peckenpaugh | MARCH POCKET PARTY!

pocket's galaxy express party!

what's up? Pocket is throwing a party tonight and you’re invited! There’s about an hour after dinner to get ready for the big event, enough time for today’s steady rain to peter out and a thick, dense fog to settle in. It’s a surprisingly warm night, but students attending the party still have to trudge through mud to get to the cave behind the falls.

In groups and pairs, students pass beneath the mist enveloped falls and into the caves behind. Here, the fog is even denser than outside, thick billowing white clouds that swirl as students move through them. A great blaring horn rings out, and a robotic voice calls, “All aboard!”

Emerging from the mists and fog, students find themselves on a gunmetal gray platform, standing before a massive, strange steam engine train. The walls beyond the train are glass, overlooking a starry night sky. A shiny chrome robotic conductor rolls by, “Tickets please! Have your tickets ready, folks! We don’t want to delay departure.”

visuals!

Any regular text goes here.

how this works! ⬥ Welcome to Pocket’s party! Pocket always wants to hang out with the students of Peckenpaugh, and she uses her unusual magic to give them fantastic new places to play with her. This is Pocket’s domain, and she’ll block or (safely) eject anyone who is dangerously disruptive or threatens the safety or secrecy of the party.

⬥ Pocket Parties are pretty much old hat for Peckenpaugh's students, provided you've been here for a year. What's not old hat is the party itself. Pocket's parties are always reliably wild and imaginative, bending the limits of magic and reality!

⬥ The party starts at 8PM and stretches on indistinctly. Tonight, however something strange happens. After several hours of fun, the party ends abruptly, depositing students in the dark Elflock Falls caves, soaking wet. See the End of the Night section for more details.

⬥ The theme of the evening is Galactic Express, combining cowboys with space travel. Fittingly students arrive on the station platform in space cowboy attire. In addition to the slick new duds, you may find you’ve arrived as a robot or alien.

⬥ We didn’t roll matches for stb or 7mih this time but you’re welcome to post opens and scene under the kissing games header.

⬥ We have an RNG minigame where you can fight bandits on the roof of the train! Fill out the form and post it to the "PEW PEW" header to get a roll.

locations! ⬦ ALL ABOARD!: From a misty cave to a transgalactic railway platform! A massive steam engine ⁠— far, far bigger than a normal train ⁠— greets students as they emerge into this strange new world, each of them dressed in duds befitting a space aged wild west. Each of the (number) cars hooked to the engine combines the sleek shine of science fiction with the classic look of an old fashioned train. Faceless folks mill about, and a robot conductor stands ready to usher students aboard. How’re you feeling? What’s your look for tonight? Are you even still human? Hope you’ve got a six shooter handy in case the train is beset by bandits, but maybe leave the assless chaps at home. (This space replaces our typical WHAT’S UP section, filling the same purpose while also providing a space to scene on the train platform.)

⬦ PRIVATE CABINS: Students board onto a long and somewhat narrow hallway lined with sliding doors. Each one opens into a cozy private space that’ll comfortably fit six teenagers, but can certainly squeeze in a few more. Each private cabin has a single large window on the far side of the room for you to watch the Milky Way streak by. Two comfortable sofas sit on either side of the little room and a center table divides them. If you’re up for climbing and cramped spaces, above each couch is a bed tucked away. These spaces are perfect for having your own private party.

⬦ THE BRIDGE: Near to the Private Cabins, the bridge is the most plainly futuristic car on the train. Glowing holographic screens shine from sleek black surfaces, delivering maps and information in an alien language that looks a bit like Appalachian Mushkin. A faceless crew of humans, aliens and androids mills about, speaking in the mumbled language of dreams ⁠— you understand, even if you can’t quite hear. Something always seems to be happening up here, with frequent jumps to warp bringing the train into the orbit of gas giants, or dipping down into the atmosphere of sparkling ocean planets. Occasionally, a comm will open and a strange alien will speak about something or another. Here, every touch surface and screen is interactive, producing lights and sound with each press and swipe. It’s fun to punch out a tune.

⬦ PARTY GAMES: Ordinarily it might be odd to see a bunch of teenagers milling about a starship bridge, but this is Pocket's world, baby! Nothing's stopping you from giving the faceless crew a hard time, and a group of kids have done just that, setting up shop in the middle of the room. They're spinning a bottle, playing kissing games, much to the chagrin of the crew. Pocket, in the captain seat, seems amused, though. If you want to get a round of 7 Minutes in Heaven in, there's an elevator to nowhere that'll carry you up and then back down in a journey that takes exactly seven minutes. Convenient.

⬦ DINING CAR: Exit the far side of the private cabins to arrive in the Dining Car. Spacious and richly decorated, this car is equal parts high class honky tonk saloon and Enterprise mess hall. The warm dark wood is accented in greens, a nod, perhaps, to the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. The room’s large windows look out into the void and it’s easy to lose yourself in watching stars and comets whir by. From here, it seems the train is traveling through a cluster of rocks, and there’s plenty to look at outside. Pleasant music fills the room, all danceable pop hits from the last thirty years rendered on a player piano. There’s ample places to sit, both at large round tables and the bar. A robot with a handlebar mustache literally made from handlebars is mixing drinks, all of which are served in squat saloon glasses and garnished with a ton of lucky charms marshmallows, because Pocket is pretty sure St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of the Lucky Charms mascot. All the food is really bizarre, strange shapes and colors, definitely alien.

⬦ WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SNAKES?: There’s hay on the floor of this dimly lit car, which contains two large crates, both just brimming with snakes. Looks like someone saw Last Crusade.

