[open mingle: the sunlight at midnight gala]

[badfeyth]

WHO: Anyone attending the Sunlight at Midnight gala!
WHAT: KISS PEOPLE AND DANCE IDK
WHERE: The freshly-renovated Planetarium in District 4!
WHEN: Saturday, December 2
WARNINGS: None for the log itself; please warn responsibly in individual top-levels!

THE VENUE

Upon entry to the newly-renovated venue space that was once a planetarium, guests will quickly notice that the space has been transformed into a three-layered affair, ranging from the very well-lit upper level down to the more romantic ambiance of the dance floor and performance space, with a comfortable tier of seating and standing tables in the middle.


Not intended by Ghost (badfeyth) and Kaveh (fussiest), yet still mysteriously appearing at random places throughout the venue, are sprigs of magical kissing mistletoe!

The mistletoe will cause characters to at least pause underneath it, and will give them a mild compulsion to kiss whoever they're with, but the compulsion will not be unavoidable and characters can easily break free of the "hold" the mistletoe has on them. Even so, partygoers will quickly learn to be mindful of what's overhead — or not!

UPPER TIER

On the well-lit upper tier, guests will find plenty of generalized mingle room, including two patios with casual seating on either side of the space. Throughout the center are a variety of stations and attractions, as well as some helpful resources for the discerning partygoer.

For the fashionably un-forward, you may wish to visit (or find yourselves forcibly dragged into) Lestat's on-site fashion consulting lair, which boasts a small and curtained-off space where partygoers in need can receive last-minute fashion advice, do wardrobe finishing touches, and address any other aesthetic concerns under the discerning eye of LESTAT DE LIONCOURT (perfectdevil). This is also where a selection of basic cosmetics and beauty supplies can be found, in case of a need for an emergency touch-up, safety pin, or spot removal!

Continuing onward, guests will find four individual food stations, each with their own set of color-coded disposable dishware! Perhaps they'd like to take a sampling of:

• STATION #1 — TSURUNO (fanstheflames): Fried rice in the shape of Christmas trees, dumplings with carrot reindeer antlers and red pepper noses, and fortune cookies that tell you to go dance with somebody already!
• STATION #2 — ROLAND (gradenine): Hotpot with mild and spicy soup bases plus a variety of vegetables and meats, and KBBQ with chicken, pork, and beef cuts, plus sides!
• STATION #3 — RENO (astraphilia): Whipped goat cheese figs, brie and prosciutto stuffed dates, and sprouting cauliflower with brown butter and lemon — paired with a couple of simple cocktails (a negroni and a Bombay mule)!
• STATION #4 — WANDERER (featheradrift): Samosas, panipuri, Japanese-style sandwiches, and a lot of sweets and desserts like chocolate truffles, pâte de fruit, candied nuts, madeleines, and custards!

Champagne (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) is also circulating around the venue under the watchful eye of KANEKI (anthropophagite), and a small selection of coffee is available at a nearby station as well!

Finally, at the far end of the upper concourse, one can find a partitioned-off space for photo opportunities featuring a black-and-gold backdrop, an arch aglow with fairy lights, and a few idle props like chairs and small movable tables that partygoers can use to coordinate their souvenir photos. PROMPTO (burstmodes) will be around to do formal event photography, but there'll also be a Polaroid available so that people can take their own photos and develop them instantly!

VISUALS: AESTHETICS & ETC.

         

MIDDLE TIER

On the mid-tier halfway down the stairs that flank the venue on either side, partygoers will find a landing with an assortment of standing tables covered in black tablecloths and tied with gold bows, where guests can enjoy their refreshments, engage in conversation, and people-watch the goings-on taking place below them on the dance floor! To prevent any mischief or accidental spilling of food onto hapless dancers below, each landing is lined with a courtesy railing, and immediately below the railing is an arrangement of tasteful decor.

Between the two landings, guests can find the remnants of the planetarium seating — fold-down auditorium chairs with comfortable cushions arranged in gently circular rows, giving the people relaxing there a perfect view of the dance floor and the spectacle of lights taking place below it.

VISUALS: AESTHETICS & ETC.

    

LOWER TIER

The lowest level of the venue, at the very bottom of the stairs, is the most dimly-lit of the three levels and is mostly comprised of the dance floor. Along the back wall and parts of the sides runs a slightly-raised platform stage upon which are arranged a piano, an electric guitar, a stereo system, and a few microphones for the convenience of any vocalists in the house. The stage is wide enough for one or two people to walk around comfortably, but generally is fairly modest to leave the majority of the room for the dance floor.

