Guilty Pleasures is a club in London that caters to any taste.
Overview[]
Currently owned by Mitchell Savoy, Guilty Pleasures began as a monthly gathering of some of the young mortal nobility, who secretly got together to do all the things they feared the press would hear about them doing. Some say the club has existed in one form or another since the late 1700s, and vague references in the notes of Keats and Shelley give credence to these rumors. The club itself is in fact a private residence, and admittance is granted only to those on a select guest list. Invitations (sent out in black envelopes with silver gilt lettering) are occasionally given out to people who are unaware of the club's existence, though never without a full background check. This check is usually used to uncover information that can be used to blackmail the invitee should they threaten to expose the true nature of the club.
Due to the status of the club's patrons, security is incredibly tight. Cameras, motion detectors, dogs and more high-tech measures are utilized to keep unwanted guests from disturbing the nightly activities. Supernatural security is likewise state of the art, with unseen wraiths (their Fetters held in a vault deep below the club) watching the perimeter, and Awakened guards monitoring the main chambers.
New patrons are asked for their invitations by a liveried footman at the door. Just inside the sumptuous lobby, a receptionist gives each guest a "preferences" form to fill out, along with an identification number. Names are never used at Guilty Pleasures, unless they are pseudonyms. Those who are one-time guests only find memories of their evening to be hazy, and those who become regular patrons are usually given a small tattoo of an apple somewhere on their person. Portraits titled Uncle Al and Uncle Ed grace the mantelpiece, and those familiar with the lives of Aleister Crowley and Edward Kelley may recognize their likenesses. After a short waiting period, guests are escorted down to the parlor.
What goes on here? Anything you desire, quite literally. The finest food and drink is available, from sauteed prawns sprinkled with gold dust and lemon to silver-stemmed Belgian chocolate- covered cherries. The finest French wines, liquors from around the globe and the blood of virgins are all available for the asking. Many of the world's finest musicians have played here, though sadly, few remember having done so. Opium remains the most fashionable "enhancement" among most of the patrons, but marijuana, cocaine, hashish, scorpion, and all manner of uppers, downers, and hallucinogens are available for those who wish to partake. Restraints of silver, velvet, leather, steel, or even cold iron are available, and the wardrobe contains a vast array of garments to suit any mood or persona. If your interests are more carnal, you will surely be able to find a partner to your liking from among the other patrons. If you don't find just what you are looking for, the owners keep members of the "downstairs staff" anesthetized until needed. Whether your tastes run from girls, boys, men, women, the living, dead, or undead, there is someone for you on staff at Guilty Pleasures.
Although no formal records are kept of patrons at Guilty Pleasures, Lord Yrtalien, Augusta Holford, Corine Marcon, Sir Marriot D'Urban, and Don Sidonia are known to have visited the place. Jodi Blake is said to be, if not a member of the staff, then a regular attendee. But since she changes her looks so often, who can tell? Marianna of Balador was an honored guest in years past, but turned into an enemy when she discovered the nature of some of the club's pleasures. Ashford Benn, a dapper arcane cultist, is among the staff as well.
The Acharne[]
An outgrowth of the Hellfire Club and others like it, the Acharne is a sect of the Cult of Ecstasy dedicated to pushing the senses beyond the limits dictated by "polite society." Very few outside the Cult are aware of the group's existence, and even many within are unwilling to acknowledge their dark brethren. In the Acharne's early years, diversions involved laudanum wine and seances, adultery, and sodomy. This has escalated to include acts that would be condemned by most as perverse, unholy, and disgusting.
The modern Acharne often congregate in private clubs for sadomasochistic rites of mutilation and ecstasy. All manner of drugs are available at such gatherings, and every new experience is seen as elevating consciousness. Congress with corpses, spirits, and even demonic entities is said to be a central part of such rites.
Many mages feel that the actions of the Acharne at Guilty Pleasures have gone beyond the limits of permissible exploration. Their dealings with beings from the darker spirit realms and their violation of countless Sleepers in pursuit of their own "Enlightenment" has caused more than one mage (including Marianna of Balador) to condemn them as barabbi. Their willingness to help out members of the Traditions has kept must Acharne from being branded as Nephandi, and it cannot be denied that many past and present members do seem to gain insight and enlightenment from their experiences. Tradition and Technocracy mages look on the Acharne with suspicion, but as of yet, no one has taken steps to stop them.
Is it possible that the forces of the Technocracy in London are unaware of Guilty Pleasures? It hardly seems possible, yet night after night the doors open to another crowd of revelers seeking sensation and release.
References[]
- MTAs. Isle of the Mighty, pp. 33-34.