peckenpaugh | HOMECOMING DANCE 2019!!

homecoming dance

what's up? It’s raining tonight, which would make an outdoor dance inconvenient if this weren’t a school for wizards. The Central Green is the site of tonight’s Homecoming Dance, and Student Council and Homecoming Committee made extra sure everything above was watertight. Any loitering students are kicked out of the area by mid-morning today so dance setup can begin. While decorative malfunctions and diva meltdowns from freshmen slightly complicate things, it all comes together in the end and things are ready to go with plenty of time left before the dance is set to start.

Cardboard walls painted with magical sci fi murals ⁠— animated scenes of aliens, robots, giant radioactive ants and other cosmic horrors ⁠— have been stuck up at all park entrances, filtering students in through Central Classrooms. Overhead, rain drops splatter against magic shielding. The cloudy sky is supplemented by black cloth canopies painted with glittering galaxies. CDs and other swag bag goodies float in the air just beneath, made to look like planets and comets against a starry sky. Throughout the Green there are robots and aliens crafted from cardboard and covered in googly eyes. The existing flagstone patios have been expanded with temporary wooden platforms for attendees to dance and mingle without getting their shoes dirty.

visuals!

volunteer slots! An extremely brave little Muscheron asks Armani for a dance. You'll probably have to hold them in the palm of your hand, Armani.

In honor of the newest interstellar visitor, Mr. Hobgood is dressed as a comet tonight. It's a great look but the tail is quite cumbersome, and [CHARACTER B] trips over it on the dance floor.

Willow Quackenbush discovers the pod people pods are big enough to climb into and crawls inside one intent on spooking any canoodling couples. Their plan goes awry though when they get stuck and need to be rescued by Lionel Lovelace.

how this works! ⬥ The dance starts at 7PM and goes until 10PM.

⬥ There's an RNG game — test your shooting skills and accuracy in a Men in Black style shooting gallery. We will roll up to three times.

⬥ Here is a playlist to dance and get abducted to for your listening pleasure.

locations! ⬦ BEFORE THE DANCE: The Central Green has been blocked off since this morning, and the first attendees aren’t allowed in until 7PM. What did you get up to before the dance? Were you helping to set up or perfecting your costume make up? Student Council and Homecoming Committee members definitely had a bit of a panic this afternoon trying to make sure everything was water tight. This is a great spot for dorm or house/year prep threads. Tell us what you were doing!

⬦ ENTRANCE: CRASHING STARSHIP: With the Central Green blocked off for the dance tonight, the only convenient way to get in is through Central Classrooms. The lobby of Peckenpaugh’s main academic building has been transformed. Students enter into a narrow starship hallway, gunmetal gray and lines with pipes and knobs, blinking buttons and flashing lights. Upon closer inspection, the whole thing is crafted from cardboard, CDs and office supplies painted or charmed to look like spaceship parts. Streams of foggy mist shoot from the pipes intermittently. Periodically, the walls shudder and a series of pre-recorded sound clips play: clanging sounds, explosions, faint screams, animalistic roaring, and every two minutes a freshman voice fills the narrow path to announce: “DECOMPRESSION IMMINENT. PLEASE PROCEED TO EVACUATION PODS.” There are three ways to go: left or right take you to the restrooms, straight leads you out into the Central Green and the dance proper. Right at the sliding door entrance, there are bins of bubble guns that look like ray guns.

⬦ RNG GAME: ALIEN SHOOTING GALLERY: Veer down the left hall once you enter central classrooms and the starship hall will lead you straight to one of the first floor club rooms, which has been made into a dark room shooting gallery made up to look like a harried city street in the midst of an alien invasion. Toy laser guns will track your score as you fight off Alien Overlord Doug Bobson and his minions (and try to avoid hitting civilians!).

⬦ DANCE FLOOR: ABDUCTION CENTRAL: Looking to dance? A large low wooden patio has been set up, painted green with crop circle-like patterns across the width of it. Fog spills out over the floor and an eclectic selection of danceable tunes thrum from all around. The dance floor is bathed in green lights, bordered by street signs warning of UFO ACTIVITY, E.T. CROSSING and ABDUCTION ZONEs. Overhead, little UFOs made from frisbees fly around. Some of them have tiny toy cows made from stress balls floating beneath them as though being abducted. All of them shine beams of light down on dancers.

⬦ SNACK BAR: ALIEN GARDEN: One side of the large flagstone patio near the Central Classrooms entrance has been made up to look like an elaborate alien garden complete with a bubbling stream of green punch that gathers into a basin on the table’s far side. Nab extraterrestrial themed sweets and finger foods from bowls and plates made to look like strange plants, flowers, rocks and hatched alien eggs. Opposite the snack bar there are a few sleek metal tables seating two to four easily.

