daybreakacademy | End-of-Year Prom

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End-of-Year Prom

END OF YEAR PROM

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Every year, as the school year comes to a close, Daybreak Academy holds its Prom, an immense gala for the students to dress in their finest clothing, dance, mingle, and make merry. This year’s prom theme, selected by the outgoing student council, is “The Unyielding Spirit of Man”. Held in Soleil’s performance center, the enormous stage has been pulled out to make a huge dance floor, with the seating rearranged around the floor on all sides for onlookers to mingle, eat, and enjoy the festivities.

In keeping with the theme, the hall is decorated with tributes to mankind’s ingenuity, with various exhibits tastefully marked with museum-like plaques surrounding it. Exhibits celebrating all manner of inventions from fire, to the written word, to spellcraft, runecraft, and flight, all are commemorated here.

Of course, no prom, or indeed any Daybreak event would be complete without food. While each exhibit serves as an educational tribute to mankind’s accomplishments, each station is also a themed food dish. The tribute to fire, for example, hosts a variety of roasts and barbecued meat of the finest cuts, while the agriculture exhibit holds a bevy of fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads. Some of these pairings are a bit of a stretch (the tribute to flight, for example, holds sandwiches and peanuts, a reference, perhaps to airline food) but all are made with the finest of ingredients.

A - So about that airline food?
Mingling at the banquet table is a good way to be social without worrying about stepping on anyone’s toes. While proms and the herald may dull the appetite for some, it would be a waste to let all the food go untouched.

While there are Faculty and Grad students volunteering to keep these particular drinks spike-free, they cannot be watching it the whole time. However, if one plans to do this - do not get caught.

B - Dance! Boogie Wonderland!
As part of the theme, the variety of music has expanded greatly from the usual prom fare - long as it’s danceable, it’s being played, and sometimes the results are jarring going from a disco classic to a regal waltz, or a crooner love song to a bouncy k-pop chart topper that will get stuck in one’s head. Can you keep up with the mad pace? It’s enough to get even the most seasoned dancer hopping mad.

Or will it be viva la music revolution to get some sanity on the dance floor?

C - A Collection of Wallflowers
Maybe socializing isn’t your thing, or dancing isn’t the kind of activity you enjoy. There’s plenty of seating around the room for you to shuffle into a corner and spend the evening holed up with a plate of food. And for those more interested in poking and prodding at the exhibits, there’s a few little themed trinkets and prizes hidden away for the keen-eyed. Elegant wands that produce sparkles, bubbles and smoke, miniscule instruments, sparklers and colorful torches that never go out (and notably can’t set anything on fire) - all made to produce flashy effects, to spice up your experience on the dance floor - or someone’s experience, anyway.

D - Wine and Beer
As is typical of Daybreak, there’s an open bar with rich, well-aged ales and wines from all over Europe. And it is, of course, open to just about everyone. After all, this is France! For those who want to take a bit of an edge off the night, their worries about what is to come, or just generally be more sociable, there is plenty of libation to help you get there. Just be careful, nobody’s going to be counting your drinks but you.

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You're... running bets. On students dating. In public.

[ And the punch spiking too, but the open bar is already so disturbing that James doesn't care for any more horror in this vein. Daybreak just keeps happening. ]

[Jail just snickers.]

Oh, you sweet summer child.

I'm running bets on everyone dating. What, you thought the faculty was gonna get outta this? Like fuck, they're on the chart too.

.... I suppose I could give you points for equal treatment, but really, I'm still of the opinion that it's inappropriate.

[ And with a sigh and another look at Jail. ]

Which... literally does not matter to you nor will it ever, huh.

Depends. If you're saying that 'cause it upsets you, personally, then I can take your name off the chart and not talk to you about it. If the whole joke is just "it makes you feel bad and uncomfortable", then it goes from being funny to just kind of a dick move.

[She shrugs.]

But if it's just "this is not what people do in Polite Society blah blah standards blah rules" then yeah, no, I super do not give a shit.

It's both.

[ No use denying the second part. ]

I'd like to sort my romantic life out on my own, but I just... imagine most people feel the same about that. Or are people placing any bets on themselves?

Fair enough.

[She pulls out a sharpie from nowhere and scribbles out James' name on the chart. What, you thought she was being metaphorical about it? Heck no.]

Not letting 'em do that, 'cause it's a conflict of interest- can't bet on any relationship you're in. But I put myself on the chart, too, if that helps?

[ The existence of this physical list is.... horrifying, but at least this means the nightmare for himself is over. Or something. ]

............ at least you're not a hypocrite then.

