blyat: (★ it's under my skin)
cain. ([personal profile] blyat) wrote in [community profile] meadowlarklogs2019-05-19 06:36 pm

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.]
adsero: (098)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-25 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[Abel's heart soars at Cain's expression. Watching him marvel at the view is incredible, and makes every hour of sleep he lost worth it and then some. He could honestly cry. And they haven't even started riding yet, this is just the view.]

[Only a little overwhelmed, he smiles and gestures down the hill.]
My parents house was just down there. [Conspicuously absent from Abel's point of view, but Cain wouldn't know. He'd race up this hill away from the house and that would satisfy him some days-- just the physical act of putting distance between himself and the expectations. And then when he came back down, it loomed like the house was shaming him for running. He hated it. So it's just not there anymore.]

[Abel runs his hand fondly over the shiny red motorcycle, his best friend, carrying him everywhere and away.]
I'd drive up this hill all the time, almost every day the last few weeks before I deployed. Whenever I felt like I needed to run, or remind myself of what I wanted to protect.
adsero: (051)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-28 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
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?
adsero: (109)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-29 06:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Abel is pulling on his gloves as Cain settles in behind him. It does feel good, almost like Abel tooled around with what he felt like whenever they touched. Safe, electric, warm, right-- the fact that they're holding hands in Cain's bed probably only adds to the experience, and Abel has to take a moment to lean gently backwards into Cain's arms and enjoy his work. This program isn't built for extracurricular activity so to speak... but Abel has always wanted to fuck on a beach.]

The answer is both fascinating and a little terrifying, truth be told. [Abel finishes putting on his gloves.] How we interact with our environments outside of VR is based entirely on signals that our brain receives and processes-- sight, touch, smell.

But brains aren't perfect. They can be tricked by things like anesthetics for example. Anesthetics don't prevent pain, they prevent the signal from reaching the brain, and so in essence we don't feel it. All of this is piggybacking on the implant, which sends signals to our brains that we're reading text or viewing an image. I've only made that more complex so you can not only see the images, but I can tell your brain what it's like to feel the breeze here, or smell the morning air. It's all signals and chemistry.

But what you feel, how you're reacting to all of this-- that's entirely in your control. [Abel kickstarts the motor and it immediately starts with a crack and growl, settling into an eager rumble under them. When he'd driven them in New Tokyo, Abel had still been emotionally struggling and unable to find true joy in anything. But here, something certainly shifts. He drums his fingers around the handles and leans in, ready to tear up the hill.]

Say when.
adsero: (002)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-29 07:39 am (UTC)(link)
[It's true that Abel asked himself several times if he was doing them both a favor by making the environment so close to the real thing, and so idyllic in nature. He'd read things about people beginning to prefer VR to the real world, troubling studies, but Abel told himself that it was just a gift. Just something to tide them over until they were home. It wasn't going to get out of hand, it was a toy.]

[A really, really great toy, he thinks as Cain's leather-clad thighs squeeze him. He bites his lip and presses his hips back just a little.]
Programmer's privilege. [So he snuck in a few treats for himself into this gift, he's only human. He's about to tell Cain he can change it if he likes, but that feeling of lips against his ear kills that practical sentence immediately. He can definitely still drive a motorcycle, he can do this, Cain in tight leather won't kill all of his faculties.]

[Hopefully.]

[He kicks the stand back and they take off. Abel focuses on the road though the motions are almost automatic now. The simulation matches the road inch-for-inch, and he's driven it enough that it's a meditation. He's not speeding, letting Cain take in all of the scenery he seemed so fascinated by, occasionally whipping them tightly around a corner or leaning hard into a turn. They won't slide out of course, in addition to Abel being a capable driver the program parameters simply don't allow it. Abel could drive with both eyes closed and they would be fine.]


Look right! [Abel shouts at one point as they fly by a space in between homes that frames a beautiful vista, just beginning to be touched by the sun.]
adsero: (054)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-31 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
For at least six months out of the year, I'd imagine! Some people have summer or winter homes and a main residence. [The houses up on the hill are a little more posh, it's true, and for a moment Abel feels a little bad for dragging Cain through all of this opulence. But the further they ride up, the fewer houses there are and the more open land peeks through to highlight the sunrise on foliage and empty vistas. That's what he comes up here for, not to admire huge houses with more space than any one family could need that go empty half of the year.]

Hang on! [The road's incline grows a little steeper, and Abel revs the engine to get some decent momentum going so they don't lose any speed. If anything, they zip faster up the next curve.]
adsero: (073)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-31 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
['I know you'... isn't that the truth?]

[Pure joy arcs through Abel at the realization, and he needs no further encouragement. Cain wants to go faster, Cain knows Abel can do it without losing control, Cain knows Abel wants to. Cain isn't the only one who gets high on adrenaline, Abel just doesn't chase it as recklessly.]

[He revs the engine twice in rapid succession as a response and the bike is only too happy to oblige. The wind tears over Abel's face and across his arms and legs, but he stays at his slight curl to shield Cain from most of it. They're rocketing towards the peak of the hill but Abel doesn't seem to be slowing down and the incline increasing.]
adsero: (098)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-05-31 07:04 am (UTC)(link)
Brace your feet, hang on with your legs--

[This is faster than he's ever taken this bit, but he knows what he's doing and Cain laughing in his ear as they flew over the concrete tells him not to slow down for anything. Give him every happy laugh, let him have fun, he deserves it all.]

