meadowlarklogs | one night of magic rush

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one night of magic rush

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.]

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I see. So you were brought here, only half-enthused for the party. [He can read in-between the lines easily enough, both observant and... in the same boat, honestly. V is only here at the behest of a very enthusiastic and persuasive roommate. He could've said 'no', of course, but he is neither so cruel nor so uninterested in this new world that he would actually decline the invite.

And so now, here he is. Biding his time until a certain someone is ready to go home.]

That's right, my mind was elsewhere at the time, too harried to bother with introductions. But that's not the case today. [He presses his fingertips to his chest, a gesture to go along with a name.] You can just call me V. It's a pleasure to meet you a second time, Abel.

It's nice to meet you again too, V. [And, honest young man that he is, he actually looks it, smiling warmly and leaning in just a bit. Purely in a friendly way.]

So what about you? Willing, unwilling? Glad you came, counting the minutes?

[At least Abel makes for decent company. Easy-mannered, polite, and not too loud. V appreciates it, and replies in an unaffected way.]

It'd be a lie if I said I came completely unwillingly; no one truly twisted my arm, though I do feel as if there was a small amount of obligation hanging over my head.

[Prompto had invited him, and being his new roommate (and someone who had helped him quite a bit since his arrival here), it felt... blatantly rude to decline.]

So you could say... I'm counting the minutes with resignation. Until my roommate declares that it's time for us to leave, and only then will I be free.

[Or so he thinks.]

Mm, so we're of the same mind then. I'm counting the minutes until Cain decides he's had enough and we go home, but as the subject of the party I imagine I'll be waiting quite a while.

[But it's worth it. So he thinks.]

[But this is better than sitting alongside people who were only there to be seen there, people who weren't interested in introducing themselves and having a quiet conversation outside. V is definitely a nice change of pace, and fits right in with the softer environment Abel had sought outside.]

So who's your roommate?

Then may those minutes be ever expedient for you. If it's any consolation, though, a party like that-

[And so he picks up his cane, indicating briefly at the throng of people within, emblematic of the general vibe of a celebration like this one: loud, vibrant, bone-jarring, with drinks spilled and dance rhythms blaring.]

-is one that'll tire out even the most experienced party-goer. Maybe you won't have to wait long at all.

[A huff of amusement.]

As for my roommate, he's the other birthday celebrator. Prompto.

[Abel raises his eyebrows and breaks into an amused laugh.] Then I guess we're the Coalition of Unfortunate Roommates. In addition to being Cain's friend, I was tricked into living with him too. [And by 'tricked', he means he immediately accepted and then crawled into Cain's bed after him like a lost puppy. But it's a joke, obviously, he's grinning as he says it.]

[He looks back into the party where V has gestured, finally feeling glad that he's not in the middle of the raucous group and not nearly so awkward now that he's sitting with someone who seems to understand.]

We're far past the point of decent sleep, but any precious minutes we can scrape together I will gladly take. [He turns his attention back to V, not exactly content to watch the escalating zoo inside.] It was nice of you to come, though. I get the feeling Prompto misses his home but doesn't want anyone to know it.

Tricked? That's not very nice. You should let him know.

[He wonders if he should take that as a grain of salt, because there's always the choice of deciding to not be someone's roommate beyond the initial agreement. He figures that they must get on well enough, so the joke is interpreted as one, V's own smile lopsided.]

What's the point in putting on a brave face in a place like this? [Re: Prompto, he means. The tip of his cane clicks against the floor again.] We are all lost creatures, apparently making ends meet in a world where we don't belong. Missing home is just the consequence of being human.

[He assumes. He should know, but his experiences have been rather limited.]

Maybe tomorrow after I finish making our coffee. [That paints a picture, doesn't it? But Abel is still a little warm and loose from alcohol, even less careful when he's tired and comfortable on a couch under the stars. As much as he hates this party, the reason he's here is absolutely worth it, twice over.]

It's true-- if home is a place you love, it's generally accepted that most people will miss it when they're away for a while. But there's other factors to consider, don't you think? Admitting that your 'brave face' is just a face means revealing a vulnerability. [That first time he'd actually engaged with the Colterons, how many times had he told himself that he couldn't cry?]

Even if it's someone you trust, there's risk. The balance between sharing a problem and burdening someone is very delicate, I can see why Prompto in particular would have trouble. He's very giving. [Like Abel in some ways, though Abel can't say he'd take Hideki out to walk in the snow of New Tokyo just because he'd wanted to. Prompto is in a different league, it seems-- too sweet to be real.]

Yes. I can see that he is.

[Knowing him for only a handful of days, that much had been clear.

V himself is not one to really speak, anyway — these same words would’ve labeled him a hypocrite once, never wanting to show weakness, never wanting to be vulnerable. He had hated nothing more, the feeling of being helpless and unable to protect oneself from outside forces that would grind him under their heel.

Now? Now there’s an irony in him being more human, and understanding that weakness and flaws are just part and parcel of being alive. That Prompto might try to keep it all inside of him is equal parts understandable and… strange.]

