happy new year! (party edition)

[unrequite]

WHO: Anyone who saw Midnight's network post about Seventh Hell's grand opening!
WHAT: Happy New Year! We survived! (At what cost!?)
WHERE: Seventh Hell
WHEN: New Year's Eve, starting at 6 pm.
WARNINGS: Alcohol! Maybe more, please mind individual thread warnings!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SEVENTH HELL WELCOMES YOU!

It's been a rough half a year. Kidnappings, atmospheric horror, murder (technically), aesthetics, disappearances, reappearances, and the creeping sensation that you aren't alone...

Hey, at least there's drinks.

When you descend the stairs to the underground club, there's music playing, the lights are low, but boy, are there a lot of them. The bartender welcomes you in. Order something, make yourself comfortable! The booths along the mirrored walls, lined with chandeliers and discoballs, are decorated with a sprinkle of shining confetti and host a variety of simple party snacks. (In fact, if your character arrived with some food to share, a bartender will guide you to the tables to help you set it up. They'll get you a drink for your trouble. How thoughtful of them!)

Grab a snack and a drink! It's no planetarium, but there's a variety of party activities to engage in. (Or make up your own! Seriously, this is a pretty casual affair.)

Every guest will receive one ticket for a raffle. There will be three winners, and each winner can choose one out of 3 prizes:

1) One date with one participating host club staff member. (If your character is a current host club staff member who would volunteer for a blind date, please PM me so I can add their name to the list.) Current list of participants: Midnight, Don Quixote, Astarion, Armand
2) One specialty drink named in the winner's honor.
3) One 12 in x 12 in square on one of the mirrors of the Host Club to leave a permanent mark! The winner will be invited back at any time to take paint markers, paint, permanent markers, etc, to leave a short message, work of art, or anything that can fit in a square foot of mirror space in a discreet, aesthetically pleasing area of the host club. (Kaveh chooses where.)

Winners may choose prizes previously chosen by other winners. Winners may forfeit for others to have a chance at a prize, but may not give away their prize to someone else specifically. In the case that one chooses the third prize but lacks the requisite skill or confidence to create a permanent fixture, one can outsource the space to a willing artist or writer within reason.

!

OOC: RAFFLE DETAILS

I will be rolling the results of this raffle on January 2nd, before the start of Alba's player plot! Don't worry about keeping up with the results, I'll PM winners individually. The only requirement for entry is to participate in one thread on this post! If your character would forfeit their prize, please let me know via PM so I can remove their name from the pool! EDIT: All prizes have been claimed! Congratulations to Hob, Yi Sang, and Altria! 🎉

MAIN SEATING (PARTY GAMES)

The back booths of the establishment, along with the standard decorations, have been supplied with small cards. The rules of two different party games are written on each:

NEVER HAVE I EVER

A getting to know you game! For groups of 5 or fewer players, begin with 5 points. For any more than that, it is suggested to start with 10. The goal of the game is to be the last person with points remaining.
1) Everyone in the game starts with five points each. Keep track of your points with your fingers!
2) The first player describes a short scenario that they have never experienced.
3) The other players must put a finger down if they have experienced said scenario. If they, too, have never experienced the scenario, their points remain unaffected.
4) Move onto the next player and repeat steps 2 through 4. The last person with points remaining wins!
5) BONUS: Drinks may be substituted for points. Simply take a drink when you have experienced the scenario! (Please drink responsibly!)

KING'S GAME

This game requires straws, chopsticks or a deck of cards. Please ask a bartender for supplies!
1) For the amount of players in the game, arrange the same amount of straws or chopsticks. For the card version, please use one suit.
2) Assign one chopstick/straw as the "king". For the card version, use one King of your chosen suit. The rest of the cards, chopsticks, or straws should be numbered from 2 to 10 (or however players choose to play.)
3) All players choose a game marker at random. Do not show the other players your number.
4) The King must first reveal themselves. For that round, they must issue a dare to up to two numbered participants. (e.g. Numbers 2 and 5 must end their sentences with "meow" for the next two rounds. The King can choose themselves as one of the participants.)
5) Shuffle the game markers, choose a new King, and repeat!
6) For a challenge, add points for completed dares and drawing the King! The first player to 10 points wins the game. For this mode, it is suggested to add a punishment of a drink for anyone who refuses their dares.

(Please drink responsibly! For the sake of tonight's festivities, we ask that all time based dares end before midnight.)

!

OOC: THREAD SUGGESTIONS

For the purpose of these prompts, feel free to handwave other participants, or to use these prompts as jumping off points for any specific threads you want! For example, one might like to use the King's Game to get into a scenario where one's character has to hold hands with another character for a few minutes for a dare. Please be creative!

