[log] now, the party don't start 'til I walk in

[writetheway]

Who: Akechi, Mercy, Ren, Monika, with the second prompt OPEN MINGLE to anyone who wants to hang out at a club with Monika and co. for Monika's birthday (or just hang out at a club adjacent to Monika's birthday)
When: September 22--Monika's birthday
Where: shopping, then a club that accepts older teens (with wristbands if you're under drinking age)
Summary: It's Monika's birthday, and the decision has been made to go out and party. First, apartment A1 (including Honorary Roommate Ren) goes shopping to prep for said partying, and then they and anyone else who wants to tag along go to the club. Also, Akechi is one of the people going to this club, which will probably be funny.
Warnings: nothing major expected; potential for teen alcohol use; if anything happens in a thread just put warnings in the subject line please!

A. tryin' on all our clothes, clothes [CLOSED to Apartment A1 + Ren]
[If they're all going out for Monika's birthday, it's important to have the right style. It wouldn't be fair to call Mercy's outfits old-fashioned when it's not exactly her fault she got shot forward centuries in time, but now that Mercy is here, Monika is going to make sure she fits right in at the club. Also, it wouldn't hurt to pick out a cute new outfit for herself. The area of town she suggests isn't too expensive, but it's got some good clothing stores.]

Okay everyone! Priority number one is getting a great outfit for Mercy, but if you find something you like, you should grab it. [Treat yourself, this is going to be fun!]

B. DJ, blow my speakers up [OPEN MINGLE-STYLE; threadjacking encouraged!]
[It's the kind of club that accepts teens over sixteen but changes to 21 and up after a certain hour of the night. That makes it a more popular spot than some teen clubs might otherwise be, and the atmosphere is already electric by the time it's dark. The music thumps a bass you can feel in your chest and the dance floor is crowded, but not enough that you can't find a place to squeeze in if you want. If you're under 21, you have to wear a glow-in-the-dark wristband, but there's plenty of non-alcoholic beverages to try out. And of course, if you have a convincing fake ID, your options are a lot more open (just don't let Monika know!). The lights are a multicolored show of their own keeping time to the music, though the flashing is kept to a minimum.

If you're looking for a break or just want to sit and eat, there are booth tables available--small ones for more intimate moments and larger ones for big groups. Monika's picked one of the large ones as her Designated Birthday Table, if you're looking for her, but there's free ones all over the place if you want to have time to yourself! The food here's pretty good, too.]

Comments

A1 APARTMENT (CLOSED)

[forethinking]

(Ren too is here for Mercy's aid, and honestly, he could find something nicer to wear. The outfit he came in is absolutely fitting for clubbing, but something newer, nicer, would definitely be welcome. He's sorting through a pile of possible outfits, humming and tapping on the shelf as he picks one or the other.

Help the poor boy.)

[simulatio]

[Akechi, on the other hand, is already carrying a bag of his own. It seems he did his research online, came into the store with a single-minded determination, and made his purchases while everyone else was milling about browsing.]

You know, [he remarks conversationally, crossing his arms and bringing one hand to his chin as he surveys Ren's discarded pile of clothing,] I have the feeling that I'd be better suited to picking an outfit for you than you would be for me.

[There's a hint of a smile to his lips, barely a smirk, as he references a long-ago conversation about dressing up like each other. Coordinating everything from hair to accessories, or something like that.]

Where are the girls?

[forethinking]

I'm not sure.

(He's very... Conservative?Considering the vests, and the slacks, and the sweaters, and--

Ren's much more fashionable, he'd like to say, but he does remember the conversation and it brings a smile to his face, a sparkle to his eye. That was a fun day, even if it had been interrupted. In his hands, there is a leather jacket, spikes and all, and Ren offers it to the boy to try on.)

ren amamiya | persona 5 | threadjacking to all prompts ok!

