MASQUERADE PARTY

[masqueradeparty]

[the day of the party has arrived!

right around dinnertime, fairies will try to round up every single character and gesture, lead, or pull them towards the courtyard. there, the miniature castle has finally been completed! there are fairy lights and beautiful singing all around you, and it looks like there's some kind of a party going on in the castle, but...

...but it's still so tiny. how could you possibly get in there? it would be hard just to get your hand through the front door!

but the fairies will persist, and as soon as a character steps into the fairy ring...

they find themselves in the ballroom.

this post has been forward-dated to tonight, of course, so mingle in the comment sections and have a fun time with the different rooms.]

SECTION LINKS FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE:
• The Ballroom
• Side Rooms
• The Garden
• The Altar

Comments

[radiantwingedone]

.... Somehow unsurprising.

[lord_wizard]

[He laughed lightly]

Would it help or hurt if I told you that you looked radiant?

[radiantwingedone]

Radiant...? [ A confused moment - he hadn't lent Felix his mosnter-book, had he?

Before thinking on definitions. Oh. ]

Bright. The white?

[ And then more confusion. ]

... How would it hurt?

[ Has Felix figured out that Duke is rather slow at some social things? ]

[lord_wizard]

[That is why he asked]

I've noticed you don't take well to direct compliments [Usually by not understanding them, but close enough in his book]

[radiantwingedone]

.... Only because they make little sense. [ Yep. Duke doesn't understand why people would compliment him. Or why some of the comparisons are made. ]

[lord_wizard]

Why? [Looking at Duke speculatively, not that he can tell]

[radiantwingedone]

[ Why? Why don't compliments make sense to him?

It takes Duke a moment or two of thought to come up with more than "Because its me, why would people say nice things", or something close. ]

Could, potentially, understand words given from attraction. [ Even if he doesn't understand why any would be directed toward him. ]

Do not understand the kind that come from... small talk. The empty words spoken as some sort of ... [ Words. ] pattern, that socializing is supposed to follow. Words that do not match what one thinks. [ And because of his confusion in understanding why people would be giving words-from-attraction to him, everything gets lumped into that second one. ]

[lord_wizard]

It's a dance in many ways - duplicity and negotiation in equal parts. Compliments can be that - half-truths meant to smooth the way for friendliness, but not all compliments are lies. [Felix navigated this dance more easily than others, and sometimes he left people in his wake without thinking. Like Gideon]

You don't want to be lied to. I understand that. But I meant what I said.

[radiantwingedone]

... It is not something that makes sense; half-truths to smooth the way for friendliness. Is friendship not supposed to be something built on trust? If it starts with half-truths, or half-false words...

[ That makes very very little sense. And that's not counting the way that one can use their voice to make a thing that should sound nice, or flattering, into something that itches under the skin. ]

Then.... [ Radiant was taking 'bright' or 'easy to spot', and turning it into something... better? Usually only applied to things also described as 'stunning' or 'dazzling', like some gemstones, thus.. compliment. If still confusing. ]

... thank you...? Although, a return attempt would require knowledge of appearance... [ Because that's what one's supposed to do, right?

Duke just really sucks at fitting in with humans. ]

[lord_wizard]

Trust is built, and not everyone you meet is destined to be your friend. I admit I may have spent far to long navigating the maze that is court politics...

[He smiled ruefully and then sighed]

Don't worry about it. My vanity is sufficiently reinforced already, but the thought it appreciated.

May I ask...what it was that you did before you came here? I'm guessing you did not work with people much.

[radiantwingedone]

.... [ Duke's trying to wrap his mind around lies helping trust, and lies with truths for people you don't want to friend, let alone to just everyone.

All the better for having left Zaphias. ]

Accurate..... A decade avoiding contact with humanity. A few years in war prior to that.

[lord_wizard]

[War. Well, that explained a little of that, but...]

You lived alone for that long?

[radiantwingedone]

From the end of the war until arrival here, yes. No human company. [ and then added, perhaps a little bitterly. ]

The war and its conclusion saw to that.

[lord_wizard]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry...

[radiantwingedone]

.... Was curiosity, to attempt to aid understanding.

[ But Duke is now interested in wandering off. ]

[lord_wizard]

[He sees that an falls in step, not quite willing to let Duke go just yet]

Wait. I'll walk with you.

[radiantwingedone]

[ But Duke doesn't want to wait.

Although by what he hears, he probably doesn't need to, Felix seems to be near him anyway.

Duke does his best to continue walking... somewhere. Clow's spell works well enough; he's not going to trip into any garden decorations, plant or not. ]

[lord_wizard]

[He tries a change in topic]

These gardens are very nice, though I'm not sure anything can compare to the Gardens of Nephele...[And never to the Khloidanikos]