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

[darkenedmoon]

He'd be wrong. In her ill-tended youth, she hadn't had much of a choice to be picky--it was eat what, if anything, she was given, or go without. Now, she still ate little--but she ate like a bird, a little at a time, but often, when she got the chance.

Her parents were wonderful people.

"Then one might think you would also know where to find good food? If you are out searching for it at late hours..." Was it so far a stretch? He wasn't a complete idiot, after all.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Yeah, at that time of night you stop getting particular. Pretty much anything'll hit the spot if it's meaty and not too dirty." He was not, as it happened, a very discriminating man at all when it came to his food!

[perfectenn]

"It's not just money, though, is it? Business creation is a risky and rewarding venture... some would call it a gamble. It is hard work, but inherently exciting." As someone who's life has been filled with watching others take on those high stakes, he's learned to appreciate it.

"What type and structure have you decided on?"

[bearshermark]

"Thank you." That would be a great weight off his shoulders, if he didn't need to be reminded in every way he failed whenever Hendrik spoke to him.

He offered Yotsuyu a smile- one that was quick to waver in the wake of her declaration.

"I.. all right," he agreed, nodding. "And it isn't a title I really enjoy, so you've been fine not using it. Anyway, I'm not this world's Luminary, so it only matters to myself and Hendrik, here."

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"You're not getting out of running, that's for your own good, not just mine! Not that I mind the company." She didn't. Chaos was a terrible conversationalist, as it went.

"As for accompanying me places...we'll see. I say this only 'cuz I don't want you to feel pressured, I mean, since you have been. But I'll run things by you, and if you feel up to it, great! And if not, that's okay too. You're allowed to say no."

Isabel nodded, then. Seemed to her like this would work. She hoped.

[noasark]

"Well, I can certainly match that!"

He thinks? It was the first thing that came to mind!

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, Huey kind of just breaks when he gets too stressed.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie sighed. "Yeah, I guess I could do that."

Whether or not he actually would - well, it was hard to say.

[talkyourwayout]

"I never really thought about it that way. I guess it is exciting, though, kind of."

Case in point, he certainly seems to light up when he goes on to explain, "A delivery service. You know Orisa? She's going to help me. I'm starting small, though, and once I see where most of the demand lies, I'll figure out the rest."

[advocateofgenderequality]

Kazuma gasps over-dramatically as he points at the 'literature' Yuki finally manages to snap away from and toss aside.

"Throwing a book!? What kind of librar-dork are you!?"

[areasontohope]

"I don't have time to read that sort of..thing." Yuki snapped. Truth be told he didn't want to see that sort of book at all. Too many things had run through his head and he just couldn't handle it.

"Tell me when you find something better."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Heh," Jecht said, not bothering to push the point. "If you enjoy it, it ain't work. That's really all there is to it. So if you want something like that but you don't like it, you gotta change your own mind."

[darkenedmoon]

"Good. Yes, you are right about that." That he shouldn't haunt the boy's steps. Eleven needed time to breathe--all the gods knew the boy needed it! They also knew that he was wise enough to run to those who would protect him, if he couldn't manage himself. At least she was confident in this.

Trying to tell Hendrik that, however...likely an exercise in futility. Yotsuyu knew she was stubborn, but comparing that stubbornness to Hendrik's own hardheadedness was like comparing a candle flame to a bonfire...

And yet it might serve her here. It might echo a bit more towards her old ways than her current, but as the music slowed, Yotsuyu arched a brow at Hendrik. She, at least, was having fun...

"Once more? I could hope you are enjoying yourself, you know."

[darkenedmoon]

"Perhaps for you." At this stage, Yotsuyu had become discriminating, if only to distance herself from the horrors of her childhood. "If I am having to brush something off because it hit the floor, Jecht, and you expect me to eat it, it is your face I shall be cramming it into."

There, he was fairly warned. So perhaps he'd come up with something slightly better than his favorite midnight hole-in-the-wall.

[talkyourwayout]

"So basically I'd need to convince myself I enjoy it?" That actually didn't sound too difficult.

[unswervingcompanion]

The knight blinked in some confusion as Yotsuyu asked for yet another dance. "Should you.." His voice trailed off. He'd meant to ask her if she should be getting back to Sir Jecht's side but didn't complete the though out loud.

But Yotsutu looked as if she was having a good time and he was happy that he could at least give that much to her. If she was his lady, he would give her anything and everything, but she already had someone.

Finally the music had ended and he nodded, unaccustomed to allowing his heart to lead him as he did now. The knight nodded, hoping to cover all of this asking business. If he made Yotsuyu happy, he would do everything he could to do so, even in this small capacity. And it was in that moment that Hendrik realized he was hers to do with as she pleased pretty much anyway.

"You may have as many dances with me as you wish this evening."

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Thanks," Lea said. "I like your outfit too. Not really something I'd wear, but like you said about mine, it suits you."

He chuckled though at the way Eleven commented on his choice of date. "Heh, yeah well, I got tired of people pestering me for dates pretty quick, so I figured that would be a good way to get them to cut it out, potentially in perpetuity. Though I do genuinely think she's a pretty cool person and didn't want her to have to come alone. She is a bit... intense, though, even for me."

[hotheadwarmheart]

Webby, I don't think they have actually seen ducks like you and your friends before. Frankly I'm kinda surprised that more people in worlds like Twilight Town back home don't have more of a reaction to seeing ducks and other animal people like you at first too, since most of them are human.

[outofyourshadow]

Glancing at Orisa, she smiled a bit. "Thanks."

[outofyourshadow]

She'll call your bluff, sir.

"Yeah? So show me what you got."

[advocateofgenderequality]

"Define 'better'?" Kazuma's answer is cynical as he owls up another book and looks it over with a frown. "Cause with this library, it's a totally crapshoot for what you can and might find here."

[shiningkindness]

Fluttershy didn't seem to mind the silence as they danced. Though it did feel a bit awkward. Still, as she glanced up at him, she could help a smile of her own.

[shiningkindness]

Poor Huey. Does he get stressed easily?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Whoa, hey!" Jecht held up a hand quick to cut off that line. "It ain't THAT bad! And even if it was I wouldn't do that to ya! You're threatening me with nicer things than you'd actually do if I did that!" Seriously, that was downright mild for her.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Yeah. I mean, look at people who study and read a lot. They do it because they like it, not just 'cuz they want to pass. Look at me playing bala-inlota -- no one would do that just for money and fame, you'd do it because you damn well enjoy it! Liking what you do is how you keep doing it."