[forethinking]

𝐈. 𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

(Ren is here, naturally. You might just have to look at him twice, without his glasses and his curls out of his face, just piercing gray eyes and smiles that won't be watered down tonight! He also is in a different outfit, too, so thank you, A1.

He can be found most of the time on the dancefloor, he's not a bad dancer at all, but also, not a fantastic one, either. If he knows you, he might just grab you to come join him. It's fun!)

𝐈𝐈. 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐓

(Listen. Dancing so much, with how busy Ren's day was? Of course that at the moment that he sits down, he's going to vacuum food. He's got a hamburger and way, just way too many fries for a skinny man such as himself, but listen!!

Good thing is that he's a very nice person.)

Eat as many as you'd like.

(You can make more money and buy more fries, but you can't make moments again, right?)

🃏. 𝐉𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃

(Y'all, I'm game. Feel free to just throw anything, anything at all my way, or if you'd like to discuss, I'm at newmeatjb!)

Monika | threadjack away!

[writetheway]

[Monika's attending her birthday clubbing party adventure in a white dress with an emerald green shrug, and she is very excited to be here.]

A; shut up and dance with me
[Monika isn't a professional dancer or anything, but she's athletic and energetic and she knows how to move to a beat, so she's content to spend a lot of time on the dance floor. Not alone, though--going out is for spending time with friends (and looking at cute people, just in general). So, spotting someone she recognizes, Monika is quick to wave them over.]

Come on and dance! That's what a club's for, right?

B; music makes the people come together
[Of course, Monika can't dance the entire time. She can also be found holding court over her party at a large booth. It's only holding court because at some point she acquired a crown that she seems pretty delighted to wear for the remainder of this outing. She's taste-testing a fruity, virgin cocktail and eating some sweet potato fries, gesturing at anyone who looks like they need a break to sit down with her.]

Are you having fun? There's more food if you want some. [She'll share her fries, yes, but there's also various vegetarian snacks at the table if anyone wants to pick out something.] I've never had a party like this before, it's so exciting!

[It makes her feel... Important.]

Re: Monika | threadjack away!

[forethinking]

Never?

(Ren's just experiencing the Club Munchies, eating like a hamster would from his bucket of fries, God, he's starved.

He's looking for that strand of hair that he tends to curl around his finger, now that he's got no hair on his face.)

[writetheway]

Nope. There weren't really any clubs like this nearby, and I didn't have a car. [More like her world wasn't particularly well-designed outside of the few places she and her friends went regularly, but it amounts to the same thing. Watching Ren work his way through his fries like he's putting them into a wood chipper, Monika pushes over some of her own.] It's really fun.

[forethinking]

Where did you say you were from?

(Although, to be fair, he doesn't think there's such a thing in his hometown, either.

He's quick to push them back, though! No need, he's got a lot, in fact, he's offering his own.)

Let's make a pile of fries.

threadjack!

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Big mistake, because Aelwyn's taken the opportunity to swing by and steal two or three of Ren's chips for herself. Yes, chips and not fries because she's british and not an animal.

She just takes a seat at the table next to Monika.] Good evening. How's the birthday girl doing? [She shoots Monika a wink. Nevermind the fact that it's also her birthday. She hates her birthday.]

B

[rearranger]

[ He hesitates for a moment, but Ranger takes a seat across from Monika. It's still odd to come to places like this. After all, even if he had all of the ncessary data to navigate the outside world, his entire life was spent in just one facility. He's adapting quickly, as an AI should, but it's still just... odd. ]

Hmm, I probably shouldn't. No stomach, y'see.

[ Granted, he has all the mechanisms to process food anyway... But no need to risk gumming up the system. He blinks, a little surprised. ]

Huh. You not have any friends before or something?

