Lux Opening [OPEN]

[apostatises]

Who: YOU. This is an OPEN log, heck yeah.
What: Lux's Grand Opening
When: Day 69, all night
Where: Lux, in the Baldr District
Rating: PG-13 to be safe—If the rating goes up in a thread, please let me know!

Welcome to Lux —

It's been under construction for about a month, and anyone in the Baldr district (or who just liked to wander) surely would have noticed the bar's construction. It was only a few days ago that the sign was finally put up—Lux.

Maybe you saw the owner's post on the network and decided to come see. Or maybe you were just walking past and was curious about the crowd of people who had gathered. Regardless, you'll be welcomed into a ritzy bar and lounge. There are some locals mingling about, and jazz is drifting through the air, since the owner is currently playing.

Should you decide to stay, you'll find that the drinks and food are very generously half price for grand opening. Or, if that's not to your taste, then surely the music and crowd will make up for it.

Welcome to Lux, the bar owned by the Devil himself.

quick jump to threads

outside lux ☄ around the bar ☄ general mingling ☄ by the stage ☄ speak with the owner

Comments

[madamemoiselle]

...Never?

[She looks surprised!]

You've never kissed anyone?

UKEY ICON....

[uglyinside]

[ ... Silence. Still looking away. ] We should get going.

[madamemoiselle]

[Diva looks down, smiling warmly. She wasn't really sure why, but that felt comforting, somehow. She's tempted to kiss him then, but, no, it's still in the bathroom and that's just weird. She'll at least wait until they leave.]

Of course. You're working really hard tonight, after all.

[uglyinside]

I must thank you for coming. Also, please remember to pace yourself tonight. [ He holds the door open for her, eying her almost carefully. ]

[madamemoiselle]

Ugh...

[The groan is genuine, since she can just recall her first hangover so easily]

I will, I promise! I just didn't even know the first time... At least now I do...

[Diva sighs, taking a few steps in front of him, but turns on her heel while they're still in the bathroom corridor to face him again.]

Hey, Johan?

[uglyinside]

Yes? [ He folds his hands behind his back, smiling expectantly. ]

[madamemoiselle]

[It's predictable, but she doesn't care. Diva trots closer, standing on her toes so that she can put her hands on his shoulders and lean up to kiss his cheek. It would have been satisfying to actually kiss him, but... She wants him to do it. She can wait, for him.

While she's there, though, she whispers very softly into his ear.]

I love you, Johan.

[But she draws away quickly, almost like she's running away from him. There's a moment where her eyes stay locked with his, showing the sincerity of those words, but it's only a moment. Diva turns her back on him, off to go greet Nina like he asked.]

[uglyinside]

[ But she didn't, he thinks almost condescendingly, as he makes no move to be anything but acquiescent and receptive to the kiss. She lied to herself in her own ways, and besides

how could she recognize what she had never had?

He was always playing with fire. Always walking along ledges and staring straight down the barrels of firearms. Do your worst, he'd think. And a part of him had desperately wanted to see her worst, after she had been broken irrevocably in regards to her illusions about him.

A presence here had changed that in ways that he was fighting against, and so he's utterly quiet as she leaves. ]

You won't. [ He says to himself like a crazy fuck once she's gone...... ]

skips thru time

[madamemoiselle]

[And come closing time, Diva is the last one there, naturally. She had the idea when she arrived at Lux to stay until closing anyways, partially to keep an eye on Johan. Which had been a failed effort the more wine she had drunk, though at least it was less than her outing with Kaz.

At least at some point she'd moved away from the bar and over to one of the tables, though she has her head set on it and is probably like halfway-asleep...

Also Lucifer told Johan to "take care of it." Those were his words exactly, yes. I play both of them, I can cheat ok]

[uglyinside]

[ Johan approaches Diva, his hand wrapped up and properly cleaned (he was not going to ask Jacob for a 3rd time to heal him...he has some dignity over these things), which he keeps at his side as his uninjured one rests at Diva's shoulder. ]

It's been a long night. Hasn't it?

[madamemoiselle]

[She immediately sits up at the touch (though she also immediately regrets the action because of how it makes her vision spin), and her eyelashes flutter as her eyes focus on Johan. Of course, she's all smiles and cheer!]

It has! But it was fun, right? Ah, did you enjoy it too, Johan?

[She knows better to ask if he had fun, even if she's drunk. As if Johan can have fun.]

I hope it's not a problem that I waited for you.

[uglyinside]

I was certainly kept busy. [ He blinks almost concernedly at her state, but it's Diva. She can handle anything, pretty much.

Still, he holds his hand out for her to take. ]

It isn't. But I wonder if you're quite all right to get yourself home?

[madamemoiselle]

[All things considered, she'll take "almost."

Diva takes his hand gingerly, standing very carefully, but shakes her head slightly.]

Ah, probably not, honestly! I probably drank too much again...

[She sounds concerned at this for about two seconds, then brightens again with a warm laugh] Oh, but it's not as much as I had with Kaz, at least! I drank a whole bottle of red by myself... That was a bad idea, I guess.

[uglyinside]

Have you been resting for some time, now? [ He glances at the clock, then back at her. AKA have you sobered up any. ] Do you take water?

[madamemoiselle]

For a little while... An hour or two maybe? I was feeling sleepy, so I just set my head down for a little bit.

[She looks at the clock as well, but... just keeps talking without pausing.]

It's funny though, because I was dreaming about going to sleep. I was dreaming that a year passed here, and I was going to have to go to sleep. I wonder if it would happen at all... [A thoughtful look, then it's back to Johan] Oh, but should I drink water?

[CLUELESS...]

