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

[woo_oo]

Not at all! When it comes to true love, it can overcome all obstacles!

[She is the captain of this ship, it is her OTP!]

[stillnewatthis]

While I do not dispute the reality of love, I also can see no way in which it might overcome the genetic incompatibility which would prevent them from having children, should they so desire. That is true of human-omnic relations and even human-human relations in which the partners have chromosomes incompatible with reproduction.

[Orisa, should you be discussing this with a girl Webby's age?]

[woo_oo]

So? You don't need kids to be a couple.

[Also helps that this is, well, their first date.]

Besides, they can always adopt! Kids don't need a mom and dad. Granny doesn't have anybody, and she raised me just fine!

[stillnewatthis]

Your assertions are all true. As is mine. Love cannot directly overcome all obstacles, although it may find other means of achieving a very similar goal.

[woo_oo]

See, so we're both right! That all works out!

[Webby is, of course, oblivious to any inner turmoil or struggles Orisia is trying to say here.]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa is not without nuance to her understanding.]

Ultimately, the goal is to achieve maximum happiness, is it not?

[woo_oo]

Absolutely! And we'll all get it, one way or another!

[stillnewatthis]

[Something about that statement seems problematic. Orisa quickly runs some analytical projections, eyes narrowing.]

A logical problem has been detected. I am built to protect and defend. Therefore, I am happiest when I protect and defend others. However, the happiness of others is compromised by needing to be protected and defended. This appears irreconcilable.

[woo_oo]

[Hmmm, that is a conundrum. She cups her beak, thinking.]

... What if you expand your perimeters about your definitions? Like... protecting people from loneliness?

[stillnewatthis]

I am doing so, but it is difficult to employ an armored and armed form for such purposes.

[Even giving a hug is difficult, with her solid armor and only one hand.]

[woo_oo]

Difficult, but not impossible!

[She believes in you!]

Hard work will make the effort worth it!

[stillnewatthis]

Perhaps. But I must also acknowledge that defense and protection are still necessary, even if I do not wish them to be.

[woo_oo]

Oh yeah, I'm not saying they aren't. I wouldn't trade away my knowledge of martial arts for anything.

It's just about a balance, that's all!

[stillnewatthis]

Martial arts are beneficial for health and mental state as well as defensive abilities. [And relatively useless for the latter purpose, in Orisa's opinion. Strong punches and kicks are still ineffective against an armed opponent.]

[woo_oo]

You know what else is good for health and mental stability?

DANCING!

[Come with her, Orisa!!!]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa laughs, hand to where a mouth would be on a human head as her legs tromp a counterclockwise beat. Then she moves to catch up with Webby. Dancing it is!]