Card StatsVignette
Training Regimen (Part One)
Pocket Dimension - Sparkling Hall
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Next comes a turn. Follow my lead and...now. There we go. A clean turn with perfect timing. |
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Oh, how marvelous! I was never any good at waltzing when I was alive. Balls were always so dreadful for me. But I'm actually enjoying this kind of dancing! You're a splendid lead. |
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I'm glad to hear it. You needn't fret about being perfect in a contra dance, where you go down a line of dance partners. It might not suit more high-brow affairs, but for a casual party like this one? That dance should serve you well. After all, everyone must enjoy themselves on Halloween. That's the rule. |
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Oh yes, quite right! |
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It's just about time to change partners. Once this next measure finishes, take the hand of the person to the left. |
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All right. Thank you, this has been wonderful. I hope you have a lovely evening! |
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You as well. |
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You're surprisingly in your element here. Might I have the next dance? |
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It would be my pleasure. Your hand, if you would…Vil. |
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I've been watching you from the sidelines. You have excellent form, and your footwork is quite smooth. I'm amazed, to be honest. I didn't expect you to be such a good dancer. |
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I've had an interest in social dancing since I was a child. I learned it from my mother, as part of my rigorous education. I'm more comfortable with dance routines that have set steps, rather than more liberal forms where you just move your body to the rhythm. |
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This is Halloween, you know. You can stop scowling now. I wasn't disparaging you. I was giving you a compliment. Would it hurt you to take it? |
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It came across like you were making light of my athletic abilities. |
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You do realize that your glass-half-empty approach is basically an advertisement for your personal issues. The point I was trying to make was—you can now dance in high heels without wobbling. It's quite the step up, considering how your legs shook like a newborn fawn's last year. |
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Wait, what? |
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Oh, don't you remember? It was soon after you became housewarden... |
Training Regimen (Part Two)
Pocket Dimension - Sparkling Hall
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Oh, don't you remember? It was soon after you became housewarden… |
FLASHBACK START
Interior Hallway
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Will all the housewarden meetings be that long? I'd understand if we were having a constructive exchange of ideas, but that was just people pushing work off on each other! |
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Haha... Housewardens are busy guys. No one wants to add to their workload. |
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Well, I'm busy too. As it stands, Heartslabyul does not embody the Queen of Heart's spirit of strictness. But now that I'm housewarden, I'm going to rectify that. I'll start by ensuring everyone memorizes all 810 of our esteemed rules. Our dorm is practically bursting with rulebreakers. I hardly have the time to behead them all! |
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So...I get where you're coming from, but maybe dial it back a little, okay? It's unheard of for a dorm to change housewardens just a week after the start of school. The students might not know what to make of it. |
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YOU'RE SOFT! The reason things are so dire is because you upperclassmen condone their indolent behavior. I must lay down the law in accordance with our time-honored rules… ...Hrk! |
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Riddle? What's wrong? You came to a sharp stop there. |
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It's nothing. I just remembered some business I must attend to. You can go on back to the dorm without me. |
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Okay, sure. See you later. |
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There... He's gone. People don't usually pass through here. I'll just take a small breather. *huff* I had a feeling. I felt a sharp pain back there, and sure enough, I've got a nasty blister on my foot. It happens, I suppose. These ARE new shoes, and I've never worn high heels before. Their shape isn't very conducive to walking or exercise. Why do so many people wear them, I wonder? |
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Need a bandage? Blisters are such tiny little things. How can they be so unbearable? |
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You're the Pomefiore vice housewarden, ah... |
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Vil Schoenheit. I saw you wobbling about like a newborn fawn and simply had to say something. Your dorm honors the Queen of Hearts, but your unseemly gait hardly does the same. |
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Rgh... |
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Tell me, why did you choose to wear those shoes? |
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What? |
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The school allows housewardens to make adjustments to their dorm uniform as they see fit. Based on the grumbling I just heard, you don't seem the type to wear high heels because you like them. The Heartslabyul Housewarden has dressed similarly to the rest of his dorm members for as long as I've been enrolled here. Your predecessor wore sneakers just like they did. It hardly seems necessary to force yourself to wear high heels. |
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You're correct. They hurt my feet, and it irks me when people assume I'm wearing them to make myself look taller. |
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Then why? |
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There are historical records of both the Queen of Hearts and the first Heartslabyul housewarden wearing them. I had my uniform tailored to match that of our first housewarden. As to your point, Vil—yes, I was informed about the liberties housewardens can take with their uniforms. But I believe that the head of a dorm honoring the Queen of Hearts should abide by tradition, which includes dressing formally. A housewarden must always be a model to their dorm's students. Heartslabyul is utterly lax right now. Our entire dorm culture needs to be reformed, swiftly and thoroughly! |
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I can appreciate your desire to improve your dorm. That said... |
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Yes? What is it? |
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...Never mind. It's hardly my place to stick my nose in another dorm's business. Regardless, you'll have a hard time making it back to your dorm with your foot like that. Just accept my offering, would you? |
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...Very well. Your aid would be appreciated. |
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I'm used to heels now, but a few years back I couldn't go anywhere without bandages. |
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I'll make sure to keep some on hand moving forward. My failure to adequately prepare won't happen again. |
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You can cut down on blisters by changing your insoles or sticking cushioned pads on the heel. It's harder than you'd think to wear high heels in a beautiful way. |
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Thank you for the bandage. Would you tell me what class you're in? I'd like to give you a new one tomorrow. |
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Please, do I look that stingy? You don't owe me for a silly bandage. |
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It's a rule in my dorm to always return what one borrows. I will not embarrass myself like that again. Now, if you'll excuse me. |
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That boy is a disaster waiting to happen...and I'm not just talking about his wobbly gait. |
FLASHBACK END
Training Regimen (Part Three)
Pocket Dimension - Sparkling Hall
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...Oh, yes, I remember that now. |
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You surprised me the next day too. I couldn't believe you actually looked up my class and tracked me down to give me a new bandage. |
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I told you it was a rule. Besides, I wouldn't have felt right otherwise. The night you gave me the bandage, I ordered a manual on proper walking technique. I also watched videos on correct posture and how to adjust your center of gravity to walk more gracefully, and added both to my training regimen. Now I spend most of the days in heels, and as you can see, dancing is not an issue. I'll consider it a win that I was able to show you I can dance in heels. That's a silver lining to this whole ordeal. After all, one can't let a poor impression go uncorrected indefinitely. |
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And here I thought you'd mellowed out considerably since those days. I suppose some things never change. Whatever the case, it's like I'm dancing with a different person. I can see no hint of that previous newborn fawn. |
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I've also learned that heels offer unique benefits other footwear doesn't. When I make an effort to walk elegantly in heels, I elevate my line of sight, and my back and neck straighten out. I also enjoy how good posture makes me feel more energized. |
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I couldn't agree more. High heels make us look stronger and more attractive. |
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Very true. Not to mention... It's pretty gratifying to watch the Heartslabyul students instantly straighten up when they hear my footsteps. That kind of clarion clacking only comes with a good pair of heels. |
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You've certainly got a lot to say about them now. We do in fact attract attention with every step we take, even in this dance hall. I imagine that with the Fairest Queen and the Queen of Hearts... The mere clacking of their heels brought their retainers to their knees. |
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Indeed. I'm sure that when the card soldiers who forgot to paint the roses heard her steps drawing near… They shivered with dread at what fate might befall their heads. A single footstep can announce one's presence, while inspiring both respect and fear. Given that we represent the dorms honoring those queens, our shoes should be no less sharp. |
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