citynet | video; @The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King;

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video; @The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King;

[ In media res: there's a video feed sharpening into focus, blobs of silver and pink and purple neon resolving into a staircase leading down to a metal door gleaming clean under the artificial lighting around it. Midnight's standing at the door, looking up at the camera and the person filming with his phone, grinning one of his worryingly unhinged grins. ]

How is it, Kaveh? I'd ask you for my best angle, if I had any bad angles.

[ This conversation does... persist... but as the video continues, it becomes perfectly clear that this terribly disorganized promotion is for a bar of some sort. Midnight makes it clear later when he reclaims the camera, hops onto the bar, and aligns himself in the frame in a way that lights both his face and the sign behind him, a rose-lit confection announcing the name of the bar: Seventh Hell Host Club. ]

That's where we are. Do you see that? My name is Midnight, and this is my host club, Seventh Hell. We're near the southernmost station on Line 1. Kaveh and I have been working terribly hard on this establishment, and all of you have his genius and design sense to thank for this momentous occasion. Please do thank him personally. Make a great fuss about it. Remind him that sleep is a temporary state that he should indulge in more often, preferably with me. Thank you.

[ Kaveh is definitely taking the phone at this point, but later on, Midnight will retrieve it and add a postscript. He is sitting in some sort of underground greenhouse this time, surrounded by mist, glass, flowers, and the glow of sun-tinted halogen lights. Regardless of the promo quality, the greenhouse itself is certainly an impressive feat of engineering. ]

Yes, this is one of several themed rooms here at Seventh Hell. You — yes, you — are personally invited to see it. When? Well, whenever you like, so long as the doors are open, but on the 31st of this month... Ahem.

[ He clears his throat, grins. ]

For the turn of the year, you are cordially invited to Seventh Hell's Grand Opening and New Year's Eve joint celebration. Or something like that, I'll come up with a grander name if necessary. There will be drinks, music, a tour of the premises, games, untold bliss, fantasies, beautiful women, beautiful men, myself among them, possibly fireworks if Kaveh can be convinced that I won't set the place ablaze... You won't want to miss out, I promise.

The doors will open at 6 pm, but come by anytime before then, from now until the New Year, if you'd like to enjoy the premises in relative solitude. Send a message to this account if you'd like to be assured of a bartender, or a friendly face to speak to. If I can't come personally, a host or hostess will be there, ready to welcome you to a night of merriment and pleasant conversation.

So, until then... Seventh Hell awaits you.

[ A wink, and the feed shuts off. ]

[ ooc: Along with normal network replies, current host club employees and staff are welcome and encouraged to reply to this post as though Midnight's included them in an impromptu promotion for the club! You can also use this post for post-promo, off camera conversations with him or anyone else in the host club. Go stupid, go wild, go crazy, threadjack, steal his phone and flush it down a toilet. Honestly, the sky is the limit. ]

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Oh, you're doing well. I was just hesitant to assume that you were aware of it yourself.

[ Midnight grins. ]

Let me rephrase that, then: Do you think it's helping?

Uh. Let me think.

[He Thinks. Credit him this: he's putting in the effort to self-reflect.]

I don't know. It's not as bad as sitting in my apartment for weeks, sure. I'll let you know about the long term once I get there.

Mmm. Far be it for me to judge, but I dislike the idea of you isolating yourself anywhere for that long.

[ ... A bit of a pointed look. ]

How often would you like to come to work per week?

[ Read: How many days of the week is Midnight allowed to keep Junpei accountable for this commitment? ]

Is this like, anti-house arrest...? Community service, but it's for me?

[That's also therapy, but he doesn't think of that yet. He passes over this wet shaker.]

Not every day. I've gotta be honest, I'm not really used to people giving a shit what I do with my time, so... You pick.

[ Midnight accepts the shaker, wipes it, and stacks it neatly in a low shelf on the counter. It seems like he already has a plan for every accoutrement they have available... He's rather orderly, when it comes down to it. ]

Well, given that you've just expressed your isolation in terms of weeks... I would like to remind you that you are welcome and valued regardless of how much time you spend here, but let's say that I'd like to see your face at least once a week. I want to work up from there, but that's my expectation of you. Can you stick with that?

Yeah, I kind of didn't go out except to get food for... a month, maybe? Trust me, I know it's not good, it just—happened.

[Hmm hmm, he'll start washing the next thing. Once a week gives him six other days to stare at the walls-- no, no, he's not going to do that.

But just in case:]

I think I could do two.

Then it's two. Pick two days, or I'll choose Thursday and Saturday for you. Would you like me to come by your place if you miss a night without notice, or shall I call?

[ ... Look, he's not planning to babysit Junpei, but he does experience some social anxiety, so he does understand the need to cover his bases. ]

Those days are fine... And you can come bang on my door if you want. If I'm not coming in for no good reason, I'm probably not going to pick up the phone.

[He can be honest about that! But it's still kind of embarrassing, so,] Thanks, uh, for looking out. You're really non-stop, huh?

Well, what's there to wait for? Or rather, what better time is there than now?

[ Midnight laughs, takes a moment to stretch his neck, shoulders, and arms, then continues assigning homes for tools and cutlery. ]

I don't like waiting. There's glory in my future, of course, but I do need to work to get there. Best to spend my energy doing what I like while I still have it, hmm?

[ Well... that's a pretty peppy thing for a gothy looking dude like him to say, but to be fair, he's nearly 40, so it's probably a good realization to have before a midlife crisis takes him. ]

Sure, but you've got to admit, most people aren't like that. It's a compliment.