[ Rio you can't just ask somebody that. ]

[writetheway]

[No stomach? He looks human, but Monika knows by now that anyone who doesn't has some sort of illusion or something put over them when they're outside of the ADI. Well, if he doesn't want any food, that's fine.] I had friends! We just never went anywhere like this before for a birthday. [She wonders how they would have liked it. Well, Yuri definitely wouldn't have, but Sayori probably would have had fun. Natsuki could go either way depending on her mood. ...She probably shouldn't be thinking about this right now.]

[rearranger]

Hmm. First time for everything, I guess. Can't say I've ever been to a place like this either.

[ Well... He supposes he technically has, ASUNARO had a little bit of everything in their facility. But it wasn't the same. ]

How old are ya now?

B

[graveyounglady]

I never been to a party like this.

[Mercy's fanning herself as she sits down in the booth next to Monika.]

I thought the warriors were loud when they were doing their drumming and chanting, but that's all outside. How are you doing, Your Highness?

[Queen Monika for the evening, right?]

A

[simulatio]

[Akechi's a little self-conscious in the outfit he'd purchased for himself, but no one would ever know it with the way he projects absolute confidence. Moving through a crowd is easy enough, at least: not unlike navigating one of Shido's fucking wine-and-dine "benefits," except without as much pressure to look his best. The music is starting to give him a headache, and not for the first time tonight, he's wishing they'd opted to keep looking for something like a jazz bar instead of, well, this.

But other than Ren, Monika is the closest thing that passes for a friend in this entire city, and if she wants to give herself a migraine, it's lesson worth learning. It's because it's Monika beckoning for him that he sighs, adjusts one of his gloves, and dodges someone's elbow to reach hers.]

And here I thought a club was just for getting a headache, [he calls over the music, trying to hide the sourness behind a smile, making it sound like a joke.] Are you having fun?

[He is, notably, not dancing.]

cw for underage drinking (in america anyway) and smoking

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn arrives basically right on time, wearing leather black pants and a black crop top. It's her birthday, so she decides to disgrace her family name even further worlds and universes apart.]

I.

[She'll be a bit louder than usual, but she can be spotted dancing on the floor and if she recognizes you she might even invite you to come dance with her with a beckoning hand gesture and a bright grin.]

II.

She can also be spotted with a big basket of fries, seated at the birthday table, and seems to be experiencing new emotions.] I was fucking robbed these are incredible.

[She's drinking alcohol too, specifically what looks like raspberry lemonade mixed with vodka. Because she's long since gotten herself set up with a fake ID. Come talk to her.]

III.

[She can also be spotted taking a quiet moment outside, a cigarette in her mouth. She was humming a song that sounds suspicious like "Happy Birthday" but in Elvish.

She seems to be having trouble with the lighter because well, normally she wouldn't bother she can just snap her fingers and it's lit. When she notices she's not alone she'll turn and look at whoever's there.] Don't suppose you have a lighter? Or a matchbox? I'll take anything at this point. [Her energy here is considerably more chill than it is indoors.]

III

[worthallthis]

[Somebody has not actually managed to get inside. He is, instead, lurking around the outside-- in the lower half of his mask, in several layers of dark-colored shirts, looking actually pretty much like a creeper-- kind of waiting for Monika to come out so he can at least see her. He's asked around about what a "birthday party" is for, so he knows why she's here. He just. Can't make himself go in.

But that does mean he's around to get spotted by Aelwyn, and he does in fact happen to have a lighter. He fishes it out, flicks it open, and sparks a flame, holding it out for her.]

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Oh. Hello terrifying cyborg man. Thank you for the light. She makes use of it, sparking the cigarette alight. She takes a drag of it before she speaks up.]

Thanks. I don't think we've spoken.

Here for the party?

[worthallthis]

[He hitches a shoulder, not a yes and not a no, then flips the lighter closed and tucks it back into a pocket.]

It's too loud inside. Too many people.