⬦ THE SURLY STUMP: CLASSIFIED UFO CRASH SITE: The Surly Stump has been given a wide enclosure tonight to protect it from rambunctious teens, the space is made up to look like a cordoned off government investigation site. It gives the Muscheron a bit of a platform to observe the festivities, and they’ve gotten in on it, firing off occasional clouds of colorful pollen and spores. Not far off, most of a large UFO crash landing site has been built from paper mache and repurposed balloon letter frames. It’s great for a photo op, or just fooling around on.

⬦ THE PARK: ALIEN HATCHERY: If you're looking for a secluded spot, a short wander off the path will bring you through dense fog to a clearing filled with rows and rows of lightly glowing alien eggs and the occasional person-sized pod person pod. A few benches dot this eerily beautiful spot. A great place to give your date the creeps.

⬦ END OF THE NIGHT: The dance wraps up around 10PM and students can head back to their dorms for the night. After tear down of the dance, Ms. Gunzenhauser invites any interested Student Council or Homecoming Committee members to get a late night snack at Dez's, her treat.

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Harrison shouldn't have listened to that little voice in his head that said he should go to Homecoming. He's made a grave mistake, for when Felicity sees him, a million bad ideas flood her mind. She wants to flirt with him. And she wants to torture him. But... which... one... should... she... do?

"They went so hard on the theme," Felicity announces her presence, "that it became REAL." She lifts up the bottom of her alien robes and reveals the bowl that's shaped to look like a hatched alien egg. "I've... spawned!"

She aimed for ~~the stars~~ a flirt but may have landed on ~~the moon~~ a torture.

Harrison didn't ask for this, but he supposes it's what he deserves for coming. He stares at Felicity and considers just ignoring her, but last time that hadn't helped him out at all. Why can't she take a hint like most people? He pulls in a breath before popping part of a weirdly blue brownie into his mouth so he has a little bit more time to think of a response.

"Oh no." He finally says in about the most deadpan voice possible. "Maybe you should go find help from someone who cares."

Felicity's face and robes drop in tandem. She stomps over to him, brow furrowed in annoyance.

"You know," she gestures up and down at him, "this would be a pretty scary costume if it actually were a costume. Dressed up as someone who doesn't laugh. Doesn't have fun. Is always a grump. That'd be creepy AF. But no, it's just you."

She huffs. "My egg thing was funny." If there's a piece of food in his hands, she knocks it out.

If Harrison were the type of person to get really angry and hit someone, he'd be dangerously close to that right now, even though Felicity is younger than him. Luckily, he's not, because there's brownie flying out of his hand, and he did invite this conversation, and both those things are incredibly annoying. Should he occasionally try to be nicer sometimes? Maybe.. But he doesn't deserve this, as far as he's concerned.

When he replies, his voice is incredibly strained, rising slightly above it's normal even volume. "Then stop talking to me. This entire school is filled with people who laugh and like to have fun. They're a much better target for your jokes."

Felicity doesn't go anywhere. Instead, she makes the mistake of asking, "Why don't you like me?"

"You won't leave me alone," Harrison essentially snaps. "Despite the fact that we have had no positive interactions; I have no idea what you keep thinking is going to happen." He fidgets a little, looking for an exit.

"That makes literally NO sense," Felicity incorrectly rebuts. "You don't like me because I won't leave you alone? By that dumb logic, if I never bothered you, you'd like me. But then you'd never spend time with a person you like. What??" She takes a long overdue breath. "And what did I think is gonna happen? Um, that we'd make out a little. Or a lot. Duh. I give good kiss, you know. "

She tries to act unaffected by his blunt reply, but she can't stop her hurt from creeping into the edges of her voice.

"It wasn't anything serious, Mr. Serious."

Edited (icon) 2019-10-30 11:51 (UTC)

There are a lot of arguments Harrison has running through his head, like the fact that Felicity has never once tried to have a normal conversation with him, or that bothering him is not the same as just trying to talk to him, but he's so struck by her comment about making out that most of that flies out of his head.

"Why the hell would you expect that?"

Despite asking the question, he doesn't actually wait for an answer - he essentially throws his hands up and starts to walk away. He needs a smoke or something. He can tell she feels a little bad but... he doesn't have time for this. And it's not his responsibility.

Edited (I wrote 'make outing' at first) 2019-10-30 12:52 (UTC)

"Are you for real right now? If you walk away, we're over," Felicity threatens the back of Harrison. "No more flirting. No more teasing. No more making you feel special. No kissing, that's for damn sure."

She bites her bottom lip, hard, to keep it from trembling.

"I'm serious. You walk away, I'm not gonna chase you!"

"Good. I don't kiss people," Harrison says with a parting wave that doesn't even have him looking back at the other girl. He figures it's nicer to say that than he very specifically doesn't want to kiss her.

Harrison doesn't turn back. He doesn't even seem to hesitate in making his decision. Felicity watches him until he's gone, feeling like a right idiot.

"Where the fuck is my date?!" Felicity storms off in search of Pax.

HOMECOMING DANCE 2019!!

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity

SNACK BAR: Harrison & Felicity