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Now that she is at Crystal Academy, Fallon is ready to get on with her life and forget about Barren Pines altogether. So what will she do? Throw a dinner party, of course! Fallon loves to organize dinner parties, and it has been far too long since she had her last. And what is a dinner party without a carefully constructed get-to-know-you game? Nothing, that's what! Good food, good friends, good laughs are in store at Fallon's First-Annual Dinner Party.

Mmkay – so let me break it down in terms of how this is going to work.

First, everyone just needs to do a little entrance post. The dinner portion of the evening will move very quickly RP-wise. I will likely do a “fade to black” post after a bit of interaction that announces the dinner is over, Fallon has cleared plates, and she has set the table for the game.

GAME, YOU SAY? Yes, a game. ^^ This game is actually the meat and potatoes of her dinner party. So get excited!

Basically, everyone who is invited and plans to have their student attend needs to send me FIVE questions that their character would want to know about other people in the room. (For example, Fallon might ask: “What is the best thing you have ever eaten?”) I will take all of those questions and compile them into a numbered, randomized list, which will be posted in one of the first couple posts. I would like the questions to be kind of a secret so I will post them in WHITE with only the number of the question visible without highlighting. Resist the urge to read the other questions! When you roll for your question, just highlight next to whatever number it is to learn what your character is about to answer.

When it is your character's turn to go, you will make a blank post in which you roll a single die (very much akin to how deaths in the fire were decided in the Barren Pines metaplot) to determine the question that they will draw from the bowl. Once you have your number, consult the list to learn your question. Then you need to go back and edit your post with your RP response to it. If it is not your turn to choose a question, you can still interject reaction RP posts! If Serenade admits to kissing seven people or something, Fallon would most definitely say something, even if she will not have her turn for a couple rounds. However, aside from the order of whose turn it is to select a question, there is NO OFFICIAL POSTING ORDER. With big groups, posting orders that are too strict make things kind of wonky. x.x

Once the person has answered their question, they will pass the bowl to the next person. If someone gets a reaction post in between Person 1 and Person 2, then that is fine and dandy, but not necessary for the game to keep on rolling. I will keep a list to let you know when it is your turn.



Let's say your character rolls a three. You will consult the list and find that your question is: How many people have you kissed? That person will have to read the question out loud and then answer it. Once a question is asked it goes BACK IN THE BOWL. I am doing this because otherwise we would have to constantly adjust the numbers and it would be confusing. If your character rolls the same number to a question they have already been asked, then just roll again to get a different one.

This activity might seem overly complicated, but it is designed to spice up the average RP. ^^ And to provide an IC way for some of the characters to learn more about each other. (I may or may not play this game in real life with friends sometimes too. >.>) I think it is interesting to think about the answers that your character would have, if they would hide something, if they would lie to make themselves seem way cooler, etc.

If this is super confusing for you, don't worry! Fallon will go first, and I will illustrate how it is intended to go. If you have any questions, PM them to me. I'm around. =D

One last note – not every question will end up getting asked! I imagine this might go a handful of rounds, but if people start to fizzle off and lose interest, I will have Fallon stand up and announce that the party has ended because it is promptly 9:00PM. Or something like that. Also, if you take more than two days to post your question/response, your turn will be skipped automatically, and it will just be assumed that whatever your character got and answered was something boring. “Are you wearing socks?” “Yes.” That kind of thing. If you are sad you missed your turn, don't be! Your turn will come around again. ^^ This is just a back-up plan to keep the ball rolling and avoid stalling out the RP.

So... we'll see how this goes, yeah? Woo!

Fallon had been living at Crystal Academy for nearly a month, but the school had yet to assign her a roommate. The controlling girl hoped that they never would. She could obey their rules about not moving her belongings into the empty space, but she would prefer that it stayed just that way – empty. Administration warned her that she would eventually receive a roommate, but until then, Fallon planned to make ample use of her extra space. And then some.

This would be her first dinner party since Barren Pines, and Fallon planned to make it her best ever. (Of course, that was always her intention...) Drawing up her list of invitees had been a bit more painful than she had expected, unfortunately. There were names that had been on her previous lists that could not make it onto this one. She thought mostly of Leonette, but there were others, and the thought made her heart pinch in her chest.

Imogen was an obvious choice. They had been friends at Barren Pines, and now that they attended school together, Fallon planned to get closer. She had always liked Imogen, even more now that they shared a painful history.

Melinda also came immediately to mind, though she was the only girl invited who had not attended Barren Pines. Melinda had given Fallon a sense of normalcy when her world was falling apart. She would always care about her for that.

Aggie was not someone Fallon was particularly close to, but she liked the girl's malleable, easygoing nature. It didn't hurt that she was close with Imogen too. Aggie would be a nice compliment to the dynamic, certainly.

