Dance Dance Reprobation

[magicademymods]

The Twilight Ball Arrival The Promenade has been transformed. Literally. With Modification. Ha ha. Cough. Crickets. Toad familiars eat the crickets. Circle of life. Animals bow before singing lions. You get the idea. Neither tree nor stone form the Promenade now. It is instead a long bridge over a shallow and brilliant pool, the gentle ripples of which catch the afternoon sun and scatter it into a million highlights that play over the Great Hall, the bridge, and those who walk down it. There is no formal receiving line, merely a gentle procession of people across the bridge at whatever speed feels comfortable, slowly making their way to the Great Hall. The Great Hall itself has been enchanted to be completely invisible while one is inside it, save for the outline of doors so people can actually find their way out through means other than smacking their noses into the invisible walls till they find a place with no resistance. Thus the twilight for which the ball is named will show all around the dancers, while they are protected from any errant breezes, faint hints of rain, or slime monsters that might otherwise threaten the festivity. Come in. Find your date and get comfortable. The fun is just beginning. Let the Revels Begin After Headmaster Birony welcomes everyone with a speech about she's going to get on her boat, go upriver, and kick that sonuvabitch Bison's ass so HORDT that the next Bison-wannabe is gonna feel it, the dance formally begins with a peppy number designed to get people out and moving. The orchestra here comprises some of the finest players available anywhere in the world, thanks to the whole Valhudor shtick and graduates of said house, and the music is infectious as it drifts through the slowly-darkening air. But as the dance progresses, they play something for everyone. Martial waltzes and slow dance ballroom numbers. Powerful tunes to lose yourself in, and gentle melodies that slip beneath conversation and encourage intimacy and closeness. Professors Trammel and King treat everyone to an exhibition of what an Earth resident might call 'swing dancing on amphetamines' and many students do call 'the closest I have ever come to death'. No pause for speeches, no announcements or interruptions -- just a steady stream of music, bringing dates and lovers together in dance, as the sun sets and casts the room into gentle and romantic twilight. Also a dolphin and a whale are swimming through the floor and they, too, are unmistakably dancing. If this is the weirdest thing you've seen all night, you need your eyes checked. "Food! One of the food tables has been discreetly slid against a wall, where it positively shudders under the weight of a massive buffet open to everyone. The food here tends towards the light, such as fish and vegetables, cucumber sandwiches and thin-sliced meats. Things that will give you energy without weighing you down, so you can keep dancing till the dawn comes. At one end of the table, an owl the size of a cupboard sits on a perch, serenely watching the varied drinks laid out for consumption. 'Spiking the punch' is so cliche that no one is going to pretend it won't happen or the students will behave on their honor, so here you get a chaperone. Even so, this whole area is a popular gathering spot for those between dances or partners, drawing steady attention throughout the night. Meanwhile, Elsewhere Shockingly, not everyone has found that loving feeling, asked out an attractive someone, and gone to the dance with romance on their minds. The rest of the campus, and of course Anastara itself, remain open as normal... and perhaps even less-minded than normal. The faculty, the familiars, the cleaning golems -- almost all attention is on the dance itself. If there's mischief to manage, now would be the perfect time... or just something else besides wallflowering and missing out. Wait, Wasn't There a Ghost Dragon and an Off-Brand Shoggoth? Professor King managed to find a way around the protoplasmic ooze's resistance to magic and splatted it (with no small amount of help from students and faculty!). The dragon disappeared into the caverns beneath the Magicademy. That certainly isn't ominous and won't inspire anyone to go down there, will it? Don't fall in the river down there. Please don't fall in the river.

Comments

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Then get strong. Easiest way. You get tough like me, even the garbage stuff that comes along won't take you down!" No need to worry about ghost dragons or spell mishaps when you can take a beating with the best of 'em and keep going.

[woo_oo]

Asking is so weird. I wish there was a way we could just ask everyone! Then nobody's left out and everyone can have a fun time!

[talkyourwayout]

Huh, Louie had not been expecting a more serious answer there, but his smart-alec remark had been based in truth. He was curious, now.

"Okay, I'm listening. How do I get strong, if it's so easy?"

[darkenedmoon]

"How trite," Yotsuyu sniffed. There was that filter again. However, she was smiling--perhaps not as openly as Jecht might like, but she was hardly covering it with a hand or attempting to hide it.

Perhaps the end times were coming, after all.

"So were you enjoying yourself? Not that I think you might find that difficult, but I am curious. How is the food?"

[perfectenn]

Tenn readjusts his clothes after the spins, his own smile restrained by a serious air. "Dancing is not so different than any other occupation or sport. You wouldn't become good at soccer or baseball from just one practice session, would you?"

Ah. So he was right. There's definitely a glimmer of humor in his eyes. "If someone else would like, sharing with a partner makes practice more enjoyable. It would also enable you to learn with someone close to your level." He didn’t say height.

[areasontohope]

It made an income, but the gray-haired boy kept that to himself.

He caught the book alright, and had to dodge several fires and try to keep an eye on Kazuma or he was certain that he would be left behind. He didn't have his backpack on him so how many books he collected to bring back would be limited.