It’s funny, though, isn’t it? He seems the type to collect friends easily. I’m sure none of them would call him a burden.

[Ah, but he leans back, shrugging a little. Not his place to say.]

We’re a ragtag group. No one but each other to rely on.

That's the paradox, isn't it? He cares so he doesn't want us to worry, but we're alright with worrying because we care. Putting himself in our position must be very difficult despite the clear parallels. I can't say I'm not guilty of the same thing.

[Despite him begging for help fixing what was between him and Cain, Abel still felt like every feeling he had was something he had to untangle and purge. Putting his feelings onto Cain seemed ridiculous and pointless, Abel was the one feeling them. And so he's sitting in a corner outside watching Cain enjoy the party and holding himself back from saying what he actually feels. The desired outcome doesn't seem workable, and he's not even sure he wants Cain to pick up and leave with him. It's a difficult problem.]

Isn't that the truth. [Abel smiles faintly, thinking about all of the people he's met since arriving. A strange group indeed.] It's a strange gift, in a way. I find that people tend to cluster together in like-minded groups, never really challenging their worldview. There aren't enough of us to create true echo chambers though-- and if the network is anything to go by, few of us are willing to walk away from a disagreement. [He chuckles.]

Well. Maybe the party will help ease whatever woes he's hiding.

[All that they can hope for, given that there's nothing to be done about Hideki's attentions being sloughed off on Cain and Prompto. V is in the same position as Abel; wait until the time has ended, and return home.

He looks at Abel again, a raised brow coupled with his usual grin.]

And it is a blessing that we're all so different. Varying experiences mean varying expertise, and we need all of it if we want to unravel what's happening to the world around us. For example, you were a... Navigator, correct? You know space better than many of us. [A beat, remembering something else mentioned.] And maybe war, too.

Hopefully... [Abel is worried it's only pushing them deeper inside of Prompto and not actually easing anything. But maybe he is truly distracted and can take a few moments to enjoy himself. Abel's opinion of the party might not be shared by Prompto, and that's probably a good thing.]

[Thinking of himself as a soldier, despite spending months in space working on military technology and engaging in a few dogfights with Colterons, is still strange. Maybe because his desire to become a Navigator was relatively new when compared to his love of science and engineering. Maybe because he'd never wanted to 'Waste 'Terons' as so many people put it, he'd only wanted to protect what he loved. It doesn't seem very war-like, but he's not sure what he expected. More blood? More fighting? Less time digging around in the guts of the Reliant trying to shorten her response time? Hard to say. But V suggesting that he knows war better than many of the Displaced really makes him wonder how qualified he is to talk about it.]

Space definitely, my head was always up in the stars. [He smiles back, just a little self-conscious about it.] War, though... I don't know, sometimes I think it's better to ask someone like Cain about that. I've only shot a gun once, and I've flown more simulations than actual battles. I wouldn't call myself 'experienced'.

Hm. Maybe.

[Maybe Cain would know more about it, is his meaning. Abel would be a better judge of that than him, but he's quick to make a correction.]

But you were in battles, regardless, were you not? That kind of experience changes one's perspective. Of life, of death, of just how easily it can be lost for the sake of protecting what's important to you.

[Fragile as V finds himself now, he knows this more stringently than before.]

Even if you don't consider yourself a veteran, it still counts for something.

Mm. [Abel looks back up at the sky, distracted by memory.] You're right about that. I'd never been so close to dying in my entire life before I started flying with the Alliance. I like to think that I grew braver in spite of it. [He snorts.] Or I went crazy.

I don't know how important it is here, but if I could teach one lesson from my time as a soldier it would be that you never know what's going to happen from minute to minute. So don't put anything off. ...Or you might find yourself thrown hundreds of years into the future with people you've never met before, wearing a medical gown and trying not to trip and fall. [As an extremely amusing, completely random example.]

[Brave. Crazy. Maybe both, interlinked when caught in the surge of battle, heart thumping in one's ears and blood boiling millimeters under skin.

He chuckles at that.]

Good advice to give, and if we're wise, we'll all adhere to it. Soldiers or not.

Well then, for now... do you mind showing me a few of those constellations you were trying to remember?

[It seems like a novel exercise, even if it's not in V's realm of expertise.]

Ah, sure! If you're really interested in that...

[It's definitely something he's a lot more comfortable talking about, and now that his mind is a little calmer who knows? Maybe the sky won't be such a mystery to him anymore.]

[He fires up the overlay and shares the feed over.]

[It's more interesting than anything this party has to provide, and so V nods, leaning back as the blinking of stars blossom outwards through their shared IDs.

He'll ask about the names behind the constellations, about naming and labelling conventions of the stars in general. It's a fine way to pass the time, until they're both set free via either Prompto or Cain; at least, insofar as they know.

And for a moment, he thinks maybe it isn't so bad, being out here on this balcony.]

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one night of magic rush

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wrap up this thread and put a bow on it?