daybreakacademy | VALENTINES BALL

VALENTINES BALL

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February 14th is a day both famed and notorious for feats of love, passion and confession. And violence, as this year’s theme suggests - a 1920s speakeasy theme, initially based off the Valentines’ Day massacre of 1929 and toned down to be significantly more fun and less a dark reminder of bloodshed. While this year’s event has no predicted surprises like a daemon invasion in store, the Student Council has still chosen to hire extra security for the ball; bulky constructs in surprisingly well-tailored pinstripe suits and hats stand guard outside the entrances to the venue, impassively watching for any signs of trouble.

The ball itself is laid out similar to a 1920s club, with a large space for dancing, a stage for entertainment, and plenty of tables and chairs for sitting, dining, and chatting. Bars on both sides of the room provide a place to order and collect both food and drink, and the second storey of the venue has been put into use to provide quieter and more secluded places to sit.

A. Classy…? Cocktails
As ever, the Academy has provided a lavish and thematic spread of food for the occasion, with a few unique twists to fit the theme. The drinks of are particular note - aside from the usual range of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks that Daybreak provides, many are tailor-made for the ball due to a collaboration between some of the alchemy and culinary classes in Daybreak (who were rather too eager to volunteer). Have you ever wondered what it’s like to drink cake or a steak? You’ll find plenty of experiments here, both savory and sweet, to facilitate that experience.

If that’s not to your tastes, some drinks are purely decorative, providing some unique visual or audio effects - you might find yourself sepia-toned or monochrome, chattering like an old-fashioned radio host or filled with an irrepressible urge to sing everything you say - among other things. Mercifully, everything wears off by the end of the night.

B. Changing Stages
While this ball is by no means illegal, there has at least been an attempt to capture the more ‘forbidden’ aspects of a speakeasy. As the night goes on, switches and buttons appear on the walls, and pressing them will make the room shift and change to reveal secret doors and elevators - partially mechanical tricks, but mostly through clever application of magic and mundane illusion. These exits from the room provide ample opportunity for attendees to stretch their legs and take a walk and a break from the rest of the party through mazelike, glittering hallways and smoke-hazy corridors that lead to balconies and small lounges looking out onto strange, abstract views. Walk far enough, and you might end up in a completely different part of the venue than you were before - though for the truly lost, the corridors will always bring you to someone you can ask for help sooner or later, or guide you out.

Well, eventually. It wouldn’t quite fit the theme of a speakeasy without a little bit of uncertainty, would it?

C. Nyeh, See?
For those who would rather indulge in the darker implications of the theme and have no patience for the other entertainment on offer, this maze of corridors offers one other attraction - enchanted guns and gear for laser tag. In strict adherence to the theme, all guns resemble the kind of weaponry that 1920s gangsters would be boasting - and no matter what you were wearing at the time, as soon as you attach a pendant to your clothing, you're immediately in magically-fitting suits any gangster would envy. They even give off the illusion of bleeding should you be 'shot' by one of these enchanted guns, though to avoid causing undue concern the illusory blood sparkles and shines different colours.

D. Shall We Dance?
No Valentines ball is complete without the opportunity to get close to someone you might enjoy the company of, after all. To fit with the speakeasy theme, music and entertainment has been provided - both stage performances from volunteers and a selection of recorded music from the era. And for those up on the second floor, a station has been provided for whatever you’d like to broadcast to the entire room. Whether you’re up on the stage, down on the dancefloor, or you simply want to set a little mood music for certain people to take a hint, there’s bound to be something to do.

Some of the spirits and other, benign creatures that inhabit Daybreak’s grounds have decided to invite themselves, finding the music and warmth too irresistible to refuse. As a result, masked figures dressed in the vague approximation of 1920s fashion can be spotted among the more solid attendants, and those who don’t have a dance partner might well find themselves being asked to dance regardless - and be given small gifts as a token of gratitude for the indulgence. Or they might just nudge you into dancing with someone new...

E. Wildcard
Anything else you’d want to do at the dance? Feel free to enjoy the night - it’s for everyone to indulge themselves, after all.

code bases by tricklet

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He chuckles softly, nodding a bit in response. "Yes, I've met her. She is very earnest, but she clearly has good intentions in what she does." He says.

"To be honest, I really enjoy wandering around in the secret halls, seeing whatever views I found as I went about. The game in there was fun, but the more settled enjoyment was... nicer in the long run." He admits, considering the whole of the dance to offer his honest opinion, since he figured his friend would appreciate to know it for other events.

Let it never be said that Kohaku is not earnest.

