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

Abel ★ STARFIGHTER

[adsero]

[001]

[Someone is very irate about all of this.]

[It's not that Hideki slighted him, or that Cain has to pay attention to someone else for the evening, or even that Abel is off sitting at the bar by himself while everyone is having a good time. It's just everything is so fancy. So expensive. There's meat here for crying out loud, and Abel...]

[...Abel couldn't possibly have thrown Cain a nicer party than this. And that annoys him deeply. He barely has a job and can't support the pair of them, there's no way he could have done something like this. But he'd wanted to, of course, when he'd found out that Cain's birthday was right around the corner. But Hideki had beaten him to it, the jerk.]

[Scowling into his glass, Abel sits at one end of the bar looking dourly at Hideki playing around at being a terrible bartender. He should move before he's spotted.]


[002]

[After a few drinks most of the edge has come off of his jealousy, and the dance floor calls. Abel's dancing is awkward, but at least it's more or less contained to his personal space and he's not flinging elbows and drawing blood. He definitely dances like someone who's only done it a few times before and just moves how he feels.]

[But if he catches someone looking or is otherwise interrupted, he might just try to slink away in embarrassment.]


[003]

[He shouldn't leave until Cain wants to, and Abel imagines he's going to have to stay until Hideki is satisfied that he's had a good enough time. Waiting on Hideki's satisfaction could take all night, in Abel's experience.]

[At least outside it's a little quieter. People are talking and smoking in small groups, but the pounding of the music doesn't follow them outside, and Abel is thankful for the break now that his buzz is wearing off and he's annoyed again. He gnaws sulkily on a wagyu skewer, his Moscow Mule condensating onto the table while he reclines on a loveseat and looks at the sky. He's playing around with a constellation overlay he found, tracing shapes and tapping stars to see if he remembers their names and positions. It's annoying how often he's wrong, and how often he's distracted enough that he forgets to guess before tapping.]


[004]

[Eventually not even loud music can save Abel from the exhaustion. Copper mug clasped between his hands, Abel is passed out in one of the booths-- sleeping, not intoxicated, with his jacket wadded up under his head like a pillow. He just meant to rest for a moment, but a moment has long passed and he's been here for the past fifteen or twenty minutes.]

[A few unknowns take note, and giggling, start moving towards Abel with a cup of ice. Somebody's about to become the center of the entertainment...]


[005]

((Or we can wildcard it! :D I'm over at kouject for plotting!))

01!

[girlcorrupted]

[ Being the one who initially invited her, and the first familiar face she spots has Angel b-lining to join Able when she spots him at the bar by his lonesome. She's not shy! But it's been a hot never since she had to make small talk in person and in a setting such as this one, it's a little (a lot) overwhelming, familiarity is comfort.

She comes over to him and greets with a smile, taking a seat on one of the high barstools beside him. ]

Um, thank you for the invite. I'm not sure I would have attended without being sure I knew someone--

Sorry, did I come over at a bad time?

[adsero]

No, of course not! [Abel perks up when he sees it's Angel and not one of Hideki's vapid friends or one of Cain's many Cooltalk followers.] I'm glad you came, everything is... a lot, right?

[He gestures around to indicate the noise, the lights, the people. It's Hideki. It's a lot.]

Are you having a good time?

[girlcorrupted]

That is one way of putting it.

[ Sympathetic and yeah, it's a lot, but she doesn't want to complain, to be rude. ]

But I'm enjoying myself. I've never had the opportunity to visit a place like this before.

Are you? You seem a little...tired.

[adsero]

Oh, this just isn't my sort of thing, I suppose. But Cain seems to be having fun...

[He seems to be having a blast, in fact. Something that hasn't escaped Abel's notice and only serves to make him feel even more inadequate as a partner.]

And that's the point, isn't it? Obviously on your birthday you get to do what you want to do, it's not a democratic process.

[girlcorrupted]

[ If Angel can pride herself on anything beyond her abilities when it comes to technology, it's that she's keenly perceptive. You don't spend twelve years as a spy and not learn how to read minor social cues. ]

You know...my f-- my former employer, Jack, used to come to me for advice on many things, including personal relationships. I'd be happy to offer whatever insight I can, if you'd like.

Or just listen. I did plenty of that, too.

01

[998]

[jon's been trying to flag down hideki for twenty minutes now. he''s been considering taking the bar over for the past ten. but this is his one night off, and he's determined to buy a round for his friends. it's hard to believe anyone could ignore the glare (or deep v) he's sporting, but it's hard to believe a lot of things about hideki maeda. jon nods at abel, who he's fairly sure he saw around the new tokyo dorms. usually with cain...]

This is ridiculous.

[adsero]

You mean 'he's'. [Abel frowns deeply over at Hideki, who's managed to throw together some white wine and vodka. Ugh.]

He's ridiculous.

[Abel slides his latest empty glass into the neat collection he's formed, but that's probably his last now that Hideki has taken over the bar. He casts a dark, disgruntled look at the large child playing at having an actual job.]

Maybe there's another bar if you're looking for something that won't send you into an early grave.

[998]

[jon draws back, furrows his brows.]

I know my order.

[vodka and lemonade for prompto. two drinks off the menu for dany and sansa. another of whatever cain's drinking. a pint of stout for himself. he looks again at hideki and his concoctions.]

Does he mean to serve that straight up?

