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

[mercurio]

Oop!

[it's not so hard for abel to move prompto around, really. he's too malleable at this point—and all he really has to do is land heavily on the designated booth and use the table as a point of balance, steadying himself as he gets a glass of water set in front of him.]

[just as soon as it's before him, he takes a long gulping of it.]

It's not that great, [after setting the glass down and keeping his hands steady around it] but it's pretty okay. How would I get hurt?

[sorry that you're dealing with him drunk, abel.]

[adsero]

You're weaving a little bit, I'm afraid you're liable to tip over. [He's glad that Prompto is at least drinking the water without needing encouragement, that near spill at the bar was worrying. Though in addition to being a little uncoordinated, Prompto's being a little honest too, isn't he?]

What do you mean it's not that great? There's this famous DJ here, an open bar, dozens of your adoring Cooltalk fans...

[This is most people's dream, right?]

[mercurio]

[he seems to get some sense of what he's saying, and so, instead, just grins and shrugs his shoulders.]

Everyone's here for a fun party. I don't blame them, I wouldn't wanna miss out on a party thrown by Hideki either. It's all everyone'll talk about for weeks before the next cool thing comes around.

[it's most people's dream, but prompto has never had a dreams (that he can remember) until he came here. besides, his feet have always been so, so heavy, anchored to the ground, never having any wings to push up.]

[he wishes he were in a cheap hotel with his friends, terrified and hiding behind gladio because of a spider in the bathroom, concerned over why the sheets smelled the way they did and getting dared to wrap them around himself for a few minutes, having a violent pillow fight until ignis walked in with a disapproving face.]

[it'd beat this kind of party a hundred times over, with too many people he can't put a name to, boosting himself into a sense of fun through liquid courage.]

But— it's pretty great!

[how about not being a downer in his own birthday?? closing his eyes, he finishes up the rest of the water on the glass]

—phew!

[adsero]

[Abel frowns when Prompto doesn't try to correct him, just leans harder on the idea that he should be having a good time because Hideki threw him a party that everybody's talking about. Where's Cain?]

[He scans the crowd and finds him outside, talking to Xuanyu, looking a little irate about it too. Well, Cain didn't rub everybody the right way, and Abel can understand how Xuanyu's circular yammering might be more grating to Cain. But still, it seemed like he was having a good time every time Abel looked at him. But with Prompto acting like this, he has to wonder...]

You want another? As long as I'm mothering you, nobody can pull you back into this 'pretty great' party, right?

[mercurio]

[it comes as a relief—that abel doesn't push the issue forward, but instead offers comfort in silent understanding. prompto feels a sting in his eyes but it's nothing, really, just a wash of emotion. he presses forward, reclining fully on the table and keeping his arms spread before him.]

Maybe later. Just the company's fine.

[it's a request if there's ever been one. it's easy to feel alone despite being surrounded by a crowd that is excited to wish him happy birthday (mostly while hideki's in sight, probably to get an in into the rich guy's friend group).]

[acting like it's all fun, like it's all fine... it's draining in a way prompto hadn't noticed until now.]

I almost didn't come. [he mumbles, cheek pressed to arm] I hyped it up to V, though, and then I just had to keep the show going, y'know. Big twenty-one, exciting, whoo! [jazz hands] and all that. [huffing out a sharp breath, it pushes up his blond bangs off his eyes.] It was... almost like showing up with a friend.

[these be his buzzed-not-quite-drunk ramblings, but he's clearly trying to keep a strong vibe going.]

[adsero]

Oh, Prompto... [Abel looks uncertain for a moment, but decides that if the situation were reversed he wouldn't mind too much. He rests his hand comfortingly on the center of Prompto's back and gently rubs a small circle. He saw the photos of Prompto's friends, he clearly misses them so much today of all days. Abel knows he would feel Cain's absence acutely if he were absent from Abel's birthday.]

You have friends here. I know most of these people seem to be more of Hideki's crowd than yours, but... we're friends, aren't we? [Kind of going out on a limb here, but he's doing his best to soothe Prompto in his moment of need.]

You want to hear about my twenty-first birthday? It was a lot like this, honestly. My father is an influential politician back on Earth, so I couldn't have anything close to a party with an open bar and music. The temptation to do something scandalous would be too great. [Abel smirks and rolls his eyes.] So my parents rented out a country club and hosted a party-- mostly consisting of politically influential families, donors, and they tried to pass them off as my friends. Horrible and embarrassing as it was, I just endured it.

[mercurio]

Why did I get the impression you were a rich kid...?

[prompto jokes, but it's good enough of an indication that he's listening, pushing aside his current frustrations to listen to abel's retelling—appreciative of the hand on his back, head pressed to an open palm.]

Sounds like the type of party one of my friends would have. It's all about putting up a show, keeping up with expectations, right? Sounds like the worst.

[he wouldn't know what that's like—a parent showing off their kid, even if it's to get something out of it.]

[more importantly, though, prompto answers:]

Of course we're friends, Abel. So long as you don't mind that I'm a pleb.

[adsero]

I guess I have to work on looking a little less haute. And it was the worst.

[Abel smiles faintly and pats Prompto gently, consolingly. His story is pretty horrifying, but it's in the past and only meant to give Prompto an even worse-case scenario.]

I love plebs. [He loves a certain pleb.] I can't wait to be one after Cain and I get back home. There's a trade-off for all of this, you know, and it's not just awkward parties. It's family image, it's expectations, it's keeping your opinions and your self in the lines they draw. It's easier for some people than it is for others but... I'm ready to give it up.