Ever. "Mnh, the maze charms..." He nods in agreement. "It was tricky to put together, but well worth it in the end...definitely not something to experience for long periods of time though," he remarks as he shakes his head. "Finding a good balance between activities like that, and the remaining dance, will be something we have to work on..."

"I'm sure it can be done." He offers. "It's rather nice to see such an event have activities for those who aren't keen on dancing, or at least not for long. The few that I've made my way to, before coming here, were all just that, a dance floor, perhaps a photo set up... but nothing that got a person away from a busy dance floor. This has been so very nice, by comparison. So don't worry too much about changes for the future tonight... enjoy the night!"

He wanted to encourage the other to just enjoy things as well and figured the worst he could do was embarrass himself a little bit. "Do you dance?" He asks.

"Ahah! I'll do just that then!" he laughs a bit cheerfully- it's hardly against the grain of what he's already been doing, after all, and-

Uh-

"Mnh? Dancing..." He thinks back to the last time he did. "I suppose a little? I don't do it often I admit..." ...

wait

"D..." Oh. "...Do you want to..."

"Well, it would be a shame to come to the school dance and not dance at all." He is mostly referring to himself, but if it applied to Gongenzaka then he wouldn't deny the truth of it there too.

"I may not be good at it, but the point is to enjoy the time, right?" He adds, knowing that his lack of real ability to dance should be warned for. He is just terrible at keeping time at a steady pace, even if he knows how he's supposed to move.

"Mnh! Indeed!" Well, he'll offer his paws to the other then, a bit of confidence re-sparked in the bear. "In this case, we'll just both do our best!" Gongenzaka, fortunately, is careful enough to avoid stepping on things...and probably won't Notice if he's stepped on somehow, so.

Here they go..?

Giorno smiles and takes the offered paw, and they head out to the dance floor. It's clear the blond is putting in effort to keep with the dance, and at least avoid stepping on his dance partner. His movements are fairly fluid, and might actually even be nice, if he could keep time with the music for more than a couple steps.

At the very least every time he gets off beat and realizes to try and recover it, he gives a bit of a grin, looking happy anyway. His cheeks are a little flushed, though it has nothing to do with the wine he's had, but rather some sincere enjoyment as they dance.

Gongenzaka in contrast, manages to keep beat but at the cost of rather repeatedly getting distracted- audibly, anyway. His ears swivel back and forth, and while he somehow fails to ever step on the other's toes despite missed steps, it seems that may well be because of whatever he's listening to.

Rather like Giorno, he's finding it...Enjoyable, genuinely. It's been a while since he danced which might affect it, but now that he Is dancing, he's having some fun with it for sure.

Hard to tell if a bear is grinning back, but it Feels like it at least.

They probably made a bit of a spectacle as a pair, dancing like this, but that was hardly something Giorno cared about when he thought about it, instead finding it easy to just focus on their dancing and the music.

He can't remember a time when he's just enjoyed himself this much. It's rather amazing to him to think that he'd find an easy friend out here, at a school he hadn't even known existed a year ago. He wasn't half so frustrated at moving out here now than he'd been the first time they met, and he couldn't help but think having the Werebear as a friend had a bit to do with it.

Giorno was so lost in thought on the idea for a moment that he missed more than just a beat and ended up nearly tripping over himself. "Oh! I should watch out for my head in the clouds." He says with a laugh as he tries to right himself.

"Mnh! Careful-" Missed beats are so tricky, aren't they? At least the bear catches it, merely nodding rapidly as he smiles. "Don't worry about it, mnn? A dance is supposed to be something you can get lost in, or so I'm told at least! If no one is getting hurt, it's fine to get a little distracted."

"It is, isn't it?" he said with a smile. He hadn't felt this care free in an age it felt like. He liked this so much, just spending time with someone he trusted.

He had a very momentary startled expression as that realization sank in, though he smoothed it away quickly, tucking the idea to the side to examine more later. As amazing as it was for him to realize, it would take more thinking about and right now he wanted to focus on the dancing and spending time with Gongenzaka.

The bear nods. And...

"...We should do this more," he says without thinking, only to choke a bit when he realizes what he said without thinking. "AUH- I mean...we should do more here, though I guess maybe at another dance as well? Auh..."

Smooth,

Giorno smiles and chuckles softly at that. "I'd like that, both parts." He says after a moment, not wanting to leave Gongenzaka stewing on the whole thing for too long.

Of course he was also feeling a fluttering sensation in his stomach and it was not the least bit caused by the way his mind tried to suggest that the other was either preemptively asking him to another school dance, or was expressing a deeper interest. To his own surprise, as with the idea that he trusted the werebear, the fact that neither idea was undesirable was a revelation to himself.

VALENTINES BALL

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