citylogs | [open] a birthday celebration

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[open] a birthday celebration

WHO: lestat & all of you~
WHAT: lestat is hosting a party for a certain someone's birthday!
WHERE: a bistro in district 3
WHEN: october 4th
WARNINGS: N/A so far. will update as needed!

[ In the early morning hours of the 4th of October, a photograph of a handwritten notice goes up on the network. It’s in flowery but surprisingly legible script, as if he’s learnt to create letters purely by reading them and has jumbled together an amalgamation of different typefaces to make each letter he writes as interesting as possible. The details are as follows: ]

This is an invitation to any and all, to attend a soirée this evening, in celebration of my companion’s birthday.

I’ve attached a photograph of the location; a fashionable little bistro highly recommended to me by someone who clearly knows a thing or two about style. Festivities start at 6 o’clock this evening, though you are more than welcome to be fashionably late. We will go until sunrise. The dress code is: eye-catching.

There will be food, there will be wine, there will be merriment. Games, dancing, live music. Who amongst you could turn their nose up at a free bar and the chance to boogie? I know that technically this entire place is a free bar, what with the distinct lack of economy, but I’ve acquired the assistance of a bartender, just to tempt you…

And, failing all else, there’s the certainty of stunning conversation - and isn’t that something that we all can enjoy, even those of us who don’t groove with the party scene?

Be there, or be square.

xoxo

[ Some of you might remember him posting asking for help planning this little get together, and it’s going ahead with all of Lestat’s best intentions for a night to remember. Whether you know him or don’t (and haven’t been put off by his hip use of old slang he still thinks makes him sound cool) you’ll be welcomed to the festivities with open arms and a warm, sharp smile.

Come on down, don’t be shy. Have a little dance with the devil. ]

The Bar

[ Gleaming in hard wood painted a stunning chic black, the bar is the first thing to delight your eyes with upon entering the bistro. Bottles line the back wall, shining in the low amber lights, and so too the bottles lined up in front as your gracious bartender for the evening, Daan, sets up shop. Perhaps you have a drink in mind, or would like him to surprise you (with varying results), or maybe you’re here for the crowd gathered around and chatting amicably as they nurse their chosen poison.

Lestat himself has taken up prime position there, often with a rather steadfast arm around Louis, whose expression isn’t exactly dour but isn’t particularly placid, either. He gives off the very clear expression of someone who’s been tricked into coming here under false pretences. Probably because Lestat had been positively evasive of even mentioning the B word (birthday) all evening, even going as far as to ignore completely any mention of Louis discovering his plotting before tonight… though whether that be from embarrassment over failing to make his post private despite Armand’s very clear instructions, or simply down to his impish nature, isn’t clear.

What is clear, is that Lestat is having a lovely time in wonderful company, and is a veritable font of energy. He’s usually pretty upbeat, of course, but tonight there’s a particular vigour about him that is clearly different, though not in a strictly bad way. When he’s not hanging off Louis’ side or parading him around to introduce him to people he hasn't met yet, Lestat is leaning over the bar to watch Daan work, or perhaps butting into a nearby conversation or starting a fresh one up with someone looking a little too quiet. ]

The Stage & Dancefloor

[ Great care and attention has been made to stagger the assortment of tables in the room so that each one has a perfect view of the man-made stage and its attached square of space serving as a dance floor. It’s nothing more than a few flat platforms on which the players can stand along with a wall of lined up instruments and some speakers Lestat found at the music store in the mall, but it’s unmistakably the intended highlight of the evening's entertainment.

A dark blue electric guitar beside an acoustic one, a simple spruce violin, a small drum set, a standing keyboard and three microphones is his haul, and they are left available for anyone who'd like to jam. If Lestat sees you looking with the barest hint of interest, even if there is not a single musical bone in your body, if he will pull you over to try something out - what better way to learn than in a room full of people watching you? :)

Toward the middle of the evening, Lestat will take Louis' hands in his own and kiss them, and then kiss him, and leave to climb up onto the stage himself. He’s dressed in a burgundy corduroy jacket over a crisp black shirt; the collar undone to reveal a host of twisted chains at his throat, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his wrists and fingers adorned with similar finery. Tight leather pants, and black boots with a red sole. His nails are painted black, and there’s a smudge of dark red around his eyes, which makes the pale silver-blue of them look almost eerie in the spotlight. (Well, he did say eye-catching was the dress code.)