⬦ OBSERVATION DECK: Getting past the snakes brings partygoers to their next challenge. The first step into this strange room finds no ground. Here, it’s as though you’re stepping out into space, but upon closer inspection this car is simply a massive orb of glass. There’s no gravity here, and you float freely. A rope extends the length of the room, allowing easier passage from one side to the other. This car may as well be its own miniature galaxy, full of little glowing stars, planets and moons in orbit. There’s a tiny replica of the train rocketing around, as well as comets and little flying saucers. Every once in a while, an asteroid hits a planet with a loud pop, or a star explodes in a bright flash of light and … pop corn? Closer to the edges of the room, there are bars to anchor onto, so you can stare out into the actual void. On these edges, it’s quite romantic. A good place to cozy up and share a quiet moment.

⬦ TOP OF THE TRAIN: Access the roof of the train by climbing up a ladder and through a hatch in the caboose. Somehow, despite being in the void, you can still breathe here. It’s quite the view out here, but there’s not much time to enjoy it. What’s more, it seems the train itself is under siege! Bandits are running across the cars. Grab a laser gun and help fight them off!

⬦ END OF THE NIGHT: It feels like the party has stretched on for hours, but where usually students are able to leave at their own pace, tonight things end with a bang. Wherever you’re standing, whatever you’re doing, everything flickers, blurs and pulls long. A glitch like a brownout that shakes this fake reality Pocket’s built. Things dim and snap back three times total, before everything abruptly melts, transforming into water and soaking everyone. It’s 10:45PM and students are left standing in the Elflock Falls caves with a confused-looking Pocket, who insists this must be a bit of bad luck, given the date. Pocket bids everyone goodnight, and they’re left to head back to their Houses.

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From the moment she arrives at the party, Trudy is looking for the Party Bug herself. She makes her way through the train, stopping students and characters of the make believe world alike to ask about her whereabouts. The Captain, she is told, is on the bridge. Of course.

It doesn't take her very long to get there, and once she arrives, it's more or less what she was expecting. It's all delightful, to be honest, and she has to remind herself not to get distracted — is that a group playing spin the bottle? nevermind — as she continues her search. She unceremoniously shoves one of the alien characters (or maybe a freshman in costume, who knows? who cares?) out of the way to step towards the command seat.

Armani holds an arm out to try to catch the stumbling alien before they fall, but squeals like a piglet when he nearly loses hold of his pastry box. He didn't make these (No time anymore! Too much to do! Too many mysteries to solve! Too many costumes to design!) but they're still important to him. These are his key to talk to Pocket.

"Wait, I'm coming too," he calls out, taking long, springy steps to try to catch up. It doesn't take a detective to figure out why Trudy is also headed this way.

"Hurry it up, then," Trudy answers. She's a robot this evening, and even though she has built in heels, that's not slowing her down at all, and neither is consideration for Armani. Science waits for no one.

There's a crowd on the bridge, but Trudy makes sure they get through it eventually. She rounds the captain's seat enthusiastically, ready to pepper the party bug with questions. "She isn't there!" Trudy complains, gesturing to the empty chair.

Like a pilot fish following alongside a big shark, Armani sticks close to Trudy as she dominates her way through the crowd. "Oh, uh, excuse us, pardon us," he calls out as the sea parts for her. It's the very least he can do to maintain the appearance of politeness even as he takes full advantage of her callousness.

But, after all of that, Pocket isn't even there. "Should we wait?" he offers, uncertain. "She'll probably come back, right? This is THE Captain's chair."

Trudy purses her robot lips, thinking. "She should, unless she's avoiding us." Pocket is so squirrely, it isn't hard to imagine that she's hiding information on purpose, avoiding contact with the investigators. "I say... let's stay in the general area. Poke around a bit. Try not too look too eager."

Pocket looks mostly like herself today, which means she fits into the weird alien aesthetic quite well. Wearing an outfit that's halfway between Starfleet officer and a human character from Thomas the Tank Engine, she occasionally gives commands to the random crew members, and the fact that she's wandering around with a bright green drink full of lucky charms marshmallows makes her look particularly absurd.

She seems happy to mill about and engage party-goers in light conversation, but sometimes excuses herself and disappears without warning.

"Hii, Captain Pocket!" he cheerfully sing-songs, skipping past Trudy to offer the party bug a box of pastries from the Gastrognome. "Chanel, Laszlo, and I got this for you! We didn't know what flavor you liked so we got a bunch."

Edited 2020-03-13 22:07 (UTC)

"Does she even eat human food?" Trudy muses. An interesting thought, but not important at the moment. "Pocket! We have questions!"

Maisy's aunties raised her with GOOD party manners, so she tries to catch Pocket and thank her for hosting every time she goes to a party. But tonight, it's her very first order of business. Luckily, even in the technicolor chaos of this spaceship, she's easy to spot from across the room.

"Pocket!" Maisy says, waving her hands to try to get the bug's attention. When she pushes some of her classmates out of the way to hurry across the room, it's probably the Weirdest and Least Cool she's ever acted at a party. Still, she tries to act normal when she approaches. "Hiiii! I love my outfit." She shakes her fringe for emphasis. "How have you been?"

MARCH POCKET PARTY!

THE BRIDGE

Trudy & OPEN

Trudy & Armani

Trudy & Armani

Trudy & Armani

Trudy & Armani

Captain Pocket (Open to Laszlo + 2 More Threads)

Armani tries to win Pocket over with honey, not vinegar.

Armani tries to win Pocket over with honey, Trudy is the vinegar.

Captain Pocket & space detective Maisy