bluh bluh huge ball

[thalassino]

Characters: Vatheon
Location: That Castle
Time: Evening, on Sunday
Style: Any
Status: OPEN. Threadjack, threadhop, spam away!

[ Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen of Vatheon— whatever your newfound stature may be, Prince, Princess, Knight, or Peasant, you will all receive a message on your SFC on the eve of Saturday regardless:

You are cordially invited to the castle for this evening's ball. In addition, you are all welcome to try and solve the riddle if it fancies you. It just may break the curse!

The invitation is unsigned, but its intentions are clear. Maybe you hadn't quite noticed the sizeable castle in the distance of the city that had sprung up, but this message would surely garner your attention toward it now.

Should you arrive at the castle, plenty of attractions await you:

Ballroom ❧ A very large and beautiful ballroom is lighted up, complete with a playing violin orchestra. While the curtains will be drawn during this event, there is a windowed view and exit on one side of the ballroom that leads to:

Smee's Rose Garden ❧ A broad and colorful spanse of a garden, complete with many paths and turns. Plenty of roses are arranged in great arches, which provide perfect little places should you need some privacy with your sweetheart. Anyone familiar will even tell you that the garden was purposefully designed for just that sort of thing.

The Riddle ❧ There is an inscription located on a noticeable plaque set in one of the garden's benches. It reads:

Two are necessary to break this curse
Riled up, upset, what kind of love?
Only this kiss will stop it from getting worse.
Look for a winged one is push comes to shove,
Look for a glance slightly dark,
Search for a pair in reluctant love.
One answers a call; that's your mark;
One longs for patria though adverse.

Dining Hall ❧ Connected to the ballroom is an extremely long hall that stretches as far as the eye can see, elegantly arranged as the dining area. Expensive and exquisite cuisine seem to be on the menu— try something new? Chances are you won't be eating from a selection such as this again anytime soon!

Dais ❧ There is a noticeable raised dais that is easily visible via any area within the ballroom. It's locked off from guests, though— what is it for...?

Do enjoy. ]

Comments

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat twitches at the nuzzle.]

Hey, hey, no nuzzling, not when you're all furry and whiskery and my ears are decidedly ticklish. But it's still weird having you climb up my dress too, so excuse me if I want to get you up here.

[The compliment, on the other hand, gets only a snort.]

And I would thank you to save any stupid statements like that. I do not look handsome; handsome would be if I were in a proper suit or tuxedo or something. But here I'm stuck, no pants all week, and no the magic does not help.

[withoutasign]

I haven't worn pants all week.

[A mouse wearing pants, that's just silliness.]

Can't you change the color of the dress or something?

[bethehugejerk]

Yeah, but you're still not stuck in frills and ruffles, are you?

[Granted, the Signless is a mouse, and not a humanoid person. But change the color? Rather than answer immediately, he lifts its wand - gold with a star on the end - and taps it against his opposite shoulder. Blue, green, yellow, purple, white, black, it cycles through colors, but ever is there an accent of red somewhere that he can't change.]

You see how much good it does? Next to nothing.

[withoutasign]

Hmmmmm...

[Signless considers, curling his tail around towards his front paws and holding it. For some reason, that helps him think.]

What about changing how others see you? If you can't change the dress, can you change what they see?

[bethehugejerk]

I've... never tried that, actually. I've been more focused on physically turning things into other stuff, not altering the perception of them.

[He looks down at himself, thinking. He knows he's stuck in ruffles no matter what he tries, but if he could just make himself look like his normal self... or something better, even...]

Hmm...

[withoutasign]

If you put me down, you can try it on me. I can't see enough of you from up here to be very helpful.

(1/2)

[bethehugejerk]

Fine. I can't look much worse than I already do, so even if it doesn't work, I might as well try it.

[So, taking gentle hold of the Signless again, he lowers him back to the ground. He stays crouched thereafter; it's easier to talk to a mouse from a closer level.]

Now, let's see...

[He lifts his wand and closes his eyes in concentration. Something cool. Something respectable. Something badass. Something like... a knight, yes, let's go with a knight in shining armor. That's fairy tale, right? With that image in mind, he waves his wand slowly and purposely over himself. Picturing the helmet, the armor, the sword and the shield... and as the glittering magic filters down over him, the sight seems to flicker and melt into something else. A glamour - of course he could do it, that's old faerie magic.]

(2/2)

[bethehugejerk]

[He opens his eyes, confident something took hold, and looks to his ancestors.]

Did it work?

[In a sense, it did... but not as he pictured it. He looks different, certainly. Even his voice is changed to give a better effect to the image created. But a knight? No.]

[Now, he looks and sounds like a girl in that dress.]

