[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

[gripper]

( she's so undiscerning, huh. )

What a wishy-washy justice... or a fairy-tale version of it. You can't just help people whose beliefs go against yours entirely just because they aren't actively doing something bad. ( a scoff. ) But considering how goody-two-shoes the rest of these people are, I guess that way of thinking gets along real well with them, huh.

[icanfixer]

Not all of them are so. Nor do they agree with me. But it does not come up often anymore, for better or worse.

[ there's no real need for it to, after all. don will deal out justice as she sees fit. nothing wrong with that -- her personal likes and dislikes... matter much, but that's another day's discussion. ]

Besides, our deal was much the same, no? Our beliefs grind against one another like an ill-fitting pair of gears, and yet at least, for a time, we helped one another.

[ to their own gain. sinclair's protection, and kromer's much needed, useless knowledge. it's done and broken now, but it's still a point to bring up. ]

[gripper]

Never mind that you were never going to tell me that transfer student was the one who was going to kill me, were you.

( she wouldn't have.

if she ever had anything important to tell someone, and the weight on the other side of that deal was something infinitely more important than that secret—she wouldn't have. )

[icanfixer]

[ she wouldn't have.

just like she still hasn't told everyone the truth, letting them have false hope instead. her stomach turns. ]

I am certain thee upheld thy side on a technicality.

[gripper]

I really didn't hurt him, you know. ( not one little hair on his head. ) Ah, but there was that time... He got all confused because I wasn't stabbing him—I think he hurt himself on my knife.

( so perhaps, that, is a technicality. her weapon to defend herself in that mall, but emil's pressure. )

[icanfixer]

[ her technicality. don bristles regardless, making no effort to disguise her scowl just above the pile of mistletoe she's carrying. ]

When at last thou'rt dead without return, I shall dance with him upon thy grave.

[gripper]

You and your two left feet won't get three steps over it.

( haha. anyway— stopping to reach for some more, there we go... )

Anyway, I guess our deal is over, huh? Since I know who killed me. ( unless don wants to find another condition to save sinclair's skin over. ) Too bad! I was having such a good time seeing you have to play nice.

[icanfixer]

I shall continue to play nice so long as thou hath done naught to inspire my righteous wrath, unfortunate for us both.

[ but kromer's on like. the thinnest of ice. that sort of thing. ]

I am glad to be rid of it, in truth, for it did not feel nice to hide such things from Sinclair. [ because she knew he'd be mad, because she knew he'd feel guilty about it, and neither of those things are feelings she wants to inspire.

no, rather, the feelings she wants him to look at her with are... ] We have become closer as a result of it though, so I cannot say it the end result was all that bad.

[ ... hee. ]

[gripper]

( ...haaaa. )

Do you think saying so's gonna make me jealous?

[icanfixer]

Nay, I am only telling thee that it has not split us.

[ yes. ]

[gripper]

( HAAA... )

Well, you're welcome. ( she is sooo unbothered she is SOOOOO unbothered she is So Very Not Unbothered Right N ) I guess as long as someone makes him feel important enough he'll excuse any kind of deception! Good for you and for that transfer student, too. I'm truly thrilled for you.

( wings she needs to stab something. )

[icanfixer]

[ sooooo unbothered queen she sees it. she flinches a little, but her tone is more defiant than anything. ]

I have forgiven his own deception, so we are equals. And do not think that I approve of the floating boy either, for he is just as bad as thee in his inaction.

[ when he could have done something, and

just

didn't. ]

[gripper]

( "the floating boy" yeah he did float didn't he what the fuck was up with th )

I think he's worse. ( there's nothing worse than seeing something and not doing something about it. they can probably agree on that. ) I wonder... if it's because he knew Sinclair's parents had to die in order for Sinclair to really start living.

( there is no version of this story where sinclair's parents do not die somehow, someway. she can feel that in her heart.

she knows he can, too. )

[icanfixer]

[ bitch she wishes she kn ]

There is never a need for the good to die, Kromer! They may not have been the best, but they were innocent!

[ and despite the exclamations, her voice is more of a hissed whisper. there's no need to ruin a lovely evening further. ]

Their only sin was assuming that he would want the same as they, for he had not spoken otherwise! How is one to know the way another feels if they are not capable of speaking?

[gripper]

Unless you grew up there, you wouldn't know what it was like.

( kromer's mouth pulls up in a sneer, and she moves a few steps quicker, the next mistletoe getting yanked less ceremoniously from a doorway. )

[icanfixer]

[ don't be mad just because she's right. ]

That is true, I do not. But I cannot imagine that a young man such as Sinclair came from a family that did not love him, did not cherish him, and would think him a poor sport for wishing to keep all his limbs as is. Children can be cruel, but did thee not think for a second that perhaps if thou had stayed thy hand, that things would have ended better?