[why. he glances through the cocktail menu. none of them are that.]

Did somebody ask him to make it?

[adsero]

Doubtful. From what I understand, he's 'improving' things. Even if you know what you want, I wouldn't give him the opportunity to tool around with it. Everyone else seems to regret taking the chance.

[He's eyeing all of the abandoned glasses that look nine-tenths full, and laughing that ensues as people waste what would have been perfectly good alcohol if it hadn't been doctored so heinously.]

[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?

003

[verselet]

[It’s a familiar face he recognizes, a remembrance from his less-than-flattering time during the Halloween carnival. V, having been drawn outside, pushed away from the noise and the partying like a magnet facing the wrong way, enjoys the nighttime air — but that same enjoyment is easily set aside to amble towards Abel, the soft click of a newly-acquired cane utilized and kept in one hand heralding his approach.

The constellation overlay is one that V might step inside to make his presence known (by accident or on purpose? a good question), a line of stars flickering across his dark clothing.]

Hello again.

[Eyes cast down at the other, he notices something shaped like impatience. Or annoyance.]

You don’t look like you’re having much fun.

[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.

[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]

[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.

[verselet]

[Any more and V might do the same, if he isn’t already considered something of an anti-social creature as it stands. A party like this, all bright lights and drunken expectations, were too much for him — he’d much prefer corner to himself, a good book, and a long stretch of silence.]

Heaven forbid that should ever be the case.

[He says wryly, in response to Abel becoming a native where parties on the regular were the norm.]

A Navigator, though? I must admit that sounds very fantastical, in a sort of romanticized way. Are the constellations seen from Earth that much different from the ones you know by heart? Or is it really a matter of being out of practice?

4!!!

[laozu]

[ the steadily-growing grey cloud that looms over abel hasn't gone unnoticed, but between those who've tried to temper it, the drinks and the rest of the company in the club, he just hasn't been able to make his way over to the ( former? ) navigator until now. now, when he slips through the crowd and lays hand on the wrist of the party guests with the prank in-hand, his smile a beatific but sharp little thing: i'll take that, he says. and he purposefully and pointedly takes the cup from their hand. they wouldn't know a good prank if it hit them upside the head, it seems!

he, on the other hand, is a master of them. ]

Mister Aaaaabel, [ he croons, leaning over the unconscious form of said young man

with an ice cube in hand, he surveils the territory ( "the territory" being all the choice spots on abel's face that he can stick it ) and promptly sets it between his eyebrows. ]

You'd best wake up, or I'll be seeing how many of these I can leave on you to melt.

[adsero]

[The moment the ice meets his forehead, Abel frowns in his sleep and reaches to brush the sudden cold spot away. He's so used to Cain leaving their usual tangled embrace that sleeping through something like this isn't so difficult. But the cold is certainly uncomfortable.]

oh my god

[laozu]

[ this is is favorite thing, it always has been. the joys found in teasing someone are infinite and varied, no matter if he thinks of them as a friend or simply an adorable target to toy with. abel is certainly somewhere between those two things, which means that he sticks an ice cube into his belly button ( leaving the shirt in the way, of course ) without hesitating one bit. ]

I live to serve

[adsero]

[What follows is, of course, a truly and deeply unpleasant sensation.]

[Abel bolts up with a yell once the cold has a chance to penetrate his shirt, and he looks wildly at Xuanyu as he wakes up fully.]

What the... [He looks incredulously at the wet spot on his shirt.]

[laozu]

[ the moment that abel rouses, wei wuxian slips the cup holding the rest of his spoils under the sofa to hide it, holding up his """"innocently"" empty hands. ]

Your belly button was so tired, it drooled.

[ it's just the inane, strange sort of madness that one can expect to come out of his mouth ]

The vultures were circling - I couldn't let them have you.

002;

[wiccant]

( billy doesn't stare but he does notice abel start to slink off when someone else is looking his way. it's enough of a cue for him to start pushing through the crowds, reaching a (sleeve covered, no empathy bond necessary) hand out to grab onto abel's wrist before he can get too far. )

Are you leaving this early? ( soft, teasing. before his tone takes a bit more of a serious note; ) Don't let them bother you. It's way less fun if you're worried about what everyone else is thinking.

[adsero]

Oh! No, I... [Ah, he's being teased. He looks properly embarrassed about it, but in good humor. He's just tense from being in a place like this and annoyed with Hideki's antics.]

More easily said than done when everyone can take pictures with their brains.

[wiccant]

( being embarrassed is fine. but it's not like abel's terrible, none of his moves are going to get him social media famous as someone who can't dance. and being nervous takes all the fun out of it. )

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. ( smile on his lips still, loosening his hold on abel as billy takes a step back towards the dance floor. ) Or if they snap a few pics. I can totally see where you're coming from, but--being yourself is what's important, right? I'll dance with you.

[adsero]

[Being yourself is what's important, it's what Abel's been working on for the better part of the past year. It's just been easier to take smaller steps in the military than it has been in public places as a civilian, though. Especially here where Abel is surrounded by all of Hideki's influencer friends who keep looking at him like he's lost or something. He's certainly dressed more like a waiter than a friend of Cain's.]

You will? [Abel's expression lifts, newly encouraged. It's not nearly as anxiety-inducing if someone is flailing around with him! He nods with renewed enthusiasm and gestures back into the crowd.] Okay, let's go!