He’ll take the microphone, lift the electric guitar into his arms and begins to play, and to sing. It’s a cover arrangement, of course, as anyone who enjoys 70s rock music will be able to tell.. but he sings it well, with a practised and enchanting stage presence that is hard to look away from; snaking hips, spectacular crowd work. No, it’s not his vampiric thrall (probably), it’s just that Lestat really was born to perform and he knows it.

He also picks out another song to play a little later on, assuring the crowd very loudly that they must keep this song's existence a complete secret and then "accidentally" name-dropping Steve Tyler as the guy he was jamming with when the song was created. ]

Party Games

[ Lestat has assigned a little space toward the back of the room and has littered the tables with a handful of silly party games, packages of cards, even a small set of plastic chips for gambling (though what exactly the ante will be is entirely up to you). It looks very much like he’s raided the toy aisle in a supermarket which… isn’t untrue, but he’s done so with at least a little care and attention for what kind of party he’d like this to be. There’s no board games, put it that way.

Who Am I?: Take a sticky-note and ask someone to write the name of a famous figure on it, and stick it on your back. You must walk around and ask the other patrons of the party yes/no questions in order to figure out who you are.
Treasure Hunt: Take a paper from the table; on it you'll find a series of descriptions such as "Someone who's favourite colour is blue" or "Someone who has siblings", "someone who's broken someone's heart" etc. Talk to party goers until you find a person who matches each prompt. You may only use one person once. The winner gets a prize!

Bulla has graciously offered to host a round or two of games for all in attendance; the assortment will be varied and both she and Lestat will be no doubt open to any suggestions of things to play. If you aren’t the type to get involved in such things, it’s quite unfortunate because oh, it looks like this one needs a partner and here is Lestat without one! ]

The Veranda

[The way outside through the large glass doors at the back of the bistro is lit in an almost storybook manner, with lights pinned from the doorway to the exterior fence in loose criss-crosses. The furniture has been moved to accommodate a large table running down the centre of the floor, full to bursting with plates of food. It seems the intention here is similar to a “pot-luck” - a concept that has Lestat gleeful as a child over the absurdity of such a thing - only as this place has no real necessity for cooking and as Lestat has no idea what kind of food typically is seen at parties, the guidance is simply to go into the kitchen and take advantage of its seemingly unending capabilities in order to emerge with a bowl, plate or tray of whatever you deem appropriate for a party such as this.

Obviously, this has resulted in the table being full of an incredibly disorganised array of treats in all shapes and colour - which naturally has attracted Lesat into staring at it all like a magpie, asking questions of every meal that people pick at, questioning the flavour and the method of preparation, all the while twisting a glass bottle of some thick scarlet substance around and around in his hands. ]

--
[ happy birthday louis!!! feel free to mingle, thread-hop, eavesdrop, do whatever you'd like. go wild. it's a party!

lestat is down for anything, so if you want to assume your character has made a playlist, brought a game along, has suggested a party game and is bullying people into playing it, or even if you want to assume that lestat saw you in the street nearby and whisked you in to the bistro against your will, please go for it. literally anything goes, i am SO easy and so is lestat. :) ]

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[ The flush becomes very obvious at that, the pleasure of the approval, of any truly positive acknowledgement from Louis, sinking it's claws into him. Armand hadn't really been thinking when he'd made the thing - a tentative project to occupy himself - finally at a loss for distraction or companionship after weeks of flitting around, something to pour his despair at the loss of the faire ground into he supposes.

Mostly it was an attempt to right a fundamental wrong in his world view - Louis without a book in his lap, has gnawed at him the same way as the lack of churches or places to worship in this place has - it feels unnatural. Though he's a long way off giving into the urge to construct or paint something of a small chapel, this he could do with his own two hands and not flinch at the idea.

Acts of service, acts of devotion, the silent language that his feelings manifest the most in... Ah. He's rather made somewhat of a lovesick fool of himself again without even meaning to this time. Still, it is done, the wrong corrected, no matter the further outcome.