It's on the dance floor that the real "sunlight at midnight" theme takes its shape, as this is where the bulk of Kaveh's artificial lighting technology has been put into play. Along with standard party enhancements like a few spotlights and an overhead disco ball, the perimeter is also dotted with round arrays of stained glass with light fixtures behind them, causing panels of colored light to cast onto the hardwood of the dance floor. These arrays can also be rotated like kaleidoscopes, allowing for the patterns of light to change throughout the course of the evening — adding an element of renewable interest in the continuing aesthetic.

VISUALS: AESTHETICS & ETC.

    

ENTERTAINMENT

Throughout the course of the evening, music will be provided by a rotating set list of performers, interspersed with prearranged playlists courtesy of the new media store. Entertainers will be informed of their set lengths, obligations, and timeslots well in advance of the venue by Ghost, and any necessary instruments or microphone hookups will be ready and available at the time of the performance.

Performers on deck include:

• HYTHLODAEUS (nomoresharks) and EMET-SELCH (recreator): Jazz piano bops along with some ragtime arrangements.
• EDDIE (thefreak): A mix of slow rock ballads and hard rock dance numbers, on electric guitar!

In addition to the live performances, the venue will also be treated to some traditional mid-2000s party favorites such as:

• BLORBOLICIOUS, by Gurgi (feat. Bill.i.was)
• HIPS SOMETIMES LIE, by The Kira
• SANDSQUALL, by DaNice
• MAYBE GONNA GIVE YOU UP, by Rickard Dastley
• MAMBO NO. 4 AND A HALF, by Stu Vega
• THE CHA-CHA HUSTLE, by DJ FriendlyGhost
• VIRUS, by Boo Boo Dolls

VISUALS: AESTHETICS & ETC.

    

LIVEBLOG

Looking to add some network spam to your gala experience? Check out our dedicated IC NETWORK POST!

credit.

Comments

altria | fate/grand order

[excaliburden]

a. obligatory party mingling

[Altria is, surprisingly enough, both present and dressed appropriately (though she is wearing her navy boots, even though they do not match). It's a fancier dress than she would have picked out on her own, even! Eat your heart out, Cnoc na Riabh.

But the fact that she gathered her courage up enough to show up does not mean she knows how to be present at a party. She hovers around the edges, seems to give herself a pep talk, drags in a deep breath, moves to step forward into the party properly, and then turns around to go back the other way again, cheeks red.

Aaaaaaa.]

b. is for biscuit golems

[Eventually, Altria manages to find her way to the food stations to Help Out. This is a Mistake.

It is a mistake that culminates in a very inhuman and rather monstrous roar, and then the cookies that Altria was very excited to present turn instead into... well, a Biscuit Golem.

Of course, she's not at her full magical power, so it's not much larger than a regular human, and it is made of cookie, so like--it's pretty fragile. You could probably eat some of it if you manage to get it to stop moving. It's delicious, surprisingly.

But also, it is probably showing up wherever is least convenient, peering over your shoulder while you dance with your date, or appearing as you're pouring yourself a drink, always with a vacantly smiling face.

Wherever it shows up, Altria is not far behind, running after it.]

Waaaaiiiit! I only used a little bit of magic this time, so I really thought it would work...!

c. mistletoe

[It's when meandering around the edges of the party, properly exhausted after the biscuit golem, that Altria spies her first mistletoe.

And, immediately and anxiously, she's turning to the first person she sees (probably you) to point it out.]

Ah, be careful. There seem to be poisonous plants being used for decoration.

[#clueless.



She may be standing under mistletoe right now, but she sure is not noticing.]

wildcard

[Feel free to hit me up with whatever! Or shoot me a PM and I'm happy to write up a particular starter.

ALSO feel free to utilize sir biscuit golem in any of your threads if you so desire, no Altria required. He is here for Shenanigans, please follow your hearts.]

a. where you goin chickadee.

[fauned]

( well hello there, little one. sorry for yet another faerie..

this one seems keen to reach, a curl of fingers around a retreating hand, gentle in even the way she tugs the girl back from running off with her face as red as her dress. )

Are you lost? That's the way out, silly goose. C'mon.

( another tug. towards the heart of the party. )

Don't you want to show off how pretty you are in your dress?

[excaliburden]

[Another faerie!! Altria has not yet realized, though this will be an incredible exciting realization--

For now, though, there's a sort of gentle firmness in the way that those fingers stop her from retreating for the third time already that evening, and Altria pauses with wide eyes and a faint flush on her cheeks.]

