paradisa | In the ballroom...

[For those residents that find themselves locked in the ballroom, it's really quite a sight to see.

Balloons and streamers and cardboard hearts are strewn all about the room, hanging from the ceiling and decorating those tall, locked doors. But even if the doors won't open, it's not the worst place a person could find themselves.

If you're tired, there is a section of the ballroom where Valentine-themed blankets, pillows, beanbags and blow-up furniture spread out across the floor. The lights are somehow significantly dimmer on this side of the room, allowing for easier sleep.

Along one wall is a seemingly endless array of snack foods, candies, hors d'oeuvre, and anything else someone might want to wish up. There's plenty of room! Nearby, a chocolate fountain stands as tall as the average resident, constantly flowing with delicious chocolate for dipping. Directly beside the fountain is a very, very large chocolate chip cookie shaped like a heart. The cookie alone could feed the entire ballroom if desired. Perhaps as you approach the snack area, you'll find yourself holding a tall, cold glass of pink lemonade.

For entertainment, there is plenty of music, movies and video games to satisfy all genres. Residents are free to wish up whatever they'd like! This is all about having fun with others, after all, and Paradisa's willing to allow (almost) anything to get those bonds forming.

TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE OF THE DAY

In the center of the room is a parachute of grand proportions, colored with stripes of red, pink and white. It's rather large, and cannot be handled by just a few people.

Residents may feel encouraged to run over and help lift the parachute. If enough people can band together and start up a few parachute games, the castle will reward the ballroom.

The reward: The ceiling of the ballroom will fade away, giving the illusion of sunny skies and fluffy clouds during the day, and brilliant stars at night.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ she grins. ]

So do I. You should wait a while to see whether or not I'm right, though. The day I'm able to predict what the castle's up to is the day they'll crown me Queen of Sheba.

So you can become a 'queen' if you guess what Paradisa is going to do?

[ she opens her mouth, closes it, and starts again, giggling. ]

No, that was just an expression.

[it made sense to him.]

Really? I'm not good at telling them yet.

No, no, no, it's fine! It's like... can you imagine anyone making me the queen of anything? Keep in mind that I'm twelve and I can't spell the word wreath.

Maybe when you're older? [because becoming older meant you knew more things so that might help.]

Like... a bajillion years older?

[give him a minute to try and figure out how much older 'a bajillion' is.]

Maybe? You'd be old enough to know a lot of things then.

True. In a bajillion years I could probably learn everything. [ she takes a second to daydream about that; knowing everything would be awesome. ]

Anyway, the point is, even if they make me the Queen of Sheba in a bajillion years, a bajillion years is a really long time, right? And me being a Queen would be awesome, but not likely. So when I said "The day I'm able to predict what the castle's up to is the day they'll crown me Queen of Sheba", I meant, "I'll never be able to predict what the castle's up to".

See?

[knowing everything would really be awesome, though Dextera would still probably have questions even then.]

I think I understand it a little bit. [the Coffin Man sometimes spoke like that. it was probably the lack of swearing that had him confused.]

You should always ask me questions, okay? Whenever you don't understand what I say, and to tell you the truth, I think lots of people don't understand me when I talk but they just don't wanna say. It's good practise for me.

[...it really did feel strange when people told him it was okay to ask questions.]

You're okay with that?

Of course! [ she smiles ] Why wouldn't I be? Trust me, I ask people questions all the time. It's the only way you get to learn stuff!!

Some people don't like being asked so I ask if they mind or not. But thank you.

No problem.

So, what do you plan on doing while you're stuck in here?

[ she snags a strawberry, goes over to dip it in the chocolate fountain, and comes back over so she can read his reply. ]

[his answer isn't that exciting.]

Sleeping, maybe. I don't know if there's anything else to do.

[ she hops onto the table. ]

You could go help with the parachute, if you wanted. Though I dunno what it's for, to be honest. Or, I dunno, play games and mingle. I'm just gonna wish up some books and stuff.

[that gets his attention.]

What kind of books?

Hmmm. I'm not sure yet! A friend was talking to me about weddings the other day, and I might want to read up a little on that. I was also thinking about reading a few books on the flute so I could get ready to teach myself! Or I might read some fashion magazines, or maybe some regular fiction books.

[hey, he remembers you mentioning 'fashion' before.]

There are books for fashion too?

There sure are. All kinds. There are books to help you make clothes, if you want to do that. There are magazines that tell you about the latest styles and fashions and what celebrities are wearing. There are books about the history of fashion, too. History can be boring, a lot of the time, but not when you're learning about A-lines and ruffles!

[hun. 'ruffles' remind him of a few people.]

There's history for it too?

Definitely. There's a history for everything, because everything's gotta start somewhere, right?

[he manages a bit of a smile.]

That's true. Do you know where it started?

[ she opens her mouth, then closes it, then takes a breath and open it again, and then closes it again. ]

Actually... I don't! And it'd be pretty hard to pinpoint an exact date or place, since things were happening with fashion all over the world since who knows when.

There's probably a book that could tell you, though...

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twisted_baroque - 2012-02-19 02:07 (UTC) - Expand

blabs - 2012-02-19 02:17 (UTC) - Expand