[graveyounglady]

[The dress they had eventually settled on seemed... very short on the fabric, but Mercy had liked the sleeves and the colors on it. Some part of her laments that her usual dress won't suit for this, but trying to sew a dress fast enough for Monika's birthday would have let to something shoddy, and she wants to look nice. She can spare a little money for something more modern. So, Mercy is at the club in a brilliant blue dress made of some sort of delightfully billowy material.

The wristband that glows is an absolute delight, and she spends a little while just running around with it, a little overwhelmed by the volume and the lights, but excited, nonetheless. This is a party! Should there be games? It seems like there should be some games, but mostly people seem to be dancing.

If she sees someone who looks even vaguely familiar, she'll reach out a hand for them.]

Dance with me! I don't know how.

[Not really, anyway. Not in the modern ways.]

[simulatio]

Oh?

[Now, if it were anyone other than Monika or Mercy, Akechi would have laughed politely and dismissed the offer to dance outright. Dancing... isn't really his thing. Hell, clubbing isn't really his thing. He'd much rather be sitting with a cocktail in a jazz bar with live music, somewhere he feels comfortable enough to just close his eyes and soak it all in.

But for Mercy, he'll offer a gloved hand with a bow, comically formal in contrast to his casual outfit, and confide,] Neither do I. Shall we attempt to learn together?

[graveyounglady]

[He does look... hmm... Mercy had been admiring his muscles that time when he'd helped her during one of her nightmares. Seeing it here when she's happy and excited, rather than in disarray is certainly preferred. Maybe this will even be a chance to impress him with some of what she does know with dancing, even if it isn't the modern sort.]

I'd like that more than you can imagine, Akechi.

[She curtsies, in turn.]

If we had a ribbon, I think I'd know what we could do. Ribbon dancing and ties is popular during the Summer Season-Turning Festival.

[simulatio]

Ribbon dancing?

[He hums quietly, and can't quite hide the way his eyes are sparkling with a sudden interest. He's well aware that it's not how literally anyone dances at a club, at all, but it reminds him of pictures he'd seen late at night searching online for information about Robin Hood. Some kind of medieval European festival where they'd dance around poles carrying ribbons? Perhaps that's something different, but even now, there's still a childish part of him that perks up at the idea of doing something even tangentially related to someone he used to consider a hero.

Not to mention that even though they'll likely look like idiots, he can pass it off as being kind to an eccentric friend and come out looking like a better person for it.]

Well, I'm sure Monika won't mind if we repurpose some of her streamers, no? As long as you dance with her as well, that is. We can tie a few together if they're not long enough.

[He tilts his head back toward the decorations Ren had bought for Monika and gives Mercy the same kind of smile-and-mischievous-wink he'd used to give the TV cameras.]

[aelwyn_aberration]

[She looks at Mercy, at her dress and she lights up with a smile. It's not the first time she's thought to herself that Mercy is pretty, but even still...]

Dear, you look amazing in that dress. [She takes her hand with a grin.] I'd would love to dance.

[graveyounglady]

Monika, Ren, and Akechi helped me pick it out!

[She counts herself lucky to have such wonderful (and modern, apparently) roommates. Or... apartmentmates. Sort of where Ren is concerned. He really might as well just move in, though. He's over often enough.]

I never seen something so blue! You only get this color for the fanciest folk where I'm from. Makes me feel like a high priestess. [Maybe not the cut but the shade.] You look pretty as ever. Don't reckon you could look bad if you tried, though.

[As she's speaking, she's tugging Aelwyn toward the dance floor.]

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn's smile widens. God, Mercy is so much unlike anyone that Aelwyn has ever been close to or really has ever known in general. It's a unique sort of feeling, watching her get so excited about things Aelwyn's long since lost any care for.] Well, I suppose you're one of us fancy ladies now. You certainly wear it well, your ladyship.

[She just grins in response to Mercy's own compliment.] You are too sweet, my dear. Though, honestly, I could say the same of you.

[She follows along and bounces slightly to the beat as the song ends and there's a slight dip in energy and the next song comes on.] Ready to start making it up as we go?