wow, that's a lot of pollen...

[peckishmods]

wow, that's a lot of pollen

what's up?

Hard to believe the temperature today is a record setting 91 °F what with all that snow in the air. Wait, that’s not snow. It’s cottonwood fluff! And boy is there a lot of it. Over the last three days, the seed fluff and yellow pollen have steadily collected, though not quite like this. Students wake up to a white out on Wednesday, and it just keeps on piling up through morning classes, sticking to everything and causing rampant sneezing with no end in sight.

By lunch, some parts of campus have several feet of fluff on the ground. Central Campus is still manageable, but Thorntrail’s woods and Mothgarden’s grounds look like a blizzard rolled through, the hillsides around Wildgulch are a not-quite-winter wonderland and the pollen is ankle deep in Deeplurk’s meadows. Bub is working his special brand of magic double time to clear paths as fast as possible, but keeping up proves a challenge even for him.

The relentless pollen explosion is a considerable nuisance and staff has trouble keeping students focused after lunch. Junior Pre-Healer Studies is canceled outright when Healer Greatheart decides to move herself to the Central Classrooms lobby to keep a better eye on students. She passes out allergy medicine to those who seem to need it.

Several students spot unfamiliar wizards in long black robes wandering around the upper floors of Central Classrooms before fourth period. By the end of fifth, the day’s called a wash and Administrator Kwan announces that the last period has been cancelled. She advises that students stick indoors — not just because of the pollen, but because it’s hot as hell! Of course, y’all aren’t about to listen to good advice, are you? At the very least, enjoy the rest of the day. Throw on a Bubblehead Charm (or not) and brave the fluff!

As the sun dips low, the endless rain of fluff finally slows and it seems to have petered out after dinner. Staff and student volunteers spend the evening helping to clear fluff.

At the end of the night each Head of House stops by their respective Common Room with a bit of explanation for the day’s events: while the pollen itself was mundane, it seems the cause was magical. Local magical flora and fauna took issue with an invasive grove of Ents moving into the area north of Peckenpaugh, above the falls, and the excessive pollen was the result of magical beings attempting to intimidate the Ents into leaving. Ms. Treetops and Mr. Trullinger are collaborating with the BoMB to help mediate the dispute. Things aren't quite settled, but at the very least, going forward our sinuses should all be spared.

volunteer slots!

A harried Ms. Gunzenhauser, unable to track down her TA, asks 💯 GERTRUDE MCGILLIGUDDY and 💯 LIONEL LOVELACE to teach freshmen the Bubblehead Charm. Assuming they at least try (make a thread with 3 replies each) they’ll each net 5 Points for their House(s). Ms. Gunzenhauser knows how difficult the freshmen are, though, and if TRUDY & LIONEL make real headway (make a thread with 6 replies each), they’ll each get 10 points for their House(s).

As soon as classes are let out, TYBALT ZETTLER digs up some makeshift sleds in the athletic building and organizes a fluff-sledding session on the hills around Wildgulch.

Whether or not 💯 LASZLO PATAKI knows that cottonwood seeds go up like flash paper, they go right to a pile of it with a bit of flame. Just the right amount of mayhem for them, they try this again in several other spots, netting a crowd and ultimately taking their little lightshow to the Mothgarden hedge mazes. Lighting the fluff on the ground at the eastern hedge maze causes quite a scene as the fast burning fire rips through the greenery. It looks cool, but it seems to catch on some mulch. Luckily (unfortunately?) Mr. Berzelius happens to be nearby, with a “Dude,” and a quick Aguamenti he stops a real fire before it can spread. LASZLO loses 10 points for their House and has to turn in a two page paper about fire safety to Berzelius by this Saturday.

HOLLAND GRAVES and FREYA NORRIS use their free time to do some detective work, following a Muscheron scout around campus sure it’ll lead them to the source of all this pollen and fluff. In fact, the Muscheron does not, and instead takes them on a winding adventure through the deepest, densest areas of fluff before returning them to the Surly Stump, which trips FREYA as the Muscheron giggles.

ARMANI’s eyes are so bleary and itchy from all the pollen that they can hardly see, so they decide to head back to their dorm to nap once classes are cancelled. The wheezing mess barrels right into MERLIN PLETCHER outside Central Classrooms after fifth period going in the complete wrong direction. So, MERLIN finds themself tasked with escorting ARMANI to their dorm.

