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

[unrequite]

I like it, Miss Don. A studio...

[ ... Young Kaveh? He's always thought of Kaveh as rather young himself, but he had considered Miss Don as a part of the same maturity bracket. Huh. Perhaps her species is rather youthful... Or perhaps she just has one of those faces.

Not that that matters much. He's thinking about Kaveh and Netzach enjoying that studio with Miss Don, teaching each other and having a lovely time painting birds, or whatever their visually talented selves can come up with. It's a nice image. ]

Bring your artwork along when we finish construction, then. I'd like to see your work up on the walls first... It will be your space, after all. Others should profess their wonder, strive to achieve as much as you have when they see it.

[ And, uh, it should make it a bit easier to find footspace in her place afterward... ]

[icanfixer]

[ it... it certainly will... ]

Much of it is... my experiments with color, and attempting to put what is in my head, [ tap tap, ] onto canvas. But it shall be interesting to see the process for some, so I shall.

[ she did soooooooooooooooooooo much in trying to make sure the watercolors she painted for others were like






really good. watercolor was something she ever struggled with, and so she'd wanted to use it as both a mark of her progress and an excuse to make herself work with it more. they're friends now. she enjoys it. ]

I should like to see thine on the wall as well, someday. It matters not one's skill level, but the pasión and heart one has in creating it! It is... as a very good friend has told me, taking a piece of the world and making it thine.

[ something that still strikes her to this day, something she wants to share with others. the world and how she sees it, the traits of the people she adores so, her own home -- everything, everything. ]

[unrequite]

[ Aw. Art is a huge part of what makes the world turn in Midnight's world, he's glad to hear Don speak of it so fondly. He would put his chin in his hands if they weren't currently full up on cute blond knight. ]

Passion and heart, huh. I'll have to drum up a bit, then, I've never been the sort to draw or paint. Never thought about capturing the world that way, either. The hearts of those around me have been the only goal.

What do you make with your colors and canvas, then? Where's your passion, your heart?

[icanfixer]

[ a beginner!!! how fun, that's the best... everything is so inspiring and worth remark. to her, everything still is, but she has narrowed it little by little to know what she wants to capture most. ]

My friends. I oft like to draw portraits of them from memory, or from a photograph we have taken together... Things I adore too, such as flowers and the creatures of my world -- they are all so cute, even if we must vanquish them for our own survival.

[ mm... she's burying her face into midnight again. ]

I only wish to show the people I love what it is I love about them, and to share with them the world as I have seen it. That is the root of my passion, my heart, I suppose.

[unrequite]

[ "Vanquish them for our own survival"...? Like Miss Vanilla and her Originium slugs, or perhaps Miss Beanstalk and her crabs.

He pats her back, smiles to feel her little face against him. Cuddling is very soothing... Were that the whole world was more receiving of kindness like Miss Don's. ]

Then teach me how to draw these things, too. I haven't much in the way of inspiration, but if you'd be so kind as to share your enthusiasm with me, perhaps I'll persevere at the endeavor to find some sort of passion of my own. Although really, I can't emphasize enough that I've only ever been an art model at best, so you'll have to be quite patient with me.

[icanfixer]

That is fine. I have been a model once as well, and found I much prefer that of the artist -- having such attention on myself was rather much, though perhaps t'was the fault of the one who was painting me at the time.

[ ... ouuhgh. embarrassing, looking back. her restless embarrassment at her own feelings and indecisions truly had been childish (but that is okay, is it not? it is). ]

Th-That is only to say, I know what goes into both roles, and how best to transfer thy energy! What is it thee love most when looking at another? Even if it is only how they make thee feel, that too can be put into colors on a canvas -- in example of one familiar to us both, I gifted Netzach with such a painting of a vibrant, warm sunspot, for that is how I feel when I am with him.

[unrequite]

[ Midnight chuckles. Ah, that is an emotion Midnight remembers well... It's tough to have good attention, especially when you can't properly express how good that attention is. ]

What I like best... That is a good question. To narrow it down to just one factor...

[ Midnight rocks them both a bit, eyes cast to the middle distance in thought. ]

I like seeing people happy, of course, but if I was to get to the very heart of it... I like knowing that the people around me have no need to fear. Surrounded by surmountable problems, at ease with their circumstances, the kind of happiness that makes it easy for one to see and share the happiness in others.