He tucks a stray curl behind his ear, expression unsure, there's something of a smile and a frown at the same time as he looks at Louis, an incongruence he can't control. ]

A few nights - please just enjoy your poetry, Louis...I know you have missed it keenly.

Edited 2023-10-07 18:28 (UTC)

( Louis isn't entirely certain what to make of Armand's expression, the strange duality of it both perplexing and slightly troubling. He seems so much more human now than when Louis was traveling with him decades ago — or perhaps human isn't the right word, not for Armand. Emotive? Expressive? There's an innocent confusion just beneath the surface sometimes, and it makes him seem both very young and so ancient, all of him attuned with such intensity toward the consideration of a single thing.

In this case, Louis isn't sure whether he is the thing Armand is considering, or whether that gaze has turned inward. But the way Armand tucks his hair behind his ear is oddly endearing, and Louis feels a small stir of something like protectiveness toward him. Rather absurd, considering the staggering difference in age and power between them, and yet there it is. If Louis can go another night without inadvertently hurting Armand somehow, he can be satisfied with that. )

It's true, I have missed it... but less so now that I have better company.

( Something occurs to him, then. )

Do you remember the date of your birth, Armand?

[ Armand blinks, mind making a sum of the year in a well ingrained reflex from the past decade and answer automatically. ]

The 4th of May 1963.

[ He's caught for a moment, mouth open around the year before he laughs at himself and shakes his head, almost looking sheepish - always eternally 22 in the mortal world for the sheer convenience of it. ]

...Or should I say to you at least, 1480. I could never remember the month or day so, Daniel...he chose for me.

[ After days of deliberation, poring over astrology charts and bandying around mortal thought and superstition on dates and temperaments, on personality. His eyes had lit up, finally, grinning 'You're stubborn as an Ox, of course you're a Taurus!' - it wasn't until years later that Armand discovered exactly why his fiendish beloved had chosen the 4th - still it makes him smile just thinking about it. Darling bastard. ]

( Twenty-two? Louis was always quick with sums. It's a convenient age — Louis presumes it was a choice made for easier access to venues like clubs and bars. It also makes him a year or so older than Lestat's mortal body, a fact which Louis can't help but note. He doubts that was intentional, but it is interesting nevertheless.

But not as interesting as that scrap of information about his fledgling. Louis tips his head slightly to the side, curious. )

What is the significance of that date?

Other than assigning me the astrological sign of Taurus?

[ Armand rolls his eyes, but he's also fighting back a smile - Daniel's laughter ringing in his mind - when, years later, a mortal acquaintance of theirs pointed out the pun of it, his scheme finally revealed. ]

...How familiar are you with Star Wars?

( Now he's truly confused. )

The films? I've been to see them, of course, everyone has. I found them loud, but surprisingly compelling... I thought the second one was quite good.

( He thinks Luke Skywalker seems like a lovely young man. )

But why?

[ Well at least this will make things easier.. ]

May the 4th... it sounds quite like 'May the force' don't you think?

[ He doesn't finished the now famous saying of the Jedi, just smiles small and rueful - heart warm with an ache he can't soothe - and shrugs good naturedly. ]

Daniel thinks himself quite hilarious.

( For a moment Louis just stares...

...and then he gets it, and he groans and lifts his palm to cover his face. )

That's terrible.

[ A huff of laughter escapes him at Louis' reaction, before his expression falls, large eyed and faux hurt. ]

That you would insult a mans new birthdate in the absence of his old one - you wound me, Louis..

[ Armand only manages to hold the act for a few moments before that small smile twists his mouth again and he looks away and around at the party. ]

( Louis lets out a laugh, a single exhale that sounds both amused and exasperated — and the combination of that and the facepalm is one of the highest compliments that any pun can receive. His hand lowers, just enough to curl in front of his mouth in a failed attempt to cover his smile. )

Would you like us to throw you a party, if we're here for that long?

[ Armand keeps his gaze on their surroundings, trying not to let the absolute horror that shoots through him at the innocent question, show on his face. May, by the calendar here, is over six months away and the mere thought of being here for that amount of time fills Armand with cool dread. He clutches his hands together tightly behind his back, glancing at Louis with that same smile and shrugs. ]

After so many, it seems a little ridiculous don't you think?