[She does seem to be telling the truth about it, at least- her own name and the names of the other faculty are clearly visible on the chart if he looks.]

Huh. [Jail pauses, looking briefly thoughtful.] Y'know, that actually raises an interesting philosophical question: is it physically possible for me to be a hypocrite?

'Cause by definition, hypocrisy is claiming to have a moral belief that your own behavior doesn't live up to, and I'm pretty up front about not having any moral code.

[She appears to be genuinely thinking this one over.]

[ Jail is an appalling person but the question... is a good question. ]

Well, hypocrisy in the colloquial use doesn't relate super intimately to moral philosophy. So even your 'this is all nice and good fun' mantra for the betting pool here could be hypocritical if you didn't want yourself subjected to the same treatment.

I'd say. Though taking me of the list was... actually a pretty moral choice of you.

[Jail is all about enjoying herself. That includes intellectual pleasures, too. It's why she's banned from a few academic conferences.]

I never said nice. [Just 'fun'.]

See, that gets into the issue of whether morality is more intent or more outcome, y'know? I did it for the same reason I do... literally everything else I do: 'cause I wanted to. If something makes me feel good, I do it. If something makes me feel bad, I don't do it.

That's arguably a guiding principle, I guess? But it's pretty fucking dubious as a coherent personal credo, if you get me. Hedonism's technically an ethos, but only if you're not doing it hard enough.

[Jail: proof that intelligence and wisdom are very much not the same thing.]

[ It is sincerely throwing James off that someone can have this much thought about being without morals. In his head the amoral and the ruthless were people who didn't think much about it, who hadn't reflected enough. Jailbreak just exists to puzzle him. ]

Well, this begs the question of why it made you feel good to fulfill my request? It'd be more amoral if it made you feel good to displease me further.

Uh-uh-uh. [She wags a finger, playfully chiding.] You're mixing up amoral and immoral, there.

[Helpfully explaining, for a certain value of "helpful":] Immoral is deliberately going against what's good, either because you're actively trying to be malicious or because you got a warped moral code that doesn't match up with what the rest of us think is right. Amoral is when good or bad just... isn't a factor in the first place- I don't care about what's right or wrong, so I can end up doing either. It's pretty much a coin toss which way I'm gonna land, most days.

As for why... [She shrugs.] Honestly, hurting people is kinda boring? Teasing 'em, sure, getting 'em all riled up, that can be fun. But someone being just plain upset? Usually not that interesting.

Like I said- if it's not funny anymore, why bother?

[ James just ends up staring at this explanation. His brain is pretty clearly lagging a good few steps behind and needs a bit of processing time to catch up. ]

I think most people would just call 'not interested in hurting people' a trait that constitutes part of the definition for 'good person'. This is certainly the first time I've heard such a long-winded reasoning around it.

Eh, that's pretty subjective. But hey, what the fuck else is new. Moral philosophy's fun like that.

By that argument, you're a good person if you just do nothing at all, right? If all it takes is not actually hurting people, instead of actually helping 'em, or even just wanting to.

[She shrugs, winking playfully.]

Push comes to shove, maybe I just like hearing myself talk. Must be all those lectures I've been giving you kids. Getting to be a habit, here.

...Though, uh, fair warning? If you're gonna do the hero thing, odds are this is not gonna be the last time someone on the shadier side of things monologues at you about their personal choices.

In my experience, it's about a fifty-fifty split between the ones who go all "ha, foolish child, there is no time to talk to those doomed to die, evil laugh, evil laugh, etc" and the ones who give you, like. Their entire fucking life story, the second they get an opportunity to launch into a good rant.

I said 'part' of the definition.

[ DON'T MISQUOTE HIS IDEAS, JAIL. Though somewhere in his bewilderment he's beginning to feel a little amused. ]

And it's not like I'm required to listen to people who threaten world peace. I am required to listen to teachers however.

"Required" is a little strong. Encouraged, maybe.

[Jail grins.]

Promise you, none of this is gonna be on your next quiz.

And can I count on the promise of an amoral person?

[ It's said with levity, not meant to be mean, he just genuine wonders. ]

Aww, see? You're learning already.

[She sounds genuinely pleased.]

...Seriously, though. The more work I give you the more shit I gotta grade. No thanks.

[ That... actually makes him laugh, somehow. ]

That sounds more believable already.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

End-of-Year Prom

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I'm sorry this turned into Weird Philosophy Hour.

It's perfect actually, god bless

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