... Mm. Netzach fears so little, in spite of everything. His happiness is clear, unmuddied.

[ ... Midnight laughs. ]

It frightens me when I think about it too hard. It's like looking onto perfectly fallen snow and being afraid to move, and afraid of movement, and afraid of anything that could disturb something so pristine.

[ ... Midnight snorts. ]

But then I remember that he really can't get up early enough to go jogging with me in the mornings, and the spell breaks.

[icanfixer]

He is also quite stupid.

[ fondly said. she's one to talk, but still. it's

a little bit. difficult. not to feel the stinging hurt that comes with envy, but she feels worse for feeling it in the first place. when will she feel naught in hearing such things, in seeing them? shouldn't she be over it by now? mm. at least midnight can't see her solemn expression, though she curls tighter. ]

Midnight, my beloved friend, it is not what thee do for them, but what they do for thee that can be put into works! The realm that would suit the former more are physical, like-- hmhm, I have not tried my hand at it either, but making things that they may wear or use.

[ scarves, panholders, containers to put artistic utensils... practical reminders of his presence. ]

That is why I gifted thee my favorite scent, so that when it envelopes thee thy thoughts will turn to me. [ ... so that the others around him will, too, selfishly-- ] Thy passion and heart lies in the care of others, and thus we can play to thy strength as well! Our studio will encourage all forms.

[ yeah. then don can learn new things too. ]

[unrequite]

Ah... I'm not certain I can speak to that.

[ ... Look, his love interests have, like, degrees and shit, he's just a guy who kisses good sometimes.

Although that is an interesting thought, the idea of giving a craft. He's never thought much in terms of what he'd leave to others. He lowers his head and gives Don a gentle sniff. If she isn't wearing anything orange scented now, he will simply imagine the smell of his current shampoo on her. ]

I'll start wherever you suggest, I think. I'm sure I've been moved to create something before, but I simply couldn't tell you when it was, or what it was. There's music and conversation, but making something built to last...

[ ... Midnight looks at the coffee shop around them. ]

... It isn't all bad, I suppose.

[icanfixer]

[ she isn't, but that's because she has a rather floral perfume for the night on. never say don doesn't go the full mile. ]

It certainly is not.

[ this, after all, will last long after any of them do.

even if this is naught but a stimulation, it will last. ]

What sort of music have thee done?

[unrequite]

[ That's all right! It's a good smell. Good smells only hours here.

(Midnight's a bit out of the loop about the simulation stuff. Too busy carpe-ing his diems.)

Anyway, Midnight grins, turns and reaches for his phone, then unlocks it. ]

Everything, really. I'm partial to rock, though. Here...

[ And I'm not going to link it, but he found a Best of Queen album in the media center and now has a practice video of himself playing along to that one bit in the middle of the Bohemian Rhapsody where the guitar solo really pops off. He clearly hasn't memorized the whole song yet, but this riff seems to have left a strong impression on him. ]

[icanfixer]

[ she's propping back up to see it hello OH he is killing it. music is the one thing she enjoys that she hasn't particularly gotten into save for dancing, though she does like the look of the guitar... tis a Romantic Instrument... ]

What a powerful chord... I can see why it has moved thee. I like to listen to many things as well, but I have yet to find that which makes my soul sing.

[ when she can write her own spanish romance song. that will be it. ]

Will thee serenade thy lovers? It is a most romantic notion, no?! And I think... both... of them will like it very much.

[ ...

gosh. he really did drop a bombshell earlier... ]

[unrequite]

Ooh... I highly recommend this album. It's Queen... it's an Earth band, I believe, or at the very least they're from a world with that human varietal.

[ As for serenading his lovers, plural, Midnight just. Chuckles. He Really Did Not Notice. ]

I'd certainly like to. Been getting around to attempting my own compositions, though I don't think I'm anywhere near a final product. Would you like to hear what I have?

[ It truly isn't much, just Midnight plonking around for chords that sound good, but he's having a good time trying to figure it all out. ]

[icanfixer]

Prithee!!! Such a thing is also creative, Midnight, how can thee say that there is naught that moves thy hand with passion?!

