victory_road | GIVE ME PROM OR GIVE ME DEATH

So you’ve gotten on the ferry, piloted by a man loudly proclaiming himself to be Captain Garfield and won’t this be fun everybody? We’re going to a party! Hope you all like boundless enthusiasm for boating, because this guy and his trusty Rattata (who will be collecting everyone’s fees, pay up or you don’t get on!) sure do love this and want everyone to know it. Finally, through caves and up rivers, there it is, shining in the dim evening light: The Elite Four’s Mansion (and blessed freedom from Captain Garfield). It looks amazing! Bunk down for the night and get a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow? It’s party time.

KEY:

• BLUE areas are where the bulk of the party's events will be located! As you can see, the festivities will be taking place largely outdoors. Some of the landscaping is a little different than what longterm residents might remember-- again, this WAS the site of a pretty epic battle between Teams Aqua and Magma at one point! All the same, in two years, you’d think they’d have wrapped up most of the work… there’s a lot of large-ish dirt piles and general disarray in the grounds outside the main yard, although the main grounds are still tidied up and decked out pretty heavily for the garden party. There’s even a little gazebo set up where you can have pictures taken of you, your date, and/or your Pokemon! The gazebo smells a little like fresh paint and plywood, but the paint is at least probably dry! There’s also an indoor ballroom for the more fancy red-carpet dancing, but in general, most of the activity will be happening outside.

• GREEN areas are where guests will be staying overnight! Unfortunately, you'll be sleeping-bagging it up, since there's a limited number of bedrooms in this house and they all either belong to Claire, the rest of the Elite Four, or are reserved for guests who are regrettably way more important than you. That much is the same as always-- Bruno really doesn’t want anybody digging through his underwear drawer, guys. He never has.
All that said, the green areas are where you'll be given space to leave your possessions, claim some sleeping room, and generally crash for the night once the festivities do you in.

• RED areas are RESOUNDINGLY off-limits to guests! There’s a lot more blocked-off doorways than there were in the past, and if asked about them, the staff will inform you that the mansion is under heavy remodeling and to please move along! What do you want to look at a bunch of sawdust and exposed wiring for anyway! Stop being nosy!
For everybody’s safety, there will be some staff stationed near the various restricted areas to move people along and make sure nobody wanders where they shouldn’t.

• AREA A is the designated Indoor Ballroom area, for the people who prefer the classy elegance of a formal red-carpet gala over the more whimsy outdoor garden party atmosphere in the back. There's a big skylight and lots of space to move around! … But the hardwood floors are looking a little scuffed, and there doesn’t seem to be the usual array of tasteful artwork on the walls anymore, even though you can still tell where a lot of the frames used to be hanging. There are some red banners strung up over most of those empty spots, and although don’t quite match the decor and they’re a little on the cheap side, they certainly make it look like a sweet party! Overall, though, a little more upscale than the shenanigans going on outside, for the people who'd rather that kind of thing.

• AREA B, as some of the more bookish types will remember, is the Library/Gallery! A long-time favorite of visitors, it’s usually a nice haven for people who are a little partied-out but not ready for bed, or who just want to dig into the Elite Four’s personal collection of books and research. SADLY, this year it would seem the door is blocked off! Remodeling in there too, huh? What a shame. :(

• AREA C is...well, the Parking Lot. Normally it’s spotless (no cars!), but this year it looks like they didn’t really have time to clean up, as there seems to be a lot of litter lying around. But more importantly, this is where you take your Pokemon battles if you simply gotta get your battle on; keep it out and away from the house, please, and try not to make too much of a mess. Skirmishes, sorties, and sparring will be tolerated here and here alone. Don’t be that person, guys!

• AREA D … is the Elite Four’s trophy and commemoration room, and it too seems to be shut off to the public. :( Awwww.

For all other information about the Prom and the venue, head on over HERE!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For two people who don't look like waltzers--Envy for one looks like he dances exclusively to headbanging death metal--they sure know what they're doing, doubts and sass aside.

Envy has to admit as he takes the lead, Walter actually does know how to dance. Which honestly just makes him feel a little more disgruntled about this, but hey, at least his feet aren't going to get stepped on during these hideously awkward minutes.

And he doesn't have to pretend to be interested in Walter, which is another definite plus. He may be dying inside as he dances with his best friend's enemy while their lovebirds croon and tap beaks directly on top of them, but the fact that it's still kind of an improvement on Amestrian military balls is...uh. Saying something. Here, he's not under any orders or threats of punishment, aside from those of a potentially upset bird. He'd still had some fun dancing, then, or he wouldn't like it so much in Johto, but the contrast is stark.

"What, was someone teaching you or did you just all figure out how to do this on your own?"

Walter certainly looks like he typically belongs in a grange concert than in a ballroom. Alas, the grange scene didn't kicked off until the early 90s and Walter wasn't aware of what grange was.

"The Priests taught us the basics. We elaborated on our own, in the woods." He had thought about dancing in college but he had been a mess of nerves, fear and depression. Since coming to Johto he had been dancing with his Pokemon in the woods or in his home and with Angel from time to time but it was nice to dance to fitting music for a change, instead of the ever constant background sound that seemed to persist in this world.

