OPEN💗 LATE VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY

[peoplewatch]

WHO: Newbies, oldbies, everyone is welcome!
WHAT: A Late Valentine’s Party mingle, since Valentines’ Day was over Kaiju month…
WHERE: “MANTRA”, an underground, alternative club in Neo Toyko
WHEN: March 10th
WARNINGS: Romance and shippy things, alcohol, hookah, suggestive things. Anything NSFW is to be appropriately labelled.

Around the 10th of March, Outsiders will receive a message in their ocular inbox from Kabru, the Outsider also known as @ rasgulla. The message reads:

“To my dearest friends and teammates,

If we haven’t met before, call me Kabru. When not on missions as an Outsider, I work as a freelance event planner for various businesses and private organizations within Neo Tokyo.

Valentines’ Day is a popular holiday in Japan that was sadly interrupted last month by the kaiju. My current client is holding a belated Valentines’ Day event and they would really like the Outsiders to come. There will be plenty of food and things to do. Even if you're not looking for a romantic time, I'd encourage you to come!

Please wear something comfortable. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Yours sincerely,

Kabru.”



A location pin comes attached with the invitation. It looks like Kabru’s become more adept at technology over the months.

Follow the location pin and you’ll find yourself in front of ‘Mantra’ in metro Tokyo, an underground, alternative club making waves for its uniqueness in the club scene. Outsiders will all be allowed in without much fuss. The owner of the club is a gentle woman who kindly requests that all guests take their shoes off and leave them at the side. There is a lingering scent of incense and the people hanging out in the club look remarkably calm as they relax; cuddling and enjoying each other’s company. What kind of Valentine’s day party is this? A New Age, alternative kind, apparently. The owner of the club wants to be promoting togetherness in a completely different way.

Thankfully, finger foods and alcohol appear to be abundant, even if Kabru would really like you to be mingling with the people! There is a bar with free flowing wines and spirits, and a table with hors d'oeuvres and small desserts as accompaniment. These can include sushi rolls, small sandwiches, crab cake bites, small skewers, chocolates, little cakes and tarts. Food aside, there is live music playing and guests are highly encouraged to dance.

Naturally, couples are also coupling up, but anything too raunchy is of course cordoned off to a private room. Also, ignore the people smoking electronic hookah at the side…

What can you do besides eat and drink?

1. DANCING 💗

The DJ mostly plays trance and synth pop music in the background but he’s happy to take requests. On the dancefloor,there’s always a group of tipsy guests dancing their hearts out, some dancing alone and others dancing as a couple. There’s no right or wrong way to dance and most people will not cast judgement. Give it a try? Better hurry, before some of the overeager guests try to drag you in.

2. CUDDLE PILE 💗
Numerous cushions are set out around the venue for guests to lounge in and cuddle. It’s highly encouraged, in fact! Especially after a vigorous dance session. There are people lying together in larger groups, and couples choosing to spend their time lounging and enjoying each other’s company. Finding it difficult to relax? The owner might give you a whiff of her special perfume that’s guaranteed to put you in a state of complete calm. It might even make you more open about lying together with someone else.

3. SPEED DATING 💗

There’s a speed dating round going on in one side of the club. Guests are numbered and paired up randomly, then given a short amount of time to get to know each other on a speedy little date. Don’t know what to say? A list of questions will flow in through the oculars to give you a prompt. (Please refer to here and here for some examples or make up your own!)

4. MAKE SWEET TREATS 💗

In the spirit of Valentines’ Day, the owner of the club is hosting a quick desserts-making workshop at the event. Guests will be provided with ingredients and taught to make chocolate or cupcakes, and they will get the chance to decorate it however they like. It’s highly encouraged to make something to give to your sweetheart or the person you admire. Do you really want to be the person eating their own chocolate on Valentines’ Day?

5. PARTY GAMES 💗

What’s a party without party games? Throughout the night, people will be getting drunk and playing local drinking games such as the King’s Game. Eventually, other games from the West get introduced by other people. These games include Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle and 7 Minutes in Heaven.

6. TAKE SOMEONE HOME 💗

If it looks like you're having a pretty good time with someone else, a helpful robot will approach you and provide you both with a key to a private room. Some of these private rooms are normal and some are themed, similar to a love hotel. There's no need to actually do anything raunchy of course. You could just cuddle up and enjoy the warmth of the digital fireplace! Everything one might need for a nice time together (condoms, lubricant etc) will be readily available.

As the event planner, Kabru will be buzzing around and making sure everything runs smoothly, but he can be stopped for questions or concerns (pls be nice to him he has anxiety). Characters can sit out of anything they want, but drunk and overeager guests might decide to drag them in.