[ music!!!!!!! is also art!!!!!!!!



oh my god don's room is just going to be a mess of creative pursuits whenever she discovers a new one. no. that won't work. we have to make sure they get a separate space for music. ]

[unrequite]

[ don please there is only so much floorspace you can take up before you're officially hoarding... midnight's working on a practice studio i promise

Anyway, Midnight just shrugs, looking through his albums for video files of him working out compositions. ]

Well... For starters, I didn't start playing the guitar for the passion. About, oh, fifteen years ago, I'd say, one of the guests at my host club wanted live music for a party they were holding at my venue. They ran short of instrumentalists, so I volunteered for the position. Not because I knew a thing about music, mind... I was just young, relatively new, and vying for attention. I needed an edge.

[ Midnight laughs. ]

Got good enough at it that the regular band members took notice, let me sub in when their lead guitar got sick. It paid all right, so naturally, I wanted to get better. When my hosting career took off, and I didn't need the gig money... I suppose I simply stayed with it out of habit, and because I still had my guitars lying about. Seemed a shame to never practice.

So... I don't think I have any particular talent for it, nor any passion. It's just something I can do.

[ Midnight pauses, then looks at Miss Don. ]

It seems to make you happy, though. Makes me think it might be worth sticking with, mm?

[icanfixer]

[ hoarding schmoarding this is going to be her

(squints)

like fifth home for all the time she spends other places she's NOT A STRAY but god if she does not act it!!!!!!!

don listens though, attentive on her friend, and pops herself up enough to pet midnight's head. of all people, she understands -- wanting to have an edge, yearning for attention, searching for a way to fit as they have discussed before... that was part of it, too. ]

It makes me very happy, for I much enjoy music, and I would like to dance to whatever it is thee compose from beginning to end.

[ she resumes laying on him, arms comfortably under her chin as she grins. ]

But more than anything in the world, I would like to see thee feel passion as I do. It does not have to burn bright, as mine for justice does, but thou shalt know it when it flickers beneath thy skin and drive thee into action -- be it for the sake of thyself, or for the sake of another. It is a force, like love, that can overcome all things, and yet one can lose themselves in it as well; fear not if it overtakes thee in such a way. Only remember that passion cannot be found when one is too preoccupied with pleasing another.

[ certainly, passion drive one into action for the sake of someone else -- justice is built upon that, on the decency and goodwill to others, that zealous protection she wields -- but it does not start there. it is used for others, but it is not found in others. maybe he's already found it in a way. a passion to help others, to make sure they have a place to Be, to Stay, to live without fear... is also a passion, even if it doesn't look nor feel the same as others'. ]

Even if thee do not find thy passion in music, art, or anything of the sort, I shall ever be eager to try new things with thee to see what may catch thy interest! I have plenty of energy even with all that I handle now, which I have been told is quite a lot.

[unrequite]

[ girl please you're feral...

The pet to his head gets a bit of a surprised look? It's usually him giving little gestures of affirmation, not the other way around. He tuts gently, but mostly because he's wondering if he was supposed to react in some other way...

The corner of Midnight's mouth turns up in a smile, though, as he resumes petting the back of her head for the simple pleasure of it. ]

No need to fret, love. I lost my taste for validation long ago. Although I suppose I could do with a bit of energy for some self-discovery, if you really feel as though you can spare it... How many jobs was it, again?

[ Really, Don's one of the few here whose workload seems to rival even his own and Kaveh's, but he's never gotten an accurate picture of just how many irons she's left in the fire. ]

[icanfixer]

I am contracted to Sir Vergilius, and though the circumstances bar me from enacting my duty to he as I ought -- for it is particular to the City from which we hail -- I am still in employment to him and will do all he asks if given command! In the same breath, I am a Fixer of aspiring renown, who dedicates her life to a righteous blade -- such a thing continues here, as I shall detail soon. I have also found work at Angela's Bookstore, and thine establishment here as a hostess, and I do still like to run post when I am afforded the chance, few as it may be. In addition to all this, I have kept my oath as a Fixer and sought to bleed the city here dry of evil as its roots creep beneath the streets, and thus my gaze is ever outward and alert.

[ ...

so... like... four... five maybe... irons... ]

Oh, but I do not intend to neglect my friends any, and so any spare moment I may have among these duties of mine are spent affording them respite and happiness. This month has been especially filled with such, for I worked quite hard to ensure they would all be suitably gifted!!!

