LEAP DAY FESTIVAL!

[peckishmods]

leap day festival

what's up?

It’s Leap Day! In Elflock Falls, this holiday is huge, and the town is packed before lunch with Peckenpaugh alumni and Falls expatriates returning to the holler in observance of the day. On Leap Day, Fallers celebrate what came before, and prepare for what comes next. Half-remembered memories, words left unsaid, and plans for the future are the theme of the day, and it’s all accomplished with help from the fairies that guard this valley. What? You mean you’ve never heard of the holler’s guardian fairies? Hm. That’s weird.

Students may’ve seen the beginnings of decorations going up yesterday, but it seems like the town has changed overnight to accommodate this uniquely Appalachian holiday. Leap Day is a liminal time when spirits of the holler are welcomed into the human world and celebrated with feasts. Doorways, bridges, archways and just about anything that constitutes a passage is decorated today with boughs of maple and witch hazel flowers. Doors are left open and businesses and homes provide treats for the fey (and those masquerading as fey, today). It’s all about being respectful of fairies, but you may want to carry some iron with you, or you might find yourself carried off...

Down on the river, armed with bows and arrows, fairgoers can shoot those words they’ve left unsaid across the river. If your arrow makes it across, it’s time to speak what you’ve been holding in. If your arrow gets swept away in the Greentooth, well, maybe those are thoughts you should keep to yourself.

Late in the evening, the celebration ends around a bonfire, a ball for the fey. Fallers don animal masks to better blend in with the guardian fairies, drink and dance around the flames until midnight, when the liminal space closes and the fairies return to their realm.

visuals!

volunteer slots!

Not long after arriving on the central green this morning, [CHARACTER A] spots famous Quodpotter Ray Mayo picking a mask from one of the trees. He shoots them a wink before slipping a fox’s face over his own, and is shortly joined by someone with a familiar energy wearing a squirrel mask.

Mask pickings are slim by the time Felicity makes it to the central green, having woken up late today. While most of the masks are quite charming, intricate and handmade, all they manage to nab is this weird rubber pigeon mask.

All day there are tours of Peckenpaugh campus for visitors. Before popping on a mask, Ms. Kwan elects Armani and Tony to lead a few tours together, and at least one of them is quite rowdy and full of ...freshmen for some reason. (💯 Thread this prompt with three replies each and earn 5 Points each for your houses 💯)

On a lark, Uriah and [CHARACTER F] decide to go on one of the tours, led by a woman in an elk mask who they think might be Healer Greatheart, but may also be Ms. Gunzenhauser. The tour goes well enough, showing off all the newer features, but then it diverts, and the elk guide leads them off the path in the Western Quarter, through woods they don’t recognize. “Ah, there it is! While I’m sure he’d love visitors, we don’t want to dally...” says the elk as they arrive at an old train car, reclaimed by nature. She pauses to leave a pile of colorful candy on a flat stone, then leads them back out, passing by the ruins of Peckenpaugh’s old stables before emerging on the Northern Quarter. The elk indicates the Falls, saying, “I’m sure you’ve all had good times there. I’d show you, but it’s rude to go poking around when no one’s home.” And with that, the strange tour concludes.

Lionel is 100% positive they've just spotted the elusive boy in the cool leather jacket wandering through town. They give chase and follow him right into Junebug's where he stops to talk to one of the Morgensterns, though it's hard to say which since they're all in masks. Upon closer inspection, that's not the boy in the leather jacket but a man in his 40s, blonde curls just starting to gray, and a face that looks strikingly like Mr. Qualls, but sullen.

how this works!

⬥ Welcome to Elflock Falls’s Leap Day Festival! For adults, festivities begin at dawn, prepping the town and campus. Kids are encouraged to sleep in a bit, but things are well bumping by 9AM and the celebrations go late into the night.

⬥ What about curfew? Well, there are teachers milling about keeping track of things, of course, but for today an odd sense of calm has settled over the holler. Time seems to move a little slower, and no matter what, you’re going to wind up back on campus safe and sound tonight.

⬥ There’s something strange about these masks: a mild anonymity charm is in place on each one that alters how you are perceived while wearing it. You may have seen your roommate pull on a pig mask, but now that you look at them, it’s not quite right, and you can’t be positive that’s actually your roommate.

⬥ Donning a mask is not required, but strongly encouraged. Whatever magic is at work also makes those not wearing masks harder to perceive. If you attend the festival maskless, you will find mask-wearing festival goers seem not to be able to see you, or do not take notice of you unless you’re trying very hard to get their attention.