[ if she hadn't killed his family, they might still be friends. maybe they would drift as they went to different wings. sinclair would not have become a sinner, and don feels the loss keenly despite it being only an if -- she would not know him, and yet she feels as if a piece would be missing beside her. ]

Keep thy hatred and anger, but forgo the apparent necessity of thy "justice". [ spat. ] They did nothing wrong, and thee know that just as well as I.

[gripper]

Do you think my family loved me, Don Quixote?

( this has a point. )

[icanfixer]

[ ...

she shouldn't hesitate as much as she does in answering. ]

Not as much as they should have, perhaps.

[gripper]

( ... )

Every Sunday, Mama would make me Palatschinken. It's a rolled crepe filled with a jam or jelly—my favorite was pear. Even after she had her operation, she kept doing it. Making pear jam, carefully measuring out crepe batter, all of that. ( it made her sick. it still does, but she continues. ) Papa came home from work late every day, but he'd always stop by my room and give me a kiss on my forehead no matter what. He never missed a single day.

( even after he was no longer her father. her mother. no longer the parents she loved, she grew up with, that she was so familiar with— )

Let me tell you: it doesn't matter how much a family loves you, thinks the world of you, their only daughter, if they don't understand you. I'm sure he felt the same way.

( like sees like. )

1/2

[icanfixer]

[ MAMA?



PAPA????? ]

2/2

[icanfixer]

[ ...

that is so sad, though. they continued to love her as they ever had. they continued to think of her as their daughter no matter how old she grew, how much she remained as she was rather than giving in to what everyone else had. but because they had changed, she could no longer love them. because they could no longer understand each other, they were no longer a family.

dimly, she thinks of her own, of the friends she's left behind, and the ones here as well. ]

Did thee hate them?

[gripper]

Hahaha! Of course I did! They started following the flock, tried to coax me into thinking it wasn't so bad, became strangers to me in my own home--they weren't "Mama and Papa" anymore.

( they were two people she had to share a space with, that she breathed easier in when they were gone for work or when she spent her time in the orchards,

or when she was with... )

...I resented them first. ( a nuance. a difference. ) But I hated them pretty quickly after, and they wound up dead just like everyone else. Still living in the same house I grew up in, looking different than I remember... It was easy to stab through their metal chassis, to pull apart their mockery of faces-- those ugly, stupid square heads! To feel their wires wriggling and listen to their speakers struggle to speak my name-- "Spatzi? Oh, Spatzi, please!"-- I felt sick, hearing such endearments so robotically said--

( kromer's voice rises with every word until finally she stops. she inhales slowly and starts picking apart the mistletoe in her hands. )

It's easily to kill strangers. ( a sidelong smile at don. ) You know what I mean?

[icanfixer]

[ how affectionate they had been to her, even without understanding between them. she was still their daughter. don's heart aches for both sides, thinks of the ID faust has all the same, and herself as well.

spatzi -- so cute, yet ill-fitting a woman like kromer. it's hard to imagine anyone calling her so lovingly, even as her words and tone imply so. but kromer was a child once too. ]

It is, [ she agrees, because it is. ] But I can kill even a face I know if they have done wrong.

[ as can kromer, of course. ]

I pity thee, Kromer. It sounds as if they did aught but love thee 'til the very end, even if they thought thee would eventually give in. I have known many who would long for even that small endearment.

[gripper]

...I don't need or want your pity, Don Quixote, so keep that drivel to yourself.

( her tone isn't light anymore, erring on a knife's edge instead. her smile, too, is gone. )

It wasn't "love". It was a mockery of it. Machines aren't capable of feeling emotions like you and I--their replications of it are nothing but a duplicitous attempt to garner pity and mercy. Put enough of those fakes to death and you'll see what I mean.

[icanfixer]

[ don's voice grows hot in anger to her chilling edge, pity mounting the more disillusioned kromer becomes. ever a villain, but still pitiful. ]

They were flesh and blood once, just like thyself, just like I! Why ever would that replace the feelings they had for thee, even if they were to replace all they had with metal and wires? One still feels anger and sorrow, pride and elation, even if they have become naught but a box and a brain -- their experiences and memories still make them, even if they are not who they once were in appearance.

[ but how many times can the boards of a ship be replaced with others before it's no longer the same? a riddle for the ages, and apt here. ]

They were still thy parents, like it or not. They still loved thee, still celebrated thee, still--