Archie
The Apothic, out of all of Archie’s sculpted microcosms, was by far his best work so far - to him, at least. As a nightclub, the intent behind it was to create a place that brought a greater sense of ‘openness’ than other establishments. For someone like him, the boundaries of standard architecture and reasonable geometry meant nothing when it came to his work. To be fair, some have stated that the Apothic is simply ‘too showy’, but leagues of other students have come to consider it one of the best spots aboard the Promise.
The layout was such - in one of the central rungs of the Promise, not terribly far from the hub, was a designated area Archie had ‘claimed’ as the entrance. Standing by a decorated wall with a glowing sign denoting the establishment up above, sits a large, door-shaped, collapsible metal frame that holds open a very large bag made of reinforced synthetic fabric. Archie has guards posted there, usually a duo, to keep out unwanted individuals.
Right past the doorway was when the laws of physics began to get unreliable. Entering into a dark hallway with white streamlights up above, you’d walk out into what was, structurally, a half-circle. The Apothic’s primary structure was a three-layered platform raised above a vast, unlit ocean. Archie used a synthetic, glowing white material custom-made for his use to simulate a moon hanging over the far edge of the water, bringing some ambient illumination to the structure. As well, within the water surrounding the central building, were a group of obsidian leviathans Archie constructed for ‘decoration’. Long, segmented creatures, with angled fins and white lights running along the lengths of their bodies.
The first floor was divided into two sections - to the left, from the perspective of someone who just walked in, would be a dining area. A long bar, a whole kitchen behind it, and plenty of tables strewn about, everything offering a perfect view of the surrounding waters. The opposite end of the floor was an ascending segmented platform, otherwise put as the designated dancing area. Sometimes Archie thought it was taking too much space for how much real use it got, but he wasn’t keen on changing it currently. And some people made it known to him that they preferred having plenty of room to ‘get freakish’. Hell, Archie did so himself from time to time.
Staircases on either side lead up to the second floor, which was primarily a seating and viewing area. Away from the music, where people would go to watch the Promise’s cleared channels on the wall-mounted televisions - several of which Archie nearly had to beg for. Everything was connected via extensive wiring to the outside for connection, including the multiple wifi routers offering the Promise’s free connection. Once again, a view of the waters was available from the open space beyond the railing.
Two more sets of staircases worked their way up to the roof. Definitely the quietest area available, with obsidian structures replicated after various forms of vegetation dotted about. The white lights only partly illuminated the area, as it was really only used for people looking to rest up, or chat somewhere private. Of course, the addition of such a room in a nightclub seemed odd, but Archie preferred to cover all avenues of patronage, from the loud and bombastic to the quiet and peaceful.
And all of it was made from a piece of obsidian, a drop of water, and a bit of artificial light.
During the day, the place was never too terribly active. Some groups of students came in for a bite, or just to relax, or even to chat with the proprietor. Come nighttime, plenty more about, enjoying themselves, gazing into the abyssal horizon.
Archie was sat on the first floor, by the railing, looking at his phone. He was checking a few sites for news and whatnot, but it didn’t seem like anything major was happening planetside. As he was browsing, he was approached by a taller gent, with horribly burnt skin, goggles with orange lenses, and a black hoodie with azure and magenta decals painted all over it.
“Yeh gah-in’ teh that dance?” He asked, his lack of lips acting as a bit of a hindrance.
“Mhmm.” Archie replied, giving the gentleman a look. “Gonna see who else might be interested in Combatica. You’re still up for it, right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Good, good.
You going to the samba?”
“The ‘at?”
“The- the dance.”
“Ah… nah, nah, ‘e an Thera are just gonna relax ‘ere.”
“Alright. Tell Vero I said hi.”
“Yeah.”
As the young man left, Archie returned to looking at his phone. Speaking with contacts about Combatica, and a variety of other topics. Sparingly checking if anything newsworthy was popping up. But it seemed like the first day of the school year would end up being just that.
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Spoopy Scary