⬥ That said, there are some unmasked adults keeping tabs on kids, watching for misbehavior. Not easily will you shoplift or nab a beer today.

⬥ This festival happens once every four years, and even then, it’s not talked about much until the date is nearly here, almost as though everyone forgets about it until it’s time to remember. Elflock Falls locals who have lived in the town for most of their life are probably passingly familiar with it, but anyone not born and raised here is probably going into this festival blind.

⬥ Fake Baby Parents will find that today their dolls are remarkably content. Not very fussy and easy to soothe. Don't leave them alone too long, though!

⬥ If you'd like to participate in the archery event, fill out the form below and post it to the "FIRE AN ARROW" sub-header.

<b>NAME:</b> Who's firing the arrow? <B>WHAT HAVEN'T YOU SAID?:</b> What thought are you trying to get rid of? <b>SKILL:</b> 0 - 10, what is your skill at archery? <b>FOCUS:</b> 0 - 10, how easily distracted are you? <b>INTENT:</b> 0 - 10, how hard are you trying to get that arrow to the other side of the river? Maybe you want it to disappear beneath the water... <b>ANYTHING ELSE?:</b>

locations!

⬦ WHAT'S UP?: The very air seems different today, and the mood is a strange mix of somber and celebratory. The Leap Day Festival starts early and goes late, spilling out of Elflock Falls proper and right onto Peckenpaugh campus. It’ll be a busy day today, with lots of unfamiliar faces milling about ⁠— Peckenpaugh alumni, folks who’ve left Elflock Falls. Many people are dressed in fine robes today, and even those who usually wear muggle-y fashions are decidedly more wizard-like in appearance. How did you spend the Leap Day Festival? What mask and robes did you wear?

⬦ FOREST OF MASKS: ON THE CENTRAL GREEN: Both the front and rear entrances to Central Classrooms have been thrown open, the large doorways decorated with witch hazel, maple branches and a banner that reads “WELCOME BACK!” Folks start showing up on the central green before light has even cracked over the eastern hills, and by the time students have started showing up the park is transformed. A heavy mist hangs over the area, which seems dim even at midday. Candles float throughout the clearing, casting much needed light to steer you through what feels today like a dense forest. Animal masks hang from budding trees by bits of colorful ribbon and yarn. Cats and cougars, bears and coyotes, deer and raccoons and groundhog faces all dangle from branches, free to be taken and worn by festival goers. It's almost eerie. The Muscheron stick close to the Surly Stump, watching the goings on with obvious glee. They seem to have made a game over guessing who will take which mask, and they cheer loudly when they're correct. Once you don a mask, you’re a fairy for the day. Grab one and participate in the fun!

⬦ WELCOMING FAIRIES: THE MAIN STREET DRAG: Dried maple tree boughs, maple seeds and clusters of witch hazel flowers hang above the doorways of every home and business in town today. In lieu of electrical lighting, flickering candles, oil lamps and lumos wisps have been employed to illuminate interiors. Dried maple seeds made to look like bugs are stuck to most surfaces or hung from doorways and lamp posts, as though in mid flight. All the stores are open, and despite the somewhat chilly weather, so are their front doors. Most have tables in the entryway featuring sweet snacks and warm drinks, free for visitors. The offerings are all homemade, and while bright colors seem to dominate, many are also decorated with emblems that resemble cicadas. Some, like the sweet breads offered at The Gastrognome, are shaped like cicadas, outright. Even Pompel & Swint are giving out treats to visiting fairies today.

⬦ AROUND CAMPUS & TOWN: The maple branches, seeds and leaves continue to dominate decor across town and on campus. Bridges, doorways and stairwells, in particular, are heavily decorated. There are tours across campus, and if you’re lucky enough to get on one led by an adult, you may find yourself taken to some strange hidden part of campus you’d only heard about in rumors. Back in town, Doc Potts is giving out bits of iron to protect you from the fairies — fishing sinkers, mostly, from the look of it. The River Walk is particularly lovely, with crocuses poking up out of the earth, and bits of green just starting to show on some trees.

⬦ THOUGHTS LEFT UNSAID: ON THE RIVER: Think of something you've always figured you'd take to the grave. Along the banks of the Greentooth River, in a clearing cordoned off by garlands of maple leaves, are wicker baskets filled with blunted arrows and cards, inviting festival attendees to write their thoughts and shoot them into the ether. Or just to the other side. Tradition dictates that if your arrow makes it across, it’s a sign that you should speak those words and not keep them to yourself. This is a popular spot for people to gather and chat quietly, as much as it is a place to participate in one of the festival’s strange traditions.