[uglyinside]

It usually can help, though I'm not quite sure with your biology. [ He just... ignores her dream at first, because he's not sure what she means by it, but he's also crazy and dreams about going to sleep and waking up within his dreams all of the time...

actually that is all he dreams about ever. But he's sure it's some vague allusion to something she's experienced before. Eventually, he decides asking her about it would make for good conversational fodder as he turns to get her a glass of water. ]

Tell me what you mean. [ A pause between words as he puts some ice in a cup! ] About going to sleep.

[madamemoiselle]

Well, I guess we'll see.

[She is so cheerful about the prospect, at least! But as he fixes her some water, she is just as happy to explain what amounts to her really stupid biology]

Ahh, I guess I haven't mentioned that, have I? Well, it's kind of a secret, so I don't talk about it usually. But Chiropterans, we have dormant and active periods, or that's what Amshel calls them. Ah, but it's only Saya and I, our Chevalier don't have to worry about it. Lucky... We have three years where we're awake, but then we have to go to sleep for thirty years.

[uglyinside]

[ ...He tries to comprehend the biology of that, and how much Diva should have to eat in order to maintain sleep for thirty years, and thinks about her cellular state and how it could manage staying asleep for so long if she hadn't stocked up on food to last that long, and --

he just hands her the water. ]

A thirty year sleep. That seems like it would make you value your time awake a lot more, doesn't it?

[madamemoiselle]

[It's for the best, Johan. Because even if Diva had the answers, she wouldn't give them to you in a remotely useful way. She takes the water and sips at it carefully, the cheer dissipating somewhat]

Ah... Yes, that's right. And it's a pain too because I never really catch up. Just when I learn everything about a new era, it's time to back to sleep, it seems like...

[She sighs rather dramatically]

But I hope that doesn't happen here! I mean, without my Chevalier... Well, that Carl, he's a weird case, but without my Chevalier, I might not have to. That was Amshel's theory, at least. Because when I was in the tower, I didn't sleep then, but I didn't have any Chevalier. Saya and I started to sleep after we made them. So maybe if I don't have any, I can stay awake.

[She looks thoughtful at the prospect, almost wistful, but immediately brightens again]

Well, I guess it doesn't matter! I haven't been getting sleepier or anything, so it's not something to worry about now!

[uglyinside]

Thirty years... [ He repeats to himself, sounding intrigued. Though her biology baffled him, it was still always surreal to be face to face with a real monster like this. Quiet for a moment, he wonders if he should engage this side of her feelings for him, before continuing as he slips an arm around her waist. ]

I never planned on living to that age. How strange that is. I'd miss your presence, and you? Would wake up [ He begins attempting to help her out up fully ] and I'd be old or dead. And you'd live on.

[madamemoiselle]

Aww, Johan, why did you have to bring up something so depressing?

[There's still a playful tilt to her tone because of her state of intoxication, but the question does make her heart sink. It was another thing that she didn't like to think about, and as if reminded of the impermanence of his existence compared to hers, she leans against him a bit more heavily than she really needs. One hand holds the water, but the other settles over his, linking their fingers together. The playful cheer is pretty much gone when she speaks again.]

That's one reason why Amshel didn't let me make friends with humans. He said it would be too sad, because even if they could care for me, I couldn't stay with them. They'd grow old and die, but I'll be young and live forever.

[Her brow furrows, and her tone sounds more childish in its demanding] That's why you should become my Chevalier. Then it wouldn't matter.

[uglyinside]

[ He simply gives an apologetic smile as she speaks, supporting her more fully now. He wishes this could be easier on the both of them and he could just take her up to the VIP lounge, but he's well aware Lucifer would disapprove. So, instead, he begins to make his way towards the door with her, but very slowly.

Her Chevalier. She spoke of them so often, though Johan couldn't say he envied their existence. To live forever was a nightmare to him. He wanted it to have an end, and soon. He gives an intrigued look at that, though, feigning consideration. ]

You'd want that?

[madamemoiselle]

Not really.

[She pauses for a moment, both to take a sip of the water and to concentrate more fully on walking. It's definitely not as bad as when Kaz had walked her home, but the fact that it's Johan having to do it makes her feel a twinge of regret. But really, only a twinge, because the pleasure she got from the doting overpowered it easily.]

Because if I made you my Chevalier, I'd get bored of you. And I definitely couldn't... [There's a pause, because she realizes before she's said it that there's an apparent contradiction. But she continues, hoping he doesn't notice or ask for an explanation.] ...I couldn't accept your love anyways. Because being a Chevalier means that you have to love me. You wouldn't have a choice.

[She chuckles a little, wondering what her Chevalier would say to hear that she cared at all whether they had a choice in the matter. But they weren't the same as Johan either. For the first time in her life, Diva wonders briefly, if Hagi and Saya's relationship changed when he became a Chevalier, if Saya couldn't love him in the same way anymore, but she doesn't dwell on it long. She doesn't care enough to.]

I don't want that. But I don't want to leave you, either. But that's the way things have to be, since I can't become like you, but you can become like me.

[uglyinside]

[ He listens with a cold, analytical smile, that fades off into a tug at his lips and squinting of his eyes, giving off a far greater warmth. It was simply a wish -- something that she wanted in an ideal sense, but knew reality wouldn't match up well to it. He understood that all too well. ]

When you said that I'd have no choice but to love you, does that mean you have a choice in loving me?

[madamemoiselle]

[Diva hugs his arm a little more tightly, laughing a little]

I do wonder about that, sometimes! I don't think I could stop loving you if I wanted to. Not that I do, of course. But what I meant was that it's a part of my Chevalier's biology to be drawn to me, you know? It changes them.

[She makes a thoughtful noise, like she's considering whether to tell him or not, but of course, she does.] Like Alexei, he was just my brother, but when he became my Chevalier, then he wanted me to be his empress instead. I still don't know if I like that change, but I have to accept it.