[Here, take this juicer, freshly cleaned.]

Honestly, I'm a little jealous. You have any advice?

Quite right. I am a very special kind of person.

[ Midnight looks Junpei dead in the eye when he says this, juicer in hand, then erupts in laughter. God, he is a gift. ]

Healthy fear of death, I'd say. Or an unhealthy fear of death, whatever gets you out of bed first.

[ He raises an eyebrow, twists the juicer to check for shiny spots, then puts it away, reaching for a damp grater next. ]

The family friendly answer, of course, is finding something you like about yourself, but realistically, it's been a combination of both for me.

[Pff-- ffff okay, Junpei also laughs at this. Stop looking at him like that, jeez. World's first Junpei laugh... well, world's first in a couple weeks, maybe.]

Yeah yeah, you're something else. But uh, I'll keep those things in mind...

[How do you know what your fear response to death is when you have vivid memories of an alternate version of yourself dying horribly in another timeline? He'll work on it. He will figure it out.]

I was kind of hoping for something a little more practical, like... "Get one of those alarm clocks that makes you chase it around to turn it off!" I dunno.

[ Junpei isn't taking the "find one thing you like about yourself" advice? Buddy... ]

Well, there's that. Does that help?

[ Midnight, uh, rarely sleeps well, which means he only uses alarm clocks to signal when he's *supposed* to sleep, and not the other way around. ]

[Listen, he simply thinks about death way more often than his own self-esteem, it's a process. He can do both given a long enough timeline.]

I don't know, that's why I'm asking. Maybe? There's got to be a point where routine stops being comforting and starts being soul-sucking, maybe the clock that runs around knows.

You should try it, love. It occurs to me that adding "insomnia" to my list would be best for posterity's sake, but I wouldn't like for you to go about inducing the same in yourself.

[ Listen, if he thinks about death enough, the existential crisis is almost as good as insomnia! ]

Oh, don't worry, I know that one. [a beat,] Uh, not recently. I do normal guy sleep habits now!

[He does a little soapy jazz hands motion, for emphasis. Woo!]

But yeah, I don't miss it. Are you okay? Do you need a break?

Ah, sleep hygiene. I do congratulate you on a good night of sleep, at least.

[ Midnight shrugs. They're nearly done with the kitchenware... Maybe they should prepare some of the fruits and garnishes as well before putting Junpei through a few of his mixing paces. ]

Never you mind, love. There's so little to do around here that having reasons to lose a bit of sleep is its own gift, mm? I'm all right.

[ He seems... fine? Or at the very least, the amount of work he does, however much it is, doesn't intimidate him. He just has to rein in his unfortunate tendency of falling unconscious in public, and that's as simple as... pulling better sleeping habits from his ass somehow??? That. ]

Sometimes I even take naps.

[Living the dream, and all that. Anyway, maybe they should stay on the topic of Midnight not having good sleep hygiene, actually.]

I don't think anybody has ever said "wow, I love not sleeping" in all of history until just now. You've got couches in here, maybe you're the one who should try out naps.

Ooh. That's good.

[ He's... he's not being ironic, he's being very serious, but it's sometimes hard to tell when he's being serious at the best of times, so 🤷

He laughs, though. ]

There's so much I'd like to do, you know. It's a lovely world out there... people I'd like to meet, wonderful things to plan and produce. I just get a bit excited, you know. A bit of excitement does a body no harm.

[ This is the softest "no" imaginable, but it sure is still a no! ]

Uh, objectively wrong, since you're saying "a bit" to mean "oops, I don't sleep enough."

[But this is about as aggressive as Junpei gets on an ordinary day, so his disapproving frown is doing the rest of the heavy lifting. Take a nap, boss!!]

Do I have to double dare you or something? Make a bet? Just take a nap, man.

Later, darling, if I tire. Right now...

[ Midnight turns to the liquor selection behind them, gestures to the bottles. ]

Make us both a drink. Something you're comfortable with, something you'd drink yourself.

[ ... Is he derailing? Well, yes, but this is also kind of important. They have to know where Junpei's starting, after all. ]

[Midnight you can't keep saying later forever...!

But, well--alright. Junpei doesn't think he has enough social gravitas to get any further than this on the point of Midnight Doing Things, so. Drinks.]

It's gonna be simple, but okay...

[It's going to be a screwdriver, specifically, and without any flair because he has no flair. And because it's just a screwdriver. He makes the drink. He presents it to Midnight.]

Tada.

[ Of course he can, he's Midnight, he's basically indestructible—

He accepts said screwdriver, takes a sip without much build-up. Hey, he himself only started learning how to mix a few months ago, he has no room to build suspense. ]

Good. Garnish that with an orange slice and it's something proper.

[ He nods, downing a good portion of the rest. It's hard to screw up a screwdriver, but it's good that Junpei can mix under scrutiny. ]

Is there anything you'd like to learn? Besides juggling, that is, we'll both have to wait on Mr. Reno for that.

[Jeez, let it simmer for a little while, at least.]

Uh, I don't really know... I'm more of a cheap beer guy than a cocktails guy, anyway. What's, like, a cool one to know?

A "cool" one...

[ Maybe an unusual thing to ask someone whose username is The Seventh Crown of the Seventh Demon King, but Midnight doesn't know that, so he takes the question quite seriously. ]

There's probably a certain Venn Diagram to be made between popular drinks and simple drinks, and the middle of that would be good drinks to start learning. But "cool"? I'm not sure what the meter for that is. Perhaps I'd simply say "cool" is "whatever I like, personally".

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