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

[adsero]

Oh! [Abel finally does focus on the living person when he steps through the overlay-- an unfortunate habit, Abel's extreme tunnel-vision when he's focused on something is legendary. It's ridiculously easy for people to sneak up on him or pelt him with pillows, as two random, nonspecific examples.]

[He waves the overlay away and puts a smile on.] I was quizzing myself, I'm apparently more rusty than I expected. [He chuckles and notes the cane, not long enough to have it be considered staring, but enough to think it was cruel to pitch a man out of the back of a van if he couldn't walk without an aid. Abel shuffles over on the seat to make room if the other man wants to sit.] It's good to see you again, have you been settling in alright? I'm sorry I lost track of you at the carnival.

[998]

[jon presses his lips together, weighing the consequences of hopping the bar and serving up proper drinks. there's a look in his eye that might be called scheming on someone else.]

Is anyone else working this bar, tonight?

[adsero]

This one? I thought I saw him shoo the actual bartenders out-- how are they supposed to make tips? [He snorts, still apparently fixated on all the ways Hideki is terrible.]

I saw another bar outside of the VIP section. I don't know if I should drink anymore, otherwise I might go over there and bring it back.

[998]

[as a fellow bartender, that's enough to set jon scowling.]

Bad form.

[he leans down and presses his hand into a barstool--for a moment it seems like he's going to use it to launch himself up and over the bar. but then he'll be stuck working again. he rights himself, and sighs.]

I suppose I'd better look at this other bar. There's a few people waiting on drinks from me.

[he smiles grimly.]

I'm Jon Snow. I'll be coming back here.

[to tell hideki off or to serve up some proper drinks himself--he's not sure yet.]

[girlcorrupted]

[ Ah. The jealousy in Able's voice is palpable, and while she has no personal experience in feeling replaced like this, she can understand where he's coming from. Put the pieces together and empathize with the bigger picture, help him find a solution. Problem solving was always part of her designation. ]

Partnered combat... is the VR program you were working on related? Regardless, having someone like that, who you can trust with your life, it's rare. I can see why you would be protective of it.

[amstrdm]

How do you think? [ Hideki grins at Cain. It's the kind of smile that would be suggestive from anyone else, and there is an indication that it's what he's going for here. Yet there is a glint in his eyes – simple, innocent, maybe even a little glittering – that will tell Cain that he doesn't have any great story to back this up. ] Okay, okay. I know you won't believe anything I say. Why would you? I just called him! If a Maeda comes calling ...

[ It doesn't hurt that Pulsar owns the company that puts out Semicolon's music – they handle promotions, streaming services, the works. ]

How would you get him? Come on, I know you had something in mind.

[ Why else would he ask? ]

[amstrdm]

Is that so? [ Hideki takes in his new visitor with a look of disinterest. Why is he so skinny? ] Did he happen to tell you that canes are way, way out of style? It's tacky. But come on. [ He grabs V by the arm, dragging him in the direction of the food like an overeager, easily distracted child. ] It's obvious that Prompto doesn't have the money to feed you. Come, come. I'll put some weight on those bones of yours.

[verselet]

[Canes, out of style? As if he carries one to be fashionable? V already has a reply all queued up for that, but it's interrupted when Hideki grabs his (admittedly skinny) arm, dragging him forward to an open display of food nearby.

It's a miracle that he doesn't stumble, having to adjust his balance. The cane is utilized a few steps in for the sake of saving him from lurching into a graceless trip.]

Generous. [It comes out dryly, impossible to not sound that way.] But no, he's the one who gave me the cane. [Prompto, he means, to... you know. Help him walk.] Walking can sometimes be a chore for a man like me.

[mercurio]

Yeah, I am!

[and with a quick huff of air, he's pushing himself back on his feet. he still has energy, which is surprising. he puts on the jacket, ironing it down a little even if it's definitely stained and looking less presentable than earlier.]

[he takes no time to say anything, going around the other and starting to push him again from the back—destination: the outside area.]

Let's go back outside now!

[this whole thing is childish and dumb]

[mercurio]

—Cain would probably try to arm-wrestle him into owing him a favor.

[prompto's just saying. at any looks he might receive, he just sits up a bit and points over at cain, sparkly in his tight, gold shirt.]

I mean, look at your biceps. They're huge!

[verselet]

[The overlay dissipates for now, which is invite enough. V moves forward to take a seat next to Abel, sinking into the plush cushions and settling his cane to prop up against a leg.]

Don’t be sorry. It was something of a theme.

[Losing track of V at the carnival, he means. It’s said so lightly, so coupled with a lilt, that it might be considered a joke. But he continues, pushing the subject aside for now, not wanting to delve deep into the specifics.]

But I’ve been doing well enough. Look at me, already a partying man. [A huff of air, a hand splaying across his chest temporarily before he drops it.]

You’re quizzing yourself on… what? The placement of the stars?

[adsero]

Sort of, but it wasn't a combat program. I built a road I used to drive my motorcycle on, when I felt frustrated or trapped. He said he wanted to see it, so I built it.

[He frowns and hunches over his drink, more sad than annoyed now.] I haven't shown it to him yet. I was going to do it today but then all of this started happening. I didn't want to rush him through it before the party, so maybe after but... who knows when that will be.

[Jealous, disappointed, he's running the whole gamut tonight.]

[verselet]

[How does he still possess so much energy? This is a question that V might still be asking himself in the future, for an untold amount of times.

But for now, with Prompto back on his feet, he's once more being shuffled out into the balcony with eager hands pressed against his shoulder blades.]

Don't you have people to dance with? Now that you've recovered your treasured jacket?

[Childish and dumb. And now V's back in the outside air, which is... fine, he supposes, if he wasn't being guided around by a drunk Prompto. Again.]