Pierrette had leaped high up the list of “people I care about” the moment the girl revealed herself to be naïve, charming, and French. All three were things that Fallon adored in others, and though she had only known Pierrette very briefly before her memory loss, she intended to make up for lost time.

Inviting Abeline was almost a surprise to Fallon. When considering who to ask, Fallon felt the girl's name creep into her mind like a receding echo. Abeline – cold, distant, cutting. And yet.. respectable. A part of Fallon felt as though she and Abeline were cut from the same cloth, and it was rare to find a glimmer of that in others. With Abeline there, it would mean that Fallon would not be the only reserved person in the room too, which was certainly a bonus.

Serenade was on Fallon's mind from the start. She often thought of the girl, and sometimes it was hard for her to explain just why. Her crush had moved from one of passion to one of general interest, of curiosity. She felt drawn to be around Serenade and had no desire to fight the urge. But lately, it had been impossible to get Serenade alone. Fallon had passed her in the halls a few times, but she was always flanked by others. One person in particular – a blue-haired French girl – seemed to be constantly in her company. After seeing them a few times, Fallon assumed that this girl must be Serenade's girlfriend. Sigh.

Elke – that was her name. Fallon remembered her from Barren Pines, though they never interacted personally. The school was small, and Fallon had a knack for memorization. Even now, she could recite most of the names of those who had attended, even if the majority of them were dead. Elke was French, and a friend of Serenade's. If the former was not enough, then the latter certainly was. Fallon wanted to see Serenade, and if it couldn't be one-on-one, then she would invite whoever she needed to invite to encourage the piano-playing sweetheart to attend too. Elke was a recent member of the French club, just like Fallon, too. It wouldn't hurt to try to make more friends, would it?

It was a good group, Fallon thought – but she had hand-picked it and had a knack for thinking all of her decisions were good ones. The girl had risen early that morning to prepare her room for the impending company that night. It was too small to fit a proper table with a set of chairs large enough for eight people, and so Fallon decided to give the dinner party an Asian theme. Painted lanterns of varying shades of lavender, sage, and goldenrod speckled her ceiling, the lights withing casting a warm glow across the beige of her carpet and stark white of her walls. Her bed had been pushed against a far wall, and her desk had been cleared off to serve as a serving table. All of her personal effects had been stowed away for the most part, to avoid the awkward “STOP TOUCHING MY THINGS” moment that tended to happen when Fallon let others into her personal space. The room didn't show any outward signs of belonging to Fallon, or any teenage girl really, but if closets were opened or beds peeked under, the guests would find wall after wall of Tupperware containing everything that Fallon possessed.

In the center of the room, there was a long, rectangular table that sat about one to two feet off the ground. It was her brand new collapsible table, the exact model that had once graced her floor in Barren Pines, the one she used to do puzzles with Leonette on... but that table was long gone. This was a new table, a new life. Fallon would need to remember that.

Fallon had covered the table in a white cloth and stacked eight oversized pillows around it to serve as chairs, though she preferred to just sit on the ground. The dishware was stark white with a pale blue peony design circling the edge. A set of chopsticks sat by each set of plates and bowl, each set a different color. The food had already been cooked and sat in warmers on her desk, the rest stowed in her mini-fridge and ice cooler. Thinking of the food, she quickly checked her watch. Five minutes until 7:00PM. Hopefully the girls would be on time. The thought of them being late made her heart skip a beat, but Fallon was prepared. She reached for a tiny needlework flower that she had been working on and resumed her stitching until the anxiety passed.

After a few stitches, Fallon leaned down to brush a piece of lint from her shoulder smoothing her hands over the skirt of dress before resuming her needlework. Her shoes for the outfit were stowed neatly in one of the cubbies by the door, the same place where she would insist all of her guests leave their footwear before entering. Any second now, and her guests would be here – the girls who she hoped to make her close friends, to give her back a life she felt had been stolen from her.

IT'S PARTY TIME.

Serenade too, was rather excited when she received her invitation, though when she remembered what had happened in Barren Pines, she had stared at it with a rather odd look. Would Fallon remember the time that youma (?) crawled out of her closet when Serenade had attended that dinner party in her dorm room? It bothered her, though not as much as remembering that she had whacked Fallon as a zombie when the latter was trying to eat her and Elke.

No, the Opal Crystal would make her forget, right? Besides, Elke was going with her, and that was fine. It would be okay, right?

Her hair, was, as always, let loose with the exception of the white hairband she wore and she got dressed in a pretty dress with a ribbon which Elke had encouraged her to wear. She too, wore heels, sensible simple court shoes and walked beside Elke as they went to the party together. Serenade was quiet as they waited for the door to open, crossing her fingers behind her back.