But then again he could always make a second trip out here sometime and see what he could find out on his own. For now, he'd just keep up and be cautious.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Jecht looked around, making sure no one was looking or listening in, then he crouched down suddenly, popping a fist to the ground to support himself.

"You work at it," he said, very quietly, like it was a secret. "You train and you exercise and you stick to it."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Pretty sure I could starve to death eating it," he groused. Given his calorie intake that might almost be true. "But hey, so long as it keeps me going till we get outta here, I'm good. Maybe we should crash a late-night place out in town when we're done, huh?"

[shiningkindness]

If she noticed one of the other students that had tried asking her to the dance, she didn't say anything as she walked with him to the dance floor.

Then, with a small smile, she responded with a small curtsy (or something looking like one).

"I'd be honored to."

[shiningkindness]

[She can't help a small giggle.]

I bet they'd spend a lot of time studying.

[outofyourshadow]

She couldn't help another laugh, following along with his movement, the faint light reflecting off of her as she moved.

[outofyourshadow]

"Maybe, but I don't think most of the human people are all that eager to get with a duck."

[outofyourshadow]

She at least keeps a hold on him so he stays steady.

"They come at the same time, man."

[areasontohope]

Honestly, he had no idea how she wasn't tripping over her gown. And he couldn't hide his surprise when Fluttershy curtsied to him though he had seen such a thing when learning how to dance at Grokin Derfeur's court.

Yuki just smiled as he straightened up, fighting not to show how nervous he is at this. He held himself still as he waited for her to come into his arms and tried to tell himself to breathe.

[talkyourwayout]

"I wouldn't play soccer or baseball in the first place," he muttered, rolling his eyes. But his main focus was on the other issue.

"I said anyone, not someone - and don't say it like that, anyway!" The stress Tenn had put on his words definitely left Louie feeling caught... Which was weird, because he was used to feeling that way, but only when he was doing something actually wrong.

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, definitely. And reading for fun.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie groaned. He wasn't sure why he'd been expecting anything else, but it was still frustrating.

"How is that easy?"

[stillnewatthis]

"I cannot speak for humans, as I am not one. However, I believe the physical component is the only significant difference. I have observed no meaningful distinction between ducks and humans." Orisa tilted her head slightly, as a data access presented another relevant point. "In fact, there are much more significant differences between omnics and humans, but romantic pairings exist between them."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"'Cuz you gotta not think of it as anything but easy. You do just a little more every day, till one day that little more's a lot more than when you started!"

[darkenedmoon]

"I am still not certain I could eat." Though it was true Yotsuyu could watch Jecht eat, if only because it was like watching a sideshow attraction. The amount of food the man could put away was truly amazing.

Although it might make her coinpurse whimper its way into submission...

"We could stop so you could eat, at least." Far be it from her to make him suffer more than he already had. Being her date! Having to dress up! Horrors abound!

[darkenedmoon]

"But of course. Had I not just asked?" It was a coy smile Yotsuyu gave Hendrik, but after so many years of training, most of her smiles did not come to her as naturally as she might have liked.

She was learning, however. Perhaps someday she'd smirk less, and truly smile more.

"You haven't spent all your time tonight watching over Eleven, have you?" She'd hoped the boy was having a good time--she'd caught glimpses of him from afar, dancing with a couple of people, though he'd started the night with a slender redhead. Yotsuyu thought it a good thing that he wasn't limiting himself to one partner, at least.

Maybe if she got Hendrik engaged in small talk, he'd forget to wander off again.

[advocateofgenderequality]

Kazuma's busy 'hunting' for another tome, but once it's in his hands, he pauses to address his gray-headed follower with a frown.

"So are you going to see what that book in your hands is actually about, or are you saving it for later or something?"

[unswervingcompanion]

There was another look of hers that he was unfamiliar with and Hendrik simply didn't know what to do about the look that resembled a smile yet had some sort of fire to it. But for now, he would just have to muddle his way through it.

The knight was surprised at her question, but he shook his head at Yotsuyu as they began to dance. "No, I have seen him and he is aware that I am here should he require my presence." He had clapped the boy on the shoulder and nodded, and that was about it really. But he would probably catch up later with the Luminary just to check in.

"I will not haunt his steps. This night is for him to have fun and socialize." Like nights the boy would have had, had fate been kinder and made him the Prince of Dundrasil as he should have been since it was his birthright.

As far as his own plans went, he was going home once he was done dancing with her and had checked in on Eleven. There was nothing more for him to do here and this was the highlight of his time here.

[areasontohope]

Yuki shook his head. "This is about how to speak to snakes." That one got put down fast as Ayame came to mind. They were mending their relationship when he'd left, but he was pretty sure his brother's curse was broken too.

"What else have you found?"

[shiningkindness]

In all honesty, Fluttershy was pretty nervous herself. While she'd been to dances before, she'd never had a date, not like this, so dancing so close this way was entirely new to her.

Still, despite her own nervous smile that was less well hidden, she stepped closer and placed her hand in his.