Something’s moving in the fluff near the Greenhouses and CORIANDER PICQUERY can’t tell what it is. It’s kind of freaky, the way it moves, and they scramble to get away, but whatever it is gives chase. CORI leaps into the arms of EDDY WAXWEILER seeking escape when the tiny predator leaps to attack—it’s the FEROCIOUS cactus kitten! Covered in so much fluff it almost looks like a regular cat! CORI and EDDY return the kitten to a very thankful Mr. Trullinger, whom they find speaking with a bearded wizard in long black robes.

locations!

⬦ WHAT'S UP: Well, this has been a weird day! Did you get an allergy headache? Collect fluffy seeds for a craft project? Celebrate when classes were cancelled? Tell us in brief how your student spent their day here!

⬦ SCENES: A place for threading around campus during the Pollenpocalypse!

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

Val & Jup & Allergies

[sugarnspite]

The thing about being part Veela is that you feel perfect most of the time. Valkyrie can eat whatever she wants, she can forget to wash her face, she can neglect a run or two, and she'll still feel perfect. Beautiful, healthy, fit. What, like, is it hard?

Allergies are another thing. She feels like her head is full of cotton and she hasn't slept properly in days. None of these potions are helping, and in a moment of totally normal understandable weakness she violently throws the bottle against a wall. It shatters, leaving streaks of purple liquid and shattered glass all over the wall of the study room. She screams, too. A not angry, soooooo understandable kind of scream.

Val & Jup & Allergies

[gasgiant]

"Valley baybee." That tongue click and drawled purr are unmistakably Jupiter Quigley. She's is here to make things worse all better, strolling up from behind with her wand drawn. Ever the Thorntrail at heart, despite her best efforts to appear otherwise, she Transfigures the shattered glass into something a little less dangerously messy: a simple glass vial that Jupiter scoops up off the ground. She leaves the mess for anyone else to clean up — she ain't a maid.

Jupiter slides smoothly into the seat next to Valkyrie. There are white fuzzy cottonwood seeds in her wild brown hair and she's beaming despite the sour look on her friend's face. "Hit a roadblock in your studies?" Jup asks, though she also holds out a travel pack of tissues she'd nabbed from Greatheart earlier in the day.

Val & Jup & Allergies

[sugarnspite]

Valkyrie crumples, just a bit. It used to be so easy to be open with Jupiter, but she's not a Quodpot player anymore. She's not her captain. Is she even her fried? They're definitely not proper rivals. This confusion might be the worst, because Val knows there's no real reason to be mad.

Then again, she knows what the actual word for this feeling is. It's just that she'll never say it out loud.

She takes the tissue anyway and sniffles into it. Her golden curls have fallen over her face, hiding most of it. "No," she objects sullenly. "I feel sick from all these horny trees."

Val & Jup & Allergies

[gasgiant]

"Horny trees sounds like a nickname for Thorntrail," Jupiter offers with a one shoulder shrug and an unwavering smile. She senses that things aren't quite right. Val's full of big emotions—that's something Jupiter's always enjoyed about their friendship—but these days it feels pulled too taut and scraped rough around the edges when she eggs Val into a reaction.

Jupiter's always pushing buttons, but quitting Quodpot seems to have knocked things askew, and now the buttons press doesn't bounce back like it used to. She sets the tissues down on the table, in case Val wants more. Still grinning, still jovial, but maybe a bit softer she asks, "Want me to get you some wiz-zyrtec from Greatheart?"

Val & Jup & Allergies

[sugarnspite]

Val sighs heavily. Sometimes she wants to be waited on, but not by Jupiter. There's a nebulous line dividing those whom she wants to be subservient, and those whose subservience offends her. Valkyrie's yet to suss out who falls where and why.

"I can get it myself," she objects, but her exasperation is friendly. She takes a tissue, and for a moment looks at the difference between her perfect manicure and Jupiter's rougher hands. Both of them have plenty and callouses, despite the contrast in presentation. "Don't baby me."

Val & Jup & Allergies

[gasgiant]

Awkward, yes, but then, what about Jupiter isn't a little bit askew? The protest she takes as invitation to go right on being the shit that she is naturally. A cooing little cackle, a touch Wicked Witch-y in delivery, rushes out of her as she leans forward with matchingly wicked intent.

"I can't help it," she whines, trying to pinch Valkyrie's cheek. "You're just so baby, babes."

Re: Val & Jup & Allergies

[sugarnspite]

Val shrieks, but doesn't resist as much as she could. Jupiter grabs her cheek and she bats her away a second or two too late. Her face feels hot, and her hands that can normally push aside the strongest player are oddly weak.

"Strop it!" Val objects through a giggle. "You're the worst!"