[ what's a break ]

[unrequite]

[ ... Midnight reaches up and taps her on the nose. ]

Sweet love. Miss Don. When do you sleep?

[ This is, at least, waaay gentler than how Kaveh would have asked. (Midnight wouldn't have asked at all six months ago. Time sure does march on.) ]

[icanfixer]

[ she wriggles her nose in response, what a silly question. ]

At night, of course! A mere four or five hours is all one needs, so long as passion beats heavily in their heart!

[ ...

as long as he doesn't know she isn't an early riser, he doesn't need to know how long that means she stays up. or has, at least, in the past month. ]

Prithee, do not fret over this one, my dear Midnight! For I am hale, whole, and healthy, and I still have much energy to burn whilst the candle yet wanes! I would like to take a nap now and then, I suppose, but it is not necessary.

[unrequite]

[ Midnight stares at her for a moment, hand still brushing through her hair. He seems a bit surprised, but more pensive than dismayed, as though he's making up his mind about something. ]

Until very recently, my darling, that's how often I slept. I still do on occasion, unless Netzach is there to chat my ear off.

[ And at one point in his life, he was surrounded by enough medical professionals who informed him that that was textbook insomnia. Not that he internalized it very well, either. ]

Now, while I shouldn't like to keep you anywhere whilst in the midst of burning off your endless stores of energy, I should like to invite you to take those naps when the mood seizes you. I myself am not here of my own volition; Kaveh forced me here and did not allow me to move until I fell asleep.

[icanfixer]

[ ... it doesn't sound like a problem to only have that many hours, though... she's glad they shared it, at least until very recently. don rests her cheek on her arm. ]

That is because thou hath been running around far too much, my friend. [ like she's one to talk. ] And he is a dreadful worrywart.

[ but fondly, just like badmouthing netzach. don ducks her head a little, away from his hand, and then lifts back into it. that's too nice to run from. ]

I... find it somewhat hard to fall asleep around others, though... Thou mayst consider this difficulty a product of my calling, for we are ever alert; I also do not wish to worry Young Sinclair any, so I refrain from it at home entirely.

[ even if that's where she would find it best, tucked into the couch full of memories. ]

[unrequite]

[ Scritch, scritch. Just like a cat. Soft, warm, cute. ]

You don't sleep at home, my darling?

[ Being alert is all well and good, understandable even, but... ]

To simultaneously call a place "home" and a place without rest is a bit suspect, Miss Don. If a body cannot rest at home, what manner of home is it?

[ This isn't a judgmental question. "Home" is a very fraught concept. Midnight, of all people, knows the truth of that quite well. He's just checking in. ]

[icanfixer]

[ uuuuuu... mmm... it feels so good. relaxing. midnight's a danger, she's thinking that maybe there doesn't need to be a speech at all and they can stay like this. her voice is a little drowsier, but she's doing her all not to doze off. ]

I get... what I am able at night, [ and though she said she can't sleep around others so easy she just has yet to try, don would find it far easier than she should think or like perhaps, ] and so I do not wish to worry him very much... in that way.

[ ... ]

Though he has asked that I let him... and I have agreed, and as previou... previously spoken to thee I should like it if all he had to worry about was myself, if anything at all... There is surely a limit to how one can burden another, even if they should welcome it, no?

[ it's home, because... because she is relaxed there. she laughs and sleeps at all there. because she's always looking forward to returning as soon as she leaves, though is it in part the person that's there or the residence itself? she knows the answer, but it's unspoken. ]

[unrequite]

[ He laughs extremely softly, watching her eyelids droop. He's wondering himself if skipping the speech shouldn't be worth letting her have a little rest... But he does have the rest of the party guests to think of, and she herself will likely feel bereft of a new year spent together if she doesn't at least make it to midnight. (The time, not the man, she's fine where she is otherwise.) ]

There's a phrase those who are engaged for marriage oft utter at their vows. "Until death do us part." Which tells me, as someone who has never been married, that there are certain commitments that, in spite of burden, in spite of difficulty, persist until death separates the two. In perpetuity, in the face of all.

[ Midnight lays his head on Miss Don's head. Not a kiss, a nuzzle. ]

While I haven't any idea what form Mr. Sinclair's devotion toward you takes, I rather think you deserve that sort of commitment, considering what you give without any thought of reciprocity. I would reflect on that, were I you.