Let The Spectacle Astound You

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

Characters: OPEN
Progress: Continuous
Summary: The party you've all been waiting for: the Grand Ball of Alexandria!
Location: Palace Alexandria
Date: June 21st, 1803
Warnings: TBA. Eventually, Violence.

For weeks, the palace had been abuzz with activity; even more so than usual. On top of the usual hustle and bustle of daily life, there were the extensive preparations to be done for the festival, and this, the grand finale. The palace's largest ballroom had been decorated from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. Long elaborate draperies of silk and chiffon in white and cream, the stairs lined in a rich, crimson carpeting. Gold and silver everywhere, framing the large windows and the door opening out to the courtyard. A warm summer evening, with the roses in full bloom. Flowers adorned every table, column, and doorway. It wasn't just the ballroom that had been decorated, however; the entire palace was decked in regalia, the staff having obviously anticipated the crowd to be much larger than usual.

All around the palace, inside and out, the guard was on high alert. Every guest was greeted, checked, and in the case of the higher-ranked, announced to the company at large. The sun had not quite set, and already the ballroom was half full; nobles and low-born alike, natives and foreigners, all dressed in their best. The guest of honor had yet to make her appearance, but no one seemed to be fussed by the fact.

But the night was young, and there was bound to plenty of seeing and being seen before the night was over.

[[ooc: Here we go, everyone! Party style still applies. Tag in, tag each other, mingle, HAVE FUN!... while you can. Thread jumping and ninja tagging is encouraged. ^.^]]

Update: A fist fight broke out on page two. Feel free to ninja in to spectate, generally comment or gasp, or just read it and have a laugh. Appropriate authority figures... Squall, Steiner, etc may need to step in.

Comments

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

"H...hello," he mumbled in reply, sounding a bit dazed. He didn't even consider how it may have looked inappropriate; too busy wondering if any of his ribs felt broken.

Everything seemed to be in order though, and he took her hand for assistance to his feet. He straightened himself up, dusting off his green coat, and mumbled a thanks.

When he looked back up at her, he gave her a wavering, uncertain kind of smile, and said, "It's, ah. It's good to see you again."

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

Easily flustered is right. He flailed and blushed furiously when she hugged him, and quickly backed away half a step or so when she released him. "I'm fine," he squeaked, hands coming up to cover his mouth and nose. "Thank you."

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

"Oh but - !" BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DANCE. He screamed it only in his mind; he was much too shy to scream it aloud.

But there was something about Selphie that killed any argument. She was not a person you refused. And so, no less flustered, he cautiously set his hand in hers and let her lead on.

His other hand stayed splayed over his face, trying in vain to conceal the fact that he'd turned bright red behind his freckles.

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

Selphie forcing his hands into the right places was not helping him be any less flustered. He didn't resist, at least. He just forced a deep, shaky breath to try to get his nerves under control.

Dancing with a girl, what was this!

At the very last second he pulled away, holding up his hands. "N-no, I can't, s-sorry, I, um--" Oh, this was embarrassing.

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

"I..." His shoulders hunched and he pulled his hands in to his chest, drawing in on himself, staring at the ground. "I don't know how to dance..." came out as a quiet, shy whisper.

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

He didn't think he'd have much fun with it, but she seemed so insistent and he really didn't want to upset her or anything by continuing to refuse. So he willed up some courage and steeled himself for...a dance.

His hands (very nervously and very lightly) in the right places, and his blush having faded to just a red tint across his cheeks, he mumbled an almost determined sounding, "Okay." But he wasn't looking her in the eyes, and he was wearing a thoughtful frown, the sort somebody wears while working through a difficult math problem.

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

... THAT WASN'T SIMPLE. HE WAS TERRIBLE AT TIMING. Even watching the other dancers, all that did was confuse him!

His frown deepened.

Not thinking too hard about things was impossible for him, Selphie. He was going to overthink this so hard. That did not help his confidence about it at all.

"Al...alright..." It didn't sound too certain, but it was the best you were gonna get out of him.

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

He let out a quiet squeak. Her suddenly addressing him out of nowhere while he was so focused had surprised him. His head snapped back to her and he frowned again.

"...R...right..." He took a deep breath. No getting out of this! HE WAS GOING TO DANCE WITH SELPHIE, IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. "You, um. You lead...?"

[saltparsley.livejournal.com]

"I...er. Okay." He couldn't honestly promise something like that. You couldn't just force yourself to have fun, it didn't work that way. But, ugh, she wouldn't be satisfied with that answer so he just made the empty promise. It was easier than arguing.

He tried to follow her lead and tried not to think about it too hard (that was asking waaaay too much of him), but in the end he was just bad at it. There were several mumbled apologies for stepping on her feet, and when the dance finally ended he looked extremely relieved to have finally gotten it all over with.