[ OOC: I put this up so everyone can enjoy a chill mingle after the chaos of last month! And also because we didn’t get the opportunity to have do much for Valentines’ Day given the timing. Naturally, please label any NSFW, add your content warnings appropriately, and state your boundaries and preferences in terms of shipping/gen/being tagged by younger/older characters. ]

Comments

[photosympathies]

Oh, I hope they let you! I can always help. Like if you need reasons for it to be viable? ( He drums his fingers neatly off the bar top, humming a little. ) Actually, do you teach? Because I help take care of the orphanage back in Neo Tokyo and I'm sure some of the kids would love to learn a little music. Or, oh! Even if you just came to play for them. A whole bunch have some energy to wear off, I bet your songs would totally help.

( Anything to stop them throwing themselves off the staircase at him. )

We can pay you! And then you have some backup when you try and set your business up!

[rebelsamurai]

Whoa, now! I haven't thought that far into this idea, but when the time comes...I guess I wouldn't mind the help.

[Honestly, Johnny is a little scared to pitch the idea to the committee. Johnny isn't as confident and cocky as he claims to be. He despises it when his ideas go up in smoke, which is why he seems so hesitant right now. However, when Vash proposes doing work at the orphanage, he brightens slightly. That makes him smile. Yes, this badass rockstar has a soft spot.]

I don't know if I have the patience for kids, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe I could also teach the kids how to read music. I bet they don't know how to do that.

[To be fair, most people can't read music notes anymore. Not even the popstars of his day and age know how to read music.]

If I could teach Kerry, my old bandmate, then I probably could teach kids.

[photosympathies]

( Ah, Vash already thinks he's getting the measure of this man. Hard not to, when he knows that specific brand of gruff prickliness. There's bound to be a good heart underneath it all. )

You could start small, if teaching's your gig. I could help? Maybe. I know a little piano, and even though I'm rusty I don't think I've forgotten too much. Are the ways of reading for both the same?

( Even if he's avoided the piano for an entire century! If it's for the kids then he'd do it. Thankfully the bartender brings their drinks over at that moment, and Vash reaches Johnny's out to him with a grin. ) Oh, your umbrella's purple. Nice. That's a good colour.

[rebelsamurai]

It's sort of the same. [He mumbles while idly tapping his fingers against the bar counter.] Playing the piano is obviously not the same as playing the guitar, but reading music is a skill that all musicians should be familiar with.

But, if you are as rusty as you claim, maybe we should practice together first.

[Johnny believes he is an enigma. He is not aware that people can read him like a freaking book. This guy always thinks he's ahead of the game, but he's really three steps behind.]

It's in your best interest to help, especially if you're going to dump a whole bunch of little brats at my feet. [He grumbles under his breath as he reaches for his drink. Oh, nova! It does have a little purple umbrella. Johnny stares at it for a moment with a little smirk curling on his lips. Isn't this his favorite color? He isn't sure.

Did he ever have a favorite color? His smirk slowly fades. He doesn't know.]

I think I like red more. [He comments before taking a quick taste. Whoo, this is cold! Much colder than he remembers. How the hell did he used to eat shaved ice all the time as a kid? Johnny chuckles quietly to himself.]

Not bad.

[photosympathies]

I think I should pick up a different instrument. The piano's kind of my brother's thing.

( And hearing it still strikes him with a kind of heartache-terror that even months of being here haven't shaken him free of. Maybe if it means hanging out with cool people he might consider it again. )

The triangle! Or a tambourine! Those are pretty fun, right? Who doesn't like a bit of a jingly sound in their music? Percussion, yeah? ( And then he mimes hitting a triangle himself, playful.

Johnny says he prefers red also makes Vash brighten a little. ) Hey, me too! Like a geranium. Also, the kids are really well behaved, I promise. I'm always on hand to help them when they need an extra soothing tone, because you know, life hasn't been too easy for them. We took a bunch of them from a super weird village in Transylvania and they've had to adjust to a lot of things here. Maybe they just need a new outlet.

[rebelsamurai]

You have a brother? [Johnny asks with a hint of surprise in his tone.] I guess that makes sense; you do give off the "lil bro" vibes.

[He teases before sampling a small amount of the shaved ice. While he feels stupid for eating it, Johnny cannot deny that it tastes good. It has like a slight fruity strawberry flavoring to it thanks to the syrup they use. He eats another scoop of it before speaking again.]

Kerry used to like messing with tambourines sometimes. [He muses aloud with a hint of fondness in his tone.] They sound good in the background, especially when you have someone playing guitar.

The two of us used to hit up the clubs in Night City like that, that is, until Kerry started playing more on his guitar.