[The road drops off as they hit the peak of the incline--]
Put your hands out!

[The bike zooms up off the road and Abel's hands hover about six inches off the handlebars. They're airborne. Higher than Abel's ever gone thanks to the speed, but not an insane or worrying amount. The height isn't the point, though. For a moment, just a brief moment, they're weightless as they hit the peak of the parabola. The horizon is stretched out in front of them, more houses down below, it's almost like they're flying above the neighborhood.]
adsero: (030)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-06-06 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
[The second before they touch down, Abel's hands snap back to the grips and rev the engine until they slide right back down onto the pavement. It's so much more exhilarating than any other time he's done it, probably because Cain is whistling and yelling and holding on tight to him, and the whole thing shifts. It used to be about escape and longing, and with Cain behind him it's like the last piece of the puzzle has clicked in. Who thought that what was missing would be at his back of all places.]

[Abel steers them into a playground at the edge of a vista, puts the bike in park and the kickstand down.]
I loved this. It was the only thing that was all mine, the thing that made me feel like I was in control of everything. [Whether that's good or just extremely naive, he doesn't know. Abel turns around and smiles at Cain before patting his arm twice and climbing off the bike.] Come on, one more thing I want to show you.
adsero: (102)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-06-06 07:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, his hair. Abel has a good giggle over it, watching Cain struggle to fix it for a moment before getting in on the action. Just an excuse to touch him after the ride.] I wanted to. I could tell you all about my parents or where I went to school, but this is something that actually moved me. You told me about the Frontier... it seemed like it was my turn.

[He smiles and takes Cain's hand before pulling him across the playground, through the play equipment and over to a tree close to the fenced off edge of the park. Abel takes hold of two of the branches and puts his foot in the crux of the tree, pulling himself up into it. There are a number of sturdy branches, though Abel easily navigates to what's probably his favorite one. There's a hole in the foliage-- a perfect view of the city and the sun coming up.]
Edited 2019-06-06 07:05 (UTC)
adsero: (107)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-06-09 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Abel may have made a few adjustments to make sure nobody crashed their bike, went over the divider, injured themselves on the play equipment, or broke a tree branch. It's his idyllic space, away from responsibility and worry.]

[He watches Cain climb, aware that this is probably his first tree, ready to reach out and grab him if he slips. But he makes it up just fine, of course, his strong arms coming to wrap around Abel's waist in a hold that absolutely feels so real. He rests his head on Cain's and watches the sun with his hands folded over Cain's arms.]


I was here almost every day the week before I deployed. Just reminding myself what it was all for. But before then... I guess it varied. Sometimes I was too busy to come for weeks or months, sometimes I was up here in the middle of the night hiding from my dad's handlers because I couldn't spend another minute in the house. [A far cry from Cain's mother calling him inside from the wreckage of the Frontier...] I had my own room, but it was filled with what I could afford to have them find. Textbooks, computers, motorcycle schematics... This tree listened to everything I felt.
adsero: (106)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-06-09 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
[The suggestion is noted and Abel's cheeks go bright pink. God, wouldn't that be something? Cain taking him completely apart in a bed he'd been too scared to so much as masturbate in, under his homophobic father's roof. A 'lowlife colonist', balls deep in his screaming, begging son-- it's the most extreme Fuck You Abel's ever fantasized.]

[But that's not what they're doing here, not now.]
And that would make them the warmest they've ever been. [Abel turns and leans in to kiss Cain, soft and slow.] This may seem beautiful and perfect, but it was always cold and lonely. I was always hiding. Until I met you.

Alexei I can't give you a fancy party or enough alcohol to fill a canal, but I can tell you that you make my life better. I'm so lucky you were born and I'm lucky I was assigned to you regardless of the reason. I love who I am when I'm with you.
adsero: (026)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-06-09 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Yes, Cain absolutely did tell him, but he's spent all night feeling like he couldn't possibly do enough to express what Cain means to him-- it'll settle soon enough, when he replays the memory of Cain's face when he saw the landscape, his yells and whistles on the bike. It'll settle.]

Who knows. I wish you hadn't gone through all of it, of course. [But he's thought about it. In those few days before they'd talked everything out, thoughts of whether he would have been better off having never met Cain prodded at his brain like tiny malevolent devils with pitchforks. Ultimately just annoying, but so persistent.]

I guess it's selfish of me to say I'm glad I met you, isn't it? It's like I'm glossing over everything that happened to get you there. I'm not happy any of that happened to you, you know that right...?
adsero: (047)

[personal profile] adsero 2019-06-10 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Abel feels Cain's arms close around him tighter, and it reassures him for the moment that he hasn't been insensitive towards the injustice and blackmail Cain faced. His hands rest on Cain's arms and Abel leans on him.]

You're allowed to feel whatever you want about what happened to you. And I'll always support that, always.

[He turns to look at Cain, his forehead nuzzling into Cain's temple.]

If you're ready. This is your gift, I'll stay here as long as you want to.

(no subject)

[personal profile] adsero - 2019-06-10 19:14 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] adsero - 2019-06-11 07:21 (UTC) - Expand