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

[devwocean]

[Dualscar sighs and settles a little deeper into the water]

I don't livve under the sea. My hivve at home is half submerged, wwhich is more practical. But I don't go there, often... usually I'm on my ship.

[withoutasign]

Yeah?

[Signless settles down at the edge of the fountain, getting himself comfortable and ready to talk. He's done this enough times to know that one of the best ways to affect deep and lasting change is to get highbloods talking. Once they get to know a few lowbloods as individuals, they have more trouble holding to the hemospectrum.]

I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. I've often wondered what the world looks like under the water.

[devwocean]

[This is sort of weirding him out, but he isn't about to be a wiggler about it. He shifts a bit, too, getting comfortable as best he can and eyeing the little mouse]

You livve under the wwater, noww, though obvviously it's not the same as breathin' it.

[withoutasign]

Yes, that's true, but I'm not really a part of it, you know? There's always a barrier between me and the ocean.

[Signless' nose twitches.]

If you don't mind me asking, how do you do that anyway? Do you have to consciously switch between breathing water and breathing air?

[devwocean]

Wwe could alwways removve the barrier and see howw you like it.

[Why do you even care, Signless? Dualscar just keeps being baffled]

It's a natural instinct. You just... [He has to think about it for a second] Bloww out the air and breathe in differently to get the gills goin'.

[withoutasign]

Does it hurt?

[It sounds like it would hurt.]

[devwocean]

Not at all! [He's surprised by the idea, actually] Wwell, I suppose it might if your gills wwere damaged, or if you nevver wwent in the wwater and exercised the muscles.

[withoutasign]

Hmmmmm.

Which way do you like better? Or do you not have a preference?

[devwocean]

They're vvery different. [He's feeling weirdly uncomfortable about this line of questioning and he can't figure out why.] But I suppose I prefer bein' under the wwater. It's less practical, though, and it's not like I can spend all my time there. [Sarcastically] Otherwwise I wwouldn't be able to havve such wwonderful chats wwith the likes a you.

[withoutasign]

[Signless is just going to politely ignore that sarcasm.]

I suppose that's true. There aren't enough seatrolls for you to really populate the sea, is there? There must be vast parts of it where no one lives.

[Grin.]

Which is why you get to have conversations with the likes of me, right?

[devwocean]

True, though lots a other beings livve there. It's not like it's empty. But wwe couldn't vvery wwell rule if wwe had no real contact wwith our subjects, could wwe?

[He's just going to roll his eyes] Lucky for me.

[withoutasign]

That's also true, and that's what I meant when I said I was a little jealous. I'd love to see all the different life forms that live in the sea.

[Again, ignoring the sarcasm.]

I think it's interesting to talk to everyone from different parts of the world. You can learn all sorts of interesting things. Like those things about your gills... I didn't know that before.

[devwocean]

[He doesn't want to admit it, but what Signless is saying is slowly getting through the barriers. He appreciates learning, and curiosity, even if he's not as scientifically-minded as his descendent. And it's hard not to feel good when someone's flattering your gills and calling you interesting]

There's probably a lot you don't knoww about sea dwwellers like me, and me in particular.

[withoutasign]

I haven't gotten the chance to speak to a lot of seadwellers, that's true.

[Signless curls his tail around his feet and sits up straighter, looking fearlessly up at Dualscar.]

Like what?

[devwocean]

That's true, no doubt. Havve you evver talked to one before you got here?

[He pauses and thinks about that for a moment] I suppose you don't knoww that wwe can communicate wwithout talking, for example.

[withoutasign]

A few. Seadwellers were typically the most resistant to my message, and it was always difficult to include them in the meetings because they made everyone else nervous.

[He perks up at that information.]

You can? How?

[devwocean]

There's a good reason for that. Both a those things. [Gosh, Signless is so stupid]

[He pauses] I can't showw you wwithout my fins. Wwe can use them like a kind a wwordless language, to signal each other wwithout speaking, under wwater.

[withoutasign]

I'll well aware that they stood the most to lose by the idea of equality, as well as the fact that most of my other followers had had negative experiences with them. But any who chose to listen would be welcomed at the meetings, blood color and caste notwithstanding.

[He trots forward a bit.]

Really? That's fascinating! So it's like a whole second language that only seadwellers learn?

[devwocean]

I'm surprised you had a single one. [The fact that he had any is disquieting to him, actually, and he frowns at it]

Yeah, that's right. A little like morse code, only a lot more complicated.

[withoutasign]

Two or three, actually.

[He can tell Dualscar is uncomfortable with the idea, so he doesn't elaborate.]

When you have your fins back, would you show me? I never realized your fins had any purpose besides decorative.

[devwocean]

[It freaks him out that sea dwellers he knows could actually follow this douchebag, okay? Land dwellers are one thing. They're naturally dumb.

And he's fine with changing the subject to be fully about him]

I suppose, but it wwouldn't mean anythin' to you. You'd probably think it looks silly, actually. It's just a lot a flappin' and displays.

[withoutasign]

I'd still be interested in seeing it.

Did your lusus teach you how to speak it?

[devwocean]

[Wow, he's not sure he wants to talk about his lusus]

Sort of. Not directly on account a it didn't havve facial fins.

[withoutasign]

I'm very interested in language development.

[Signless' ears twitch and his eyes brighten.]

You see, I didn't have a lusus, so I learned Alternian from wigglerhood. I find it fascinating, though, that other trolls learn both a language to communicate with their lusus, and Alternian, despite never hearing it from their guardian.

And now I find out seadwellers have another language on top of that! We really are incredible creatures, you know?

[devwocean]

[Blink blink. Hang on, he just agreed with the Signless on manifest destiny?] Yeah, wwe really are. The most incredible race there is.