[Nostalgia aside, Johnny misses Kerry. Hell, he misses everyone, including Denny and Henry despite their toxic romance. Samurai was a great band, arguably one of the best to emerge from Night City. He misses the good old days when they hung out in a flat in Watson, making music while utterly high. They were the closest thing he had to family for quite some time.]

The kids are from Transylvania? [He blinks his eyes in surprise.] Like the vampire place? I think that was supposed to be filled with vampires.

[photosympathies]

Eh! Why does no one think I'm the older one. ( Faux outraged, sniffing. ) But ah, we're twins. He's maybe a little older. Rem said not by much. He just likes to pretend to be much older because it gives him another reason to be high and mighty.

( Not that he needs many considering how unhinged he is, but Vash doesn't really want to talk about that. So focusing on Johnny it is. )

Kerry's a friend, right? You must miss them! But you never know, people turn up here all the time. Maybe your band will. And then you could hold concerts here, that'd be really cool.

( He chokes a little at vampire place, almost guilty. ) No! Well, yeah. There were vampires. But the kids are all fine. LILITH checked everyone out. It was mostly the adults that were hit, and I think it wasn't really vampirism and more like an infection? But I'm not sure. You don't have to worry about any biting.

( ... )

Some biting. But kid biting. Not vampire biting.

[rebelsamurai]

Sorry. [Johnny comments with a hint of sarcasm while munching away on his icy treat.] I don't write the rules, man, but the "lil bros" are always the cheerful and outgoing types.

[Whether there is a few seconds difference, Vash is clearly the little bro in this situation. However, he wonders what Vash's slightly older brother is like. As for Johnny here, he's the moody only child. He doesn't have any siblings and that kinda sucks.]

Yeah, he...sorta is. [He awkwardly clears his throat a little.] He used to help perform the vocals with me on stage, while Nance was the keyboardist and band marketer. Than you had Denny and Henry, our problem couple.

Denny was the drummer, and Henry was our bassist.

[The more he talks about his former band, the more he misses them. While he could see them again via V's eyes, it was very different--almost surreal. Johnny is supposed to be dead, after all. He died, and the gang continued living without him.]

Yeah, well...I doubt Ker and them could handle fighting kaiju. [He mutters while toying with the little purple umbrella in his drink.] They would just get themselves killed.

[A sigh escapes Johnny as he rests his chin within his hand, obviously thinking about something. All that time he spent trying to get out of V's body, and now he finds himself missing his meat suit of a friend. It kind of sucks.]

A vampiric infection, huh? [He glances at Vash again with interest.]

Weird shit. I'm glad the kids are okay but I'm assuming weird stuff happens all the time here.

[photosympathies]

( He can tell that Johnny's a little uncomfortable, and Vash isn't really one to push. But also LILITH makes some wild decisions so there's no saying they wouldn't, which means he offers a tentative but cheerful assuaging of concerns. ) Even so! If they do you should let me know. I'm good at keeping people safe.

( Is he? Signs usually point to no, but he's been a little more lucky here. No catastrophic fall out all on his shoulders, nothing he can be blamed for. Maybe he's getting a little more confident in himself. )

Oh, for sure. Weird stuff is pretty much the baseline. I guess when you're fighting rift-infected monsters that's gotta be the way things are, right? But at least most people here are helpful, so you won't be on your own in any craziness!

[rebelsamurai]

['Good at keeping people safe?' That wins an eyebrow raise from Johnny. Vash seems like a nice guy and all, but he doesn't seem like a merc or anything to him. Hell, how could he be? This guy lacks the stench associated with those kinds of people, that stench being blood.]

Forgive me for askin', but how many battles have you seen since arriving here? Cause I gotta admit, you seem a little wet behind the ears.

[Johnny's curiosity is poorly hidden behind his sardonic humor. He's quite aware he's technically "the new guy" here, but he has some mercenary work under his belt. After all, it was him who took down the Arasaka Tower even if it wasn't a solo act.]

I used to roll with a team before and it was more of a headache than anything else. {He grumbles, carelessly chewing another scoop of shaved ice.] But I wouldn't have it any other way.

[photosympathies]

( Immediate laughter, not quite sheepish but bordering. )

Me? Nah, I do okay. I just look a little scrawny, that's all. ( Lean by the way of the always moving, all long-limbs because he has to squirm his way out of trouble. ) I've had a lot of practice. Where I'm from is kind of wild, so actually I'm getting into less fights here than I was in No Man's Land. The Kaiju are mostly considerate. Much more than any bounty hunter, ha!

( Don't worry, Johnny. The big coat hides all the fucked up evidence of a life hard fought. )

Yeah? Oh! Which team did LILITH put you in?