"Who taught you?" Envy certainly did know what he was doing. While he didn't trust him to do any dips and Walter was sure Envy knew how to do them and other moves. In a way it's a small mercy the birds are there since that completely shut down any chance of doing anything too elaborate. And Walter is counting it a blessing that Darkness isn't insisting he lead. At least they seem happy?

Yes, as awkward as they are, it's a good thing the birds are there in that regard. Envy's not so sure that dips or anything elaborate would really...well, he could probably make them work if he wanted to, but the difference in heights between them would make it tricky.

Although he does briefly entertain the notion that he could probably totally drop Walter halfway through a dip and make it seem like a complete accident...

The question doesn't catch him off guard, and he shrugs, snorting as though what he's saying isn't of any importance at all. "Oh, my master loved it, I always said nobody could spend more than a week near her without picking it up. I had centuries. Besides, I needed it sometimes for jobs."

"Although he does briefly entertain the notion that he could probably totally drop Walter halfway through a dip and make it seem like a complete accident... - this shit right here? Is why he doesn't trust you. Although he doesn't have a good opinion of others to begin with.

The mention of a master...he reflected on it quietly. It wasn't as if he didn't have a 'master' himself, although his hadn't really encouraged hobbies. And he couldn't imagine how dance would help him complete the 21 Sacraments. Wrath had mentioned a master too and that Lyra had been owned by his brother.

"The one who watched over me didn't encourage interests outside of my duty."

Honestly, it's probably for the best for people to not completely trust Envy unless they are his very close friends, much less if he's actively annoyed at them.

The spite is real.

Although he's distracted from that thought quickly, blinking in surprise for a moment at the implication that Dante would have knowingly let them have hobbies.

"What? Oh, it wasn't a hobby to her, it was just something that made me more useful."

The pitch of his voice and even his expression changes in an instant, clearly an imitation of a disdainful, condescending old woman, laced with a little extra bitterness that's all Envy's own, "Homunculi aren't people, they don't have interests."

Whoops, actually that might've been a bit much. Envy quickly reins that back in, shrugging it off--as far as he's concerned, this isn't any of Walter's business.

"It doesn't matter. Either way, I've had plenty of time to learn."

While the impersonation was impressive, it wasn't that which gave Walter pause. He wasn't expecting to find any sort of common ground with Envy any time soon. They knew each other because of their birds and kept in touch purely because of their birds also. He knew Envy was protective of Henry and had some venom towards him over Henry's role as the Receiver of Wisdom. While he understood it, it didn't mean he was as amenable for abuse from him as he was Henry.

He spoke quietly, eyes avoiding Envy's which was a little awkward given the dance. "...Wrath told me people said similar things about him. I disagreed."

He wouldn't go into his own history, how little his life or interests or anything mattered to the people and forces who controlled him. But, he wanted to say that much. And now to change the topic. "You do dance very well." ...he couldn't outright say it was nice to dance with someone who danced as gracefully as Envy, but an attempt was made.

At his side, Darkness was very much focused on Lyra - but he picked up on what Walter had just said and couldn't help drawing himself up proudly. See how mild his trainer could be! If only Lyra's followed suit, then that boded well for future meetings like this.

Walter isn't the only one avoiding eye contact at that--Envy even tenses, a little, at the words, simply because of how personal the topic is.

"I disagree now. I don't know if Wrath does yet or not."

Deflecting it onto Wrath is much easier than admitting to anything more about himself. This is so awkward.

The compliment is just as unexpected.

"Yeah, well. You're not half bad, for learning to dance in the woods."

He tosses his head a little as he says it; two Weirdly Nice comments in a row has left him feeling insecure and needing to cover up for it with Huff. So, not as mild, but...

Lyra is a lot more familiar with Envy's behavioral...quirks, and lets out a pleased croak as she surreptitiously leans to bump her beak to Darkness', as though the trainers would understand her as she tells Darkness slyly, "See how this is going! Mine has almost said something pleasant aloud. We'll be able to visit more easily, I'm sure."

"Wrath is good. I like his company." He murmured, preferring to focus on that. Wrath was strange, feral and sometimes frustrating to talk with when it came to certain things. But overall, he was good. Genuine. Walter knew where he stood with Wrath and it was...it wasn't a bad place. He could say that much to someone who wasn't Wrath. Admitting to Wrath himself that he enjoyed his company and liked him would be extremely awkward and difficult to say.

The compliment, he hummed vaguely. He was used to compliments coming with a 'but' or a condition. Sure, it meant that the compliment didn't really mean anything, but it was used to that.

On his shoulder, Darkness laughed and leaned against her. "I should hope so, my darling! Not that these two's squabbles have ever prevented us in the past, but it would be wonderful to visit without the clouds of their discomfort hovering overhead." Not that Darkness really cared about secondhand embarrassment either but he did enjoy being poetic.

GIVE ME PROM OR GIVE ME DEATH

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