[ It's an evasion. The cult allowed no such vanity and he'd had no recollection of a date to honour in the first place - it had made the first few with Daniel...difficult. Armand had shunned the idea, while at the same time, doting on his lover every October. It took time for him to relent - it meant something to mortals, to Daniel - and the past few years have been little intimate days, often just them or with whatever mortal friends they had made.

Now, it's an altogether dreadful mark of the passage of time - six months? The mere concept makes him feel ill. ]

( Louis (blessedly, for his rare pleasant mood) doesn't notice the shift in Armand's demeanor. If he did, he would feel terribly guilty for managing to blunder into such a sore subject without even intending to. It's a gentle attempt at humor more than it is a real suggestion — Louis hasn't fully allowed himself to accept the idea that this might have to become home, not when he doesn't even know what this place is. )

Unlike this party, which is not the slightest bit ridiculous?

( Louis shakes his head. )

It is...surprisingly tasteful, all things considered [ By 'All things' he means Lestat. ] Are you enjoying yourself at least?

[ Armand carefully keeps a lid on his feelings - it's more difficult to settle his pounding heart - but it's the only betrayal of the swirl of distress. He's fine, he will be fine - he shoves the feeling away and focuses on Louis, on the present moment and on the simple joy of celebration. ]

Well enough.

( Louis offers a small, cryptic shrug, and he glances out across the party with his new book held against his chest like armor. It's strange to be surrounded by people he hardly knows wishing him well; it isn't that he thinks it's insincere, but he doesn't quite know what to do. Armand is perhaps the only one who's truly here for him. He would have been content to have Lestat's undivided attention be his only gift tonight, but instead Lestat is playing host, effortlessly charming their guests, while Louis keeps trying to blend in with the shadows near the wall.

Ah, well. His birthday has never meant very much to him. And Lestat is happy. That, too, is a gift, and when Louis sees him up on that stage, he can't truly regret not putting his foot down. )

You're friends with Miss Constantine? I saw the two of you in conversation.

( So delicate, so polite. )

[ ...Saw each other in conversation. Hm. He wonders for a moment as to which part of said conversation Louis was witness to. It's enough to bring his thoughts entirely to the fore though and Armand raises his eyebrows, curious about the enquiry. ]

Indeed, we're acquainted [ 'Friends' isn't quite the right word for the moment, perhaps soon enough though. ] she speaks fondly of you.

Does she?

( That's surprisingly nice to hear; Louis wasn't certain what sort of impression he'd made, though she doesn't seem the sort of person to say things like that and not mean them at least somewhat. )

She helped me, once, before you arrived. ( He says, as if that explains anything at all, though perhaps the nature of that help will be a little more obvious when he continues: ) Does she know?

( About the undead thing, of course. She knows about Lestat, it seems, which is mostly a relief, but Armand's methods are very different. )

That I am a Vampire? [ Armand's smile turns sharp ] Yes, she is intimately aware of that fact I feel.

[ He considers the question only after he's let out his reply and hazards his own. ]
Why, have you been playing at being mortal with her? If that is that case I apologise - her line of questioning made me believe otherwise.

( ... intimately ... )

Ah — no, not any longer. Not since the mall incident. She found me near dawn, when I was searching for somewhere safe to spend the daylight hours.

( He shakes his head side to side, thumb moving back and forth against the spine of the book as he collects his thoughts. )

Honestly, I'm glad to hear it. It's becoming quite complicated, keeping track of who knows and who doesn't. Sometimes I think that I would rather be completely out or not at all.

Most of the mortals here want no trouble and as we are technically provided for, there's no fear from them of any vampire nuisance. I highly doubt the trick works here either...

[ Not that any of them have plans for fledglings - though with Lestat you can never tell - but Armand sees no reason to truly hide or make a fuss of their existence. ]

It is refreshing to be known with some element of safety at least.

Indeed, I actually think if someone were to start trouble with us over it, more people would be on our side, so to speak.