Ah--that's... um...

[... How pretty? She is? In her dress?

Her?]

--me?

b

[immortalpoet]

[Oh, this is a............well. He wouldn't call it a friend. In fact, his first instinct is to simply punch the thing, far too used to the sight of monsters of all kinds in general but...]

[Oh, a young lady is running up.]

[Vergilius stares at her, than the golem, and back to her with narrowed, strangely vibrant red eyes.]

What is this thing.

[excaliburden]

[Altria catches up, takes a moment to catch her breath, and points at it.]

It's my biscuits!

[Yes, that's very helpful.]

--I mean, what was supposed to be biscuits for everyone!

c

[perfectdevil]

[ Lestat looks up at the plant he's absolutely been purposely standing beneath, with a bemused little smile that he wrenches into a look of curious wonder as he peers back down at her. ]

Poisonous, you say? You mean to eat? Or to touch?

[excaliburden]

Oh, to consume.

[Very earnestly, nodding very solemnly.]

Especially if brewed into a tea, drinking it would be quite dangerous. But even consuming the leaves and berries in large enough quantities can be bad for you.

b.

[featheradrift]

[ And here he'd thought they would be safe after dressing Altria up properly for prom (but he spies those boots. girl, they're going to have to talk about that after this, because that is not how you dress for prom and he's a little ticked his efforts to make her shine have been ruined), but of course something always has to be going on with this girl, doesn't it? How she manages to be such a troublemaker, he really can't fathom.

(Nor will he be able to fathom exactly what makes him abandon his station without a second thought to chase after Altria and the biscuit golem, and he's not going to unpack that either, no way)

But chase after her he does, as he raises his voice in exasperation. ]

Magic? Why in Lesser Lord Kusanali's name are you using magic for baking??

[excaliburden]

[She has no good excuses, she is just herself. Always. Terribly so.

She's chasing the golem, and he's chasing her, and yakety sax should be playing right about now.

Still, over her shoulder:]

I wanted to fit a few more types of sugar into the biscuits but the batter wasn't coming together so...! [She cheated with magic.] It was just a little magic!

[And yet, here they are.]

B.....

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham stares at the biscuit golem. The biscuit golem stares back. Altria's voice is not far behind it.]

... Is this part of the security?

[excaliburden]

[Altria slows behind the biscuit golem, peering around it at Alhaitham. Now they are all staring at each other.

Biscuit golem's smile is unchanging.]

Um.

[Altria shuffles in place, squirming a little.]

Not... exactly...

This is... part of dessert...?

b!!!!!!!

[fussiest]

[ kaveh and his mismatched boutonnière looks. and then, he's running across the venue with a soft, keening noise. the noise is high enough that every dog, wolf or otherwise must be perking their ears up right about now in faint sympathy.

anyway, altria is going to find kaveh clinging to the foot of the golem. he may be petting it. there are tears in his eyes. ]

Oh, Mister Golem. You're the only one who understands. [ he is also, in fact, drunk. ] There are people walking in without cufflinks! Cufflinks! The most basic of accessories. I never thought this entire venue would reveal just how low the bar is for fashion in this city. But you've been made with little buttons on your hands and feet... yes, these are cufflinks! These are your cufflinks! You truly are the only one who understands...

[excaliburden]

[Help. The golem doesn't know what to do with someone who isn't immediately aggressive and/or a threat. Kaveh is registering as much too pathetic for it to try to even take a swing at him.

Altria slows to a trot, and then stops at the sight, staring.

Has her golem been tamed, or is this just a stopgap measure? And even more importantly....... is Kaveh okay?

She comes closer, patting the golem on the arm first and then crouching next to Kaveh to reach out to gently touch his shoulder.]

Um... Kaveh?

Have you been drinking?

c.

[yyds]

[ hong lu, who is also standing under the mistletoe, turns his mismatched gaze to her. it's altria, hong lu thinks. and because he's hong lu, the first thing he does is survey her from head to toe.

then, he beams. ]

Altria~ You really are short.

[ there is precisely zero percent self-preservation in the way he reaches out to pat her head the way you would a small doggy. ]

[excaliburden]

[Oh my god.

What is he wearing.

What is he doing.

What is he saying--

He pats her on the head and she immediately forgets she's in finery, that she's shy about being here and that she's embarrassed.]

Hey! We can't all be freakishly tall!

a

[fanstheflames]

Nope!