⬦ A FAIRY BALL: CITY HALL BONFIRE: The plaza outside city hall has been cleared for a massive bonfire. It’s warm and welcoming, plenty of space to mingle. All night there’s ample food and drink, plenty of song and dancing. Several masked citizens are handing out wreathes of maple leaves, and you get the impression more than one of those crown-peddlers may be a ghost, but that might just be the masks’ strange magic at work.

⬦ END OF THE NIGHT: No matter what time you think it is, you’ll arrive at your final destination by curfew. Take off that mask, pull off those robes and get ready for bed. Tomorrow, the day’s events will feel a bit like a dream, but for now they’re still fresh in your mind.

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

WHAT'S UP?

[peckishmods]

WHAT'S UP, Armani?

[teratophilia]

Oh, a fairy festival?? A day to dress up like fairy?? Good thing Armani has prepared for this day his entire life.

The weather is chilly, but beauty is suffering and Armani's in an ethereal gown that, yes, has a warming charm on it but it's only good for the parts it covers. His baby is swaddled up in a blanket charmed to give the appearance of a cocoon, with only its darling rubbery face sticking out.

Armani arrives early to get his pick of the masks and, of course, chooses a luna moth mask. His obvious choice incites cheers among the Muscheron.

OKAY, BYE, HE'S OFF TO USE THIS FAKE BABY AS BAIT TO SEE IF THE FAE WILL KIDNAP THEM BOTH.

WHAT'S UP, Adrian?

[numerologest]

Adrian doesn't really get it, but he's happy to enjoy what, in his mind, seems to be Halloween II. It doesn't take him long to get into the spirit, and as soon as he realizes there's some sort of obscuring magic at work on the masks, he goes from browsing the gray and brown dog and wolf masks to making a bee line for the mask that had first caught his eye when he entered the Green this morning: a colorful hummingbird mask.

He's going to eat so many free sweets and probably fuck up shooting an arrow.

WHAT'S UP, Xenia???

[champlified]

Someone's been having a rough time sleeping lately. As such, this event is even more dreamy than it might have been; it's the sort of party that reminds Xenia of the strange, go-big-or-go-home themed get-togethers her parents put on for holidays back home in Angeltread. A part of her is intensely nostalgic for this reason, and also perhaps because this year she has a fake baby to share these traditions with: an innocent, unmolded un-brain.

Xenia's diminutive presence is underscored today by the addition of an intensely fuzzy orange sweater and overly full backpack (is that... a child in there???? Occasionally, yes). She's also wearing an oddly aggressive wolf mask somewhat too big for her face.

WHAT'S UP, Cedar?

[circuitree]

IT'S! CEDAR'S! BIRTHDAY!! Their real birthday, none of that "oh, March 1st is close enough, we'll just celebrate it then!" nonsense. This is their liminal space birthday because they are a cryptid and they're already lost, oh no, where did their siblings go.

Their giraffe mask is less intricate than some of the others, but something about the plain face stuck with Cedar. Chances are they'll lose the mask before the end of the night and go around trying to get people to JUST! PAY! ATTENTION! TO! THEM!

WHAT'S UP, Imogen???

[bigbruise]

Clad otherwise in vaguely Gym Goth finery, Imogen's mask is a feathery white rabbit's face -- one she keeps pushing up to keep from ruining with various snackage.

Still in comparatively high spirits thanks to Quidditch being back on, she is feeling fun and mischievous today.

WHAT'S UP, Uriah?

[negligently]

Uriah slips on a somewhat spooky barn owl mask under a hoodie, and runs away from his friends before they can find out what he's disguised as. There's something exciting about disappearing in the crowd for a night. No consequences or obligations.

WHAT'S UP, Valkyrie?

[sugarnspite]

Her pride is still wounded by Elijah's rejection, and Valkyrie has been determined not to show it. Quodpot is tomorrow, which she's reminded every teammate she should get her hands on. Fairy fests are great and all, but high school sports are on the line.

She's wearing a floor length lace and crochet dress and as many shawls as she owns so she can stay warm without sacrificing her aesthetic. It matches the bone white of her deer skull mask.

WHAT'S UP, Echo?

[empiearr]

Echo is dressed in a pirate outfit with the front of her blouse opened wider than what dress code allows and a stage rapier holstered her hip. She's wearing a wolf mask, which she removes to go incognito whenever she sees someone resembling her mother nearby.