THE STAGE (PERFORMANCES)

Eddie Munson (thefreak) will be headlining, with Midnight as backup whenever he can wiggle free from his bartending duties. In between sets, anyone is free to pick up an instrument and a microphone and try their hand at ringing in the new year with a bit of song.

THE BACK ROOMS (NO, NOT LIKE THAT)

There are currently three rooms available for formal guest activities! The rest of the rooms are locked and will require permission for entry. (They're all empty!)

THE GREENHOUSE (featured host: Fearne)

You were... You were underground just a second ago, right? Pull up a seat, settle in, and enjoy being surrounded by plants, a mildly hydrated atmosphere, and light, friendly conversation between fellow guests. There are no activities here, but it does seem like people are free to start up their own round of party games in this somewhat quieter environment... It would be a nice place for a game where one might want to be heard over all that music. (Suggested games: Word Association, 2 Truths and a Lie, 20 Questions.)

THE COFFEE SHOP (featured host: Chesed)

For anyone who needs caffeination to start their new year right. Featuring nondescript coffee shop music, a mildly chill vibe, and comfortable seating, come grab an espresso and pretend you have some important project to deliver by some very specific deadline next year. For this occasion, board games and cards are available for those who want a little more involved with their gaming experience for the new year. (Suggested games: Poker, Uno, Jenga.)

THE PET STATION

Congrats, you printed yourself a dog! Or a cat! Or something! For the purposes of showing off one's pet and getting them some proper socialization, for one night only, there is a pet area monitored closely by one of the club's staff members where one can drop off their furry friend. Get that pet socialized! Get yourself socialized! Please, make a friend before the year ends. It's good for you.

code

[ ooc: If any part of this post is in error, PLEASE do let me know! I made this in like two days in between work and I barely know left from right. Also, host club members especially are encouraged to PM me with any details or updates about this event they'd like for me to add. Thank you, and please enjoy your IRL new year! ]

Comments

[fussiest]

[ so he remembers, then, kaveh thinks - not only the memories, but the sensation of them. suddenly he wonders at it, the state of mind of a man who cannot forget a single emotion. his mother had lived her grief all her life, and it was only after she left sumeru for a land far, far away from where her grief stemmed that kaveh started to appreciate the relief that comes with the erosion of memories. being able to forget is a blessing at times. certainly, you hate yourself for doing so in the moment - lost keys, forgotten paperwork, an exam answer sent awry, but the flashbulb memories of your life, the moment of grief and terror - was it not a blessing that eventually time would wear away at this memories and sensations so that you could finally look them in the eye?

kaveh has never seen lestat without a smile. he wonders what troubles a man of his caliber and resilience must have, whether the past is not so much a pale shadow of a ghost but another self of his that follows his steps like a living, breathing entity. ]

Well, I think of that as a boon. [ kaveh says, after a moment of consideration, with a smile. ] If we ever were to stop learning new things and experience little new surprises every now and then, I think life would be terribly dull. An acquaintance of mine and I used to debate what made a life not worth living, and for him, it had always been the capacity to learn. If that was ever taken away from him, that life would no longer have much of a meaning. I think that's the way with most Sumeran scholars, however. We come from the land of knowledge, and our vice has ever been that we let our curiosity lead us - and end us.

[ the look that kaveh gives lestat is speculative. ] Say, if we introduced a new language to you here in this city, could you replicate it? Learning it quickly, I mean. I don't mean to test you the way of lab animal, but my acquaintance is a scholar of languages, and he'd likely find it fascinating, the way you learn.

[perfectdevil]

[ Lestat has never been a man entirely focused on learning; being illiterate, there was only so much learning he could actively do, of course, but he still found time enough to focus on the things that brought him entertainment. The same could be said when he became a vampire and could open a book and read hundreds of pages within the hour… but his thirst for knowledge was always more impulsive and selfish than it was scholarly. He knows plays, he knows music, he knows myth and legend and sprawling fiction.

In contrast, he knows very little about science and the way the mind works, he finds himself bored by theology and pondering the what ifs of the universe, and he views psychology with the lazy eye of a teenager who’s certain they know better.

The question of language does interest him, though. The interest is a little self-serving, perhaps, but it is interest nonetheless. ]

If at least one person was fluent enough in this language to understand it without needing reference, then yes I think I could do such a thing.

[ Lestat feels a sudden urge to test the theory, the same urge that he’s had to fight for years to quell his own disappointment at finding a complete lack of clarity about the beginnings of the creature he has become. He’s aware, however, that a New Years party might not be the ideal place for such an experiment to take place. ]

I would welcome being a lab animal for the cause of sating my curiosity, and the curiosity of your acquaintance and yourself, I assume.