La Félicité
"Welcome to La Félicité! If you can't find the drink you want here, then it probably doesn't exist! Come in, find yourself a spot, and enjoy the music and company. We have booths for those desiring a little bit of privacy, and a dancefloor for those who don't!"In The Pit Edge, a free port where the phrase 'laissez-faire' is considered an understatement, there is one place where even that is considered too much regulation. La Félicité is reknowed across the station as a place where one can find someone willing to buy or sell literally anything, no questions asked, for the right price. Most of the station also knows it as 'the place to be'; an exclusive nightclub and bar that sells almost every drink known to mankind. For the average inhabitant though, entry is difficult. Without an invite from someone who knows the management, the waiting list to get in can be several weeks long. Stories persist that people have put themselves on the list in their youth, and have died of old age before ever getting to the top.
Purpose / Function
Design
Denizens
History
Beginnings
The venue that became known as La Félicité did not begin as an entertainment venue. It's original purpose is unknown, but based on its shape and geodesic roof, speculation has been made that it was perhaps an observatory. No records exist of this however, and it faces into the middle of the station, towards the black hole, blocking the view of most of the stars. Whatever its original purpose was, it very soon became popular for other reasons. The first recorded name is 'Cube' (undoubtably an ironic name), and it was a place for construction workers to relax and get a few drinks. As the station neared completion, the zone that Cube was located in became more and more upmarket. The customer base changed from lower class workers, to more upper class residents and the venue was redesigned and rebranded as 'Venus'. It quickly gained a reputation as a place where one could purchase the affections of a wide variety of people, and if rumours were true, the owners had very little moral qualms about the state of those being purchased. Whilst the unofficial rulers of Pit Edge, the Ghost Council, could put up with a lot of things going on on their station, some things were beyond the pale. Venus was raided and shut down, with dozens of people spaced for their actions.Quiet times
The venue sat idle for a few years, but was soon picked up and named Club Cobalt. The reputation of the location lingered though, and business struggled for a couple of decades, with its name changing as often as its owners. From to Club Reply, to The Blossom, and then Deviant. This latter one took on the infamous nature of the location in its styling, and became widely successful, although the authorities kept a tight eye on the activities going on.Renaissance
When Nassim Chavoshi took on the role of Pit Doge, one of her actions was to gain ownership of Deviant. Whether the owners at the time sold it voluntarily is unknown, but the official line is that they made a lot of money from the sale and promptly left Pit Edge for places unknown. Nassim was looking for a location to act as an unofficial marketplace for those things that most reputable traders preferred to avoid dealing in, particularly in public. She handed over management of the venue to an old friend called Baptiste Latour, who renamed the club La Félicité, or 'Bliss' in his ancient mother tongue. Under Baptiste's management, the club has thrived, and is now widely known as one of the best places to be seen. VIPs from not just the station, but from neighbouring systems can be seen here, and it's a rare time when there's not at least one famous name spending some time in the VIP Lounge, informally named 'Extase'.Karita Lajunen
Zhen Hanying
Hakim Hanin
Other staff
Mystère - DJ
Drinks
Not all drinks at La Félicité are alcoholic, although most are, and it's not uncommon for drinks to contain other psychotropic substances as well. Chemists as well as brewers can find a trade here.- Rude Tremor: Served in a tall glass, chilled. Named for the involuntary shiver that happens with every taste.
- Wonderful Fluffy: Only ever served to patrons sitting down. Causes a lapse of consciousness for a few minutes, in which the drinker experiences vivid but pleasant dreams.
- Brandy Mud: What one would expect - a thick brown, highly alcoholic sludge, that has been served since the venue catered to the very first construction workers.
- Coriander Fluffy: Another drink that causes a lapse in consciousness, the vivid dreams experiences are often highly sexual
- Imaginary Sip: Apparently tastes fabulous, but contains substances that erases a few seconds of one's short term memory. You know you've had a drink, but can't remember doing it.
- Red Ticker: The initial rush of pleasure the drinker experiences is not the main reason people get this drink. Instead, drinkers get another, stronger rush, some time after. The time period is entirely random, usually a few minutes, but it can be hours.
- Cherry Blossom Scream: As expected, tastes of cherries, causes an almost instant, strong, involuntary, whole body reaction most equate to a sneeze, but better.
- Tiny Fluff: The loss of consciousness with this drink is only a few seconds long, but the drinker often experiences sharp insights that, unfortunately, tend to be total nonsense.
- Calm Brandy: Full of pleasant chemicals that make the drinker just want to chill out, and go slow. Popular for serving to those who've perhaps had too many stimulants.
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I really like the structure of the article, the staff, and the illustrating images. Out of curiosity, so basically current criminal activities aren't at a level that the authorities want to bother? I do notice a lot of really-long sentences, that might be a nice thing to look at in an editing run. And while the sections are perfect at their current width, the empty space on the right seems a bit wasteful. Maybe park a few images or quotes in there?
Too low they build who build beneath the stars - Edward Young
Thanks for your kind words! I've gone through and tried to cut the length of my sentences down, it's a recurrent habit of mine I just can't seem to shake. I've also tried to solve the blank right hand side issue by putting my denizens in columns (shortening the length of the main section) and putting some stuff in a sidebar. As for the crime, it's now owned by the de facto dictator of the whole station, so it gets a free pass, so to speak, regarding its activities. Also, Pit Edge is pretty much an anarchy, so laws are more like guidelines at the best of times :D