She's been to this festival a few times before and definitely navigates through the crowd like someone who knows their way around.

WHAT'S UP, Patrice?

[shoulderdevil]

Rolling up in slim black dress robes that make him look like he probably belongs back with his aunt in Bleakcross, Patrice is quick to select a black lion mask to complete his ensemble. His plan is simply to eat things and harass anyone he thinks might potentially be a member of Big Bed. Unless they have a baby on them. Man, is he sick of those.

He has a few old iron nails in his pocket, just in case.

WHAT'S UP, Felicity?

[bratsquatch]

Felicity was on twin duty overnight, and as a consequence, woke up late, and as a consequence, is now sporting a weird rubber pigeon mask. Whatever. She doesn't care!

In the pockets of her jeans are multi-vitamins and iron supplements that her dad sent her to school with. But which she has never once taken.

FOREST OF MASKS: ON THE CENTRAL GREEN

[peckishmods]

POCKET & THE WOLF

[peckishbeings]

"Ummmmm...Are you sure that won't, like, upset him?" Pocket asks the wolf as he pulls on his mask. A Crockett the moment before, now not anymore.

"Hm?" the wolf turns and lets out a happy growl when he recognizes her. Though she'd been watching him pick masks for a while, he's only just seemed to notice her. "Tink! I don't think so? He picked one, too, I think."

"Mmmmm, nah. He's def, like, a raccoon today," Pocket replies, looking amused by the wolf's willful ignorance.

The wolf sighs a heavy huff. "You always liked him better."

"Noooo, I love you both. You just need to be, like, nicer? How about I help you pick a different mask? Then you buy me a drink!" she offers her arm and the wolf quickly scoops it up in his own.

"Like old times?" asks the wolf.

"Like old times!" Pocket confirms as the two of them disappear into the mists.

[This exchange may have been witnessed by 3 students. Comment here with a short reaction to claim a spot.]

Predictably, Hawthorne Needs Help (Open)

[artistree]

Hawthorne can't decide on a mask. He almost grabbed a deer, but a freshman wanted it worse than he did, so he handed it over. Then he went for a brown bear, and the muscheron made gasping noises. When he looked their way, one of them made a slicing motion at what was probably their neck while shaking their head, the universal signal for bad pick, bro, don't do it.

So now he's wandering the misty Green, reaching for various masks and then glancing at the Muscheron to see what they think. They don't seem to like him donning any of them, and he gives an exasperated sigh when they all groan the second he glances at a rabbit mask. "Well, what'm I supposed to do, then?"

FOREST OF MASKS: And a Maskless Atlas (OPEN?)

[bigshoulders]

Atlas is only at this stupid thing because it would be committing a weakness to not go. It seems less than a month ago that he woke up in a dark basement, in a mask that he didn't choose, among creatures (people?) that were robed just like this, and masked almost just like this. It makes something tingle in his neck. He's a lot more on guard, moving through the town. Anyone could be anyone. And anyone could take him away again.

So he's sitting in the middle of the green on a bench, stalwart and maskless, glaring at whichever animal happens to wander by. Luckily, or maybe not, no one seems to see him. Which is good, because he's currently stringing together just a whole necklace of the most definitively iron nails he could find. It's Superstition, perhaps, but at least everyone else also believes it, today.

WELCOMING FAIRIES: THE MAIN STREET DRAG

[peckishmods]

POCKET & THE ZIPPY DIP OTTER

[peckishbeings]

Pocket doesn't wear a mask. She is as she always is outside of her parties, a girl, strange and glittering and lovely, with giant gossamer wings and a pair of vintage ray bans on her face. She mills about with the rest of the festival goers, simultaneously noticed and not — as though she is just another person in a mask having fun. That in and of itself is unusual enough. Pocket never seems to be around when the adults are looking her way, but here, in a sea of masks, there are no adults, are there? Just fairies.

She wanders into the Zippy Dip and the moment she passes through the door the man behind the counter looks up. That must be Zippy Zebrowski, right? But, today, maybe he's not. Maybe he's a river otter, as his mask suggests.

"Tink!" he shouts in greeting, rounding the front desk with his arms wide open. "Aw, Tink. I've missed you."

"I'm sorry!" Pocket replies, her voice trembling, joy and remorse, as he pulls her into a hug. "We've both been very busy."

"We've both been very busy," the otter mask agrees. They exchange a few more words, too quiet to be overheard, before they part. Pocket selects a cookie from the treats on the offering table, and waves to the otter man before she goes. He stands, watching her leave, perfectly still as she passes out the door, not moving an inch, not breathing. And then, a second later, he returns to his spot behind the counter and goes back to polishing sundae glasses. As though the whole exchange hadn't happened at all.