( Which Louis thinks is painfully naive, albeit well-intentioned. He doesn't deserve that acceptance, but he hasn't pressed the issue of his guilt with anyone who has been generous enough to take the reveal with a smile and a nod. )

Human beings can be so kind sometimes. It's like Lestat's music, in a way, isn't it? It was only other vampires who tried to hurt him for revealing what he was. Most of the mortals didn't believe it, but some of them did... I'm certain that some of them knew.

( He's just musing. He doesn't quite know what his point is, but it's an observation he finds compelling. )

Certainly a heartening thought..

[ Nearly all of the mortals he's met here, he has no doubt, would do so - even those with a rockier acquaintance - though can any of them really afford to start such a conflict?

He considers Louis' musing. Armand himself had watched and listened to it all, consuming the book, comparing the things known and learned and yes, there were those mortals that believed in them. ]

There is no doubt - Daniel himself was dubious but at the same time, desperate for it to be true, was he not? I was in that crowd, I would say more than half had the most ardent wish to believe everything Lestat said - the drama if it, the romanticism - he was most compelling..

The one thing the young ones of our kind don't realise, is the the safety of our myth - even with all of Lestat's showboating, all his revelations, only a small portion of the entire population had that revelation - the rest? Well, they saw it for how all mortals see us - Theatre, make believe. Had it not awoken our queen or instigated a riot amongst our kind, I believe he could have continued in the public eye, protected by modern scepticism and the mortal inclination to look away and doubt.

[ Armand shrugs. Ultimately it's a benign train of thought, but it appears he's considered it deeply enough in the aftermath to have thought out all the natural conclusions to what they all experienced. ]

( Louis nods thoughtfully. Idly, he thinks of how strange it is to hear Daniel's name; he had spent a decade in Louis' mind as nothing but the young reporter boy, almost more of an event in his life than an actual person. He'd wondered often what happened to the boy after the interview was published, but Louis never dreamed that he would ever actually see him again, much less freshly-turned and in the company of Armand, of all people. )

Yes... I was with Lestat until he went out on that stage. I remember the size of the crowd, the mass of human beings, how the roar of their voices seemed to blend into one great entity. Something like a swarm of insects. I've never seen anything so— ( He laughs softly at the unintentional wordplay he's stumbling across. ) Alive.

( Oh, but he's nostalgic for the brief flashes of that Halloween night that weren't completely harrowing. He sighs softly. )

... He wanted to give them that. Whatever his other reasons for doing it, it was obvious how he loved making them happy. ( He glances out across the small crowd, wistful. ) We do so little for the mortal world, yet we owe everything to them.

Ah, he wishes for the attention more than anything, I think - the eternal Lelio.

[ His mouth twists in a wry smile, though his head tilts in consideration of Louis' last comment. ]

The source of our sustenance and suppliers of our comforts. Though I wonder if each of us is not just another plague visited upon mortals, another hazard to navigate in a world of similar dangers..

[ Vampires, as it turns out, are often the least of mortal worries - keeping Daniel safe for as long as he did taught him that much... ]

( Louis' shoulders straighten just a little at Armand's retort, and he wants to come to Lestat's defense: no, no, it isn't just the attention, I know it isn't, didn't you read his book, he truly believes that there's good in it, he always has...

It's hopelessly romantic, and probably a pointless debate to have. Some other night, perhaps. Besides, Armand has brought up an unpleasant thought, one Louis has had himself enough times that he can't help but wonder whether Armand plucked it straight from his subconscious. )

I've actually wondered whether that's part of the reason we're here. I haven't thought about it so much now that I'm not alone here, but I did think of it... that if this is an experiment, perhaps I'm not a subject, but a part of the test. Something more self-aware than whatever spirits caused the visions in the mall, but still...

You are not the only one to feel this way - I have had similar conversations with others - simulation or not, it is very obvious that certain beings have been drawn here to put pressure on the possibility of forming a community. Why else have predators amongst lambs?

[ Armand's posture has relaxed some, even if their topic of conversation is rather chilling. Still, he's not particularly worried - the fact that so many have joined them here tonight is proof enough that those brought to this place are willing to set aside any immediate fear and focus on the threat at hand. ]

But it is as you say, the true threat is whatever power has brought us here - it is far more worthy of suspicion than the few of us that are not normal humans..

[open] a birthday celebration

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