided smile, a few degrees more prominent than the one already on his face.]

Don't get too distracted by the bustling parties and rich friends. That's my advice to you.

[UNAWARE THAT CAIN IS DOING THIS TO GATHER INFO ON MAEDA...]

[blyat]

[Please remain unaware, in ignorance, thanks.]

Hah, I'll keep it in mind.

[He's far from allowing this sort of atmosphere to go to his head, but he can see the sense in that warning. If only V understood the deeper implications. Maybe Prompto will let him into that little circle of detail, in the future. It's not his to tell.]

See you around. Gotta tend to my loyal followers.

[And passing forward, he gives V a clap on the shoulder as he goes.]

peggy!!!! clutches heart

[blyat]

[Drawn to a halt, Cain swings back a step and drops eyes onto the small gift. At first, he isn't sure what he's looking at, but after a few moments the recognition dawns. He's seen enough imitation-chocolate in shop windows to match the difference. His own home had no hint of it, imports too highly priced even in the barest form and the soil too barren to support the cocoa bean's fragile life.

Immediately, he wonders how much she spent on it. Doesn't feel as though it's a gift he should take — assuming, knowing it's real chocolate.]

Better than a drink. [His fingers curl delicately around it.] You really shouldn't have. Thanks.

[Tempted to eat it now, he decides to wait until he can enjoy it.]

Still gonna get you back for that freebie punch you snuck in. [She'll know what he means.] Come meet me at the gym someday. Got it?

she cares so much...

[revlon]

[ Her smile grows a quiet fraction and she shakes her head gently at the rejoinder — you shouldn't have. No, but she wanted to. It's a gift not unlike a fine bottle of wine or whiskey but not nearly as grand. It suits their friendship that way, she thinks, that it comes down to a single piece of chocolate and a quiet chat on the fringes of a wild party. ]

You're welcome, [ she manages to reply, before he slides in with his next remark. It elicits one of her rare laughs, no less warm for its brevity. ] And yes, got it. I don't expect you to make it so easy next time.

[ And she's looking forward to it. Peggy considers him for a moment, fond, then inclines her head towards the doors. ]

Go on with you, then. I'll talk to you later.

[selfimage]

[ well, it's not a very solid argument, but Prompto seems absolutely set on it, regardless. Loki could open his mouth and find a way around it, he's sure, but the I like you best definitely takes him off guard.

no one likes him best. ]

All right—I'm intrigued. [ and flattered. ] Make your blessing request before I change my mind.

[ Loki's reaching beneath the lapel of the jacket that he has, inside a marker. they're expensive, but he keeps one on him. as a sorcerer, it's a comfort thing. he has to be ready if his abilities do come back. ]

[mercurio]

[prompto sees the marker and grins]

Hey! Okay, so!

[he's got an idea now]

Write the blessing on my skin and I'll get it tattooed.

[this is smart—besides, he's been thinking of getting a new tattoo, and wouldn't it just make wonderful sense if it's a gods blessing? even if there's not much of a blessing to it.]

You can write it [he's turning, pulling up the side of his shirt] right here! [down the length of his ribcage] I've been thinking of getting one for a while now, so it's totally the spot I'd want it.

[selfimage]

[ who let you be a thing, Prompto???? who let you?? ]

Er—are you certain about this?

[ even as he asks this, tho, he's lifting the perminant ink marker to Prompto's skin. his thumb brushes against his shoulder, pulling him back to get a decent look. it's not a lot of flesh that touches, but it's a bit, and Prompto can feel Loki's curiousity and bewilderment in response to the request.

when he realizes what's happening, he draws his thumb back onto the safety of the fabric above. ]

Hm.

[ and he begins to scribe distinct, neatly drawn runes. they have depth to them, a sort of flair that Loki puts in all of his writing. ]

[mercurio]

[his clone dad, partly.]

Dude, seriously.

[and that's all prompto has to say about the feeling of curiosity and bewilderment that passes through him for a fraction of a second--and at the question, too. he tries his best to keep as still as possible, even if he's fighting back on snickering at some of the turns the scribbling takes.]

[prompto can only imagine what it looks like--and yes, he's ticklish.]