[This exchange may have been witnessed by 3 students. Respond with a brief reaction to claim a spot.]

Judgment of Solomon As Performed By Toadstool Fairies

[peckishbeings]

It's not just Pocket wandering the streets of Elflock Falls today. The muscheron are finding it especially easy to bob and weave around mask wearers, navigating storefronts to get tasty treats from the locals.

Outside the Gastrognome, two red-capped muscheron are fighting noisily over a cicada-shaped sweetbread when a third approaches. This one is tall, mighty (for a muscheron) you could say, with a head like a morel, and the other two toadstool fairies stop at his approach.

"Benditz wachet?" asks the morel, and the other two erupt in argument, attempting to explain their side of the story at the same time. The morel holds up his wee tiny palms, silencing both of them, and then beckons for the cicada sweet bread. Holding the sweet bread, he speaks at length to both toadstool fairies. One of them looks on with increasing fear, while the other nods in agreement.

Then, unceremoniously, the morel rips the cicada bread in half. One red-capped muscheron shrieks sadly, the other holds its hands out, expecting a piece, its mitten-like fingers wiggling in anticipation.

And then, the morel shoves both halves of the cicada sweet bread into his mouth at once, and with a smile, he turns and walks away.

Echo Suffers (open)

[empiearr]

Echo wanders the paths, snatching free food off plates with her gremlin hands, and taking massive bites of this and that like she hasn't eaten a solid meal in weeks. One ambitious bite in particular is a little too big for her throat-hole and she slaps a hand to her neck, heaving it up like a cat trying to work out a hair ball. She holds on to an unfortunate bystander for balance as she coughs up a glob of bread and spits it out at their feet.

"Good thing this is anonymous, right?" is all she can say for herself.

AROUND CAMPUS & TOWN

[peckishmods]

POCKET ON THE BRIDGE (OPEN to TRUDY and 2 MORE)

[peckishbeings]

In a sea of be-robed and masked magical folk, Pocket sticks out like a sore thumb. She's wearing a muggle-y outfit, sort of 80s inspired, sort of not, standing at the far side of the Peckenpaugh bridge watching festival goers head into town.

Some seem to notice her. Some don't. Almost as though she decides who sees her and who doesn't. She's waiting for someone, clearly, but doesn't turn away students who want to stop by and say hello.

THOUGHTS LEFT UNSAID: ON THE RIVER

[peckishmods]

FIRE AN ARROW

[peckishmods]

Post your forms to this header.

A FAIRY BALL: CITY HALL BONFIRE

[peckishmods]

POCKET, THE FOX & THE SQUIRREL

[peckishbeings]

"Hey, Winx Club!" the fox greets Pocket by the bonfire, sidling up and offering a hand for a high five. She reciprocates, a satisfying slapping of palms and a beaming smile. "Been looking for you all night."

The squirrel mask joins them, knocking into the fox and elbowing him gently. "The guest of honor! Of course you'd get a private audience with her." Her voice is strangely familiar to Peckenpaugh students, strangely not, too.

"My faves," gushes Pocket, sounding absolutely sincere as she gathers the both of them up into a tight hug. "Do you like the party?"

"It's nice, but not as good as yours," says the fox.

The squirrel bounces on her toes and adds, "From what I've heard the kids say, they've gotten even better since our years."

Pocket blushes gold, color and light filling her cheeks. "Oh, stop! Every party was the best party, in its own way." Except for the pony party. No one mentions that.

"Hey, do you still fly? I'm in town for another day, maybe the three of us could get together and have a race like we used to." the fox suggests, trying to take a drink of his beer, forgetting he's wearing a mask.

"Oh, that wouldn't be fair," chirps the squirrel. "I'd lose for sure."

Pocket's smile strains. "I'd like that," she says, a little watery. She reaches out and touches each of their arms, affectionate. "Love you, sweethearts."

The Party Bug parts, walking away and disappearing back into the crowd. The fox and the squirrel close their circle without a word, as though Pocket had never been there at all.

[This exchange may have been overheard by 3 students. Comment here with a short reaction to claim a spot.]

END OF THE NIGHT

[peckishmods]

OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[peckishmods]

1. PCAL GOES UP AT 3PM EST TODAY.
2. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO CHECK IN TO THE AC POST. IT IS THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH TODAY.
3. THIS:

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[pageantree]

QUACKENBIRTHDAY