[adsero]

Ah, Abel. [He looks a little flustered when Jon says he'll be coming back, because Abel had fully intended to move. But he supposes he should hold onto Jon's spot so one of Hideki's random Cooltalk followers doesn't sit near him and try to start a conversation. Abel slides one of the abandoned drinks into the spot in front of the stool next to him-- universal sign of 'this one's taken'.]

[And he waits, awkwardly, because he doesn't know how long the other will be or if he'll have to defend the chair.]

[girlcorrupted]

[ Angel gives a sympathetic smile. ]

Wow...that's a thoughtful gift. So much so, that the timing of when you show him likely doesn't matter.

[ She taps her bottom lip, thoughtful. ]

But... there's more than one way to skin a spiderant-- er, sorry, that's an old colloquial saying from my planet. What I mean is, there are ways to cause diversions to get him somewhere alone and quiet

[ She eyes the DJ, activating her implant to take stock of his equipment; smoke machine that seems to emit fragrances, an endless library of music. ]

Does he have music he particularly hates? Or smells that give him a headache?

[mercurio]

I wanted the jacket to be outside, 'cuz it's cold!

[he says this. but soon as they're outside, he stops guiding v around and plants himself instead on one of the nearby benches with cushions, and immediately realizes his mistake. it's too hot—having been jumping around for so long—and so he wiggles out of the denim.]

[legs outstretched, linked at the ankles, he slumps down and tips his head back to basically rest.]

[don't tell him that his point was ????? what?]

[he's banking on v being around, for he says.] I recorded it. The poem stuff.

[someone was thrilled by it]

[adsero]

[Yes, he sympathizes. Abel forces a short little laugh, relating to what he imagines is being suggested here-- this is really neither of their scenes.] I could say the same. A few more of these and I'll be completely native. [He smirks and rolls his eyes as he picks up his drink and has a sip. Any more of this and he might contemplate becoming a hermit.]

Yes, before I found myself here, I was a Navigator. I was part of a fleet of Starfighters, out in space, each ship required two people-- a Fighter and a Navigator. I had to know the stars like I knew the blueprints of my ship. Backwards, forwards, upside-down, during a war you couldn't always count on your computer to tell you where to go or what was wrong. [He hadn't been able to trust his own equipment in the end.]

Thankfully, I'm fairly certain no one is going to call on me to lead them through space anytime soon. [He says with a wry smirk.] So I can get away with a little rust.

[adsero]

A spiderant...? [He has an image of what that looks like. It is not a pleasant one.]

[Abel looks curiously at where Angel is looking, seeing the equipment and realizing she might be accessing the system when she starts the line of questions.]

Woah, hang on Angel! I don't want to give him a headache or disrupt the party, you're right! The timing probably doesn't matter!

[This is some intense problem-solving if Abel ever saw it.]

[girlcorrupted]

They're about as awful as their name implies.

[ Problem solving was a skill of hers but a skill amidst a planet and corporate war that thrived on chaos so...

She waves her hands, an attempt to calm Able's sudden worry. ]

It wouldn't be anything extravagant, just an inconvenience. Enough of one that when you approach him about moving elsewhere for a break, there would be no reason to stay.

[adsero]

Sure, and that's one way to do it but... Angel I...

[Abel looks conflicted. He doesn't want to hurt Angel's feelings, but he can't have her interrupting this party, Hideki would be irate if he took Cain away for an hour. Potentially more if the aftermath got involved, so to speak.]

I'm. I wish I could have given Cain a birthday like this, if I interrupt it and make him focus on me, I'll feel worse. I don't want to show him what I've worked so hard on feeling like this, it doesn't feel right.

[evite]

Good.

[ he looks happy. a little tipsy, maybe, but happy. that's a good thing, and she's glad for it. ]

Who'd you kill to throw this party, huh? [ because, let's be honest, it's a little outside of all of their budgets. ] I think Jyn's eaten half the food already by now.

[girlcorrupted]

Oh.

[ Angel blinks the implants overlay away, looks down at her hands. ]

Sorry, I'm unused to dealing with someone so....considerate. Things rarely worked that way back on Pandora, and never for the man I directly answered to. I should be more mindful.

[ She considers her next words, the best way to help, to ease Able's troubles, without causing more in turn. ]

Sometimes grand gestures can be small, and visa versa. This party may be opulent, but your gift sounds like it has a lot more meaning.

002

[adsero]

Woah, careful Prompto! [He'd heard of the friendship-destroying powers of Uno, though he hasn't personally experienced it, so Abel can at least get on board with the story and understand what Prompto is describing. But he lost track of the second half of it when Prompto almost ate the bar and Abel panicked.]

How about some water, yeah? Just one for me.

[blyat]

If there's no one around, don't you just end up dead?

[Can't be born into the world without help, is his assumption. An enlightening topic. Cain tips back his drink and takes another swallow.]

Why does a name even fuckin' matter that much?

[blyat]

Do I know Abel?

[There's a slight drawl to the words, not out of inebriation but because he's toying around with how to answer. They've yet to discuss anything about labels or definitions, and Cain's fine with how they're going about it now -- he's leaned toward secrecy more out of habit than anything. Better than having what they are smeared across social media and misconstrued knowing his current Cooltalk spotlight, all thanks to Hideki. Sometimes it's difficult to suppress that urge to grab and kiss him in front of everyone, fuck whatever people think. Not that he will.

Cain seeks out the familiar head of pale hair over the crowd, some distance from the dance floor and seated at one of the VIP tables alone. Has to fight the urge to fetch him. Instead, he levels his attention back on Angel.]

You could say that. He's cute, isn't he? [Okay, maybe some of the alcohol has his tongue.] How'd you meet him?