[ Tsuruno had shown up earlier for food prep, but she's present and accounted for just in time to see Altria try to make a break for it, so she's lunging forward to catch her by the wrist in her own finery. No ponytail today. ]

You can't just bolt right off the bat, Altria!!

[excaliburden]

[SEIZED... Altria knows better than to try to argue with Tsuruno, especially since she did tell people she'd be here... so she just shuffles in place a little, clearly somewhat guilty and shamefaced.]

But there are so many people, and they all look so fancy...!

wildcard it's dance time

[featheradrift]

[ Much later into the gala, once his duties have run its course and he's enjoyed the event enough, he decides to check up on Altria. The biscuit golem has been left to wander freely while it's creator is relaxing somewhere along the far edge of the bottom tier, close to the dance floor.

He quietly sidles up next to her, following her line of sight to the dancers on the floor. ]

Not going to dance?

[excaliburden]

[He is right on the money with where she'll be, and what she's doing; as Altria got more comfortable with the gala, and as the anxieties over fitting in (and then over the biscuit golem) slowly faded away... she comes back time and time again to watching the people dance on the dance floor.

... There's something wistful about it, but something warm, too.

Everyone out there is enjoying themselves just to enjoy it, right? It's... so very different from home.

When he asks, her answer is simple and easy, for once.]

I don't know how to dance. And I don't want to get in anyone's way.

[And then, with sincere curiosity:]

What about you? Have you danced at all yet?

b

[icanfixer]

[ canonically, if don sees a thing that is round no matter its size she has already dubbed it friend-shaped and would like to be the first to pet it.

and also eat them, if it's food. poor ser biscuit is getting this treatment of her teeth, not so much because it stopped but because don is a determined young woman. altria's call brings her head up from chewing on the arm of the beast, that bit coming with her, and don stares at the familiar blond.

hold on, she only has manners for people who aren't sinclair, she'll take the cookie out of her mouth while ser biscuit hangs around too. ]

It was thee who created such a grand, magnificent beast? Thou'rt a capable mage indeed, even outside of the realm of novels!

[ cool!!!!!!!! magic can exist if it makes edible friends. ]

1/2

[excaliburden]

[Shockingly, the cookie is delicious. One wouldn't think baking gone so wrong could also be tasty, but somehow, it is.

Altria catches up with a wheeze, hands on her knees as she catches her breath.

Whew. Whew!! Whewwww!]

Don Quixote!

[There is absolutely a bite taken out of the golem's arm and it is not growing back.]

Aw, thanks! That's so nice of you to say--

2/2

[excaliburden]

Wait, no, this is a bad thing!

Thanks for stopping the golem! Please, eat as much of it as you'd like!

[Is that... is that how this works?]

b. is for BITCH WHAT??

[keepgodwaiting]

[ Jo is just helping herself to a drink when she has a ... sense. A premonition, one might say. The feeling that someone is watching her. Of course, there are a lot of people around and she looks great, so why wouldn't they be looking? And yet.

Very slowly, she looks over her shoulder.

A looming face smiles back at her. ]

MOTHERFUCKER--

[ Jerking back, she flings the nearest thing to hand, which is her glass tumbler full of whisky and ice, with enough force that punches right through the thing's chest. Crumbs, frosting, and booze go flying. ]

What the hell!

[excaliburden]

[Altria absolutely cannot help the way she stares, absolutely agog, at how that glass goes right through the golem's chest. It looks down at its own chest too, and the crumbly hole that's been punched through it, as if it does not know what to do with this information.

Altria, though, is wide-eyed and amazed.]

Wow! That was an amazing throw! It went straight through!

B. (If this is too late, no worries!)

[recreator]

[Someone or something is still staring at him. Emet-Selch can feel it focused on the back of his head as he allows the violin he'd "borrowed" for his and Hythlodaeus's performance to dissipate into motes of light.]

[He'd been in a good mood - almost, yet now he finds himself vexed at this most stubborn of intrusions. And so it is that he wheels around, ready to smite whomever is creeping into his personal space with his most potent glower - and instead finds himself staring right into the vacant carved-out eyes and distinctly sugar-scented face of the so-called "biscuit golem".]

[He jerks back a step, raising a hand reflexively in the air with his thumb and forefinger pressed tightly together and his mouth agape.]

What, pray tell is that thing?!

[His pitch rises a few octaves, yet the question still comes out as a demand. And then--]

[Oh, of course...]

And what do you mean you thought it would work? Is this creation your dance partner or some such?

[He's desperate to know. ...Okay, perhaps not that desperate.]