[withoutasign]

[It's a good thing Karkat is trying this with Signless, because he might be the only creature in Vatheon who wouldn't laugh at this sight. As it is, he has to bite the inside of his cheek.]

Sorry. It worked, but not the way you thought it would.

Maybe... instead of enchanting yourself, you could enchant me?

[bethehugejerk]

[It didn't? Karkat looks down at himself again, but that does no good. He's the one with the glamour, and he knows what he really looks like. That kills it.]

No, no, tell me, what did it make me look like? I don't think it would work in reverse either, the way it feels.

[withoutasign]

Weeeeell... you're still wearing the dress, unfortunately. But now, you look and sound like a girl too.

[Signless is sorry, son. Or daughter. Or whatever you are right now. Human family words are confusing.]

[bethehugejerk]

MOTHER OF FUCK!

[Another wave of the wand, or maybe it's more of a sharp jab, and the glamour breaks, almost literally. The image of Karkat-as-a-girl cracks and splinters apart, revealing one pissed off dude in a dress in its place.]

Can I have nothing go right this week? Not one single thing? Or am I fated, destined, nay, fucking cursed to explore the feminine side I do not particularly want? I get mocked enough for my investment in romance already, chick flicks they call them, but no, never enough. I need a dress and frills and a magical set of boobs before the cruel, merciless gods of my existence will be satisfied!

[withoutasign]

[Wait, Karkat has boobs in this form? Signless is so confused, this is all too much for a mousedad to take! He squeaks worriedly and starts running in circles around Karkat.]

Pick me up, pick me up, put me on your shoulder again!

[bethehugejerk]

[Shut up! He had them! They were... just small... not that Karkat would even know, when his goal was a knight. But it doesn't even matter now, because he's back to how he was before, no magic occluding him.]

[He grumbles and goes to pick up the Signless again, once he holds still long enough to to do it. Then it's back to the shoulder.]

Now what? It's not like you can fix it for me, my magic works the way it works and that's how it is.

[withoutasign]

[As soon as he's deposited on Karkat's shoulder, Signless is pressing himself up against the side of his neck, giving him a full-body, mousey hug, complete with wrapping his tail around the back of his neck. If he thought it would help, he'd climb onto Karkat's head and hug one of his horns, but something tells him that would just make things worse.]

I'm proud of you and love you no matter what you look like.

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat just grumbles under his breath, letting his tiny mousedad hug his neck. It's fuzzy and it feels kind of odd, for all it's not the first time a mouse has ever hugged him. That spot belongs to Mrs. Brisby from the week she was a lusus (and he a pegasus pony).]

I still look dumb. The wings are cool and actually having a power good for something, but the rest? It sucks the most feculent of waste chutes like a pro.

[withoutasign]

I know, I know, shoosh...

[Signless starts gently patting the side of Karkat's neck with both front paws.]

It's okay, the curse should be broken soon and then your magic will be back to normal and you can change your outfit, shooooosh...

[bethehugejerk]

Are you--are you shooshing me? Stop that. I have Gamzee to do that and that is really weird coming from you.

[He may be coloring a little in the face.]

When the curse ends I won't have magic - [Cough.] - Dad.

[He's still getting the hang of that name.]

What I'll have is my sylladex and my actual fucking clothes again.

[withoutasign]

[Signless shooshes everyone. It's kind of his thing. But at Karkat's complaining, he stops, and instead tries to climb up on top of his head, so he can look down over his forehead at him. He does squeak with happiness, though, when Karkat calls him "Dad."]

So then you'll be back to normal, and you'll be happy again!

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat certainly has hair enough to climb up, though he grumbles some at the action. Then there's a mouse peeking down over his face.]

If you want to look at me, I can hold you in my hands or something instead of you hanging off my face like you're asking to fall. But yes, I'll be back to normal, and about as happy as I ever get.

[withoutasign]

I've been doing this all week, I'm not going to fall.

[Have a goofy upside down mouse grin.]

Good. I like it when you're happy. You don't smile nearly enough.

[bethehugejerk]

That's the whole point: it'll be back to normal, not some great celebration. And I'm not just going to start smiling because you tell me to.

[withoutasign]

You act like smiling is painful.

[Signless leans out further, holding tight to Karkat's hair with his back paws.]

It really isn't. Trust me, I know.

[bethehugejerk]

Says the one who does it all the time. How do you know it doesn't physically pain my facial muscles from how unused they are to forming that expression?

[withoutasign]

[You mean these muscles that Signless is dangling over right now, and that he starts patting with his ratty little paws? Those muscles?]

You just need more pracice. You have to strengthen the muscles in your face just like the muscles anywhere else.