The first group arrived a few minutes early. What a nice treat! Already, Fallon was smiling, chest expanding with the pressure of happiness. Happiness was such a tentative thing capable of being stolen from you at any moment. Fallon was set on not letting it happen to her tonight. Setting her needlework on her nightstand, the meticulous teen crossed to the door, took a breath, and then opened it -- all smiles.

It was Serenade (who she noticed first, of course), Elke (siiiigh), and Abeline (who looked especially gorgeous tonight). "Hello, Serenade, Elke, Abeline," she said, nodding her head. "I'm so glad you came -- and so well-dressed! So punctual too." Stepping to the side, she swept a hand into her room, but stopped it short, dropping one finger to the cubby just to the left of the door. "If you would just take your shoes off and place them in a cubby hole," she said, only taking a few steps inside. Fallon would not budge until all shoes were off and properly stored.

Once the girls did, she would lead them inside. The room wasn't overly large, but it was designed for two people and only one currently occupied the space. It helped that Fallon was a master at space utilization. She smiled, crossing back to her desk where the food sat on warmers next to a pitcher of water and a pitcher of iced green tea. "We'll start dinner soon, but if you'd like, I have water and iced green tea. Would anyone like a drink now?" Fallon was in hostess mode, ready to meet each girl's every wish. They just had to ask.

As soon as she'd confirmed that she'd been attending, she'd gone shopping, but not for a dress or for shoes. Her grandmother, old Erce, had always told Imo never to turn up to a party empty-handed. She was a bit short on cash but eventually she'd found something she thought Fallon would appreciate that didn't cost too much but wasn't cheap and nasty either. Some high quality embroidery silks in several colours, not the synthetic kind, the proper stuff. She knew that Fallon made those delicate little things - she'd never of had the patience to fashion anything like that herself. Hopefully these'd do.

Normally Imogen lived in skirts and dresses, unless what she was up to called for trousers, because she liked the way they could float when she twirled and they gave her such freedom of movement. However nothing she had bought herself was really dressy or formal at all, her old costumes for swing competitions were either too flashy or were missing from Barren Pines...but amongst the things the generous Skye had given her to make her more like your average Crystal girl, she struck gold. The dress flared beautifully when she moved and if it was a little short, oh well!

Her hair she pulled up in a high ponytail rather than her usual half-up-half-down syle and put in a pretty clip holding it there. Some stud earrings and her acorn charm transferred from it's necklace to a bracelet and she was good to go. Imo put Fallon's present into a small shoulder bag (that ruined her coordinated formal look a little since it was randomly teal) along with her iPod and boogied her way from her dorm room to Fall's corridor. She slowed shoved the MP3 player in the bag next to her roomkeys and pulled out the pretty packet of silks before knocking on the door. She wasn't late, right? Gawd she hoped not. Imogen liked Fall a lot but always worried a little she'd annoy the other girl.

Luckily another girl was at the right door. Imo didn't know Melinda but she chirped a quick "hello" as she got there.

"Hullo Abeline." Serenade greeted with a touch of curiosity and pleasure. It was nice to see another one of the Zodiacs invited, and already she was feeling much more comfortable. Her eyes were warm as she regarded the other, with perhaps too much familiarity than she should. She hadn't been good friends with most of the Zodiacs in Barren Pines after all; most of them had been filed under the acquaintances folder back then. "Hi Fallon." She said with a nod of her own, removing her shoes and storing them where Fallon desired them to be.

She turned to regard the two newcomers, both of which she barely knew. The redhead however, earned a curious stare and there was something in Serenade that was nagging at her, telling her that this girl was awfully, awfully familiar. It was a strange feeling, given that they had only been floor mates in Barren Pines?

Imo, as she stored her shoes, put the present back in her - fashion faux pas - teal bag before stowing that with them in the cubby hole. She'd give it to Fallon later. For now there were other people to say hello to. Her things delt with she turned to the people. She raised her hand though she didn't wave it and smiled brightly while tilting her head a little. Something that Abeline and Fallon would be familiar with. It was an old habit of hers to greet people that way (far older than Imo knew).

"Hey Fall, hey Abe. It's nice to meet you Melinda." She turned to the other two girls, her expression half joking and half earnest - it was so good to see the pair alive even though they were far from close. Just fellow BP.

"You don't know me Elke, but I read the The Not-So-Secret Life..." She trailed off a bit before asking the greenhead;

"How's the piano Serenade? Again I seem stalkerish but still remember that time you played that piano version of Swing De Chocobo while us dance kids were still in the practice hall because it was stormy and no one wanted to go." Hopefully that sounded lighthearted enough not be entirely creepy.